Giveaway – Page 3 – Fervent Foodie

Pizza randomness

August 3, 2011 37 Comments

Soon after first meeting the BF, we bonded over our mutual love of cheesy niblets. After perfecting our buffalo chicken dip recipe, we moved on to make THIS our favorite Friday night feast:

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As a kid, pizza was one of my favorite dinners. When mom or dad would come home exhausted from their days, too tired to cook, with just enough energy to utter the words “let’s just order pizza for dinner” my heart would pitter patter with excitement as an uncontrollable cheshire-cat style smile spread across my face.

Pizza was cause for celebration in my family, and back in the day I was a straight up pepperoni and cheese gal.

Red heart Pepperoni and Cheese

I remember the day I got my braces. I was 13 years ripe, and I think my dad felt bad that I was in so much pain… Or perhaps he felt bad because he had just assisted in adding more metal to his poor teenage daughters head (as if my GIANT glasses were not enough).

So, in an attempt to cheer up his little girl, he decided we’d order pizza from our favorite hole in the wall pizzeria for dinner. I remember opening that steaming box and seeing the thick pepperonis all curled up into little cups of grease heaven, and that amazing pizza smell that made the pain suddenly start to melt away. I was so excited, so high from the pizza induced endorphins, that I grabbed a slice and chomped down without hesitation.

I remember the horror that immediately washed over me as I ripped my hand back from my mouth like a kid who’d just high-fived a hot stove as I burst into tears. My newly bedazzled mouth was too sore to eat the pizza. Too sore to enjoy the crunch of that buttery crust or the spice of the pepperoni. Too sore to even nibble on the oozing cheese. Through my tears, my dad and I painstakingly cut the pizza into pebble sized swallowable bites and I proceeded to toss them into my mouth followed by long swigs of Coke like a real pizza pill poppin addict.

Why was adolescence so cruel?!

Yes… that just happened.

But let us focus on what’s important here.

Pizza.

It brings people together.

It puts a sparkle of happiness in your eyes and warm and fuzzies in your belly.

Heck, it even puts hair on your face.

Hahahaha… That’s my nephew Dylan. LOVE that pic. He’s almost 13 now… and sadly, no longer a pirate.

I can count on one hand — strike that — one FINGER the number of people I’ve met in my life who did not adore pizza. (crazy man, that Tim is)

Pizza is the jam. The cat’s meow. The shiznit, if you will.

A couple years back, my sister and I were brainstorming ideas for a Father’s Day present for our dad. We decided we would take dad out to lunch to the restaurant of his choice. Mexican or seafood or a big Italian feast. Whatever his heart desired.

When we presented him with his present, he got a big smile of his face and then told us where he’d like to go.

Cici’s Pizza Buffet.

Yes.

Sometimes all a father really wants is to pig out with his children at the pizza buffet Smile

I haven’t been to CiCis Pizza Buffet since then, which is very sad given how enamored I was with their macaroni and cheese pizza… So wrong, but SO right!

When I was contacted a couple weeks back about doing a giveaway for Cici’s, I HAD to jump on it (in secret hopes that my one of my siblings will win a free pizza buffet for my pa, of course).

Here’s the scoop: CiCi’s Pizza Family Funtacular summer scratch and win contest runs through August 28. The scratch off tickets give you the opportunity to win movie tickets, family fun packs, children’s movie tickets, CiCi’s gift cards, free buffets, carry-out pizzas and beverages.

Oh man… my dad would LOVE LOOOOVE to win this….

Grand prize for two lucky families: an all-expense paid trip for four to Universal Orlando Resort Vacation…. Ok… Shut the front door!!! Now I really REALLY hope one of my siblings win!

I have SIX scratch off tickets to give away, and I’ll send them ALL to the winner. TWO ways to enter: 1.) leave a comment (or link) on this post with your favorite pizza topping or recipe AND 2.) Follow me on Twitter @Fervent_Foodie!

I’ll use a random # generator to select a winner Sunday at midnight!

Giveaway, Product Review

Picnic in the Penthouse + #giveaway

July 25, 2011 27 Comments

Over the weekend, my mom, sister, and I made a trip to the Charlotte Farmer’s Market in search of delicious treats. It was my FIRST trip to the market since moving to Charlotte. What the heck have I been waiting for?!

