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Halloween Party Foods: Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

Halloween Party Foods…. Avocados from Mexico can be found at your local grocery store year-round, but this is such a great time of year for them. They’re in season- move from the tree to table in less than a week- and are PERFECT for fall celebrations like Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Football parties! Check out their easy peasy tips on buying and storing Avocados too.

Did you know….

  • The world’s first avocado was grown and cultivated in Mexico countless generations ago?
  • That Mexico is the only place in the world where avocado trees naturally bloom four times a year?
  • All Avocados from Mexico are hand-picked and freshly shipped
  • By packers who uniformly exceed international standards?
If you’re a big fan of avocados too – this is the perfect time of year to stock up on some amazingly fresh ones this time of year, make sure to check out the Avocados from Mexico site for more awesome recipes and tips on how to prep, store, and serve them. And then, if you’re planning any type of Halloween entertaining, check out my Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe that’s super simple, yet super fun.

Halloween Party Foods - Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

It’s Spookamole Time: Spiderweb Spookamole Recipe

This is a super fun, super simple, and super yummy dish to make for Halloween parties and entertaining – or just as a perfect snack to fill up on before heading out to Trick or Treat. {A bit of food helps stop those belly aches kids get from sneaking too much candy…} How to make Spiderweb Spookamole for Halloween:

  • Grab a big plate.
  • Shmear a layer of refried beans over the plate, to about an inch from the edges.
  • Mix up some Guacamole- use your own favorite recipe, or use the amazing Spookamole recipe that I used. Then spread a thick layer of this over the beans.
  • Add some tortilla chips around the edges, and layer with cheese, tomato, onion, and ground beef.
  • Now, the fun part: Put about a cup or so of sour cream into a zip-loc style baggie. Cut a small corner off, so you can use it like a decorating bag.
  • Next, use the baggie to draw circles of sour cream, from the edges of the chips, and getting smaller as you move to the center.
  • After all of the circles are completed, use a knife or toothpick to make the spiderweb- start at the inside circle, and drag it outwards through the other circles. Do this every inch or so through the whole thing, and you’ll see the web appear! Watch a tutorial of how this works- Spiderweb Cake Decorating
  • Last, make the spider- Place one whole olive on your web, then add olive slices to each side for the legs. To make him extra creepy, use a small tube of red cake decorating gel to dot on two little eyes.
  • The kids will love it!

It’s seriously so simple to make. And even if you make a minor mistake or two, trust me, it’ll still come out great. I love recipes like this that are deceptively simple, and make people think you’re a master of the kitchen, lol. You can use this same idea for a ton of other fun Halloween food ideas too – cake tops, on frosted sugar cookies, a pudding dessert – {chocolate or pistachio pudding with the web made from whipped cream on top. Add plastic spider rings to top it off!} The ideas are endless.

If you create a spiderweb dish too – come share your fave photos on my Facebook wall!!

{Disclaimer: I wrote this review while participating in a Spookamole blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Avocados from Mexico and received avocado items to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.}

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WOW- FIFTY Freebies Delivered Right to Your Door! #freebies #freemoney

Free SamplesLets get the Freebie-Fest started!

In this post you’ll find over 50 free samples, ebooks, downloads, and other cool stuff.

I’m also sharing pics of all of the free stuff I got in my own mailbox last week, to show you that YES, you really do get this stuff when you request it!

I’ve also divided the freebies by category, so you can find what you want. I’m nice like that. Here we go….

Beauty Freebies

Entertaining

  • Free Zumba Party: Sign up at Houseparty.com to host your own Zumba House Party! Tons of great stuff included, totally FREE if you qualify. {Must have a Nintendo Wii}
  • Free Parties: This one is pretty similar to one of my other favorites, HouseParty.com. It’s called My Party, and you can sign up for tons of great events!
  • Moms Meet: This is where I got the HUGE bag of Kashi goodies you see in the pic! Sign up to host product parties to share natural products with your own mommy group- Sign up as a Mom Ambassador.

Cookbooks

Baby Freebies

  • Free Magazine: Get a free subscription to Baby Talk Magazine– filled with great coupons.
  • Baby Formula: Get a free sample of Members Mark Baby Formula. We used this and couldn’t tell any difference from the name brands.
  • MySurvey: I get to test loads of greatFree Baby Products through MySurvey, and then earn rewards for giving my opinions on them.
  • Baby Book: Get a free digital Baby Book to record all of your important memories. This is cool even for big kids- to remember all of your special milestones.
  • Baby-to-Bee: Get great advice, find free samples, and get tons of coupons too! Free Baby Stuff.
  • Planning Family: Get some of the Best Diaper Coupons I’ve found, plus tons of free samples.

