Okay this review is for the kids, well you know what I mean! Think how delighted your kids would be with their very own Pizza Maker starring Chuck E Cheese and an ICEE to go with it, that they can make themselves!
If you are in the mood for some burritos or tacos, then perhaps Taco Del Mar is calling your name!
A one stop shop for all your Mexican fast food tastes, their inexpensive menu just got sweeter because during the month of July, KIDS EAT FREE!! Any child 12 and under can get a free kids meal with an adult purchase of $4.00 or more after 5:00 pm (at participating restaurants). Seriously, you could feed a family of four for as little as $8.00!!
With the economy still in a slump and many families sticking to a budget Taco Del Mar is a great place to stop this month, so you can take a night off from heating up your kitchen. Take your kids, visit Carlos, leave full AND with change in your pocket. It doesn't get much better than that!
The good folks at Taco Del Mar are giving one of my readers a $5.00 gift card and some coupons.
To enter visit Taco Del Mar and comment with what your favorite menu item is.
For extra entries (leave a comment for each):
1. Follow me and Taco Del Mar on twitter and tweet about this giveaway (can be done daily).
2. Follow my blog.
3. Subscribe to my feed by e-mail or reader.
4. Add my button to your site.
5. Blog about this giveaway and link back to me.
This giveaway will end on July 21, 2009 at 11:59 pm cst, and is open to US Residents ages 18+.
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omnom.......Mexican food...yummy. I'm a little late (as usual), probably because I don't have a Taco Del Mar where I live (the downside of living in Podunk), but did you see this 5lb burrito they were making on Cinco de Mayo?
Jeepers! I can imagine that I would have just a bit of a tummy ache if I tried to finish one of those. That could feed a whole family!
Speaking of feeding a whole family, in July Taco Del Mar is having Kids Month, where kids under 12 will get free Kids Meals after 5 p.m.
I'll try and remind you again in June, so all of you that live in a sizable city that have a Taco Del Mar, can make sure that you get out and save some $ and get a delicious (since that is their middle name!) supper.
Until then you can whet your appetites by entering below to win three coupons for a BUY ONE GET ONE FREE MONDO BURRITO from Taco Del Mar.
Just enter by leaving me a comment letting me know what your favorite thing on the menu is at Taco Del Mar.
This contest is open to residents who have a Taco Del Mar location to redeem them at ages 13+.
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We recently got to try one of the new Romano's Macaroni Grill box mixes available at stores across the country, courtesy of My BlogSpark.
Inspired by the restaurant by the same name and their menu items, think of these kits as a high class Hamburger Helper.
They have so much potential, because all of the items in the kit are packaged separately, you can make it to your families liking. When I got the kit, I didn't have any chicken in the house, so I made my own substitution and used turkey sausage instead. I like that the noodles were a small size in the Creamy Basil Parmesan Chicken & Pasta kit I was sent, I'm not big on slurping up my noodles, and usually break them in half when I make spaghetti or linguine.
While my plated presentation was not restaurant quality (lol!), it tasted so good there were no leftovers.
The price of it is fair, I saw it for $3.69 a kit at the store. It was so fast and easy to make, that I will buy it again, I think I will try all the different flavors they offer: the Creamy Basil, the Chicken Alfredo with Linguine, Garlic & Herb Chicken Penne and Chicken Marsala with Linguine.
If you want to try it you can go to http://www.restaurantfavoritesathome.com/ and get a $1.00 of coupon.
Please read my **About Reviews at the bottom of the page.
Wow, how time flies! Today is mine and Hubby's 15th wedding anniversary! And if I had to do it all over again, I definitely would! Thanks to God for the wonderful husband he gave me who has been a perfect partner for me.
To celebrate, we'll be going to our favorite restaurant Texas Roadhouse for dinner. Next year for our 16th anniversary, Lord willing, we'll be somewhere on the Atlantic Ocean on our Transatlantic Disney Cruise!
Here are a couple pictures from that auspicious occasion 15 years ago. The first is my absolute favorite - it's my Dad holding a picture of me when I was two. The other was where we had our pictures done, inside the legislative buildings in our province. (If you click on them, they'll come up larger.) We didn't have many outdoor pictures taken as there were still patches of snow on the ground. That happens in Canada in April!
Project: Authentic Italian Tasting Lasagna is under way, and my family got to be a part of it. It's true; Pizza Hut recently brought their new Tuscani Lasagna to Italy, and had the people who know great pasta try it, and it earned rave reviews!
This is the easiest way I know to make lasagna too. 1) Pick up phone. 2) Wait for delivery.
This is what you'll get when it arrives, 3lbs of delicious lasagna and 5 breadsticks. And that will only put you back $14.99 (taxes/tips/delivery may be extra).
Oh that bubbly, browned to perfection cheese looks yummy. But what's inside? Well I took a cross section picture of the lasagna for you too. It does not disappoint...
