Birthday Party Shopping at Smart and Final Grand Opening in Carmichael CA

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone.

My family often shops at Smart and Final to buy warehouse size items like paper towels, snacks, household cleaning items and meat. We can get many club size items there without the membership fees of other places. The reason we like Smart and Final is we can shop for the bulk stuff but also smaller items like fresh produce and bakery goods. We are a family of 3, we do not need everything we buy to be in club store sizes so it is a nice mix of items. I am celebrating my birthday next week and needed to do some birthday party shopping. A new Smart and Final store opened near my mother in laws house so we decided to stop by the celebration and shop before heading to her home.

The first thing we see when we enter the store is the produce department filled with lively colors. The prices I saw next and gasped! Only $1 each for my 3 favorite berries, in that moment we changed dessert plans from ice cream to mixed berries with cream. I always find good deals at Smart and Final but for the Grand Opening celebration in Carmichael CA we found super savings to celebrate.

Each birthday party in my family I am always the one who buys and puts up the party decorations so naturally I pick out my own. I think I would be shocked if I ever woke up and the house was already decorated for my birthday (hint hint to my husband). I like that I can find all the many types of products I need in one store, bulk or single items. My son spotted a giant bag of balloons for making balloon animals, being the fun Mom I am I got them and we plan to google how to make the animals for my birthday party.

Among all the great deals we found there were little sample stations, coupon booklets being handed out and friendly staff restocking the shelves. It was crowded in the store but the lines were short and the deals were great. The location of the new Smart and Final we visited  is 7223 Fair Oaks Blvd., Carmichael, CA 95608. There will be Grand Opening celebrations all weekend at this location until Sunday July 20th.

I enjoy shopping the bakery section at Smart and Final when we need a quick treat for a party or family gathering. The store carries a delicious lemon pound cake that has been the base for many desserts that my family has enjoyed. This trip we decided to get mini cupcakes for my birthday. This year I am wanting to keep my birthday simple and inexpensive. I think I have a smart start by the money I saved at the Carmichael Smart and Final Grand Opening celebration. #ChooseSmart #CollectiveBias

My son and I had to "test" some of the cupcakes before we put away all the party decorations and food for later in the week. I liked that we were able to find the party decor, the meat for BBQ, the produce and drinks for the birthday party all in one place without the overwhelming size of a warehouse store.

If you would like some recipe ideas for making some great desserts for your next birthday party you can find them at the Smart and Final community. To connect with Smart and Final you can follow them on twitter and facebook.

Easy Recipes for Family Meals with Oatmeal from Smart and Final #ChooseSmart #shop

For my family I like to save money when we shop for groceries. I think if we can save on food we can have money for extra things and fun adventures. I look at a sales ad for a store, check my coupons and plan a weekly meal list based on the deals. This week we are shopping at Smart and Final for items on sale to make easy recipes for family meals. I see that the First Street brand has many items on sale and a $2 off offer when you buy 4 participating products. We always buy First Street items and Smart and Final so I decided to plan a day around eating Oatmeal since my son loves it and it is on sale. 

My little shopping buddy always likes to help pick out items in the store. We plan to have Fruit and Cream Oatmeal with grapes and orange juice for breakfast, Oatmeal Cookies and peanut butter cookies for lunch at the park and Oatmeal crusted chicken for dinner with friends to watch some movies. We have a very fun day planned. My son convinced me in the store well insisted is more like it that we change my plan from Oatmeal Raisin cookies to Chocolate Chip Oatmeal cookies with almonds. He loves chocolate!

For Breakfast we are having Blueberry Fruit and Cream Oatmeal with banana slices on top, green grapes that we got a great deal on and orange juice. A healthy and easy start to the day.

When we were in the store and my son realized we were making cookies it was all he could talk about until we made them. He always likes to help in the kitchen. Sometimes its just trying the ingredients for quality control of course. I have many First Street baking items already in my cupboards so I only needed to buy the Quick Oats and Chocolate Chips. I have always loved making cookies from scratch. As a teenager my family would ask me to make my awesome chocolate chip cookies, it always made me feel special to bake it for them. For my son I add the oatmeal for texture and the health benefits.

