And of course, the one thing you always have to worry about is getting that ice cream home without melting right? You know what I’m talking about…and when you get home, the first thing you do is run the ice cream in the house and stick in the freezer. Thankfully, Sam’s Club has these nifty insulated freezer bags ! Yep, I said insulated so even I can make it back to the ranch without them melting! Nothing against some of the other bags you can find in stores these days but for ice cream, this is perfect!  I live an hour away and that’s a true test.

Now to the tasty stuff.  Have you seen some of the Skinny Cow Ice Cream?  Oh my……I could eat it all day but what I really love is that my kids have NO CLUE that it’s healthier than regular ice cream and devour it like there’s no tomorrow.  Seriously!  That makes me feel good because they like it and yet they aren’t taking in all those unnecessary calories and since the fatter genes run in our family a little bit, every tasty, low fat treat I can find to cut down those calories helps.  Anyways, some of the other flavors include the following and if you notice there are some new ones. ((drool))

SOMETHING FOR YOU!

I have 5 $100 Sam’s Club Plus Memberships to give away!! Five of them y’all!

To enter, you simply need to leave a comment telling me which flavor you like AND what items do you usually shop for at Sam’s Club?

Additional entry options are, and should be left in a separate comment to count:

• Share via social networking site like twitter, facebook, or at your favorite forum.
• Subscribe to our updates via Email or using your favorite RSS Reader.

Giveaway ends on February 2nd. Good luck to all who enter!

Disclosure: I received compensation in the form of a gift card for my time and efforts. All opinions are of my own, always have been, always will be.  Read my full disclosure for my blogging ethics.

From the main menu, you can access a number of features immediately; recipe of the day, cooking videos, recipe box, shopping list, and recipe ideas for dinner or that are even budget friendly, although I found almost all the recipes to be pretty budget friendly.

(my iPhone screen is dirty…sorry ’bout that!)

There are gazillions of recipes to choose from but my favorite part, and the part that will help in my organization goal, is the nifty shopping list it creates from the recipes that I want to use. Not only that, it categorizes your ingredients by aisle or recipe and when you get the item, you can check the box to mark it off.   In my recipe box at this moment is Crisp and Creamy Baked Chicken.  I can see a beautiful, vibrant photo of the recipe dish with tabs to view ingredients, directions, and ideas.  There is also two spots to click on if you choose to that will add to your recipe box and/or your shopping list.  It tells you everything you need to know, including prep time and total cooking time.  You can even sync your recipe box to your recipe box on KraftFoods.com. THAT is very cool!

Another feature I loved was the “What’s on Hand” section. You can search for recipes with up to three ingredients that you currently have in your pantry.  It offers a store locator complete with map, reminders, and even comments and ratings of each recipe.

Overall, I LOVE this app and give it two thumbs up all around.  I found it useful while in the store and by searching recipes under the budget friendly section, I was able to add a couple of more meals for less than I thought while at the store.

I didn’t find any problems with the app, nor did I find anything that I didn’t like.  I’m a huge fan of Kraft already so I’m happy to see them step into the “now” with this application.

The Kraft iFood Assistant app is available for download on iTunes for $.99 cents.  You can read more about all the features at the official iFood Assistant website but if you’re a foodie who loves recipes and lists, you’ll love this!

Oh, and that Crisp and Creamy Baked Chicken…….Keep your eyes peeled out for that recipe coming soon here at My Wooden Spoon!

SOMETHING FOR YOU

Up for grabs today for one lucky winner is a $50 American Express gift card to hopefully buy you some tasty ingredients for some Kraft recipes and a $25 iTunes gift card which is more than enough to buy this fun foodie app!

TO ENTER

Check out the Kraft iFood Assistant app website and tell me what feature appeals to you most or what feature you’d like to see added to it that it doesn’t currently offer.  Leave your comment on this post please.

Additional ways to enter, leaving each one in a separate comment, include:

• Sign up for my monthly newsletter.
• Share this giveaway on a social networking site like twitter, facebook or forum.
• Browse my recipes and find one that uses Kraft ingredients, come back to THIS post and tell me the name of the recipe.

Giveaway ends on Jan 3rd, 2010 and general giveaway rules can be found here.

