Infinite Dreams Reviews

BIC Gelocity Pen Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 11 Aug 2017 06:31:00 +0000

I love pens, all kinds of pens, and it's safe to say I may have a slight problem. Yes, I love pens, but gel pens hold a special place in my heart. I've bought so many sets, different brands, different prices, I love them all! So when I got the chance to try out BIC's Gel-ocity pens I was more than happy to.

There were three colors that came in the set that I got to try out for free: pink, purple, and blue. I'm glad the sent colors that were a bit out of the norm because it's more fun using them. The pink was more of a hot pink, leading to a red. The purple was very dark, leaned real close to black. It was just a bit too dark for me. The blue was a turquoise color; not very dark.

All the ink in the pens came out super saturated, no skipping, and it dried pretty quickly. If you run your hand across it right after writing you may get it smudge. I found it hard to get it to smudge though because it does dry quickly.You can refill these pens, but I didn't see refills for these colors. The grips are a bit hard, but not uncomfortable at all. I have smaller hands and find pens with larger grips to be hard to hold. The retractable part of the pen works great, no issues with that.

I did try using them for my adult coloring books and they do work great, but not very good at layering. Because they don't really smudge I can't blend very well, but that's okay. I still think you can use them for coloring, if you enjoy using pens to color.

Overall, they're great pens that I'll use over and over again. The ink writes so smoothly, it's just amazing. I know I'll have to fight the kids to keep them from leaving with them to school.

Disclaimer: I did receive a three pack of BIC Gelocity pens for free in return for my honest review.

Sundown Naturals Probiotic Gummy Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 04:44:00 +0000

If you are like me then you have no idea what probiotics are or their benefits. I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to taking any pills or supplements. I tend to think that if they aren't prescribed by a doctor then they won't be that great for me. So when I was sent a complementary full sized sample by Smiley360 and Sundown Naturals I wasn't sure if it was something I would be able to take.

Before taking them I did my research and looked into exactly what probiotics actually are.

Probiotics are live bacteria and yeast that live happily inside our bodies. They are actually pretty good for your health, especially your gut. Probiotics are said to help maintain digestive health and boost your immune system. While you can take probiotics in supplents you can also find them in foods such as: yogurt, sauerkraut, kimchi, kefir
, and miso soup.

There are two types of probiotics: lactobacillus and bifidobacterium. They both help move food through your gut, but researchers are still trying to figure out which are best for certain health problems.

As with any other supplements it's best to ask your doctor about what is best for you. There are some mild side effects like upset stomach, diarrhea, gas, and bloating when you first start taking them.

My personal experience:

So I started taking the recommended dosage on a Monday - which is two gummies. I took them first thing in the morning with my breakfast. Later that day I did experience some stomach pain. It wasn't too bad though, not where it was completely uncomfortable. The next day came around and I took 2 gummies again with my breakfast. I still had stomach pain, but gas and bloating were added to the mix. It was starting to get a bit uncomfortable though and I didn't like it. I still continued though because it was only day 2. By day 4 it was pretty unbearable and I was done with the pain and discomfort. I did ask if anyone else had had the same issues and some friends said I should cut the dosage to 1 and see how it goes. Since then I have been taking 1 gummy a day and it has definitely helped. I used to have some issues after eating meat, it normally would stop me up. Since taking Sundown Naturals Probiotic gummies though, I'm not having that issue. I am going regularly with no issues in bowel movements at all. I know that's a little tmi, but it's what you need to hear.

If you're having issues with going regularly, then I would definitely try using probiotics yourself. While results may vary, there definitely isn't harm in trying them out. Since I have been using Sundown Naturals I will recommend them, but you could try out any brand and see what works for yourself.

Disclaimer: I was given a full size bottle to try out courtesy of Smiley360 and Sundown Naturals. All opinions are my own.

nuNaat's Garlic Magic Hair Care

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 21:25:00 +0000

I got a great opportunity to work with a fantastic company called, nuNaat. They make wonderful hair care products for an inexpensive price. I worked with them once before with their Brazilian Hair Care Set. It was wonderful and I still buy the hair mask till this day because it leaves my hair so soft and shiny. I was a bit surprised when they told me the new hair care set was made using garlic. Yea that smelly delicious stuff you use for cooking was being used for shampoo, conditioner, hair mask, and a leave in treatment. As much as I was a little worried about the smell, I was super excited to try it out. It couldn't possibly be that bad if its by nuNaat.

So I got my package, really fast by the way, and took the four different bottles out. Like I mentioned before they were shampoo, conditioner, a leave in treatment, and hair mask. The first thing I did was open them up so I could smell what they smelled like.

I opened up the shampoo first and took a whiff and...it smelled great! It had a very light floral soap scent. It was thick and creamy and with two quarter sized dollops it was enough to clean my hair. It lathered up well enough, but not a lot. It isn't like regular shampoos that lather up a lot, its "cleaner". I don't find a problem with this, although it does mean I have to use slightly more to coat all of my hair. The conditioner has less of a floral scent, it actually doesn't have much of a scent at all. It too is thick and creamy and I had to use two dollops to cover my entire head as well. It washed off easily and I could feel the difference in my hair after using it. I didn't use the hair mask the first time because I used the regular conditioner. I did use the leave in treatment, but I believe I put too much. I can honestly say I wasn't sure how much I was supposed to put and ended up putting too much because it was left with a lot of residue. The next time I used it, I used much less and it came out fine. It left my hair super soft even after I straightened it with my flat iron. A few days later I did try out the mask and wow it left my hair so full, shiny, and soft. I have another hair mask that I loved, but I have found myself reaching for nuNaat's garlic hair mask.

So the main reason for me trying it out is because of my main issue...dry scalp. Yup I have dry, flaky, itchy scalp that always seems to get worse on days I wear black clothes. Garlic shampoo is great for people whose hair is thinning out. As we get older some of us tend to start losing our hair. Garlic helps to prrvent hair loss by acting as a stimulant for growth in cells. It helps to make your scalp healthy and aid against dry and itchy scalp. It helps to prevent breakage so yay, no more split ends. Also if you have issues with frizzy hair..well guess what it fixes that too! I had never heard of garlic shampoo, but I'm so glad that I got to try it out.

Since using it my hair is much softer, shinier, and more importantly no itchy dry scalp. Nothing more embarrassing that huge flakey dandruff all over your shoulders. So if you are experiencing any of these issues then you should definitely try out NuNaat's new Garlic Hair Care Products. They're all pretty affordable and you can purchase them online and in stores.

Prego Alfredo Sauce Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 21:22:00 +0000

So I've had Prego Alfredo sauce before, but to be honest it wasn't always my favorite. While it was good I always reached or the more inexpensive brand that was just as good, but certainly not better. Well I was able to try Prego's Light Alfredo through Crowdtap and loved it. Sadly though when I went to go find it again in my store...there wasn't any. Apparently stores don't carry it and when trying to search for it online, nothing comes up!

Okay Prego, why you holding out on us? Give us the tasty Light Homestyle Alfredo sauce please. So since I wasn't able to find the light variety I just got regular Homestyle Alfredo. It still had the same thick, creamy, not too salty flavor as the light version.

So of course I like things simple and easy so I went for some Shrimp Alfredo! So I grabbed my shrimp, a little unsalted butter, and some peppercorn and started cooking. I cooked the shrimp till they were almost done and added the alfredo sauce. I let it continue cooking making sure not to overcook the shrimp. No one needs rubbery overcooked shrimp in their life...no one. Before I even started to cook the shrimp though, I took some Barilla thin spaghetti and started boiling it. I like my noodles to be a little chewy, how about you?

After making sure the noodles were just right, for me anyway, I drained them and dumped them in the pan with the shrimp and alfredo sauce. I made sure to coat the noodles so that they would all have sauce...sauceless noodles = no bueno!

So obviously the final verdict was delicious! Seriously I think I'll spend the extra cash to get the Prego sauce because it's really good. It has the right flavor, the right consistency, and I don't feel too guilty about eating it. It isn't overloaded with salt so it makes a great dinner for me and the family.

So if you're ever out at the store and see some Prego Alfredo Sauces grab them up! They also work really well for some homemade mac and cheese. Check out the recipe below which serves 10, obviously I did mention I've got a large family which means lots of servings! You can fix it to fit your family by halfing the recipe, etc. It's super tasty and actually really easy. Feel free to use reduced fat cheeses and skim milk, you won't be able to tell the difference.

