And the Imagine Natural Creations Soup giveaway winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the chance to try out a package of Imagine Natural Creations Soup for free?

anniemos!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  Finally, you won!!  I will get you hooked up with the Creamy Portabella Mushroom so you can try it out.  Let me know what you think!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

A special thanks to Chris and James at Hains-Celestial for providing the free Imagine soup samples!  Thank you!!!

And the Key Lime Coconut Patty winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the free package of Anastasia Key Lime Coconut Patties?

Suburban Prep!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  Since you haven’t tried many desserts or sweets with coconut in them, this should be a good introduction for you.  Let me know what you think!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

And the Wine-doggy-bag winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the two wine doggy bags giveaway from www.winedoggybag.com?

Yeast-n-math!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  Of course, a wine, spirits, and beer lover like me!  If I am out and about town and I notice you pulling out this bag so you can easily take your wine bottle home, I will come over and introduce myself!  Let me know how it goes!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

A special thank you to Keyana with www.winedoggybag.com for providing the free samples for the giveaway and also for me to try out as well.  Thank you!

And the $25 Petit Bistro winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the free $25 penguin bill to Petit Bistro in Bentonville?

Silja!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  That is two in a row, girl!  You are destined to eat!!!!  J  You mentioned that the dessert looks yummy!  Hey, even just going to Petit Bistro for dessert only is worth it!!  And coffee, of course!  Let me know what you think!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

Who gives you a chance to try out these fantastic restaurants in Northwest Arkansas?  Dave at NWArestaurants.com, the premier search engine for restaurants in Northwest Arkansas! 

Dave is nice enough to provide penguin bills each and every week so I can help spread the word about all the great restaurant information available on his site.  Check out his website and facebook and follow him on twitter to find out special deals (that often sell out in minutes!).  Thanks Dave, you rock!!!

And the $40 CSNstores.com winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the $40 online gift certificate for CSNstores.com?

Carolsue!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  You mentioned that you “love the GamaSonic Atmosphere Color Changing Bowl.”  Are you going to get it?  I am so excited for you!!  I will email you with the instructions for obtaining your gift!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

A special thank you CSNstores.com who is providing out lucky winner, Carolsue, with an online gift certificate code!  Did you know that CSNstores.com has over 200+ online “stores?” If you have a chance, check them out!

And the Glow Gluten Free Cookie winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Posted by Lyndi

Who won the free package of Glow gluten free chocolate chip cookies?

Jon!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  You mentioned you are a “chewy” cookie dude… I think you will be happy with these “crunchy” cookies!  I know they won me over!  Let me know what you think!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

A special thank you again to Jill with Glow gluten free cookies who sent me samples of her cookies as a thank you after I went on and on and on and on about how delicious they were when I discovered them available in Rogers.

And the $15 Celtic Grill winner is…. (drumroll, please)

Who won the free $15 penguin bill?

Silja!

You’re the Lucky Winner!!  That’s so cool you won since you are from Dublin!!!!  Hopefully you can have your “potato farl with lashings of butter!”  Let me know how your meal experience went!!  Congratulations!!

Thank you to everyone who entered!   Maybe next time will be YOUR time!  What giveaways are next? Stay tuned.

Who gives you a chance to try out these fantastic restaurants in Northwest Arkansas?  Dave at NWArestaurants.com, the premier search engine for restaurants in Northwest Arkansas! 

Dave is nice enough to provide penguin bills each and every week so I can help spread the word about all the great restaurant information available on his site.  Check out his website and facebook and follow him on twitter to find out special deals (that often sell out in minutes!).  Thanks Dave, you rock!!!

The last Happy Anniversary giveaway: Imagine Soup!

Posted by Lyndi

Today is last day of the weeklong “happy anniversary” giveaway in honor of my first year anniversary/birthday of this blog! 

Yesterday I shared with you a quick and easy way to make rice with a little flavor by adding soup to the base, instead of just plain water.  This cuts adds seasoning to your rice so it is ready to go once the rice cooker finishes!  De-lish!

