Pillsbury Ready To Bake Shape Cookies Giveaway

With Valentine's Day just around the corner, my mind is fixated on making some special treats for my kids and my little friends at the preschool where I teach.  I don't have tons of time (shocking, I know) and that's where companies like Pillsbury come in to play.

Just in time for Valentine's Day Pillsbury sent me a cute prize pack consisting of a cookie jar, spatula, oven mitt, and a free pack of the new Ready To Bake Shape Cookies featuring Disney characters!  What a great way to show all my little Valentines how much I love them.  I know my kids are going to be so excited to see these cookies that feature Mickey & Minnie, and Princesses Belle, Ariel, and Tiana.  And better yet, their ready to serve and enjoy in just 10 minutes!

Want to try them out for your little Valentines? (or you can eat them after your kids go to bed... not that I'd ever do that, duh.)  Click this link to download a printable coupon for $1.10 off of the purchase of (1) package of Pillsbury Ready to Bake! Shape Cookies today!

Want to win a prize pack too?  Great!  Leave me a comment on this post and tell me how you're going to make Valentine's Day special this year.

You can do some or all of the following to earn some extra entries:

• Become a follower of Thou Shall Not Whine (3 extra entries!) *Just click the little "follow" button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave me 3 additional comments stating, "follower #1, follower #2, etc."
• Follow my blog on Facebook (2 extra entries) *click on the networked blog button on the right-hand sidebar, then leave 2 additional comments stating that you did!*
• Grab my button and display it on your blog (2 extra entries!)
• Mention this giveaway on your blog with a link back to it. (2 extra entries!)
• Leave a comment on a non-giveaway post. (leave an additional comment here to count as your entry!)

This giveaway starts now and will conclude on Monday, February 13th. -Yes, this giveaway will only last for 3 days, so hurry up!  Winner will be selected via Random.org and contacted via email. Winner will have 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen

Disclosure:  The VIP coupon, prize pack, information, and giveaway have been provided by Pillsbury through MyBlogSpark.

Boo!

I love making stuff.  Crafts, clothes for my kids, recipes, pretty much anything.  Even framing a picture and hanging it on the wall gives me that same sense of accomplishment.  The problem with loving to make things is that I feel like I hardly ever have the time to do so.  And let me tell you, not having the time to channel my inner creative goddess can be super frustrating... Between taking care of my kids, working part time, keeping my house kind of clean, getting dinner on the table, tutoring a neighborhood kid twice a week, and everything else I try to juggle, I'm usually exhausted at the end of the day and just have zero energy to do anything other than play on the computer or watch TV. (or both, usually simultaneously.)  Although I always have a project I'd like to create, I rarely have it in me at the end of the day to go digging through closets for supplies and start much of anything.

Today was a special day for more than one reason.  First of all, my husband's parents arrived for a 4 day visit with us and the kids.  These visits are always jam-packed with tons of hugs, kisses, songs, stories, playtime, and fun.  While our time together always passes to quickly, somehow the memories we create keep us connected until next time.  So while our beloved Nana and Pop-Pop quickly became the main attraction for the day, I cashed in on the opportunity to actually accomplish something in the daylight hours!

I saw this adorable idea at a friend's house when I went to my sewing group last week.  On my way out the door and back to my car I peeked under the sheet to find out how she made it.  And after a few DIY tutorials that I came up with after googling "tomato cage ghosts," I was ready to give it a try.  I did not take pictures of my process, because although I blog about crafts that I make this is not a crafting blog, and I simply can't be bothered to drop what I'm doing to try to get some great quality images taken at a strategic angle in awesome lighting with a canvas backdrop.  If you want a tutorial, I recommend this one from Lowes Home Improvement Store.  And then just Google it.  You'll figure it out in no time, I promise.

I did go outside after dark though so I could share how cute my new Halloween decorations are:

The best part is that these can be used year after year, and the total cost was probably about 13 bucks.  (would have been cheaper if I had thought about going to the thrift store for the sheets up until now!)

Celebrate Cinco de Mayo with Frito-Lay Giveaway

It is hard to believe that May has started already.  This year is just flying by!  Cinco de Mayo is in a couple of days and to get the party started I'd like to share a couple of great recipes from Frito-Lay's Executive Chef Stephen Kalil.  These dips are made from natural, wholesome ingredients, and are meant to be enjoyed with delicious Frito-Lay snacks such as:

Tostitos Artisan Roasted Garlic and Black Bean Tortilla Chips

or Tostitos Hint of Pepper Jack Tortilla Chips.

Now, for the recipes.  Make sure you get your party off right with this yummy Avocado Hummus Dip which can go with pretty much anything:

Avocado HummusIngredients:
Avocado Hummus:
2 large avocados (or 3 small)
3 tbs real lemon juice or other lemon juice from concentrate
1 clove garlic crushed
1 ½ tsp kosher salt
4 tsp tahini
4 tsp olive oil
1/4 tsp ground cumin
Pinch of ground coriander (optional)
Pinch of cardamom (optional)

Pumpkin Seeds:1 cup pumpkin seeds
½ tbs canola oil
½ tsp New Mexican chili powder
¼ tsp kosher salt
Pinch ground black pepper
Instructions:
Avocado Hummus:Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread the Avocado Hummus into a serving dish. Sprinkle evenly with pumpkin seeds and chopped cilantro. Squeeze one or two lime wedges over the top and garnish with additional lime wedges. Serve with Tostitos Artisan Recipes Roasted Garlic and Black Bean tortilla chips.

Pumpkin Seeds:In a large sauté pan, heat the canola oil over medium heat for 2-3 minutes, add the seeds and spices, toast for 4-5 minutes allowing the chili and spices to adhere to the seeds. Cool the seeds on a sheet tray. Coarsely chop and sprinkle over Hummus.

Voila!

Perhaps you are in the mood for Guacomole to celebrate Cinco de Mayo?  You must try this super easy recipe, paired with Tostitos Hint of Pepper Jack Tortilla Chips:

New Age Guacamole
Ingredients:1 prepared recipe TOSTITOS® DIP CREATIONS™ Freshly Made Guacamole Dry Dip Mix
2 tb oven roasted tomato, 1/4 diced
2 tb minced shallots
1 tb minced serranos
2 tb chopped cilantro
2 tb lime juice
1/4 cup mango, 1/4” diced

Instructions:Fold all the ingredients into the prepared guacamole. Serve chilled & Enjoy!

Ta Da!

***Now that I've got you all thinking about chowing down, here comes the good part: A GIVEAWAY!  Frito-Lay has been kind enough to send me some of the chips featured on this post, and they'd like to send a supply to one of my lovely readers.  Just leave a comment on this post if you want to win.  That's it.  All you have to do is leave one teesy-weensy comment.  So do it.  Right now.  What are you waiting for?

This giveaway starts now, and will conclude on Cinco de Mayo (May 5th) at 11:59pm.  Winner will be selected via random.org and announced shortly thereafter.

Now be a good duck and leave me a comment so I know you were here.  Muchas Gracias.

***Sorry if you came here yesterday to enter the giveaway.  Blogger is giving me issues, and only published the first part of my post. Grrr***

*Disclosure:* I was provided the products mentioned above free of charge from Frito-Lay for the purpose of writing this post.  All opinions expressed are my own