Thank you to Mezzetta for sponsoring today’s post and inspiring me to try your delicious peppers!

I’m ready to bring the HEAT this summer with Mezzetta peppers!

Mezzetta peppers come in all different varieties and can be found at your local grocery store:

Whole Golden Greek Peperoncini
Deli-sliced Golden Greek Peperocini
Deli-sliced Tamed Jalapeño Peppers
Deli-Sliced Hot Jalapeño Peppers
Deli-sliced Mild Pepper Rings
Roasted Red Bell Peppers
Hot Banana Wax Peppers
Sweet Banana Wax Peppers

Today I’m using the Mezzetta Diced Tamed Jalapeño Peppers to make one of my favorite recipes.  Summer salsa- I love to have this with chips, quesadillas, or tacos.

Summertime Salsa Recipe:

Ingredients

• 4 teaspoons Mezzetta Diced Tamed Jalapeño Peppers
• 1/4 cup diced yellow onion
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chiles
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes with juice
• 1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon sugar

Instructions

Place the jalapeños and onions in a food processor. Process for just a few seconds. Add both cans of tomatoes, the garlic salt, cumin, and sugar. Process until everything is well blended, but do not puree. Place in a container, cover, and chill well before serving.

I make this recipe all the time, mostly because it’s so simple and it’s GOOD!  I pour salsa on everything…it must be a requirement as a Texan.  It adds a refreshing kick to all my dishes.

Right now you can enter to win a Summer Survival Kit HERE.

Mezzetta will be hosting a different giveaway each month for three months so you can win a Summer Survival Kit for yourselves!  You can also download a coupon to save $5.00 when you spend $25.00 on any Dixie® Plates, Dixie Ultra® Plates and Bowls, Vanity Fair® Everyday Design Collection, Mezzetta® Peppers and Olives, Banana Boat® sun care product 3 oz. or larger (excludes lip balm & trial sizes) and Wet Ones® Wipes.

What are you cooking this summer to beat the heat?

-Mezzetta Summer Survival Kit-includes Mezzetta Peppers, an apron and napkins.

 

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for the SPLENDA^® Brand. I received product samples to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation. All opinions and reviews are my own.”

Everyone that has been reading my blog for the past oh…TEN YEARS knows this Mama loves her coffee!  We just moved into our apartment for the summer and we are trying to eat better & make good choices.  Thanks to SPLENDA^® Sweetener I have a yummy coffee recipe to enjoy this summer without the guilt.

I found this recipe on the SWEET SWAPS™ website.  If you’ve never been to SWEET SWAPS™ before check it out, the site has some yummy low-calorie recipes using SPLENDA.

We get together with Terence’s family just about every Saturday for family dinners.  We celebrated May birthdays at our last dinner and I brought this Mocha-Caramel Iced Coffee.  

Mocha-Caramel Iced Coffee

2-3 servings (I tripled the recipe so we would have enough for our crowd)

 

INGREDIENTS

• 12 floz Brewed Coffee
• Crushed Ice
• 2 packets of  SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener
• Caramel flavoring of choice to taste
• Mocha flavoring of choice* to taste
• Cinnamon if desired

DIRECTIONS

1. Blend brewed coffee, ice, SPLENDA^® No Calorie Sweetener, and flavorings on blender. Make sure ice is crushed into small chunks. Pour into cups and top with cinnamon and whipped topping if desired.

 

Splenda + Cocoa

Add the amount of SPLENDA^® you need (based upon the recipe above).

I didn’t have caramel flavoring, but I did have some hazelnut creamer so I added a dash of that.  This recipe is so easy that no matter what you do it’s going to turn out good.  You can’t go wrong with coffee+cocoa+whipped cream+cinnamon 🙂

Blend until smooth.

We had a great time celebrating birthdays and the coffee was the perfect companion to our birthday cake!  We celebrated mine and Terence’s birthday, Mom’s birthday, and Aunt Loyce’s birthday.  Although I don’t really celebrate birthdays anymore…I’m forever 30.

We always have a good time getting together with all these superheroes.  It’s fun to watch them play and soar around 🙂  They grow up too fast I tell ya and I’m thankful Grana and Pop open their home and let us all gather.

Connor and Ellie are a day apart in age and are BFF.  They just adore each other so much!

Uncle Garry, Terence, Liz, Marvin, and Grandma enjoying their Mocha-Caramel Iced Coffee.

Coffee puts a smile on everyone’s face!

 

 

 

 

 

 

I think everyone enjoyed the coffee and it was nice and refreshing in this hot Texas weather.  I’ll definitely be heading back to the SWEET SWAPS™ website for some more recipes this summer.  I’m excited for a fresh start and want to make better choices like reducing my sugar intake by swapping out with SPLENDA^® Sweetener.

Cool Fact:  Swapping just one cup of sugar with one cup of SPLENDA® No Calorie Sweetener, Granulated can save more than 600 calories?

Find more sweet recipes below:

SWEET SWAPS™ Website:http://www.sweetswaps.com

SPLENDA Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/splenda

SPLENDA Twitter: @Splenda

SPLENDA Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/SPLENDA/

Tripping with TONS of room in the Chevy Tahoe!

A few weeks ago we took a road trip home to Arkansas.  I love living in Texas, but I get so homesick sometimes.  Our trip home this time was much different because we got to drive a brand new, sparkly, shiny Chevy Tahoe!  Oh my gosh y’all this SUV is AMAZING!

