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

We Have a Winner!

Hello friends!  First of all, thanks for all of those who commented and entered my GIVEAWAY to win a bottle of Skin MD Natural Shielding Lotion.  According to the Random Number Generator on Random.org, the lucky winner is #1 – Natalie from The Sweets Life blog!  Yay!!  Congratulations, Natalie. 

Thanks to all who participated in my GIVEAWAY and I hope to have to opportunity for more GIVEAWAYS in the future.  Stay tuned tonight or tomorrow for another delicious recipe: Cinnamon Apple Swirled Bread.  Yum!

A Review, a GIVEAWAY & Derby Pie

Boy, this is going to be one packed post!  Bare with me though because it’s good.  I promise.

  First, we have a review!  A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Skin MD Natural asking me if I’d be interested in receiving one of their products and reviewing it.  Heck yea, I would!  I’m so glad that I was able to receive a sample of their Shielding Lotion because this stuff is awesome!

 

Living in AZ for the majority of my life, I’ve always had skin that was more on the dry side.  Ever heard people in AZ say, “Oh, it’s a dry heat?”  Well, they weren’t kidding!  Add winter on top of that and then the fact that I’m always washing my hands…it all leaves me with dry skin.  The first time I used the shielding lotion, my skin was instantly moisturized and soft, and I was surprised that it stayed that way through most of the day!  Plus, the lotion is very light, non-greasy, fragrance free and a little goes a long way.  I love that!  I’ve been using the Shielding Lotion for about a week now and the overall appearance of my skin has improved greatly.  No more rough hands or dry cuticles, just soft, smooth skin.  It’s wonderful!   Check out these cool facts about Skin MD’s Shielding Lotion:

• It’s natural, eco-friendly
• It’s unlike any other conventional, artificial moisturizers because it works with the skin to naturally moisturize and heal
• It helps restore skin's natural protective abilities by bonding to the outer layer of skin, strengthening skins natural barrier against toxins and irritants that can dry the skin, while locking in the
  skin's natural oils
• It’s made in the US, using high quality natural ingredients, making it over 90% all natural
• It’s free of harmful fragrances, parabens, and colorants making it hypoallergenic
• It’s also vegan-friendly and gluten-free

Pretty cool stuff, right?  I highly recommend this lotion to those with dry skin…in fact, let me help you with that: secondly, we have a GIVEAWAY!  I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win a full size bottle of the Skin Natural MD Shielding Lotion on Tuesday, February 23rd at 12pm AZ time and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me why your skin is so dry.
2. Tweet the following: “@saraboff from Sara’s Sweets is having a Skin Natural MD giveaway and I want to win! http://bit.ly/afPaAA,” then, leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.
3. Blog: If you have a blog of your own, mention my giveaway in a post, then leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

That’s it!  Good luck!

Lastly, we have a recipe.  A very delicious recipe, I might add.  One of the blogs that I frequent is Iowa Girl Eats.  Kristin has some delicious recipes, plus great tips on exercise and being healthy.  A few months ago, she posted this recipe and I knew that I had to make it! 

Kentucky Derby Pie is basically a chocolate chip cookie pie.  I know, right!  A chocolate chip cookie pie?! = AMAZING!  I followed the recipe to a “t” and it rocked my world.  Stop reading right now, go to the store, buy the ingredients and make this asap!  It is THAT good.

 

Ingredients.

Done baking.

You have to eat it while it’s still warm!  Oh my goodness!

Kentucky Derby Pie, by Iowa Girl Eats

Ingredients

• 1 stick butter, softened
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 6 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
• dash of salt
• 1 frozen deep dish pie crust

Directions

1. Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees. Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time and mix well after each egg. Add vanilla and mix.
2. Combine remaining ingredients into mixture and spoon into pie shell. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Serve warm!

Winner, Winner, Mac & Cheese Dinner!

Sorry I’m a day late with the results of the GIVEAWAY!  I was going to post this yesterday when we got home from California, but Diesel and I were tired, so we decided to take a nap, while Jeremy went to work…and yea…that was the end of that.