I was really impressed by the wide variety of goods for sale at the market. Yes, they had your standard fruit and veggie selection, but they also had a fab selection of local meats, cheeses, jams, and even local crafts, pottery, and jewelry. And a bunch of crazy vegetables I’ve never seen before.

Here are some pretty shots:

We did a lap around the market in search of dinner inspiration.

And ended up nabbing quite a few goodies including these fresh tomatoes and basil which we combined with fresh mozzarella from Trader Joe’s to make a fantastic caprese salad:

We opted (aka I demanded) to put olive oil, salt and pepper, and balsamic vinegar on top:

We also snagged some corn on the cob and some grass-fed beef for our burgers. I haven’t had corn on the cob in quite a while, and the cobs we picked up from the farmer’s market were so tasty and sweet and the kernels were just the perfect size to fit between the gap in my front teeth.

Makes me think I need to incorporate that veggie into my life more often 😉

We sandwiched our grass-fed beef burgers between brioche buns courtesy of Trader Joes, and topped everything off with more tomato and onion from the market and lotsa ketchup and mustard, of course.

I know these look like little baby burgers, but they were actually six ouncers dwarfed by those delicious brioche buns.

The only things missing from our picnic in the penthouse were potato chips and dip. In my family, we eat chips and dip as an appetizer, and as a first course, AND as a compliment to any summer meal. We will down 2 bags with gusto, especially if there’s some Lawson’s chip dip nearby for dunking Smile

My belly was still obsessing over the thought of chips and dip when I came home from work yesterday and was greeted by a large box of York’s Harvest Garden Chips from Charlotte-based Tropical Foods!

First off, coming home to a package of goodies to sample has to be THE BEST welcome home present EVER. I immediately tore into the package to check out the Garden Chips.

The chips are made from real vegetables (awesome), and they are completely natural, completely crunchy, and completely addicting Smile

I was sent a few different varieties to try, including Okra, Green Beans, and the Mixed Vegetable chips (sweet potato, taro root, squash, carrots, and green beans). After trying each and every vegetable chip variety, I decided the carrots and the green beans are my fav Smile

Have you guys tried these veggie chips yet?

More importantly, do you want to try them *for free*?! We all know I love freebies. I have no shame 😛

You can enter this giveaway for the York’s Harvest Garden Chips up to four times by leaving a comment on this post for each of the following:

1. Leave a comment and let me know your favorite cookout food (recipe links are always welcome!)

2. Add me to your RSS feed OR sign up for email subscription to my blog

3. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway:

4. Like the Fervent Foodie page on Facebook:

Comments must be posted by midnight Thursday July 28, 2011. Then I’ll use a random number generator to select a winner Open-mouthed smile

Giveaway, Ramblings

Technology-1, Mary-0 (plus #giveaway)

July 17, 2011 15 Comments

So over the weekend, I decided to do a little housekeeping on the blog and categorize all of my old posts. All 260 of them. Just so that I could have a nice little category cloud on the right hand side of the screen (check that shiz out!). Seemed like a fabulous idea, until last night I realized something I was doing was triggering random old posts to get flushed through the RSS feed.

Oooopsie!

I wish I could personally go into each and every one of your feeds and delete all the old posts. I even tried to hack into a few of your accounts to no avail

The only thing I can do now, is offer you free Greek yogurt!

YoCrunch recently sent me a free coupon to give to a reader for their new YoCrunch Greek Yogurt line:

Honey, blueberry, peach, and strawberry low-fat Greek yogurt all ready to be mixed up with their all-natural low-fat granolas. Ummm sign me up! Or actually sign YOU up.

Just post a comment on this post (about anything your heart desires), and I’ll randomly select a winner Monday evening.

Good luck, and sorry if I made a mess of your RSS feed

Giveaway, Product Review

Chocolate Coconut Love + Luna Bar Giveaway!

February 11, 2011 28 Comments

Guess what arrived?!?!?!

A giant package from DrugStore.com…………

I currently have 15 strike that 14… ok 13 CHOCOLATE DIPPED COCONUT LUNA BARS in my possession 😀 😀 😀

As soon as the package arrived, I tore into the box.

