FREE NESQUIK® Sample- YUM!

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FREE Nesquick SampleNESQUIK® is an awesome drink for young and old alike… and who doesn’t love a free sample!
Sample pack includes five (5) NESTLÉ® NESQUIK® stick packs and a coupon to save $1.50 on your next purchase of any size, any flavor of NESTLÉ® NESQUIK® powder. Offer good in the US only. Offer valid only while supplies last. Limit one (1) sample pack per household or address. Please allow 6 – 8 weeks for delivery. Offer may not be republished without written consent from NESTLÉ®. Void where prohibited or restricted by law.

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Healthy Snack Quiz

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BOKS
Research shows the benefits of a healthy diet and exercise, and its effect on learning. In honor of National Eat Your Vegetables Day, June 17th,  BOKS (Build Our Kids’ Success) is sharing tips with parents to educate their kids about the importance of eating vegetables, as well as ways to make eating vegetables more exciting.

Below is a BOKS Bits Snack Quiz.  BOKS, Build Our Kids’ Success, an initiative of Reebok and the Reebok Foundation, is a free before-school physical activity program.  BOKS was founded on the principle Active Kids = Active Minds, and was created by a group of moms after reading Dr. John Ratey’s book Spark, which states that “exercise is the single most powerful tool that we have to optimize the function of our brains.” The goal of the BOKS program is to enhance academic performance and the overall health of kids through physical activity. The program, run by moms, dads, P.E. teachers and all other types of volunteers in local communities, is simple to implement. BOKS is currently in close to 1,000 schools around the world.

Fresh vegetables are important components of a...

Objective

To discuss how to test if a snack is a super healthy one.

Discussion Questions

1. I am going to tell you a way to help you choose a super healthy snack.

2. Take your snack out of the package or the wrapper if it has one.

3. Go over to the kitchen sink and turn on the water, run your snack under the water!!!!!

4. Can you still eat it??

5. If yes, it is probably a super choice; if no, maybe you can make a different choice.

6. What are some things that would be ok to eat after you run under water? Fruits and vegetables, such as apples, grapes, strawberries, carrots and peppers, hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, nuts (if no allergies) ….

7. What would not be ok to eat? Cookies, potato chips, donuts, Twinkies ….

8. Another test could be if the food you are eating gets stuck in your teeth, then it is not a good choice either. (This can be in response to lollipops or candy being ok to eat after running them under water.)

Homework Assignment

Think about this when you get home from school today and see if you can make a really super choice!

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‪Easy, Cheesy Beef and Noodles #‎goodcookcom #‎goodcookkitchenexprt ‪#‎KitchenDrawerContest

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 Disclaimer- This post was sponsored by Good Cook as part of the Kitchen Expert Blogger program.  I received the items mentioned below to facilitate my post but all opinions are 100% my own.

beef

Good Cook challenged bloggers to create a comfort food, easy dinner dish and gave us each 5 tools to choose from to incorporate using at least 2 in our dish.
good cook toolsHere’s what we received:  SMART Ice cream scoopFlip Measuring spoonSafe-cut Can OpenerEgg Separator, and Pot Clip Holder.  I love all these tools but for this recipe I used the Flip Measuring Spoon, Safe-cut Can Opener, and Pot Clip Holder.

This is a simple recipe that definitely has that comfort food feeling.   There aren’t a lot of spices and seasonings in it as I was making it for my family and my children like food to be pretty simple.  If I was just making it for my husband and myself I would add some other spices.  Instead hubby and I tend to add things to our own plates.  For this particular dish hubby and I both added Italian bread crumbs to our meals to give it a little more flavor.

Easy, Cheesy Beef and Noodles @ThisIsCoriEasy, Cheese Beef and Noodles
Serves 6

Ingredients-
2 pounds lean ground beef
1 package of wide egg noodles- COOKED
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
2 Tablespoons of dried chopped onion ( Hubby forgot to get the onion when he went grocery shopping so I pretended like I was on Cutthroat Kitchen and used what I had on hand)
1 Tablespoon Italian Seasoning
1 cup light sour cream
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 can of corn (feel free to throw in other veggies your family likes.  I want to try adding spinach next time)
salt and pepper to taste

