Time to Play Spring Showcase 2011

On Thursday, I was invited to attend a Spring Toy Showcase hosted by Time to Play Mag.  The showcase features the Most Wanted List of Spring/Summer 2011 toys, which was really fun to see! I will be featuring many of the cool toys I had an opportunity to play with in weeks to come on here and on my review blog!

Check out the 2011 Most Wanted List here.

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App:  Google Places

Price: Free

Why it's Awesome: Need a hotel room? Post office? A good slice of pizza? Look no further than Google Places. It's deliciously easy~ the world at your fingertips!

The Dallas Farmers Market

Hi everyone! I'm not sure if you happened to notice but this little guy was on auto-post while my family and I snuck down to Dallas, TX for a week!  We had a blast visiting family and exploring the sights, but one of my most favorite activities was visiting the Dallas Farmer's Market! It's HUGE and has been in operation since 1941! All the vendors (local farmers and produce vendors) were really nice and almost all of them offered free samples- freshly cut pineapple, tomatoes sprinkled with salt and pepper, local honey, and melons galore!  All this fresh goodness was especially exciting for a Philadelphia-family ---when we left PA for TX, almost nothing was in season!


















 

Want to see more pix by me? Check out my photography website!

Make Your Own: Yogurt

By now, you know I've been on a quest to make my own yogurt. I wrote about it here and here.  I was not quite able to master it on my own, so I have been DYING to get a yogurt maker to help me out. My big criteria was- it needed to have glass jars.  I also really didn't want to pay a ton of money. I researched on Amazon and read tons of reviews.   I finally decided on this little gem:

 

Deni 5600 1-Quart Electric Yogurt Maker

It holds six 6-oz jars and other than that is pretty basic.  My first batch was really successful. I used the directions that came with it, which had me use a 1/2 cup of natural yogurt (I used plain greek) and 1 qt of milk (I used whole).  Basically you boil the milk, let it cool, add the yogurt, mix.

Add equal parts to each jar and then pop it in the machine for 10 hours.   Ava and I like to add raw, local honey and some organic granola. Mmmm!

This is just an I love my yogurt maker post, no sponsors or anything!

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App:  Price Check by Amazon

Price: Free

Why it's Awesome: Never overpay again! Scan a barcode, take a photo, type it in, or say an item's name~ and Price Check will compare prices for you!!!

Make Your Own : Pizza Dough

On my never-ending quest to cook from scratch, I really wanted to try to make pizza. I got a great pizza dough recipe from my buddy Kate and have been using that ever since!  We have made several varieties of pizza, including a pear/brie pizza! Mmmm!

Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

Recipe yields one 12″ pizza crust, serves 2-6

• 1 packet active dry yeast (1/4 oz. or 1 1/2 tsp.)
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar, divided
• 2/3 c. warm water, divided
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. vital wheat gluten (I got mine at Whole Foods but have seen it at Giant, too)
• 1 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
• 1/2 c. white flour (plus extra)
• 2 T. olive oil
• 1-2 T. melted butter and 1 tsp. jarred minced garlic – optional

In a small mixing bowl, combine the packet of yeast with 1/2 tsp. of sugar. Add 1/3 cup warm water and let sit about 5 minutes until foamy/bubble.

In a large mixing bowl, sift well: 1 tsp. sugar, salt, vital wheat gluten, whole wheat flour and white flour. Mix in 2 T olive oil and remaining 1/3 cup warm water. Add yeast and mix.

Turn dough out onto floured work surface and knead until dough is smooth, elastic and not so sticky.

Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and set aside in a warm, dry place with a towel over it (I use my unheated oven). Let dough rise for 45 minutes to an hour, or until about doubled.

“Punch” dough down and turn out onto floured work surface. Roll dough out to about 15″ – I like a flatbread style crust, but feel free to roll the dough up a little here for a thicker crust.

Transfer dough to pizza peel or baking sheet and prepare to build. If you don’t mind a few extra minutes at the gym, brush melted butter around the edge of the dough and sprinkle that edge with a little minced garlic. Oh, the secret to any great recipe is butter – much as I try to deny it


This dough makes for a very hearty pizza, especially if you load on a lot of veggies!


Kate~ my husband, daughter and house guests THANK you for this recipe:):):)!!!

Go See: Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure

Sharpay’s Fabulous Adventure is a hilarious movie from Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment about a girl named Sharpay (Ashley Tisdale) who wants to go to NYC to audition for a show on Broadway. When Sharpay goes to audition she finds out the part is for her dog Boi. After Sharpay and Boi’s audition they meet their competition Roger and his dog Countess.

