Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook Give-Away!

This contest is now closed. Thank you to all who entered! Winners have been contacted, and the books are on their way! --steph

The Gluten-Free Almond Flour Cookbook came out this summer and it's superb. Written by Elana Amsterdam, this cookbook walks readers through the steps of baking with Almond Flour---a naturally gluten free flour which creates a moist, savory, buttery texture when used for baking.

And it rises! and it doesn't crumble! and you don't need binders such as xanthum gum! or different bags of potato starch! or rice flour!

This cookbook also explains how cooking with almond flour and with a sugar substitute (Elana recommends agave nectar) creates food low on the glycemic index----fantastic for those watching their sugar intake, or for those who really should but don't because they think the food is going to turnout tasteless.

This is some good food. REALLY good food.

The kids and I are going to make gingerbread men this weekend, and are using Elana's recipe. We're excited!

Elana has generously offered to give away 2! of her beautiful cookbooks to my readers.

To enter for a chance to win, please leave a comment with a valid email address (DOT COM code is fine, of course, and I'm not going to share your email with anyone, and I will delete all comments when the contest has run it's course.) and share what you would like to make from Elana's book.


will it be the:

perfect pie crust?
cinnamon coffee cake?
gingerbread men?
fish sticks?
cheese crackers?
matzo ball soup?
pistachio chicken?
chocolate velvet torte?
olive-rosemary bread?
chocolate chip scones?

there are many more recipes in the book----but these are the ones I've dog-eared!

You can gain additional entries by blogging, tweeting, or facebooking about this giveaway with a link in the comment section.


This contest will run until Sunday, December 20, 5pm pacific. I will choose winners via the random number thingamabob.

good luck, and thank you for entering!

Tassimo Hot Beverage System Review and Give-Away!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and Tassimo.

This contest is now over. It was supposed to end at 5pm, but I totally blanked and am ending it at 6pm 12/31/09. Happy New Year! The winner has been notified. Thank you to all 1188 who entered!

How would you like to have an absolutely PERFECT cup of coffee or mixed espresso drink without having to grind beans, do any measuring, or steam any milk? The Tassimo will make you your perfect coffee-house quality drink when ever you’d like and you don’t need to ever leave the house. Or your office. Or your pajamas.

And it is SO EASY. I’m not much on fancy kitchen gadgets. I like my slow cookers (duh), and we do own a great blender and food processor (given as gifts, thankfully, because I’m also terribly cheap), but for the most part I’m a pretty simple person, and I get overwhelmed easily if things require me to read instruction manuals or if too much work is involved in set-up or clean-up.

But this is easy. The Tassimo just needs a little plastic disk-thingy that comes already full of everything you need to make that perfect cup of coffee or espresso drink.

There are a variety of flavors available, including a Chai Tea latte and a hot chocolate. We were lucky to be given a Starbucks coffee to test, hot chocolate, and a latte. I haven’t opened the Chai Tea latte because neither Adam or I like tea. My mother-in-law loves the stuff, though, so I’m happy to have some on hand for when she’s over.

The kids really enjoyed the hot chocolate, and Adam and I both have had a few cups of the Starbucks Verona coffee, and my mom was over to try some, too---it’s delicious! It was really neat to test out the latte, and I liked how simple it was to make such an involved drink. No measuring or steaming or stirring needed!

Our coffee system also came with a water filtration kit, so I know that every cup that’s made is with freshly-purified water.

This is a fast machine. It gets right up to temp quick, and your cup of coffee is ready way before your toast pops out of the toaster.

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The super best part of the Tassimo, is that I’ve got one for YOU!

Here’s the full details of what the Tassimo Hot Beverage System includes.

To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me and Tassimo how a new Tassimo Hot Beverage System would help you in your home or office.

Please leave a valid email address (okay to write in DOT COM code. I’m going to delete all comments once a winner is picked, and am not sharing your email addresses with anyone at either Tassimo or BlogHer).

Rules:

• No duplicate comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.
• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.
• This giveaway is open to US Residents aged 18 and older
• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.
• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
• Please see the official rules here.
  

The contest will end 12/31/2009 at 5pm pacific. I will pick a winner via a random number generator.

This is not the only opportunity to win! Please visit BlogHer’s round-up page for all 8 chances to win!

Good luck to all, and thank you so much for reading and entering.

$5 Dinner Mom Cook Book Give-Away!

Updated 1/01/10, 5pm pacific: This contest is now over. Thank you so much to all 607 entries! Winners have been contacted via email.
Happy New Year!
xoxo steph

My friend, Erin Chase's new book: The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook comes out this December 22, and I'm so excited.

This book has 200 recipes that Erin made for her family of 4, all for $5 and UNDER.

ALL OF THEM!