Directions-

1. Brown ground beef with dried onion and Italian seasoning and drain.
Easy, Cheesy Beef and Noodles @ThisIsCori

2. Add corn. 
P12200943. Add cream of mushroom soup and cream of chicken soup.
P12200954. Add sour cream.
P12200995. Stir until well incorporated.
P12201006. Simmer covered for 15 minutes stirring occasionally.
P12201027. Stir in cooked noodles.
P12201038. Stir in 3/4 cup of shredded cheddar cheese and top with remaining 1/4 cup of cheese.
P12201069. Allow cheese to melt and serve.
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Can you guess what I used each tool for?  I used the Flip Measuring Spoon to measure my seasoning and chopped dried onion (I LOVE how flexible the spoons are and how you can turn them inside out) , Safe-cut Can Opener to open the can of corn and pull the pull tab up on both cans of soup (a real nail saver plus the can opener leaves no rough edges), and Pot Clip Holder to hold my utensil so I didn’t have to dirty my stove or counter with it.

Easy, Cheesy Beef and Noodles @ThisIsCori

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The Build Your Kitchen Drawer Sweepstakes:

Starting June 2, you can build your ideal kitchen drawer with 15 Good Cook tools and gadgets from GoodCook.com – choose up to 15 items from the list of products, and you have a chance to win everything you choose!

Make sure you take a look at Good Cook’s facebook page from June 2-7 to win prizes and learn more about the Kitchen Drawer Event (#goodcookcom) PLUS during the promotion, everything on the Good Cook site will be 25% off!  There’s NO CODE NEEDED!!!  What a great time to buy yourself some new kitchen tools and they make great gifts, too!


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How Much Preservatives Are In YOUR Favorite French Fries?

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french friesOne of my daughter’s friends did her science fair project on how fast French Fries get old, moldy, and rotten.  The pictures on the left of the image above are part of her project and show what Wendy’s fries, McDonald’s fries, and homemade fries looked like after 6 days.  You can already see Wendy’s fries and the homemade fries starting to rot.  I was volunteering in my daughter’s class the other day and the children were taking their projects home after having been in the classroom for over a month (making the fries about 2 months old) and I just had to take this picture.  The Wendy’s fries actually started eating through the baggie and the homemade fries were also pretty rotten.  But look at the McDonald’s French fries.  They look almost the same as they did 2 months earlier.  CRAZY!  How much preservatives are in them?!?!

I shouldn’t be eating any fried, greasy foods but I certainly won’t be eating another McDonald’s French fry again!!!!

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Spaghetti and MeatBOWLS With Good Cook’s Bake-a-Bowl ‪#‎goodcookcom‬ ‪#‎goodcookkitchenexprt‬ #‎sweetcreations‬

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spaghetti and meatbowls
From the moment I saw Sweet Creations by Good Cook’s Bake-A-Bowl I was in love.  There are so many things you can make with this pan from sweet to savory.  There were so many ideas that popped into my head such as making a cornbread bowl and filling it with chili, making a chocolate cake bowl and filling it with ice cream, or even making a bread bowl for spinach dip.  But for this post I wanted to really think outside the box or bowl in this case.  I figured post people would be baking in their bowls so I decided to make my bowl out of meat!
bake a bowlIt was really easy.  First put the ground beef in a bowl and added the rest of the meatball ingredients.
meat in bowlMix all the ingredients into the ground beef until it is thoroughly incorporated.  I don’t like getting meat and other stuff under my acrylic nails so I like to use  Playtex’s CleanCuisine Disposable Gloves when I need to get my hands dirty.

mix meatFill each bowl with 1/6 of the meatball mixture.  It should come up to the line in the center of each bowl on the pan.  Use a spoon to make a “well” in the center of each bowl.
raw meatbowlsPut the top piece of the pan on top of the bottom piece and make sure the tabs on the sides fit into the slits on the bottom pan.  Cook for 20 minutes in a 350 degree oven.  Remove meatballs from pan and place upside down on a plate with paper towel to drain off the excess grease.

bake a bowl meatPlate meatball and fill with some tomato sauce and spaghetti.  Top with more tomato sauce and shredded Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

spaghetti and meatbowls

You could adjust the recipe to your usual meatloaf recipe, use the same technique to make the bowls, and then fill with corn, peas, and/or carrots and then top with mashed potatoes for a fun twist on boring meatloaf.