Extra Recipe!
Mac and Cheese:
Ingredients:

cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1 (16 ounce) package elbow macaroni
1 (15 ounce) jar Alfredo sauce (I recommend Prego Alfredo Sauce)
1/2 (1 pound) package processed cheese (such as Velveeta®), cubed
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 (16 ounce) package shredded sharp Cheddar cheese, divided
1/2 cup of milk (your choice)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x13 baking dish or pan with cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil; stir 1 teaspoon salt and vegetable oil into boiling water. Gradually stir macaroni into the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally, until macaroni are tender but still slightly firm, about 10 minutes. Drain well and pour macaroni into prepared baking dish.
Pour Alfredo sauce into a 3-quart microwave-safe bowl and stir processed cheese into sauce; microwave on 60 percent power for 6 minutes. Stir sauce mixture and microwave for 5 more minutes on 60 percent power. Season with black pepper and paprika. Stir 1/2 cup shredded sharp Cheddar cheese into mixture until cheese has melted and sauce is thick and smooth.
Pour half the cheese sauce over macaroni and stir to coat; pour in remaining cheese mixture and stir again. Spread remaining shredded sharp Cheddar cheese over macaroni.
Bake in the preheated oven until the casserole is bubbling, 30 to 40 mins. Let macaroni and cheese stand for 10 minutes before serving.

Disclaimer: I originally tried Prego Light Alfredo through Crowdtap, this review is on regular Homestyle Alfredo. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received for this review.

Campbells Soup For Easy Cooking Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Apr 2015 20:52:00 +0000

Review:
I tried out the Campbell's Soups For Easy Cooking "Mexican Style Tomato" and it was really great. I honestly didn't think it would taste as good as it did because sometimes big companies don't get Mexican or Hispanic flavors right. Things could sometimes end up tasting generic and just doesn't hit the spot. Well I was pleasantly surprised because the soup or sauce came out great.

So the soup actually doesn't really seem like a soup to me. I really see it as a flavored tomato sauce that can be used in different recipes. I don't think I could really see myself eating this as a soup. Maybe you would, but I just don't see it...now as a soup base, yes. Anyway, its got a really great flavor to it and thankfully wasn't that salty. I've been cutting down on my salt intake and now whenever I do eat things that are a bit saltier, it's totally unbearable. It tastes like I'm drinking sea water, it just assaults my taste buds.

So I was looking for something simple and easy to cook because now that summer weather has hit South Texas I do not want to spend too much time roasting away...I mean cooking in the kitchen. So I went online to Campbell's Kitchen and found a recipe for "Easy Beef Taco Skillet". I didn't want to put tortillas into my recipe though because it just seemed too heavy, not too mention they add more salt to the recipe. I'm always changing up recipes and making them my own, cooking should reflect your wants and needs and in this moment I don't need tortillas. I did keep the cheese in the recipe though because...who doesn't love cheese!?

Recipe:
Easy Beef Taco Skillet
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1 large onion (about 1 cup)
1 carton (14.5 ounces) Campbell's® Mexican Style Tomato Soup
4 flour tortillas (6-inch), cut into 1-inch pieces
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Instructions:

Cook the beef and onion in a 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat until well browned, stirring often to separate meat. Pour off any fat.
Stir the soup and tortillas in the skillet and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cook for 5 minutes. Stir the beef mixture. Top with the cheese.

The kids really enjoyed this and honestly I wasn't totally sure they would. They can be extremely picky when it comes to certain foods. The whole, "I don't know what that is, but I know I don't like it" routine. Well they loved it and asked for more, thankfully this was more than enough to feed my extremely large famil.

The Campbells Soups for Easy Cooking do come in other flavors :
Creamy Herb & Garlic Soup With Chicken Stock
Savory Portabello Mushroom
Sweet Onion Soup

I'd definitely recommend trying them out, especially the Mexican Style Tomato, it is great with enchiladas too!

Cooking With Splenda

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 23 Feb 2015 03:13:00 +0000

Cooking Gluten Free with Splenda Sugar

So I recently found about my sensitivity to gluten as I've gotten older and the years have passed. I always just assumed that I had eaten too fast or too much and that that stuffed feeling would eventually go away. Well it didn't go away, but got worse as I've aged' I didn't know what gluten was and why it was bad for me. I grabbed whatever I could read and honestly was saddened. I felt like I wouldn't be able to enjoy anything tasty like cakes, cupcakes, and breads. Throw out all the cookies and cereals as they're no longer an option for me.

Thankfully that's not true and I can enjoy some goodies and regular food with just little tweaks here and there. Gluten free just isn't about being wheat free, it needs to be low in carbs as well. Carbs come from many things including sugar. Now everyone needs a certain amount of carbs, but too much is not always a good thing. So I like that by using Splenda sugar I'm not adding more carbs into my diet. Splenda is basically sucralose and has no known side-effects so you get a real sugar taste without all the calories or carbs.
For my gluten free recipes I chose a couple that I knew would be easy to recreate. I'm not an expert cook or baker, so easy and simple is a plus for me. The first thing I decided to make was banana bread! Banana bread is something that I've made from scratch many times before, but using regular flour which now is not possible. So I took a recipe for all purpose gluten flour from Wheat Belly that included almond flour, coconut flour, and golden flaxseed. I had to totally wing it with everything else, but one thing I did do was substitute regular sugar with Splenda's Baking Blend. I don't normally cook with "fake" sugars because they have that gross fake sugar taste. You don't get that with Splenda at all. I would share the recipe but honestly there isn't one. I totally winged it and it came out awesome, the best thing is no weird sugar aftertaste!

The second thing I made was breakfast cheesecake, umm yes! I think the second time around I'll definitely make the strawberry glaze the cookbook mentioned because it just wasn't sweet enough for my liking. It still tasted great and the kids were like, "Can we have this for breakfast all the time?" Obviously not, but it's such a great weekend breakfast treat and so easy to make. It doesn't take long at all, only 30 minutes from start to finish. I did make little mistakes here and there while making it though, like I forgot to whip the ricotta cheese mixture before adding the egg whites. But that's what learning is all about, trial and error and finding out what works best for you. Splenda worked perfect in this recipe and again no gross weird after taste that comes with some sugar substitutes. Now one thing I can say is don't get too close when you're measuring Splenda for a recipe because a puff of Splenda dust wafted up and surprised me a bit. Or maybe that's just something I was lucky enough to experience.

I'm so glad that Crowdtap and Splenda gave me a chance to try out these Splenda sugars. While the breakfast cheesecake was just for my family, I did go and make more banana bread to share with my family. My younger brother also has intestinal issues and has to be very careful with what he eats. So he definitely enjoyed all the sweets that I made.
I haven't gotten a chance to try out the Splenda brown sugar, but I will be using it for some gluten free chocolate chip cookies real soon. I love the caramel taste that I get from brown sugar.

Here's a simple smoothie recipe you can make using Splenda sugar, strawberries, banana, and some kefir. Of course you could use anything else if you don't like kefir, but its super healthy for you.

Strawberry Banana Kefir Smoothie
1 large banana - I like to freeze mine, but that's just a preference
1 cup frozen strawberries or fresh
1 cup kefir - any type or use regular milk, juice, soy
Splenda sugar to taste - this is totally optional, but I do add a little just to add some sweetness if my strawberries are more tart than sweet.

Stick it all in a blender until smooth and enjoy a nice healthy drink for breakfast - or any part of the day.

Disclaimer: I received all three Splenda products for the sole purpose of trying it in my own home in return for an honest review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given.

Purex PowerShot Review & Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 07 Feb 2015 16:57:00 +0000

I got a chance to try out the new Purex PowerShot laundry detergent through the Purex Insiders
program. I already love and use Purex so I knew the quality was going to be there. Once I got the box I proceeded to teat that sucker open! I looked at the bottle and thought, huh this looks a little weird. I was a little bit skeptic that it would actually work and that more detergent wouldn't be able to be poured out; man was I surprised! I tilted the bottle over because tearing off the plastic seal and looked at the detergent fill into this little "bowl" and it stayed there. Huh, well time to put it to real work!

Now I have 4 very messy active kids so I need something that is going to get there clothes clean and leave them smelling great. Purex PowerShot is concentrated so you don't have to use a lot in order to get the same results as other laundry detergents. The scent I got to try was Mountain Breeze which has just a hint of floral, but a lot of a clean crisp scent.