I have experimented with several flavors of Imagine Natural Creations soups such as Portabella Mushroom, Creamy Tomato Basil, and getting ready to use Creamy Corn and Lemongrass.  These soups are healthy, most of them organic, easy to store in your pantry, and gluten free!  Click here to browse all the flavor offerings and online recipes on the Imagine Natural Creations website.   Oh, they even have a cool tool on their site that allows you to make your own soup by dragging virtual ingredients into a virtual pot of soup!

The best part is that my local Walmart store in Rogers (Pleasant Grove Rd.) stocks them…

… and Ozark Natural Foods in Fayetteville (College Ave.) has an extensive selection…

… curious to know if they are available in  your neck of the woods?  Click here for a store locator.

I have one soup box package of Imagine Natural Creations Soup to giveaway to one lucky reader.  You simply have to leave a comment for a chance to win!

Prize:

1 lucky winner will receive a 1 package of Imagine Natural Creations Soup.  Contest ends this Saturday, September 11^th at midnight (CDT).  I will pick a winner via randomizer.

Eligibility:

Leave me a comment using the comment form, below, preferably with your twitter or blog name to make it easy to contact you if you win.  

The comment is up to you:  Did you have a chance to check out the soup flavors?  Which one sounds the most interesting to you?  Or, did you have a chance to check out the recipes on their website?  Again, which one sounds the most interesting to you?  

Tip:  If you enter using the Name/URL option, you can leave the URL blank.  The Blogger format can be a little confusing!   See the “How to leave a comment (please do!)” link at the top of this page for step-by-step instructions!

No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 18 years or older. Contest open only to Continental US residents only.

Good luck!

           

Pssst… want secret to making perfect rice? Add soup!

Posted by Lyndi

This quick and easy recipe is used with a rice cooker.  I used a cheapo from Walmart for years and it worked fine.  When it started burning the bottom layer of rice, I invested in one from Williams-Sonoma and it rocks!

HOW TO MAKE PERFECT RICE:

1. First, rinse your rice. 

2. Place rinsed rice in your rice cooker.  Today I am using 2 cups of rinsed brown rice.

3. Chop up 1 medium sized onion and place in rice cooker. Lately I am really into Vidalia sweet onions.

4. Instead of filling the indicator line with water in your rice cooker, add soup with a little bit of water, instead!  Today I am using Imagine Natural Creations Creamy Portabella Mushroom Soup.  When I make basmati rice, I like to add Imagine Natural Creations Organic Creamy Tomato Basil Soup.  The great part about adding these soups is that all of your seasonings are already included so when the rice finishes cooking, it’s tabletop ready!

5. Set your rice cooker to “brown rice” (or white rice, depending on your selection).  Set it and go.  Brown rice takes about two hours to cook, so be sure to plan for it.  White rice like basmati and jasmine can be set to “quick cook” and be ready in thirty-five minutes.

6.  Enjoy!

Happy eating!


Full Disclosure:  The folks at Hains-Celestial provided me with Imagine soup samples and other gluten-free products  at the Gluten Freedom Day in Rogers.  Look for a giveaway of their Imagine soups later today and their other products in the future.  Thanks Chris and James at Hains-Celestial!

Happy Anniversary giveaway: Anastasia Confections Creamy Key Lime Coconut Patties!

Posted by Lyndi

I found something really delightful the other day that I just HAD to share with you.  They are Creamy Key Lime Coconut Patties from Anastasia Confections.

The Pinnacle Station Market in Rogers had these little treats on sample display recently and on the everyday sidecounter at the coffee and tea bar.  A package of two is jut $.99, an affordable luxury and not a heavily-laden fat-filled dessert.  Two pieces are just 6grams of fat and 150 calories.

They are an inch and a half squared, and the sides and back are dipped in chocolate.  When you bite into these, you are surprised by a chewy goodness of just-perfectly seasoned key lime tartness plus creamy chocolately-ness combined.  They are just perfect.  Oh, and they are naturally gluten-free, too!

These coconut patties come in other flavors beyond key lime coconut:  original coconut, almond, orange, mango, and pina colada.  The Pinnacle Station Market carries the key lime and original but not the others.  All flavors are available only and can be purchased here.

I have one package of Key Lime Coconut Patties to giveaway to one lucky reader.  Interested?  Simply leave a comment for a chance to win!

