Flash Memorial Day Fire Pit Giveaway

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May 26 – May 31, 2012

Mom Does Reviews, Mommy and Baby Reviews and Powered by Mom

Bring you the chance to win a Better Homes and Gardens Fire Pit!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received no compensation for this publication. My opinions are my own and may differ from those of your own. Growing Up Gabel is not responsible for sponsor prize shipment.

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Hooray for long weekends! Need an easy dessert?  Here are few of my favorite quick and easy dessert recipes.

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Strawberry Shake

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Key Lime Pie

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Chocolate Chip Cookies

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Peanut Butter Brownie Cups

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Post tags: brownies, Cookies, Ice Cream, pie, strawberry

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a Rafflecopter giveaway

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I saw a few coupons that I printed for this coming long weekend.  We’re planning to grill and cook our way through it so I did a nice shopping trip yesterday.    There are some other coupons (like for condiments) if you need those too that I haven’t highlighted.

I’ve never seen a coupon for a propane cylinder!  But we go through a lot of these all year round so bonus!

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We drink ice tea all summer long so I always look for tea coupons.

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I actually JUST bought Uno! My 5 year old daughter loves playing it! It’s great to have around because all ages can play.

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Cafe Escapes has a chai latte I’ve been dying to try. I’m making a tres leches cake for the weekend this would go perfect with!

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Post tags: coupons, Memorial Day coupons, propane cylinder coupons

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For a lot of moms and kids, summer has officially begun.  I have several friends whose kids are already our of school and even more who are done this week.   Personally, my kids seem to have some kind of  “spring fever” or something because they are driving me crazy! They are usually pretty good about staying busy and entertained, but this week all I’ve been hearing is “can we watch TV?” UGH!

It was time to pull out the craft supplies and set them to work creating.  I was recently sent a fantastic assortment of craft items from Fashionartprojects.com.

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There was more here than I could use in one project so we opted to decorate the laundry bag.  I was actually planning to sew the kids some laundry bags this summer so this worked out perfectly! I let Ella pick out what she wanted to do and she chose to put her name on the bag with the purple flower applique.  I tried to talk her in to “Ella’s Laundry” or something but she would have none of it.

The project took us about 20 minutes and it was super easy.  The directions on the package were clear and easy to follow.  We really love the glitter letters. They are very glittery and super sturdy.

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Fashionartprojects.com offers a lot of different art supplies and they are available at Wal-Mart.  I like what we received so much that I’m planning to go find another bag for our eldest daughter to make with the sports themed set.

So when the kids start getting to you, pull out some crafts and put them to work!

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I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

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We don’t eat a lot of shrimp because it’s pretty expensive.  But a few months ago I found Gulf shrimp on sale at a local market at super great price so I snatched some up.  I’ve been looking for the perfect recipe for it ever since.  We could just eat it as shrimp cocktail, but I wanted to try something new.  So when Ruthie at What’s Cooking With Ruthie, included a Mediterrenean shrimp linguine recipe in a post recently, I knew I had found a use for the shrimp in my freezer.

I made a few changes, of course, to use what I had on hand and to adjust to our preferences.  I added capers in lieu of olives because I always have capers on hand but rarely have olives.  I know, that’s kind of odd but I love capers!  And then the feta I was going to use was moldy so I substituted Parmesan instead.  Lastly, I was out of linguine so I used spaghetti.  I also changed the order of cooking to give the onions and peppers more time to soften and so as not to overcook the shrimp. Use the recipe as a guide and create a super delicious dish that your family will love.

This dish is superb! It’s worth buying some shrimp just to make it.  It totally won my husband’s heart so I’m sure we’ll be making it often.

Shrimp Linguine

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Prep time: 15 mins

Cook time: 15 mins

Total time: 30 mins

Serves: 2-4

Ingredients

• 2 pounds shrimp, shelled and de-viened
• 3/4 cup onion, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, finely diced
• 1/2 cup red pepper, chopped
• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup chicken broth
• 2 Tablespoons white wine
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon pepper
• 1 1/2 Tablespoons capers
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 lb linguine
• 1/2 cup pasta water

Instructions

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook pasta according to directions.
2. When pasta is ready, drain reserving 1/2 cup of water. Set aside.
3. Meanwhile, in a large pan, heat olive oil over medium high heat.
4. Add onions and cook until softened, 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally.
5. Add peppers and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Add garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the vegetables are as soft as you’d like them to be.
7. Pour in broth and wine. Bring to a boil and cook for 1-2 minutes.
8. Add capers and shrimp to the pan. Cook until shrimp is pink, about 3 minutes.
9. Add pasta and reserved water to the pan and stir to coat. Top with cheese and stir to combine.

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Post tags: Pasta, seafood, shrimp

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Welcome to the Progressive Picnic! When I was a teenager my youth group used to do “Progressive Dinner” where we’d go from house to house and have a course of a meal at each home.  Since we can’t go to everyone’s house, a few foodie bloggers have joined up to bring you a Progressive Picnic.  Each blog is hosting a different course in the picnic and at the end of hopping, you will have recipes for a full picnic for Memorial Day weekend or any weekend this summer!

