Stainless Steel Veggie Steamer Review #sunsellaveggiesteamer

This steamer is 100% stainless steel . High-grade stainless steel construction. Expands to fit various pot sizes with a unique compact collapsible design for space saving storage. Center post and legs attached, no assembly required. Easy removal from pan with custom designed central ring. Diameter 5.3" - 9.25" Height range (legs included) 2" - 3.35".

The  little 'legs' keep the food out of the water while cooking and you retain the 'crunch' and tenderness of your veggies. Depending on the vegetable — carrots, beets and other hard vegetables take longer than broccoli, snap peas and cauliflower — you should be finished cooking in under 5 minutes. To keep the steamed vegetables from becoming overcooked and soggy once they're finished, transfer them to a large bowl filled with ice water until you're ready to use them. It is easy to use and clean. You can steam fish and other foods in this as well


it is also  perfect for steaming fruit and vegetables for making baby food.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

Reviews She ROTE: Warm your chilled bones with...

Cool Nights??? Try #ProgressoChili !!

Reviews She ROTE: Warm your chilled bones with...

The nights have turned a lot cooler her so a nice warm bowl of Chili is great! Especially after watching my kids playing soccer we're all ready to dig into these yummy new Chili from Progresso...Read More

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Sponsored post #PlateFullCoOp
Platefull Co-Op

Let @Shindigz help you throw a great party!!

International Friendship Day is a day for celebrating friendship. The day has been celebrated in several southern South American countries for many years. Hallmark brought it to the US in 1919 but by 1940 the market had dried up, and eventually it died out completely. However, in 1998 Winnie the Pooh was named the world’s Ambassador of Friendship at the United Nations (believe it or not!), and in April 2011 the United Nations officially recognised 30th July as International Friendship Day; although most countries celebrate on the first Sunday of August!

What every the date is setting aside some time to have a party to celebrate friendship is a GREAT thing!!  This year our party was a great success thanks to a party website called Shindigz 

~ You go to the website and order your party supplies, customizing any personalized products as you shop.

~ You'll receive your party supplies.

~ You throw your awesome party.

SO EZ!!!! 

 We picked a Luau Theme... the hardest part was choosing what to pick; there was an amazing selection and I wanted it all!!!

Here's what I selected

PALM TREE PROPS PKG/6

PALM TREE COOLER (2)

LUAU BEANBAG TOSS GAME 

TISSUE PINEAPPLE CENTERPIECE

SILK LEIS

TIKI ISLAND LANTERN GARLAND

ALOHA SUMMER DESSERT PLATES 

HIBISCUS FLOWER CUPCAKE RINGS 

CUPCAKE PAN

TOTAL FOR ALL WAS UNDER $100!!!!

I like the bright colored box...the box itself has a coloring page and word search a great way to get you in the party mood!

We go a little creative in the kitchen making flip flop and sand dollar cookies I had found on pinterest. We also enjoyed some Hawaiian Chick Kabobs among other things.  We played the bean bag toss game and I repurposed one of the drink coolers after all the juice was  gone into a fishing hole---used a $$$tore fishing set  and the kids had a ball trying to see who could catch the most in a minute.

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After a little limbo it was time to have more food...we dove into the giant cupcake cake covered in Hibiscus flowers! The Palm Tree props made for a wonderful  photo booth back drop. Look how perfect!

We had a blast at our Friendship Luau and are surly going to shop Shindigz for our next party my daughter's 13th---she cannot decide between CANDY or PARIS!!!  Decisions decisions!!! Do you have a big celebration coming up or just like to party--Check out Shindigz!!

Now on to the GIVEAWAY!!!! 

One lucky winner will receive a $50 Shindigz gift certificate.  Enter the giveaway below. PLEASE answer  questions in complete sentences with more than 8 words so it's not marked SPAM.  Thanks =)

Entry-Form

Little Elliot, Big City by @MikeCurato #Childrenbookreview

Little Elliot, Big City is on sale today Tuesday, August 26! It is a book you'll definitely want to add to your childrens library! The book follows Elliot  and show how he gets through life in the BIG city he's has his ways to get through the day. One task he has trouble with  getting a cupcake  not an easy task for a lil elephant...until he find a friend and they work together to help each other.

The illustration in the book are fabulous. The book is recommended for up to  3rd grade. My son just loved reading it by himself. My 7th grader had to check it out to when she her there were cupcakes in it ~LOL she said "cutest story of friendship ever. I want an elephant like Elliot!" 

We give this book 5 of 5 stars 

#BTS #Epson LabelWorks Makes Back-to-School Prep Effortless

The countdown to back to school has begin  and I can hardly believe it really seems like summer just started!  I am sort of  ready for back to school because it will be a little less WWWF around here!  One thing to  look forward to is getting school supplies.  The kids enjoy it-picking out items that showcase their personality... and to be honest I do too a little  there's just something amazing about the smell of  new crayons and brand new shoes!!  The one thing I dislike about BTS shopping is the hit on my pocketbook so the last thing I want is for a week into school my kids to loose anything!  That's where a label maker like the EPSON LabelWorks Iron-On Kit is a wonderful tool to have!!

Set up is very simple just add the batteries or use  AC adapter (sold separately)  and insert a tape cartridge--iron on come in BLUE WHITE AND PINK!  Now  you're ready to make your labels!!! The keyboard setup is EZ on the fingers.

