The Lucky Winner is…

Thanks to all of you fine blog readers who entered my CSN Stores GIVEAWAY last week!  After much deliberation…and the usage of the true random number generator…we have a winner!  So, congratulations to…

Renee

from Black and Gold Girl’s Book Spot!!

Yay!  I highly recommend that you check out Renee’s blog.  This girl is reading machine, who writes excellent book reviews and loves the Pittsburgh Steelers!!  Plus, she’s a great “blog friend” to me!

Thanks again to all of those who entered my GIVEAWAY and many thanks to CSN Stores for this great opportunity!  I’ll be posting new recipes soon, I promise.  Enjoy the rest of your week, my friends.

I’ve Been Absent…So, Let’s Have a Giveaway!

Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.  I haven’t posted since January.  Shameful, isn’t it?  I do have a good excuse though.  You see, my husband decided to hurt his knee and he had to have surgery, so I’ve been busy taking care of him.  In order to buy myself some time before I get a new recipe posted, how about a GIVEAWAY?! 

Those awesome people at CSN Stores are once again, offering a generous gift certificate for $50 to any of their over 200 online stores, to one of you fine readers.  Whether you're looking for some modern office furniture or perhaps some fitness equipment or even a fountain for your backyard, CSN stores have it all!!

I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win this GIVEAWAY!  There are 3 ways to enter and all entries must be received by midnight (AZ Time) on Saturday, February 19th and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me how you found my blog. (I don’t have a ton of reader, so I’m just curious how you found me! )

2. Follow ME on Twitter @saraboff, or if you already do, let me know

3. Become a Follower of Sara’s Sweets, or let me know if you already are

*Please leave separate comments to let me know that you’re a follower on Twitter or of the blog.

Good luck!!

We Have a Winner!

Thanks to all of those who entered my CSN Stores GIVEAWAY!  Welcome to those new readers of Sara’s Sweets and to you old readers, thanks for sticking around. :)  Without further ado…the lucky winner, picked at random, is…

3 Boys and an Old Lady!!

Congrats, Old Lady!  I’ll be in contact with you very soon.

Thanks again to all who entered!  And of course, many thanks to CSN Stores for allowing me to have this GIVEAWAY!  Have a great week everyone.

Paste e Fagoli and a GIVEAWAY!

As a preferred blogger for CSN Stores, I have the opportunity to host another giveaway for one of you fine readers!  Yay!  By now you all know that CSN Stores has over 200 online stores with a ton of different items to choose from.  You need new dining chairs?  No problem.  What about a ceiling fan?  They got it.  Or how about a tool case?  You know they have one!  And now is your chance to get something that you need!  Those great folks at CSN Stores have offered one of my lucky readers a $50 gift code to any of their sites.

I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win this GIVEAWAY!  There are 3 ways to enter and all entries must be received by midnight (AZ Time) on Saturday, November 6th and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me which what restaurant recipe you wish you had the “copycat” recipe for

2. Follow ME on Twitter @saraboff, or if you already do, let me know

3. Become a Follower of Sara’s Sweets, or let me know if you already are

*Please leave separate comments to let me know that you’re a follower on Twitter or of the blog.

And now onto today’s recipe!  I enjoy Olive Garden very much.  I could go there and eat soup, salad and breadsticks all the time.  Actually, I could go there and just make a meal out of the breadsticks…but that’s besides the point.  One of their soups that I like is Pasta e Fagoli, and it just so happens that in my Top Secret Restaurant Recipe cookbook, there is a  recipe for it!  This soup is delicious.  It’s full of beans, meat and little, funny shaped pasta that I’ve never bought before!  Plus, it is hearty, it’s warm and it’s just makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside.  It’s perfect dinner or lunch a winter day! Now if only I had the recipe for the breadsticks from Olive Garden…

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Mmmm!