Spaghetti and MeatBOWLs Ingredients-
MAKES 6 MeatBOWLs

1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup Italian style breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 teaspoons of ground garlic and herb mix or Italian seasonings

angel hair pasta or spaghetti (cooked)
tomato sauce
shredded Parmesan cheese (optional)

Mix all ingredients until thoroughly combined.  Fill each mold to the 1st line.  Use a spoon to create a “well” in the center of each bowl.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.  Remove bowls from pan and invert each one on a plate covered in paper towel to drain the excess grease.  Fill with tomato sauce, pasta, more tomato sauce, and top with shredded Parmesan cheese.  Enjoy!

The Good Cook Sweet Creations Bake-a-Bowl is available at Good Cook and with the code BAKEBOWL you will get 25% off!  This awesome pan is available at Bed Bath and Beyond, too!

Good Cook has lots of other great kitchen items.  Make sure to follow them on Twitter- @GoodCookcom.

Want to win your own Good Cook Bake-a-Bowl?
Here’s what you need to do to ENTER –

First of all – you must follow my blog – The giveaways I host are for my wonderful readers. To be considered a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader, you must receive my once daily email.  This is not considered an entry, but rather a requirement in order to enter any of my giveaways.  🙂
I do verify that you subscribe to my e-mail at the time of the winner drawing.  You can sign up for my once daily email easily by entering your e-mail address right here:

Once you are a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader via email you can continue onto the Entry Form Below.  Good luck!

Good Cook Giveaway Rules~  One prize per household for each Good Cook event.  If someone wins on 2 or more blogs, they – or their family members – cannot win a second prize from another blog in the same event.  If a household has won a prize in a Good Cook event, they can’t win again for 6 months.  If a household has won more than one prize in a previous Good Cook event, they can’t win again for 12 months.  Good Cook will confirm that winners are eligible and will disqualify anyone who has won more than once.  Prizes ship from Good Cook and can take 8-10 weeks after the contest ends, unless otherwise stated. You must be 18 or older to win. US shipping addresses only.  Good Cook reserves the right to substitute a prize of equal value if sufficient inventory is not available.

Disclosure- I received the item(s) mentioned above to conduct my review.  I received no other compensation and my opinions are 100% my own.



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Easy Baked Potato Soup

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potato soup

If you saw my Blendtec Blender review post then you probably saw some of the delicious things I have been able to make with my Blendtec Blender including Broccoli Cheese Soup and Chocolate Mixed Nut Butter.  Here is one of my favorite recipes that I’ve made so far and it is a new family favorite, too!
Enjoy!

Easy Baked Potato Soup- (adapted from the Blendtec Fresh Blends Cookbook)
2 cups milk, warmed
1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons light sour cream
1 green onion, chopped (the recipe says trimmed and halved because the blender will chop it anyway but I chopped mine to reserve some to top my soup)
3 oz reduced fat cheddar cheese
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
2 large Yukon Gold potatoes, baked or boiled
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled

Add milk, sour cream, 3/4 of the green onion, 2 oz of the cheddar cheese, salt, pepper, and 1 baked potato in the jar in the order listed.  Secure lid.  Select the SOUPS setting and blend.  Add the second potato and 3 slices of bacon.  Press PULSE 2-4 times to incorporate the new ingredients.  Pour soup into bowls and sprinkle the top of the soup with the remaining 1 oz of shredded cheddar cheese.  Add a dollop of sour cream in the center of the bowl.  Top with remaining bacon crumbles and reserved green onion.

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Chocolate Mixed Nut Butter

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nut butter

 Chocolate hazelnut spreads are very popular these days but they are loaded with fats and preservatives.  I was able to use my Blendtec Blender to make my own version that was much healthier.  Using my Blendtec Blender with the Twister Jar I was able to make a simple mixed nut butter by putting the ingredients below in the Twister jar and blending at the #7 speed for about 60 seconds.  It was just as delicious as the processed version but I was able to pronounce all of the ingredients.  These are the basic ingredients I used but you can adjust to your tastes.  It is great on a slice of whole grain toast, spread on a slice of apple, or even as a topping on ice cream.