I love the selection of  symbols and  fonts to make  customized labels. The machine will store up to 30 labels  so you can reuse year after year for school, camp, etc. I love that there are many other tapes that will work with this unit. Daughter was thrilled with the iron on but when she read there was glow in the dark said "add that to our shopping list ASAP!!" 

Epson offers a wide selection of tapes and additional widths  you can see the complete 
list here




Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Warm your chilled bones with #ProgressoChili #PlatefullCoOp

 The nights have turned a lot cooler her so a nice warm bowl of Chili is great! Especially after watching my kids playing soccer we're all ready to dig into these yummy new Chili from Progresso!!

The smoky beef aroma greets us from  the slow cooker. 

I like it  topped with shredded cheese and sour cream my hubby and kids love a handful of oyster crackers . There really is NO WRONG WAY TO EAT  IT!!

Believe me these will be NO LEFTOVERS with this meal!!

WHAT DO YOU TOP YOUR CHILI WITH???

Disclosure: I received one or more of the products mentioned in this post to review. All opinions are mine and I was not influenced in any way.

Back to School recipes thanks to @kraftfoods

It's back to school time - time for making great lunches and after school snacks. Kraft has you covered!

  THIS IS NOT A SPONSORED POST!!   I made my version of these dishes and wanted

 to compare them to the Kraft recipe...find other yummy ideals at Kraftrecipes.com.


A nice salad is a good place to start. My kids are BIG fans of taking 

a pasta salad for lunch 

Greek Isles Pasta Salad

what you need

3

cups  farfalle (bow-tie pasta)

2

cups  baby spinach leaves

1

cup  KRAFT Cheese (recipes called for  Natural Feta Cheese Crumbles )

1

cup  cherry tomatoes, halved

3/4

cup  rinsed canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)

1/2

cup  KRAFT Greek Vinaigrette Dressing

make it

COOK pasta as directed on package, omitting salt; drain.

PLACE pasta in large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; mix lightly.

MINE I took out the Feta Cheese and used Shredded Mozzarella because my kids will not eat Feta also when packing for lunches place the vinaigrette on the side so the noodles don't soak it all up.

Heavenly Ham Roll-Up

what you need

1

pkg.  (9 oz.) OSCAR MAYER Deli Fresh Smoked Ham

5

Tbsp.  PHILADELPHIA 1/3 Less Fat than Cream Cheese

15

fresh asparagus spears (about 1 lb.), trimmed

make it

HEAT oven to 350°F.

FLATTEN ham slices; pat dry. Stack in piles of 2 slices each; spread each stack with 1 tsp. reduced-fat cream cheese.

PLACE 1 asparagus spear on 1 long side of each ham stack; roll up. Place, seam-sides down, in 13x9-inch baking dish.

BAKE 15 to 20 min. or until heated through.

MINE I used thick cut deli bacon ham and shredded  Mozzarella in place of the cream cheese. This makes a yummy after school snack.

Chocolate Raspberry Cupcakes

what you need

1

pkg.  (2-layer size) chocolate cake mix

1

tub  (10.6 oz.) COOL WHIP Vanilla Whipped Frosting, thawed

3

Tbsp.  seedless raspberry jam

1-1/2

cups  fresh raspberries

make it

HEAT oven to 350°F.

PREPARE cake batter and bake as directed on package for 24 cupcakes; cool completely.

MIX frosting and jam just until blended; spread onto cupcakes.

TOP with raspberries.

MINE I made it the same just topped some with strawberry.I don't like to have sweets out every day but once a week for lunch or after school snack it's a sweetie day and these cupcakes are ALWAYS a winner!!

Add these yummy treat to the Back-To-School line up and your kids will lick their  plates clean!

#IBBakesWell Honestly Delicious A yummylicious baking option #platefulcoop

Baking is a favorite summer activity with my kids.  We make some great memories and messes in the kitchen together!! This summer we were introduced to a wonderful "scratch baking mix " line --Immaculate-While some kids were forming garage bands, Scott Blackwell used his garage to manifest a simple dream. He resolved to create, perfect, and share his mouth-watering, wholesome, homemade cookies, like the classic Chocobilly. Welcome to Immaculate Baking. Today, Immaculate’s dream is a growing  among the there is are gluten free and organic line, plus cookies, sweet rolls, biscuits,  pie crusts, and delicious cake mixes.

We made up this yummy yellow cake mix for our Friendship Luau. It was a hit. So EZ to make  all natural, no artificial flavors or preservatives, no Bleached  flour!  The taste was light and fluffy!! You can feel good about having a slice; and it was gone in 1/2 hour!!

Aside from having great-tasting treats the company supports local Folk Art!! They  make their packages a gallery and spotlight artist of all ages. They have even gone beyond the box with a advertisement commissioned to an artist.

photo credit plateful coop blog

I love this amazing hand-painted billboard for the brand that is turning heads in Minneapolis.Mixed-media artist Andy Saczynski painted it to celebrate Immaculate Baking Company’s new line of baking mixes and ingredients.The project is an ode to how billboards used to be done, when companies hired artists – known as “walldogs” – to be chained to the exterior of a building or suspended from a rooftop to paint their signs by hand.Check out more  about the billboard here. Look for Immaculate at Target, Feel-Rite, Wegmans, Whole Foods, and  Publix just to name a few places.

Disclosure: The information and cake mix packs have been provided by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op all opions are 100% my own.