Pasta e Fagoli, Copycat Recipe from Olive Garden

Printer-Friendly Version

Ingredients

• 1 pound Ground beef
• 1 small Onion
• 1 large Carrot
• 3 stalks Celery
• 2 cloves Garlic
• 2 14.5-oz cans Diced tomatoes
• 1 15-oz can Red kidney beans
• 1 15-oz can Great northern beans
• 1 15-oz can Tomato sauce
• 1 12-oz can V-8 juice
• 1 tablespoon White vinegar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Salt
• 1 teaspoon Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Basil
• 1/2 teaspoon Freshly-ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon Thyme
• 1/2 pound Ditali pasta

Directions

1. Brown the ground beef in a large saucepan or pot over medium heat. Drain off most of the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery and garlic; sauté for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients (except pasta), and simmer for 1 hour.
2. About 50 minutes into simmer time, cook the pasta in 1 1/2 to 2 quarts of boiling water over high heat. Cook for 10 minutes or just until pasta is al dente, or slightly tough. Drain.
3. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 to 10 minutes and serve.

And the Winner is…

Thanks to all of those who entered my CSN Stores GIVEAWAY!  All thanks to all the new readers who somehow came across my blog and entered.  I love new readers!  Without further ado…the lucky winner, picked at random, is…

Natalie from The Sweets Life!! 

If you guys aren’t familiar with Natalie’s blog, you should check it out because she makes all sorts of drool-worthy foods!  Congrats, Natalie!  I’ll be emailing you soon.

Thanks again to all who entered!  And of course, many thanks to CSN Stores for allowing me to have this GIVEAWAY!  On a side note, I’m home for a whole week before I head out on a business trip, so I’ll have a few new recipes going up soon!  Have a great week everyone.

I’m Still Around…and Just to Prove it, I’m Having a Giveaway

Hello friends!  I’m so sorry that I haven’t posted a delicious recipe since the beginning of September.  It’s my travel season for work and sadly, I haven’t been home lot lately to cook!  But don’t worry, only a few more trips and I’ll be back in the kitchen cooking up some tasty treats.  In the meantime, to make it up to you, it’s time for a GIVEAWAY!!  The sensational people at CSN Stores have offered one of my lucky readers a $50 gift code to any of their sites.  If you remember from past giveaways, CSN Stores has a variety of products, such as dutch ovens, baking molds and even shoes!!

Cooking supplies AND shoes all in one place?!  I’m SO there! :)

I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win this GIVEAWAY!  There are 3 ways to enter and all entries must be received by midnight (AZ Time) on Thursday, October 7th and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me which you would choose: new cooking supplies or new shoes

2. Follow ME on Twitter @saraboff, or if you already do, let me know

3. Become a Follower of Sara’s Sweets, or let me know if you already are

*Please leave separate comments to let me know that you’re a follower on Twitter or of the blog.

Good luck!!

And the Winner is…

Hello friends!  Sorry for the delay in announcing the winner of my CSN Stores GIVEAWAY, but I was out of town this weekend and just too busy to blog!  First of all, let me thank all of those who commented, became followers of me and my dog on Twitter and became followers of this blog.  Never before have I had so many comments, nor did I know that so many people read my blog.  So, thanks for boosting my confidence. :)

Alright, I know you’ve all been anxiously awaiting the results, so let’s get to them.  With the selection help of Random.org, the lucky winner of the $50 CSN Stores gift card is…

#56 - The Tree Huggin Momma

Congratulations, Tree Huggin Momma!  I’ll be emailing you within the next day with details on your $50 CSN Stores gift card.

Thanks again to all who entered and to CSN Stores!  Stay tuned to Sara’s Sweets for more delicious recipes and giveaways in the future!

CSN Stores GIVEAWAY & Cinnamon Rolls

Those wonderful people at CSN Stores have done it again.  They are allowing me to host a GIVEAWAY on my blog to one of you lovely readers!  Awesome, right?

CSN features over 200+ stores with tons of products at incredible prices.  They offer le creuset cookware, furniture, pet products, outdoor products and so much more.   But what are they offering you, you ask?  CSN has graciously offered to give one of my readers a $50 gift card in the form of a promotional code that can be used on any product on their site....yippee!

I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win this GIVEAWAY!  There are 5 ways to enter and all entries must be received by midnight (AZ Time) on Friday, August 6th and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me what you would spend your $50 gift card on at CSN Stores

2. Follow ME on Twitter @saraboff

3. Follow CSN on Twitter @csnstores

4. Follow MY DOG on Twitter @dieselboff (he’s pretty funny!)

5. Become a Follower of Sara’s Sweets

*If you become of follower on Twitter or on Google Reader, leave separate comments to let me know.