Home Freebies

  • Clorox: Sign up for our newsletter, get samples, offers- and get 25¢ off Clorox® Regular-Bleach today! Click Here.
  • Digital Organizer: Sign up and get this personal and family digital organizing system free. Sign up here.
  • DIY: Sign up at Under One Roof to share your DIY experiences, and earn tons of great free stuff. I wasn’t accepted, but I hope some of you are!
  • Free Calendar: Use MyCalendarMaker.com‘s tools to make your own FREE customized family calendars!
  • Free Photo Back-up: Sign up and get a chance to test out this Free Photo Back-up Service. I love it.
  • SC Johnson: Get a free idea book, just enter two UPC’s, see details here on site. First go here to sign up, then use this direct link to request your Fall HGTV Book.
  • Organzing: Get a ton of great freebies to help you get your home organzied.
  • Photo Gifts: Get 6 new fall free products from Vistaprint! Get the goodies here, and shipping starts at just a few bucks. Totally worth it!

Food & Drink Freebies

  • Energy Tea: Everyone who requests a free sample of FIX Energy Tea also gets entered to win an iPad!
  • Nutrisystem: Take an important step toward living healthier by determining your BMI (Body Mass Index) score today. Get your FREE body assessment!
  • Disney Gummies: Get a Free Sample of Disney Gummi Vitamins in either Cars or Princess- your choice. For more Disney freebies, Sign up to get the Disney Special Offers Newsletter too!
  • Energy Shake: Get a free sample of your choice {and there’s a TON of choices!} from Spiru-tein. Use code 5646- but make sure to type it in, don’t copy and paste. Free Energy Shake.

Random Freebies

  • Halloween: Free super-spooky Halloween music to download for your parties. Free Halloween Music.
  • Awesome Hat: Get your own Free Awesome Hat from Yovia! Love it!
  • Free Pen: Get a free pen from Wire a Cake- send an email with you shipping info to pen@wireacake.com.
  • Map: Get a Free Map of America’s Byways from byways.org, just fill out the info and request!
  • Lasik: Get a free Lasik consultation, savings coupons, and more. Learn more here.

Free Product Test

Free Money

  • Synovate: Everyone’s favorite- At this minute they’re taking new sign ups, but it closes quickly. Synovate Free Product Trials.
  • $10 Free Credit: Plum District is giving the first 10,000 new referrals a FREE $10 credit to spend any way they want to! Check it out and sign up here- Free Plum District Credit, if it’s still available.
  • Free Cash: Get cash for your old iPhone, broken or not! Click Here to get it.
  • Global Test Market: Join this panel to get Free Test Products and earn cash when you give your opinions!
  • $5 bucks free: When you sign up today and fill out a quick profile, they’ll start your account with a FREE $5 Cash right away!
  • Swagbucks: My FAVORITE way to earn free stuff! I choose Amazon gift cards, but you can also cash out with Free PayPal Money too.
Wooooo- that was fun, right? Look forward to seeing a TON of great free stuff start coming your way soon!
Share the Love
Do me a couple favors, would ya? If any of the freebies are expired by the time you get to them, leave me a comment so I can delete ’em? Also, if you have other freebie-lovin’ friends- share this post! You can use the easy peasy buttons to share it to your Facebook or Twitter! Thanks — My fans are the BEST blog fans around. You guys ROCK.

Vistaprint

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65 Fun Fall Ideas for Kids!

I love Fall…

I live in Central Washington State, and one of my very favorite things about living here is the weather. We have four distinct seasons- gorgeously rainy springs, incredibly hot summers, tons of snow in the winter, and the most beautiful fall leaves! I can’t imagine living somewhere that didn’t have that change of the seasons.

To celebrate the coming of fall, one of my favorite local publications has an article in this months issue with 64 Fun Fall Crafts to do as a family. They’re all really simple, and include great fall stuff like pinecones, leaves, turkeys and pumpkins! You’ll find snack recipes, crafts, games, and more.

I helped contribute to this article {you can see the credits at the bottom- Meagan Paullin, local mom and owner and creative director of Sunshine and Sippy Cups!} If you’re curious, these are the dates that are my ideas:

  • September 25th- Toddler Exploring Set.
  • October 11th- Creative Crayon Recycling.
  • October 20th- Fall Tree Arm Print.
  • October 26th- Make Your Own Fall Magnets.
  • November 9th- Yakima Apple Pie Snack Mix.
  • November 14th- Craft a Homework Helper.
  • November 15th- Chore Money Jar.
  • November 16th- Magnetic Locker Organizer.
  • November 19- Make your own Sidewalk Chalk.

Sound like fun?

To read more about these, and the other great ideas in this new issue of Playdate Magazine….

Check out 65 Fun Fall Crafts!!! (And they’re easy, too!) on the Playdate Magazine site!

What is YOUR favorite?

