Opera Singer in the Kitchen

Artistry in Food, Music, and Life

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    Polder’s Old World Market: Handmade Kitchen Utensils Giveaway

    May 31st, 2013

    HandmadeKitchenGiveaway

    Love supporting family-owned businesses? This company has a beautiful Etsy shop you need to visit.

    This absolutely gorgeous set of 4 handmade wooden kitchen spoons comes from Polder’s Old World Market.  The Polder Family makes these gorgeous utensils from fallen hardwood trees on their farm in Northeast Tennessee.  This lovely set is made from Wild Cherry wood and shined to perfection with olive oil.  Completely natural, safe, and beautiful for your kitchen!

    HandmadeKitchenSetGiveaway

    The set comes beautifully gift wrapped as a nice present for yourself or share the handmade love with a special someone.

    Along with handmade wooden kitchen utensils, you’ll find Gardening, Home Furnishings, and even homemade candles in the Polder’s Old World Market on Etsy. 

    These utensils are made to be a safe and natural alternative to plastic cookware and are uniquely crafted to last a lifetime… or two!

    handmadespoons

    To learn more about the Polder’s Old World Market and their handmade kitchen utensils, read a complete review on So Easy Being Green.

    Polder’s Old World Market wants to giveaway the beautiful set pictured below!

    HandmadeKitchenGiveaway
    This giveaway is open to US residents, 18+ only.
    The giveaway will end at 11:59 pm EST on Sunday, June 16th, 2013.
    To enter, please use the Rafflecopter form below.
    a Rafflecopter giveaway


    Disclosure:  I received no compensation for sharing this post.  The participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.  

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    GrooveBook: How to get your phone pictures printed

    May 30th, 2013

    Groovebook sample 1

    I find myself feeling like I am missing out on cool apps by not having an iPhone but I usually I forget about it and move on. Little by little these apps for iPhone are coming out for Android phones so I get excited. One of the exciting apps is called the GrooveBook app. 

    Do you ever wonder or have time to download your photos to Picasa, Flikr or in stores? I certainly do not have time to do it and I forget I have hundreds of photos on my phone that I do not have printed. These are almost forgotten memories that I could be placing in baby books and sharing with family

    Groovebook.com

    So, what is a GrooveBook? It is a photo book with pictures printed from your phone camera pictures! Here 
    is what you do:


    Here is what my photo book looked like:
    Groovebook sample

    I loved it!! Now I have memory books to make for my children! Julianne loves to look at pictures so this will be fun for her to look at as well. The books are ALWAYS free but the monthly subscription is $2.99. Even if you do not upload photos a month your card will be charged.

    You can only upload photos from your smartphone and you can upload anything from 40-100 photos each month. The app will remind you by enail when you need to upload each month. You can even order multiples  books for friends and family for an additional $2.99. Learn more in the FAQ section.

    Anyone else think think this is a good deal? Want to try one for free? Simply enter the code below OPERAGROOVE and try the book and see if you like it. I am certainly convinced!

    App for iPhone
    App for Android phones
    Learn more about GrooveBook.

    Disclosure: This is an affiliate program in conjunction with Sverve. I received a sample for me to try. My opinions are my own.

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    Grilling is Fun for Father {Giveaway}

    May 25th, 2013

    Disclosure: This is a sponsored post. All opinions expressed here are my own. This is not affiliated with, nor sponsored by Opera Singer in the Kitchen. Opera Singer in the Kitchen is not responsible for prize fulfillment.

    I don’t know about you but it is already grill season and we do not have a grill yet! I keep hearing my husband talk about tell me how great it would be to have one and yada yada. How about some grilled corn or steaks? Yes, we want some grill food ASAP.

    As we walked around our neighborhood we kept smelling delicious food being grilled and we thought we needed to get one real soon. My only hope is that my husband will be able to keep up with it and the responsibility of keeping it clean. I definitely do not want to be stuck cleaning it and grilling all the time.

    Will we be getting a grill soon? Well, we’ll see! 

    Here is a chance to enter for a chance to win a grill for your loved one just in time for Father’s Day. I entered and so should you! Here is the info:

    The retail value is about $1,100

    Prize includes:

    Weber Genesis S-310 Grill
    Weber Grill Cover
    Cuisinart Grill Tools

    Assorted Grill Swag(skewers (100-pack), cedar planks, grilling basket, 5 lb. bag of mesquite wood chunks,  5 lb. bag of cherry wood chunks, and 12in. grilling thermometer)

    The giveaway ends June 7th at 11:59 pm PST.

    http://promos.ldproducts.com/grill-giveaway/ 



    NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. The Contest is void where prohibited by law. Only legal residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older at the time of entry are eligible to enter. See the official rules before entering.  

    This giveaway is sponsored by LD Products. LD Products is a leading provider of discount printer ink and toner for virtually every inkjet or laser printer on the market. They carry a full line of printer inkjet cartridges, inkjet refill kits, laser toner, fax toner and countless other printer supplies that allow you to save money, without sacrificing quality.


