Shutterfly Photo Contest

Click here to enter!

Do you have some summer photos you're proud of? Shutterfly is having a photo contest with a different summery theme every week. You could win a trip to the Bahamas! I would so like to be there right now... drink in hand... watching the waves. But of course, we have an infant, so vacations will probably be out for a while! Anyways, you get a free gift from shutterfly just for entering. The photo themes are:

•       Week 1(7/9): Americana
•       Week 2 (7/16): Great Outdoors
•       Week 3 (7/23): Water Fun
•       Week 4 (7/30): Sports & Activities
•       Week 5 (8/6): Parties & Celebrations

PRIZES
•      Instant win prizes just for submitting a photo!
•      Weekly prizes (contestants can enter one time/week)
•      Weekly featured photos: up to 5 weekly entries will be selected from the gallery and featured on the Facebook fan page and awarded a $500 gift card on Shutterfly and a copy of the new Lonely Planet travel photography book.
•      Grand prize: trip for 4 to Bahamas, 4 nights, family photo shoot

You can click here to enter the contest: http://bit.ly/sweepS

I admit to not being the best photographer, but I'll share some of my favorite summer shots anyways!

The Whole Family

Judah's first time at the pool.

Sleepy Baby

Go enter the sweepstake now!

This post was sponsored by Shutterfly. The opinions in this post are entirely my own.

On The Menu: Avocado

"What is this? This better not be like that time you tried to give me that crappy rice cereal stuff."

"Oh, it's different?"

"You're right. This is pretty good."

"Just want to make sure I suck all the remaining green goodness off my fingers."

Avocadoes come with bowls built in!

On The Menu: Orange Glazed Carrots

This simple side dish should please even non-vegetable lovers. I made this as part of our ongoing effort to incorporate more vegetables into our meals and served them with some dijon-baked chicken. The recipe is adapted from one I found in my Crock-Pot recipe book.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2 - 3)
• 4-5 whole carrots, peeled and diced
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. nutmeg

Don't you love how evenly I've chopped all my carrots? Professional chefs would be appalled.

Directions:
• Bring all ingredients to a boil in a saucepan
• Reduce heat to low and let simmer 20 - 30 minutes until sauce is reduced to a glaze and carrots are tender.
*You could also add orange zest to this recipe if you're using fresh squeezed orange juice and baby carrots instead of whole carrots if that's what you have on hand. Just adjust the cooking time for baby carrots to be longer if you don't cut them up.

On The Menu: Italian Herb Skillet Rolls

Oh, those frozen Rhodes Rolls have so many possibilities. I bought one bag a while back for the homemade pretzel bites, and I just finished the bag last night making these skillet rolls! Luckily, that and a few herbs are about the only ingredients you need. Oh, and of course your trusty cast iron skillet. I used the smaller of the two for this recipe (I think it's 5 or 6"?). This recipe is adapted from the one found on Dishing With Leslie. You should definitely check out her blog. Everything she posts makes me hungry...even if I've already eaten.

Ingredients:
7-8 Rhodes White Dinner Rolls - however many will fill up your skillet
3 tablespoons melted butter
1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
a few red pepper flakes to taste
grated parmesan cheese

Directions:
1. Let your rolls rise completely in the skillet until they fill up the pan. From the time I took mine out of the freezer, I let them thaw for about 30 minutes, then covered the skillet with cling wrap. It took about an hour after that for them to rise completely. It helps that our kitchen is hot and humid in the summer time.
2. Preheat oven to 375°F.
3. Mix your melted butter and all of the herbs together. Brush about half the mixture on top of your rolls. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 375°F for approximately 15 - 20 minutes.
5. Take them out of the oven and brush with the remaining butter/herb mixture.

We enjoyed ours with Scott's spaghetti. And yes, we ate the whole pan.