Alright now let’s get onto today’s recipe because it sure is a good one!  About a week ago while at work, I got the sudden urge to make cinnamon rolls.  It was really weird.  I haven’t eaten a cinnamon roll in quiet awhile and I’ve never made cinnamon rolls before, but knowing that I had a packet of yeast at home, I figured, why not!

In my search for a recipe, I found 2 that I liked.  I selected the recipe below because it had great reviews, but I liked the “overnight” technique of this recipe by Alton Brown of Food Network, especially since my plan was to take them into work in the morning. 

My only  modification to the recipe was that I used whole wheat flour and light cream cheese.  You see, using those two ingredients completely cancels out all the calories from the 3 sticks of butter that are in this recipe.  Really, they do! 

Speaking of the 3 sticks of butter, I’m not gonna lie….they are totally worth it!  These cinnamon rolls were light in texture, flavorful in the cinnamon/sugar filling and rich in the frosting.  Pretty much they were amazing!  Right after they came out of the oven, I took them to work, so my co-workers could experience them being warm and gooey…that’s when cinnamon rolls are best, right?  I set them on the counter at 7am and the pan was wiped clean by 7:30am.  No joke!  Food goes fast in my office, but I’ve never seen it go that fast before.  In fact, I almost didn’t get to try one!  If I hadn’t moseyed into the kitchen for coffee at 7:20am, my chance to try these beauties almost ceased to exist!  If my co-workers didn’t love me already, I’m 99.9% certain that they love me now that I brought them cinnamon rolls.

Enjoy!

  

Ingredients.

Rolled out dough.

About to go in the oven.

Out of the oven.

Frosted with copious amounts of icing!

Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls by Recipezaar (newly named Food.com)

Printer-friendly Version

Ingredients

• 1 ( 1/4 ounce) package dry yeast
• 1 cup warm milk
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup margarine
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 4 cups flour

Filling

• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
• 1/2 cup margarine, softened

Icing

• 8 tablespoons margarine
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup cream cheese
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions

1. For the rolls, dissolve the yeast in the warm milk in a large bowl.
2. Add sugar, margarine salt, eggs, and flour, mix well.
3. Knead the dough into a large ball, using your hands dusted lightly with flour.
4. Put in a bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place about 1 hour or until the dough has doubled in size.
5. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface, until it is approx 21 inches long by 16 inches wide.
6. It should be approx 1/4 thick.
7. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
8. To make filling, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.
9. Spread the softened margarine over the surface of the dough, then sprinkle the brown sugar and cinnamon evenly over the surface.
10. Working carefully, from the long edge, roll the dough down to the bottom edge.
11. Cut the dough into 1 3/4 inch slices, and place in a lightly greased baking pan.
12. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown.
13. While the rolls are baking combine the icing ingredients.
14. Beat well with an electric mixer until fluffy.
15. When the rolls are done, spread generously with icing

EatSmart Nutrition Scale – Product Review

A few weeks ago, the wonderful people at CSN Stores approached me with the offer to do a product review.  Get any product from their many online stores, receive a substantial credit to purchase the product and then post a review on my blog?  Heck yea!

 

So, out of all the numerous products that CSN stores I selected this wonderful EatSmart Nutrition Scale with Digital Scale and Nutrient Calculator (try saying that ten times fast!).  This scale is one of the coolest kitchen gadgets that I've ever seen.  Not only does it weigh your food for you, but it can also tell you the the amount of calories, carbs, fiber, sodium, fats, vitamin K and six other nutrients from thousands of packaged and 999 whole foods.  Pretty cool, right?

 

The EatSmart Nutrition Scale has come in very handy recently, since Jeremy and I are still on the P90X nutrition plan and our protein needs to be weighed out in ounces.  Plus, it’s just fun to measure random foods now. :)  Let’s take a look at it…

 

Measuring chicken, in ounces. 15 oz of chicken to be exact.

 

 

Yellow Bell Pepper, Code 167, 6.7 oz., plus, calories, carbs and fiber.

 

Sodium, potassium, magnesium.

 

Total fat, saturated fat and cholesterol.

 

If anyone is looking for a food scale, this one is awesome!  Check it out at the CSN Stores website, or take a look at some of their other items.  They have everything!  Seriously, from computer desks to barbeques to dog beds, they’ve got it all.  Thanks CSN for letting me do this product review!