Summer BBQ with Jarlsberg Cheese and Contest

*I received complimentary items to facilitate my review, all opinions are 100% my own.

This year my family and I have made a Summer To Do List. One of our activities is BBQ at the lake. We picked National Hamburger Day to kick off our start to our list. We went to our local grocery store to look for a cheese we have not tried, Jarlsberg. They are having an Extraordinary Grilling Contest and we were happy to help spread the word by having our own BBQ day using their products.

I love cheese added to food and eaten by itself as a snack. I like a variety of types from blue cheese, swiss cheese, goat cheese and many more. I like the cheese to have a distinct flavor and add a unique quality to the everyday foods I make. For our hamburgers I selected Jarlsberg lite pre-sliced cheese for ease of use outdoors and fewer calories. The cheese added a sweet nutty flavor to our hamburgers and the way the BBQ sauce was squishing out the little cheese holes was perfection. There were no leftovers at this BBQ!

 Jarlsberg® Cheese Extraordinary Grilling Contest.  Jarlsberg® Cheese is giving away a professional grill week starting May 23, 2015  and running through August 31, 2015.

Since summer is the perfect time to enjoy a great burger on the grill, Jarlsberg® Cheese is celebrating the no-fuss season with the season’s perfect contest. Topping your favorite burger, chicken or grilled vegetables with a variety of flavors from Jarlsberg® Cheese has never been easier.  Jarlsberg® Cheese,  Jarlsberg® LiteCheese and Jarlsberg® Smoked Cheese add flavor to any grilled recipe and is available nation-wide.

What better way to enjoy the summer grill season than to win a free, professional grill, in the Jarlsberg®Cheese Extraordinary Grill Contest? Every week, Jarlsberg® Cheese will give away a professional grill to one winner. Entering is easy. Simply enter to win by filling out the Jarlsberg® Cheese Extraordinary Grilling Contest form on the Facebook/Jarlsberg USA site. You may enter one time every week, from May 23, 2015 through August 31, 2015. Each week one winner will be randomly selected, and be notified by email.

Jarlsberg^® Cheese is available nationwide in the deli grocery retailers and club stores. There is a Jarlsberg^®Cheese for every palate:

·         Jarlsberg® Cheese, is a mild, semi-soft skim cheese made from cow’s milk. Jarlsberg®  Cheese is famous for its characteristic mild, mellow and nutty flavor. 

·        Jarlsberg® Cheese Lite has the same great taste as regular Jarlsberg® Cheese  with 50% less fat and 30% fewer calories, than regular Swiss cheese.  

·    Jarlsberg® Hickory Smoked Cheese has a piquant smoky taste, and like most smoked foods has a darker, browner surface.  Jarlsberg® Hickory Smoked Cheese is cold smoked over smoldering, hickory chip embers, this Hickory smoked flavor will enhance your cold or hot foods, with its deep, smoky charms.

If you are looking for Recipe Ideas for your own Summer Adventures you can check out Jarlsberg Blog and Twitter.  Below is a recipe from Jarlsberg Cheese website that would be a delicious addition to any outdoor grilling adventure. 

Jarlsberg® Grilled Fig Pizza

Ingredients:

2 cups Shredded Jarlsberg® Cheese

 1 pound of dough (buy at your local pizzeria)

1 can crushed tomatoes

Olive oil spray

Toppings as desired

Figs – fresh and as many as you desire

Salt, pepper and basil to taste

1.    Before you light the grill, spray olive oil over grill, being sure to cover well. Once grill is hot,        gently lay the dough, stretched out already, on the grill.

2.     Cook for 3 minutes or until crust starts to brown slightly, then flip.

3.    In a separate bowl, mix crushed tomatoes, adding in salt, pepper and fresh basil to taste.

4.    Lay tomato mixture and Jarlsberg® Cheese on top of crust, and scatter some fresh, sliced figs.

5.    Cover for 4-5 minutes, until cheese is melted.

Use a large spatula to remove pizza from grill.

CanvasPop Review and Giveaway

         I was given a canvas for my review, but all opinions of this product are completely my own.