So, I had a total of 19 entries.  According to Random.org, the lucky winner is…

#11 Michele P., who will be using this apron and measuring spoons to make tamales and cookies!  Yum, yum!  Congratulations Michele…I’ll be sending you an email today.  Thanks for all who entered my GIVEAWAY.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to have more in the future.  Now, on to today’s recipe!

This is an easy and delicious recipe for macaroni and cheese from Cooking Light.  It’s a lighter version of mac and cheese, due to the reduced fat cheese and the skim milk in the recipe, but you’d never know that it was “light,” because it’s creamy, cheesy and bacony!  The only change I made was I added 4 slices of bacon, instead of 2 because come on…seriously…only 2 pieces of bacon in 6 servings?!  That’s NOT enough, if you ask me!  Pair this Bacon Mac with a side salad and you’ve got a delicious, healthy and easy meal. 

Enjoy!

Ingredients.

Hot, out of the oven.

 

Mmmm, cheesy!

Bacon Mac, by Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 1/4  teaspoons  salt, divided
• 12  ounces  strozzapreti or penne pasta
• 4  teaspoons  all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2  cups  skim milk, divided
• 2  cups  finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/4  cup  sliced green onions
• 1  teaspoon  hot sauce
• 1/4  teaspoon  pepper
• 2  slices center-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled
• Cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tablespoon salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente; drain.
3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155°. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and bacon; stir. Add pasta; toss. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese. Broil 7 minutes.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole & Giveaway

That’s right…a GIVEAWAY!  I’m so excited, but before I get to that, I have a recipe to share…be sure to keep reading after the recipe though, ok?

So, I’m on the email list for Eat Better America and I love their recipes.  They take some recipes for delicious, comfort food and “healthify” them to make them a little more figure friendly!  About a month ago, my parents, grandma and auntie came up to visit and I thought this casserole would be a great option for dinner.  As I suspected, it did not disappoint!

This casserole comes together very quickly and before you know it, you can pop it into the oven.  The only modifications that I made was I substituted a can of Rotel Diced Tomatoes with Chilies, for the large tomato and I added a few extra tortillas to the top, for some crunch.  This dish is creamy, flavorful and cheesy!  You’d never know it was “healthified.”  I highly recommend this delicious meal.

Enjoy!

 

Ingredients.

Hot, out of the oven!

“Healthified” Chicken Tortilla Casserole
Ingredients

• 1 can (10 3/4 oz) 98% fat free condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1 can (4.5 oz) chopped green chiles
• 1 container (8 oz) fat-free sour cream
• 1/2 cup fat-free (skim) milk
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 2 1/2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
• 8 yellow corn tortillas (6 or 7 inch), torn into bite-size pieces
• 1 medium green bell pepper, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 large tomato, chopped (1 cup)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese or Mexican cheese blend (6 oz)

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray.
2. In large bowl, mix soup, chiles, sour cream, milk, chili powder and cumin until blended.
3. Stir in chicken, tortillas and bell pepper. Stir in tomato and 1 cup of the cheese. Spoon and spread mixture in baking dish.
4. Cover with foil. Bake 40 minutes.
5. Uncover; sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese. Bake uncovered 5 to 10 minutes longer or until cheese is melted and mixture is bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes.

Alright…now let’s talk about my GIVEAWAY!!  Are you by chance looking for some new cookware?  Maybe some Rachel Ray cookware, for example?  Well, if you are, you should definitely check out Cookware.com because the super-cool people there contacted me about hosting a GIVEAWAY!  I’m stoked since this is my first GIVEAWAY that I’ve been contacted about.  Does this mean that I’ve “made it” in the blog world??  “Oh, you like me!  You really like me!”  Anyways, back on track…what am I giving away? 

This lovely apron and these magnetic measuring spoons:

 

Cute, huh?!  I’ll be randomly selecting one lucky reader to win these two items.  You can enter up to 2 times by Saturday, December 26th at 11am AZ (PST) time and here’s how you enter:

1. Leave a comment telling me what you’d cook/bake while wearing this apron and using these spoons (if you don’t have a blog profile, be sure to include your email address, so that I have a way to contact you).

2. Tweet the following: “@saraboff from Sara’s Sweets is having a giveaway and I want to win! http://bit.ly/6Icmaa,” then, leave a comment telling me you’ve done so.

That’s it!  Good luck!