Easter Book Review: Lollipop Seeds That Sprout for Kind Deeds and Giveaway #sponsored

We have many traditions in my home when it comes to holidays throughout the year. We are very loyal to our traditions but do allow for new traditions to be added to make the holiday even more special. This year we learned about a book that tells a cute little story about how the Easter Bunny learns of a tradition long forgotten where the Easter Bunny brings special lollipop seeds that sprout when your child does kind deeds.

The book is colorfully illustrated and a fun way to teach children about doing good for others. My son enjoyed the story. He loved that the Easter Bunny had brothers, sisters and a Grandma in this story. I thought it was cute that they live on the East Pole where it is always Spring.

The last page of the book has room to write the year and the kind deed that was done by your family.

According to legend, the tradition of Lollipop Seeds goes back hundreds of years.  But, it was only recently re-discovered by the Easter Bunny when he asked his Grandma about the meaning behind other Easter traditions like eggs and candy.

Once the Easter Bunny learned of the Lollipop Seeds tradition, he couldn’t wait to hop on it and start delivering them to kids everywhere.

The magic of the seeds lies in the heart of the child who plants them.  They sprout into lollipops on Easter morning, not by water or sun, but by kindness instead.

After reading the book I talked to my 4 year old about what we could do as a kind deed to make our lollipop seeds grow. He had a few ideas, mainly ones about animals but he did say we could grow strawberries and share with Grammy ( his grandma that lives in CA). I thought that counted as a kind deed, to grow a plant with fruit to help feed someone he loves. We made a wish of happy thoughts and tossed our lollipop seeds into the dirt in the yard. The seeds are not for eating, they will grown into flowers, my son and I bought a strawberry plant to plant for the kind deed.

We had fun reading the book, planning a kind deed and sprinkling our lollipop seeds. I know next year we will do the same. I love to encourage my son to do kind deeds for others and this book is a great tool to start the conversation of helping others.

The book includes two Lollipop Seed packs and plant markers.

GIVEAWAY

To celebrate Easter and to encourage others to do kind deeds we will be hosting a giveaway for a copy of the book Lollipop Seeds That Sprout for Kind Deeds by Cherri Prince and illustrated by Marco Bester.


a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 10, 2014 and ends on April 17, 2014 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.

Carrot Tea Cake From Martha Stewart's Cakes Book

I have to say that carrot cake is one of my all time favorite cakes. But the thing is, they can vary so much in quality. And they are rather time-consuming to make.

I came across this easy recipe for whenever I need a quick carrot cake fix. It's moist and delicious, and the cream cheese frosting is simply fabulous. It's baked in a loaf pan, and the perfect size for snacking, or having a slice with a cup of tea or coffee.

It is from the book Martha Stewart's Cakes. I just love this book, and it includes over a 150 cake recipes, including ones for bundts, loaves, layers, coffee cakes, and more.

Recipe for Carrot Tea Cake

Ingredients:

1/2 cup unsalted butter (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for the pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup packed grated carrots (from about 2 carrots

For Frosting:

8 ounces (1 bar) cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup confectioners' sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Make the cake:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9x5 inch loaf pan, dust with flour, tapping out excess. In a bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat butter and brown sugar until pale and fluffy, 3-5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as necessary.
Beat in carrots. Reduce speed to low. Gradually add flour mixture, beat until just combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan, smooth top with spatula. Bake until a cake tester comes out clean, 40-45 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool 15 minutes. Turn out cake onto wire rack to cool completely.

Make the frosting:
With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, and vanilla until fluffy. Spread frosting over top of cake.

Enjoy!!

Making Delicious Bruschetta With Philly Cream Cheese Spread

If you are anything like me, you can think of lots of different ways to use delicious Philadelphia Cream Cheese.

It's my absolute favorite spread for bagels, great for cooking and baking, and this new Philly Chive Onion Cream Cheese is perfect for making onion topped bruschetta.

A couple nights ago, my family and I managed a spur-of-the moment dinner together. This means lots of laughs, lots of good food, and the chance to make some yummy pre-dinner bruschetta, to go along with a glass of wine.

My grown-up kids and I are all devoted onion lovers, so I knew bruschetta with caramelized onions and yummy chive onion flavored Philly cream cheese would be a big hit.

When I was doing my grocery shopping at Walmart, I picked up my weekly stash of Philly Cream Cheese for our bagels and toast.

But then I saw this new tub of Philadelphia Cream Cheese, made with real chives, and crisp onions. The onion lover in me couldn't pass this up, so I bought some just baked French bread from the Walmart bakery to go with it.