I really love Instagram, and I have a lot of fun playing with it. It's a great way to document everyday life for myself personally, and for the blog. But those photos are small and I never thought the images could be made larger and still look fabulous.

But then CanvasPop offered me the opportunity to do a review of a canvas and I jumped at the chance. I had seen their work online and always thought it was very distinctive, and high quality. So I selected one of my Instagram pictures, and you can see from the picture above, it turned out beautifully.

Tulips are my favorite flowers and I try to buy myself a bunch every week. It's my inexpensive little indulgence that makes me happy every time I see them on my desk. So putting them on canvas is special to me, and I just love how CanvasPop turned my color photo into black and white.

This is a 16X20 canvas print, made with the highest quality materials and great workmanship. I really was thrilled and amazed that they had taken a photo of mine and turned it into something so lovely. A friend commented on how much she liked it and I was proud to tell her that I was the photographer.

Besides doing Instagram prints, CanvasPop offers many different kinds of designs and services, including Facebook prints, photo collages, panoramic photo prints, custom framing, and so much more. Just go to their website to see all the amazing things they offer.

And when my print arrived, it was carefully packaged to keep it from getting damaged during transit. It was also ready to be hung from it's study wire on the back of it.

I love dealing with a company that offers exceptional customer service, a fabulous product, and that delivers it in record time. I love all these things about CanvasPop, and am recommending it to all my family and friends.

I'm totally excited to let you know that CanvasPop is giving away to one of our readers a 16X20 canvas print with a 0.75 inch frame and free shipping.

This is a great opportunity to turn one of your favorite photos into something that can last a lifetime and be loved for years to come.

They are also offering our readers a discount code, FRUGALFAMILYTREE35, that can be used for 35% off of an order until June 30th.

You can also check out their Twitter page and Instagram to see even more of the amazing photo services they offer and beautiful quality of their work.


GIVEAWAY



a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 27, 2015 and ends on June 5, 2015 at 12:01 am PST. Winner will be emailed and has 48 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.

Savings for Summer Camp Digital Media Academy #CreateTheNext #ad

* I am participating in a USFamilyGuide blogger campaign and this is a sponsored post #ad

Over the last few years I have learned about the need for kids to have S.T.E.M. knowledge. I have seen great DVDs for little ones to help them grasp Science, Technology, Engineering and Math and taking a class would build on their knowledge. My son is a year shy of the age group for the S.T.E.M. classes but your child may not be. Digital Media Academy is a summer camp that offers an educational program for kids ages 6 to 17 while still having fun. There are classes that involve engineering with Legos, designing a video game with same tools and technique that professional use, digital filmmaking and acting, iPhone programming, robotics, app development & more. Help your child learn and have a memorable summer by finding the right camp and programs for their interests.

Students launching a Rocket 

 Founded at Stanford University, Digital Media Academy is ranked as one of the ten best summer camps in the world.

Digital Media Academy is also proud to introduce Made by Girls, a new program dedicated to empowering girls and closing the gender gap in the tech industry.

Give your teen a pre-collegiate experience or build a child's confidence through project-based learning. Learn at some of the most prestigious colleges and universities throughout the U.S. and Canada. 

Students learning outside of the classroom

Save $75 off summer camps at Digital Media Academy with code TECHSUMMER. Sign up for multiple weeks and save big! Campers save $125 for each additional course they register for. Register by May 31 to #CreateTheNext best-selling app this summer!

Kids and teens learn computer programming, app development, 3D modeling, robotics, graphic design, filmmaking, and much more. DMA summer camps are one or multiple week experiences taught by industry experts and tech professionals. Campers get hands-on experience creating projects using the latest hardware and software from Apple, Canon, Adobe, and more. 



Questions? Call 1(866)656-3342 to speak with a Guest Service Representative or email info@digitalmediaacademy.org and mention the US Family Guide Special Offer

#CreateTheNext this summer at Digital Media Academy!

Apple Fruit Galette Recipe

I can see that making fruit galettes could easily become my passion. What I love about them is that they are rustic looking, taste so delicious, and look like they are much more difficult to make than they really are.

I discovered this recipe for the delicious crust from one of my favorite magazines, Cottage Living. Unfortunately, the magazine folded a few years ago, but I have held onto every old issue, and recently ran across the recipe.