Chocolate Mixed Nut Butter-
1 cup of raw almonds
1 cup hazelnuts
2 Tablespoons of coconut oil
1 tsp of vanilla
2 Tablespoons of cocoa powder
1 /4 tsp of kosher salt
2 Tablespoons of sugar (I used Stevia instead)

Don’t miss my Blendtec Blender review and other Blendtec Blender recipe posts-
Bake Potato Soup 
Broccoli Cheese Soup

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Spring Fling Gourmet Chocolate Bark #SpringFling #goodcookcom

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 Disclosure- I received a Spring Silicone Bark and Chocolate Mold and Spatula from Good Cook to facilitate my review but all opinions are 100% my own.

bark mold
Spring is such a fun time of year.  All the bunnies, chicks, butterflies, and spring colors are so pretty and great to bring a festive cheer to anyone.  I was sent a Spring Silicone Bark and Chocolate Mold from Good Cook and was so excited to get to work on creating a fun treat for my family and friends.  The mold is heat safe so you can create fun brownies, cookies, etc. in it but I decided to make some chocolate bark this time.

P1210841
The mold is super cute and makes such darling spring designs in whatever you make with it.  It is very flexible and everything easily slips right out of it.  I was afraid my creations would stick to it, fall apart, or lose some of the design but that wasn’t the case.  The silicone makes it so easy to pull the mold off whatever you make.

gourmet chocolate bark

I made two batches because I didn’t like how the designs on the first batch came out but that was my own mistake.  I covered the whole bottom of each mold section with white melting chocolate and then created my bark varieties on top.  Then when it all cooled I took the bark out of the mold AND SHOULD HAVE STOPPED THERE.  But I wanted to color in the various indented sections of the bark that the mold created.  I should have left them alone or perhaps used a food safe paintbrush to color the designs with the colored chocolate.  I tried to use a pastry type bags filled with various colors of melting chocolate to fill in the colors but I didn’t like how it turned out.   I think I am just a hard judge on myself because I wanted them to be perfect because my younger daughter saw them and said I was the “Most Talented Mommy Ever”!
P1210904
See what I mean with the 1st attempt above.  It could have been better but the lumpy designs were my fault.  That’s when I figured out to either not fill in the designs because they are so cute not being colored in or by filling them with the method pictured below.
P1210911
First fill in the first “level” of the mold around the designs with one color of chocolate using a pastry bag with the end snipped off.
P1210916
Then fill in the designs with your desired colors of chocolate using pastry bags.  

 P1210921
Cover with your choice of chocolate colors/flavors.  I used dark chocolate on half of the mold above and white chocolate mixed with yellow cake mix.

YES I SAID CAKE MIX!!!  
It makes a delicious cake tasting chocolate.  I mixed about 1 cup of white chocolate with 2 tsp of dry yellow cake mix.
Top with desired toppings (in my second batch above I used jelly beans on one side and M&M eggs on the other), let cool, and viola!
second batch
See how much prettier the second batch’s designs came out?  They were so easy to break apart, too.

 spring mold review
These adorable bark squares would make a great gift for friends, relatives, or a special teacher.  Sure the jelly beans and M&Ms are adorable and yummy but if you want to kick it up a notch try one of the other combinations that I created in my 1st chocolate bark attempt.

bark
Top Row
White chocolate, dried strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries, and whole natural cashews
White chocolate, dark chocolate chips, and whole pecans
White chocolate and butterscotch chips
White chocolate dried cherries, and pistachios (MY FAVORITE ONE) 

Middle Row
Dark chocolate, dried banana chips, and coconut flakes
Dark chocolate and whole pecans
Milk chocolate, whole natural almonds, and toffee pieces
Milk chocolate, coconut flakes, and sugar sprinkles

Bottom Row
Milk chocolate and coconut flakes
Milk chocolate and toffee pieces
Dark chocolate and marshmallows
Dark chocolate and sprinkles

Want to make some fun bark yourself?  
Here’s a 25% off coupon to Good Cook to get the Spring Bark Mold and Spatula. Use CODE: SpringFling at checkout.


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FREE McCafe Coffee at McDonald’s!!!

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mccafe
Today until April 13, McDonald’s is giving its friends free McCafé coffee during breakfast hours.

That’s two whole weeks of free freshly brewed coffee to brighten your day and help you enjoy your me time – all on them.
McCafé’s signature drip-coffee blend is freshly brewed to provide a quality, great-tasting cup of coffee just for you!

YUMMY!  FREE COFFEE!!!