The main girl in the play is played by Amber Lee Adams. Amber Lee Adams is very mean to both the dogs and Sharpay and Roger. Sharpay told Amber how mean she thought she was. Amber very mad and Sharpay got fired!

Sharpay has to return home from New York to work which she really doesn’t want to do. Thankfully, she wasn't home long- the directors called her back for another audition and from there she gets the adventure of a lifetime!


I really liked this movie a lot, and so did my cousin who came with me. It was funny and really entertaining!


The DVD combo pack is available in stores TODAY!!!!!


And click HERE for a fabulous coupon- $8 off the dvd combo pack!

This post was written by our teen contributor Monica! Thanks Monica for writing a great review!
Monica and her mom were provided free passes to see Sharpay's Fabulous Adventure in the theater, as well as a free copy of the dvd to help facilitate this review. All opinions are 100% Monica's.

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App: Saladworks

Price: Free

Why it's Awesome: Love me some Salad Works. I don't always have time to stand in their crazy-lines on a workday, though, so I am very pleased with this one~ I can order right from my phone!

Local Giveaway: Four-Pack of Tickets to an Advanced Screening of Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil

 

Hey guys! Looking for something to do April 23? How about attending an ADVANCED screening of HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL in 3D 

Saturday, April 23, 10AM 

at the Rave University City

HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL in 3D (Weinstein Co.)

Opens April 29, 2011
Rated PG

Directed by: Mike Disa

Written by: Cory Edwards, Tony Leech, Todd Edwards, Mike Disa

Starring: Hayden Panettiere, Glenn Close , Joan Cusack , Bill Hader , Amy Poehler , David Alan Grier , Andy Dick, Brad Garrett, Martin Short, Patrick Warburton

The good... the bad... the Twitchy. From the team that brought you HOODWINKED, the comedic portrayal of the fairy tale Red Riding Hood, comes the all-new animated family comedy HOODWINKED TOO!  HOOD VS. EVIL in 3D.  The sequel finds our heroine, Red (Hayden Panettiere), training with a mysterious covert group called the Sisters of the Hood.  But Red is forced to cut her training short when she gets an urgent call from Nicky Flippers (David Ogden Stiers), who returns as head of the super-secret Happily Ever After Agency, aka the HEA.  A wicked witch (Joan Cusack) has abducted two innocent children, Hansel (Bill Hader) and Gretel (Amy Poehler), and Nicky needs Red for the search-and-rescue mission.    Of course, what is a sequel without guest stars from the original?  Thankfully, Granny (Glenn Close) and the rest of the HOODWINKED gang—including the ever-clueless Wolf (Patrick Warburton) and his over-caffeinated little partner, Twitchy (Cory Edwards), join Red to solve the forest’s latest caper.  Fracturing fairy tales and pop culture with good-natured glee, HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD vs. EVIL in 3D takes viewers on a rollicking rollercoaster ride combining edge-of-the-seat adventure with classic, zany cartoon antics.

HOODWINKED TOO! HOOD VS. EVIL in 3D features the voices of Hayden Panettiere, Glenn Close, Joan Cusack, Bill Hader, Amy Poehler, David Alan Grier, Andy Dick, Brad Garrett, Martin Short, Patrick Warburton, Cheech Marin and Tommy Chong.  It is directed by Mike Disa and written by Cory Edwards, Tony Leech, Todd Edwards and Mike Disa.   The producers are Maurice Kanbar and Joan Collins Carey.  

Giveaway:

This giveaway will run from today until Sunday, April 17 at 8pm EST. The winner will be chosen randomly by using random.org.  #1 is mandatory to enter. 2 and 3 are optional for additional chances to win. Good luck!

1. Who would you take to see this movie? Leave a comment on this blog post and include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

2. Like Hoodwinked Too! Hood Vs. Evil on Facebook.  Leave a comment on this blog post and include your email address so I can contact you if you win!

3. Tell a friend about this contest. Leave a separate comment here for EACH friend you notify! 

What's in Season?

Love this poster from Animal, Vegetable, Miracle's website!

Deal AND Giveaway!!!!! Support Philabundance!

Want to snag a great deal while paying it forward???  Today's deal on Eversave (Philadelphia) is pretty awesome- $20 for $40 worth of food at the delicious Village Belle.

This deal is running from today until Sunday, April 10.  If you get your purchase in today, you save an additional $3 when you enter the promo code VILLAGE at checkout!!!  I am a new member of Eversave, so I have a $2 new member credit to burn, too!!

