Sargento has a variety of recipes available on their site. I’m always on the look out for new an delicious ideas and Sargento’s site didn’t disappoint. I wanted to find a great recipe to try Sargento’s Ultra Thin Cheese. After browsing for a bit I decided that the Pesto Chicken & Cheese Panini looked pretty darn good. It only takes a few ingredients and a few minutes to make.

However, when I started gathering everything I needed I ran into a couple obstacles so I had to modify the recipe to fit what I had available in the house. It was still delicious!

The orignal recipe calls for pesto. I didn’t have pesto, but I thought hummus would be a good substitute. I pulled the hummus out of my fridge and realized it expired a month ago…ooopppps. I thought I had Italian bread in my bread basket, but it ended up being a french baguette. Oh, well. I just went with it. So, my Pesto Chicken & Cheese Panini ended up being a Peppers, Chicken & Cheese Baked Baguette. That worked well for me anyways, I seldom stick with a recipe and tend to go a bit off on my own adjusting to what is available.

You’ll find my modified recipe below. I hope you enjoy it. It made a very tasty lunch.

By the way, are you taking part in the Sargento #ThinToWin Challenge on Facebook? There are daily challenges and prizes. Here is todays challenge:

The challenge is to upload a photo of your playlist that keeps you moving. That’s it?? Seriously? How easy is that? I’ll enter for a chance to win a touch tone mp3 player. It took less than 5 minutes to enter. It was time well spent. Make sure you check back daily for other challenges meant to inspire and encourage you to thin your life.

SO VERY GOOD!!!

]]> http://justshortofcrazy.com/2012/05/sargento-ultra-thin-cheese-recipe.html/feed 1 http://justshortofcrazy.com/2012/05/orville-redenbacher-healthy-snacking-challenge-giveaway.html http://justshortofcrazy.com/2012/05/orville-redenbacher-healthy-snacking-challenge-giveaway.html#comments Thu, 17 May 2012 10:45:26 +0000 admin http://justshortofcrazy.com/?p=3970   I took the Orville Redenbacher healthy snacking challenge and have been loving how easy it has been to switch out my high calorie snacks for Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop! At only 100 calories for a very generous 3 cup serving it hasn’t been a hardship at all. SmartPop! easily satisfies my craving for a salty, [...]]]>

I took the Orville Redenbacher healthy snacking challenge and have been loving how easy it has been to switch out my high calorie snacks for Orville Redenbacher’s SmartPop! At only 100 calories for a very generous 3 cup serving it hasn’t been a hardship at all.

SmartPop! easily satisfies my craving for a salty, crunch snack. Instead of grabbing a bag of high calorie chips or popcorn I just pop up a bag of the SmartPop! and enjoy without guilt. The entire family has been enjoy this popcorn and it is our first snack of choice, especially since its so low in calories. We don’t really count calories, but we do try to be conscious of what we are eating and how many calories are in our snacks.

Be sure to visit Orville Redenbacher’s Facebook page so you can print off a $1 coupon. There is also a Pop Cam game to play. It requires a video camera, but that just makes it more interactive. You’ll have to give it a try.

GIVEAWAY:

I’m giving away FIVE boxes of popcorn. One each to five lucky winners.  I know you want to win a box. This popcorn is de.li.cious!!! YUM! Perfect for a movie night at home.

DETAILS:

Ends May 25 at 5 p.m. EST

Must leave email address in the comment

MANDATORY ENTRY:

Leave me a comment letting me know you would like to win. Be sure to leave your email address so I can contact you if random.org picks your comment as the winner.

ADDITIONAL ENTRIES: (be sure to leave a seperate comment for each entry)

+2 like me on Facebook

+2 like Orville on Facebook

+2 follow me on Twitter

+3 follow me on Pinterest

That’s a total of 10 chances to win.

GOOD LUCK!!!

BigJig toys began in England in 1985 and made their debut across the pond in 2011 and I’m so glad they did. I love that these toys are made to last and don’t feel disposable. The feel solid, durable, and like they’ll last for years to come. So many toy companies no longer provide quality well-made products. It seems like the kids play with them for a month or two and they fall apart. Not so with BigJig.

Even though I don’t have young children I’m always on the look out for toys for that age set. My sister is due with her first child in July. We haven’t had a newborn in the family since Em was born 16 years ago. To say we are beyond excited is an understatement. I just KNOW this baby will have all kinds of fun toys.

BIgJig sent me a freight train set for review. It’s a 130 pieces of fun and entertainment for children. After I received the set I headed over to my friend’s house to put the set together and see what her 2 year old thought of the set.

There are such fun detail on the train cars and they are so colorful.

Yea!! It’s the fruit & veggie train.

