Lean Cuisine Asian Flavor and Gyozas (Recipe!)

December is a busy month for us and my husband works long days,

so a lot of the time when dinner comes around it's just myself and the kids.

On especially busy nights - like Wednesdays - when we are running from one

activity to the next and it would be so easy to go through the drive-thru for dinner,

I'm always looking for quick & healthy meal options - enter Lean Cuisine!

The kids are happy with dino nuggets and fruit and veggies,

but let's just say we don't have the same taste and I want something more.

The other day I was shopping at Sam's Club and checked out the frozen foods section

to see if I could find the Lean Cuisine Asian Flavor 6-Pack.

The 6-pack was conveniently located in the frozen meals and I was super excited

to find this single-person serving meal that I could enjoy while the kids

enjoyed their meal.

(You can read about my shopping experience in my Google+ Story.)

This week Thursday was busy, but not as busy as Wednesday, so I had a little

extra time to prepare a yummy side dish to pair with my Lean Cuisine Sesame Chicken.

I chose to whip up gyozas - a family recipe from my sister-in-law.

They are a Japanese fried dumpling and super yummy!

You'll need:

1 lb. ground beef

1 c. cabbage

1 small onion

2 T. soy sauce

salt, pepper, garlic to taste

wonton papers

oil for frying

Brown your ground beef and drain.

Add cabbage and onion and cook until cabbage begins to turn translucent.

I was feeling adventurous Thursday so I used broccoli and shredded carrot instead.

Season with salt, pepper and garlic.

Add soy sauce.

Spoon into wontons and roll up.

To roll: fold the top corner over to the bottom corner - but just far enough to cover the filling.

Fold in the side corners one at a time and then fold the bottom corner up over

then all.

Your little gyoza will look like this!

Fry up by heating up some canola oil and frying each side for 5-10 seconds.

Watch them closely - they fry quickly.

While they cooled - because they are HOT! -  I popped my Lean Cuisine in the

microwave for 4 minutes and tidied up the kitchen while I waited.

While my Lean Cuisine cooled, I plated and served the kids.

They were excited for one of their favorite meals :)

My Sesame Chicken looked delicious and I was excited to try it with my gyoza

for a completely delicious meal!

I got fancy and put it all on a paper plate and was ready to enjoy!

I was grateful for a quick and easy meal that I would like, on an evening

when I did have time to prepare a big meal for the family.

If you're interested in making gyozas, I've got a cute little recipe card you can
print and use. Just right click and save!

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 Nestle Lean Cuisine #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

Holiday Stocking Stuffer Ideas: Colgate Holiday Packs

I can't believe that Thanksgiving is over and we're in the countdown for Christmas!

One of my favorite parts of Christmas gifts are the stockings that Santa leaves.

I love choosing fun things to fill the stockings with - and all of the items have to be wrapped!

I usually hunt year round for the perfect stocking stufffers, but this year I've been a little lax in my search.

One thing I always like to include in the stockings are new toothbrushes and toothpastes. 

Good oral hygiene is an important skill for kids to learn,

so I want them to feel like brushing their teeth is a fun and important part of each day.

 I am in luck this year, because while shopping at Walmart, I found these awesome

Colgate Holiday Packs for kids featuring Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob.

I know these favorite characters are sure to bring holiday smiles to my kids' faces!

I love that the toothbrush has the oscillating head and the kids will love

seeing their favorite characters while brushing each morning and night.

Colgate Holiday Packs make the perfect stocking stuffer and are sure

to bring smiles to your little one's face on Christmas morning.

So, next time you're at Walmart, check them out and give the gift of 

oral care to those that you love in a fun and inviting package!

My stockings are shaping up quite nicely - now I just need to find the actual stockings in that endless vortex that is the garage . . . But I still have time!

You can keep up with Colgate on Twitter and Facebook!

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 Colgate. #CBias #HolidaySmiles #SocialFabric”. All opinions are my own.

Stress-Free Holiday Travel with Huggies GoodNites Bed Mats

My little Isabella was daytime potty trained at 2.5 years old - just like her older brother.

But just like her older brother, we're still struggling with bedwetting - or enuresis - 

at almost four years old.

Nighttime accidents can make Holiday travel stressful for parents and kids,

and since we are heading out of town for both Thanksgiving and Christmas,

So, I started looking for an option that was easy to use and would make sleeping

away from home without our normal mattress covers less stressful for both Isabella and me.

