[Sponsored Post] Private Selection Taste of Summer Campaign

Private Selection Brand foods are available at Kroger Family Stores.

BZZAGENT Alert :-)

I recently joined the Private Selection Taste of Summer Campaign on Bzzagent.  Bzzagent if you didn't know is a website that you sign up for and then receive products which you then review to your friends and family and acquaintances.  They usually send you a product, a coupon for a free product, and coupons for dollars off to share with friends.

I received a bag of Private Selection Sea Salt and Black Pepper Kettle Chips.  They were pretty tasty.  my son described them as tasting like french fries.  It took me several tries to get my daughter to taste them as the 'black pepper' in the title made her take an instant dislike.

I thought they were very good.  They are not too salty and the black pepper added a nice flavor punch without any added spiciness.

I also received coupons for a free pint of Private Selection ice cream, a free pound of Angus ground beef, and a six inch Apple or Cherry pie.  I used the beef in spaghetti last night.  It cooked up very nicely with too much grease to drain off.  It also cooked up with a very fine crumb and that went very nicely with my spaghetti sauce.  The apple pie was small but was enough for each of us to have a decent sized SMALL portion.  I added some ice cream to mine to round it out.

This time around I have been pretty impressed with the quality of the offerings.  last time I was involved with a promotion from Private Selection I wasn't impressed.  I am glad that they are paying attention.


[I received free items either in the mail or in coupons to be used and then provide my honest review]

[Sponsored Post] Kroger Private Selection store brand foods

I received coupons from Bzzagent to try a new brand of food at Kroger. Not just any brand either but a store brand called Private Selection.

I think I had tried one or two things from this brand before, but with the coupons that Private Selection sent me through Bzzagent, I was able to make a thorough dent in the product line.

I will definitely continue buying things from this frozen line of store brand foods. They are less expensive and the same or maybe better quality than some of the name brand things that i have tried.

Thanks Bzzagent for allowing me to try out this brand from Kroger.

[Sponsored Post] Kroger Truly Awesome Homestyle Chocolate Chip cookie

I bought these at Kroger and found that they are a pretty tasty treat. When you don't have time to bake something, I think this is a great exchange. They were not too crunchy, and just the right amount of chewy. I loved the amount of chocolate chips too. I am glad that buzz agent got me interested in trying the cookies.

Minor Plans for Homeschooling

I have been spending a lot of time this summer with my unschooling friends. This has had the effect of helping me feel satisfied about my children instead of hopeless for the coming year.

I still have a plan though ;-)

I am planing on using a little bit of a lot of different things this year. Here is a list of them.

Life of Fred Elementary Series

Life of Fred is just awesome. I don't know any other way I could describe it. It is a story book set with a few questions at the end of each chapter to help the child work through and remember the lesson.

SOS Math for practice on the computer.

Cantering the Country (Unit study using the United States)

It Happened in America - True Stories from the 50 States

Travel the Great States - an Activity book

You can probably tell from the above that I plan on focusing on US history and Geography this year.

English will consist of working in the book Voyages in English #2 and #5.

We will try to get more Museum time in as well as parks and meeting up with friends.

In September we will be at the Great Wolf Lodge in Grapevine during Home School week. If you see me come and talk to me :-)

Wands

Someone private messaged me about the wands in the picture in the post I wrote highlighting our trip to Nebraska. I found that craft online.

Harry Potter Wand Tutorial

Next time I do this craft I will try silicone instead, and then finish off the tips and designs with the hot glue.

I filled the wands myself, but if you try it out I think that teenagers could do this pretty easily if they are the type to not hurt themselves randomly.

I think this is a really cool craft and I am glad that we had a chance to try it out.

Painting the Wands

Hot gluing the designs on a wand

Traveling With My Kids

We just got back from the annual AP Jamboree last week. It was a week full of fun conversations, spending time with friends and loads of tea and toast.

Highlights of the week we were gone:

The Unschool Bus!

No picture because I haven't liberated one from Tiffany yet, but here is a link to their blog.

Unschooling Liberty

.

STORMS! We are in TX and going through a nasty drought so these while noisy, were welcome.

Bugs! They have cool bugs in Nebraska :-)

Going Barefoot!

Injuries. Only this one if I remember correctly.