She has stove top, oven, and even slow cooker meals. The ingredients are easy to come by, and Erin teaches readers how to best utilize store circulars and fliers and which coupons are worth saving and clipping. She also gives insider secrets on how to find the best coupons online and which stores will double the discounts.

This is such a valuable resource, and quite frugally priced! The book comes out this December 22, and will be in bookstores everywhere, although you can pre-order now on Amazon.com. Since Amazon has been so on-the-ball this year with shipping, I'd venture to guess you could pre-order and have the book delivered directly to your recipient in time for Christmas on the 25th, if you are still looking for last-minute gifts.

This book is also a FABULOUS New Year's Resolution gift, since many of us right now are thinking of trimming costs this upcoming New Year. There's no easier way to trim your budget than to meal plan and shop frugally.

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Erin and her publisher, St. Martin's Press, have generously agreed to give away THREE of her brand new books to my readers. This contest is open to anyone in the US and Canada (yay, Canadians!)

To enter, please let Erin and I know what your favorite "cheap" dinner is---if you have a favorite post or recipe, it's fine to link to it!

Please enter to win only once, but you can gain additional entries by tweeting, facebooking, or blogging about this giveaway.

Please leave a valid email address in your comment, or make sure your Blogger ID has your current email address (DOT COM code is fine). I will delete all comments after the contest has run it's course, and I am not sharing your email addresses with St. Martin's Press, or anyone else. I promise.

I will pick a winner from the Random Number Generator thingy on January 1, 2010, 5pm.

good luck!

HP TouchSmart Computer Review and Give-Away!

The contest is now over. Thank you to all who entered! The winner has been notified via email. I hope to have more fun reviews and give-aways posted in the upcoming year.

Happy 2010!

this is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP.

Have you seen one of these? I had not, until one arrived on my doorstep last week, but now I am seeing the ads everywhere---it must be like when you’re looking for a new car and suddenly the car you’ve decided to look into is all over the place.

Anyway, the HP TouchSmart 600 is One. Neat. Computer. and I can’t believe that our family has one to play with. It works just like a traditional computer, and has anything and everything you would possibly need in a desktop, but with the added bonus of ALL of these great additions:

--Touch Screen technology (you can use your finger as a mouse!)

--Super large 23” flat-screen monitor (that can be wall-mountable!)

--the ability to use as a Television, DVR, and DVD/Blue Ray player

--You can TALK to it, using a Blue Tooth (so super cool)

--Webcam

--Wireless keyboard and mouse that can be used up to 30 feet away

--ONE plug. That’s it! and no computer tower, which I love. It’s so clean-looking!

If you’d like more information about all the bells and whistles the HP TouchSmart 600 offers, here is the official information from HP’s website.

We’ve decided to put our brand new HP TouchSmart 600 in the kids’ playroom/homework room, where my everyday desktop currently lives (in an armoire. because it’s ugly.) I love how slim the monitor is, and that I can easily move it back towards the end of the homework table when the kids are doing their homework. As of right now, we are mostly using the Touch Smart as a way for the girls to access the Internet (limited thus far to starfall.com and poptropica.com) and to play chess.

The already-loaded HP chess game is fantastic-- I’ve never seen a better computerized chess tutor.

Adam is excited to learn more about the photo organization software (included) and the music library (included). I’m excited that he and the girls are so excited and are spending so much time playing together and fooling around with all of the programs.

Thank you so much, HP, for bringing Christmas to our home a bit early. This is a wonderful family gift.

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HP has generously agreed to give away the exact same Touch Smart to one of my readers, and I’m so happy to share this fantastic prize with one other lucky person/family.

Here are the rules:

To enter, please leave a comment below and tell me and HP how a new TouchSmart 600 would benefit you and your family.

Please leave a valid email address (okay to write in DOT COM code. I’m going to delete all comments once a winner is picked, and am not sharing your email addresses with anyone at either HP or BlogHer). I promise.

• No duplicate comments.


• You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.


• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.


• This giveaway is open to US Residents, aged 18 and older. (I'm so sorry Canadians and others!)
  


• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail.


• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.


• Please see the official rules here.

There are other opportunities to win at BlogHer.com, so make sure to enter all the contests!

The contest will run until December 24, 2009 at 5pm pacific.

Thank you so much for your entries, and good luck!

This is a compensated review by BlogHer and HP.

$200 Best Buy Gift Card Give-Away Winner

I'm pleased to announce that we have chosen, at random, a winner in the Best Buy gift card give-away!

The winner has been selected through a random number generator and has been contacted.

Thank you to all 3179 participants who entered, and stay tuned, hopefully I'll have more good stuff to give away soon.

Samsung Stainless Steel French Door Refrigerator Review and $200 Best Buy Gift Card Give-Away

November 15, 5pm: The Contest is now OVER. Thank you to all 3179 people who entered. The winner will be picked through a random number generator and will be posted tomorrow, November 16, and will be contacted via email.

