Elle's New England Kitchen

Congrats, Rachelle! And thank you to everyone that entered and retweeted about the giveaway!

It’s time for a giveaway! Michele from Life, Lightly Salted has started a bath and body company called Funky Chunks. She has some very cool soaps and equally cool packaging! Add to that that she’s very creative and a sweetheart, and you’ve got a winning combination. You can also check out her soap blog called Funky Chunks for news and new items. We have a winner! Rachelle, from Mommy, I'm Hungry has won the basket.

Anyway, Michele contacted me last week to see if I’d like to host a giveaway for her. Um, hell, yes! So she immediately got some samples in the mail for me to check out. Not only are they in cool packages, but they look, smell and feel great! My favorite has to be the Hot Chocolate Sugar Scrub, and the Pucker! The Pucker! is an herbal dill blend that smells so fresh and clean. But the Tuscan Summer smells great, too. Really, they all do!

So what do you get? A basket with a $30 retail value, including, from Funky Chunks:

• 4 full size Chunks of Tuscan Summer, Pucker!, Sweet Basil and Root Beer Float
• 1 Sample Chunk of Green Tea Zen, a soap dish and a big bath scrubbie.

And bonus! Janine, the owner operator of Things That Make Scents has thrown some stuff in, as well!

• Brew This! coffee - Jersey Girl flavor (apples, toffee and peanuts)
• Tea light candles in Melon Mania and Blue Sea Glass scents (descriptions HERE )

Michele let me know she may toss a few extra things in there, too--so that’s an extra bonus.

I took a few photos of the samples Michele sent me. I thought you may want to see her products and packaging:

Here is a photo of the Gift Basket:

To enter!

1) Visit Funky Chunks and have a look around. Come back and tell me which soap you’d most love to try. Leave it in a comment here for one entry.

2) Visit Things That Make Sense. Take a look around, pick a candle scent that you love, and leave another comment here letting me know which one it is--for a second entry.

3) Tweet about this giveaway, come back here, and leave your Tweet link in your comment--for a third entry.

4) You can Tweet about this giveaway as much as you like, for additional entries. Just leave your Tweet links in your comments, please! (When you Tweet, click under your message where it says, for example, One Minute Ago, and it will take you to a page where you can copy your Tweet’s link.)

5) DON'T forget to leave a valid email address!

This gives you a ton of chances to win the gift basket!

Open to US entrants only on this one. Winner will be chosen next Friday. But in the meantime, get your butts over to Michele and Janine’s sites and make your wish lists!

Guys, you should enter, too! If you win, share the basket to your favorite girl!

And taking care of a little business: MySpiceSage is now offering 50% OFF the Ultimate Fathers Day Gift Set that includes Ten 1 Cup Bottles of Gourmet Spices and Seasonings perfect for dad, now $29.75! Normally, this gift set is valued at $60.25 when sold separately. Also, we are offering FREE SHIPPING for this item if ordered by 06/15/2009 AND a free personalized card for dad!

 

The Random Number Generator has spoken.  Here are the 10 random winners:

 

# 39: 

Darshana said... 39

Hands down the Pumpkin Cheddar flavour!
dsen@uwo.ca
=)

Apr 7, 2009 9:08:00 PM

 

# 54:

Thoughts said... 54

Wow the flat breads look yummy!
Craveinc@gmail.com

Apr 11, 2009 9:11:00 PM

 

 

# 44:

cessc said... 44

Yum! I want to try pumpkin seed cheddar
cecilycoleman at gmail dot com

Apr 8, 2009 2:17:00 PM

 

 

# 40:

Sylvie said... 40

Pumpkin Seed Cheddar seems like it would be tasty to munch on plain. But the original might be better to spread with toppings.

