Avery & Zazzle Recipe Binder Design Contest

Check this out - and do it NOW - this contest ends November 2, 2009 at 11:59 PM, so get your creative hat on and go submit an entry today! Post a link to your design here and one lucky WINNER will receive their binder FREE!

Here are the particulars:

Prizes:
Grand Prize = $2,000
Second Prize = $500
10 Honorable Mention Prizes = $25 Zazzle Gift Code

How to Enter the Recipe Binder Contest:

1. Create a Zazzle Account (It’s free!)
2. Create your Recipe Binder
3. “Post for Sale” your Recipe Binder with the tag zazzleaveryrecipecontest2009 in the Zazzle Marketplace (learn how to tag your product here)
4. You’re done, good luck!

Create an Entry | View Entries

Contest entries must be received by November 2, 2009 at 11:59pm PT

Contest Rules:

1. You may only submit one entry for this Recipe Binder Contest
2. Entries must be submitted between October 19, 2009 at 9:00 am PT, and November 2, 2009 at 11:59 pm PT, to be eligible.
3. Entries will be judged on uniqueness of design, overall creativity, and best use of the binder space.
4. Entering a contest is done by tagging your product with a specific contest related keyword (or “tag”). If you don’t know how to do this, please read the instructions here. You should also leave a comment under the contest announcement with a link to your product to give it more visibility.
5. Contest is for submissions by residents of the USA only. All other entrants will be excluded from the competition. Read the Official Recipe Binder Contest Rules.

Getting Back

We are officially moved. Not officially unpacked, but moved. Our new home has many small differences that we're adapting to, but I think we'll be settled in no time.

I always find it difficult to get back into the swing of things after having been gone for some time. It's really only been a week and a half since I last posted, but it feels like much longer to me.

I think I'll start back with two great gifts I won from other bloggers. The first was a lovely basket full of soy candles from Janine at Things That Make Scents in 'Jersey Shore scents' that I won at Life, Lightly Salted, Michele's blog. These candles smell so wonderful and the fact that they are made from soy (semi-locally, no less) makes them all the more wonderful to me. The basket and colors will go perfectly in the new upstairs bathroom - one thing I was looking forward to here at the new digs.

The second was a $50 gift certificate for any one item at From the Farm which I won from Jenn's place at The Leftover Queen for the March/April Foodie Blogroll Giveaway. There was so much to choose from; cheeses, meats, oils, produce etc., but once I caught sight of the Clementine Mandarin (Algerian) Dwarf Tree from Four Winds Growers, I knew that was the gift for me. It came on Earth Day - very apropos - and already had tiny little clementines growing on it and many more blooms ready to go.

So, we are moved, we are acclimating and I am hopefully back to blogging!

Winners

Here are the winners of last month's two giveaways:

For the Weight Watchers Golden Sponge Cakes - Adopted Son and Jess!

For the La Cucina Italiana Magazine subscription - Mattbott of Italian Cooking!

Congratulations to all of you and thanks to everyone else for entering.

WIN a Subscription to La Cucina Italiana Magazine

If you haven't come across La Cucina Italiana magazine, you're definitely missing something. This is a magazine devoted entirely to Italian cuisine and they dish it up with beautiful photographs, delicious recipes and articles you want to sit in a comfy chair to read.

The photos are gorgeous and appetite inspiring. You'll want to jump into the pages and eat your way out. The recipes, like saltimbocca di lonza con pancetta (pork loin saltimbocca with pancetta), guazzetto di vongole e gamberi (clam and shrimp stew) and “dolce soffice” (cherry cake) will have you dashing to the kitchen.

La Cucina Italiana bills itself as Italy's premier food and cooking magazine since 1929. I'd say they know their stuff. Even so, this is not only for gourmets and experienced cooks. La Cucina Italiana is for everyday people who want to cook the finest Italian food there is.

You can subscribe now HERE and get a free apron with your order, or you can enter my contest and win a FREE one-year subscription.

The rules for this are that you leave a comment with your very favorite Italian recipe attached. It can be a sauce, a pasta, a dessert - you name it - anything goes as long as it's Italian!

One winner will be chosen and I will announce the winner on September 30th. Have your comment, with recipe, in by 11:59 PM on September 28th to be in the running. Open to U.S. Residents Only!

The Cutest Cakes Ever!

I was recently browsing around FamilyFun.com and found page after page of adorable cakes in The Best Cake Face-Off. Choose a category and vote between two at a time until you narrow it down to just two cakes for that category. See if the cake you pick is among the favorites.

It's so fun that the kids and I did it several times! The cakes are really great - far above my personal decorating (or lack thereof) skills. From Nemo to Wall-e and Disney Princesses to Darth Vader. Don't miss it! Click HERE to get started.

Family.com New Community and Contest

Family.com has just revamped its community and made it more personal and more fun. Not only do I blog at Family.com, I also belong to, and am active in, the community there.

Make your own avatar or family portrait from personalized avatars; join a group; let everyone know what you're up to moment-by-moment throughout your day; decorate your profile, add stickers or even make some of your own to upload!