Compensation for this post has been provided by Kraft Foods for ingredients to make recipes from the app, downloading the app, and conducting this giveaway. As always, opinions are of my own and always will be. Read my disclosure for my blogging ethics;)

Anyways, he agreed and not only did we make some great pizza, we had a lot of fun.  I was cracking up at the “do I just pour?” and “is this how to do it?”.  We decided to make Pepperoni pizza first, then a dessert pizza.  This post will focus on the pizza dough and the dessert pizza but if you need a simple quick pepperoni pizza, all you need is the pizza dough recipe I’ll be posting, some pizza or spagetti sauce and your choice of toppings. It can be made to eat in 30 minutes.

Also, because I took A LOT of photos, I made a slide show for you so that the page doesn’t take FOREVER to load! Just scroll down towards the bottom for that.

30-MINUTE PIZZA CRUST DOUGH (can be found on the back of the Fleischmann’s Yeast package)

INGREDIENTS

• 1 3/4 – 2 1/4 cups of flour
• 1 envelope Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast
• 1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 2/3 cup of very warm water (120° to 130° F)
• 3 tablespoons oil

PIZZA CRUST DIRECTIONS

Combine 1 cup flour, undissolved yeast, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil.  Mix together until well blended; about 1 minute.  Add ½ cup flour gradually until dough forms a ball. Add additional flour, if needed, to handle.  Spoon dough out of bowl onto floured surface. Dough will be slightly sticky.  Knead on floured surface.  Knead until dough is smooth and elastic; about 4 minutes.  You can either press dough out to fill greased pizza pan or roll dough to a 12-inch circle and transfer to greased pizza pan.  Top as desired with pizza sauce, cheese and toppings.
Bake on bottom oven rack at 425° for 12 to 15 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is brown.

The Pizza Yeast from Fleschmann’s is new and I could definitely tell a difference in it. I think anyone who uses yeast a lot will be able to see the fabulous difference!  I thought I’d give you a close up of the ingredient that makes the whole recipe work!

APPLE CRUMB DESSERT PIZZA PIE

INGREDIENTS

• # 1 cups brown sugar, packed
• # 1 cups all-purpose flour
• # 2 ounces butter, cold, cut in pieces (1/2 stick of butter)
• # 1/4 cup of sugar
• # 2 cans of Apple Pie Filling

ICING INGREDIENTS

• Powdered Sugar
• Milk

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400′.  Combine brown sugar, flour, and sugar in a mixing bowl; cut in butter until the mixture is like coarse crumbs.  Pour and spread Apple Pie filling all over Pizza Dough Crust; top with crumb mixture.  Bake for about 12-15 minutes. While pizza is baking, combine 1-2 cups of powdered sugar with a few tablespoons of milk to desired consistency.  You don’t want it too thick but not too runny either.  When dessert pizza is done, drizzle icing all over pizza pie!

To see my son doing all the work, check out the slide show made via whrrl!

One lucky winner will receive a $100 gift card!  WOOHOO!

HOW TO ENTER

Leave a comment answering this question–What is your favorite pizza topping? Maybe like us, you love pepperoni or mushrooms. Maybe you love dessert pizza and have your own favorite fruity topping! Share your ideal pizza with us!

Additional methods of entry, leaving each one in a separate comment, are:

• Share on a social networking site like Twitter or Facebook.
• If you’ve got some of Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast at home, create a pizza and share it via whrrl! (this gives you 10 extra entries)

Giveaway ends on Nov. 1st.  Good luck and enjoy!

Disclosure: Post is sponsored by ACH Foods, maker of Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast , however, my opinion of the product remains authentic as always.

While the stand mixer seems to be what Kitchenaid is known for, they have so much more that is drool worthy and that’s where you come in.

THE PRIZE

A beautiful, strong mixer.

HOW TO ENTER

Check out some other Kitchenaid products and tell me which ones you want or have.  ***This entry can be done every single day–per person.

Additional ways to enter include:

• Browse my recipes to see if you can find a recipe I made using my own mixer. Leave a separate comment with that recipe.
• Subscribe to my monthly newsletter. (where I offer giveaways to only those who are subscribers)
• Share on any social networking site like facebook, twitter, forums…etc.
• Share a recipe that is made with a mixer. This can be done every single day too!

This giveaway ends on Nov. 1st.  Good luck!

When the kids go back to school, I tend to stock my freezer full of ready made products.  You know, the ones that take minutes to cook or heat up?  I do this because A) The kids are usually starving right after school and supper isn’t ready until 6 and B) back to school usually means I’m the one helping with most of the chores here on the ranch instead of the kiddos, well, because they’re at school!  That means my time will get eaten up by chores, the little cowpoke (since the kids won’t be around to help watch), and trips to and from school helping out.