Coal & lumber.

There are pieces to decorate your rail area like these apple trees.

A working turnstile to switch cars.

Yep, people are included in your set. Every train set needs a handy engineer to make sure the train runs well and stays on track.

Some passengers for the train.

The instructions for setting up the track are very helpful as is the photo on the box.

Getting the track set up.

It took about 45 minutes to put the set together with three of us working on it. My friend and I worked on laying out the track while Em screwed together the bridges. When it was all put together it looked great! I love all the pieces that come with the set. Pine trees, apple trees, firetruck , houses, people and so much more.

My friend’s duaghter and her sisters (who were at school during set up) are having so much fun playing with the train set. I love that they are getting hours of enjoyment out of the train set. They play with it daily and love it.

Thank you BigJig for sharing your wonderful toys with your friends across the pond. I can’t wait to share BigJig trains, puzzles, and playsets with my niece or nephew. I think we will have great fun playing with these toys. I know I had fun playing with the train set with my friend’s daughter.

disclaimer: i received this set in exchange for my honest review.

Photo (c) Amy-Grinning Cheek to Cheek

When I was in Pensacola recently, at my Brandcation event, our group had the opportunity to attend a stargazing event hosted by the local astronomy club. We jumped at the chance to spend some time gazing at the stars through powerful telescopes. It was the evening of the Super Moon so the sky was really lit up, but we were still able to see so much.

Dewey, our star-guide for the evening, pointed out different constellations and planets to us using a really nifty laser type pointer so you knew EXACTLY where he was looking. He was informative and entertaining and we really appreciated him sharing his love of the stars and planets with the group. After a brief lesson in the stars we were invited to look at stars, planets, and the moon through telescopes.

Photo (c) Amy-Grinning Cheek to Cheek

There were quite a few telescopes set up by different members of the astronomy club, each usually set to see something different in the night sky. That night I viewed Saturn and seen her rings. THAT was awesome!  I also seen the moon up close. I was able to see a crater and multiple lakes on the moon. That was pretty intriguing. In addition, I looked at some bright and pretty stars and learned a bit about stars and how they exist.

All the club members were knowledgeable about what we were looking at and happy to share that knowledge with us. I think this was one of the more memorable events from the weekend. There is just something about looking up at the night sky and knowing that we are such a teeny party of the universe that puts life in perspective. for me at least.

If you are a stargazer or just love looking at the night sky I would encourage you to look up your local astronomy club and see if they have any public viewing opportunities. If you are ever in Pensacola be sure to look at this site to get the latest dates and times of their public viewing opportunities. Be sure to tell Dewey that you heard about him here. It’s really not an opportunity you’ll want to pass up. The best thing…it’s prefect for all ages.

Happy Star Gazing,

I don’t know if you know this about me yet or not, but I have a serious coffee addiction. I’m trying to cut back from 4-5 large cups of coffee a day to two. It’s hard, but I’ve kicked the soda habit so I’m pretty sure I can overcome this as well. In addition to my coffee addiction, I LOVE  using “candy creamer” in my coffee. You know what I’m talking about, right? That yummy creamer you buy in the dairy section that is loaded with who knows what? There are all kinds of delicious looking flavors, but I’m trying hard to resist them. We are trying really hard to reduce processed foods in our lives—it starts with baby steps

In my quest for healthier options I found Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss Creamers. There are only a few ingredients in these creamers and I can pronounce ALL of them. That’s right, no weird ingredients that I can’t say. Just simple easy to read items like: Milk, Cream, Sugar, and Natural Flavors. Yep, just like that.

Oh, and look here: All-Natural, Gluten-Free and REAL Dairy. Woot!!

As soon as I got home from my Walmart shopping trip, after buying two flavors, I had to conduct a taste test. I gave myself a reprieve on the 2 cups a day limit so I could let you know which flavor taste best. Yep, I broke my rules just for you…you all are worth it.

Ohhh, choices, choices. Which to try first????

My first cup of coffee I used the Sweet Cream and it was very tasty. Not too sweet and turned my coffee the nice chocolately color that I like. I liked the flavor better than boring old 1/2 and 1/2.  I savored my cup of coffee and when it was gone I want back for seconds. This time I added the Vanilla flavor. The vanilla gave my coffee more of the “candy creamer” flavor that I crave.  This was hands down my favorite of the two, but I really did like them both. Once the Vanilla is gone I’ll happily use the Sweet Cream flavor.

I’m so happy to have found the Natural Bliss Creamers by Coffee-Mate. Now I can enjoy flavored creamers in my coffee again knowing that I’m adding simple ingredients and not chemicals.

You can print off a $1 coupon to use on your purchase here.