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MARUKAN VINEGAR GOURMET GIFT-PACK REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY

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Disclosure- I received a gift pack of Marukan Rice Vinegars and Ponzu Sauce to affiliate my review but all opinions are 100% my own.

marukan I love cooking with Asian flavors so I was excited to try Marukan’s rice vinegars and ponzu sauce.  I use rice vinegar when I am making rice for sushi.  Marukan’s Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar is great for adding a little something extra when making sushi.  It is also a great base for making vinaigrette dressings.  I add it to a little extra virgin olive oil, some orange juice, and some fresh herbs for a light citrus dressing.  I had some asparagus that I didn’t know what to do with so I decided to create an Asian inspired side dish.  I sauteed the asparagus in some extra virgin olive oil, 1/4 cup of Marukan Ponzu Sauce, 1 packet of Stevia for sweetness, and a Tablespoon of Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Rice Vinegar.  It came out tender and delicious.
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Experience the Marukan Difference: Premium Rice Vinegar!
Producing rice vinegar with legendary taste and mildness takes time. Marukan Vinegars are slowly and naturally brewed, using traditional methods developed by over three centuries of experience by Japan’s finest artisans. The delicate aroma, rich flavor and mild taste of Marukan are all the result of this natural, slow-brewed process.

• All Natural Ingredients
• Slow Brewed for Flavor and Lower Acidity
• Non-GMO Verified
• Kosher Certified by Star K
• Certified Organic
Gift3

• MARUKAN GENUINE BREWED Rice Vinegar: This exceptional artisan vinegar takes 2 months to brew in the traditional way with NO sodium and all natural ingredients to heighten the flavor of any recipe. The delicate acidity is versatile and excellent as an addition not only to Japanese but also Chinese, European or American dishes. You can use it straight from the bottle, or as an ingredient for salad dressing and sushi rice.This product contains NO sodium, fat, sugar, artificial ingredients or calories. Naturally gluten free and non-GMO. 

• MARUKAN SEASONED GOURMET Rice Vinegar: Marukan’s best-seller for sweeter marinades and more flavorful dressings, dips and sauces. We have more recipes featuring our Seasoned Gourmet than any other variety. Blended with care according to Marukan’s very own processing technique, it can also be used in preparing delicious sushi rice at home by simply mix 1 oz. Marukan Seasoned Gourmet with each cup of steamed short-grained rice. Because it does not contain any fat, it also serves as a healthy ingredient for marinades by mixing it with your choice of oil or creamy dressing. Non-GMO and naturally gluten and fat free. 

• MARUKAN All Natural PONZU – Premium Soy Dressing with Sudachi Citrus: Our premium ponzu is made from natural sudachi lime extract imported from Japan. The ponzu is a perfect match for steak and BBQ, but it can also be used as an alternative to regular soy sauce for almost any dish. The sudachi citrus is high in vitamin C with a refreshing citrus flavor. This 100% vegan ponzu contains gluten.

Marukan Rice Vinegar in the Spotlight 
It’s all the rage with chefs and celebs such as Martha Stewart, Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee, Veg TVs’ Marie Oser and international chef and famed restaurateur Walter Staib.

• Today Show with Hoda Kotb and Kathy Lee:
 

• Martha Stewart:

Where to Buy: Find Marukan in the Asian foods section or wherever fine vinegars are sold, including major retailers nationwide like Whole Foods, Ralphs, Smart & Final, Stater Bros, Jons, Albertsons.

Sriracha Hummus
AMAZING 
3 & Go RECIPE: Sriracha Hummus – Quick Dish with Awesome Flavor

1 sm can of chic peas (garbanzo beans)
1 oz. Marukan Seasoned Gourmet Vinegar
3 Tbls Sriracha hot chili sauce

Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend to a smooth texture. Add garnish if you like. Great as a dip or a spread on sandwiches.

Website:             http:// www.marukan-usa.com
Facebook:            https://www.facebook.com/MarukanVinegar
Twitter:                    https://twitter.com/marukanvinegar

Want to try Marukan for yourself?  One lucky winner will receive a Marukan Gourmet Gift-Pack including GENUINE BREWED Rice Vinegar, SEASONED GOURMET Rice Vinegar, and All Natural PONZU – Premium Soy Dressing with Sudachi Citrus.

Here’s how to enter:

First of all – you must follow my blog – The giveaways I host are for my wonderful readers. To be considered a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader, you must receive my once daily email.  This is not considered an entry, but rather a requirement in order to enter any of my giveaways.  🙂
I do verify that you subscribe to my e-mail at the time of the winner drawing.  You can sign up for my once daily email easily by entering your e-mail address right here:

Once you are a Cori’s Cozy Corner reader via email you can continue onto the Entry Form Below.
Good luck!

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