I love to cook from scratch and do it often but there are times when the kids need something fast to hold them through until supper or sometimes we need a meal in less than 30 minutes because we’re headed to town or school function.

Something I buy are Hot Pockets, Fully Cooked Chicken, and Stouffer’s Easy Express Skillet meals.  I’m obsessed with the Stouffer’s lasagna but don’t always have time to cook the family version of it so the express meals come in handy!

We have two freezers, one big one for our beef and other stuff and our top freezer on our fridge. This is where the quick foods are easily accessible.

As you can see, it’s not very well organized. I’ve got veggies on bottom, hot pockets, chicken, Popsicles and bacon on top.  My other freezer holds the Stouffer goods because well, obviously I can’t fit much else in here!

Here is one of my 20 minute meals using the Stouffer’s Easy Express Meals. First, I use Easy Express Skillets Grilled Chicken & Vegetables.  It has the vegetables already in it but I still need one more filler. Since these meals literally only take 20 minutes, I need something that takes the same amount or less.  That’s where biscuits come in!  Bread is always a great filler and I’ve got a recipe that takes 20 min or less.

BISCUITS!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 c. flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• dash of salt
• 2 Tbl. sugar
• 1/2 c. butter
• 3/4 c. Carnation Evaporated Milk

PREPARATION:

Mix dry ingredients.  Add butter, milk and form into soft dough.  Do not over knead!  Pat into a ungreased 6×6 pan.  I use a pie pan myself so you can use whatever.  Cut into serving size portions before you cook.  Bake at 400′ for 15 to 20 minutes or until done and golden brown.

$500 Walmart Gift Card

I usually make my giveaways pretty simple, and while this one is still simple, it requires a bit more thought than the others I’ve done in the past.  Hey, it’s $500, if you wanna the chance to win something big like that, it’s gonna take a bit more work!

TO ENTER

Leave a comment here with a recipe using one of these Nestle products that would be great for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or snack:

• Carnation Evaporated Milk
• Nestle Raisinets
• Haagen Dazs Ice Cream (any flavor)
• Nestle Coffee-Mate Creamer (any flavor)

ONLY ONE RECIPE COMMENT PER PERSON! Put a little effort into the recipe folks. Please don’t be lazy;)  I’d like to try some of the recipes myself!  In fact, those of you who are saying, ice cream between two cookies, etc–WILL NOT COUNT!!!  Geez!

Additional/Optional ways to enter, leaving each one in a separate comment:

• Twitter the giveaway, including a link back here and my handle, @ACowboysWife -1 entry
• Share on facebook or similar social networking site and leave a comment telling me. -1 entry
• Create a Whrrl story using photos of your recipe and I’ll give you an additional (include link to story)-25 entries!

FINE PRINT

This giveaway is sponsored by Nestle.  Giveaway closes on August 18th at about 10pm CST.

I don’t know anyone who hasn’t had a Happy Meal at least once in their life and I can remember how much I looked forward to seeing what toy would be in there and eating those cookies after finishing my meal!  As a busy mom, McDonald’s has saved me many times when my little guys were hungry.  It’s super FAST and was easy on the pocketbook.  Both of my boys would get the chicken nuggets every.single.time.  Today, my little man prefers the cheeseburger.

Well it’s the 30th birthday of the McDonald’s Happy Meal and the least I could do is pay tribute to them for all the Happy Meals and happy faces they have supplied us over the years.  So I’m wishing a Happy, Happy Birthday to the Happy Meal along with Shawn Johnson, who also happens to be a Happiness Ambassador!  Her and Ronald McDonald were celebrating the birthday and naming Minneapolis as one of the Top 10 Happiest Cities in America!  WOOT! Also by visiting the site, you can also create birthday cards! Just a little fyi

In honor the McDonald’s Happy Meal Birthday, I’m giving away a prize! This would be GREAT for the kiddos or even the collector!

One winner will receive an entire set of the TY Teenie Beanie Babies.  That’s 30 of the cutest little animals ever!  I know you remember them…we all got them in our Happy Meals over the years!  Through August 13th, you can get one of these in your Happy Meal too!

HOW TO WIN

Every one of who have eaten a Happy Meal has a story to share and I want to hear yours.  Leave  a comment below, sharing your Happy Meal story and be entered to win the set  of 30 Teenie Beanie Babies!

Giveaway ends on August 13.  Good luck!

