We are huge football fanatics in our house!  While our Colts didn’t do what we had hoped they would have, we still enjoy watching the games every Sunday.  We are especially excited to host the Super Bowl this February.  With all of the football hoopla happening around us, of course it made me think of food.  Food and football just go hand in hand!  Recently Tyson and Collective Bias invited me to use their all new Mini Chicken Sandwiches to create a perfect after the game snack.

My experience began at Walmart where I purchased my Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches with cheddar cheese.   Be sure to read all about my shopping trip and see photos on my Google +1 shoppertunity post.  If you love saving money like I do, be sure to check out this great deal from Walmart: Buy 2 Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches at a participating Walmart and receive a $5 Walmart Gift Card. Click here for more details!

 I love being able to choose what goes on my sandwiches.  I have particular tastes like everyone else.  I wanted to be able to make as many people happy with my snack as possible so I decided to do a make your own Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwich bar.  During my trip to Walmart, I picked up several sauces that would go well with chicken.  I also made sure that I got some pickles (I have been craving pickle like crazy since I have been pregnant).  I also picked up some fresh tomatoes and lettuce to add to our chicken sandwiches.

After following the easy directions on the package to cook the mini chicken sandwiches, my husband and I added our favorite condiments to each of our little sandwiches.  I loved the creamy buffalo sauce, but I tried both to see which one I liked better.

We paired our sandwiches with sweet potato fries and ketchup.  I try to put my ketchup in small containers so that it doesn’t spread all over the plate.  Having these little cups of ketchup with the platter makes it easy for guests to get their own ketchup.

To end our football feast, I found some adorable Oreo cookies in the shape of footballs that everyone enjoyed!

I hope you enjoy the big games, and be sure to try the Tyson Mini Chicken Sandwiches.  They taste great and are very portable.  Perfect for lunches!

This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias. #CBias.  All opinions are 100% mine!

Is it a fruit or is it a vegetable?  While the controversy may continue (The US Supreme Court ruled that the tomato is a vegetable for culinary purposes) I know that this is one product that I couldn’t live without.  I love tomato juice, fresh tomatoes in my salads, chopped tomatoes in my tacos, and just about everywhere you can add it to a meal.  Every year I try to grow tomatoes in pots that have to go in the front of the house so that my dog doesn’t eat them.  There is nothing better than fresh tomatoes.

The next best thing to fresh is Red Gold canned tomatoes.  Red Gold was founded in the ’40s and takes pride in growing during the true seasons of the Midwest, where the country’s best soil and climate for tomatoes can be found (even the winter is crucial, which breaks up the soil for tiny root systems). At farms in the Midwest, Red Gold grows some of the best tasting tomatoes around. Red Gold’s headquarters is located right here in Indiana!

Here are some fun Tomato facts and finds:

In pregnancy @ 19 weeks: Baby is the size of an heirloom tomato! Your baby equals a large heirloom tomato in size and weighs 8 1/2 ounces. (length: 6 inches, head to bottom)

I love these tomato red Uggs!

Photo courtesy of harpersbazaar.com

I love all these beautiful tomato red Oscar dresses!

And of course I couldn’t forget one of my favorite drinks, a Bloody Mary!

My husband and I mixed up a batch of these tasty beverages using Red Gold Crushed tomatoes!  Here is our recipe:

Bloody Mary Mix

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
• 1 1/2 Tbsp worcestershire sauce
• 1 Tbsp horseradish
• 1 Tbsp hot sauce
• The juice of 1 lemon
• The juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 tsp celery seed
• 1 tsp fresh ground pepper
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 2 cans of Red Gold crushed tomatoes
• 6 ounces water

Directions

Mix together all of the ingredients except for the tomatoes.  I opened the 2 cans of crushed tomatoes and ran an immersion blender through it for a few seconds.  I added the tomatoes to the ingredient mixture and then stirred in the water.  Since I am pregnant, I added my celery stick and went for it.  My husband added some vodka to his and had a refreshing drink.

How do you enjoy your tomatoes?

I wrote this as an entry into a blogging contest through Red Gold.  I was sent 6 cans of tomatoes to facilitate my post.  The official rules of the contest can be found here: http://redgold.com/bloggers.