On the night my family and I got together, I made a big pan of caramelized onions to go on top of the bruschetta.

It takes patience to cook caramelized onions, but I think it's well worth the time involved because of their wonderful taste.

I sliced two large onions and put them into a frying pan with several tablespoons of olive oil. I added a pinch of sugar to help caramelize them and a pinch of salt.

A great tasting French bread is the basis of making great bruschetta. I always slice mine on the diagonal, brush it with olive oil, and pop it in a 400 degree oven for 5-7 minutes.

Plenty of real chives and onion goodness make this Philly spread so yummy. I put on a nice layer of it on the toasted bread, and then topped it with the onions.

You can also find the 8 oz. tubs of Philadelphia Cream Cheese at Walmart, in Garden Vegetable, Jalapeno, Strawberry, and Blueberry flavors.

I can't wait to try the fruit varieties and #SpreadTheFlavor on my bagels and French toast at breakfast.

I enjoy Philly Cream Cheese on so many things, and love that it's made with no artificial ingredients.
#CollectiveBias

Everyone loved the bruschetta, and there wasn't one piece left. I loved the taste of the cream cheese, and it was so good topped with the onions.

I can't wait for summer to come around, and all the barbeques we enjoy having. I'll definitely be making this again for my family and friends. And I'll be stocking up on all those delicious Philly Cream Cheese flavors.


What's your favorite way to enjoy Philadelphia Cream Cheese?

I'd love to know!!

Gymboree Review and $50 Giveaway - Shopping for Easter/Spring #sponsored

 

Spring is here and with that comes all of the great Spring/Summer clothes! Gymboree has some great Spring and Easter clothes at 30% off, along with great sales throughout the entire store. I love seeing the trending colors and styles out for the season. We visited our local Gymboree and picked out our Spring and Easter clothes!

Gymboree has lots of great sales like 30% off the Easter line and a lot of $20 little girls dresses. Not to mention the clearance rack had a ton of steals! I got my oldest some shirts, pants and sweaters at more than half off. I love a good sale!

Here are my children all dressed up in their new Gymboree clothes, but getting a picture of all of them together is almost impossible!

I love the all turquoise this season, I took one look at the bright colors along with the clean lines and I was hooked. The boys got matching shirts (one is a size 6-7 and the other is a 3-4) at 30% off and my daughters sweet dress was on sale for only $20! Notice the hair barrettes in Ashley's hair? They also came from Gymboree, a simple clip that looks like I put a lot of effort into it. Perfect. I love dressing my children up in bright happy clothing for the Spring and Gymboree was the perfect place to shop for them!

You too can shop the latest styles at Gymboree, enter to win a $50 gift card to Gymboree!


GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway

 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts April 4, 2014 and ends on April 17, 2014 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a product to review for this post.

Corn Lovers Corn Chowder Recipe

For many years, I have been a fan of cookbook author Mollie Katzen. I've had copies of her books The Enchanted Broccoli Forest and The Moosewood Cookbook in my kitchen for ages.

I've always loved her philosophy of using simple but delicious ingredients to create meals to share with family and friends.

So, this is her recipe for Fresh Corn Chowder. If you are a corn lover, I highly recommend you make this and enjoy it on a still-cold Spring evening. I served it with slices of warm, buttered sour dough bread, and it was all simply delicious.

Recipe for Fresh Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

1 medium sized potato                                                     5 cups corn (5 cobs, or a 16 oz. bag frozen/
2 1/2 cups water                                                               defrosted)
2-3 tablespoons butter                                                      fresh black pepper to taste
1 1/2 cups chopped onion                                                1/4 teaspoon thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon salt                                                           1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 stalk celery, minced                                                      1 cup milk at room temperature
1 small red bell pepper, minced                                       shredded cheddar cheese for topping

Directions:

Scrub or peel the potato and cut it into small dice. Place it in a small saucepan with the water. Bring to a boil, lower heat, to a simmer, cover, and cook until tender, but not mushy. Set aside.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a soup pot or Dutch Oven. Add the onion and salt, and cook over medium-low heat, stirring. After about 5 minutes, add celery and keep cooking. About 5 minutes later, add the cooked potatoes with all their liquid, the red bell pepper, corn, black pepper, and herbs. Stir well and cover. Reduce heat and let it cook about 5 minutes more.

Use a blender or food processor to puree about half the solids in some of the soup's own liquid. Return this to the pot, and let it rest until serving time.

Stir in the milk about 10 before serving. Heat the soup gently, don't cook it any further. Serve as soon as it's hot.

Makes 6 servings.

Enjoy!!