Thank you so much for all of your entries!

This is a compensated review from BlogHer and Samsung Home Appliances

I was given a new refrigerator. For FREE.

I still can't quite believe it.

About a month ago, I received an email asking if I would be interested in a new Samsung appliance. I could choose between a washer/dryer set up, or a stove top/microwave combo or a SHINY AND NEW (did I mention shiny?!) stainless steel french door refrigerator.

I picked the refrigerator.

It was a good choice.

I received a bunch of Best Buy gift cards to cover the cost, installation, and extended warranty of our new (and shiny!) fridge, and our whole family piled into the mini-van to go spend other people's money.

spending other people's money is much more fun than spending your own.

much more.

This is Matt. Matt was our Best Buy sales person guy, and he rocked.

I didn't know until this visit that the people working at Best Buy aren't paid on commission, and Matt ended up staying with us for a good 45 minutes answering questions about LCD TVs and pocket-sized digital cameras, and then we got into sort of a heated (yet still fun and good-spirited) debate over whether or not a fancy-schmancy vacuum is worth it (guess what side I was on...).

Our experience was excellent, and I'd go out of my way to shop at Best Buy again. I'm also pleased with the warranty and hold-your-hand troubleshooting options they offer in their warranty packages.

Our new (and shiny!) fridge was delivered about a week later. I was worried about installation, and how the mover people would get such a big appliance through the doorways, but I shouldn't have been. These guys were professional and kept the refrigerator doors off until it was in place, and they were able to navigate through the house just fine---no marred walls or nicks in the paint.

They were gone within 30 minutes, and everything was good to go.

Here's our new fridge, loaded with food: I am blown away at just HOW BIG this fridge is on the inside, yet it isn't imposing in our teeny tiny kitchen. It's 29 cubic feet, and our old side-by-side was 21.8 cubic feet. I thought our old fridge was small, but I never really knew how small until I started loading the new fridge and freezer and had so much room left for more goodies.

I really appreciate how the shelves fold up if you've got a large pan (or slow cooker insert!) to put in, or a tall bottle of champagne or something----those are some really cool features. I also really like the long flat drawer with the divider that we've decided to put all of our salad-making-stuff into. We routinely have little tupperwares of beans or chopped tomatoes, and they just ended up getting lost and forgotten in our old refrigerator.

The freezer with the pull-out drawer concerned me. I didn't know what it would be like, or if I'd like having the freezer down low. I love it. The bottom drawer is big---and can easily fit a few frozen turkeys, something my old freezer couldn't handle. The top pull-out drawer is ideal for frozen meat packages, or cardboard boxed items like waffles, pancakes, and pizza.

The ice and water maker is much better than we had previously----ice doesn't take a million years to make, and the pull-out container for the ice works well. Adam filled the cooler up with the freezer ice yesterday, and by the time he returned from soccer (90 min or so later) it was half-full. This would have taken 2 days with our old set-up.

The last thing I'm going to write about is the alarm. I LOVE THE ALARM. If the kids stand and browse at the fridge too long, a dinging alarm sounds until they close the doors. This is such a wonderful and practical feature. Thank you for adding this, Samsung. It keeps me from screaming from the other room "you're not cooling off the whole house again, are you?" and wakes the kids up when they are day dreaming in front of the open doors (do they really think new food is going to magically appear?)

If you happen to be in the market for a new refrigerator, I highly recommend our new fridge. It is most definitely the nicest piece of furniture we own.

Now, let's have a give-away!!
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The lovely people at Samsung would like to know which Samsung product would make YOUR life easier?

Your choices include:
Fridge (RFG297AARS)
Microwave OTR (SMH9187ST)
Range Electric (FTQ387LWGX)
Dishwasher (DMR78AHS)
Washer (WF448AAP)
Dryer (DV448AEP)

Leave your answer in the comment section, and 1 lucky commenter will be chosen randomly to win a $200 Best Buy gift certificate (just in time for holiday shopping!)

Please note: you are entering to win a Best Buy gift card for $200, NOT a Samsung appliance. You can use the gift card for anything of your choosing at Best Buy.

Rules (please see here for official rules and further details):

• No duplicate comments.


• You may receive an additional entry by linking on twitter and leaving a link in the comments.


• You may receive an additional entry by blogging about this contest and leaving a link in the comments.


• This giveaway is open to US-Residents, age 18 and older
  


• Winners will be selected via random draw, and will notified by e-mail (PLEASE leave a valid email address!!)
  


• You have 48 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.

The Contest ends: NOVEMBER 15th at 5pm (you've got a LOT of time!)

But wait, there's more!

You have 8 chances to win---there are other bloggers hosting contests, and all of the details and links are posted on this post at BlogHer.com.

My fingers are crossed for each one of you (and now it's hard to type...)