Sleeping on couches.

WANDS!

Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Had this at our monthly recipe swap and it is WONDERFUL!!! Lori
bruught it to the swap, I don't know where she got it...

Pork Chops Stuffed with Sun-Dried Tomatoes and Spinach

Ingredients

   * 1 tablespoon olive oil, plus 1 tablespoon
   * 2 cloves garlic, minced
   * 6 sun-dried tomatoes, diced
   * 1 (10-ounce) bag of frozen spinach, thawed and excess water squeezed out
   * 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more for seasoning
   * 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more for seasoning
   * 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
   * 1/4 cup (2 ounces) Feta cheese
   * 1/3 cup cream cheese
   * 4 (4-ounce) center-cut pork chops [or 8 THIN-cut]
   * 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
   * 1/2 lemon, zested
   * 2 tablespoons lemon juice
   * 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Directions

Warm the 1 tablespoon olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium
heat. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the
sun-dried tomatoes, spinach, salt, pepper, and thyme. Cook until
combined, about 2 more minutes. Transfer the mixture to a medium bowl.
Add the goat cheese and the cream cheese. Stir to combine and set
aside.

Use a sharp knife to cut a pocket into the thickest portion of the
pork chop. Stuff each pocket with 1/4 of the spinach and sun-dried
tomato mixture and close the pork around the stuffing. Season the
outside of the pork with salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine the chicken broth, lemon zest, lemon juice, and mustard.

Warm the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large, heavy skillet
over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot add the pork. Cook until
golden and cooked through, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer the pork
to a side dish and tent with foil to keep warm. Add the chicken broth
mixture to the skillet over medium-high heat. Scrape up the brown bits
from the bottom of the pan as the chicken broth simmers. Reduce the
broth by half to make a light sauce, about 8 minutes. Spoon some sauce
over the pork before serving.

(NOT) Homemade Sour Cream Enchiladas

3/4 C. Sour Cream [about 1/3 of a 1lb container]
1 10.5 oz can Cream of Chicken
small can chopped green chilies
Shredded Cheddar [ I used a cheddar Monterrey Jack combo]
frozen chicken Taqitoes [I used El Monterrey brand]

Mix the soup and sour cream. Add green chilies to your heat preference.

Put the Taquitoes into a glass oven proof dish in one layer. Spread the sour cream sauce on top and then top generously with shredded cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

HAWAIIAN FALLS GIVEAWAY

This is a announcement from http://www.northtexaskids.com

Giveaway: I Wanna' Make A Splash!

It's summertime in Texas, which means I'm one HOT mama (literally!) and I could use a great way to cool off … without breaking the bank. My fingers are crossed (oh, the toes, too) that I can snag the North Texas Kids Splashfest fun pack for the whole family.

This awesome giveaway includes four passes to Splashfest, a water-filled family expo at Hawaiian Falls in The Colony, and a rockin' cabana! Best part(s), well in addition to the total greatness that is free stuff? Radio Disney, 20 family-friendly vendors and Sci-Tech Discovery Center (hello, poolside science for the kiddos? Sweet!) will all be there.Event Details:
North Texas Kids Splashfest
benefiting Sci-Tech Discovery Center?Hawaiian Falls in The Colony
Saturday, July 18
11 am-4 pm
discounted admission tickets available at www.northtexaskids.com

While I'd love to win the golden ticket, I'm a sucker for dishing details—especially when other mamas can benefit. So, here goes. If you, too, would like a chance to soak in the sun, fun and latest in parenting support courtesy of North Texas Kids magazine, simply copy this entry (including headline and the above link to the pub) and repost it on your own mama blog, then shoot the magazine an e-mail at  HYPERLINK "mailto:info@northtexaskids.com"info@northtexaskids.com to let them know you're participating (be sure to include a link to your post). 

Next Thursday, a winner will be drawn from the "inbox" and notified via e-mail … it's that easy!

Good luck ladies, may the "hottest" mama win. ;)

Thanks for your help!

Minette Riordan

Publisher

North Texas Kids magazine

Advances in Robotics

I read a blog today about this
<http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2009/04/08/japan's-child-robot-learns-to-walk/>
it is abotu a robot learning.

I thought it was interesting :-)