Bacon… is there a more delicious food out there?  I don’t think so!  My brother-in-law loves bacon so much, that my sister bought him some chocolate covered bacon once.  I think he has had some bacon ice cream, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he has some bacon cologne!  This week is National Oscar Mayer Bacon Week and to celebrate I am sharing with you one of my mother in-laws specialties, Bacon Wrapped Scallops.  We love munching on these appetizers during special dinners.  They always go fast and it seems like I eat about a dozen every time!  Trust me, you will love them.

Photo Courtesy of JDFoods.net

Bacon Wrapped Scallops

24 lg. sea scallops (about 2 lbs.)

12 slices bacon

Seasoned pepper

Rinse scallops with running cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Cut each bacon slice crosswise in half; wrap each half around a scallop, securing with a toothpick. Sprinkle scallops lightly with seasoned pepper.

Preheat broiler. Place scallops on rack in broiling pan, with bacon facing the heating element. Broil 8 to 10 minutes until scallops turn opaque throughout, using tongs to turn scallops frequently so bacon will brown evenly on all sides.

Are you a bacon lover as well?  Oscar Mayer is giving away an amazing prize package to one of my readers!  You don’t want to miss out on this one!

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win an Oscar Mayer Bacon Prize Package that includes:

• A YEAR SUPPLY of bacon (in the form of 52 free product coupons)
  
• $125 Amex gift card
• Limited-edition Oscar Mayer Bacon Week apron
• Bacon essentials kit

Want to win?

Giveaway has Ended!

This giveaway was made possible by Oscar Mayer. I was not compensated for this review other than the prize package shown. All opinions are 100% mine.

As many of you already know, our family is a bunch of readers.  We love books!  As a teacher I have loved scholastic books.  This company makes it easy to get books in the hands of children for a fraction of the cost of a bookstore.  The book clubs that are available to my students always include at least one $1 book selection.  They also make it easier for a new teacher to build his/her classroom library by offering perks and benefits for each monthly order.  They have really helped me create a huge library of books for my classroom that I can use to teach children to read.

This fall as parents fill their shopping carts with new backpacks, school supplies, and snacks for back-to-school at Walmart, they’ll also have the opportunity to get a free book from Scholastic Book Clubs! Select specially-marked Kellogg’s products, including  Raisin Bran®, Mini-Wheats® Little Bites Original, Nutri-Grain®, Eggo®, Pop-Tarts®, Cheez-it®, and Rice Krispies Treats®, which are available now exclusively at Walmart. Parents who buy two of these products can redeem the codes found inside for a free $5 coupon for a free book from Scholastic Book Clubs or the Scholastic Store Online.

We were recently sent a package of Kellogg’s products and a few Scholastic books for our enjoyment.  TJ went crazy when he saw that box of Pop-Tarts!  I went crazy with the book selection.  My husband just laughed at our excitement!

The wonderful people at Scholastic and Kellogg’s want you to have a great day too!  They are offering one reader the same package that we received along with a $15 Walmart gift card to purchase additional breakfast items!

Want to win? Hurry this giveaway ends tomorrow at midnight!

Leave a comment about one of your favorite breakfast items from Kellogg’s!

(You must complete this entry before completing any of the bonus entries)

Bonus Entries:

• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Enter to win a Breakfast & Books Prize Package from Kellogg’s, Scholastic and Amomsimpression http://wyn.cc/xn8fa
  (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)
• List this giveaway on any giveaway site, or share on Facebook.

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to continental US residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on October 15. Winners will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This giveaway was made possible by Kellogg’s and Scholastic. I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.

Morning times can be very hectic in our household.  Trying to get everyone together and ready to go out the door is time consuming.  We make sure TJ has his breakfast and vitamin, and then we get ready for our days.  Sometimes it is hard to remember that mommy and daddy need a nutritious breakfast as well. Lately, I have been grabbing an Activia Selects Parfait and eating it before school starts.  I love the strawberry flavor, and the crunch that you get by adding the granola. I also love knowing that I am getting a nutritious breakfast on the go.  My husband is also a fan of yogurt and Dannon is often the brand that we prefer.

