WhipperBerry • Your Home For Creative Inspiration
Hey there friends! It's ALMOST Friday… my favorite day of the week. I have been blown away by all of the Friday Flair post for the last couple of weeks and can't wait to see what fabulous projects and tasty treats you have to share this week. For inspiration I found this LOVELY Nutella Cupcake recipe from My Baking Addiction… Doesn't it look divine? Score one for Nutella once again, my addiction will not be going away anytime soon!
Now Let's Party!!
One of the classic staples in my pantry are good ingredients to create a simple and easy pasta dinner on those nights when time for a fancy meal really isn’t on your side. Recently I was introduced to the family of La Romanella products at Smart & Final and I have to say… my picky pallet was pleasantly surprised! With a few of the La Romanella products I was able to create a lovely and simple, yet hearty Fettuccine & Meatballs for my family the other night.
As far as I am concerned a pasta dish is a blank canvas. As long as you have some good basic ingredients you can create a perfect masterpiece with a few additional fresh items. The La Romanella brand has created a line of Mediterranean style products for Smart & Final that in my opinion rival some of the other major store brands. Not only do they put up a good fight… I say they pretty much deliver the knock out punch. The flavors are all there, and they provide a fabulous base for some great pasta. I went shopping at my local Smart & Final store here in Las Vegas to find all of the La Romanella goodies. {If you would like to follow along on my shopping trip click here to check out my Google+ album.}
I decided to create a hearty Fettuccine & Meatball pasta using some of the La Romanella family of products. Here is the list of my ingredients…
1 package of La Romaella Fettuccine
1/2 a package of La Romanelle Italian style meatballs
1 jar of La Romanella Roasted Garlic Pasta Sauce
14 oz. of La Romanella Tomato Strips with Basil
4-5 large Portabella mushroom caps
1/2 cup of La Romanella Grated Parmesan Cheese
1 T of La Romanella extra virgin olive oil
This recipe is perfect for those nights when a quick dinner is needed… But the family is not going to feel like it is a “QUICK DINNER!”
First, you need to put a pot of water on to boil the Fettuccine in. Salt the water when it comes to a boil and then add the package of Fettuccine, cook according to package directions.
Clean and cut your mushrooms into bite size pieces. In a large saute pan over medium high heat add the olive oil. Once the oil is hot, add your mushrooms. Saute for 3-4 minutes.
Add the tomato strips with basil to the mushrooms and cook for 1 minute and then add the pasta sauce.
Add a 1/4 cup of the grated parmesan cheese and the meatballs. Let sauce simmer for 6-8 minutes or until the meatballs are warmed through.
Drain the Fettuccine and add to the pasta sauce. combine well and let cook together for a minute or two to let the flavors marry.
Serve warm and top with a sprinkle of the grated parmesan cheese. There you have a simple and hearty family meal in under 30 minutes. Sometimes I even add peas to the mix, crazy I know… but I love peas!
The folks at La Romanella and Smart & Final would love for you to try some of their fine products and in return they have a wonderful contest for you to enter! If you live in California, Arizona or Nevada visit your local Smart & Final and purchase some La Romanella products. Starting on February 8th when you return home you should visit the La Romanella Sweetstakes site and enter the code on your receipt and enter to win…
First Prize: a weekend trip to one of the most luxurious Italian inspired resorts in Las Vegas! Additional prizes include: (8) $100 SmartCash cards (2 per week given away) and (8) La Romanella Gift Baskets worth over $50 (2 per week given away) WOWZA!!
If you win the Las Vegas getaway we can meet for gelato at the Bellagio!! It’s one of my favorite things to do on the strip.
On top of all of that… you will have a chance to head over to the Smart & Final La Romanella site to vote for your favorite recipe created from the La Romanella products. I would LOVE for you to head over and vote for MINE!!
If you have a chance to test out these fabulous products I would love to hear what you create. Leave a comment here and let me know what masterpiece you create.
This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for#collectivebias #CBias. The recipe and opinions are all my own!
I am officially ruined! This year was my first venture to CHA {the Craft & Hobby Association} tradeshow in Anaheim, CA… Boy was I smitten. Now, I've been to many different types of trade shows, some that were more interesting than others. When I walked into CHA I felt that I had found my place in this world. This was the trade show that spoke my language… The language of creativity! I wish I could share everything but here are a couple goodies that are up and coming…
Start saving your pennies, Lifestyle crafts has all kinds of fun goodies that they are getting ready to release. The Evolution is the follow-up to the ever popular Epic tool and I can't wait until they release that later this spring.