Apr 8, 2009 3:07:00 AM

 

 

# 29:

Anonymous said... 29

Classic 3 seed. I have had these while vacationing in Florida. Excellent!!!
Maxionl@aol.com

Apr 7, 2009 11:51:00 AM

 

 

# 65:

Anonymous said... 65

I really like the 3 seed & spelt. Tried them before and would love to win.
Don Frye
donfrye1@msn.com

Apr 13, 2009 11:27:00 AM

 

 

# 21:

Lisa said... 21

Those look amazing! I would say I'd love to try the sunflower cheddar. They all look delicious. I have to go back now and see if they sell them in RI!
ghenne64@gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 5:43:00 PM

 

 

# 16:

Maria said... 16

What a healthy snack! I would love to try the Klassic 3 Seed!
twopeasandtheirpod@gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 3:03:00 PM

 

 

# 9:

Tiff said... 9

I think that the pumpkin cheddar crackers sound divine! With a little jam or cheese, hey maybe both, these would hit my snacking spot!
tiffany.r.schmidt (at) gmail.com

Apr 6, 2009 12:40:00 PM

 

 

# 42:  (Who, sadly, doesn’t qualify because she’s in Brazil.  I’m So sorry, Cris, but thanks for helping me get the word out!)

Cris said... 42

On Twitter!!!
Elle! Even if it is only US I spread the word to my US blogger friends who follow me!

 

So!  Since we need one more winner, the Random Number thing will have to work a bit more…

The final winner is # 7:

haley said... 7

Those all look so good! I think I could go for some pumpkin seed cheddar right now.

Apr 6, 2009 11:49:00 AM

 

 

 

Congratulations to all of the winners!  I’ll be emailing all of you shortly to get your mailing info for the Dr. Kracker folks. 

Tuna Melt with Roasted Red Pepper Strips

Are they crackers, or flatbreads? Either way, they’re delicious! They’re crunchy, so tasty, and as an added bonus, good for you! They’re organic and loaded with great things like whole wheat flour, spelt, oats, bran, flaxseed, nuts and seeds. And just look at their Allergen Statement:

Dr. Kracker's allergen statement:

All of Dr. Kracker's suppliers of flour, grains and seeds have provided our bakery with letters that certify that their products are uncontaminated by peanuts or tree nuts. The only allergens that Dr. Kracker lists are wheat and milk. Further, our bakery is certified organic by the Texas Department of Agriculture.

So for those of you with nut allergies—these are the crackers for you!

Ham and Muenster with Hummus

We’ve been munching on the crackers for a few weeks now—George from Dr. Kracker was very generous and offered to send us some to try, after we told him how much we enjoyed his crackers. We found a box on the shelves at TJ Maxx, of all places, and couldn’t resist. And once we tried them? We fell in love. There’s no other way to describe it. They’re super crunchy and they taste great—and it almost makes you feel guilty, like you’re indulging in bad for you snacks or chips. But wait! They’re good for you !

As I write this, I’m munching on my current favorite flavor, Pumpkin Seed Cheddar. Not only are the crackers good for you, but they’re so versatile and go well with so many things. We’ve had them with dips, with peanut butter and jelly, with hummus and cold cuts, and also tuna melts. To see their other flavors, click here. They also have some new flavors you can see here!

George and crew at Dr. Kracker have been extremely generous and offered to give some of their amazing crackers/flatbreads to you, my readers!

The five Original Flavors served with hummus and Tabouleh.

Ten people will receive a box including eight packs of crackers. One of each of the five original flavors, and one of each of the three newest flavors. How cool is that? And seriously, when you taste them, you’ll wonder where they’ve been all your life.

Look at all of the seed-filled goodness!

And if you’d like to try them in the meantime, you can click to see if they’re available in your area. You can also buy them online. And if they’re not in your area, ask your local stores to carry them!

Good old PB&J

What do you need to do to enter?

1. Visit the Dr. Kracker site, check out the flavors, and let me know which one(s) you’d love to try.

2. Come back here, and leave a comment with a valid email address! If you don’t leave an email address, or it’s invalid, I’ll choose another winner. Seriously. I’ve had to do that already, and it wasn’t fun.

