Mrs. T's Pierogies Review

I am always on the lookout for a quality side dish that my kids will love as much as hubby and I do.  Sometimes it is difficult to find something new that's acceptable to kids and adults.  I do believe I have found a new stand-by for my dinner side dishes.....Mrs. T's Pierogies.  I had never heard of a pierogie before and had never given this product a second glance in the store.  When I was offered the chance to try them, I thought it was a great opportunity to either find a new favorite or mark something off of the 'need to try' list.

I chose the Potato & 4 Cheese Blend Mini Pierogies.  They were super easy to cook and so versatile that you could either serve them as a side dish prepared as is or as a part of a main dish when combined with onion, garlic, and veggies.  I decided to serve it as a side dish, but with a little personality.  I decided to saute them in a little olive oil, garlic, and onion.  Wow....I never expected a frozen potato & pasta side dish to taste so wonderful!  My teenage son love them, my hubby loved them, and I loved the taste and ease of preparation.

 

To prepare, you can boil, saute, or bake.  They went from freezer to table in under 10 minutes using the saute method.  I highly recommend these cute little pockets for a side dish to your next meal.  They can be found in the freezer section of your grocery store.

Kroger Spring Dinner: Make it a Family Meal with Kroger

 

I love Kroger store brand products.  I have found that Kroger hamburger, frozen veggies, and frozen novelty items are just as good as the name brand but without the high cost.  The only Kroger brand item that I've ever bought and returned was their tropical trail mix.  Last night, we decided to try a few new things from Kroger for dinner.  I tried their pork tenderloin and frozen lima beans and then finished it off with Kroger cake mix and frosting.

I found this awesome recipe on AllRecipes.com and decided it was a perfect fit for what I had planned.  Then, I broiled some of my homemade wheat bread that I brushed with olive oil, basil and garlic slices.  Hubby and kids were so excited to try this pork dish that I didn't have time to take a picture of the final product before it was in their mouths!  Sorry that you didn't get to see it as a finished product, but believe me it was super yummy and tender.  The Kroger pork tenderloin had a perfect layer of fat on the one side and was extremely moist and delicious.  I only made half of the tenderloin last night and tonight I plan on roasting the other half with some salt, pepper, and garlic on top.  I bet the fat layer is going to create a magnificent moist roast.

I made the Kroger homestyle mashed potatoes with a little bit of garlic salt and whipped in a little Kroger greek yogurt for a bit of extra creaminess.  It was superb and better than I ever expected pre-cooked mashed potatoes to be!

No dinner can be complete without a nice dessert.  While the pork was marinating, I whipped up this Kroger Butter Recipe cake mix and when it cooled, topped it with Kroger vanilla frosting.  I followed the instructions on the cake mix to a tee and am sure glad I did because the outcome was a seriously moist and fluffy cake!  I thought beating it with my Kitchen Aid stand mixer for 4 minutes on medium was going a little far, but the consistency of the batter after that was like a light and fluffy mousse.  My daughter and hubby scarfed up the cake and asked for seconds immediately!

Do you love Kroger brand products as much as I do?  They're a great way to save money while still getting a quality product.  Best of all, they even send you coupons for their store brands if you've signed up with them at Kroger.com.

Again....Cheaters Are NOT Tolerated

I found 1 person on my OraMD giveaway that did NONE of the entries she claimed to have done and all of her entries were deleted.  After one winner never responded to claim her prize, I did a re-draw for a winner and 7 people claimed to 'like' my page on Facebook but did not.

I DO check entries for fraudulent people before I draw winners and when I get a winner, I check their winning entry to make sure it was really done.  I won't tolerate cheaters.

OraMD Oral Care Review & Giveaway, ends 4/17/13

I have sensitive teeth and lately even putting my Crest ProHealth Sensitive toothpaste on my teeth sends sharp pains shooting through my mouth.  I have tried everything (or so I thought) for sensitive teeth and my problems just seem to get worse as I age.  I found a new product that has been a God-send, and not just to my nerve endings, but also to my nose!  My hubby sometimes has what we call "Devil breath" that comes out during church and no matter how many products he uses in the morning, it's still there.

OraMD isn't like traditional toothpaste, it's a blend of natural oils (peppermint, spearmint and almond) that cleans your teeth and kills the germs in your mouth.  It's safe for people with braces, veneers, bonds, crowns, fillings and dentures.  It also doesn't contain alcohol that can dry out your mouth (causing bad breath) or harsh abrasives (that can hurt sensitive teeth).  I am not sure of all the science to it, but you can read more about it here.  All I do know is that it works and works really well.  No longer do I have pain in my teeth when brushing; no longer do my teeth feel like they have plaque build-up after just a couple hours; no longer does my hubby have his Sunday morning "Devil breath".  OraMD has fixed ALL of that.

This stuff tastes horrible, although the potency of it does seem to wane a bit after the first few uses.  It has a very strong menthol taste to it but it doesn't last long at all; as a matter of fact, it's pretty well gone right after I put my toothbrush away.  After the first day, I wasn't sure if I could intentionally put that stuff in my mouth again, but after realizing how good it was working on day one, I steeled myself to do it again.  I do use a whitening toothpaste on my front teeth that aren't as sensitive a couple times a week because OraMD doesn't have any whitening properties.