On the menu for our picnic:

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates at Growing Up Gabel

Red, White, and Blue Sangria at Peace, Love, Recipes

Thai Basil Chicken Lettuce Wraps  at Run DMT

Picnic Perfect Potato Salad at What’s Cooking with Ruthie

White Chocolate Brownies at Hezzi-D’s Cooks and Books

 

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I made these up on the fly one night when we were having friends over for a barbecue.  I just needed one more small dish to round out the meal.  I had dates and feta in the fridge that I wanted to use up and voila!  Everyone loved them!  If you are heading out to a picnic where you will be grilling, just put these together and you can grill on site.  If you won’t have access to a grill, then you can cook them before hand and just package them up to go.  Set them out as soon as you arrive to the picnic area for people to munch on before the main course.

Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Dates

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Ingredients

• Dates
• Feta Cheese
• Bacon
• Barbecue Sauce

Instructions

1. Carefully slice open each date and remove the pit.
2. Fill date with about 1 teaspoon of feta cheese.
3. Cut each slice of bacon into thirds.
4. Wrap bacon around date and secure with a toothpick (if needed).
5. Once all dates are stuffed and wrapped, brush with barbecue sauce.
6. Cook dates on grill or under a broiler until bacon is cooked.
7. These can be served hot or at room temperature.

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Post tags: 4th of July, Appetizer, bacon, barbecue, Memorial Day, Picnic, summer

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This is going to be a GREAT event! In celebration of our nation’s birthday, Mimi from Woven By Words and Courtney from Joy Of Momma Joyner are hosting the Made In America Blog Hop Giveaway event. This event will run from 12:01am EST Wednesday, July 4, 2012 through 11:59pm EST Wednesday, July 18, 2012 and ALL the prizes will be MADE IN AMERICA!   That is seriously awesome! I’m working hard on a fantastic prize package to giveaway!

Meanwhile, if you are a blogger and want to join in the celebration fun click here for more information!

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Today I’m participating in the Ultimate Blog Swap. You’ll find me posting over at Family Balance Sheet on how to make homemade sidewalk chalk, and I’m excited to welcome Roxanne from The Holistic Mama to Growing Up Gabel:

Essential oils are an important part of a holistic medicine chest. They have many healing qualities and most are gentle enough to use on children and pets. If you are new to using essential oils there are two oils that are great to start with because they are versatile and gentle. The essential oil that I use most often is Lavender and the second most useful oil is Tea Tree oil.

Lavender essential oil is great to keep in the house and also in your purse. Add a few drops of lavender to your child’s bath water to relax her before bedtime. Use a drop of lavender on scrapes and minor skin irritations to help heal the wound. One of the most useful things I do with lavender is to make a simple lavender mist. Use this mist to lightly mist your child’s bedding if they are having a restless night, calm a sunburn, or cuts and bruises.

Calming Lavender Mist

• 4 oz. distilled water
• 1 oz. vodka or witch hazel
• 10 drops lavender essential oil

Add all ingredients to a spray bottle and shake.

Essential oils are also a great natural alternative to commercial insect repellant. Most insect repellants that you buy in stores have a lot of chemicals in them and may be harmful to our health. Since essential oils are plant based they are a much safer alternative. It is easy to mix your own insect repellant at home with a few ingredients. The below is a nice and easy recipe, also see another recipe with some different oils here: Safe and Natural Insect Repellant Recipe.

Essential Oil Insect Repellant

• 4 oz. distilled water
• 1 oz. vodka or witch hazel
• 5 drops lavender essential oil
• 5 drops tea tree oil
• 5 drops geranium essential oil
• 2 drops cedar wood essential oil

Add all ingredients to a spray bottle and shake.

Tea tree oil is an antimicrobial oil which is great for keeping children’s hands clean. Tea tree oil contains terpenoids, which have been found to have antiseptic and antifungal activity. The compound terpinen-4-ol is the most abundant and is thought to be responsible for most of tea tree oil’s antimicrobial activity. A great way to use tea tree oil is in a homemade hand sanitizer. Commercial hand sanitizers have harmful chemicals in them (read my post: Hand Sanitizers: Good or Bad?) and should be avoided so this is a great alternative.

Homemade Hand Sanitizer

• 1/2 cup aloe vera gel

• 3/4 cup rubbing alcohol

• 10 drops tea tree oil

Pour all ingredients into a food processor or blender and blend.  Put the mixture into a small bottle (can use an empty bottle from another hand sanitizer).

Visit Life Your Way to see all of the Ultimate Blog Swap participants!

© Camille for Growing Up Gabel, 2012. | Permalink | 7 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: beauty, essential oils, homemade beauty products

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Are you on Swag Bucks? If you aren’t, you need to be!  SwagBucks is basically a search engine that you can use for all of your internet searching. Swagbucks.com is an online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called “Swag Bucks”, which can be redeemed for exclusive Swagbucks.com merchandise. Things like PayPal and Amazon gift cards, toys, clothes, collectibles, games, electronics and more… Swagbucks.com is a 100% free, no strings attached, free prizes, no shipping charges, no membership fee’s. Swagbucks.com has already rewarded over a million users with Amazon.com gift cards, and all kinds of quality products, to members across the United states, Canada and UK.

I earn about $10/month in Amazon.com gift cards using SwagBucks.  The best deal (I think) is the $5 Amazon.com gift card fro 450 SBs (Swag Bucks).  Once you put the Amazon codes in your account on Amazon, they never expire.  I just bought my daughter’s tae kwon do gi for $12 LESS than we could have bought it at her class thanks to SwagBucks. I use the codes to buy groceries, diapers, whatever I need because Amazon pretty much sells everything.  I’m currently saving up the codes to buy a new sewing machine!

Every once in a while, including TODAY, SwagBucks rolls out a promotion where they give extra SwagBucks throughout the days.  Today is the perfect day to join and start earning.

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