3. You must have a physical address, no PO boxes, please.

4. You can get an extra entry If you Twitter about the giveaway. Come back here with the link to your Twitter post (you must have that!!) and post that link in a second comment for an extra entry. To get the link to your Twitter post, click under your message where it says "less than _____ ago" and that will take you to a page where you can copy the url of your message.

So everyone has at least two ways to get entries. Limit two entries per person.

I’m waiting to hear back from George as to where they ship, and will update this post as soon as I hear back from him. I’m assuming it’s US only, but I will clarify that.

The contest will run until next Monday, April 13th. I’ll choose the winners on that day. Good luck! I want everyone to try these flatbreads!

I can't believe it--a year has passed already! One hundred and twenty-four posts...wow. I didn't know when I started if I'd have anything to talk about. I guess I did, hehe! And it was technically February 24th, but I had to iron out the details of this post with the person who funds most of the stuff I do on this blog--my husband, Billy. I kept changing my mind about what I wanted to do to celebrate, and God bless him, he's just so patient with me, hehe.



This post is going to be short, but sweet. Really sweet!



So I've planned a giveaway, and I think you guys are going to like it. I know I do. Hell, I wish I could win it! But this is to give something back to all you guys that faithfully read my blog. I appreciate each and every one of you.



So what is it???




An Apple iPod Touch, 8 GB (second generation)!!!!



YES!!!! One lucky reader will win one of these babies.



AND!!!! The contest is open to all of you, no matter where you live.



The contest will run for one month, so the winner will be chosen randomly on March 26th.



All you need to do is leave a comment here to be entered in the drawing.



If you tweet on Twitter about it, come back here with the link to your Twitter post (you must have that!!) and post that link in a second comment for an extra entry. To get the link to your Twitter post, click under your message where it says "less than _____ ago" and that will take you to a page where you can copy the url of your message.


Make sure you leave a valid email address where I can reach you! If the address doesn't work, I'll have to choose a new winner. And I don't want to have to do that.



Are there any more rules? Not really, but if you'd like to subscribe to my blog--I'm not gonna lie, that would be awesome! But it's not required. ;)




So good luck! Tell all your friends! And thanks to all of you for coming along on this one year (and more to come) adventure with me. You guys are the best!

Have you ever thought you'd like to make your own cereal? That you could make it better than the big guys? You could add all the good stuff, and get a healthy, delicious cereal that isn't loaded with sugar and preservatives. Just the opposite--you could make a blend that was not only packed with flavor, but packed with good for you ingredients from all over the world.

Well now you can! There's a new guy (well, actually three new guys!) in the cereal world and they want to change the way you look at breakfast. Forget the Saturday morning buzz of sugary stuff while watching cartoons (or is that just me?), forget the bad for you, greasy breakfast sandwich that you pay too much for anyway, better yet--forget skipping breakfast at all!



Me and Goji is the newest thing in artisanal cereals. Meet the three guys behind this genius idea here. Go ahead, look around the site--there's so much to see! And I have to say, it's a lot of fun to design your own breakfast. The idea is that you go to the site, choose from the huge list of ingredients, drag and drop them into the big bowl, and make your own personal blend. Choose only what you want, and leave out the stuff you don't want. And don't think they've forgotten Gluten Free folks! They've got you covered, as well! And here's the fun part! Give it a name--Adam. Alexander, and Carl love to see funny, cool and creative names. Scroll down through this page to see some of their favorites.





Carl, Adam and Alexander have been very cool and decided to offer THREE of you guys the chance to design and win your own capsule of Me and Goji! So here's the deal:

1. Visit the site and design your own cereal blend.
2. Send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.
3. Tell everyone you know about it so they can enter, too!
4. On National Cereal Day, March 7th, they'll announce the winners on their site. They'll also have some other cool promotions going on, so mark your calendars and be sure to check them out on that day!

So go visit the site and make your cereal! Good luck!