Now that the kids are teenagers and can start washing clothes themselves, I've handed the torch - or laundry detergent over to them. They're good about sorting their clothes, making sure not to overload the washer, but they over pour! I found if I let them pour their own laundry detergent then the bottle that should last for 35 loads ends up lasting for like 20. They think they need to fill up the laundry detergent cap completely. It seems that they're hard of hearing because no matter how many times I explain that they don't need a lot, they still overpour. Well thankfully the new PowerShot does it all for them! All they have to do is open it up and flip it to start pouring, and then it stops! Seriously its measured out in the perfect sized dose for child and adult alike. No more wasting laundry detergent thinking you need a whole lot to clean a load. It really does work too, even though I was skeptic, it totally worked! Now I can be at ease when the kids do their laundry because I know they won't be wasting any of it. Not only do they not waste the laundry detergent, but it saves me money in the long run.

The Purex PowerShot isn't available just yet so you need to keep an eye out for it in stores. It's really great for those with teenagers or absent minded hubbies/partners that go a little detergent crazy. The PowerShot will be offered in two scents: Mountain Breeze and Linen & Lillies. I can't really mention price, but because Purex is so affordable I can't see this costing an arm and a leg. It will come in three different sizes: 35oz, 45oz, and 90oz. If you have a heavily soiled load then using two "doses" is recommended.

Right now Purex is running a really nice giveaway promotion where you could win a washer and dryer set, or a bottle of the new Purex PowerShot. ENTER HERE

As for my giveaway I will be giving two lucky winners a chance to win a coupon for their own FREE bottle of Purex PowerShot for when it hits the store shelves. The coupon is good until 12/31/2015 so you have a ton of time to find it in a store near you.

Just enter into the rafflecopter below and you could be a lucky winner of a new awesome product!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclaimer: I received this free product and coupons for the sole purpose of trying it out in my home. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

Campbell's Tasters Mission Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 21:16:00 +0000

I was chosen to try out some great new and wonderful products from Campbell's through Crowdtap. I was amazed at the the huge selection of products and at how many different things I'd be able to make. All individual reviews can be seen just by clicking on the links below.

Included in the mission kit was:

a Campbell's tote bag
a small cutting board
wooden spoon
plastic shaker (sadly it didn't make it through shipping and was cracked)
a coupon book
one carton of Swanson Cream Starter
one pouch of Campbells Skillet Sauce Creamy Parmesan Chicken
one Campbell's Slow Kettle Style Roasted Chicken Noodle Soup
one can Campbell's Beer n Cheese with Beer and Bacon
one jar of Prego Light Alfredo Sauce (didn't get photos so used Homestyle Alfredo Sauce)
one can of Campbell's Creamy Poblano & Queso
one Spaghetti O's Micros
one carton Campbell's Soups For Easy Cooking Savory Portobello Mushroom (used Mexican Style Tomato)

Extra Review: Campbell's Slow Cooker Sauce (bought using coupon included in kit)

As you can see there was a huge amount of great products to try out which lead me to try out other products as well. Also included was a coupon to try out new varities of V8, but sadly couldn't find it in stores. The V8 varieties are Sea Salt & Clam, Spicy Mango, and Mint & Lime - I really wanted to try out the Mint and Lime and use it as part of a marinade. It had a great recipe for a marinade that I know would taste fantastic! Also I had used the Prego Light Alfredo sauce and totally forgot to take photos. When I went to the store I found that I couldn't find it! I had to substitute regular Homestyle Alfredo Sauce for my review, which is just as tasty. In the case for the Soups For Easy Cooking I opted to save the one that I got in the kit and chose to use the Mexican Style Tomato. It was totally awesome and something totally new! I don't think I would have ever tried it out if not for the mission kit.

I really enjoyed all the products that I used from the kit. They were a little high in sodium content at times, but with a little work I was able to really have fun with them. However, I didn't try the Beer N Cheese soup because it includes bacon and I just can't eat bacon. I passed it to my mom's boyfriend who practically inhaled it before I could take photos of it. He said it was alright, but not the best he has had from Campbell's soup. He mentioned a slight after taste that wasn't too bad so he didn't stop eating it. He did say he would try it again, so I guess he liked it enough.

Campbell's has been in my family for years and will definitely continue to be a staple. Nothing makes you feel better when you're sick than a nice warm bowl of Campbell's Chicken Noodle Soup. V8 juices are tasty in smoothies or just by themselves and are healthier than some other drinks. The new skillet sauces, slow cooker sauces, etc can make your life easier and your stomach full.

Disclaimer: I received all products herein for FREE in return for my honest reviews. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given. If you'd like to try new products such as these then sign up for Crowdtap.

Campbells Condensed Soup Review Creamy Poblano & Queso

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 21:10:00 +0000

Campbell's Condensed soups aren't just supposed to be thrown in a pan or in a bowl to be served just as it is. Some soups can be used in delicious recipes to spice up your regular menu. I can honestly say the only condensed soups I got were cans of chicken noodle soup. Everyone knows that nothing makes you feel better than some Campbells Chicken Noodle so when I received this can of Creamy Poblano & Queso in my kit I was a bit lost.

Thankfully I wasn't lost for long because Campbells has a great recipe for a jazzed up macaroni and cheese. The Creamy Poblano Mac N Cheese is so easy and doesn't require a lot of ingredients. The best thing about it is it's totally customizable so you can add different ingredients or leave some out and still have a great tasting dish in the end.

Creamy Poblano Mac & Cheese:

What You'll Need
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup medium tomato, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1/8 teaspoon salt and ground black pepper
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) Campbell’s® Condensed Creamy Poblano & Queso Soup
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded Cheddar Jack cheese (about 4 ounces)
8 ounces (1/2 of a 1-pound package) elbow macaroni, cooked and drained
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

How to Make It:

Heat the butter in a 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and pepper and cook for 5 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring occasionally.

Add the tomato and garlic to the saucepan and cook and stir for 1 minute. Season with the salt and black pepper.
Stir in the soup and milk and heat to a boil. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the cheese and stir until melted. Stir in the macaroni. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

I modified the ingredients list quite a bit, but that's because I was using whatever I had in the house. It still came out super delish and I will definitely be making this again. I wish there were more recipes using this soup though, so hopefully I can use it for more than just mac and cheese.

The actual flavor of the soup was actually really light tasting. It didn't have any spiciness to it, and actually wasn't overly cheesy either. It was pretty mellow and had nice chunks of poblano mixed in it. All the kids really loved it, even though it was totally DIFFERENT. Score! So if you're looking for a great addition to your regular boring meals, then try out the poblano mac n cheese! You're family and their stomachs will thank you.

Disclaimer: I received this can for FREE through Crowdtap for the sole purpose of reviewing. It was included in the Campbells Tasters kit. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

Campbells Slow Cooker Review Mexican Red Chile Taco

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 20:54:00 +0000

While this wasn't included in the Campbell's Tasters Crowdtap kit. I did happen to find it because of it. While I was there looking for another package of the Creamy Parmesan Chicken Skillet Sauce, I saw this and couldn't pass it up.

I mean what is not to love about tacos!? We eat tacos all the time, but they can get a little boring. The same seasoning, same toppings, just the same ole thing every time. This gave me a chance to try out something new without having to worry about messing it up. It's so easy just follow the directions on the back and you end up with a delicious meal!

First I used pork shoulder roast instead of beef. We don't eat much red meat so I knew I'd be using either pork or chicken. I got a medium sized pork shoulder roast, just enough to fit into the slow cooker. I opened up the package and dumped all the sauce on right on top. Looking at it as first I wasn't sure it would be juicy enough, but I went with it.

The sauce is made with onions, vinegar, and a blend of peppers, that makes this sauce super tasty! It smelled so good throughout the house as it the pork slowly cooked and turned the thin sauce into a juicy delicious sauce.

After I let the pork sit for a little bit I started the process of pulling it apart. It was so easy because the pork was super tender that I hardly had to touch it at all. I used a bone in shoulder roast and I easily just pulled the bone straight out and it was clean. The pork was moist and juicy and after a couple of taste tests - I knew it was ready.

Because the meat had tons of flavor already I didn't want to add to much to it that would take away from that. I used corn tortillas to cut down on salt and calories and added some tasty avocados to round it out. I think if anything I would have added some fresh thinly sliced onions because I know it would have went really well together.

There are other varities of slow cooker sauces such as:
Moroccan Spiced Stew
Sweet Korean BBQ
Apple Bourbon BBQ
Tavern Style Pot Roast
Hawaiian Luau Pork

You should try these out for yourselves and see how easy and tasty they really are. One of the best things, other than them being easy to use, is that they're pretty affordable. You can find all varieties at most grocery and bigbox stores.