Need even more incentive? A portion of the proceeds from EACH purchase will benefit Philabundance, Philadelphia’s largest food bank and hunger relief organization!!


If this sounds familiar you may have seen this on this morning's Philly 6ABC broadcast!  




The Giveaway:
One lucky reader will receive a FREE save~ a $40 gift certificate (pdf)!!! Woo hoo, date night here you come!


The giveaway is open to US residents and will run from today until Monday, 4-11-11 @ 8pm EST. One winner will be chosen at random with the aide of random.org.  Winner will be emailed PDF gift certificate.

There are five ways to enter to win this giveaway!

Note: please leave a comment below for EACH entry. Please leave your email address in every comment so I can contact you if you win!

1. (mandatory) Check out The Village Belle's website and tell me what you would order if you won! Leave a comment in this post.
2. Join Eversave. Leave a comment here with your email address telling me you did so!
3. Like Eversave Philadelphia on Facebook.  Leave a comment here with your email address telling me you did so!
4. Like Baby in the Kitchen on Facebook. Leave a comment here with your email address telling me you did so!
5. Follow Eversave Philadelphia on Twitter.  Leave a comment here with your email address telling me you did so!

Thank you to Eversave for providing the prize for this giveaway.  All opinions are always 100% our own.

Go See: HOP

HOP is the story of E.B., the teenage son of the Easter Bunny, who does not want to follow in his father’s footsteps but rather be a rock and roll  drummer. So he travels to Hollywood  to pursue his dream. 

While there, he meets Fred (James Marsden), an unemployed slacker who just got kicked out of his house. The story follows E.B. and Fred on their adventures as they attempt to be successful.

I took my 10-year-old son to see HOP.  The characters and animation in the movie were really good. Despite it being a kids movie there were some jokes that I would have considered “over the head” of most children under 12 but my son still liked it. I enjoyed  Russell Brand, the voice of E.B..
Brand brings both comedy and sweetness to the character. E.B. was so adorable you just wanted to grab him off the screen and hug him! James Marsden, as Fred, gave an OK performance.  I could have done without the appearance of David Hasselhoff. He added nothing to the movie whatsoever. 

The music was very cute and had everyone bopping in their seats.

It was nice to see a different type of holiday movie (Easter).  Overall I would give the movie 4 starts out of five.

The film is helmed by Tim Hill, director of the blockbuster Alvin & the Chipmunks and produced by Chris Meledandri’s Illumination Entertainment (Despicable Me).  HOP opened in theaters everywhere April 1.

http://www.iwantcandy.com/

Thank you to HOP for providing our blog contributor Gina with a set of tickets to help facilitate this review!

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App: Open Table

Price: Free

Why it's Awesome: Want to guarantee your spot at a restaurant? Check to see if it's on Open Table and make your reservation right from your phone!!!  A-list service for us regular folks;)

Great Groupon: Mugshots Cafe

I know many of you, like me, like to purchase local, organic, sustainable food/drink whenever possible. Today's groupon is for Mugshots Cafe---their seasonal fare is local and organic and is right by Eastern State Penitentiary and near the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Gorton's Seafood Review and GIVEAWAY!!!!!!

Seafood Lovers Sweepstakes

 In honor of their amazing Seafood Lovers Sweepstakes, Gorton's Seafood sent me two vouchers to try any two of their delicious products! I am going to tell you all about what I bought and made, but first, I want to tell you about the Seafood Lovers Sweepstakes!

Gorton's is offering their fans a chance to win a trip for two to a destination that gets the most votes. The locations in the running are: Greek Isles, Key West, Las Vegas, Italy, Gloucester, and the Caribbean!!!! Head over to the Sweepstakes Headquarters to cast your vote today! It's very simple to enter- sign up for their newsletter, vote for your favorite destination, and click submit. Boom, you're entered!!! I voted for Italy, where will you pick???  Good luck!!!!




Gorton's Review
As I mentioned above, I was lucky enough to try two free Gorton's products!!! I am a huge seafood lover and couldn't wait to head to the store.  Mmmm it was hard to pick, but I finally decided to go with the Shrimp Scampi (large, tail-off shrimp, delicious garlic butter sauce, 120 calories per serving) and the Salmon Classic Grilled Fillets (flame grilled wild-caught salmon, 100 calories per fillet, Natural Omega-3s).

YUMMMMMY! 

With the salmon, I made the Gloucester Salmon Roll Up----OMG! We loved this! I can't wait to make it again!   We love seafood and we also love sushi, so this was a cute sushi-esque meal. 

