And The Winner Is....

Lisa_Iowa!!!! Lisa, drop me a line with your email address so you can receive your prize! Congratulations!!!

Another Giveaway Already!? Yes!!

This one is much more of a fun one. Provided by Crayola through MyBlogSpark, this prize pack is for the very creative and artsy types. You know who you are.

These little items are a new product by Crayola, and are pretty neat little kits. Here are the kits you will receive if you win the prize pack:

Glass Pendant, Stationary Box, Water Bottle, Color Glow Lamp, Wind Chimes, Shadow Box, Glass Plates. Seven kits in all!

Visit Pop Art Pixies for more information on each kit.


Meet Skye! She’s sweet, thoughtful, and always thinking of others and how she can help save the environment. She loves the outdoors, playing soccer, friends, wildlife and hiking.
Skye’s Pop Art Pixies craft kits include: Create a Water Bottle, Wooden Charm Bracelets, Skye’s Herb Garden and Wind Chime kit.

Meet Maya! A free-spirited young lady, Maya lets her inner creativity show and encourages everyone to express themselves without judgment.
Maya’s Pop Art Pixies craft kits include: Create a Glass Pendant, Shadow Box Kit, Create a Water Color Frame and Create a Sun Catcher kit.

Meet Naomi! She is big into technology and music, and can mix music with the best of the best. Music is her life and her DJ spirit inspires her desire to communicate more through actions and sounds than words.
Naomi’s Pop Art Pixies craft kits include: Create a Stationery Box and Create a Color Glow Lamp.

Meet Tatum! The bubbly, social butterfly of the Pixies and famous for her cupcakes, Tatum is fun-loving, outgoing and likes to host parties for her friends because everyday is worth celebrating.
Tatum’s Pop Art Pixies craft kits include: Create a Decoupage Glass Plate, Party Lights kit, and Create a Mosaic Picture Frame.


You can also follow this link for a $2.00 off coupon for any Pop Art Pixies kit.

The contest will go through December 31st, and winners will be announced on January 1st, 2011. To enter, just tell me which kit you think your daughter would have the most fun with. If you don't have a daughter, then you can just pretend and pick a kit you like. Or something your boys would like. Or your niece, or your best friend's cousin's aunt's daughter. I'm flexible like that.

Good luck!

And The Winner Is....

Debbie! Congratulations, you have won a $75 gift code for use in any of the 200 CSN Stores! Have a very merry Christmas!!! Please contact me with your email and I will send you the code.

Who's Ready For A Chrismas Giveaway?

What are you looking for this Christmas? Flat screen tv stands? A new toaster oven (that's us)? Or maybe some monkey slippers?? Whatever you are looking for, you can enter to win a $75 gift code to use at any of CSN's 200 stores. Who wouldn't want something so awesome?

So here's the deal. Take a look around their sites, and come back and tell me what you would buy for $75. What's on your wishlist this Christmas? What do you need to buy for that person who already has everything? What would you splurge on if you could?

The deadline to enter is Friday, December 10, at noon. Winners will be drawn at random using the Random.org generator (that thing is so cool!). So hurry up and enter. Tell your friends too! This contest is only open to US and Canadian residents.

The Cake Is A Lie

After watching hubby play the Portal game, which is hysterically funny, and not something I'm coordinated enough to play myself, I knew I had to eventually make a Portal cake. Well, yesterday was my birthday, so I made one. I haven't eaten it yet, but I plan on digging in right after dinner tonight.


For those of you who are gamers, or have gamer husbands, you'll probably get this. If not, then you'll have to content yourself with a web search on what on earth the Portal cake is all about.

Look at me still talking when there's science to do.

Review: DeLonghi Deep Fryer

So, after quite a bit of consideration, drooling, and debating what to review, I finally decided on a deep fryer. I like frying things, but feel like I waste so much money throwing out the oil every time I use it, because I don't want to store it in my pot on my stovetop for several weeks. So, I thought a deep fryer would fix that to a degree.


