Mother's Day Giveaway

So, it's Mother's Day! Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! I hope you are having a wonderful day of rest and relaxation and being spoiled to death, as well!

To wrap up the Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen}series, I thought it would be a good idea to have a giveaway... what do you think? You know those awesome products I have been reviewing? Well, here's your chance to win one of them!

                                 Here's What You Can Win:

                               

 (1) Aroma 4 Quart Ice Cream Maker {Walnut color} (See Review Here) - or a...

 

(1) Mavea Elemaris XL - 9 Cup Pitcher {Eggplant} (See Review Here) - or a...

  (1) VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker - 8 Cup (See Review Here)

How To Win:

Fill out the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win one of the three featured products. 

(1) Person will win an Aroma 4 Quart Ice Cream Maker 

(1) Person will win a Mavea Elemaris XL 9 cup Water Filtration Pitcher

(1) Person will win a VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker - 8 Cup

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen} - VITACLAY SMART ORGANIC MULTICOOKER - 8 CUP

So, I feel incredibly lucky and a little like I'm part of some top-secret club. I need to introduce you to a very special product that is kind of  magical -- The VitaClay 8 Cup Organic Multi-Cooker. It seriously does so many different things that it's ridiculous.  You can cook your dinner, your rice, and even make yogurt. There are still so many things I need to make with it, but there just aren't enough hours in the day. The next thing i'm making in it is yogurt. Yes, yogurt. I didn't even know you could make yogurt at home! I can't wait to try it. 

A few of the things I love most about this MultiCooker are:

1. It's Made of Clay

How cool is that? There's something wonderful about cooking in clay and knowing that there are no harmful chemicals going into your food. The clay part is the "Organic" part of this organic multi-cooker. Even just cooking your food in it makes you feel healthier. 

2. It's Programmable

One of the things I absolutely adore about this gadget is that you can set it to cook for any amount of time you desire and once the time is up, it will automatically trigger the "warm" setting, so your food doesn't overcook. 

3. It cooks perfect rice -- every time.

So, I'm very used to cooking rice in a regular pot and it coming out slightly mushy. Just slightly. This awesome multicooker/rice cooker makes perfect rice... seriously. I was shocked at how perfect it was. The rice was actually in perfectly individual grains and it was magical.

4. It's Super Easy To Clean

So, I don't know if it's just me, but whenever I use my crockpot, it seems like even after I soak it, I still have to spend a lot of time scrubbing it to make sure every little bit of food comes off. With the VitaClay, it comes off with very little scrubbing... and I mean very little scrubbing. It's almost as if the food is repelled by the clay.

5. It Cooks Food Faster Than Your Slow Cooker
Unlike your slow cooker, you can cook your whole meal in less than an hour. The VitaClay cooks food hotter than a normal slow cooker but still gives it the same tenderness and flavor that a slow cooker does.

Overall, this awesome little machine makes super delicious food and perfect rice. The food comes out perfectly moist and tender every time and the rice comes out perfectly fluffy and tender. The only drawback to this machine is it's size. I would like it to be just a little bigger so I could cook large roasts. Other than that, I have no complaints.

*Make sure to check the blog on May 12, 2013 {Mother's Day!} for a chance to win a VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker - 8 Cup for yourself!*

 

If you would like to purchase a VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker - 8 Cup to make delicious meals, rice and yogurt you can do so here:

Amazon

Check out VitaClay's  Website to find out more about the VitaClay Smart Organic Multicooker - 8 Cup

www.vitaclaychef.com/

Follow VitaClay on Facebook:

Facebook 

Disclosure: I received a free product from VitaClay for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen} - Aroma 4 Quart Ice Cream Maker Review

Is there anyone out there that doesn't love ice cream? I didn't think so. Ice cream is by far one of my favorite desserts. And my daughter's... And my husband's. Okay, so we all love ice cream in my house. That's a given.  That's what makes the next feature in my "Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For The Kitchen}" so very special to me. It makes ice cream! Amazing, right? I thought so. It's also extremely adorable and fun to use! This awesome ice cream maker from Aroma is not only super cute with it's old fashioned barrel design, but it gives you the option of hand cranking your ice cream or using the electric mixer! So, if you're my daughter, you, of course, want to hand crank it the entire time. But, if you're like me, you really like the option of allowing the machine to do the job for you.

I was super excited to make my first batch of ice cream, but I was kind and allowed my husband and daughter to pick the first flavor. They chose their favorite... Rocky Road. The instruction manual for the ice cream maker came with a recipe for rocky road, so it was perfect! After you mix your ingredients to make your ice cream base, you pour them into the large metal canister {pictured above}. The next step involves putting the metal canister into the wood bucket and attaching either the hand crank or the motorized top. Love that I have the option to hand crank or sit back and relax!

Once your canister is in place and you have your mixing top locked in you fill the surrounding barrel, alternating layers of ice and rock salt {pictured above}. My daughter loved this part. Yes, it may have taken an extra 20 minutes for her to pour everything in, but she enjoyed every minute.

