Party on with your meatballs!

If you read my site, you'll notice that I do a weekly menu plan for my family. It makes life easier and I'm able to keep my budget in check. Generally I'm not the one who hosts gatherings in my home, but from time to time we do, and sometimes we're "dish bringers" to our friends and families houses for holidays and special occasions. Now, like I said, you know I do my weekly menu plan, and you know I like yummy, easy and inexpensive recipes. We'll be visiting a friends house for Thanksgiving and our contribution to the spread is ridiculously easy and ridiculously delicious. With only 3 ingredients, its something I can't butcher and with my preferred way of cooking it- in the crockpot- I can get them started, and go about my day getting the kids and myself ready to go without keeping an eye on the stove or oven.

At UltimatePartyMeatballs.com, you can find other great recipes and party enhancements for making your party a success. I've got my eye on the sweet and spicy cheeseburger nachos for our next football party, and definitely am passing on the recipe for the cranberry orange glazed ham to my mom for Christmas... I'm seriously droolin' over here! But... without further ado!!---

Ultimate Party Meatballs

• 1 14 oz. can of Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce
• 1 12 oz. bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce
• 1 2 lb. bag of frozen, pre-cooked, cocktail size meatballs

You can do this one of two ways:::
Combine sauces in a saucepan and cook over medium-low heat, stir until smooth. Add in the meatballs and cover. Cook for 15 minutes or until heated through, stirring occasionally.

Or my favorite way of course:::
Put your meatballs in your slow cooker, combine your sauces and pour over top of the meatballs. Cover and cook for 4 hours on high.

Easy peasy, super good, transports well (especially in the slow cooker I think!)... If you end up making them, or have made them in the past, let me know what you think!!

I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Heinz and Ocean Spray and received the ingredients necessary to facilitate my review. In addition, Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

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Send holiday cheer with Hallmark!

Each year people send out Christmas cards, so what makes YOURS stand out from the rest? What makes yours say "awhh..." versus, just adding another one to the pile? Hallmark has some superb options for sending your love this holiday season!

Of course, Hallmark once again has their recordable cards, which are just so much fun! Some with traditional songs, some newer songs, as well as others without music, that you can add your own personalized recorded greeting to. These are wonderful for really getting your personality into the cards that you're sending across the miles!!

Taking your greetings a step farther, is Hallmark's new DVD holiday greetings. With the DVD holiday greetings, you can edit and customize photos with the template provided and burn them onto the DVD along with a card. I absolutely love this for my in-laws, because although they live "off the grid" they do occasionally plug their generator in and indulge in a DVD... I know that off the grid or on the grid, this is something that will be cherished! You can watch a DVD holiday greetings demo here.

Another great addition to sending the love this season is Hallmark's digital scrapbooks. When you use the digital scrapbooks, you can bring together music, photos, text and more. I love that the digital scrapbooks are in an easy to use USB stick format, and there are four easy ways to access the digital scrapbooks as well- plugging the usb into a digital frame, printing the pages to put the into an album, being able to post it to your blog or other social networking sites, as well as being able to burn it to a DVD. You can watch a digital scrapbook demo here.

Want to win a $25 gift card to Hallmark Gold Crown? Visit the Hallmark site, is there something you have your eye on to get for yourself or to gift to someone else? 2 winners will each win a $25 Hallmark Gold Crown gift card!


Extra Entries??

• Follow or Subscribe to A Couch With A View
• Follow CaseyDeuce on twitter and tweet this giveaway.
• Post my button on your blog.
• Add my Holiday Gift Guide button to your blog for 2 extra entries. (leave 2 comments)
• Enter any of Melissa's Holiday Gift Guide giveaways, let me know which ones- max. 3 extra entries here.
  
• Add my text link to your blogroll: http://acouchwithaview.blogspot.com/
• Post about this giveaway on your blog!
• If you don't have a blog, you can gain extra entries by emailing a friend about this giveaway! Just CC me in your email! caseyscouch@yahoo.com

This giveaway will accept entries until 11:59 pm on December 8th. Winner will be drawn with random.org and emailed. Winner must reply within 48 hours to winning email or a new winner will be drawn. Please make sure that your email is accessible, whether in the comment or a blogger profile, cause if I cant contact you, how can you win??

Opinions are my own, I was provided items free of charge to review (by Hallmark), which in no way changed the way I feel about the product!

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Don't forget to Hugg-A-Planet!!