Disclaimer: I paid for this product myself using a coupon received from the Crowdtap Campbell's mission. All opinions are my own and no compensation was given.

Campbells Skillet Sauce Review Creamy Parmesan

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 20:13:00 +0000

In my kit I received a package of Creamy Parmesan Chicken Campbell's Skillet Sauce. Each package serves four people and with there being 8 of us, another package was definitely needed. Thankfully the price was really affordable so I didn't break my food budget. I used the extra $1.00/1 coupon I received in my coupon book and put it to good use! I grabbed some boneless, skinless chicken, some green onions, and I was ready to go.

The package was really easy to open and contained more sauce than I thought. It's so simple all you have to do is open it up and pour it on top of your cooked chicken. You can bake, broil, boil, or grill your chicken before hand. You don't even need pasta, but I definitely felt like it needed some some so I made some veggie rotini. The sauce was creamy and rich, and thankfully not salty tasting. Since I've started cutting down on my salt intake I've noticed that things that aren't salty to the family, are salty for me. With that I was sure that I wouldn't be able to stomach this because sadly cheese is salty.

The recipe is practically not needed, but here it is anyway just in case.

Creamy Parmesan Chicken

What You Need

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 1/2" pieces

3 Simple Steps

Heat oil in skillet over medium-high heat.
Add chicken and cook until browned.
Stir in sauce and heat to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover and cook 5 min. or until chicken is cooked through.

Campbell's Skillet Sauces come in 7 different varities including:

Creamy Parmesan Chicken
Sweet & Sour Chicken
Chicken Marsala
Sesame Chicken
Thai Curry Chicken
Bacon Cheddar Beef
Shrimp Scampi

All of them only require a small amount of ingredients and only 3 simple steps to make the meal. Just because it's simply and easy, doesn't mean you aren't getting quality. From the ones I've tried (shrimp scampi, creamy parmesan, and sweet & sour), you get a ton of flavor for a really affordable price.

Disclaimer: I received the product for FREE in return for my honest review from Crowdtap and Campbell's. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

Swanson Cream Starter Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 07 Jan 2015 15:52:00 +0000

Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes

made with Swanson Cream Starter

So part of my Crowdtap #DiscoverCampbells mission kit I received a carton of Swanson's Cream Starter. I was sort of at a loss at what to make because I've never used this type of cream before. I am not a fan of clam chowder - or any chowder for that matter, so I went online. I went to CampbellsKitchen.com and looked up some recipes using the Swanson Cream Starter. I found the website easy to navigate, but sadly not many recipes utilizing the cream starter. I opted for the very simple and very safe: Creamy Garlic Mashed Potatoes. Who doesn't love mashed potatoes? They're certainly a main staple in my household so I knew they would go over well.

The recipe is as follows -
Ingredients:

2 pounds Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes (about 5 cups)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup Swanson® Cream Starter Traditional or 25% Reduced Fat or Swanson® Cream Starter 25% Reduced Fat
2 tablespoons butter, softened

Instructions

Place the potatoes and garlic into a 3-quart saucepan. Add water to cover.
Heat over medium-high heat to a boil. Cook for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender. Drain the potato mixture well in a colander. Return the potato mixture to the saucepan.
Mash the potatoes. Stir in the cream starter and butter. Season with salt and black pepper.

This recipe is so simple that I know the kids could make this themselves. This is so simple that even the person with the worst cooking skills ever couldn't really mess this up. I made some baked meatballs with gravy and some corn to finish off the meal.

The carton was easy to open and easy to hold, so if you have issues with arthritis it won't give you any problems. The cream itself smelled pretty good, the thickness was good, and tasted good as well. I did get a little taste of the cream before I put it in the mashed potatoes. At that point there was still time to back out if I didn't like the smell or taste. The kids and I are those kinds of eaters - if it doesn't smell or look good, we ain't eating it.

The potatoes came out really good, really creamy and smooth. The only thing I'd do different would be to scale back the garlic as it was just too intense a flavor for the kids. They still ate it and said it was good, but just that it was too garlicky. I liked it and thought it was fine, so I would add half the amount of garlic first and then go from there.

Overall the cream starter is super easy to use and I'm looking forward to using it in many more different recipes. If you only buy it for mashed potatoes though, it'll be totally worth it, much creamier than when using milk.

Disclaimer: I received this product for FREE with the sole purpose of trying it out in my home. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given.

Easy Off Oven Cleaner Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 16:16:00 +0000

gross roasting/broiler pan

I was sent a $5 Walmart Gift Card by Smiley360 in order to do this review. I had a choice between the different Easy Off Oven Cleaner varieties: Fume Free Trigger, Fume Free Spray, Heavy Duty, BBQ Grill Cleaner, and Cooktop Cleaner.

My father pretty much lives alone so he cooks and cleans for himself. I know there are things that get neglected, one being the oven, so I decided I'd try and clean it for him. Well I don't know what I got myself into because wow, that oven was a mess! But before all this I had to head to Wal-Mart and buy some Easy-Off to try out. The $5 gift card was more than enough to cover the product and taxes. I can honestly say I don't normally shop at Wal-Mart. The lines are always horrendous and most times the cashiers are hard to work with. This is not a generalization of all Wal'Mart shopping, this is just about my own area store that I normally avoid like the plague.

Like I mentioned above there are 5 different varieties to choose from and Wal-Mart had all of them available. The first two are the same product just in different packages. Easy Off Fume Free comes in a trigger spray and regular can spray. This type of Easy-Off is better for every day use so your oven doesn't get bad enough for the Heavy Duty cleaner. The trigger spray can be used in more ways than the can spray and doesn't need gloves, but both are fume free and leave a light lemon scent in the air. The BBQ cleaner is obviously made specifically for your grill, and would be a must for summer time grilling. It is safe to use on all types of grills as well as stainless steal, and aluminum/non-chrome pots and pans. The cooktop cleaner won't scratch or leave a residue on your cooktop, and is safe for all cooktops. It also can be used on glass-ceramic, enamel, stainless steel and chrome.

inside back of oven, before and after

The last is Heavy Duty which is obviously for those really bad messes that you need a little oomph to clean up. Because it seemed like my dad's oven had never been cleaned I opted for this choice. Gloves are a definite must and I advise you to open up a window or door when you use it. Even with the door open the fumes were a bit intense. I can say I never really knew what the roast/broiling pan was. I knew there was a little handle at the bottom of the stove and some weird looking grill thing down there. By the way, that grill thing was filthy! It must had had years worth of whatever built up on it. I hadn't realized it was supposed to be blue-gray until I started cleaning it. One thing that wasn't mentioned is the time needed to clean anything other than your oven. I was left to estimate the time needed to clean the broiler pan. I sprayed it on and left it for 5 minutes and scrubbed it. I noticed it was still dirty so sprayed it again and left it for another 5 minutes. The results are fantastic, not really surprising, and so now I moved onto the oven. Again I can not stress the need for ventilation when using this. If you're oven is as filthy as my dad's was be prepared to use a lot of spray. Obviously that means you are going to have quite a bit of fumes in the air so take care so you don't breath it in. I covered my face while spraying the oven down and it was still pretty intense.

Oven door, before and after

It says on the can that all you need is 5 minutes for it to get to cleaning. Well I know that oven is going to need more than just 5 minutes. I feel like a horrible daughter knowing that my dad was essentially cooking in a death trap. That oven looks one step away from igniting on all the grease and going up in a big ball of flames. So this review couldn't come at a more better time for me. I knew going into this I'd be in for the long haul. I also wondered why the men in my family can't seem to find time to clean their ovens. My brother's oven is not as bad, but certainly was getting worse before I went by to clean it. I thought it would be a hard job, but thankfully with Easy-Off it was just that - easy! I sprayed the oven and left it to sit overnight. The next day I got a little hot water and started scrubbing. I was amazed at how dirty the oven was, and how easily the built up grease was coming off. I changed the water a few times and kept at it. The oven was looking great! There were just a few spots that had some build up still, but I can spray those down at a later time.

Overall, I'm totally impressed with Easy-Off Oven Cleaner. It definitely will continue to be used in my household and my father's house as well. I'm actually going back to get the fume free to keep at both houses to use on a regular basis. Easy-Off Oven Cleaners are all under $5.00 in my area and are totally worth every penny!

