Hi, guys! I’m sharing a Trader Joe’s Haul today! This is my first grocery haul video, and I hope you enjoy it. π
mealtime
Family Dollar’s Just Add Family Event, Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs AND a Giveaway for $25 Family Dollar Gift Cards (4 Winners!)
I worked in collaboration with Family Dollar on this sponsored blog post and giveaway.
Family is special.
And family memories are treasures that last forever, which is why Family Dollar held its national “Just Add Family” contest this year. They wanted to give one amazing family the opportunity to receive an all expense paid family reunion for up to 100 guests! The winning family would also receive a year’s worth of free groceries from Family Dollar. How fantasticΒ is that? π
In case you missed it, the βJust Add Familyβ contest winner was recently selected from thousands of online entries, and the winning family was the Williams family of Chicago! They received the Ultimate Family Reunion with Celebrity Chef Pat Neely at Washington Park in Chicago on Saturday, July 11th.
The Food Network Star, Pat Neely, surprised the Williams Family on July 9th at their home, and the Just Add Family reunion took place two days later with Chef Pat Neely serving as grill master!
Because what’s a family reunion without goodΒ food, right? π
Grilled Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
One of the recipes Pat made for hungry guests was his classic grilled bacon wrapped hot dogs.
I recently created that recipe at home for my own family, and they loved it! Hot dogs are one of those super easy foods to grill, and adding the bacon and cheese only takes a small amount of extra effort that’s definitely worth it.
Here’s the recipe for Pat’s bacon wrapped hot dogs:
Patβs Grilled Bacon Wrapped Hot Dogs
Ingredients
- 6 hot dogs
- 3 slices of bacon cut in half
- 6 hot dog buns
- 6 slices of Kraft cheese
- black pepper
- condiments of your liking (such as mayonnaise, mustard, ketchup, and pickle relish)
Instructions
- Preheat grill to medium heat using Hickory and Charcoal chips. Carefully wrap each slice of bacon around individual hot dogs. Cooking tip: Use wet toothpicks to hold bacon in place. Sprinkle with black pepper.
- Place hot dogs directly over charcoals on grill for 3-5 minutes. Cook until bacon becomes crisp and hot dogs become plump. Place hot dog buns on grill face down to toast. Fold cheese in half and place over hot dog on grill for last 30 seconds of cooking. Remove buns and dress with condiments of your liking. Place hot dogs onto buns.
Food, Family, and Fun
Overall, the Just Add Family reunion with the Williams family was a huge success! They celebrated their time together, ate delicious food, and strengthened family bonds while creating memories they will never forget!
And now…an Opportunity to Win aΒ $25 Family Dollar Gift Card!
Now that you know more about Family Dollar and how they brought a whole lot of happiness to one terrific family,Β how about the chanceΒ to win one of four $25 Family Dollar gift cards?Β π
That’s right! FOURΒ of my fabulous readers are each going to win $25 Family Dollar gift cards!
How to Enter the Giveaway
Simply enter this giveaway using the Rafflecopter below. Iβve included options for extra entries, too!
This giveaway will run from now until August 7, 2015Β at 12:00am. The giveaway is open to US Residents only, ages 18 years old and above. The winners will be randomly chosen. I will promptly send the winners an email notifying them that theyβve won, and the winners must respond within 48hrs. of the giveawayβs end. Otherwise, I will have to draw a new winner(s).
Enter Below
a Rafflecopter giveaway
What’s one dish you would bring to a family reunion?
Behind-The-Scenes Look at Deliciously Fresh Wendy’s Salads
I could eat salad every day.
And, someday, maybe I will. Like when my kids are older, and I have the extra time to chop, slice, and dice fruits and vegetables without the added responsibility of actually having to feed all of the other people in my family. Maybe then I can eat salad every day. π
But until then, I’m glad that I can pick up a freshly prepared salad at my local Wendy’s whenever I want one, but don’t have the time or all of the ingredients to put it together at home.
How Wendy’s Makes Their Salads
And you know, it’s true –Β Wendy’s salads are made fresh on a daily basis. And when I say, “fresh,” I mean that they use real, fresh produce just like the produce you buy at the grocery store. Then they prep that produce in-house on the same day that those salads are served to customers.
