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One Dad's Quest to Regain Control of his Kingdom
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“This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla. The opinions and text are all mine. All opinions of apps and companies that help me complete DIY projects are my own.”
The end of the summer is always a crazy time. We seem to be running around all of the time and this gets even worse once school begins. Does this sound like your house? With schoolwork, soccer, music, and other activities all competing for equal time sometimes you think you will lose the ability to bring your family together. That’s why it is so important for my family to come together for a family dinner every night no matter what.
To have a family dinner though I need healthy food options that are easy to make, but also provide full nutrition so my kids can study, have energy for sports and more. As a family or partial Italians, a delicious semolina pasta is one of our favorite dishes and Barilla Pasta is our go to pasta!
Recently I was challenged to come up with a 30 minute recipe for dads to prepare with their kids, and I knew exactly what I would make. I decided to make some great Spaghetti and meatballs which may be simple, but let me tell you, it has ton of flavor!
I went to my local store where there were a ton of Barilla Pasta on hand to select from and picked up a few boxes for my meal! (I think I counted 38 different pasta cuts and 14 sauces just in the store I visited!). While I knew what I wanted this time, I knew that I could get a bit lost with all of the variety but this was also a great feeling as it allowed me to know that there would be something here for any type of meal that I was planning to prepare.
In preparing my meal I knew it would not take long. I found that in using the Barilla Tomato and Basil sauce with the Barilla Spaghetti that I purchased that I was quickly able to get things moving and within 10 minutes I had water boiling and sauce bubbling. I had pre-made the meat into the meatballs that I wanted to make and had my oven pre-heating as well to be able to start cooking the meatballs as quickly as I could too. Once the oven was up to 400 I placed them in for a 20 minute bake. Once completed I add the meatballs to the sauce for a few more minutes to let them cook and add in some additional flavor. The Barilla pasta took about 10 minutes after the water was boiling, so in all everything was completed (along with Garlic Bread) in about 30 minutes.
The dinner turned out great and we loved being able to spend some time together. We truly talked about our day and shared some funny stories about friends, family and more too. It was nice to set the phones down and have some uninterrupted time together and I have to say thank you to Barilla for allowing us to have this moment together!
Barilla Pasta truly does offer stress-free meal combinations, perfect for the busy back-to-school season, that put you at ease with their simplicity, and Barilla’s delicious taste and perfect texture will have the family coming back for seconds.
Want more information?
I have partnered with Life of Dad and Barilla Pasta for this promotion.
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Williams Sonoma, in partnership with Le Creuset, is announcing its first collaboration with The Walt Disney Studios. The kitchenware retailer is debuting an exclusive Disney’s Beauty and the Beast Soup Pot by Le Creuset to coincide with the release of the live-action adaptation of the 1991 Disney classic. The limited edition blue-enameled cast iron soup pot is decorated with the signature Beauty and the Beast rose with an oversized gold knob bearing the inscription, “Be Our Guest.” Starting today the limited quantity of five hundred pots is available for purchase at williams-sonoma.com, lecreuset.com and Le Creuset Signature Stores. Williams Sonoma stores nationwide will also host events celebrating the film’s release in partnership with Le Creuset.
“Disney is an iconic brand that brings nostalgia and delight to people of all ages,” said Janet Hayes, President of Williams Sonoma. “In partnership with Le Creuset, Williams Sonoma is pleased to offer this special edition pot to those who loved the original film and the next generation who gets to experience this legendary story for the first time. We are also thrilled to welcome Disney fans into our stores for one-of-a-kind experiences.”
The collaboration is part of Williams Sonoma’s continued partnership with one of the first cookware brands the 60-year-old kitchenware retailer imported. Faye Gooding, CEO of Le Creuset America commented: “Beauty and the Beast is an all-time classic and we’re proud to support this live-action adaptation with our exclusive ‘Be Our Guest’ soup pot. At Le Creuset, we strive to inspire and empower people everywhere to make joy through cooking and how better to accomplish this than with this magical collaboration with Disney and our great partners at Williams Sonoma.”
On Saturday, March 4th, Williams Sonoma stores across the country will host the Beauty and the Beast Junior Chef Cooking Class with movie-inspired kid friendly recipes created in collaboration with Le Creuset. To find out more details contact your local Williams Sonoma store or visit their website.
To learn more about this exclusive product, please visit the Williams Sonoma website.