Disclaimer: I was sent a $5 gift card to Wal-Mart to buy this product for free. I was provided it by Smiley360 and Easy-Off for this review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given.

Wet Ones Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 24 Nov 2014 07:05:00 +0000

I was chosen by Smiley360 to do a review on Wet Ones Hand Wipes. They sent me an awesome kit that included a 24ct box of single hand wipes - perfect for on the go, a travel pack of 15 wipes, and a tub of 40 wipes all in the limited editions Citrus Scent. I was also sent some coupons to share with family and friends so they could try out Wet Ones for themselves. With so many kiddos in my family those coupons were definitely appreciated! I of course shared some wipes with my brothers so they could try them out with their little ones.

If you'd like a chance to try out some great products for yourself and your family then check out Smiley360 - Click Here. It's a great program that puts you in touch with a lot of great brands waiting to hear your opinion.

My Review:

I grabbed the box of single hand wipes and started stuffing them into my kiddos bags. I've seen how they eat at home, I can only imagine how messy they get at school. I like that they're easy to open, even for the youngest. The hand wipes are really large, larger than other hand wipes I've used. They were really moist and didn't dry out too quickly. They were able to clean up the messiest of faces, especially after eating one of my chocolate cupcakes. I really didn't want to share, but sharing is caring - right? Kids will always get messy, so it's great to have these single packs handy if you don't want to carry the tub around. The wipe has a nice soft citrus scent to it, not very strong at all. It also didn't dry out my skin, so I know it was gentle on his. It doesn't have a huge alcohol type smell to it either, like some other wipes tend to do.

Next was the tub which took a little work. I found it a little difficult to get the wipe into the top part. Once I threaded it through I then had a problem of keeping it to pull the next one up with the one I was going to use. Not sure if that makes sense to everyone, but bear with me. After several attempts I finally got it working. I just used the extra wipes to clean up the counters and tables so they wouldn't go completely to waste. You probably won't have as much trouble as I did, I'm sure I was doing it incorrectly. Either way these wipes were more like the size of baby wipes. They had the same scent as the single packs and the larger pack. I love these tubs and find them super handy when all you have is one hand to use. Yea, try chasing a one year old around trying to wipe his face when he absolutely wants none of it. Good luck!

Wet Ones Hand wipes are anti-bacterial so they kill 99.99% of bacteria, wipe away grime, and get nice soft hands. They use aloe so that way you hands stay nice and soft and don't get all dried out. They're hypoallergenic as well so they're pretty gentle on your hands. Have a kiddo with sensitive skin? No problem! They also make a special Sensitive Skin wipe that is extra gentle. They are hypoallergenic, alcohol- and fragrance-free! All varieties of Wet Ones are readily available at most grocery and big box stores and are pretty affordable. So head to your local store and find them for yourself - you'll be happy with the results.

Disclaimer: I received this mission kit from Smiley360 for the sole purpose of doing this review. All products contained in this post were given to me for FREE in return of an honest review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

Zep Cleaning Products

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 21 Nov 2014 02:28:00 +0000

I received 3 bottles of All-Around Cleaner and Degreaser, and 2 bottles of Quick Clean Disinfectant from Zep and Crowdtap. I shared some bottles with my brothers and kept one of each for myself.

So what's so different about Zep cleaning products?
Well Zep is basically commercial strength products that you can easily use in your home. But as strong as it is, there aren't any harsh chemical smells, and it didn't kill my hands when I used them without gloves on. They have every type of cleaning product imaginable and all at a really affordable price. Whether you want products that are for a specific area of your home, or an all purpose cleaner - they have it all.

All Around Oxy Cleaner and Degreaser

What I love most about this cleaner is that there are no harmful fumes. No gross smells choking you, preventing you from breathing. It has a very light scent to it, much like most other cleaning products. I tried to clean different areas of my home so I could get a feel for what it could do. I started with the stove, which I must admit has seen better days. Lately I hadn't really had the time to clean it and well, it definitely showed. Everyone cooks, but no one cleans and well these kiddos love to leave a mess behind. As long as they don't have to clean it they're dirtying it up. Something had obviously overflowed and had now turned into a burned and charred mess. I'm not sure if the cleaner wasn't strong enough, or the greasy whatever had just fuzed into the stove and was now not going to come off. I was committed though and tried hard to win the battle, but in the end the mess won. I'm sure with another round of Zep will finish it off, but for today it'll stay. Hey don't judge me for my messy stove okay? I've got 5 kiddos here and even the grown ups look at the mess and leave it for the next person. Overall, I think this cleaner got a 4 out of 5 rating for me. It did wonderfully with the smaller messes, but for the larger more involved messes - well I just needed more oomph.

Quick Clean Disinfectant
How many of us have Lysol in our households, I'm sure a great number of us. I do have Lysol, but honestly no matter what scent there always tends to be a chemical smell. The Zep Quick Clean Disinfectant has a light smell that deodorizes while it kills 99.9% of bacteria. With 5 kids the bathroom was definitely where I was taking this bad boy. The restroom can get so gross with 4boys in the house so I wiped down practically every surface in there. The main areas - the sink and toilet were first. There was basically no real smell that I could notice, just clean. I just sprayed it and let it air dry. I did wipe certain areas afterwards though so no spots could be seen. For this I give it a 4.5 out of 5, only because you have to wipe afterwards if food is coming into contact with the surface you just sprayed. For me it seems a little counter productive when I have to wipe what I just disinfected.

Overall I think Zep products are definitely worth a try and you should add some to your household products. You can buy Zep products at most Walmarts and other stores, just check their website to see what stores are included. I'll be trying out other Zep products in the future especially the Calcium, Lime, and Rust Remover because down south here in Texas we have some really hard water.

Disclaimer: I received the 5 bottles of product from Zep and Crowdtap for the sole purpose of reviewing them. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received.

Hidden Valley Ranch Fest

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 20 Nov 2014 21:48:00 +0000

I was super duper excited to be chosen for the 2nd Annual Hidden Valley Ranch Fest courtesy of Crowdtap. I received some great stuff from them including: a fantastic green shirt,recipes, cute little dipping bowls, packs of seasoning/dressing mix, coupons for Hidden Valley Ranch, and a bottle of ranch dressing.

The bowls are super cute and easy to place on your plates. They're really convenient, especially for my family who have a lot of people who don't really like dressing touching their food. The recipes were in both English and Spanish which was perfect for sharing with some of my family members that don't read English well.

I had a party planned, but sadly the weather didn't want to cooperate so I just handed out the dressing mixes along with some bowls, recipes, and coupons to some family and friends. They all tried making the potatoes with ranch because I mentioned how awesome they were. Seriously whether you use instant or "real" potatoes, russet or red, you need to get some ranch taters in your life! Below is the recipe I got off of the Hidden Valley Ranch website, feel free to use it as you wish. I omitted certain ingredients, but they still came out fantastic.

Original Ranch Mashed Potatoes

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
2 pounds peeled Idaho potatoes chopped
2 tablespoons Hidden Valley® Original Ranch Salad® Dressing & Seasoning Mix
3 tablespoons butter softened
salt to taste
⅓ cup half-and-half
pepper to taste

Directions:
Place potatoes in large pan with water over high heat and boil until tender but still firm, about 15–20 minutes. Heat butter, half-and-half and peppers in saucepan over low heat until combined. Drain potatoes and place in mixer with butter sauce. Add dressing mix and process until smooth. Season with salt and pepper.

I cheated and used instant Idahoan Potatoes for the mashed potatoes and left out the chipotle peppers because I'm not a fan. The mashed potatoes came out super flavorful and I'll definitely be using real potatoes next time.

I also used the seasoning on my country style pork ribs. I took the package and slightly sprinkled over top and then rubbed it into the pork. I let it sit for about 20 minutes before putting it to cook. Once it was almost done I then took a little bbq sauce and just basted the ribs with it. If you've never had bbq chicken or ribs with ranch dressing before, you're definitely missing out! As you can see below the kids absolutely loved it and were wanting seconds, sadly there wasn't any more left and they asked me to make it again next time.

So that meal was two days ago and today, Nov 19, I'm using the ranch dressing mix to season my drumsticks and russet potatoes. I just sprinkled 2 tbsps onto the potatoes first and mixed them really well. I dumped them into a pan and proceeded to coat the chicken. I set the temp at 375 as that's normally what chicken recipes ask for. I've honestly never made this before so hopefully it comes out delish.