In support of Dannon’s ongoing commitment to health and wellness, the company is going pink in support of national breast cancer awareness month.  Dannon will donate at least 10 cents for each under-the-lid code entered at www.cupsofhope.com before 12/31/11 – up to $1.5 million – to the National Breast Cancer Foundation, Inc.® (NBCF). Dannon is committed to a $500,000 guaranteed donation to NCBF, including retailer-specific programs.  The Activia Selects are a participating brand and you can find a code under the lid to ensure that the National Breast Cancer Foundation will receive 10 cents for every cup of yogurt that you consume.

Make your breakfast easy and healthy and help a great cause this October by purchasing Activia Selects at your local grocery store!

I wrote this review while participating in a campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Dannon Activia Selects Yogurt Series and received a coupon to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate. However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.

I have been blessed with a very kind, charismatic, lovable son.  He was an “easy” baby and didn’t cause many late nights for his parents.  Somewhere around the time that he was ready to eat table food, something happened.  My usually agreeable son was the pickiest eater I had ever met!  I was shocked.  He loved his baby food and would eat fruits veggies and meats without complaint.  As soon as he started eating solid foods, he became the fussiest little guy during eating time.  It has been extremely frustrating!  My little guy is exactly that… little!  He is currently in the 15th percentile in his weight.  Being a mom, I am naturally very worried.  I try everything that I can to get him to eat.

Luckily, one of the few foods that TJ will willingly eat and ask for are chicken nuggets.  Tyson has help this busy mommy stay sane by providing 100% all natural chicken nuggets in my freezer that provides a quick and healthy meal for my family.

I have found that my son is a very visual eater.  He wouldn’t touch peanut butter and jelly until I made him a sandwich in the shape of Mickey Mouse.  As soon as he saw his favorite character as a sandwich, he decided he was going to eat it.  Now he would eat peanut butter and jelly every day if we let him.  Making food fun and visually excited has become my mommy mission.

Recently I made a happy, healthy dinner for TJ using his favorite Tyson 100% all natural chicken nuggets.  To make his meal visually exciting I used some silicone cupcake liners for his sides (some fresh buttered corn and grapes).  I cut out some flower and star shapes out of cheese and added them to his grape container to add a little whimsy.  TJ doesn’t like to eat his veggies so I have to disguise them.  On this particular evening we made some green bean fries as a side dish.  The star of the show was the Tyson Chicken Nuggets.  I used my vegetable cutters and cut out a couple of shapes out of one of the nuggets to keep TJ excited.

The result, one happy little boy.

I wish I could say that he ate everything on his plate, but this isn’t so bad:

Want to try out Tyson 100% All Natural Chicken Nuggets for yourself?  Enter to win a $50 Visa Gift Card to make your family a healthy and delicious meal!

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win a $50 Visa Gift Card.

Giveaway Closed!

This product review was made possible by Tyson. I was compensated for my participation in this review All opinions are 100% mine.

Did you know that only 6% of the population meets the daily goal for vegetables? I know that I am probably one of those 94% other people, and I know for a fact that my son is! Michelle Obama has been a great advocate for children’s health and healthy eating.  I recently read an article about a lunch she had with a bunch of local kids on the White House lawn.  She creatively sneaked vegetables into her meal and the kids just loved it!  I know I am going to have to take a page from her book and try to sneak some veggies into my son’s diet because he just won’t eat them.  To help visualize how much vegetables we should be eating, the government recently unveiled the new MyPlate icon:

Did you notice how large the vegetable portion is suppose to be?

Birds Eye® is on a mission to make vegetables easy, delicious and accessible to everyone.

To help consumers get great-tasting vegetables on their plates every day, Birds Eye® offers more than 40 unique vegetables and countless ways to enjoy them, from pure and simple vegetables and steamed varieties, to veggie focused recipes and complete vegetable rich meals. Plus, people can find easy solutions to help make vegetables stand-out on their plate by visiting www.facebook.com/birdseyevegetables or www.birdseye.com.

Birds Eye sent my family a MyPlate place setting to teach us how much vegetables we should be serving with our food.

As you can tell, about half of the plate is devoted to vegetables.  I didn’t have a problem making a corn succotash with Birds Eye’s frozen corn.  It is so simple to make, yet it combines both frozen and fresh ingredients to make an amazing side dish.

I love that frozen corn is picked and flash frozen at the perfect ripeness so it always tastes like it is fresh (no one has to know).  Birds Eye also carries an individual portion of corn and peas that I can microwave at work.  I love that they don’t add a sauce to their single servings and it is so simple to get your veggies on the go!