ABOUT WILLIAMS SONOMA
Since its founding by Chuck Williams in 1956, the Williams Sonoma brand has been bringing people together around food. Williams Sonoma is a leading specialty retailer of high-quality products for the kitchen and home, providing world-class service and an engaging customer experience. Products include cookware, cooks’ tools, cutlery, electrics, bakeware, food, tabletop and bar, outdoor, cookbooks, as well as furniture, lighting and decorative accessories. Each store offers cooking classes and tastings conducted by expert culinary staff. A comprehensive gift registry program for weddings and other special events is available in stores and online. On williams-sonoma.com and the Williams Sonoma blog, Taste, customers can find recipes, tips, and techniques that help them create delicious meals and wonderful memories. Williams Sonoma is also part of an active community on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, Google+and YouTube.
ABOUT LE CREUSET
Since 1925, Le Creuset has focused on inspiring and empowering people everywhere to make joy through cooking. From the company’s original enameled cast iron cookware to stoneware, stainless, accessories and more, Le Creuset offers products across a range of materials and categories that guarantees the right tool for the right job. Le Creuset celebrates the role it has played in the lives and kitchens of cooks around the world, and looks forward to continuing to make memories with generations to come. For more information, please visit www.lecreuset.com/about.
ABOUT DISNEY’S “BEAUTY AND THE BEAST”
The story and characters audiences know and love come to spectacular life in Disney’s live-action adaptation “Beauty and the Beast,” a stunning, cinematic event celebrating one of the most beloved tales ever told. “Beauty and the Beast” is the fantastic journey of Belle, a bright, beautiful and independent young woman who is taken prisoner by a Beast in his castle. Despite her fears, she befriends the castle’s enchanted staff and learns to look beyond the Beast’s hideous exterior and realize the kind heart of the true Prince within. The film stars: Emma Watson as Belle; Dan Stevens as the Beast; Luke Evans as Gaston, the handsome, but shallow villager who woos Belle; Kevin Kline as Maurice, Belle’s father; Josh Gad as LeFou, Gaston’s long-suffering aide-de-camp; Ewan McGregor as Lumière, the candelabra; Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, the harpsichord; Audra McDonald as Madame de Garderobe, the wardrobe; Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, the feather duster; Hattie Morahan as the enchantress; and Nathan Mack as Chip, the teacup; with Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, the mantel clock; and Emma Thompson as the teapot, Mrs. Potts.
Directed by Bill Condon based on the 1991 animated film, “Beauty and the Beast,” the screenplay is written by Stephen Chbosky and Evan Spiliotopoulos and produced by Mandeville Films’ David Hoberman, p.g.a. and Todd Lieberman, p.g.a. with Jeffrey Silver, Thomas Schumacher and Don Hahn serving as executive producers. Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards® (Best Original Score and Best Song) for the animated film, provides the score, which includes new recordings of the original songs written by Menken and Howard Ashman, as well as three new songs written by Menken and Tim Rice. “Beauty and the Beast” will be released in U.S. theaters on March 17, 2017.
Find out more about the film:
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST opens in theatres everywhere on March 17th!
Think back to the time when you were growing up. It’s the holidays and you are in the kitchen with your parents or your grandparents. I know for me one of the holiday traditions I remember more was that I would end up baking up a storm with my grandmother every Christmas and inevitably we would turn to our Betty Crocker Cookbook for help!
One of the favorite recipes we made every year were peanut butter cookies with chocolate kisses in the middle. While you see many people making these over the holidays, they were never the same as when I made them with my grandmother. This was especially true when you got to eat them right out of the oven when they were warm and the chocolate would melt in your mouth. Talk about good!
This year we are continuing the tradition. My youngest daughter finally has started to show some interest in baking with me, so we decided to pull out the big red Betty Crocker Cookbook to find the peanut butter cookie recipe. We had all of the ingredients at home already so it was not hard to start this. I also found with the extra help from her that we were able to get done in no time, even though I was not trying to rush in any sense.
While this is only one of the traditions that I hope to continue doing, not only at the holiday season, but all year long there are many others that we continue to do as well. These traditions are important as they will help to continue to offer my kids and more the opportunity to pass on not only family history but shared memories too.
I am so glad that General Mills, and its family of brands including, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker and Chex has been around for 150 years, touching the lives of so many by making food people love and inspiring holiday traditions year after year. You see, the holiday season is all about celebration and everyone has someone in their lives who inspires and keeps their traditions alive, just like I am trying to do with my own family!
Find out more about General Mills
Giveaway
Who is the keeper of your holiday traditions? Celebrate them this holiday season by sharing the #HolidayTraditions they have helped inspire by doing the following and you can WIN the and a $25 giftcard!
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Unlikely food pairings are oftentimes surprisingly tasty. Chili powder on mango anyone? How about olives with orange rind? These flavor combinations, while seemingly nonsensical, are a treat to your palette and a testament to the endless ways in which you can be creative in the kitchen.