My nephew had a long practice so wasn't able to get a picture of the monsters eating. They practically inhaled everything without breathing, I don't know how they do it. They're like teenage tasmanian devils, all that was left was some chicken bones and happy kids.

I loved Hidden Valley Ranch before this and I definitely love it more now. I didn't think there were many ways to use ranch other than on top of a salad, or as a dip for buffalo wings. It's much more versatile and I'll definitely be adding ranch to my spice rack.

Disclaimer: I received the products shown above for the sole purpose of doing a review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received. If you would like to try out great products, then join Crowdtap.

Helluva Good Product Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:48:00 +0000

I was chosen by BzzAgent to try out Helluva Good dips, and I am so happy I was. Now I'm quite picky when it comes to dips. I first only ate Borden Sour Cream, then they changed the recipe or something because it just wasn't the same. So I tried out the store brand - HEB sour cream and loved it. I hadn't thought to try out other brands because sometimes if it isn't broke, why fix it, right? So because of my love for my sour cream, I was a little wary when it came to try out Helluva Good Sour Cream.

Now Helluva Good just doesn't offer sour cream, the offer a total of 8 sour cream dips. My store sadly only has 3 of there offerings and I wanted to be safe for my first try so I got French Onion.

The flavors offered by Helluva Good are:

BACON HORSERADISH DIP
BODACIOUS® ONION DIP
BUFFALO WING DIP
BUTTERMILK RANCH DIP
FRENCH ONION DIP
JALAPEÑO CHEDDAR DIP
WHITE CHEDDAR & BACON DIP
LIMITED EDITION ROASTED GARLIC & CARAMELIZED ONION

Now for French Onion dip it's pretty much the same as other french onion dips, right? Well no, not all french onion dips are created equal. Helluva Good does a helluva job of making some good dip. While I couldn't "go to town" on it, I was able to try it out and it was delish! Sadly, I'm not able to eat much dip because of the sodium levels, but the 2 tsbp I did try were great. The dip is a thick, but creamy and you can really taste the pieces of onion in it. This dip would definitely go great with some baby carrots, celery, and some broccoli - um yum!

The price is pretty much on par with the other major brands. It isn't cheaper than my store brand though, but a splurge now and then is okay. The kids ate some dip with the chips and sandwiches for dinner and couldn't get enough of it.

I am looking forward to going back and getting the jalapeno cheddar dip, because who doesn't like some queso dip! I am planning on adding some diced tomatoes to it for some extra flair. Maybe put it on some tostadas or tacos to give my dinner an extra kick.

Helluva Good offers other products as well such as: condiments, cheese, and even greek style yogurt. I'll definitely keep an eye out on those products, because I'd love to try out some Helluva Good cheese!

So if you're looking for some dip to add some flavor to your next meal or party - then go out and get some now. You definitely won't regret it and your family and friends will love you.

Disclaimer: I was sent a coupon for free product in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was received. #GotItFree

Chapstick Dual-End Hydration Lock Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:26:00 +0000

I was super lucky to be chosen for this great Smiley360 mission. Chapstick came out with a great new product - dual chapsticks! Why deal with having two different chapsticks when you can have just one.

The Dual Ended Hydration Lock Chapstick is for day and night to give you 24hr care. The day end has a built in sunscreen of SPF12 to make sure your lips don't shrivel up in the sun. While the night end works all night to replenish moisture and soften your lips.

They obviously are both so easy to use and even with the dual ends it isn't heavy and bulky. You don't need a lot of product from either end to do the job. One quick swipe and you're good to go, and feel free to reapply as much as you like during the day. I did notice a difference in how smooth and supple my lips looked. Yea, I said supple, because you're lips will look and feel fantastic!

So yea, there are obviously many chapsticks that do the same thing, the major upside is that it's all in one. Everyone loves convenience, and who doesn't need more space in their purse. With the dual end you can have two different chapsticks all in one and you won't have to dig around the bottom of your purse (aka: the bottomless pit) to find the chapstick you want. Because I know you have more than one chapstick in there.

There really isn't any flavor on/in the chapstick. Not that it really needs it, but I'd love a cherry flavor. Seriously, that stuff is amazing, not that I sit there and eat it.

So if you're looking for a chapstick that does it all, then you need to run out and get Chapsticks Dual Ended Hydration Lock, your lips will thank you.

Disclaimer: I was sent this product for the sole purpose of giving my honest review. All opinions are my own and no further compensation was given.

Tony's Pizzeria Pizza Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 20 Oct 2014 22:13:00 +0000

I was chosen to try out Tony's Pizzas through BzzAgent, umm yay! So I have tried Tony's pizza before, but honestly it's been a very long time since I've done that. With having such a large family of 5 teens I can't get by with just one or two pizzas. So I was excited to plan a pizza night for all the kids to try out the different varities of pizza Tony's offer. Tony's Pizza offers 8 pizzeria style varieties: pepperoni pizza, sausage & pepperoni, cheese, supreme, meat trio, sausage, bascon cheeseburger, and half pepperoni - half cheese.

My kiddos are strictly meat eaters so I chose: pepperoni, meat trio, sausage & pepperoni, and cheese for me. I went with the cheese pizza for myself to help cut down on some of the sodium. I'm really trying hard to limit my daily sodium intake and pizza isn't really friendly to that diet. Tony's Cheese pizza has 25% or 600mg of sodium. I had to be really strict with my food earlier in the day, but I stayed within my limit. Now that 600mg is for 1/3 of the pizza and couple with some salad I was able to get a taste of some great pizza and not feel too bad at the end of the day.

The kids had meat trio, pepperoni, and sausage & pepperoni to choose from. The lucky ducks were able to sample a little from each pizza. I really tried to get a picture of them eating, but I swear they inhaled the pizza like that was the first food they had seen in years. I was busy cutting up the pizzas as they came out the oven and before I knew it, it was all gone. I was able to include some tasty looking pictures of the pizza so enjoy!

Pepperoni pizza has a little sodium in it at 650mg, 330 calories, and 12g of protein. The pepperoni's are a good size and have a great flavor.

Sausage & Pepperoni has 710mg of sodium, 350 calories, and 12g of protein. The same pepperoni is used, full slices, along with sausage crumbles. The sausage was a little on the small size, but it had great seasoning making it really tasty. I was a tie with regular pepperoni for second place.

Tony's Meat Trio has the same amount of sodium as the sausage and pepperoni but has 360 calories and 13g of protein. It has the same slice pepperoni, sausage crumbles, and small diced ham. I wish the ham was a bit bigger but you could still taste that it was ham.

All of the pizzas came with a thinner, crunchy, and crispy crust. I absolutely love thin and crispy pizzas so this was a super duper plus for me. All the pizzas cooked up in the same amount of time, but I noticed the cheese pizza didn't need as much as the other pizzas. It was a little too brown, but whatever I'm not hard to please. I thought it still tasted really good and I liked some of the browner, crispy cheese. Of course I love all kinds of cheeses so I'm a little biased. I cooked all of the pizzas straight on the rack, no pan needed, to make sure they would get the crispy crunchy crust I love. You can use a pan for a softer crust if you so wish.

I'm so glad to have found Tony's Pizza again because overall all the pizzas were so tasty and filling. Everyone was happy to be able to try everything. I was happy to not hear any whining about not liking a certain topping. I'll definitely be buying more Tony's pizza in the future and hope they come out with more varities - how about a double pepperoni pizza? Or perhaps a vegetarian style pizza?! Anyway, if you're a meat loving carnivore like my kids, then you'll definitely love Tony's Pizzeria Style Pizza.

Disclaimer: I was sent coupons for a free pizza along with coupons to share with family and friends. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received. #GotItFree

Snuggle Scent Boosters Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 03 Oct 2014 03:14:00 +0000

I'm a member of the Snuggle Bear Den and was sent a full sized package of Scent Boosters to try out for myself in my home. Being the aunt/mother of 5 very active teens is quite a hard job. It's even harder when it comes time to wash all their clothes. From their every day wear to their sports wear, they can be super tough on them. I don't have a lot of money to be spending on detergent, fabric softener, dryer sheets, scent boosters (of any kind), etc but I still want and need my family's clothing to smell good. Especially when you have a football player that sweats a river every game. Eww the smell is terrible and don't get me started on their stinky socks!