The last step is to pour water into the bucket and use the provided stirer to mix the ice, water and salt together. Then, if using the electric mixer, you just press the "on" button and let your ice cream churn away for 40 minutes. This was the hard part -- the waiting period. It was fun watching the canister spin around and around! 

Once the time is up, you can turn off the machine and check out your fresh, creamy, frozen treat. The ice cream will be the consistency of a very thick milkshake at this point. You can either serve it as is or you can put the lid on the canister and place it in the freezer until it reaches your desired consistency. We put it in the freezer overnight and by the next morning it was absolutely perfect. And yes, we did eat it for breakfast. Homemade rocky road is 1,000x more delicious than any other rocky road on the planet. Hands down. 

We completely loved making homemade ice cream in this super cute and super fun ice cream maker and have vowed to make some at least once every few weeks. My daughter has already decided that the next ice cream we make has to have nutter butters. I completely agree! 

The Aroma Ice Cream Maker was super easy to use and the instruction manual was really helpful (unlike some instruction manuals that leave you confused and angry). We followed the steps and in the end we wound up with a ton of delicious, homemade ice cream... which is exactly what we were looking to do! Plus, the entire process of making the ice cream makes it an extra special tradition that I know we are going to love having in our house! 

*Make sure to check the blog on May 12, 2013 {Mother's Day!} for a chance to win an Aroma 4 Quart Ice Cream Maker {Walnut color} for yourself!*

If you would like to purchase an Aroma 4 quart Ice Cream Maker to make delicious homemade ice cream, you can do so here:

Amazon - Target 

Check out Aroma's  Website to find out more about the Aroma 4 Quart Ice Cream Maker and other Aroma products:

www.AromaCo.com.

Follow Aroma on Facebook and Twitter:

Facebook - Twitter

Disclosure: I received a free product from Aroma for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen} - Mavea Elemaris XL Review

Have I ever mentioned how much I love water? No? Well, I like water... a lot. It's my drink of choice for any occasion. Unfortunately, the water that flows freely from my kitchen faucet smells and tastes like it was meant to swim in. I have toyed around with getting some kind of water filtration system for a while and was absolutely thrilled when the opportunity to came up to try out this Elemaris XL Water Filtration Pitcher from Mavea. I liked it so much, in fact, that I decided to include it in my "Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen}" series. 

This colorful beauty uses a filter that can be easily replaced to filter out chlorine, limescale and other things that make your water look and taste funky. It holds up to 9 cups of extremely delicious water. That's actually what we call it in our house -- delicious water. "Honey, could you bring me a glass of delicious water?"

 The pitcher is super easy to fill, you just simply place the top 'opening' under your faucet and fill {see above picture}. It takes a little time for the water to completely go through the filter, but that's how you know it's really working! 

The Elemaris XL features an awesome, well, feature... it has a meter that tells you exactly when you need to change your filter! It measures how much water has been filtered through, the hardness of the water that has been filtered and the amount of time you have been using the filter. Pretty cool, right?

The Elemaris XL is the perfect mom-friendly gift as it comes in multiple colors, allowing you to match your kitchen perfectly! The ruby red and eggplant are my personal faves! 

*Make sure to check the blog on May 12, 2013 {Mother's Day!} for a chance to win an Eggplant Elemaris XL pitcher for yourself!*

If you would like to purchase a Mavea Elemaris XL for your every day water needs, you can do so here:

Amazon - Bed, Bath & Beyond - Macy's

Check out Mavea's Website to find out more about the Elemaris XL and other Mavea products:

www.mavea.com - www.inspiredwater.org

Follow Mavea on Facebook and Twitter:

Facebook - Twitter

Disclosure: I received a free product from Mavea for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

Mother's Day Gift Ideas {For the Kitchen} - Yonanas Review

What you see pictured above is known as the "Yonanas" Maker. It's basically a machine that turns frozen bananas and other frozen fruit into soft serve-style "ice cream". I had the opportunity to test out the Yonanas maker and immediately after trying it knew that it would be perfect for my "Mother's Day Gift Ideas for the Kitchen" series. Mom's will completely fall in love with this cute little machine because, well, it's a great way to get you -- and your kids -- to eat healthy snacks! My 6-year-old daughter helped me test it out and she thoroughly enjoyed the entire process...Especially the part where she got to eat it. Our family absolutely loves fun and unique kitchen gadgets and this one is definitely fun and unique! Next we are going to be trying out some "sorbets" by using only fruit and leaving out the bananas! I'm thinking pineapples and mangoes! 

Here are a few of the things I absolutely love about this little gadget:

1. Healthy Snacking

This awesome machine is a great way to get your kids excited about eating healthy snacks! Frozen fruit that tastes like ice cream. Do I really need to say more?

2. Easy to use

Basically, you freeze your fruit for 24 hours, put it down the chute, push it down and your frozen treat comes out into your bowl. My 6-year-old can do it! 

3. Easy to clean

To me, the best part about this machine is how easy it is to clean! It disassembles very easily and there are only a few parts that need to be washed after use. If you clean it right after you make your frozen desserts, everything slides off easily and makes clean up a breeze. It's also dishwasher safe! Woo!