PS-- I'd love it if you not only submit your name ideas to Carl, but also to me in your comments. I'm so curious to see what you guys come up with!

PSS--This contest is open to US and Canadian Residents! :)

***Don't forget, to be eligible, you must send your perfect blend recipe and it's funny, creative name to carl@meandgoji.com, and make sure you tell him that it's the Elle's New England Kitchen Name your Cereal Contest.


And the winners are:

1. Danielle Behlmer - Does This Cereal Make Me a Hippie?

2. Julie Cameron Hendrix – Mornin Munchies

3. Genevieve Charet - It's a Luau in My Mouth, and Every Fruit, Nut, and Flake is Invited!

And for anyone purchasing cereal, Me & Goji are offering free goji berries (until 3/31) for those who enter the coupon code FREEGOJIS upon checkout.

Thanks again!

Today is prize giveaway day! Woohoo! So there are three prizes to go be awarded--2 packages of frozen herbs, and one copy of Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. Let's get right to it!

The Random Number Generator did it's thing and we have the winners:



First up, # 58, the winner of the book:

Ann said... 58

I've heard wonderful things about the book, Pick me...please !! And thank you !!!

Dec 28, 2008 3:10:00 PM

IMPORTANT- Ann, I don't have an email address for you--please contact me ASAP, or I'll have to choose another winner. Don't want to have to do that!



Second, # 116, the winner of Herb Package #1:

Ms. Nearlywed said... 116

What a fantastic idea for herbs!!! I just love it. The bread book looks really good too, I've been really into making breads lately so you have me intrigued...I may have to go out and get this book.

Jen(dot)Dubyoski(at)gmail(dot)com

Jan 6, 2009 6:07:00 PM

And third, # 66, the winner of Herb Package #2:

Ari (Baking and Books) said... 66

Artisan Bread is an incredible book indeed, I get much use out of my copy! Whoever wins it is very lucky. :)

Dec 28, 2008 7:54:00 PM

Congrats to all of the winners! This was a really fun giveaway for me. I totally stand behind herbs, as I have with everything I've had a giveaway for. If you find that your local stores don't carry the herbs, tell them they must--they are truly wonderful! And the book? It's fantastic, and I'm not just saying that. I've been using it for the past couple of months and have not had a failure yet. On the contrary, we've been enjoying fresh bread more than ever. And I haven't sweated over bread baking, either--it's just so easy.

Stay tuned for more giveaways in the coming months. I love my readers and giving back something when I can makes me truly happy. Love you guys!

I have a lot to cover in this post, so please grab a mug or tall glass of something and join me!

First up--the herb giveaway. I was contacted a little while ago by Matt From Daregal Fresh Frozen Herbs. He wanted to know if I'd like to try a sample. Heck, yeah! Trying to find reasonably priced and super-fresh herbs in the cold months isn't always easy. Not to mention that if you only need a little bit, and you have to buy a whole bunch, then you've got to come up with ways to use the rest up before they go bad, which is always sooner than later.

So here comes Daregal, with the perfect solution! Their herbs are 100% natural, salt free, and processed within three hours of being picked. They're not sitting around on store shelves losing flavor and freshness like the ones we've seen up until now. The herbs are washed, chopped (no stems included!) and ready to use in your favorite dishes--no thawing required, not even for salads. And you might think they'd be all stuck together, but the herbs get a very light misting of natural vegetable oils so they flow freely out of the container.

We've been testing some of them this weekend and I have to say, I think I'm in love. The basil, right out of the container, tastes like I just picked it from my garden in August. Same goes for the Italian and Original Blends--nothing but delicious herbs in there, tasting as fresh as you'd expect from your own herb garden. And they're already minced for you, so less work. Now, everyone would love to have a year-round herb garden, but for most of us, that's not happening. So these are the next best thing. I've tried the little frozen teaspoon sized cubes of herbs, and while they taste alright, they're not convenient if you're making an uncooked dish. The Daregal Herbs are like sprinkling your own fresh minced herbs into anything you're making. So far we've made Bruschetta with the basil, and a focaccia-loafy-type bread with the Italian Blend. Also, the Grilling Blend sprinkled into some olive oil made a perfect blend to dip our bread in.