Do you have a new favorite after reading the list? What other fun fall ideas do you have? Share in the comments! Links to your own posts with fun ideas are always welcome.

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Your Recipes, Grocery List, and Coupons- Simplified!

Recipe storage and grocery shopping made easy-

Keeping track of recipes can be kind of a pain— they’re all over the place, yet never in the right place when it’s time to make dinner. And then, there’s the grocery list… which doesn’t do you much good when you head to the grocery store without it. Sure you could sift through all your cookbooks, or write “milk, eggs, bread” on your hand, but why, when there’s Ziplist?

Ziplist Rocks.

Ziplist is a website and free app that is going to change the way you store recipes and shop for groceries. A total game-changer when it comes to simplifying mealtime. In a chicken rut? Well just pop onto Ziplist and peruse the hundreds of chicken recipes from some of the biggest names in food (Martha Stewart anyone?).

With the click of one button the recipe is stored in a virtual recipe box, and with another click a grocery list of ingredients is instantly created for you. Ziplist is even kind enough to help you save money with coupons you can print before you go to the store. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg lettuce when it comes to Ziplist’s features— watch how Carley uses it to enhance her breasts. (That’s chicken, of course!)

What do you think?

So, as most of you know, I’m still old, lame, and totally outdated, and do NOT yet have a Smartphone. {What does that make my phone? Stupid? Hmmm…. There are plenty of times that I’ve yelled at it and said, “You stupid phone!!” so I suppose that’s about right…} I keep piles of info in my phone, but can’t get these super awesome app’s. If I COULD- I’d definitely use this one.

But… I WILL be using the website!

Here is what I’m particularly in love with:

  • The recipe clipping tool- so I can put the cool recipes I find randomly around the web in one place! So cool.
  • I like that I can go in and pick my meals for the next week, and it’ll automatically make me a shopping list- what a time saver!
  • I loooove that it has a coupon feature too! You know I love me some coupons, right?

Share your thoughts!

Are you going to check out Ziplist too? How do you keep your recipes, meal planning, and grocery shopping organized now? Share your thoughts- and your tips! – in the comments.

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems. In 3 minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step.

Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur. Become a subscriber to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl.

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Simple Dinner Time Solutions

Simple Cooking for my family…

If you know me, you know that I like to cook, but I like to keep it simple. The whole Semi-Homemade trend is so my style. I’ve got a big bunch of family living with me right now- {4 adults, 3 kids, and 5 dogs- it’s a full house!}– and we all have crazy schedules, with tons of coming and going- so I think it’s so important to gather everyone up at least once a day, and eat dinner together. Good thing I have a HUGE dining room table, right?

Cooking for such a big bunch, on a budget, is a challenge. Finding something that they ALL like is sometimes an even bigger challenge! But one thing that everyone does always agree on is pasta. ANY pasta is a hit. So when the awesome ladies from The Motherhood asked me to try out the new Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna, you bet your buttons I said yes!

The problem with lasagna…

Remember when I said I like simple meals? Well, putting together a homemade lasagna is NOT a simple meal. It’s super time-consuming, and {for me at least!} it’s super-messy! But we looove lasagna. So of course, I’ve tried a bunch of different frozen lasagnas- and there are some that are good, but….

How do you ever get them to cook right?? You know what I’m talking about- If we cook them in the oven, it takes for-ev-er. We check it after the stated cooking time- but there are always still frozen spots. So we cook it longer. And then they end up with burnt edges. The boys will NOT eat any piece that is burned or hard- they won’t even allow it on their plate. *Sigh*

What makes Marie Callender’s NEW Bakes different…

The new Bakes from Marie Callender’s -there are a bunch of other great varieties too- check ’em out- are different than other frozen lasagnas- And what makes them so cool is that they have a brand new type of baking tray that guarantees you won’t get burnt edges or frozen spots! They’re so good that Marie Callender’s even puts a MONEY BACK GUARANTEE on every package.

Making Family Dinners Simple and Delicious…

A picture is worth a thousand words…

But since the Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna got eaten too fast for me to get pic’s, I’ll have to tell you about it. But I’ll try to keep it under a thousand words :) The three meats are pepperoni, sausage, and beef- love the addition of the pepperoni! Then they add 3 great Italian cheeses- ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and Romano. The meats and cheeses, combined with perfectly cooked noodles and a great zesty sauce, are just perfection. This is, honestly, the best frozen lasagna that we’ve ever had- for reals. {Or whatever term kids use these days to mean that they’re super serious. I’m over 30 now, so I’m getting outdated…} We paired the lasagna with a great salad, and this AMAZING Gorgonzola Garlic Bread from one of my favorite food bloggers- Plain Chicken! So yummy.