Prize:

1 lucky winner will receive a 2-pack package of Key Lime Coconut Patties.  Contest ends this Wednesday, September 8^th at midnight (CDT).  I will pick a winner via randomizer.

Eligibility:

Leave me a comment using the comment form, below, preferably with your twitter or blog name to make it easy to contact you if you win.  

The comment is up to you:  Do you like sweets with coconut in them?  What do you think about flavors such as key lime, mango, orange, and pina colada?  

Tip:  If you enter using the Name/URL option, you can leave the URL blank.  The Blogger format can be a little confusing!   See the “How to leave a comment (please do!)” link at the top of this page for step-by-step instructions!

No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 18 years or older. Contest open only to Continental US residents only.

Good luck!

           

Happy Anniversary giveaway: Your very own “winedoggybag!”

Posted by Lyndi

This giveaway is such a fun one!

Recently you heard me talk about the really cute wine-to-go-bags available at Carrabba’s.  Did you realize this is actually a product you can purchase yourself at www.winedoggybag.com?

Did you know that any unfinished bottle of wine you imbibe at a restaurant can be re-corked by your server and then slipped into the winedoggybag, sealed securely by a special attached strip, and then it becomes portable back home or to your hotel room? 

Pretty cool, eh?

One lucky reader has the opportunity to two of their very own winedoggybags for use at your favorite restaurant. The folks at www.winedoggybag.com have made this possible for you, isn’t that nice of them?  It is just a really neat product and completely discreet and portable.  I’m keeping two in the trunk of my car “for a rainy day.”  Basically, this is just one of those neat little products that someone designed that makes you think “what a great and simple idea.”  It’s a great conversation piece, too!

Prize:

1 lucky winner will receive two winedoggybags. Contest ends next Tuesday, September 7^th at midnight (CDT).  I will pick a winner via randomizer.

Eligibility:

Leave me a comment using the comment form, below, preferably with your twitter or blog name to make it easy to contact you if you win.  

The comment is up to you:  I’m just curious to hear what you think about this product!  Would it encourage you to take advantage of special by-the-bottle deals that restaurants sometimes have?  Or, let us know you are a red wine or white wine person!  Me?  Red, all the way!!

Tip:  If you enter using the Name/URL option, you can leave the URL blank.  The Blogger format can be a little confusing!   See the “How to leave a comment (please do!)” link at the top of this page for step-by-step instructions!

No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 21 years or older. Only those located within the Continental US, please.

Good luck!

Happy Anniversary giveaway: Oolala, $25 certificate for Petit Bistro. Oui!

Posted by Lyndi

My anniversary week of giveaways is going strong!

Looking for a restaurant experience in Northwest Arkansas that is out of the ordinary?  How about a fuse of French Mediterranean, Asian, and Middle Eastern? 

Where can you find such an extraordinary dining establishment? 

At Petit Bistro!

Petit Bistro is a fine dining experience in North Bentonville, nestled between the trees, cascading springs, and housed in the old location of Ozark Smokehouse on N. Walton Boulevard.  Besides the ambiance of the exterior, there is not a shred of the old smokehouse décor.  Petit Bistro is a perfect date location.

Then there’s the food. 

Mmmmmm…. everything about it is satisfying.  I only wish I had taken more photographs for a visual tour of this excellent restaurant.  My husband ordered strips of kobe beef and arugula salad. This is hearty dish that is excellently seasoned.  I saw rack of lamb (called "lamb lollipops," rack of lamb with curried lentils) on the menu so it was a no-brainer for me.  It was perfect.  Dennis ordered the crème brule for dessert and he said it was the best he had ever tasted.  Period.  Instead of dessert I stayed where I am happiest:  wine and bar drinks!  I personally think the décor of the bar is a highlight of the restaurant and I resisted taken photographs of it for my “remodel wish list.”


Note:  Good news!  Dave at nwarestaurants.com has the complete menu of Petit Bistro and PHOTOS available on his site.  Check it out here. Click on the Petit Bistro icon and then click on the "menu" and "photo" buttons.  Thanks Dave!