So Matt and I talked for a little while and came up with a great giveaway! They're going to send out two packages of an assortment of herbs to two random winners. What will you get?

Package #1: One of each--

Original Blend
Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
Oregano

Package #2: One of each--

Italian Blend
Basil
Cilantro
Parsley
Oregano


These will be shipped to your door packed in dry ice, and ready to be popped in your freezer to start using right away. And let's not underestimate the fun factor of dry ice...um, not that I'd know. Just be careful if you decide to make a cauldron of spooky smoke, and read the precautions first, ok? Ok. So the herb giveaway starts today, and two winners (US only on this one, sorry.) will be chosen on Wednesday, January 14th. In the meantime, check out the Daregal site, and maybe you'll find a store in your area that carries them so you can get a sneak preview. And a huge thanks to Matt and Daregal!



And now, the book that changed everything about bread baking. For me, anyway, and countless others that have bought this book. What book is this? Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day: The Discovery That Revolutionizes Home Baking .



My bread baking has gone from "pretty good" to "knock your socks off!" And all with very little effort. Seriously! There's no kneading, only about 5 minutes of mixing time. The dough rests at least 2 hours, then you can use it or pop it in the fridge. Want some bread? (I feel almost silly calling it "bread," when it's more like food of the gods.) Pull out some of the dough, shape it and let it sit for 40 minutes (or 20 if you haven't put it in the fridge yet), then bake it. The high moisture content in the dough is what makes it rise, right in the oven. And then? Prepare to BE AMAZED. Be prepared for your family and friends to start begging you to make more bread. Which you'll be happy to do because of the little bit of effort involved.



We've been experimenting with the book and haven't been disappointed yet--just the opposite, we've been thrilled! For Christmas Day, I made the Vermont Cheddar Bread from the book, but using half the dough, made 12 dinner rolls. They were so damn good, and even the fussy kids loved them. The rest of the dough went back in the fridge overnight and this afternoon, we shaped 2 flat-ish focaccia type breads. We brushed them with a little olive oil and gave them a sprinkle of good sea salt. Then--how easy--we sprinkled some Daregal Italian Blend over the dough, then let them rest for 40 minutes. When it was time for them to bake, we added sliced Campari tomatoes and fresh mozzarella. Instant lunch! We got 2 delicious pizza-focaccia-bread type loaves with about 10 minutes total work.


We've also tried the Boule and the Pizza Crust from the book. Both are fantastic! And with bread this easy, there's no more excuse to not have your own fresh baked bread. No more being afraid of yeast. And no more fear of kneading. You CAN do it with this book.

And I'm so thrilled with the book, that I'm giving a copy away to one lucky reader! Same as the herb giveaway, but this one is open to US and international readers. The contest starts today, and on Wednesday, January 14th, I'll choose a winner.


SO! You have a chance to win three prizes--the book, or one of two packages of frozen herbs. (Herbs-US only, book-US and international.)

Just leave a comment here to enter. And if you want a BONUS ENTRY, just Twitter or Facebook with a link to this giveaway, and come back to comment again with your link from that included in your comment. That will give you two chances to win.


Good luck! I hope you all had happy holidays, and here's to a happy and healthy new year!

The Random Number Generator has spoken and the random winner is comment #70, Dawn from Vanilla Sugar.

Dawn said... 70

Oh my gosh my dumb computer crashed 2 years ago and I lost all my settings, bookmarks, addresses, etc.... Thankfully I did back up and didn't lose any work. I really think computers are only meant to last 3-5 years as so many people lose their computer after this about of time.
Congrats on 100th post. Wild huh? And I do remember those skillet smashed taters, vividly...I fell in love with them.