A few more quick facts:

  • You can buy these in 2 sizes- either the single serve (19oz) or a family size multi-serve (31oz).
  • These cook right in the microwave, in only 19 minutes- which is waaaay faster than anyone else!
  • NPD says more people are eating frozen lasagna than homemade these days- and Marie Callender’s Three Meat and Four Cheese Lasagna is preferred over Stouffer’s 19 oz. Lasagna with Meat & Sauce by consumers two to one in taste tests!

So, what are you waiting for?

Check out the great coupons on MarieCallendersMeals.com, print ’em out, and head to your favorite grocery store to put together a great-tasting, easy to make, dinner for YOUR family tonight!

{Marie Callender’s and The Motherhood provided me with a sample to review and I will be compensated for my time. Even so, my opinions about the awesomeness of this lasagna are honestly shared.}

Do you want to try products and give YOUR feedback? Check out Nielsen- and earn some pretty darn sweet rewards for your opinions!

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Free Cookbook + A Years Supply of Spam!

Love Spam?

No, no, no. Not email spam. Or comment spam. Canned Spam!

Personally, I’m not a fan. But then again, I don’t eat much meat of any type…. Is this really meat?

Anyway, if YOU love Spam, get your apron ready- It’s time to whip up a Spam-tastic new recipe for YOUR chance to win!

Free Recipe Book and Giveaway:

  • Until August 26th, you can enter your best local-flavor-inspired Spam recipe into the Spam Recipe Exchange!
  • After your recipe is approved, it will be published to their site, and you’ll get an email on how to claim your FREE cookbook!
  • Get your friends and family to vote and promote your recipe, for a chance to WIN!! The most popular recipe will win $1,000 cash- and the runners up will each win a years supply of Spam! Hmmm…. That’s a LOT of Spam….

Are you going to enter??

If you’re entering a recipe, let me know, and I’ll be sure to vote for you– and I’ll share it on my site too, to help you get some votes. I would love to see someone win a years supply of Spam- I think that’s the funniest prize I’ve heard of in a long time :)

{Something else that won’t spam you- Sign up for the totally free, no card needed, Carbonite back-up service! That way, if your computer crashes, you never lose all of your super important photos and documents. Love it.}

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Forget about forgetting important information ever again!

Digital Storage for All of Life’s Information

Look around your house. Are you seeing stacks of papers that you keep meaning to go through? Boxes and files bulging with stuff you put there for safe-keeping, but couldn’t find what you need if your life depended on it. Don’t worry, we won’t judge, it’s the exact overload we were facing that made us think there has to be a better way.
Wouldn’t be amazing if you could store information you needed to remember in one place and more importantly, find it instantly, anytime, from anywhere. Good news! It exists, and it is a total game-changer.

Evernote is a website, a free app, and an extension that builds functionality into tons of programs you already use. If you can email it, scan it, type it, snap it, record it, or find it on the internet you can keep track of it all with Evernote.

You won’t believe how simple it is to use- watch the video then forget about forgetting important information ever again!

What do you think?

I think I’m in love!! I’ve told you about the new service that I’ve been using, AboutOne, and how it is SO incredibly helpful– It allows me to scan all my important papers, and put them in one big online filing cabinet, so I can always have access to what I need, since you can use it right from your Smart Phone. I’ve added all of the kids immunizations, report cards, and more.

But what I’m really loving about Evernote {I don’t know how I’d never heard of them before!} is that it has the little “clipping” tool, which reminds me of Pinterest. I love that I can use that to save articles that I’d like to reference, recipes I’d like to try, or great resources that I know I’ll want to use again. So helpful!

In the past I’ve relied on my cellphone to be my other “brain”. Seriously. I’m so bombarded with info every day, and since having the baby I have a hard time remembering everything. I would use the Memo, List, and Calendar in my phone for EVERYTHING. And like Carley, I often take pics of things to remember them! Problem is, if something happens to my phone {and you know it always does} then I’ve lost all of my stuff. And that my friends, is major-meltdown time.

How great is it to be able to store everything using my phone, but it’s all online, so I can still access it?? Love it! Thank you Evernote, from all of the over-worked, over-tired, over-frazzled momma’s out here, for making life a little bit simpler. And a BIG thank you to Digitwirl for sharing this great find!

What do you guys think? Do you use Evernote already? Do you think you’ll start? Are you using AboutOne too, like me? I think I’ll keep that one too, for my big documents, and use Evernote for my more miscellaneous stuff. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

Digitwirl is the weekly web show that offers simple solutions to modern day problems. In 3 minutes, Digitwirl brings busy women the very best time, money, and sanity-saving technology, and then teaches them how to use it, step-by-step.

Digitwirl was created by technology lifestyle expert Carley Knobloch, who uses lots of technology to manage her busy life as mom of two and entrepreneur.

Become a subscriber to get weekly show alerts and exclusive deals at Digitwirl.com, or follow Digitwirl on Twitter at @digitwirl.

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