Now I've used other brands of scent boosters - both of which can be pretty expensive, and I noticed something. I had to put more in the wash than it recommended. So in reality I wasn't getting all the bang for my buck. I was using up to a full capful more than I was "supposed" to. That's wasteful and not really efficient. When the box arrived with my Snuggle Scent Boosters I could smell it outside the box. Seriously that has got to be a strong scent to do that, right? Well yes and no; I'll explain more later.

So I opened up the box and yay, there were my scent boosters in a nice purple bag. I was sent a pack of Lavender Joy and it smelled great. The packs are pretty big and well they're super easy to use. You open up the resealable bag, pop a Scent Booster pack into your washer before you put you're clothing in. You may have to use more than one pack if you have a larger washer like me. That's okay though because it ends up being one pack per load. They are safe for all kinds of washers - regular and HE. Also they're safe for all types of clothing even activewear and sleepwear. Each bag comes with 20 loads for a regular washer or 10 loads for a larger washer. They cost around $3.97 for a 20 pack and $6.97 for a 56 pack, obviously your prices will vary. I think that's pretty on par with other scent boosters.

The scent itself is pretty intense when you first take your laundry out of the washer. You don't even need to add a dryer sheet because it's got enough scent and is soft enough to go without it. I do have a dryer bar because I hate static cling, but I don't think it adds or takes away from the scent boosters. I think how long the scent lasts depends on your household. For me I have kids coming in and out, playing around on the bed, etc. So the scent stays around for about 4-5 days. My aunt who doesn't really have anyone to mess up her bed, etc says the scent lasted more than a week.

But you know, you don't have to use your Snuggle Scent Boosters just for your laundry. My mother smokes, eww I know, so sometimes my clothes doesn't smell as fresh as I'd like. I took a couple of the Scent Booster packs and put them in my drawers, and I put them in a little sachet and hung it in my closet. This way I get that great smell in my room and in my clothes!

Overall, if you're looking for a change from those more expensive scent boosters and want something that really works check out Snuggles Scent Boosters! There are two different scents as of now: Lavender Joy and Blue Iris Bliss, I haven't tried the latter yet but I'm definitely going to. You can totally afford to try these out and hey if you don't like them send the rest to me! I love these things!

Disclaimer: I am a member of the Snuggle Bear Den and was sent this product to review and try out. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.

Vichy Idealia Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 02 Oct 2014 19:57:00 +0000

For the last eight days I have been using Vichy Idealia Life Serum. I was sent some samples for myself as well as for some friends so we could all try it out together. Now I'm pretty wary about stuff

I put on my skin because it's not in the best shape already. I have tried so many products only for them to leave my skin burning and red. So on day one I used my regular cleansers and that was it. I wanted to start off using Vichy Idealia as if I hadn't really used any other products before. So after two more days of just washing with my regular skin cleanser I started my 8 day challenge.

Vichy's Idealia Life Serum is supposed to:

Even & illuminated skin tone
Visibly refined pores
Moisturized & refreshed skin
Youthful-looking complexion

Vichy asks you to identify the 4 different factors that effect our skin on a daily basis: environment, diet, uv rays, and stress/lack of sleep. Now I don't know about you but all of those factors effect my skin big time. Living in South Texas we get hot beating down on you sunshine practically every day of the year. That can definitely do a number on anyone's skin. My diet could be better, but hey I'm working on it. I started drinking tons more water, eating way more greens, and a lot less junk food. Stress seems to be my middle name on some days with 4 teens and one preteen in the house. Yea, how do you think I deal with all those hormones?? And last environment - while I don't smoke my mother does and I'm around her a lot, but I think how much could it really affect me, right? So no to the sampling!

Day 1: I again used my regular face cleanser, patted down my face and went for the Vichy Idealia. They came in these super cute little pink pouches. I think there should have been more info on how many times I was to use it. Seeing how there were only eight samples, I assumed it was only once per day. I opened up the small sample sized package, after much effort, and squeezed every little bit of the cream out. First, there wasn't much of a smell - that's a plus. I hate using products on my face that smell weird. It seriously turns me off and takes away from the experience. I followed the directions and smoothed the cream on my face moving outwards towards my hairline. I did feel my skin and it was definitely smoother and more firm after a while. I didn't see any significant different in tone or clarity.

Day 2-5: Went pretty much the same as day 1. I cleansed with my regular cleanser, opened up the package and slathered the cream on. My skin was really smooth and firm, but again no difference in tone or clarity. I started to wonder if I was doing something wrong. While I loved the feel of my skin I was really wanting to see the difference and not just feel it.

I went online and started to read up on Vichy's Idealia Life Serum and saw, "...use Idéalia Life Serum twice daily for 8 days." Ah, so I was supposed to use it twice daily. I wish it had mentioned that in the packaging. So there I was left with only 3 small sample packages left so I just decided to keep using one per day.

Overall, I can definitely feel the difference in my skin's softness and firmness. It still isn't shiny and brilliant like others so I'm a little bummed by that, but I do think with proper continued use I'd see better results. I think it's a great product to add to your collection if you're looking for something new or better. It goes for $44 for 30ML bottle so it's not too pricey, but may not be in everyone's price range. I do think that if you can try it out for yourself, do it!

Disclaimer: I participated in a Sample and Share courtesy of Crowdtap and Vichy. All opinions are my own and no compensation was received.

FulcrumGallery.com Art Piece Review

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 11 Sep 2014 20:38:00 +0000

I was pretty excited when I was approached to review FulcrumGallery.com. I had actually never heard of them at that point, but who doesn't love some paintings to decorate their wall. The website is so easy to navigate and isn't too cluttered. They have their products arranged by room, styles, subjects, etc to make it easy for you to find what you like.

Aside from the thousands of paintings, prints, and mirrors they offer. You can also create your own masterpiece using your own photo. I am not a photographer so I didn't opt for this choice, but I think it's pretty awesome to have those special moments made into paintings. I'm thinking they would make a great gift for some parents and grandparents. The process is so easy too. I think the bigger the image is the better, so don't crop it. I made my image smaller and it wouldn't work because images need to be at least 900x900. Also right now they have a 50% off all "My Pictures" artwork, so for a 16"x16" gallery wrapped print it's only $50.99. That's pretty affordable for something that is of high quality.

Choosing your own print is super easy, but choosing a print from the thousands they offer, not so much. I saw so many images that I liked that I had practically made my choice 4 times before my final decision. They have a print that will match everyone's tastes and preferences. I finally settled on a print that said "Hope" by Grace Pullen. I love the background, it has a beach feeling to it. Just because this isn't your own print doesn't mean you can't customize it to your liking. Fulcrum Gallery let's you choose your frame and mat color. Those two choices can make the same print look totally different depending on the colors you choose. There are 3 other prints in this series: Love, Dream, and Relax. It was super simple to place my order in and I got a confirmation email within minutes. Shipping is standard shipping so it took about a week to get here.

When I got my print it came in a pretty large package. I was a bit confused because I didn't think the print would be that large. Upon opening up the package I saw why it was so big. FulcrumGallery.com makes sure your print will arrive to you safely and not messed up so they pack your print extra carefully. It wasn't too difficult to remove the print from the box, and any extra work was worth the extra packaging. My print was in excellent condition, not one blemish on it. On the back of the print there are two signatures: one for the personal framer, and the other for quality assurance. This means you can rest assured that what you're buying is 100% the best quality. On the back of the frame were two long metal hook type things. I obviously don't know the official name for them so bear with me. I used the one already attached to the back to hang my print. I wish there was perhaps some wiring to hang the print instead so it would be more sturdy. Either way my print looks fantastic on my wall and even with it being by the door, which gets slammed often, it is still hanging straight.

Shipping was on point and everything got here looking exactly as it did online. So I'll definitely be going back to Fulcrum Gallery for some more prints. I'm definitely thinking about getting a personalized print next time for my mom. A canvas print of all her grandchildren would make the best gift! So if you're looking to add some personal touches to your home, then you should definitely check out FulcrumGallery.com. They will have something to suit your tastes and decor in your home, I can pretty much guarantee that.

Disclaimer: I was sent a print of my choice free of charge in return for an honest review. All opinions are 100% my own and no compensation was received. This photo is indeed hanging in my house and looks great on my wall.

Fave All Natural Juice

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 29 Jul 2014 15:00:00 +0000

We are big juice drinkers so I'm always trying to find the next best flavor, and the most nutritional. Nowadays juices are filled with dyes and HFCS which are not good for your body. High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS) is used to sweeten a lot of our beverages and foods. The top of the list of those foods is soda and juices. HFCS is cheaper than real sugar which is why so many companies use it. Most juice drinks, fruit punches, and juice cocktails contain only a small amount of juice and the rest is water and sweeteners.