I guarantee you will adore this apple galette, and it could become your go-to dessert for a delicious dessert at home, or to bring to a picnic, or to someone you really like.

There is no worrying about making a perfect pie crust with a galette, and you can use differ kinds of fruit, or a combination.

It totally impressed my family, and there wasn't a crumb left over.


Recipe for Apple Fruit Galette

Ingredients:

For pastry crust:

 2 cups all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 large egg yolk
3 tablespoons ice-cold milk

1 egg
2 tablespoons water


Combine first 3 ingredients in a large bowl. Mix in butter with a pastry blender until mixture resembles coarse meal. Whisk together egg yolk and milk, pour into flour mixture, stirring just until dough starts to form a ball.
Press together with lightly floured hands, and form into a flat round. Cover with plastic wrap, and place in refrigerator for at least 1 hour.

For fruit filling:

2 pounds apples (4-5) Golden Delicious, Pink Lady, Granny Smith
3 tablespoons butter
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel and core apples; cut each in to 8 wedges. In a large nonstick frying pan over medium heat, melt 3 tablespoons butter. When butter is foamy, add apples and stir frequently until they are slightly softened, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg over apples. Stir into fruit, and continue cooking about 5 minutes, until liquid is syrupy and bubbling.

Remove dough from refrigerator. Roll dough out on a lightly floured surface into an approximate
10-inch round. Place on a large, lightly greased baking sheet. Scoop fruit mixture into center of round.
Fold about 1 inch of dough all the way around to form a rim. Combine egg and water, brush outside of tart with the egg wash.
Bake for 40-45 minutes, or until golden brown. Let cool on pan 10 minutes, then move to a wire rack to finish cooling.
Can be served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

Makes about 6 servings.

*I've made this galette many times, and in fact, I'm making it today for my grandson's end of the year preschool party. I wanted to share the recipe again with everyone. If making a pie is a little intimidating to you, try the free formed galette, I bet you'll love it!!

Sweet as Honey: Maya the Bee Movie and Giveaway

Disclosure: I received complimentary items to facilitate my review. No other compensation has been provided, and all opinions are 100% my own.

Watching a movie at the end of the day is a family fun night we do several times a month. We curl up on the couch, have some snacks and get lost in a world outside our own for an hour or so. Over the weekend we watched and fell in love with Maya the Bee. This wonderful movie that will definitely be on our Summer Movie list. This movie shows kids how to "bee" true to their own heart, be loyal to friends and celebrate diversity. Maya learns about the bugs outside her hive as she explores the world around her. I think I like Maya because she reminds me of my own child, he questions the norm and has a zest for seeing what is out in world. She is a spunky little Bee that kids will adore.


Movie Summary:

Maya the Bee, based on the children’s novel beloved by generations, is now buzzing with new excitement as this fantastically funny and family-friendly film!

Maya is a little bee with a big heart. While most bees believe that other insects should be feared, Maya can’t help but make friends with Flip the violin-playing grasshopper, Kurt the dung beetle and even Sting, a young hornet. This group of “fearsome” friends causes some bees to avoid Maya. But when the Queen’s royal jelly is stolen, it will take Maya and all of her bug buddies to figure out who did it and how to save the day!




My son thought Maya was cute and brave. His favorite character is the violin playing grasshopper Flip. I love this little song they sing to "bee" yourself. Movies with a positive family friendly topic are always a great find to add to our movie collection. My son loves to watch a movie over and over like most kids do, that means it needs to be a movie that I agree with him hearing the message. Maya the Bee has the Dove.org seal of approval for all ages family friendly.

After watching a movie that my son enjoys I like to find ways to share learning with him on a topic he may not know about. I have so many ideas to celebrate all things "bee" autiful about bees for my son. We can learn about honey, pollinating and hive life. I see many crafts and recipes on Pinterest that can help my plans and Shout Factory has provided a few as well.

GIVEAWAY

Enter to win a copy of Maya the Bee Movie on DVD

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts May 19, 2015 and ends on June 1, 2015 at 12:01 am PST. 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.