Baking with McCormick!

McCormick is a well known brand in my home. We have a TON of McCormick spices in our cupboards. I was pretty excited when I was chosen to try out some McCormick items and bake a new recipe. 

I received McCormick Food and Egg Coloring, McCormick Pure Vanilla Extract, McCormick Pure Lemon Extract, McCormick Nutmeg, McCormick Ginger, and McCormick Cinnamon. 

I really pondered on what I would make with some of these ingredients. There were definitely a lot of options. I was given a great Look Book to check out as well!

The Ginger Glazed Carrots looked AMAZING... but I was asked to bake a recipe. So I kept searching...but I still clicked the heart and added it to MY Look Book. 

Then I came across the Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins. Yum. I had to try these. So, off I went to the grocery store for some extra ingredients. I was in need of some McCormick Poppy Seeds and some cake mix. Here's the recipe:

Makes 24 (1 muffin) servings.

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 23 minutes

INGREDIENTS

1 package (18 1/4 ounces) yellow cake mix

1 1/4 cups water

1/3 cup vegetable oil

3 eggs

2 tablespoons McCormick® Poppy Seed

1 tablespoon McCormick® Pure Lemon Extract

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease or line 24 muffin cups with paper baking cups. 

2. Mix all ingredients in large bowl with electric mixer on low speed 30 seconds or until moistened. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup 2/3 full. 

3. Bake 18 to 23 minutes or until toothpick inserted into muffin comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

I made one batch following the recipe...except I had purchased a white cake mix.

But, I also made one batch where I tweaked the recipe. I added double the Lemon Extract, a teaspoon of Vanilla Extract, a few drops of yellow food coloring (since I had purchase white cake mix) and a sprinkle of ginger as well.

Then on to the oven they went...and I waited. They sure did smell good!

Mmmm Mmmmm.... all done!

I personally think the ones following the original recipe look better on the plate.

They both turned out wonderfully though! The original recipe was light and fluffy with only a light taste of lemon. I prefer a stronger lemon taste, so I really enjoyed my doctored recipe. I also asked my husband which he preferred, he too chose my recipe over the original recipe- but said both we're good.

The McCormick Look Book was definitely helpful when deciding what to make. I also loved that I could add recipes to my own look book so that I could quickly go through the recipes available then look at all the ones I thought looked the best.

Why don't you take a look at the McCormick Look Book and let me know what recipe you think you'd like to try!



I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for McCormick. I received product samples and a promotional item to thank me for participating

Roaring Spring Paper Review

Honestly, I don't use paper products as much as I did when I was in high school. Even while attending college, nearly everything I did could be done on a computer. I just didn't use paper. It seemed better for the environment than to write things down and waste the paper.

However, there are some environmentally friendly paper products out there. Doing some reasearch and looking for a notebook online can lead to some interesting choices. I was pretty excited when Shoplet.com offered to send me some great choices from Roaring Spring Paper for review.

I chose to review the Roaring Spring Wirebound 1-subject notebook, the Roaring Spring Environotes Sugarcane Paper, and the Roaring Spring Elephant PooPooPaper.

Autism by obesity?

I was reading an article in Newsweek today (An Autism Breakthrough? Kent Sepkowitz).  A quick summary of this article is that back around the 40's it was thought that Autism was caused by harsh parenting. "Refrigerator Moms" was the term used in the article. That theory lost it's momentum in the 70's when Autism was thought to be the result of poison. 

Well, now researchers think it may be linked to obese mothers, aged fathers, or mothers who are diabetic or have high blood pressure. I can understand genetics playing a part in Autism, there is still so much we don't understand about genetics and Autism both.  I can even see how aged sperm (or eggs) could possibly be a contributing factor. It does surprise me, however, that obesity is being considered a culprit. 

I'd love to hear some others' views on this... do you think obesity can cause something like Autism? Do you think too many things are being blamed on obesity? 

I didn't expect that!

When you are a new mom (pregnant or with a new baby) it's bound to happen.... you are going to have an "I didn't expect this" moment.

Playtex Baby is having a contest in which mothers can share there unexpected moments. What did you least expect when you were pregnant or a new Mom? We all have great stories to share, and Playtex Baby wants to hear them! Starting April 16th Playtex Baby is holding a contest on their Facebook page, asking Moms to share candid, unexpected moments of pregnancy and motherhood. They will be selecting daily winners, as well as a grand prize winner who will be flown to LA for the premiere of What To Expect When You’re Expecting. The film will feature Playtex Baby products including the Playtex® Nurser with Drop-Ins® Liners and the Playtex® Diaper Genie® Disposal System! So what are you waiting for – log on and share your story today! 

“I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Playtex Baby. I received a promotional item to thank me for participating”
 

I love that after dentist clean feeling... don't you? #CrestSponsored

I don't know about you, but I like going to the dentist for my cleanings. I love how clean my teeth are afterwards! That clean feeling only stays so long, however, at least for my husband and I. Maintaining that clean feeling is usually something that just gets more difficult with time. After a while there are some teeth that seem to get a build up- plaque maybe? My dentist says that is pretty normal, which is why they recommend a good cleaning every 6 months. But wouldn't it be great if we could keep that clean feeling longer?

Well, I am extremely excited to be a part of the Crest and Oral-B Pro-Health Clinical Plaque Control Test Drive Program. I am excited to see the difference a regular routine and great products can make for my family's oral hygiene! 

My husband has more of a plaque problem than I do, so when our kit came, we decided it would probably be better to have him use the products as the difference would likely be able to be seen more for him. 

Here are the products he will be using for the next few weeks:

The products include an Oral-B toothbrush, Oral-B Glide floss, Crest Pro-Health Clinical Plaque Control toothpaste, and Crest Pro-Health Clinical mouthwash. My husband will be using these products twice daily to help keep his mouth healthy, plaque free, and dentist cleaning clean-feeling! 

Crest and Oral-B invite you to enter the Pro-Health Clinical Olympic Games Sweepstakes for the chance to win trip to the London 2012 Olympic Games, and also enter into a weekly drawing to receive the full product line. To enter the sweepstakes visit www.crestoralbclinical.com/olympicgamessweeps. The sweepstakes begins on March 15th and will run through May 31st. No purchase necessary. Void where prohibited. 

I wrote this post while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Crest and Oral-B and received product samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central Consulting sent me a promotional gift to thank me for taking the time to participate.