Since culinary innovation knows no bounds, why not take this to the grill? al fresco’s new Sweet & Smoky BBQ Chicken Sausage does just that, providing you with an unlikely new flavor that will perk up your meal. Savory with a hint of smoky flavor, you may just get carried away thinking about all the delicious dishes you can pair with your new summer staple.
I decided to take the new al fresco’s new Sweet & Smoky BBQ Chicken Sausage and put it to the test. I grilled up the sausage with the following to make a great new take on an old favorite stew and came up with a great tasting dish.
Recipe
How does this sound to you. I can tell you that it gave the stew a great flavor andit ended up being a great hit in the family too!
One of the things I really liked about this product was that not only do you get great tasting meat, but it is made with lean, skinless chicken meat, which means that it contains 70% less fat and 30% less sodium than average pork sausage which means it’s better for you. Better yet, all of al fresco’s chicken sausage flavors are gluten-free and are packaged fully cooked – meaning you can enjoy your delicious grilled sausage in minutes – talk about a time saver!
If you love food and love a contest, you also have the ability to enter a great contest! Visit here and vote for your favorite grilling recipes using sweet and smoky BBQ. When you vote, you will be entered to win $500 AND a high quality grill ($500 value).
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The question ‘How to feed children’ concerns all parents. Very often feeding your kids can be challenging. Children can utterly refuse eating healthy foods you try to serve them at times and you can be left pulling your hair out trying to be a great parent and keeping your kids healthy too.
Kids do not normally want to think of nutrition value. For them food’s main function is to taste great. I gave up explaining how important for well-doing is to get enough fiber, protein, vitamins, microelements and so on a long time ago and I am sure that you have too. After numerous failed attempts at feeding my kids with foods that were healthy but vapid in their opinion, I made up my mind to use some tricks. (Yes, raising children requires much ingenuity!) I guess most parents use them on a regular basis. My favorite one is to disguise foods they do not want to eat (Do you do this too?).
A carrot cake is a wonderful example how vegetable, particularly carrots, can be hid and not recognized at all. I recently found a great carrot cake recipe that was typical of what I mean here. The recipe I found from someone that I know that works for uk.cupid.com. One thing that I liked about the recipe was not only all of the healthy things that were included but also that it was gluten-free. This recipe is a real godsend for parents whose children suffer gluten intolerance or the Celiac disease.
But before heating the oven and prepare all of the ingredients I recommend all parents get tuned-in to cooking. It means to get rid of all worries, bad thoughts and frustration. I have definitely noticed that a good mood is a secret of delicious baking.
The equipment you’ll need is as follows
The set of products is unpretentious too.
Heat the oven, line a loaf tin with parchment and grease it with some amount of butter. Beat butter and sugar to achieve creamy and soft texture. Grate carrots and add them to the initial texture. The next step will be to stir in the eggs and sultanas soaked in hot water. Chop nuts and mix them with cinnamon, gluten free baking powder and gluten free self- raising powder. Marry the mixture comprising of liquid ingredients and dry-goods mixture. Tip it into the pan and bake for 50 minutes. The carrot cake is ready when the toothpick is clean after being poked into the highest part of the cake. Take out a pan, let it cool for a 25 minutes and remove your work of culinary art.
There you go! Call your kids over and let them enjoy the fruits of your labor. Make sure not to mention that it is made of carrot. I bet they never guess!
Disclosure: I have partnered with Life of Dad and STOUFFER’S ® for this promotion. I have received compensation and product for my participation, but my opinions are my own.
Excited to have @stouffers #fitkitchen as my wingman in eating right
A photo posted by Christopher Lewis (@dadofdivas) on
I am the type of person that likes to be healthy. I try and eat right and exercise, though not as much as I would hope. Why do I do this? I do this to not only keep me active, but also energetic, as I am a father of two girls and that necessitates energy. When it comes to food, I try and find meals for lunch that I can take on the go with me, that are healthy and give me things that I need in my diet. Recently, I was talking to a nutritionist about my diet and some of the choices that I make and one of the take home points that I left the meeting with was that I was missing a lot of protein in my diet. I get protein at dinner, but usually my breakfast and lunch is lacking.