So why should you choose Fave?
I was sent the three flavors available from Fave to try out with my family. Of course the first thing I did was check the ingredient list. Everyone should definitely get in the habit of doing this if you want to live a healthier life. The makers of Fave Juice have no problem with sharing all the info on their website. Upon reading the ingredients list for all three flavors, you can easily see why I gave them a passing grade. You can actually understand every single word and there are no added dyes! There are only 60 calories per 8 ounce glass and 12g of sugar. That may be a little high, but remember sugar occurs naturally in all fruits and you'll be getting 1 1/2 cup of veggies and 1/4 cup of fruit. What a great way to add some extra veggies and fruits into you and your children's diets.

The first juice we tried was the Tangerine, Orange, and Pineapple - sounds delicious, right? First off because Fave is an all-natural juice product you will get some settling. Don't worry, just shake the bottle up and you're good to go. With this juice the tangerine flavor was off the charts. We like tangerines so this was a good thing, if you're not a fan you may want to pass on this. It was pretty hot during the day so I froze the juice into some pops to give to the kids. As you can see they were a huge hit, very messy, and super tasty. My nephew kept wanting more, and well I can't say no, right?

The second juice we tried was the Strawberry Kiwi. I'll admit I passed on this one as I've tried this pairing in other juices and was not a fan. My kiddos loved it though and it was thirst quencher when they came in from playing outside. They play basketball daily and I hate giving them those sports drinks that are full of salt and HFCS. I would advise against freezing this into a pop though. I tried and well the juice ended up tasting salty, which no one enjoyed.

Last, but not least was the Pomegrante, Blueberry, and Goji. I've never drank anything with goji in it, but blueberry and pomegranate are a fave of mine. I used it in a smoothie and my younger brother used it in a protein shake after his workout. It is sort of tart and not very sweet, but it's still flavorful. I didn't try freezing this juice as I mainly kept it to myself. I kow that's horrible, but I've got to have something to myself, right?

I was super excited when I saw Fave in my area HEB. There they were all three flavors sitting nicely in a row on the the shelf. Of course I had to grab some up because they're super affordable. Less than some of the other juices that aren't as tasty and good as Fave.
Disclaimer: I received all three bottles to try out and review. No further compensation was given and all opinions are my own.

My life with LBL

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 18 Jun 2014 21:45:00 +0000

So I'm going to touch on a very touchy subject for many women out there. Many women over 45 start to experience LBL or light bladder leakage. Now I know its not something that many women will admit, but it's a real problem that effects women all over the world. There happens to be many types of LBL, but the two most common are - stress incontinence and urge continence. Some women happen to be "blessed" with both types. Stress is caused by laughing, coughing, sneezing or even exercise. Urge is when you've lost the ability to fully control your urge to urinate.

What exactly causes LBL?

Physical changes from childbirth, pregnancy, hysterectomy or menopause
Being overweight
Complications from surgery, stroke, or chronic diseases like diabetes, multiple sclerosis (MS) or Parkinson's disease
Bladder or urinary tract infections
Bladder irritants (certain foods and beverages)

My Story:
I'm a lot younger than 45, but many years of holding it in while in schools for fear of going in a public place obviously had a bad effect. Yup all during middle school I would literally hold it until I got home. I always ended my school day with a mad sprint to the house hoping that the front door wouldn't be locked. I only had one accident, but honestly the years of doing this have now made it harder for me to hold it now. It's the most embarrassing feeling in the world sitting there laughing with friends and you feel it. Of course to me it feels like a huge tidal wave swallowing me whole, but really it's just little squirts. Those little squirts always tend to happen when I'm far away from home and my panty drawer. You then have to scurry the closest bathroom to try and remedy things with toilet paper and hope there are some liners in that stupid metal box. Of course there never were any liners or pads in that metal box and the tp never worked. I wold be left feeling uncomfortable all day worrying that there may be some odor. I honestly never bought incontinence pads because those were for old people. I just used regular panty liners and pads which obviously are not made for LBL. So when I got a little email from Crowdtap saying to apply for a new mission I jumped on it.

My friends at Crowdtap sent me a sample of Poise's products. When I first heard of Poise I automatically thought of old ladies and diapers. What I received in my little kit was far from that. I got a sample kit of 3 different liners and 1 pad in a super cute little purple "purse". They threw in some coupons for good measure - it's like they know about my love of coupons.

The kit included:

Microliner Original x1
Microliner Long x1
Liner Long x1
Ultra Thin Pad x1

The Poise Microliner is exactly what I'm looking for when it comes to a liner. Super thin and absorbent without it making me look like I'm wearing a diaper. I wasn't sure it would be long enough for my needs, but it did an okay job. The microliner long was definitely more up to par for me and did the job superbly. But if you're still looking for a little more protection then the long liner is still really thin and will give you even more coverage. The ultra thin pad isn't as thin as some menstraul pads, but definitely thinner than most incontinence pads. It is the same length as the long liner and offers a bit more absorbancy.

All the pads have odor neutralizers, are the thinnest liners in their category, they all feature SAM (super absorbent material) and the price is pretty darn good compared to other brands. I think that's one of the top features I like is that they are affordable. Price is an issue for someone who has three still using menstrual pads and then to have to buy liners for LBL, it's hard on the wallet. So if you're out there and you suffer with LBL rest assure that you aren't the only one. 1 in 3 women suffer from it and Poise is definitely a great liner to help keep you dry and happy.

Want to find out some more information about Poise and LBL then check out their website:HERE

Disclosure:
I received this kit as a part of a sample and share from Crowdtap and Poise. All opinions are my own and no compensation was paid. #LadiesWithPoise

Orajel Single Dose Cold Sore Medication

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Nov 2013 00:20:00 +0000

I was given a chance to try out Orajel Cold Sore medication which includes two single dose treatment vials and one tube of moisturizer. I haven’t had a cold sore, but I can honestly say I didn’t really know what one really was. It wasn’t until one fateful day that a cold sore reared its ugly head and a co-worker screamed, “herpes!” while pointing. I was shocked and appalled, why would she be yelling that, I wasn’t “that type” of girl you know. Well what I had always known as a fever blister was in fact a cold sore. I was told it was just something you got when you were getting really sick. I really had no clue and so when that event happened I went to get informed.

What is a cold sore?
Well first of all just having something appear by your lips does not a cold sore make. I actually didn’t have a cold sore at the time, but a pimple in a unfortunate place. So what exactly is a cold sore? Well they are called fever blisters and are actually groups of small blisters on the lip and around the mouth. It makes the skin red, swollen, and sometimes sore. These blisters may break open and leak clear fluid, which is the moment you have to be extra careful. Most cold sores heal within 2 weeks after scabbing over.

What causes cold sores?
Cold sores are caused by the herpes simplex virus or HSV. There are two types of HSV - 1 and 2. HSV-1 is the virus that cause cold sores while HSV-2 is genital herpes. Apparently both types can cause cold sores so its best to get checked if any appear.

What symptoms should you look for?
Well one obvious symptom to look for is a cold sore. If you’ve been infected you may get pain around you mouth and lips, a fever, sore throat, or swollen glands. Even though most people have these symptoms there are some that never get cold sores or any symptoms. That’s why it’s always get to get periodically checked out by your doctor.

Can cold sores be treated?
While cold sores themselves can be treated you can’t treat the virus itself. Once you have it, it will always be with you for the rest of your life. So the best thing is to try and prevent them.

So how can you prevent cold sores?
Well avoid contact with an infected person, whether its your partner or stranger. Kissing isn’t the only way you can get the virus, sharing anything that an infected person may have used can also spread it.

If you do happen to contract the virus, relax it isn’t the end of the world. Because over 70 percent of adults in America have oral herpes (HSV-1); so you’re not alone.

With Orajel Cold Sore treatment you can cut the healing time and after just one application it starts to heal your cold sore. Also, it’ll take away the pain really quickly if you have any. It’s pretty simple to use, you take one vial, snap it in half, and then gently rub it on your cold sore. You could also just press down on it to
make sure it covers the cold sore completely. It doesn’t burn and the moisturizer you use afterwards help to keep everything from drying out and looking worse.

While it can be a little expensive there are really no other options when it comes to cold sore medication. Most will take weeks and many applications to start the healing. You can find coupons online and sometimes in the newspaper.

Click here for more information: HERE