The noodles were cooked perfectly, the ricotta cheese was smooth and creamy, and the meat sauce spiced just right. The Quality Control Panel here at Three Different Directions gives the Pizza Hut Tuscani Lasagna 6 Thumbs Up!
You too could be leaning back in your chair, fully satisfied like we were, because Pizza Hut is giving away one of these Tuscani Lasagna meals to a reader here at Three Different Directions.
Here's how to enter: (By leaving a comment you agree to the Privacy Disclosure and Rules)
For additional entries
US Residents ages 13+ only please.
Contest ends on February 16, 2009 at 10:00 am cst.I don't know if you recently read the Washington Post article that featured Drew Carey, but when asked what he would be doing now if acting had not panned out for him he replied "managing a restaurant. ... I'd be at a Chili's near you. I'd be the boss that everybody liked." In response to that Chili's president Todd Diener invited Drew Carey to work at a Chili's restaurant for a day, in the L.A. area. How fun would it be to visit Chili's that day, if Drew Carey took him up on the offer?
Well we don't live in L.A. and I'm sure that we will never get Drew Carey to any restaurant here in the Northern Plains in January. But if it's fun to work at Chili's, I guarantee you it's even more fun to eat at Chili's!
Thanks to Nicole; Chili's Media Manager, I was able to take my family for lunch at Chili's.
There are a number of great reasons to eat at Chili's. In no particular order they are:
Genius ordered their famous Original Baby Back Ribs. A lover of ribs this girl is, and she declares Chili's as having the best ribs. She has tried ribs at just about every restaurant we have gone to, and she still says Chili's has the best!
So now that I'm finished this wordful post, I'm sure you are salivating now, and singing the jingle...I want my babybacks....so "Pepper in some fun" and head to Chili's!Perhaps you've seen the commercials for it? $9.99 for a one topping pepperoni pizza on a multi-grain crust. But I know what you're thinking...yeah, but how does it taste?
My family can not be bought off with bad pizza. (If I don't have to cook, I might be persuaded...) They know good pizza. They won't touch frozen pizza (unless I make them....). So when I was approached to try the new Natural Pizza from Pizza Hut, I think they were more excited than I was. Well all except Genius, you know she's 12. Hearing "Natural" pizza + 12 year old = expression of distaste.
It was astonishing to me, to put the pizza on the table, turn around to get a drink from the fridge and come back to this: (that's my pizza on the right, it was a complete piece before I turned around)
Another sign of how "natural" ingredients can still taste good, and your children are never the wiser that they are eating something healthy! (Check out the nutrition facts here).
In their Natural line of pizzas, Pizza Hut is committed to all natural meats, tomatoes and cheese to provide only the best for your family. The crust is made from multi-grains too, which we know is so much better for us than processed white flour.
As for the taste, there is no lack of it. Along with the Natural Pizzas we ordered a regular hand tossed pizza from Pizza Hut at the same time, just to compare, and you know, we all liked the Natural one better. The crust was perfect, a little chewier than a regular crust (but we liked that!), the sauce was not as tangy and the cheese and pepperoni was delicious.
This picture proves it : 
You can see the smile right through the pizza! It gets Genius's "Stamp of Pepperoni Pizza Approval". Now that's an award!
Pepperoni is only one of the options that Pizza Hut offers on the new line, sausage, beef and a variety of vegetable options (all natural) are also available. Or of course, just plain cheese!
So if you are committed to eating healthier this year, like my family is, you don't have to give up pizza, just go Natural!
Thank you to Pizza Hut and their marketing group for allowing our family the tasty pleasure of trying this out. Our local carry out location will see us often!
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Well Genius and I are back from the Girl Scout trip to the Mall of America
We didn't buy a lot, but had fun anyway.
Saturday evening we ate at The Rainforest Cafe.
We had fun checking out all the creations at the Lego Store.
On Sunday Genius and Smart Girl had a blast playing at Nickelodeon Universe, 
while Smart Girl's Mom and me hit the ground running to cover as many stores as we could!
Unfortunately after this point no more photos could be taken as Genius's camera went kaput. The lcd screen is completely scrambled, and on Wednesday we will send it back to Fuji in order to get it repaired.
I have one very sad tween on my hands at this point, as we're pretty sure it won't get fixed and arrive back before our Disney trip in three weeks.
A hard introduction into the world of adulthood, where when things break down, we have to fix them or replace them. *Sigh* if only we could shelter them forever.....
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I'm so excited, in just under two weeks, Genius and I get to go with Smart Girl and her mom for a quick trip to The Mall of America!
Every year the local Girl Scout council takes a couple of buses to Minneapolis for two days and allow us to run wild! Last year we attended as guests of Smart Girl, this year since Genius is a full fledged Girl Scout herself, we were guaranteed a spot to go!
The highlights of this trip shall be:
1) Ikea <---- woot! the only time I get to go!! Genius's bedding was all purchased there last year. I love the European styling of the products.
2) Lush <--- Can we say 100x better than Bath and Body Works? Again, no Lush stores in podunk.