We decided to go with the DeLonghi, mostly because I have been happy with their products in the past, and felt that I would be happy with this setup as well. It seemed to have everything I was looking for, so it made a good choice for us.

Firstly, let me review the customer service with CSN. It is really great. I ordered this late in the afternoon last week, and had it on my table the next day. I was very impressed with that, because I was sure I had ordered it too late in the day for it to have arrived that quickly. But arrive it did, and I got to work digging out my recipes.

First up, of course, were wontons. Wontons are something I have been making for nearly 20 years. That's how much I love this recipe. I found it the recipe in an old, yellow, Chinese cookbook when I was 13 and doing a project for our Social Studies class. It is a family favorite, and something that I don't make nearly often enough. I do try to make it once a year at least, maybe twice if I'm in the mood for it. And I was definitely ready to make a batch or two to test out the new fryer. I will include my recipe at the bottom of the review, in case you were wondering.

Now, onto the fryer. I am fairly happy with the overall performance of the fryer, except for one thing... It comes with a sensor to tell you when the oil is hot enough once you've turned the unit on. However, I found with several different tries at making fried items (we found a few goodies at the grocery store just to test it out in various situations as well)... I found that the initial few batches seemed like the oil wasn't hot enough. Eventually it seemed to warm up to the right temperature, but it took a little longer than the sensor seemed to indicate. But, nothing I can't work around just by being a little more patient. And we all could use a little more patience, right?

Overall, I am happy with the performance of the unit. I intend to drain it and filter the oil within the next few days, but that looks pretty easy so I'm not too worried about it. Now the only trick will be finding space in my miniscule kitchen to store it. But I'm sure we can find a home for it easily enough.

Now, for the recipe! As a side note, I don't bother measuring any of these things anymore, and usually add more than called for. I would start with this as a base, and increase ingredients as desired. Personally, I like quite a bit more ginger and scallions, and also a little more sugar and soy sauce. Be careful with the liquids though, it's easy to overdo it and then you have a liquidy mess that leaks out of the wontons. Which, as I found out, will affect the taste of other things fried in the oil. I got a little carried away this time. But, they were still good. I also usually make a double batch, but that disappeared so quickly this time that I will probably quadruple it next time, especially now that I have convinced my daughter to help me out. She enjoyed it, and it was an easy task for her to fill the wonton wrappers and seal them up. If you try these, please comment and let me know what you think! I have loved this recipe for so long, and whenever I serve it to friends they are always amazed by the flavors and beg for more. It will be a hit at parties everywhere.

Happy frying!


Shana's Wontons

1 whole boneless chicken breast, cooked

2 scallions

1 thin slice ginger root

¼ cup fresh parsley

1 tablespoon sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

2 teaspoons soy sauce

½ teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 tablespoon oil

1 pkg. wonton wrappers or egg roll wrappers cut into 4ths.

1 egg, lightly beaten

Oil for frying

Mince and mix the first 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. In a small bowl mix the remaining ingredients (excluding the wrappers and the egg). Combine both mixtures and allow to stand for 30 minutes. Place a teaspoon of mixture in the center of a wonton wrapper. Using a chopstick or the back of a spoon, place a small amount of egg around two edges of the wrapper. Fold the wrapper in half, touching the sides with egg to the sides without egg, forming a triangle. The egg will seal the edges shut. Deep fry in oil until a deep golden brown. Serve warm or chilled.

Another Reveiw On The Way

Once again, I have been asked to do a review of a product by CSN Stores. They really are a great company, with a wide range of products available. And when I'm doing comparison shopping, more often than not, they have the best prices and products available. From barstools to beds, cookware, home improvement, children's toys, etc., they've got just about all the bases covered. The hubby and I are looking at getting a new mattress eventually, and so far, their prices are great, and even include free shipping! So we will definitely be taking a look over the next few months before we decide.

So, in the coming weeks, I will be offering a review of one of CSN's products, along with a recipe for something tasty ;)