I've read from others that this product is super awesome at treating periodontal disease, but I don't have that issue, so I don't really know.  I'd recommend this for anyone with breath, sensitivity, or gum issues.  It may be a little expensive, but you only use 2 drops per brushing because of how potent it is.

Aside from the giveaway below, the manufacturer is willing to offer my readers one FREE bottle. They said they would love to have our readers try out OraMD and agreed to send one bottle FREE if our readers would pay a minimal shipping and handling charge.  They also agreed to include 2 eye-opening reports called 1) “The 6 Hidden Dangers In Toothpaste” and 2) “Why The FDA Requires A Warning Label On Your Toothpaste.”  That’s a total value of over $40.00.  Click here to get your FREE bottle and FREE reports now.

The wonderful folks at Trusted Health Products have offered 3 of my readers a FREE bottle of OraMD just like I received.  This giveaway is open to US residents and ends 4/17 at 11:59 pm.

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Photography Sessions in SWVA

Photos courtesy of http://jessicaslilmoments.blogspot.com/

It's getting to be the time for graduations, weddings, and family portraits! If you're in the Bristol, VA or Southwestern Virginia area, I encourage you to check this out! Jessica is currently offering custom on-location photo sessions near her location in Southwest VA. What's even better? Some of her sessions are FREE, she does usually include a CD for you to print an unlimited amount of pictures from. Like her photography page at http://facebook.com/jessicaslilmoments to keep up with her photography session offers! She also has a blog here: http://jessicaslilmoments.blogspot.com/ (you just click on the links running across the top to see the specific pages she has).

Kroger Good For You CARBmaster & Greek Yogurts Review

As with most families, our household is trying to eat better on a budget.  It gets pretty difficult to eat healthy without spending a ton of money, but the hardest part is getting the kids on board with new and healthier alternatives.  That's where Kroger brands have always come in for us.  I recently tried the new CARBmaster line, as well as their Greek Yogurt line of products.  Yogurt is such a great alternative to ice cream and other frozen treats.  Yogurt has so many health benefits for kids and adults and can be frozen to make creamy treats on a hot summer day!

Our family drinks a ton of milk, but sometimes the amount of sugars you find in milk are unnecessary in your diet.  Kroger has a new line of dairy products called CARBmaster.  I tried the milk and the key lime yogurt.  I have to admit, I was extremely skeptical about the milk.  Milk is one of those things that I don't like alternatives of and think that most brands end up tasting like cardboard when they get rid of the sugar or fats.  I was really surprised and pleased the first time I tried the milk.  I used it first in cereal (mostly because I was scared to just drink it straight) and honestly couldn't tell the difference in taste from my regular skim milk.  Next, I used it in a recipe to see if the texture and content would hold up to baking.  Again, it did remarkably well and there was no creepy aftertaste.  It was only then that I could finally trust it enough to drink straight up.  I could hardly tell the difference from skim milk.  The only thing I could even place as different is that it had a slightly less sweet taste, but the difference is so minimal that I would have never known about it had I not known what I was drinking.  One word of caution though....it does have a higher cholesterol content than skim milk, so if you're having cholesterol issues, you may need to talk with your doctor before switching.

My daughter tried the CARBmaster key lime yogurt and said it tasted pretty much like the other major brands, but with a slightly less sweet taste.  I don't think she prefers the CARBmaster yogurt, but she said she'd definitely eat it with no problems if that's what we had in the house.

My husband tried the Greek mixed berry yogurt and the Greek Light blueberry yogurt and really liked them both.  They were very thick and creamy and tasted great as a spread on fruit too.  I definitely like that the Kroger brand Greek Light yogurts taste as good as the national brands, but with a much lower cost.

Simple Truth Products from Kroger Family!

I don't know about you, but I am always looking for ways to give my family healthy, organic products that are affordable and taste good!  I can't pay 2-3 times as much for a product just because it's organic, and my kids won't eat most of those products anyway because they taste bad.  So.....when I found Simple Truth products from the Kroger family brand, I have to admit I was a little skeptical.

We tried a variety of Simple Truth items and didn't find a single one of them to be substandard or with a taste sub par from their name brand (and bad-for-you) counter-part!  I have to say, we were all pleasantly surprised at the awesome taste of everything we tried and I was happy that the cost wasn't way above the other non-organic products.  My kids tried the Simple Truth energy bar in peanut butter and chocolate and really liked it....they were even fighting on who got the last piece of it.  My daughter said it tasted like a cross between an energy bar and a chewy granola bar.  My husband tried the Simple Truth soda and really liked it as an alternative to sugary sodas that are filled with chemicals you can't name.

Both my hubby and I tried the Simple Truth Sweet Potato Chips and loved them as a great alternative to sodium filled alternatives like chips and crackers that we normally eat.  They weren't overbearing and overly salty....it was just the perfect balance of sweet and salty.  The whole family tried the Simple Truth Chocolate Almond Milk and thought it tasted just like a YooHoo (which they all love).  I thought it was delightful and tasted like a yummy, creamy chocolate milk.

I'm definitely sold on Simple Truth products and can't wait to try out the frozen berries in a smoothie and their pasta for dinner one night!