3) Crocs <--- Okay you can buy Crocs here, but we don't have a Crocs store. I'm looking at getting some of the fancier ones, for church and formal attire. I've never seen them in stores here.
4) Rainforest Cafe <---- Yummy! One of our very favorite places to eat. We stop at one whenever we can
So any of you that live in larger metropolitan areas, and know of hip stores that we don't have in podunk type places, please tell me where I need to shop!
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It's dear Hubby's birthday today!
I have been blessed to be able to spend 15 of his birthdays with him.
Since Genius went to the lake with some friends this weekend -- we caught a movie and some ice cream last night. (If you want a review of the movie An American Carol, which we saw, check the next post down.)
Wednesday his co-workers are treating him to lunch at The Olive Garden, which I shall join in for.
Then on Thursday I will treat him to dinner at Texas Roadhouse.
We party hard when we have birthdays around here!
Tune in next month, to see what we do for mine! LOL!!
Happy Birthday Hubby. I love you!
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I love pasta. Farfalle, Macaroni, Fusilli, Lasagna, you name it I love it! You can imagine how thrilled I was when I was offered the chance to try the new Pizza Hut Tuscani Premium Bacon Mac n' Cheese.
Hubby absolutely loved it, so much so that he put dibs on the leftovers before we were even finished eating it! Genius is not overly fond of bacon, so she deemed it just okay, (although she claims the rotini twisty noodles are way cooler than elbow macaroni) but she did manage to polish off two of the breadsticks, leaving only one and a half each for Hubby and myself.
For $12.99 you get a lot of food. 3lbs of pasta and 5 breadsticks, which easily feeds 4 (unless you have 4 teenage boys in which case, I make no bets at how many it feeds!). There are two other varieties as well as this one: Chicken Alfredo, and Meaty Marinara.
I wish I could say the entire meal was fabulous, but sorry to say, we waited a really long time to have this delivered. When I say a really long time, I mean a really long time. The meal was supposed to be delivered at 5pm, it was not delivered until 6:15pm. To make me a little more disappointed, it was not hot either. I had to put my helping in the microwave. That though is due to our local Pizza Hut, and hopefully, will not be your experience.
Yes I said YOUR experience. That's right three of you can have your very own chance at getting a Premium Bacon Mac n' Cheese plus 5 breadsticks delivered to your door. All you need to do is tell me what type of pasta is used in the Premium Bacon Mac n' Cheese dish to be qualified to win.
Please read the following rules pertaining to the contest;
1. This contest is open to US residents only, who have a Pizza Hut within delivery distance of their home.
2. Leave a comment with what type of pasta is used in the dish reviewed for one entry.
3. For a second entry, blog about this contest, leaving a separate comment with the link to it.
4. For a third entry, grab my button and place it on your blog, leaving yet another comment with the link to your blog.
5. This contest will end on September 20, 2008 at 1:00 pm cst.
6. You must have contact information in your profile or leave you email address in your comment.
7. Winners will be chosen via randomizer.
Good Luck!
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Oh, we're going to Olive Garden for dinner tonight, and while I love their pasta, breadsticks and soup, for the three of us, it can get kind of pricey. Which is why we don't do it too often. But as I was surfing today I came across Lisa Cooking.com (the easy way to cook)
hmm...couldn't we all use that?.... (but I digress...)
Lisa (the lucky lady that she is), got to try the newest Tuscani Pasta creation from Pizza Hut, the Premium Bacon Mac n' Cheese. (Although she says it's made of rotini noodles, which makes me wonder why it's not called Premium Bacon Rotini n' Cheese, but really that's neither here nor there is it?).
So now I'm all jealous, while I'll still eat at Olive Garden tonight to the tune of $40+, Lisa got a delicious pasta meal for $12.99 - for her WHOLE family. Now that my friends is a bargain.
The good news is, Lisa is nice, she is giving away 3 certificates over at her blog so me (well if I'm as lucky as Lisa is), and two of you (well hopefully my readers, and referrals will win), can enjoy some of this yummy pasta too!
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Mommy Community is having a Blog Trip, and they're visiting your neighborhood! Well not really but if they were, and they were hungry, where would you take them to eat?
I know where we would go.....the same two places we ate (are eating) out this week. Unusual to say the least in our home. We rarely eat out, unless people are visiting, but this week is a little special.
One of our favorite places to eat lunch is the HuHot Mongolian Grill. We ate there on Monday, because Genius is just finishing up a Social Studies unit on the Mongolian Empire. What a better way to drill in the culture than embracing a little of it by eating? Okay, it was a lame excuse to give us a reason to go, but it was fun anyway!
Tomorrow for dinner we'll take a visit to the Olive Garden. Again, a special day to celebrate finishing our first quarter of school (hooray!). Olive Garden is a favorite choice of Genius, and I admit, I'm partial to their Never Ending Pasta Bowl, which hopefully they are still serving!
So if we visited you, where would you take us for dinner? Check out Mommy Community to link up!
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