The only real drawbacks to the machine are that it's a little loud, but making your frozen dessert is really fast, so it doesn't really matter. Also, if you want to get every last bite of your delicious dessert you should disassemble the machine and scoop out the last few spoonfuls. Other than that, there's nothing else to say!

Here's a demonstration of the fruit going into the "chute" and coming out as strawberry "ice cream"! My daughter loved putting in the fruit and watching it turn into a yummy dessert right before her eyes.

How To Make Strawberry Yonanas!:

Ingredients:

2 bananas placed in freezer for 24 hours

6 strawberries (hulled) placed in freezer for 24 hours.

Instructions:

Place half a banana and 2 strawberries into the yonanas machine, run through the yonanas machine, repeat with remaining bananas and strawberries.

The Final Product - Strawberry Yonanas!

How To Make Hot Chocolate Yonanas!:

Ingredients:

2 bananas placed in freezer for 24 hours

 1 packet hot chocolate mix

1 heaping tablespoon mini marshmallows

chocolate syrup

Instructions:

Pour packet of hot chocolate onto a paper plate. Break bananas in half. Roll each half into the hot chocolate mixture and run through the yonanas machine. Repeat with all banana halves. Top with marshmallows and chocolate syrup.

The Final Product - Hot Chocolate Yonanas!

If you are looking to purchase a Yonanas Machine for you and your family you can do so here:

Target - Amazon - Bed, Bath & Beyond

You can also check out the different colors of Yonanas Machines on the website:

www.yonanas.com

You can follow Yonanas On Facebook and Twitter:

Yonanas Facebook - Yonanas Twitter

Disclosure: I received a free product from Yonanas for review. The thoughts and opinions expressed here are strictly my own.

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chile Verde

So, I've been a bad blogger. I blame it on the small baby currently growing in my stomach. Well, not technically my stomach, but you know... We have been so busy getting the nursery and the house ready and I have definitely not been spending as much time in my kitchen. My poor family. We've definitely eaten our fair share of take and bake pizza lately. I am actually looking forward to once the baby comes because my dear, sweet husband will be taking over most of the cooking. That means lots and lots of delicious BBQ food. Yum. 

The recipe I'm about to share with you guys is one of our go-to weeknight meals. There are only 3 ingredients and it makes a delicious, easy dinner. You really can't beat simple chile verde. Throw it in some tortillas, add a little cheese and some rice and beans and you're set! My favorite!

3 Ingredient Slow Cooker Chile Verde Recipe: {Print Recipe}

Ingredients:

2.5 pounds pork roast (cut into 1.5" chunks)

1 jar Thick -N- Chunky Salsa Verde (16 ounces)

1 can diced green chiles (4 ounces)

Instructions:

Place all ingredients in slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Great with tortillas, spanish rice, salsa and refried beans. 

Rock 'n' Roll Baby Shower

 Yesterday was my baby shower and let me just say -- OH. MY. GOSH! It was amazing! It was blue & black, Rock 'n' Roll themed and everything was absolutely awesome! It was held at and catered by a local Bakery/Cafe called Hometown Emporium, that makes the best food and desserts ever! It was the perfect place for a baby shower! My best friend, mom, sis-in-law and mother-in-law all came together to create this fantastic event and It was honestly one of my favorite days Ever! Baby Corbin is completely set now and we are ready for him to get here!

They had a guitar onesie for all the guests to sign (and that I'm going to be hanging in Corbin's Room!), Diaper raffle (we are set on diapers for a while! woo!), and the diaper pin game (whoever has the dirty diaper wins).

Party favors and a station for guests to write their addresses on pre-stamped envelopes for 'Thank You' cards! 

The tables had black tablecloths, blue napkins and "record" plates. The centerpieces were records melted into bowls filled with pop ROCKS and ROCK candy! Loved them so much!

Close-up of the adorable centerpieces!

Record banner with his name -- Corbin Paul! <3

My daughter got a "Big Sister" shirt to wear. She even got to open a surprise "Big Sister" present filled with toys, arts & crafts and fun things to do with her new baby brother! (The pic is her and her two BFFs)

Food and dessert tables. This was, by far, my favorite part! (Especially the dessert table!)

Look at all those yummy desserts! There were red velvet cupcakes, lemon cupcakes, strawberry cheesecake tarts, chocolate covered brownies, star & guitar cookies, an amazing cake and chocolate and cherry covered macaroons! I almost died. And yes... I tasted every single thing!

Chocolate cake with bavarian cream filling and chocolate ganache! 

Close-up of the adorable cookies! So cute.

Chocolate and cherry topped macaroons. My new obsession!

Food! Sandwiches, fruit kabobs, macaroni salad, salad and veggie trays!

The cutest diaper cake in the entire world with Rock'n'Roll onesies all over it!

A super adorable horse my mom hand painted for baby Corbin! :) She's extremely talented!

Super cute letters painted by my mom to go over baby's crib!