I made simple First Street Peanut Butter Sandwiches topped with green grapes to serve with my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip with Almonds Cookies. We had a mini picnic at the park benches in between my son playing in the splash pad and playground. We recently found this park and we love it. On the hot summer days we are able to have him play in the water. My son even shared some of our cookies with a few kids at the park. He wanted to pet their little dog and offered a cookie for a pet. He is a smart cookie!

When we got home from the park my son was exhausted from playing in the sun. While my son took a nap I planned out the dinner I was going to make for a few friends that were coming over to watch some movies. I am making Oatmeal Crusted Chicken and serving it with spinach couscous.

For my recipe I pulsed in the blender the quick oats and spices so the oatmeal would stick to the chicken and cook more evenly. My son was awake by the time I was ready to use the blender and loves to help push the button. Next I dipped the chicken in an egg wash before covering it in the oatmeal crust. I drizzled the top of the chicken with butter before going into the oven to help the oatmeal brown. You can use your favorite spice mix like I did or add the ones directly from the recipe. My spice mix contains all the spices on the ingredients list.

Oatmeal Crusted Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 cup regular oats
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon dried rubbed sage
• 1/4 teaspoon dried summer savory or parsley
• 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 egg
• 4 Chicken Leg Quarters
• 2 tablespoons butter or stick margarine, melted

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450°.
2. Combine oats, salt, and next spice ingredients (salt through pepper) in a food processor or blender, process until oats are finely chopped. Place oat mixture in a shallow dish; place egg  in a medium bowl. Dip chicken in whisked egg, and coat in oat mixture. Place chicken in baking pan and drizzle butter over chicken. Bake at 450° for 45 minutes or until done.

We had a wonderful day spending time as a family enjoying meals, a day at the park and movie night with friends. My recipes we all planned around a simple ingredient that was on sale. Have you had a day with one ingredient as your meals inspiration?

You can see my shopping trip at Smart and Final by reading my Google+ story. Connect with Smart and Final on Facebook and Twitter.

A Valentine's Day Redo: A Romantic Evening at Home with La Romanella Pasta

When I think of Valentine's Day I can't help but feel a little sad then giggle about one of the first few Valentine's my husband and I had when we first were married. It was about 10 years ago I tried to create my version of an Italian restaurant for my husband. He was working as a chef at the time constantly cooking at home and work. I wanted to surprise him and have a big Italian dinner ready for him when he arrived home from work on Valentines. I decorated the dining room to make it look like my version of a romantic Italian restaurant. I used sheets to make a cute little enclosed area, had a hand written menu with what I was serving, picked out the perfect movie, had candles lit, it was perfect.

When he got home he was sick! He had the stomach flu from work. Throwing up, dizzy, so sick it was sad!! He came in saw all my stuff said it was beautiful, that he was sorry and then went to bed. I sat there alone eating my spaghetti, bread, appetizers and watched a movie by myself. Saddest Valentine's Day ever lol.

We have had many great Valentine's Days since then but I have not attempted to cook a romantic Italian dinner for him since that failed attempt. I thought this year would be perfect to make him a dinner like that again since he is now a stay at home Dad that cooks and cleans all day while I work.

We love spinach and artichokes in our house so I found a recipe that I knew would be perfect for making a Valentine's Day redo. I adapted the recipe to our tastes to make it even more special. I headed to Smart & Final to do my shopping since I knew that had La Romanella Pasta Sauce that I like. I picked up items for my Baked Ziti with Spinach, Artichokes, Olives and Pesto for the main dish and Salami-Ricotta Crostini as an appetizer. Since I was planning a big hearty dinner I decided to have dessert be simple and light. I bought a First Street Vanilla Pound Cake, banana pudding and bananas. One of my husbands favorite things to eat are bananas.