All these recipes came from the 2-Week Meal Planner that Sam’s Club and Kraft put together.  The really cool thing for Sam’s Club members is that you can create a personalized cookbook, valued at $25.  If you’re not a member, don’t fret because you can win a membership later.  I encourage you to go make your personalized cookbook because there’s nothing like having one with all your favorites and after trying out all these recipes from the planner, I’ll be adding a few to my own cookbook.

Sam’s club is great for bulk buying and us folks who live way out here on the ranch.  If you’ve never done any shopping by bulk, you should learn.  You can save so much money in the long run and once you get a stockpile going, you won’t spend much of anything later on.  So worth it!

CREAMY CHICKEN POT PIE

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pkg. (8 oz.) Philadelphia Cream Cheese, cubed
• 1⁄2 cup chicken broth
• 1 lb. cooked Tyson® boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed (about 3 cups)
• 1 6 oz. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1⁄2 tsp. garlic salt
• 1 egg
• 1⁄2 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose baking mix

DIRECTIONS

Heat oven to 400°F.  Cook cream cheese and broth in large saucepan on low heat until cream cheese is completely melted and mixture is well blended, stirring frequently with whisk.  Stir in chicken, vegetables and garlic salt.
spoon into 9-inch pie plate. Beat egg and milk in medium bowl with whisk until well blended; stir in baking mix just until moistened. Spoon over chicken mixture.  Place pie plate on baking sheet.  Bake 25 to 30 min. or until golden brown.

Find your your local Sam’s Club

Have you been there? Have you devoured one of their cheesecakes?  Sadly, I have not but I really want to and I know you’re gonna laugh but I had no idea that served other food as well.  Hey, that’s the sheltered life of a country gal!

They have locations everywhere and even a couple down by Houston where I’ll be going in a week so maybe I can swing by and try one out!

Right now they’re having a contest that might interest you called Share the Celebration where you can win the following:

• o Trip for 4 to Florida – Airfare, Hotel, Disney Resort Passes and $1,000
• o Chance to win a $25 gift card, $500 in gift cards
• o Cheesecake for ONE YEAR!!

You can win a $25 Gift Card to The Cheesecake Factory by visiting their site and telling me which cheesecake you would try!  Just leave your comment below and you’re entered!

Additional ways to enter, leaving each one in a separate comment please.

• Fave me at Technorati
• Subscribe to my Newsletter
• Subscribe to my blog via email or RSS reader

Both the cheesecake factory and my own giveaway here Ends on June 30th so hurry!

Should you decide to make your own cheesecake, here are some tips to help you create the perfect cheesecake!

CHEESECAKE TIPS

• * Bring all ingredients to room temperature before mixing.
• * To soften cream cheese in the microwave: place unwrapped 8 oz. cheese in a microwavable bowl and microwave on high for 15 seconds. Add 15 seconds for each additional bar of cheese.
• * Mix filling only until combined. Don’t over mix.
• * Use a spring form pan so that the sides can be removed.
• * Place spring form pan on a shallow pan, like a pizza pan , or cover bottom and up one inch around the sides with aluminum foil to avoid leaks in the oven.
• * Place a shallow pan of water in rack below cheesecake to keep oven moist
• * A perfectly baked cheesecake will be puffed around the edges. When shaken, about an inch in diameter in the center should jiggle.
• * Store in the refrigerator, loosely covered, for up to four days.
• * The bottom of the pan can be removed from the cheesecake once the cake has firmed in the refrigerator. Use two spatulas to move cake to serving platter.
• * Cheesecakes taste best when brought to room temperature–about 30 minutes.
• * Securely wrap an already firm, about 4 hours in the refrigerator, cheesecake to be put in the freezer. Cheesecakes can be kept for up to 2 months in the freezer.
• * Thaw frozen cheesecake overnight in the refrigerator.

Just thought you’d want to know!

And you know what, since you’ve been very patient with me, I’ve got coupons to give away for free Stouffer’s Corner Bistro, Stromboli or Flatbread Melt!!

I’ll giveaway 10 sets of 5 coupons!!

Just leave a comment here telling what your favorite Nestle or Stouffer’s product is.  That is if you even know all the products they make!!  If you aren’t quite sure, check out this list of Nestle brands. I think you’d be surprised!

Additional ways to enter, leaving each one you do in  separate comment please.

• Subscribe to my blog via email or with your favorite RSS reader.
• Join the foodie forum and start a thread.

Ends on May 12th.  Good luck!