Seems like every kid has teddy bears... every kid has dolls or action figures, every kid has their favorite toy to cuddle with... I love stuffed animals, and believe me, Boug has a TON of them, but something unique is having a stuffed planet!! The Hugg-A-Planet products from Peace Toys are a huge hit around our house, Boug loves being able to ask questions about different countries while hanging out with her Hugg-A-Planet Earth. I love the educational perks of hugging a planet!!

Hugg-A-Planet isn't just a stuffed planet, its a ball that can be rolled or even kicked around, and yes, I've even caught Boug resting her head on hers while watching a movie! Its hard to believe that there are over 600 places labeled on the Hugg-A-Planet Earth!! Also available are the super Hugg-A-Planet Earth, which is over TWO FEET in diameter, as well as the Hugg-A-Planet Mars, the red planet, and the Hugg-A-Planet Earth that comes with a proportionate moon! There's the baby Hugg-A-Planet Earth, the Hugg-A-Star, and I love the Hugg America that is in the shape of the United States! What a fun learning tool that can be!

Opinions are my own, I was provided items free of charge to review (by Peace Toys), which in no way changed the way I feel about the product!

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Menu Plan Monday

Finally, I started my job last week, I worked Wednesday and Friday in training. Although I went back to the same company I used to work for, I went back in a differently location after 3 years, and although I was an expert trainer in my old store, I must re-train... how frustrating. I'm sucking it up though and dealing with it. I just can't wait to be through with it and be making my own money again!!

Its hunting season again, and although my husband doesn't hunt, he's a butcher with butcher friends and we recently got 2 lbs. of ground venison... anyone have any recipes that ground venison would be a good subsitution in? I can only make so many venison burgers before we get bored with them....

Make sure you check out the giveaways listed here on the left hand sidebar, lots of great goodies to be won... and I do have something special coming up for the MPM'ers, be sure to keep checking back for that giveaway!!
Recipes are below!!

Monday: Won't be home, both of us working, kids at a friends house

Tuesday: Family Size Burrito

Wednesday: Crockpot Chicken Thighs

Thursday: Turkey Day, at a friends house

Friday: Beef Roast

Saturday: Won't be home, headed to a concert in NYC! Date night!

Sunday: Bacon Wrapped BBQ Apple Chicken

Once again, breakfasts are usually cold cereal, oatmeal and sometimes Boug just wants toast and a banana! Lunches usually are leftovers or sandwiches paired with yogurt or fruit generally. My meals are usually a bit heavier in meats and chickens as hub is a butcher and brings so much home for free or next to nothing!! Check out more Menu Plan Monday entries at orgjunkie!!

Recipes:::

Family Size Burrito (from Balancing Act Basics)
*She calls for cooked chicken, I'm going to try it with shredded beef, I'll put a piece of steak in the crockpot with the taco seasoning, and maybe salsa the day before so its ready to go*

2 small tomatoes, thinly sliced

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded*

1 tsp onion powder

1 Tbsp lime juice

1 Tbsp chicken taco seasoning mix

1 Tbsp garlic powder

3 Tbsp salsa

1 shredded cheddar cheese

4 burrito-size flour tortillas

1/2 can (9oz) bean dip

Toppings: shredded lettuce, sliced olives, sour cream

Preheat oven to 425 F. Mix chicken with onion powder, lime juice, seasoning mix, garlic powder and salsa. Microwave chicken mixture 3-4 minutes or until hot, stirring occasionally.

Arrange tortillas in an overlapping circular pattern on a large pizza stone (you could use a cookie sheet as well), covering entire surface of baking stone. Tortillas will extend off edge by a few inches. Starting in the center, spread bean dip over tortillas. Spoon chicken mixture over bean dip and cover with 3/4 cup of cheese. Fold edges of tortillas up over chicken mixture in an envelope pattern. Arrange sliced tomatoes in rows over top of burrito. Sprinkle remaining cheese over top. Bake about 18 minutes or until cheese is melted and edges are browned. Cut into rectangles; serve with assorted toppings and enjoy!

Crockpot Chicken Thighs (from Tasty Kitchen)
6-8 pieces, bone in chicken thighs
1.5 cup apple juice or cider
1 cup BBQ sauce
1 tbsp. dried mustard
1 pinch spices to taste

Lay the chicken on the bottom of the crockpot, skin side up. Pour enough apple juice to come just below covering the chicken. Add the bbq sauce, dried mustard, and whatever spices you want depending on your taste preference. Rosemary, thyme and oregano all work well. Some of the blended spices are nice also. Experiment. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Remove the chicken with a slotted spoon and be certain to pull out the bones and skin. The meat will fall apart as it’s removed. Serve over rice or on rolls for ‘pulled chicken’ sandwiches.

