Category Archives: Food and Drink

I’m a Ragú® ‘Mom’s the Word on Dinner’ Brand Ambassador!

Brand Ambassador, Food and Drink, New posts, , ,

Ragú® - Brand Ambassador campaignThere’s one thing that I’m actively trying to get better at lately.. cooking.  I’ve decided to start cooking at least two nights a week.  OK, maybe three.  So what’s the story you ask?  Well, my husband works nights most of the time so he’s not home at night to enjoy dinner with us and my mother lives very close to us and likes to see the kids as much as possible, so we go to her house about five nights a week to hang out with her and have dinner.  The kids love it because there’s no TV (you read that right), and I love it because we get good, wholesome, organic, prepared from scratch meals because that’s how my mom rolls.  She’s wholesome and organic. 🙂  Oh, and I love that we get to see her.. not just the food she prepared.  Don’t worry, we do the dishes.

When I was recently asked to be a brand ambassador for Ragú® I thought what perfect timing!   I am honored to be part of such an amazing group of bloggers participating in this campaign and I’m sure this campaign will help me gain the knowledge and confidence I need to cook more and give me the extra push I need to be more creative with food.   There are 25 Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner brand ambassadors including Mommy Niri and Rockin’ Mama.  I will link to a full list of participating bloggers soon.
Mom’s the Word on Dinner is the name of the campaign and during my brand ambassadorship, I hope to get creative (that means use cooking utensils), use recipes (I might have to measure stuff), and share dinner time ideas and tips with you. I’m so excited to be par tof this campaign which is about sharing dinner time advice with other moms and I want you to participate too so jump on over to the Ragu Mom’s the Word on Dinner Facebook page and join us!

I had a blast watching the videos on the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Facebook page today.  Video topics including “Got Kids with Odd Eating Habits?” and “When Dinner Gets Tough..” will keep you hooked to the computer for a while.

Here’s a video to get you started:

During my brand ambassadorship for Ragú®, I’ll be hosting two in-home parties and two great giveaways so be sure to follow me on Twitter and Facebook and sign up for my RSS feed so you are always up to date with my latest posts and goodies!

Do you have a dinner time tip you’d like to share with me and my readers?  Please do, in the comments below!

Disclosure – This post was created in connection with my appointment as an Ambassador in the Ragú® Mom’s the Word on Dinner Program. I am being compensated for my Ambassadorship. All opinions and ideas featured in this post are 100% my own. Visit www.facebook.com/ragusauce to join the conversation, get recipes, and watch videos.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Kroger Cart Buster Savings Event Through 8/17 and $25 Gift Card Giveaway!
{#MyBlogSpark}

Contests, Food and Drink, Money, New posts, , ,

Kroger Cart Buster Savings Event
Have you heard? The Cart Buster Savings Event is back at the Kroger Co. Family of Stores, beginning July 31st with storewide savings in almost every department! During the savings event, summer deals are just getting started. Browse the aisles and load up your cart with everyday items from brands you already love.   

From July 31st through August 17th save on tons of brands across more than 100 categories from General Mills, PepsiCo, Unilever, Heinz, Mars, Wrigley and Kimberly Clark.

I few items I stocked up on during this Kroger Cart Buster Savings Event are Dove soap, Degree deodorant for my son, California Pizza Kitchen Pizza (yum!), M&M’s (my husband’s favorite snack), and Tostitos chips.   Look for some of your favorite participating products like, Honey Nut Cheerios, Yoplait , Pillsbury Pepsi, Doritos, Gatorade, Smart Ones, Ore-Ida, Cottonelle, Viva, Breyer´s Ice Cream, Axe , Snickers, Pedigree and Orbit.

  • Click here for a printable .pdf list of participating products.

You’ll find big savings storewide at the Kroger Family of Stores, which includes Kroger, Ralphs, King Scoopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith’s, Fry’s, QFC, Baker’s, Owen’s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Food4Less, Fred Meyer, Pay Less Supermarkets and Scott’s food & Pharmacy.

The savings don’t stop there!
Make sure to follow the Cartbuster “Deal of the Day” beginning August 3rd and running through August 16th.* Download exclusive offers, on more of your favorite brands, directly to your shopper card, by visiting www.cartbuster.com, beginning Wednesday, August 3rd.

*Please be sure to check your local Kroger Co. Family of Stores for participating dates and deals. The Deal of the Day promotion is not valid at: Fred Meyer or Food 4 Less.

Enjoy the savings!

$25 Kroger Gift Card GIVEAWAY!

We are giving a lucky reader a $25 Kroger gift card good at any of the Kroger. Co family of stores!
To enter to win, leave a comment below.  Entries accepted through August 22nd.  Winner will be chosen by August 24th and will be notified via email.
Earn extra entries by doing the following:

Disclosure: The Kroger gift card, information, and giveaway have been provided by Kroger and General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Perfect Pairing Chips & Dip Get Together

Food and Drink, New posts, ,

Thanks to The Motherhood and Frito-Lay, I was part of a Perfect Pairing Chips & Dip get together with five other Atlanta bloggers.  We had a great time chatting and eating chips and dip. What better way to spend an afternoon?

Frito-Lay Perfect Pairing Blogger Get TogetherWe were asked to each come up with a homemade dip that pairs up perfectly with Frito-Lay chips.  Normally I wouldn’t have had a difficult time coming up with a dip to make as I am a huge fan of hummus but because Piera is the queen of homemade hummus I didn’t even think about going there and I’m glad.  Piera’s hummus was delicious!!  While my dip may not have been very creative as I didn’t have time to make a homemade dip after being out of town for several days before the party and feeling a little under the weather, I’m sure you love it and know it well.  Drum roll please…  I brought Tostitos® All Natural Restaurant Style Salsa.  It’s in the beautiful plastic container in the photograph above, to the right of the Hint of Lime Tostitos®.  Delicious, right?