 

You probably heard about the crazy rainy weather we were having in Texas, so I was a bit nervous driving on this trip.   The Chevy Tahoe was one of the smoothest, comfortable rides I’ve ever experienced.  Even in the rain.  During long road trips we always use cruise control.  The interior Adaptive Cruise Control with front auto braking was great.  If you get too close to a car or veer off the road the seat nudges you on either side of your leg.  How cool is that???

Connor’s favorite feature was the TV.  We were able to watch movies and Connor was fully entertained by Star Wars the entire trip.  So much better than whining I must say.  Ha ha!

I also liked the second-row bucket seats, my Mom used to like those for me and my sister so we wouldn’t scream “She’s touching me!” through an entire trip.

The audio system was Terence’s favorite feature with MyLink2 Radio & 8-inch color touch-screen display, Bluetooth audio streaming, CD player, 5 USB ports, 4 SD card reader, auxiliary input jack and GPS navigation system.  I’m definitely missing the 80’s on 8 radio station.  The 80’s was my favorite era of all time!

The Chevy is totally wired for everything too.  It’s complete with 4G LTE Wi-Fi technology & we were able to stay connected even in the mountains and hills of Arkansas- a place I normally wouldn’t get good reception.

Terence….aka our driver for the trip.  He loved driving the Tahoe.  He kept saying over and over how smooth it was.  It was definitely a comfy ride.

There is so much room in the Chevy Tahoe we got the whole family in there- Terence, Dad, Mom, Nannie, me, and Connor 🙂

We had a yummy dinner at Jo Jo’s on the White River.  I think I ate an entire basket of hush puppies….

Me and my honey on the White River

Connor at the farm.  It’s so pretty up there and it’s our little slice of Heaven on Earth.

Family pictures 🙂

Several trips to the Conway Whip Wagon.  OMG….sooooo good.  The flavor that week was Pinapple mixed with cherry.

I’ve got a lot more pictures to share soon!  We just have to get moved into our apartment and settled.  It’s been a CRAZY few weeks I’m telling ya!  Hoping to resort back to normal life soon.

I sure do wish we still had that Tahoe while moving….waaaahhhh!!!!   Connor asked if we could keep it and I sure wish we could because it was awesome!  I’m already homesick for another trip back to Arkansas.

Disclosure: The Chevy Tahoe was provided to SheBuysCars by Chevrolet for this review; the opinions expressed are all our own.

Our baby graduated from pre-school this past month.  He is officially going to be a kindergartener in the fall.  It feels like I just brought this sweet boy home from the hospital.

The graduation was so cute.  It was a chance for them to feel special and show all the parents what they learned this past year.  It’s always a hoot watching little kids perform!

Connor and his friends from class ( I love how Bridget is trying to give him a kiss!)

Total “poser”

We sure are going to miss all his friends from Preschool.  They’ve become great memories we will cherish forever.  We are now busy packing and getting ready to move over the next week.  It’s always an adventure and I’m sure this next chapter won’t disappoint 🙂

Summer fun giveaway- Enter to win $100 cash!

Enter for a chance to win $100 Cash.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Mabel’s Labels. I received a voucher to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.”

We’ve had a ton of rain in Texas lately it’s been crazy!  Well, this week the sun finally made it’s appearance and it’s finally feeling like summer.  I registered Connor for Kindergarten this week.  Be still my heart…KINDERGARTEN!!!  Where does the time go?

It’s going to be a fun summer and even though we are in the midst of moving I’m trying to schedule some fun things in.  I’m hoping to get Connor into swim lessons, he has school camp every day with his friends, and Friday is his favorite because it’s “splash day”.

I’m a very organized person….well….I try to be.  I am a big fan of color coding, charts, and labels.  Speaking of labels…we just got a super fun summer camp label pack from Mabel’s Label’s.  This pack is designed for everything that goes to summer camp to help avoid mix-ups and lost items.  I’ve been using Mabel’s Label’s since Connor was a baby.  These suckers LAST y’all!  We still have labels on things from 5 years ago that have survived wash after wash in the dishwasher.

Camp Pack Label Set

• 10 Personalized Name Stickers: 70mm x 16mm (2-3/4″ x 5/8″)

• 24 Mini Custom Name Stickers: 38mm x 8mm (1-1/2″ x 5/16″)

• 8 Custom Shoe Stickers: 33mm (1.3″)

• 50 Tag Mates™ Stick On Clothing Labels: 21mm x 10mm (13/16″ x 3/8″)

• 2 Personalized Bag Tags: 57mm x 32mm (2-1/4″ x 1-1/4″)

Bonus! Get a set of five fun postcards so your child can keep in touch the old-fashioned way. *While supplies last.

Connor is really into soccer right now so we chose the soccer theme labels.  You can customize your camp label package with lots of designs and colors.   Mabel’s Labels can go on anything: clothes, backpacks, shoes, cups, toys, and lots more.

These dog tag labels are perfect for backpacks and lunch sacks.

We have lost a ton of cups over the years.  Whether it’s at school or at a friend’s house cups go everywhere with us.  These long skinny labels fit on any cup and are 100% dishwasher safe.

If you are a label lover like me check out Mabel’s Label’s.  It’s so much fun to create your personalized label for your child.  Join the Mabelhood community on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram.

Mabel’s Labels is offering a chance to receive 15 – 50% or free item coupons!  Opportunity opens on May 22, 2015 and closes June 22, 2015

By signing up for the Mabel’s Labels Newsletter and completing one additional social share, you will be given a one-time use coupon code.

Mabels Labels Camp Combo