Newly opened in April, Petit Bistro has yet to develop a website to post their menu.  If I had known that, I would have captured more of the menu to share with you all.  There are plenty of items to choose from whether you are vegan, meat-lover, fish-lover or all things French Mediterranean, Asian, or Middle Eastern lover.  Who knew there was such a thing?!

Here’s a treat:  I have a $25 penguin bill gift certificate to giveaway Petit Bistro, courtesy of my friend Dave with NWArestaurants.com!  NWArestaurants has crazy deals on featured restaurants that sell out fast.  Usually deals of 50% of gift certificates (aka “penguin bills”)!  Check out his website, twitter, or facebook page!   His site is great if you want to search for area restaurants and it has the ability to “filter” on key items, such as private rooms, gluten free, low carb, etc.  Check it out!

Prize:

1 lucky winner will receive a $25 penguin bill gift certificate to Petit Bistro located in Bentonville on 2702 N Walton Blvd.  Contest ends this Labor Day evening, September 6^th at midnight (CDT).  I will pick a winner via randomizer.

Eligibility:

Leave me a comment using the comment form, below, preferably with your twitter or blog name to make it easy to contact you if you win.  

The comment is up to you:  What is your favorite French-inspired/Asian/Middle Eastern dish?  Is there a dish, like French Macaroons, that you have always wanted to try?  Let us know!

Tip:  If you enter using the Name/URL option, you can leave the URL blank.  The Blogger format can be a little confusing!   See the “How to leave a comment (please do!)” link at the top of this page for step-by-step instructions!

No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 18 years or older. Contest open only to Continental US residents only, although this one really makes sense if you are in Northwest Arkansas since the penguin bill is for the Bentonville location.

Good luck!  

Happy Anniversary giveaway: $40 certificate to shop for anything on CSNstores.com!

Posted by Lyndi

I am drawn to all things kitchen and dining. Why have an ordinary gadget when you can have a conversation piece? 

Some of you may have multiple specialty and boutique shops in your neighborhood.  Here in Northwest Arkansas we have a few, yes, but thankfully, all of us have options galore at our nimble fingertips via the internet! 

Have you ever heard of www.CSNstores.com? CSNstores is the 3^rd largest online home goods retailer and ships to the U.S. and Canada.  They have over 200+ online stores that sell everything from dining room furniture, cookware, bakeware, kitchen tools, and oh my, the list goes on and on and on. 

Click here to view them all and browse for yourself!   

Want to hear something awesome… one lucky reader has the opportunity to score a $40 online gift certificate for use with any one of their 200+ online stores!  That’s right!  $40.00!!!  The folks at CSNstores.com have made this possible for you, isn’t that nice of them?  When they contacted me about this giveaway opportunity, I wanted to check out their goods and service for myself.  You know, to make sure their offerings, shipping, and overall experience was pleasant.  It a super-great experience so I said, “Yes!  Thanks for the offer!”  Full disclosure:  They did not provide me with any goods, money, discount, or anything for this giveaway.  I just love the opportunity to pass this along to you.

What to know what I purchased?  Measuring spoons!  These babies are nifty-neat with nine measuring elements that include 1 ½ teaspoons and even a “pinch.”

What to know what I was tempted to purchase?  An adorable little funnel!  I may get this eventually.  Isn’t it adorable?

Basically, $40 will provide you with amble number of options!  I hope you win!

Prize:

1 lucky winner will receive a $40 online gift certificate for use with any of the CSNstores.com online retail stores.  Depending on what you choose, you may or may not have to pay for shipping.  Contest ends next Tuesday, September 7^th at midnight (CDT).  I will pick a winner via randomizer.

Eligibility:

Leave me a comment using the comment form, below, preferably with your twitter or blog name to make it easy to contact you if you win.  

The comment is up to you:  Did you have a chance to browse CSNstores.com?  If you had a chance to win the $40 online certificate, what would you pick?

Tip:  If you enter using the Name/URL option, you can leave the URL blank.  The Blogger format can be a little confusing!   See the “How to leave a comment (please do!)” link at the top of this page for step-by-step instructions!

No purchase necessary to enter. Contest void where prohibited. Contest open to members who are 18 years or older. Contest open only to US and Canadian residents.  If you happen to be Canadian, the folks at CSNstores.com want you to know there may be international fees applied.

Good luck!