This is one reason that I was so excited to find out about STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen meals. These meals were packed with nutrients and protein and were the perfect amount of food for one person for lunch or dinner. It only took about six or seven minutes to get a meal that was perfectly made. I tried out two of the meals, the Steak Fajita and Rotisserie Seasoned Turkey. First and foremost I have to talk about the Steak Fajita. This meal had a bit of kick, but also tasted great consistency. After eating this I was completely filled up and best of all – no heart burn even though there was a bit of heat! Second, the Rotisserie Seasoned Turkey, this meal was down-to-earth and down-home and reminded me a lot of recipes my grandmother used to make. Both meals were packed with veggies, complex carbs and protein that left me filled up and completely satisfied. On top of the meals that I tried four other meals that look amazing and are ones that I will be stocking up on in the near future. They included:
To be honest, not only were these meals ones that I would eat but I shared it with my wife and she agreed that she too would eat these without any reservation. Seeing that my wife has been my wingman for the past 20+ years, I trust her judgement implicitly and her tacit approval really showed me that having these new STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen meals as another wingman simply made sense. Also, while the kids did not try these, with the amount of amazing ingredients packed in this, all that deliver delicious, modern flavors, I believe, would be a big hit with my girls. With 25 grams of protein in every meal, I know that I, and my family are getting the protein that they need, even when we don’t have time to make a home-cooked meal. As a dad I know that I will have many days in the future when I will be too busy to prepare a meal or when I will be home alone, but with these STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen meals I now know that I always have a delicious protein packed meal at hand.
These meals were the perfect size and the right amount for me. Also, with both being under 400 calories, I was able to eat well without feeling that I was sacrificing flavor, taste or anything. Instead, I was getting amazing taste and in my opinion having the perfect wingman with me as I continued my own journey in trying to eat healthy.
This @stouffers #fitkitchen #steak #fajitas meal was simply amazing #nxmini A photo posted by Christopher Lewis (@dadofdivas) on
So I highly encourage you to try new STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen meals. As you can tell, I believe that these meals are delicious and after you try them, I believe that you will too!
Find STOUFFER’S® Fit Kitchen in the frozen aisle at your local Walmart, Target or grocery store; visit www.stouffers.com to find a store near you
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Thanks to Taste of Home—America’s largest cooking magazine—you can turn this vision into a reality. Enter the Dream Kitchen Sweepstakes for a chance to win:
Every course you purchase from the Taste of Home Online Cooking School is another chance to win. The Taste of Home Cooking School Online is a convenient at-home experience where home cooks can learn new recipes, perfect their kitchen techniques and get the inside scoop on tricks of the trade. You can also enter without purchase by visiting the site.
About Taste of Home Cooking School
Cooking School is America’s leading cooking school program, inspiring more than 250,000 passionate home chefs each year at 250 events across the country. At a Cooking School show, Culinary Specialists demonstrate step-by-step instructions to create satisfying and flavorful dishes. The jam-packed program offers tips on easy-to-prepare recipes with step-by-step instructions to create dishes that feature familiar, everyday ingredients. Taste of Home Cooking School Online is a convenient at-home experience that delivers the same blend of energy and expertise that those who attend the live Cooking School shows enjoy.
Giveaway
Taste of Home Online Cooking School Course Giveaway
Winner must be a resident of the U.S.
Winners are chosen at random, if you want all your chances counted, make sure you leave individual comments, not all of them in one!
Winner has 48 hours to contact me or another name will be chosen.
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About the Book
Wicked Good Burger ain’t your daddy’s patty on a bun. The upstart Yankee team that revolutionized barbecue with their upset win at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational turns their talents to burgers. Wicked Good Burgers fearlessly incorporates new techniques, inspirations, and ingredients to take the burger to the next level – whether it’s the Meatloaf Burger on Pretzel Bread with Cabernet Mustard or the Island Creek Burger with Oysters and homemade cocktail sauce. You’ll learn the art and science of freshly grinding meats – from beef to lamb to goat – for the ultimate juicy burger as well as cooking methods such as smoking, grilling, griddling, and sous vide that impart distinctive flavor.
My Take on the Book
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About the Book
Looking for hearty, healthy meals in a hurry? Chicken is easy to cook, incredibly versatile, and a wonderful choice for health-conscious home chefs. Grilled, sautéed, roasted or poached, chicken dishes range from All-American comfort foods like pecan-crusted, honey-glazed chicken to the savory flavors of North Africa and Moroccan spiced chicken.
To keep up with the popular appetite for all things poultry, the American Diabetes Association has teamed up with best-selling author Linda Gassenheimer to cook up QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN [April 2015, $9.95 US / $12.50 CAN], an affordable, easy-to-follow collection of chicken recipes designed for people with diabetes or prediabetes. With dozens upon dozens of recipes based on flavors and traditions from around the world, this handy little volume is stuffed with quick, easy, flavorful recipes everyone will love. Inside you’ll find recipes for every taste, including:
All of the recipes are complete meals based on ingredients you can easily find in any local supermarket. There’s even a “Shop Smart” section to help you choose the right ingredients to ensure a healthier meal. Whether you are pulling together a quick dinner for the family or planning to impress your friends with your new, healthier chicken lifestyle, QUICK AND EASY CHICKEN will help you make a diabetes-friendly meal that is both quick AND delicious!
My Take on the Book
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