I found a great solution at Walmart.com in Huggies GoodNites!

These disposable bed mats are 2.5x3 feet and are made to fit a twin size mattress.

They have strong adhesive strips that attach securely to your child's fitted sheet.

It was awesome to find them at Walmart.com and they were available for free store pick-up!

I loved being able to shop online to ensure that the GoodNites would be at the store

when I got there and to pick them up at my convenience.
It would also be a great idea to order a package for Site-to-Store at a Walmart

near your Holiday travel destinations so you don't have to worry about packing them.

You can also take a quiz online at Walmart.com about bedwetting that will earn you a $2 coupon!

I loved the quiz because it reminded me about some things about bedwetting that I had forgotten

since we last went through it with my oldest child.

My kids are super heavy sleepers - like me! - so a bedwetting alarm and night light are

great tools for helping Isabella become successful with sleeping through the night dry.

I grabbed several packages to keep at home, one to take on our trip to Grandma's 

next month, and dropped another package off at the other Grandma's house so

sleep-overs at their house can be worry free.

I'm grateful that GoodNites are so reassuring that I'm not alone and that lots

of moms with preschool children are going through the same thing I'm going through

with trying to achieve nighttime training.

Another tip that the Huggies GoodNites offers is to create a chart

to celebrate the success of sleeping through the night dry.

I made one for Isabella and I made a blank one for you in case

you are part of the 20% like me!

Every time she wakes up dry she gets a sticker and when she gets five 

stickers - or fills up a row - she gets to pick a fun prize from my stash.

Download free chart HERE!!

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 Huggies. #HuggiesWalmart #CBias #SocialFabric”. All opinions are my own.

Spa Night: Pampering with NIVEA

I try to have friends over at least once a month to unwind, watch TV, chat,
eat yummy food, and just generally take a break from being "mommy".
This month I had the girls over for a spa party!
I got to shop at Sam's Club for NIVEA lotions and fun things to make the evening
relaxing and memorable for some very deserving ladies.




I know that everyone thinks that Southern California has great winter weather,
and it really does, but it still gets dry here during the winter and I'm always looking
for a great lotion to keep the dry winter skin at bay.
Buying NIVEA at Sam's Club is such a great value because you get two large bottles
and a travel lotion for less than $10. I think that is fantastic!
(You can read about my complete shopping experience in my Google+ Story.)

Because I wanted the night to be extra special I made up some fun treats for the

ladies to take home with them, so they can remember to pamper themselves on a regular basis.

I used my Silhouette SD  to make some adorable Fall gift boxes to hold some of their

NIVEA goodies and included some extras that I thought they'd enjoy.

The girls were excited to try the NIVEA and they all remarked about how great it
felt going on and how smooth their hands felt after they had used it.
I got several texts the next day thanking me for having them over and giving them
a little break from daily life and letting them pamper themselves with facials,
food, and manicures complete with NIVEA



Having the spa party was a good reminder to pamper myself on a regular basis,
and that it can be done at home with good friends and a great evening.

You can find out about more NIVEA products on their website,
follow them on Twitter, like them on Facebok, and find more great ideas
for enjoying NIVEA of your own on the #NIVEAmoments Pinterest board.

 
I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Beiersdorf for NIVEA.  #NIVEAmoments #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.

Shopping for Winter Clothes at #CookiesKids

This Christmas we're headed to Utah to visit the Grandparents.

I'm really excited to go, but when I was pulling out the winter clothes

for the change of seasons, I realized that Isabella's winter coat isn't going to fit her this year.

I decided to check out the winter clothing options at Cookie's Kids.

I was pleasantly surprised to find this great online signage as soon as I arrived at Cookie's Kids.

Woohoo! Winter Fashion!!!!

This was the first I have ever shopped at Cookie's Kids online store and I was so 

excited to see all the great name brands they have at such great prices.

One of the things that can be daunting about online shopping is getting the right size.

Each brand fits differently and with Isabella's long torso, I'm always worried that 

clothes will be long enough in the torso, but not too long in the arms, etc.
Cookie's Kids has this great little helper called Alva Kids.
You enter in your child's height, weight, and birthday and it helps you choose
the right size for that particular item of clothing.
Genius!

 

I enjoyed shopping online at Cookie's Kids.
The categories are well organized and easy to navigate and I appreciated
the option to "view all" in each category rather than having to scroll through page
after page of items and then trying to get back to the item I liked the best.
You can read more about my shopping experience in my Google+ story.