Immediately, I tried to smell the chocolate coconut goodness through the wrapper.

I don’t smell anything…

SMELL HARDER!

This game didn’t go on long before I ripped open the package and took the first glorious bite of the new luna bar flavor.

HOLY CANNOLI!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Almond Joy lovers hold on to your seats. This was so DELICIOUS and so worth the wait not to mention risking my life in a Cleveland ice storm.

See all the flaky coconut goodness?

Lucky for you all, I’m ready to share my goodies! So, I’m going to give one reader TWO Coconut Luna Bars plus a Blueberry Bliss Luna Bar (one of my all-time favorite flavors)!

Here’s how you can enter:

1.) Leave a comment including a link to the BEST healthy or healthified recipe you’ve ever tried.

2.) Tweet about the giveaway (my twitter ID is @Fervent_Foodie) — make sure to leave a comment here letting me know you tweeted. Here’s a shortlink for you: http://wp.me/pW6Qg-1f0

3.) Like the Fervent Foodie page on Facebook and leave a comment here saying you did so.

I’ll let this run through Midnight eastern time on Tuesday Feb 15, and then I’ll use a random number generator to find out who I get to share some Luna Bar love with. I hope you are as excited as I am… I know.. I’m obsessed. It’s ok.

Giveaway, Ramblings, What I ate

Bruegger’s Giveaway!

August 31, 2010 30 Comments

After posting about my awesome lunch at Bruegger’s, I was contacted about getting some Bruegger’s coupons to give away on the blog! Yahoo! Each coupon is the equivalent of a $5 gift card—helloooo free lunch!

To enter the giveaway for a $5 Bruegger’s coupon, do one (or more) of the following (make sure to leave a separate comment for each one):

Post a comment on this post letting me know your favorite bagel concoction
“Like” the Fervent Foodie page on Facebook and leave a comment on this post letting me know you did so.
Follow me on Twitter and leave a comment on this post letting me know
Tweet about this giveaway, and leave a comment here letting me know
Post a link to this giveaway on your blog or your facebook profile, and leave a comment here letting me know ya did

I’ve got five $5 coupons to give away, and I’ll use a random number generator to select the winners (pssst.. you can win more than one!) 😀

BTW – Have you guys tried the new Sun-Drenched Tomato and Bagel Salad at Bruegger’s? I haven’t got to try it out yet, but they did send me the recipe! Sounds delicious!

SUN DRENCHED TOMATO AND BAGEL SALAD 4-6 people

This is a nice twist on the Tomato-Mozzarella and Basil Salad, but has its roots in the panzanella traditions of Italy, combining the best of summer’s abundance with the frugal utility of leftover bread or, in this case, bagels.

This salad is best when tossed 10 minutes before serving, to allow the dressing to soak into the bagel croutons. The vinaigrette can be made in advance and the tomatoes must be very ripe and at room temperature.

2 large ( 1 lb.) vine ripened/ heirloom tomatoes
8-10 yellow pear tomatoes
3 rosemary olive oil bagels
3 tsp sun dried tomato paste
4 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
A generous pinch sea salt
A generous pinch cracked black pepper
1 cup grated Asiago cheese
2 romaine lettuces

1. Slice the bagels into chunky croutons and dry out overnight on a cookie sheet in a warm oven.

2. Blend the olive oil, balsamic vinegar and sun dried tomatoes to a smooth consistency. Keep a light hand on the vinegar as the tomatoes provide some acidity.

3. Core and slice the large tomatoes into large, coarse pieces. Cut the yellow pear tomatoes into halves.

4. Place the tomatoes and the croutons into a large stainless bowl with room to toss them.

5. Line a large platter with the romaine salad leaves, white stem at the center

6. Add the dressing, salt and pepper and almost all the Asiago cheese to the bowl and toss, until the entire mix is coated with the dressing.

7. Transfer this to the platter, piling it loosely over the romaine stems and top with the remaining Asiago on top.

Adding diced, grilled chicken or drained anchovy filets makes this a meal for a hot summer’s day. Red onions, capers or red pepper are also great additions.

Good luck! Contest ends Friday September 3rd at 11:59pm Eastern time and I’ll post the winner over the loooooongggg holiday weekend!

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