Baked Ziti with Spinach, Artichokes, Olives and Pesto

Ingredients:

• 1 pound La Romanelle dry pasta (Ziti or Penne Rigate)
• One 26-ounce La Romanella  jar tomato pasta sauce
• 1/4 cup basil pesto
• 3/4 cup cottage cheese
• 6 cups  loosely packed  spinach leaves
• One 6.5 oz  jar artichokes, drained
• 1/3 cup finely chopped black olives
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Cooking Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Use a 3-quart baking dish and lightly grease with butter. Bring a large pot of  water to a boil then add pasta and cook according to the package directions. Before draining, save about a 1/4 cup of the pasta water to the side for use in the recipe. Then, drain pasta.

While the pasta cooks, heat the tomato sauce and set aside. In a small bowl, stir the basil pesto and cottage cheese together, and then set aside. Add drained pasta to a large bowl then add spinach, drained artichokes,  olives, hot tomato sauce and about the 1/4 cup of the pasta water. Then, toss.

Add about half of the pasta and spinach mixture to the baking dish. Then, spread the cottage cheese and pesto on top. Scatter about half of the shredded mozzarella cheese on top of the pesto and cottage cheese mixture then add the rest of the pasta on top of that. Press everything down into the baking dish then scatter the rest of the mozzarella cheese on top.

Bake in the oven on 350 degrees for  about 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and the sauce is bubbling. Let the baked ziti cool for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. 

Salami-Ricotta Crostini

Ingredients:

1 Baguette cut into 1/2 inch slices

1 1/2 cups of La Romanella Ricotta Cheese 

15 slices of your favorite salami 

1/4 cup of Olive Oil to brush the bread with for cooking

Cooking Directions:

Heat oven to 350 degrees (if you are making the Baked Ziti the oven will be at the right temperature to bake them at the same time.) Brush the tops and bottoms of the sliced baguette and sprinkle the top side with salt and pepper. Place on a cookie sheet or baking pan for 15-20 minutes in the oven, turning the pan around in the oven half way through. 

Once cooled add the La Romanelle Ricotta Cheese on top of the Crostini slices, sprinkle top of the cheese with salt and pepper. Cut the slice of Salami in half and place both pieces on top of the cheese. Serve and enjoy! 

I added a few romantic touches with white candles, red place mats, a chocolate rose, box of Valentine's candy, sparkling cider in wine glasses, Valentine's Day decor and little pink marshmallow hearts. I pushed the dinner table into the corner of the dining room to give it a cozier feel. It is a simple set up that made a big difference in feeling like it was a romantic night in. 

My husband LOVED the dinner I made and the effort I put into to making the dining room romantic. He even said I should do that more often! He cooks way more than me and I am lucky for that. I will definitely be making more of an effort to create a romantic evening in our own home. We finished up dessert then snuggled up on the couch to watch the movie we rented. I am so happy I decided to redo the Valentine's Day from 10 years ago and have it turn out perfect!

You can find more recipes and information about Smart & Final by visiting them on their Facebook and Twitter pages. 

You can create your own Romantic Evening at Home with Romanella products from Smart & Final this Valentine's Day and also enter the 2013 La Romanella Sweepstakes. When you buy any 1 La Romanella product and enter your register reward online at SmartandFinal.com/LaRomanella2013 to be entered to win a Weekend in Las Vegas or a $50 Smart Cash card! Dates of Promo 2 / 5 - 3/6

Grand Prize Details:

WIN 1 OF 4 WEEKEND TRIPS TO LAS VEGAS!

Purchase any La Romanella item and enter your register receipt information for a chance to win one of four (4) Grand Prize weekend trips for two to an Italian-inspired resort in Las Vegas!

The package includes:

-Roundtrip economy air transportation for two from gateway city nearest the winner’s home to Las Vegas

-Two nights accommodation for two at an Italian inspired resort

-Meals and other entertainment activities

Additional Prizes:

Win one of (10) $50 SmartCash Cards® Like cash, only smarter!

One Grand Prize will be awarded each week between February 6 and March 5, 2013. In addition, three

SmartCash Cards will be awarded each of the first two weeks; and two SmartCash Cards awarded each

of the last two weeks between February 6 and March 5, 2013. No purchase necessary. See rules for details.

Sweepstakes valid February 6-March 5, 2013.

*I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Smart & Final #CBias #ChooseSmart #SocialFabric All opinions expressed in this post are my own.