Here's the best part - From August 1 to August 31, if you join and become an active member, you'll be eligible for a PRIZE A DAY in the Way To Go! Contest. There are awesome gifts being given including a 4 person tent, a web cam, an iPod, a DeWalt cordless screwdriver, a Bluetooth headset and MORE! Full rules are HERE.

Head on over and check it out for yourself. My profile is HERE, give it a look and you'll get an idea of what's so fun about it all!

THE “FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON” RECIPE CONTEST

This definitely looks like fun! I'm not sure if I'll get the time to cook something up and enter for myself, but I know that several of my readers are up to the challenge. You have from April 15th through May 31st to enter. Give it a look and see what you think.

Thanks to Jillian McMenamin of GolinHarris for giving me the "heads-up" on this!

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COLUMBIA CREST WINERY AND FOOD NETWORK STAR BOBBY FLAY PRESENT
THE “FLAYVORS OF WASHINGTON” RECIPE CONTEST

Acclaimed Washington State Winery to Sponsor Contest on
FoodNetwork.com with World-Renowned Chef

Paterson, Wash. (January 24, 2008) – Columbia Crest Winery, in conjunction with Chef Bobby Flay, today announced the upcoming launch of the “Flayvors of Washington” recipe contest. The month-long contest, which launches April 15, 2008, will be hosted on the Food Network Web site. The contest is part of a partnership between the Washington-based winery and Flay that highlights the unexpected rewards of dining with Columbia Crest Grand Estates wines.

The “Flayvors of Washington” contest challenges food and wine lovers throughout the United States to create and submit an original recipe inspired by Columbia Crest wines and utilizing ingredients from Washington state. As one of the leading agricultural producers, the state offers an abundance of flavorful and fresh ingredients from which to draw culinary inspiration. The entries will be reviewed and the top-10 recipes will be narrowed to a selection of five finalists by Columbia Crest Winemaker Ray Einberger and Seattle Times restaurant critic and local NPR food commentator Nancy Leson. Flay and Food Network Executive Chef Robert Bleifer will then judge the top-five recipes and select a first-, second- and third-place winner.

“As a chef, I understand how pairing the right wine and food can enhance the overall dining experience,” said Flay. “I use regional ingredients in my cooking, so I’m eager to see what recipes and pairings people will create using the flavors of Washington.”

The winner of the contest will enjoy a trip to New York City, where he/she will have the opportunity to cook his/her winning dish with Flay and then enjoy a special dinner at one of his restaurants, featuring wine pairings from Columbia Crest.

“We encourage fans of Bobby Flay and Columbia Crest, as well as anyone who is passionate about food and wine, to explore all the delicious and inspiring flavors Washington state offers,” said Miles Johnson, senior product manager for Columbia Crest.

In May 2007, Columbia Crest and Flay announced their partnership to demonstrate how simple it is to have a great food and wine experience, everyday. In addition to the contest, the partnership includes a Columbia Crest Grand Estates print advertising campaign starring Flay, as well as holiday and spring menus created by Flay to be featured on the Columbia Crest Web site, and wine pairings that he will develop exclusively for the winery.

The contest will begin on April 15, 2008, and all entries must be received by midnight on May 31, 2008. To submit an entry or find out more about the “Flayvors of Washington” contest, please visit www.foodnetwork.com/columbiacrest beginning April 15.

About Columbia Crest
In 2008, Columbia Crest Winery celebrates 25 years of winemaking in Washington state. Columbia Crest has grown from a small winery in a relatively unknown wine region to one of the most significant wineries in the United States and a major force behind Washington state’s emergence as a world-class wine region. In 2007, the Grand Estates Merlot was selected from a field of 15,000 90+ rated wines as one of the “Top 100 Wines of the World” by Wine Spectator, marking the 14th “Top 100” placement for Columbia Crest in the past nine years. More information about the winery can be found at columbia-crest.com.

About Bobby Flay
Chef Bobby Flay’s critically acclaimed restaurants include New York’s Bar Americain; Bobby Flay Steak in the Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City; and three outposts of his famed Mesa Grill in New York, Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, and The Cove Atlantis in the Bahamas. A graduate of the French Culinary Institute, Flay also shares his enthusiasm for food through his cookbooks, most recently The Mesa Grill Cookbook, and a variety of national programs on the Food Network including the Emmy-winning “Boy Meets Grill.” Flay regularly informs audiences about seasonal, fresh dishes and ingredients as a food correspondent for “The Early Show” on CBS.

Martha Stewart Living Radio Recipe Contest

Check this out from SIRIUS Satellite Radio and Martha Stewart:

Send us your best main-dish Super Bowl party recipe and you could win a trip to the SuperBowl! That’s not all - the winner will also receive a set of Martha Stewart Collection cookware from Macy's, $1,000 to donate to the food bank of their choice, and the winning recipe will be published in an issue of Everyday Food!

Full details on how to enter: www.sirius.com/martha

**I totally love that the $1,000 prize is donated to a food bank! Get on it --these recipes are due by DECEMBER 10th--and send your yummiest recipe for your chance to win~who wouldn't love to see their name in Everyday Food?**