My items came is a quick and timely manner in very lively packaging.

The first item I chose to add to Isabella's winter wardrobe was this great
pink London Fog Insulated Jacket with scarf.
I was so pleased with the fit and sizing of the jacket.

Isabella loved it and even though it was 75 degrees outside when the coat arrived, 

she wanted to wear the coat to pick up her brother from school.

The second item I added to her winter clothing options was a pair of long johns!

And because Isabella is crazy for pink, I had to nab these Dickies Thermal Long Underwear.

They are perfect for wearing under snow clothes as an extra insulation layer

or to keep you warm on cold winter nights.

I was most excited to see that the jammies were tagless!!!

This is a definite must for my little eczema prone little girl.

I think that all kids clothing should be tagless - it would save so much heart ache!

That night after a warm bath she insisted on wearing them to bed.

I was definitely pleased with my shopping experience at Cookie's Kids.

They had great options for kid's clothing, great name brands, and great deals.

I will definitely be shopping there again soon.

Cookie's Kids has seven stores in the NYC area in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Jamaica.

You can also shop online at CookiesKids.com

And if you're looking to add to your child's winter wardrobe, school uniforms,

or just like to shop for kids fashion, I've got a COUPON CODE for you!!!

Use the code:

funkypolkadotgiraffe

for 10% off sitewide.

(Expires 12/21/12)

You can keep up with Cookie's Kids on Facebook and Twitter.

 

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 CookiesKids.com #CBias #SocialFabric.  

All opinions are my own. 

Pumpkin Gingerbread Cupcakes with {Cool Whip} Frosting

 This year my little/BIG first grader has to master all his addition and subtraction facts.

The program his teacher uses has 26 tests per operation - labeled with a letter of the alphabet.

To help JT keep track of his progress, I made a little sticker chart.

Each time he completes an entire row, he gets a surprise and we have a little celebration.

This week he completed the second row!!! Woohoo!!!

So I decided to bake up some cupcakes and try out the new Cool Whip Frosting.

I was excited to try this new frosting, because my little/BIG guy 

really isn't a butte rcream fan, so I was hoping to find a dessert option

that would appeal to his taste buds.

I gathered my ingredients:

1 cake mix - I used spice cake.

1 package instant pudding - I used pumpkin spice, but you could use vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree - NOT pumpkin pie mix

1/2 cup oil

1/2 cup water

3 eggs

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

I combined it all in my mixer and mixed on low speed for 30 seconds

until combined and then 2 minutes on medium speed.

I Added the batter to my cupcake tin
and popped them in the oven for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees.

While the cupcakes baked, I made some pumpkin butter to fill some of the cupcakes.

The cupcakes came out nice and fluffy - just like we like them.

I filled a few of the cupcakes with pumpkin butter by cutting a hole in the top,

filling in with a teaspoon or so of filling, and then plopping the cork back on.

Then I piped on my frosting!!!

Cool Whip Frosting comes in Vanilla, Chocolate and Cream Cheese.

I always use a large round tip to pipe my frosting out of a ziploc bag.

I love how the Cool Whip Frosting piped out like a fluffy white cloud.

I added about an 1/8 of a teaspoon of cinnamon to the vanilla frosting

to add a little kick and to match the flavor of the gingerbread pumpkin cake.

I was super impressed with how well the Cool Whip Frosting held up to piping

and to sitting out on the counter for an hour or so.

I was sure that it would get droopy, but it still looks fantastic.

The final test would be the kids.

I have one frosting loving kid and one frosting "meh" kid.

JT's (the "meh" kid) initial reaction was a little bit shocked.

He was worried about the amount of frosting - being the type that

gets his mom to scrape the frosting off the top before he dives into the cake.

But he gave it a try . . .

I think he was pleased :)

I loved my pumpkin butter filling . . . so yummy!!!!

I also like the low calorie count and fat content on the Cool Whip Frosting

as opposed to traditional frosting - that's always a plus.

You can find more Kraft Recipes, find Cool Whip on Facebook,

or check out the Kraft Cool Whip Frosting Pinterest Board for more ideas,

so can celebrate the everyday like we did!

You can view my complete shopping experience for Cool Whip Frosting on Google+.

 

Disclosure: I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community.  This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Kraft Cool Whip.  #CoolWhipFrosting #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own.