Have you tried Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss? What did you think?

Learn more about Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss (#NaturalBlissWM) at the following sites:

http://www.naturalbliss.coffee-mate.com

http://www.facebook.com/CoffeeMateNaturalBliss

disclaimer: 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™. #CBias #SocialFabric As always, all opinions are my own.

Keeping my garden as close to nature as possible is important to me. I don't want to put chemicals and sprays on my food so I just go all natural and hope for the best. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Right now the rhubarb and strawberries are starting to burst from the ground and I wanted to help them along a bit. I can't wait to eat fresh fruit from my own backyard. What a refershing idea.

Anyways, I found Whitney Farms® organic plant food and decided to give it a try. Using a plant food is new to me so I looked forward to seeing the changes in my garden. I took handfuls of the plant food and sprinkled it around my strawberry and rhubarb beds on May 1st. 

The Rhubarb was already looking pretty good, but I figured a little bit of encouragment wouldn't hurt. 

Strawberries are starting to bloom. I really want to have a good harvest of strawberries from this small patch this year. It wont produce enough for jam, but hopefully we'll have some fresh strawberry shortcake from it.

After two weeks I'm happy wtih the results of using Whitney Farms.  I took the following photos on May 12th and I've seen a nice difference in plant growth:

Look!!! A bloom

please excuse the long grass/weeds in the background

I'll be planting our tomatoes soon in our brand new garden boxes using organic soil and the Tomato and Vegetable Food. Hopefully we'll have a nice crop this year.

Do you use plant food on your garden? Be sure to click on the Whitney Farm link to print a $3 coupon off your purchase.

I was feeling a little crafty the other day and decided to make a photo frame. I bought all the supplies at Walmart to make this. It was so easy and I finished it in about an hour and that includes the drying times.

I used Elmer’s Painters pens for this project. They come in a great array of colors and you can buy them individually at Walmart. Warning: You will want to buy many…the colors are hard to resist I mean, just look at all the lovely choices. I stopped myself at 5. Although, I really wanted to buy a few more.

In addition to the Elmer’s Painters I purchased a couple wooden frames and shapes. The frames are only 97 cents and make a fun and easy craft for the kids. You might want to stock up for rainy day projects this summer. You can check out my entire shopping trip here.

I set up all my crafting supplies to work on my frames. So thankful I hadn’t gone to recycle yet and still had newspaper to use. I purchase 2 frames, an owl shape and a bird shape. I wanted to make sure I had extra in case I really messed the first one up.

Em decided to help out with the frame by painting the bird.

I painted the frame a solid red, let it dry, and then using a turquoise Painter, painted a design on the frame. I’m not the best artist when it comes to painting but I really like having handcrafted items in the house. I just played around until I came up with an idea I liked and then started painting. I knew I was going to distress the frame after painting so I painted the large circles a solid white, let it dry, and then covered with turquoise.

I decided on circles and lines as the two design components. After I painted using the handy Elmer’s Painters–let’s just say MUCH easier to use than a paint brush…it’s a brilliant idea–I used sandpaper to distress the paint. I like how the white shows through just a bit on the circles (see first photo). I think the frame turned out nice.

Using Elmer’s Painters was so easy. I had a lot of fun using them to create this frame. I can’t wait to try the other colors on more projects. I’m pretty sure this frame will be gifted to my sister for the baby’s room. It will look great in there.

Want to learn more about Elmer’s? Check out these sites:

• http://www.elmers.com/
• https://twitter.com/elmers
• https://www.facebook.com/Elmers

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™. #CBias #SocialFabric As always, all opinions are my own.

Want to spend a morning zipping through the tree tops and the afternoon floating down a river? Perhaps, you’d rather hike and bike some scenic trails. Want to camp and go on a hayride? How about all of the above? Adventures Unlimited, nestled on the western side of Florida’s pan handle, offers all that and more at their family friendly outdoor center.
 

Photo (c) The Rebel Chick 

Our #Brandcation group spent the morning ziplining (well, most the group) and the afternoon tubing down Coldwater Creek. Some of our group opted out of ziplining; I’ll admit, I was one of them, I just really have no desire to hang on a wire high above the ground. However, the majority of ladies did zip and they LOVED it!! I hiked around and checked out the area while they were zipping.

60 feet up and then you jump….eeek! Ok. maybe jump is the wrong word. I’ve been told its more like a slide and you just glide across the sky. Sounds like it could be fun

There is a hanging bridge between the two platforms. For some reason hanging bridges don’t bother me at all, but the whole ziplining activity does. Go figure, I’m a bit quirky like that.

After hiking and zipping our group had a picnic lunch and then headed upstream for a 4 mile river float down Coldwater Creek.