I know this because I recently got a behind-the-scenes look at how Wendy’s salads are created. I watched as the Wendy’s employee removed the ugly parts of the lettuce (just like we do at home), washed the lettuce, chopped it, and then ran it through a huge, orange salad spinner.
In every Wendy’s restaurant, employees freshly chop vegetables every day, starting with full heads of iceberg and romaine lettuces and other veggies like cucumbers and tomatoes.
For more insight into the ingredients that Wendy’s uses in their salads, check out the short Romaine Lettuce Journey video on their YouTube channel.
As I continued to watch the Wendy’s employee slice tomatoes and dice red peppers to use in the salads, I kept thinking to myself that the whole process is so similar to what I do in my own kitchen.
The difference is that Wendy’sΒ employees have to use heavy-duty kitchen gadgets to get the job done, because they’re making around 200 salads a day. That’s a lot of salad!
Once each salad is prepped to a certain point, a lid is placed on top of it. Then the salad is properly labeled and refrigerated.
At the time that a customer orders a Wendy’s salad, premium white meat chicken breasts are grilled and subsequently placed warm on their salad.
So as you can see, Wendy’s salads are truly made fresh every single day. There’s no pre-packaged lettuce being used here! π
My favorite salad so far is the apple pecan chicken salad. I tried that salad for the first time during my visit to Wendy’s and loved it.
I’m looking forward to trying the asian cashew chicken salad next! It looks really good!
Did you know that Wendy’s salads were made so fresh?
P.S. I took all of these photographs at the Wendy’s restaurant that I visited, so you can see the high quality of the salads right after they’ve been made. No additional styling necessary. π
I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.
5 Reasons to Love Relished Foods
This is a sponsored collaboration with Relished – a fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service
that delivers to roughly half the U.S.
I know I haven’t been around much lately. π
We actually went through a crazy move that seemed to go on forever. I was a stressed out mess during part of it, but thankfully, we’re finally settled now and mostly unpacked in our new home.
Life is back to normal, and I couldn’t be happier. After everything we’ve been through the past eight months, I crave normal living like never before.
I just want to cook, clean, homeschool my kids, and do laundry. Doing these things makes me incredibly happy right now. Does that sound crazy?
I don’t know…
What I do know is that in the midst of getting back to normal, I stumbled upon a service that I can’t stop talking about. It’s called Relished, and I’m completely impressed with this food and recipe delivery service. It’s just awesome!
Why?
Well, allow me to explain. π
Top 5 Reasons to Love Relished Foods:
Reason #1: The only ingredients I needed to have on hand to put together mouthwatering meals were salt, pepper, oil, and water. All of the other ingredients were delivered right to my doorstep, and they were fresh coming out of the box.
They also stayed fresh for days in my refrigerator. I prepared three Relished meals in all with ingredients that came from one shipment.
Reason #2: Relished sends entire meals that are easy to prepare, and they come with step-by-step instructions, so there’s no guessing what to start cooking first or which ingredients go together.
The best part is that your finished meal looks just like the meal on the recipe card. (Below are the Sous Vide Short Ribs)
Reason #3: Relished has a scrumptious, diverse menu that changes on a weekly basis. I’m thinking the Kung Pao Chicken would be amazing to prepare for a date night with my husband in the near future. π
I love the colorful, fresh salads Relished offers on a regular basis, too.
Reason #4: I absolutely loved that while following the directions, I was learning how to cook foods I’ve never made in the past. I’ve never made quinoa or black lentils, but I know how to now.
I also roasted baby carrots in a way I never have in the past. Oh, they were so good!
Reason #5:Β Meals are full of flavor and just good! I’m not even kidding when I say that the meals I made with Relished foods taste far better than food served in most table service restaurants.
My husband is still talking about how much he loved the short ribs.
If I had to sum up my experience with Relished, I would have to say, it’s a convenient, doable, delicious way to make an awesome dinner for your family while spending less time in the kitchen and more time enjoying everyday (normal) life.
I can’t wait to place my next order. π
UPDATE: You can use the codeΒ TheSensibleMom to save 60% off your first Relished order! This offer is good through March 31, 2014.
Relished is a Chicago based fresh ingredient and recipe delivery service that ships to roughly half the United States. Be sure to stop by their website to see if they ship to your area, and follow them socially here on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.