Beef Roast
I'll just combine a beef roast in the crockpot with dry brown gravy mix, 1/2 cup water, ranch dressing mix and italian dressing mix. I'll toss some veggies in like potatoes, carrots, maybe celery and onion. Not my usual way of making a roast, but figured I'd try it out!!

Bacon Wrapped BBQ Apple Chicken (all you magazine??)
1/2 c barbecue sauce
2 apples, such as Granny Smith, peeled, cored and grated
juice of 1 lemon
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
8 slices bacon
salt and pepper

In a small bowl, combine bbq sauce, grated apple and lemon juice. Wrap 2 pieces of bacon around each chicken breast half. Place wrapped chicken in slow cooker and top with bbq-sauce mixture.
Set slow cooker to low and cook for 8 hours.

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Simply Darling with Matilda Jane!

I love clothes with personality. I hate cookie cutter, off the rack outfits, and although I purchase clothes from the racks, I'm always looking for something sweet for my kids. Given the opportunity to put Boug in some Matilda Jane clothing, I was thrilled. Their items are ridiculously cute, and chic for little kids at the same time!

Matilda Jane has clothing for girls that makes them stand out, look absolutely adorable, but items that are comfortable at the same time. One thing I despise is how uncomfortable Boug is in jeans, so I end up dressing her in leggings or skirts or dresses most of the time. Matilda Jane's skirts are sweet as pie, Boug looks simply adorable in her Gretta skirt, with its apron flap and beautiful prints. And to go with absolutely everything I put her in, the Zelda zip-up is perfection, supersoft, perfect pink, with the Matilda Jane logo sprawled on the back.

You can even host a Matilda Jane "trunk show" where you basically hold a "tupperware-party" of supercute adorableness!! Matilda Jane will provide you with the catalogs and invites, you gather your pals and hang out, with great friends to order up sweet Matilda Jane pieces. Their orders will help you earn half price items and Matilda Jane Spare Change to spend for yourself! With sizes running from 6 months through adult, they really do carry quite a lot for guests to choose from!!

Big thanks to Matilda Jane and Extraordinary Mothers for this Mega Review, I received items free of charge to review, which in no way altered how I feel about the company/product!!

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Pop-A-Prune and enhance your super-ness!!

I'm all about upping my family's "super" powers, and one way I love to do it is by having some "super fruits" on hand always. Unlike some fresh fruits that go bad within days of purchasing, having Sunsweet Ones in my cabinet always is a great way to ensure that I have something sweet, tasty and healthy on hand for those cravings!!

Sunsweet Ones are of course, prunes... and I know lots of people all think stereotypical thoughts about prunes being "old people food." But honestly, they're not.. they're supremely tasty and easy to always have on hand since Sunsweet Ones come in individually wrapped packages.

Now there's so much that make prunes a.k.a. dried plums super, but a few of my favorites are:::
(as provided by the sunsweet pop-a-prune website)

• Potassuim = Energy:: Prunes are high in potassium, an essential mineral that helps support cell energy by regulating fluid balance, nerve impulses and muscle contraction.
• Fiber = Weight Loss:: Prunes are a great source of fiber, and this can help keep hunger pangs at bay. A diet rich in fiber can help promote fat loss if fiber foods replace fats and sweets. Plus, four prunes have just 100 calories!

Sunsweet Ones are good for so much more too, but those two are my favorite reasons for poppin' a prune!!

Want to win a Sunsweet VIP Coupon and a Sunsweet reusable shopping bag?? Leave a comment here with your favorite superfruit quality- visit pop-a-prune.com for more reasons that Sunsweet Ones are a superfruit. FIVE WINNERS will receive a reusable shopping bag and a VIP coupon for any Sunsweet product!!

Extra Entries??

• Follow or Subscribe to A Couch With A View
• Follow CaseyDeuce on twitter and tweet this giveaway.
• Post my button on your blog.
• Add my Holiday Gift Guide button to your blog for 2 extra entries. (leave 2 comments)
• Add my text link to your blogroll: http://acouchwithaview.blogspot.com/
• Post about this giveaway on your blog!
• If you don't have a blog, you can gain extra entries by emailing a friend about this giveaway! Just CC me in your email! caseyscouch@yahoo.com

This giveaway will accept entries until 11:59 pm on December 4th. U.S. entrants only please. Winner will be drawn with random.org and emailed. Winner must reply within 48 hours to winning email or a new winner will be drawn. Please make sure that your email is accessible, whether in the comment or a blogger profile, cause if I cant contact you, how can you win??