The day was unbelievably gorgeous and warm. Some of the southern girls thought the river was cold, but this northerner jumped right in. The river was warmer than the water around here on the hottest day of summer. I loved it!

We were told that the river was a bit deeper than normal due to some rainfall the week prior. It was still pretty shallow. I think the majority of the river was, maybe, maybe, up to my knees with some parts being shallower and one spot being a bit deeper. If you get tired of tubing you can just stand up and walk through the river

Some river advice: There are a lot of obstacles in the river in the form of large rocks and branches. Additionally, lots of trees overhang the river. Word to the wise….spiders and other insects like to take up residence in those overhanging branches. It’s probably in your best interest to avoid the shoreline. That being said, you will work while you tube down the first half of the river. Well, at least I felt like it was a lot of work. I spent a lot of time paddling to avoid the shore and to make my way around river obstacles. Either I became more skilled at avoiding things or the second half is just a lot easier, but I enjoyed the last half of my float a lot more than the first Don’t forget to take bottled water and sunscreen with you.

Some people in our group were worried about seeing snakes. During my 3 1/2 hour float I didn’t see any snakes. The only thing I did spot was 2 itty bitty fish swimming by me.

Coldwater Creek is very scenic and clean with pretty clear water. The majority of the time you will be able to see the river bed. I really enjoyed the tubing trip. The trees and scenery reminded me of northern Michigan except it was A LOT warmer, which I loved. I was thrilled to be playing in the water the first weekend in May.

Photo (c) TheRebelChick.com

 
In addition to ziplining and river activities (canoeing, kayaking, tubing), Adventures Unlimited provides an array of other activities and amenities including:

~Camping
~Cabins
~Group Cabins
~Challenge Courses; both high and low courses
~Retreats
~Hayrides
~Scavenger Hunts
~Stargazing
~Orienteering
~BonFires
~Birding
~Fishing
~Hiking
~Biking

You can learn more about Adventures Unlimited at www.adventuresunlimited.com or call 850-623-6197. It’s well worth a trip to Adventures Unlimited.

There are 5 towers of condos that sit right between the Gulf of Mexico and the Sound. This perfect location means that the view from each condo is amazing! One of the gals watched dolphins playing in the surf from her balcony. How fun! The sunsets and sunrises were fantastic. The views alone are worth a stay at the Portofino.

I was able to see inside 4 different condos and they are all beautifully decorated with lovely furniture and decorations.

Isn’t this view unbelievable? Imagine waking up to that each morning…..

Yes, our condo really was this lovely.

Our condo had a wrap around deck that was great for taking photos of the Gulf.

In addition to the luxurious condo the resort has great amenities including 8 pools, a spa, a private beach, a fitness center, and an on-site restaurant and bar.

Oh, and check out the fun adventure cove:

There is also tennis courts and golf available for guest of Portofino.

Honestly, the Portofino Island Resort has something for every age group; small children, pre-teens, older teens, adults, and seniors alike.

I’m so glad I had the opportunity to stay at the Portofino. If you need a place to stay on the #gulfcoast be sure to consider the Portofino Island Resort in Pensacola Beach, FL.

disclaimer: i stayed at the Portofino as part of the #Brandcation event. ALL images above are compliments of PortofinoIsland.com

Love to travel and want to share your travel stories and strategies with other, but not sure where to begin? The Travel Writer’s Handbook shows you the up and down side of being a travel writer.

When I was first asked if I wanted to review the book my answer was a resounding YES. I love sharing travel stories and travel tips and thought this is a perfect way to learn more about the industry. Then I wondered why the authors would want to share their secrets to success. Why would they want more competition in what must be a saturated market with wanna be travel writers? After reading the book I completely understand why they don’t feel intimidated. It’s a lot of hard work and the author’s don’t sugar coat it. They tell it exactly how it is. Thank goodness, because it’s best going into a new field with eyes wide open.

Wondering what is covered in the book. Authors, Jacqueline Harmon Butler and Louise Purwin Zobel, share helpful tips about the following:

~internet research

~digital photography

~mobile apps

~blogging/social media

They also give great advice on topics including, but not limited to:

~your target market

~time management research techniques

~writing query letters that get the assignment

~new angles for overworked destinations

~what/how to pack

~successful interviews

~how to not “sell-out”

~selling what you write, numerous times

“The well-written travel article is filled with general information and

enough slanted specifics to appeal to a particular reader.”

This book really opened my eyes to the work it will take to be successful at travel writing. I love sharing travel tips and stories here, but I’d like to branch out and share with readers who may never find my blog. If you have ever wondered what it would take to be a travel writer I highly recommend reading this book.

Rating: 5/5