 

With the shrimp, we made Scampi Shrimp with Broccoli and Linguine. DELISH!!!!  This recipe was painfully easy and was a crowd-pleaser!

I am really excited to buy these for those crazy nights where JP has class and Ava has ballet- dinner can be easy and still healthy!!!

The Giveaway:

2 free product coupons and a recipe card for 3 winners 

(US only - Gorton's is not sold in Canada)

There are six total ways to enter. #1 is mandatory. All the others are optional. Make sure you leave a separate comment for each entry.

The three winners will be chosen randomly by random.org.  This contest will run until Sunday, April 10 at 8pm.  Winners will be emailed.

How to enter:

1. Follow Baby in the Kitchen on Facebook. Comment here that you did so, please include your email address IN the comment box.

2. Go to Gorton's Website and sign up for their fun e-newsletter! Comment here that you did so, please include your email address IN the comment box.

3.  Do tell... which recipe is your favorite Gorton's recipe? 

Let us know here and please include your email address IN the comment box.

4. "Like" Gorton's on Facebook!  Let us know here and please include your email address IN the comment box.

5.  Tell Gorton's who sent you with a Facebook Wall comment! 

 Let us know here and please include your email address IN the comment box.

6.  "Follow" Gorton's on Twitter and tweet about the Seafood Lovers Sweepstakes!  Let us know here and please include your email address IN the comment box.


Thank you to Gorton's for sponsoring this giveaway, and for providing us with two free product vouchers to facilitate this review!!!!

Want to find even more exciting giveaways? Click here!

Go Read: Animal Vegetable Miracle

I will admit~ I bought this book on a whim and had no idea what it was about! Somebody somewhere recommended it on the great big interwebs, and I had some amazon credit to burn, so I thought, hey, why not! 

Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver is a true story about one family's journey in farming, becoming locavores, supporting the local economy, and eating in season.  The family decided to start in the spring by planting TONS of seeds, kick-starting their journey into eating at home. Their younger daughter took charge of the chicken posse, and even turned their eggs into profits for herself, in saving up to buy her very own horse!  Their older daughter contributes to the book by writing essays, creating meal plans, and transcribing their favorite recipes.  

I loved following Kingsolver and her family as they hosted huge parties for friends and family, just from local meat and dairy, as well as all their crops!  They had to get very creative at times, and sometimes they had to risk looking like weirdos when they wouldn't buy bananas for a relative who was staying with them. It's all very thought-provoking and the end-result is pretty awesome.

Though I don't see myself moving the family to a farm anytime soon, I will take certain parts of their journey with me forever and I am even more excited for CSA and Farm Market Season to arrive!!!!

This review is just me telling you about a good book, because I feel like it! No sponsors, no free samples:)

Check out the book's website here: http://www.animalvegetablemiracle.com/

Buy it on amazon here: Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life (P.S.)

Organics Delivered Groupon Today!

Hey local people- check out this deal for Suburban Organics! I have not used this company specifically, but I have used two other services like it and I must say, the convenience is just awesome!!

$19 for a Small Box of Organic Produce Delivered from Suburban Organics ($39 Value)  

Easy Kid Snacks

Our friend Jen sent us a great article that contains super easy and healthy kid snacks from Big City Moms!

1.     Pair quesadillas, or another flatbread like lavash or naan with smoked or roasted chicken (you can use store-bought rotisserie) some kind of cheese that melts nicely like gruyere and add apples and toasted walnuts to add some sweetness and acidity.

2.     Chop sweet tomatoes and strawberries and blend with a little real balsamic vinegar and serve on toasted bruschetta

3.     Mix a can of Goya black beans with Texmati rice and cook in chicken stock with a ham hock for extra flavor.

What are your go-to snacks?

Thank you, Jen!!!

Triathlon for Kids???! It's Here!!

A friend of mine founded this awesome non-profit organization to help get kids aged 7-15 active and healthy!  KizTri3 is a Youth Triathlon Series, right in our own back yard. Check it out and please pass along to your friends!!  There are two local events scheduled in May and July, right in Quakertown.  What an awesome way to foster a lifelong love of friendly competition and exercise!

Please let me know if your kids enter!

Oh Snap! There's an App for That!

App: urbanspoon

Price: Free

Why it's Awesome: Let's go out tonight. But where? Shake things up (literally) with urbanspoon. Search by your town, price-range, or type of cuisine, or allow urbanspoon free-range and try something new!