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    Spring Cleaning turns into Summer Cleaning {Organizing}

    May 24th, 2013


    Springs and summers bring about many activities among families but for ours it means exciting garage sales and time for spring and summer cleaning. Since we moved to the area back in August it is amazing to realize how much stuff we brought with us from Michigan. We had a lot of people help us move into our place and the stuff kept coming. I believe we had one person say, “WOW, this is a lot of stuff for a couple with one baby!” 

    Well, this is easy to say but after getting married and bringing stuff from each other’s lives, plus things we both have accumulated over the past few years, it piles up! You know what I mean? Even though we really enjoy finding great deals at garage sales especially with having babies, we realized that we have to continue to clean.


    Even though cleaning usually happens during the spring to start the summer free and clean, we will continue organizing and putting things into order.

    Photo from HERE

    Now that we know that we are going to be permanent in the area it is time to clear the boxes we have in the basement plus some other stuff. We continuously talk about making sure we do not accumulate STUFF but only keep the items we really need. 


    I look over to the shelves that my husband has built to keep our DVDs and cleaning items and I try to count the amount of times we have touched our DVDs in the last 6 months. I can count the times on my hands! I also think of the CDs that we have. Most of them have been uploaded to our computer players so the CDs are not of use as much. They would if the computer crashed but other than that they are gathering dust.

    Do you find this happening? Since we have Netflix, Amazon Prime for streaming videos and cable, why do we need actual videos. We will definitely be taking a GOOD look at the DVDs that we have not watched in the last year and see what we really do not need.

    Unfortunately we will not be able to hold a garage sale where we live but we will manage with plenty of ideas.Here’s to a productive summer!

    How do you get rid of your unwanted goods?

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    “Sneak Some Veggies” Spelt Lasagna

    May 23rd, 2013
    Sneak some Veggies Spelt Lasagna

    I love being able to focus on making meals now that I FEEL like I am getting a hang of having two babies in our household. I thought I would never feel like cooking again, but I have been inspired to make quick 30- minute or hour meals the last few weeks.

    A huge confession to all moms out there but I am not a great meal planner. I get all these emails giving me ideas but I never use them because in reality I need to be inspired.

    My husband asked me how I came up with this recipe and well I have to say that this time I was inspired by another website. I really enjoy visiting and reading Lauryn’s website called Vintage Mom. She is part of the social group I belong to here in Philly and have recently been able to spend some time with her. 

    Sneak some Veggies Spelt Lasagna 1

    As I read her recipe for her Fresh Vegetable and Pork Lasagna, I felt like I needed to make a version of it. Many know that I was vegan before my first daughter was born so I really focused not eating a lot of dairy. After I became pregnant I could not muster following the vegan diet and started incorporating dairy in the form of cheese, sour cream, and ricotta.  Lately though I just have not been able to do it anymore.

    I have always been lactose-intolerant but I have been able to do just cheese in moderation. I had been staying away from making lasagna because despite all the cheese and ricotta or cottage cheese, I knew I would have a hard time with my tummy.

    Sneak some Veggies Spelt Lasagna 2

    In comes my version. The beauty of this recipe is that I got to SNEAK my favorite vegetables: squash! My husband does not like it but I believe I won him with the recipe since he could not taste it. (Or else he was being nice. LOL)

    My toddler even loved it and she also got a dose of veggies too! I left out the eggs, ricotta, cottage cheese and only used a cup of mozzarella. It gave it the perfect amount to bring this dish together. It was not dry at all and I believe that where the veggies came in.

    Enjoy!

    “Sneak Some Veggies” Spelt Lasagna

    by Noelle Kelly
    Prep Time: 20-25 min
    Cook Time: 30 minutes

    Ingredients (4 servings)
    • 8-ounce box Vitaspelt Organic Whole Grain Spelt Lasagne
    • 1/2 pound lean ground beef
    • 2 small onions, diced
    • 1 large zucchini, shredded
    • 1 yellow squash, shredded
    • 4 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 teaspoons Italian Seasonings
    • 2 cups marinara sauce
    • 1 cup part-skim milk mozzarella, shredded

    Instructions

    Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

    Heat 1 Tablespoon olive oil and saute’ onions. Add ground beef, garlic, and Italian seasonings after 5 minutes and cook for 10-12 minutes.

    Meanwhile, boil pasta according to box directions. Drain and semi-cool. Add the marinara and shredded veggies to the meat and cook for another 5 minutes.

    Using a 9×9 glass dish, add 1/4 cup of the meat sauce to the dish, and add 2 1/2 lasagna strips. Add another 1/4 cup sauce and sprinkle with 1/3 cup cheese.

    Repeat the process twice and end with some sauce and cheese. Bake for 30 minutes and serve.
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