Along with the new Evolution Lifestyle Crafts is releasing a new magnetic cutting tool with an improved cutting mat. I can't even decide which one I am most excited for… The magnetic board is genius and I can't wait to give it a go. We won't have to worry about our dies slipping anymore and wasting paper with a partially cut image! The new cutting mat is stronger and thicker so no more warping when you run it through the machine, YAY!! And I'm super excited for the new EVOLUTION!!
I have many craft obsessions one of them being with yarn. I love to crochet, I haven't done much on WhipperBerry, but it is one of my favorite hobbies. I also love to use yarn when I craft, I love the colors and textures and how just a piece of yarn can had such dimension to a project. I also tend to hoard yarn like crazy. My favorite new line of yarn comes from the ever popular Martha Stewart via Lion Brand Yarn…
Silhouette is always a fan favorite and at CHA it was no different. They had people lining up down the eisles to have a crack at dolling up their very own Silhouette bag with the heat transfer material. Everyone loved it!
I can't wait until they release their new 12×24 cutting mat sometime this spring. I promise you guys will be the first to know when that little goodie is up for grabs!
Now I'm left full of anticipation waiting for the release of all these fun goodies. I go to the craft store now and I can't help but get excited about all of the fun items that are getting ready to hit the store shelves!!
Playtime
Now CHA is not all business. It's a great time to get together with great friends and spend some much needed time together. To start off the weekend we headed to Disneyland with a small group and had a MAGICAL time! We were celebrating Tauni's birthday…
From left to right, Mique from 30 Handmade Days, Steph from Somewhat Simple, Jen from Tatertots & Jell-o, Marie from Make & Takes, Kami from No Biggie, Heather from Dollar Store Crafts, Lara from Less Cake More Frosting, ME & Tauni from the Snap Conference!
We had a ball getting reacquainted over a handful of dinners and parties…
Beckie from Infarrantly Creative, Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous, Steph from Somewhat Simple, Yes, I'm the dork with the closed eyes, Kristyn from Lil' Luna and Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime.
We had fun getting to know crafting celebrities. Kristyn and I had the chance to meet Vanna White from Wheel of Fortune. She has her own line of yarn through Lion Brand and We had a ball at the Plaid booth with Cathie and Steve from Creative Juice on HGTV. They have a new line of craft products coming out soon!
Yours truly, Kristyn Lil' Luna, Cathie, Steve, Heidi from Sew Craft Create, Jamielyn from I Heart Naptime & Linda from Craftaholics Anonymous.
And of course if you are spending anytime with Lara from Less Cake More Frosting… We have to do a little more Disney shopping and goofing around…
It's a MUST!! All in all, I had a ball at CHA and can't wait to go again next year!!
What's up today…
That's just to name a few, hop on over to the WhipperCafe to see all of the fun chats that are happening. We would LOVE to hear what you think!
Several times a week I am contacted by people who would like to host a giveaway on WhipperBerry and I have to be pretty selective as to who I chose to partner-up with to present to my favorite people… YOU GUYS!! I was thrilled when the lovely ladies from Love Feast Table contacted me to host a giveaway for their HeartGrams!
What a FUN gift to give YOUR favorite people in your life for Valentines day! These beautiful heart shaped velvet plush pumpkins, or HeartGrams as they are called are a stunning addition to any Valentine display. It's a perfect gift to send to Moms, Sisters, Grandmothers, friends and sweethearts! Let's face it Valentine's Day is a perfect day to share our love with all the amazing people we have in our lives, not just our sweethearts.
Each HeartGram is lovingly created with great attention to detail. The unique addition of the one-of-a-kind pumpkin stem is what gives every HeartGram it's distinctive style. The HeartGrams are packaged in a simple Kraft paper gift box with a fun postcard to personalize the gift for your loved ones…
Chris Ann and Kristin from Love Feast Table have been super generious and have offered one lucky reader a set of two beautiful HeartGrams for you to share with a loved one or keep for yourself!
BUT… don't wait to long to order yours!! The last day to place your order to send to someone you love is on February 9th if you want them to arrive by February 14th!!
Here is what you need to do to enter the giveaway…
Good luck, but don't wait too long to order a set for yourself and for a loved one. You're going to LOVE them!!
