Tamales

OMG.
I made tamales this week with my friend Norma and they are amazing! The backstory on my search for the perfect tamale started with some fresh tamales I had a few years ago in California from a Farmer's Market. Since then, I've visited other markets and ordered them online...good enough, but just not what I've been craving.

Until now.

And making tamales is a lot easier than I ever thought it would be. It's definately time consuming, which is why I was so glad to have Norma around. In fact, it was her idea to make tamales, so hats off to Norma!

I'll link the recipe I used from a website that has really specific directions AND photographs. The cool thing is that you can totally deviate from the ingredient list (for the most part) and customize your tamales. We made chicken/pork like the website suggests, AND we made black bean & cheese and beef tamales. YUM!

http://www.sonofthesouth.net/tamales/Tamale_Recipe.htm

The cool thing about this website is that they break it down for you to the ingredients you need, how to cook the meat, how to prepare the masa, how to assemble the tamales and how to cook them. After cooking, you can freeze these babies and re-steam them for dinners or lunches later. AWESOME!

Check out the link above and please let me know if you make tamales....I can't wait for Tamale Making Day to come again this winter. :)

Next up, my soon-to-be-famous GUMBO recipe! (and I'll add tamale pics soon)

Giveaway Time!

Update: the WINNER is #8

Random.org picked post #8 as the winner. Congratulations!! (I have no idea how to do a screen shot of the actual draw, so you'll have to trust me on this one.) Thanks to everyone who entered....check back often for more contests and giveaways. I'll do the 2nd Ron & Franks giveaway in November.

With the weather turning cooler, my thoughts turn to warm drinks. I love a hot drink on a cool morning, or before bed, or in the afternoon...well, any time really! And last year I discovered a super-delicious brand of drink mix that is not only affordable, but also low calorie. Ron & Franks Skinny Gourmet! They sell a variety of drink and baking mixes with or without Splenda in flavors like cappuccino, spiced apple cider, peanut butter hot chocolate, and so many more.

Ron & Franks (http://www.ronandfranks.com/) Skinny Gourmet drink mixes are THE BEST. The company is pretty darn awesome too, because when I sent them an email requesting a sample for my blog giveaway, they sent me FOUR packages of their creamy hot chocolate mixes. So exciting - you are going to love this stuff!! I'm tempted to keep them for myself...but that wouldn't be right. ;)

Here are the rules for this giveaway contest. If you want to win, you must visit the Ron & Franks website here and poke around, then come back here and tell me (in a comment) what flavor drink mix sounds the best to you. Or any product really. Check them out, and if you can't wait for the results, place an order for yourself....you will *not* regret it!

This contest will have one winner, selected by random.org, from comments left on my blog. I'll keep the contest open until noon EST on Sunday, September 27th. You're going to have to check back on Sunday evening to see who the winner is and then email me if it's you so I know where to send your goodies.

Oh, you probably want to know what the prize is....eh?

The winner will receive two packages of drink mix:

• Ron & Franks Skinny Gourmet Diet Hot Chocolate in White Chocolate Raspberry flavor
• Ron & Franks Skinny Gourmet Diet Chai Tea

Each package makes 24 servings and each serving has only 20 calories!! For those Weight Watchers followers like myself, that's ZERO points. Don't let the word "diet" in the title of these scare you off. Seriously, these are so good, I am stocking up for the fall & winter. But you can also make iced versions if you prefer your beverages cold.

Now those of you who have been paying attention might be thinking to yourself, "hey, she got 4 packages and is only giving away 2...what's up with that?!?". Well, good question. I'm saving the other two bags until closer to holiday time because those are both the famous Egg Nog mix. If you like Egg Nog, but can't stand all the calories, you're going to want to try this! I love egg nog flavor, but the actual drink is a generally little too....thick...for me. Ron & Frank's version is PERFECTION. And like the other mixes here, these too are made with Splenda for a low calorie treat.

Good luck with the contest!

Swag Bucks

While I'm waiting for the giveaway item to arrive (yippee!), I thought I'd let you know about a new freebie/earning website I just joined. I'm going to pimp it here with my referral code, so if you join too then I can earn more stuff. Then get your friends to join and you can earn even more free stuff too!

It's called Swag Bucks.

http://www.swagbucks.com/refer/Cluck29

That is my referral link. So far, I have 8 swag bucks.

What is it? It's an online portal dedicated to helping you earn digital dollars called "Swag Bucks", which can be redeemed for exclusive swagbucks.com merchandise. You SEARCH the web (like you already do now) using their website, EARN swag bucks periodically during these searches, and then REDEEM the bucks for prizes like gift cards.

So lend me a hand and join, mkay?

Stay Tuned...

I'm going to give something away soon.
I just have to figure out what it's going to be...but when I do, it's gonna be good!

Stay tuned.

Chill Time

I love relaxing. I mean, it's probably obvious...most people do, right? But it's that especially important, ever-so-rare occasion that I get to really, really RELAX that I enjoy most of all. This weekend, I got to do just that.

I spent a day and a half in Michigan with my family and friends, just having a good time and being together. Such a wonderful way to spend a weekend....a birthday weekend, none-the-less. And even with the chaos of making dinner and entertaining 15 people, including two 5-year olds, in someone else's house - we still managed to feel relaxed. THAT is the sign of a great weekend.

So I'm sending a big shout out of thanks to my husband, daughter, sister, Aunt and the 'significant others' who helped make this weekend one to remember.

Ahhh, I needed that!

Free Food from Schwan's

I love having food delivered to my house. Where I live, not many places will deliver...but the Schwan's Man will! Of course, I have to cook that food myself, but it's not all that bad. If you've never ordered from Schwan's, then you're like me. I didn't even really know what it was until we moved to Indiana. Basically, it's a quaint little service this frozen food vendor uses to get customers. Delivering food right to your door, every two weeks, just like the milk man of days gone by. (...and no, I'm not old enough to remember the milk man, thankyouverymuch)

So, here's how I was introduced to Bob, my Schwan's delivery guy...FREE FOOD. Yep. Free. $10 worth on your first order. He'll come back every 2 weeks to see if you want to place a real, paying order - but if you don't then just say so. And chances are you will, because some of their stuff is AWESOME.

This is a link to the $10 free deal - check it out soon, I have no idea how long this will last.
http://www.schwans.com/promos/freefood/freeFoodBegin.aspx

My favorites?

• Strawberry Daiquiri Sorbet (dairy free! and limited time only, do a search for it)
• Single Serve Fruit Packs - Island Blend (great for healthy smoothies, and it's tropical fruits which are harder to do on your own - but they do have a regular berry one too...I can get 2 smoothies from one fruit pack and you get 4 in each big bag)

I've heard their fish and seafood are both really good, and I'll be getting those next time. I'm on a diet, so a lot of the frozen stuff here isn't really in my "plan"...but for family or a splurge or a party, it all looks really yummy!

If you order, leave me a comment and let me know what you tried!

Blog Me

My sister just sent me a Facebook message. She said to update my blog. Which must mean that at least some people are reading it. Or, at least one person is reading it. Thanks, Sis!

I like knowing that people are reading. I've been gone for a bit, but I promise to try and write more frequently. I think I'm just having a hard time trying to figure out what to say lately. I'm open to suggestions....