This post was written as part of a program for Family Review Network and Sunsweet Ones, who provided the product for review and giveaway. I was not compensated in any way except for the complimentary product.

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Get your game on with awesome Wii games!!

Everyone has a different gaming genre that they love and this holiday season, there are some really fun games out from Namco Bandai for everyone in the family!!

For me and the hub, we're big cooks, we even met when he was a cook at a restaurant and I was a waitress. He'll be finding in his stocking "Food Network Cook or Be Cooked" for Nintendo Wii!! This awesome game is rated E for everyone and is too much fun!! There are more than 30 real recipes that you can work through in this game, and they're taught by the Food Network experts!! We're big fans of games that can be played multi-player and solo, thankfully, this one can be played either way. This is the first video game from Food Network, and its aweso me to see it on a platform like Wii because its so interactive. This is such a great game for the foodies in your life, and yes, this is one that I'd be gifting myself if I didn't already receive it for my husband!

Another great game available, geared toward those 10 and up, is We Cheer 2. Being able to show off your cheer skills to 30 of the best songs out, being able to build your squad to show your team spirit and healthy competition are all great parts of the game. My neice has a favorite though, being able to customize your cheerleaders uniforms and accessories, also being able to play with up to 3 of her friends as well. I had to let her have a crack at the game earlier than Christmas though, since I wanted to try it out too, and needless to say, my 13 year old neice was much better than I am at it. I guess I don't have the team spirit that I need!! Of course, since we have the Wii and she doesn't, I'll be practicing while she's not around!

You can pick up Food Network: Cook or be Cooked, as well as We Cheer 2 on amazon.com, both available with free super saver shipping!

Opinions are my own, I was provided items free of charge to review (by Namco Bandai Games), which in no way changed the way I feel about the product!

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Giant good fortune (cookies!) this holiday season!!

I love gifts, products, anything that doesn't fit the norm, stuff that is eye catching and note-worthy. Giant-Fortune-Cookies.com's Limited Edition Gingerbread giant fortune cookie is definitely one of those note-worthy items! Something that's so delicious like gingerbread, perfect for the holidays, done up in a mega sized fortune cookie, with white chocolate and gingerbread crumbles... it sounds sinful, delicious, too darn pretty to eat!! Weighing in at a whoppin' 1 pound, this giant fortune cookie definitely provides quite a few snacks for your family, party or occasion.

What I absolutely love about this though is that it's not just a big giant fortune cookie, and of course its not their only option. I love that the giant fortune cookies are able to be personalized and come in lots of different varieties, because you know not everyone is a white chocolate fan, and not everyone is a gingerbread fan. They do have the regular giant fortune cookie, in their Holiday Cheer style, which is dipped in milk chocolate, for example. With the giant fortune cookies, you add the fortune! You can type it up in the box on the site and they'll make sure that it gets neatly tucked into your giant fortune cookie, just like the little ones come too!!

My most favorite part by far though, is that the giant fortune cookie comes so beautifully wrapped, that its hard to unwrap it! I never want to spoil the outside package, and since its wrapped in a clear cellophane, the giant fortune cookie can also make a great dessert table centerpiece! Even if you do unwrap it and put it on a nice plate, its simply a stunning piece of snackery! Giant Fortune Cookies.com also has a sister site, which makes your "normal" sized fortune cookies fancy! For those, make sure you check out Fancy Fortune Cookies.com too!!

Want to win a Giant Fortune Cookie?? Head over to their website and browse around, leave a comment here with which one you'd choose!

Make sure you check out the Giant Fortune Cookie giveaway at Outnumbered 3 to 1!!

Extra Entries??

• Follow or Subscribe to A Couch With A View
• Follow CaseyDeuce on twitter and FortuneADay on twitter and tweet this giveaway.
• Post my button on your blog.
• Add my Holiday Gift Guide button to your blog for 2 extra entries. (leave 2 comments)
• Enter any of Melissa's Holiday Gift Guide giveaways, let me know which ones- max. 3 extra entries here.
  
• Add my text link to your blogroll: http://acouchwithaview.blogspot.com/
• Post about this giveaway on your blog!
• If you don't have a blog, you can gain extra entries by emailing a friend about this giveaway! Just CC me in your email! caseyscouch@yahoo.com

This giveaway will accept entries until 11:59 pm on December 4th. Winner will be drawn with random.org and emailed. Winner must reply within 48 hours to winning email or a new winner will be drawn. Please make sure that your email is accessible, whether in the comment or a blogger profile, cause if I cant contact you, how can you win??

Opinions are my own, I was provided items free of charge to review (by Giant Fortune Cookies), which in no way changed the way I feel about the product!

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