I wish that I could say that my son ate all of his portion of vegetables, but he wouldn’t touch them.  This is going to be a battle that will wage for years to come!

Buy It

You can purchase Birds Eye frozen vegetables at grocery stores nationwide!

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win a Birds Eye Vegetable Prize Package that includes:

• MyPlate Plate Setting (for at home food spotting!)
• Customized plate with new servings sizes printed on the plate (including dairy coaster)
• Matching place mat, flatware and napkin
• Darling basket to hold everything
• $25 grocery gift card
• 5-Full value Birds Eye® coupons

Summer is a busy time for most families, so finding quality meals that are quick and easy are especially important. My life has become even busier with Fifi staying with us this summer. Morning time isn’t as easy as it used to be now that it revolves around a ten month old. But recently I discovered Aunt Jemima’s breakfast products in the frozen food section at my grocery store. They offer a variety of foods including waffles, pancakes and even French toast.

At first, I was a little skeptical because the last time I bought frozen breakfast items they were tasteless and ended up getting soggy after being heated. However, these Aunt Jemima products are really good and easy to make! You can throw them in the microwave, put them in your conventional oven or toast them in the toaster. My favorite product is the French toast – I threw two pieces into the toaster and topped them with peanut butter and syrup. Honestly, they tasted better than my homemade recipe, and it was a lot less messier to make.

The French toast was fluffy and thick, and two pieces was more than enough for my breakfast. Fifi loves the pancakes. She is even able to put them in the toaster herself and make her own breakfast – which saves me a ton of time since I have Coco to deal with as well. Yesterday, we even got Coco to try a few bites of the pancakes. He is still getting used to the solid texture, but seemed to enjoy a few bites! But I think Brady was a bigger fan, eating the pieces that fell to the floor under the highchair.

Aunt Jemima has also been working closely with a celebrity chef to create more fun and tasty breakfast recipes. If you are in love with Food Network as much as I am, you will be super excited to know that chef Aaron McCargo, Jr., the star of Big Daddy’s House, is the chef that Aunt Jemima has chosen to work with for these recipes! He even created a super yummy recipe that can be used with the Aunt Jemima pancakes – Strawberry Shortcake. It is a pretty easy recipe to follow, however you need to be prepared to make time for the strawberry whipped topping since it needs to set for at least a half an hour. But once the topping is prepared, all you need are strawberries and Aunt Jemima pancakes to complete this sweet dessert! I’ve included the recipe for you to try below:

Strawberry Shortcake

Ingredients

• 1 box Aunt Jemima Frozen Homestyle Pancakes
• ½ cup whipped cream (homemade or store bought)
• 1 cup marshmallow fluff (heated in microwave for 20-25 seconds)
• ¼ cup strawberry sundae topping
• 1 pt fresh strawberries (¾ sliced thin, the rest halved for garnish)

Directions

• In a medium size bowl, fold marshmallow fluff into the whipped cream. Mix in the strawberry sundae topping. Refrigerate for at least half an hour or overnight.
• Heat pancakes according to package directions.
• To assemble place 1 pancake on a plate, then using the back of a spoon or butter knife, evenly spread a thin layer of the whipped cream mixture (about 1½ tbsp) on top of the pancake, followed by a layer of sliced strawberries. Repeat the same process with the next pancake. Add third pancake and top with whipped cream mixture and halved strawberry that were saved for garnish. Repeat the same steps for the leftover pancakes to create 4 servings total.

You can “Like” Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast on Facebook and you will be able to print out a $1 coupon off your next purchase of Aunt Jemima waffles, pancakes or French toast. For an affordable breakfast that is quick and tastes just like it is homemade, Aunt Jemima is the perfect option for your family!

Buy It

Buy Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast products at your local grocery store.

Win It

One (1) lucky reader will win an Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast “Just Like Homemade” prize package that includes:

How to Enter:

Leave a comment about your favorite breakfast food that you like to make for your family.