Lays logoI am a pretty picky when it comes to what snacks and chips I buy. I look for snacks that includes ingredients that my 11 year old can pronounce and don’t contain food coloring.  That’s why we love Tostitos® Whole Grain Scoops and enjoy them will all sorts of dips.  We are partial to hummus at our house but we also love Tostitos Salsa.

Here are the delicious dips each blogger made and brought:
Pierra made Hummus
Kia made Avocado & Lime Black Bean Salsa
Renee made Clam Dip
Amy made Garlic Curry Dip and Peach Salsa
Heather made Cheesy Taco Dip

Not it’s your turn to have a Perfect Pairing get together with your friends or your family.  Why not grab a few bags of chips and a few dip recipes from Frito-Lay’s website and see what pairings you can come up with for your friends and family to enjoy this weekend?

You can search for dip recipes on the Frito-Lay website and check out Frito-Lay’s Facebook page to view cooking webisodes straight from Frito-Lay’s own Flavor Kitchen.

Disclosure: The Motherhood and Frito Lay provided me with compensation for the products purchased.  All opinions are 100% mine.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Frito Lay and ‘Choose Your Own Adventure’ Books – Special Promotion and Giveaway

Books, Contests, Food and Drink, New posts, , ,

Frito Lay and Choose Your Own Adventure books

Frito-Lay Variety Packs is partnering with the Choose Your Own Adventure series in perfect time for back to school shopping!  During this promotion, you will be able to purchase Frito-Lay Variety Packs that have a code on the packaging to download three original digital Choose Your Own Adventure books online.

Choose Your Own Adventure books online

One of the things that makes being a parent so much fun is seeing my kids enjoy the same things I did when I was young. Correct me if I’m wrong..when you were young nothing was more exciting than mom coming home with a multi-pack snack bag of chips that had all of your favorite flavors in it.  Mix that with a Choose Your Own Adventure book.. Shut Up!.. the fun just didn’t stop! I LOVED Choose Your Own Adventure books when I was a kid and now my 11 year old son loves them too.  These books are a fabulous way to occupy kids for hours and keep kids interested in reading during the summer break which is so important.

During this special Frito-Lay and Choose Your Own Adventure books promotion families can not only choose their own snack adventure but a book adventure to go with it.  Pretty great huh?

Look for the promotional displays in your local store.

GIVEAWAY!

I have a $25 gift card and a boxed set of Choose Your Own Adventure books for one lucky The Mommy Insider reader. Leave a comment below to enter and get extra entries for each item you complete from the list below.
Entries accepted through 11:59 July 23rd.
Winner will be contacted via email and must respond within 24 hours or an alternate winner will be chosen.
Contest open to U.S. residents age 18 and over.  No P.O. boxes.

Update: If you entered this contest before you saw the contest entry form below, don’t worry.. all of your entries will be counted!

Be sure to tell us in the comments below what you’ve done (Twitter, Facebook, etc)!

To enter leave a comment telling me why you want to win these prizes, in the comments below.

Extra entries:

Be sure to tell us what you’ve done in the comments below!
This review was made possible by MomSpark Media. I was given a Choose Your Own Adventure Book and Frito-Lay Variety Packs in return for posting information about this promotion. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Alicia Hagan, Editor

Peeps® Aren’t Just For Easter! – Part 2 of Peeps® Series

Food and Drink, New posts,

Read Part 1 of my Peeps® series here.

Peeps® & CompanyCandy lovers unite! Peeps® marshmallow candies are being sold in record numbers all year long. That’s right! The nostalgic sweet treat that you enjoyed on Easter as a kid are now available for other holidays and special occasions too. Best of all, the festive marshmallow madness has spread to gift ideas and novelties that can be given any time of year.

Imagine the joy on someone’s face when they open a gift of Peep candles. What a unique idea! The scents are reflective of delicious Peep flavors and include sugar cookie, chocolate mousse, and strawberry crème. Yum!

I recently (no, it’s not Easter is it?) ordered quite a few items from the Peeps™ and Company store including marshmallowy treats, notepads, a t-shirt for my daughter, and snap hair clips.

While the traditional Easter shapes included baby chicks and bunny heads, you can now buy Christmas trees, snowman, and other themed shapes for Christmas, ghost and pumpkin shapes for Halloween, and other original creations during the remainder of the year. Why not capture the essence of each unique design by purchasing soft plush dolls for the home.

Kids and adults alike love the yummy goodness of a marshmallow Peep and their bright fun colors. Show off your love of an old classic with a trendy Peep shirt, sweatshirt, jewelry set, or other Peep gear. They are hip to wear, fun to look at, and available in all sizes.

For a truly unique experience, try gourmet marshmallow Peeps® that will wow the senses. Chocolate dipped Peeps® candy take your favorite sweet treat to a whole new level. And do not forget to try unique flavors including caramel, peppermint, orange, and chocolate. There’s a new world of Peeps® marshmallow treats waiting to be discovered, and they’re out there all year long!

Read Part 1 of my Peeps® series here.

Connect with Peeps:

Disclosure: I was engaged by Mom Bloggers Club to participate in a campaign for Peeps®.  All opinions are 100% my own and were not influenced in any way.

Alicia Hagan, Editor