Nov 19, 2008 4:12:00 PM

Dawn will be receiving a copy of Ina Garten's brand-spankin' new book Back to Basics.


Congratulations, Dawn! All I need is your address so I can get the book out to you. :)

Stay tuned for more giveaways, because there are more coming!

Hi everyone! It's been a while, right? Not only have I been busy, but also not making too much that's post-worthy, and had a hard drive crash last week didn't help one tiny bit. I lost all of my bookmarks, all of my RSS feed subscriptions, and...AND...this one breaks my heart the most... every single one of the photos that I'd uploaded from my camera, but not edited yet. Including all of my fall foliage ones from this fall, and some food photos. My laptop had to revert back to factory settings. ugh. I've taken steps (well, actually, my husband did) so that this never happens to me again. Three times is three too many.

Sigh. Onward and forward.

It's my 100th post! I never thought when I started this blog that anyone except my friends would read it. I know, everyone says that, right? But it's true! And Feedburner tells me that I just got my 101st subscriber, so that's also very cool. Thanks, subscribers, and anyone and everyone else that reads my blog. You are all the best!

I'm going to recap my top 10 viewed posts, according to Google Analytics. Some you may have already seen, and some may be new to a few of you. So here we go, and stay tuned to the end of the post for the giveaway!

The Countdown:

#10

Sesame Chicken and Noodles



I'll probably say this about every one in the top 10, but this is one of our favorites! Easy and not too bad for you, from Cooking Light.

#9

This one has two recipes in it, Double Chocolate Zucchini Bread and Skillet Smashed Potatoes.



Now, I love the bread, but those potatoes? I'd crawl through three feet of cold snow for some of those potatoes. They're that good.

#8

Raspberry Lime Yogurt Pound Cake



Those of you that have been following me for a while know all about my obsession with raspberry and lime together. Still obsessed!

#7

American Chop Suey



I dug back into my childhood for this one, for the Tastes to Remember event. My mom made this for us all the time. We loved it, and my kids do, too. Make a kid happy today! And you, too, because it's so easy!

#6

Peanut Butter Pretzel Cookies



A recent post--my last one, in fact! We really loved these. My husband said these were the best cookies I've ever made, and I've made a lot. (Haven't we all?) Mmmm, cookies!

#5

Pita Bread



One of the nicest doughs to work with, and just so delicious! Fill them with your favorites. We loved them with chicken salad and burgers. Or hot from the oven, and slathered--yes, slathered with butter.

#4

Oven Roasted Fingerling Potatoes



Ah, the humble potato. Humble, yes, but this one tuber evokes such emotion in so many of us, doesn't it? Fried, baked, roasted, mashed, covered in cheese, dipped in ketchup--whatever you do to them, they're delicious!

#3

Mango Buffalo Wings with Mango Lime Cream Dipping Sauce



I won the Royal Foodie Joust for May with this recipe--my first entry in the contest, ever. That was fun! And the wings are oven baked, not fried. And so good!

#2

Elfin Shortbread Cookies



The first recipe in my Holiday Baking Series. So simple and so cute, they make a great addition to your holiday treats.

And finally, #1!

Amazing Oven Fried Chicken



Another ridiculously easy family favorite. Great hot out of the oven, and also cold leftovers--think picnic food! Though, for some of us, we'll have to wait till Spring for thinking about picnics. Brrr!



And that's my Top 10, according to Google. Now, more importantly, the giveaway!

To celebrate my 100th post, and to give something back to all of you guys, I'm giving away a copy of Ina Garten's new book, Back To Basics. I don't even have a copy for myself yet, but this book has such great reviews! I love Ina. She can make anything look simple, can't she? And her recipes are always wonderful. I've had no failures yet from her.



To enter, just leave a comment on this post. On Tuesday, December 9th, I'll randomly choose a winner. Gah, that's so close to Christmas, isn't it? Yikes! Anyway, good luck, and as always, thanks for reading!