(You must complete this entry before completing any of the bonus entries)

Bonus Entries:

• Like Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast on Facebook
• Follow me on Twitter and Tweet: Win an Aunt Jemima Frozen Breakfast prize package @AMomsImpression http://wyn.cc/lmq36
  (You may enter daily, just leave a comment with each Tweet’s link)
• Like A Mom’s Impression on Facebook
• Blog about this giveaway (Please leave a link to your post)
• Grab my Button and post it on your blog.
• Subscribe to A Mom’s Impression by Email (2 Entries, please leave 2 comments: Please remember to confirm your subscription)
• Comment on any non-giveaway post on A Mom’s Impression. (just tell me what post you commented on)
• List this giveaway on any giveaway site, or share on Facebook.

Please leave a comment about each entry, include a valid email address or you may contact me directly with your contact information.
Open to continental US residents only. This giveaway will end at midnight on August 7. Winners will be picked from Random.org. 
Good Luck!

This giveaway was made possible by Aunt Jemima. I was not compensated for this review other than a product sample. All opinions are 100% mine.

One thing about the summer that I love is ice cream.  Did you know that July is National Ice Cream Month?  Visiting the stores this week, TJ and I saw a lot of delicious ice cream and Popsicle products that had us drooling.  There are so many, that even the pickiest ice cream fan can find exactly what they are craving right in the grocery store.  Here is what’s new this summer from some of your Unilever favorite brands:

• New Breyers Blasts! feature delicious mix-ins from families’ best-loved candy and cookie brands blasted into every bite! Varieties include OREO, Mrs. Fields, Snickers and Whoopers.
• REESE’S Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups. These cups feature peanut butter ice cream with a REESE’S peanut butter swirl dipped in a milk chocolate flavored coating.
• Mint Chocolate Chop Klondike bar is a great twist on the classic Klondike bar.
• Popsicle AirHeads variety and Jolly Rancher Awesome Twosome! These are colorful, bright and bursting with the same bold fruity flavors that kids know and love from Air Heads and Jolly Rancher.

We have been enjoying some of these products for the past couple of weeks and there is definitely some winners here.  My favorite is the Reese’s Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cups.  They are divine!  I am not usually one for ice cream bars, but when they come in the shape of my favorite candy bar and are the perfect balance of chocolate and peanut butter, I will come running.  I literally ate all of these and I didn’t share with anyone.  I actually saw them on sale when I went to the grocery story today and had to talk myself out of buying another box because there are still some in the freezer!

My husband fell in love with the new Mint Chocolate Chip Klondike bars.  They look like the original, but when you bite into them there is mint chocolate chip ice cream. He said that they were the best thing he had eaten all summer. I am a huge fan of Popsicles.  When I buy treats for my classroom I will usually buy this brand because they don’t skimp out on flavor like some of the other frozen treats will.  The colors are vivid and the kids love them.  Popsicles are perfect on a day like today when it is over 92 degrees and humid.  TJ loved his.

Be sure to check out all the new products from Unilever, and celebrate National Ice Cream Month with your favorite flavor!

This review was made possible by Unilever.  I was not compensated for this review other than product samples.  All opinions are 100% mine.

As most readers of my blog know, I have one of the world’s pickiest eaters living in my house.  He doesn’t like to try new things and will only eat a handful of foods.  I had dreams of my child eating organic vegetables that we grew together in our garden, what a joke!  If I can get him to eat any kind of fruit or vegetable, I am a very happy mom!

Kraft knows how hard it is to get your kids to get their veggies.  They are being sneaky and adding veggies into their macaroni & cheese.  Inside the new Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Veggie Pasta your child will get 1/2 serving of vegetables per cup of pasta (cauliflower).  We recently tried the new pasta and to be honest, we couldn’t tell the difference.  It looked and tasted the same way the original mac & cheese does.  You make it the same way, and kids have no idea that there is anything different!  If you would like to try it for yourself here is a coupon you can download.

I am having fun thinking up recipes using the new veggie pasta.  For now I will leave you with one of our favorites.

Macaroni & Cheese Muffins

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray
• Prepare Kraft Macaroni & Cheese Veggie Pasta as directed on the box
• Spoon pasta into the muffin tin. Sprinkle your favorite cheese and some Panko bread crumbs on top of the pasta.
• Bake for 20 minutes, or until the topping has browned.

Enjoy!

This product review was made possible by Kraft.  I was not compensated for this giveaway other than a product sample.  All opinions are 100% mine.