Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza Giveaway on Facebook

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of FRESCHETTA® for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

With a teenager in the house it's always good to have some pizza stashed away in your freezer, so when I was contacted by FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ to try their new line of pizza I said sure!
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Freschetta Simply Inspired pizzas are made with top quality ingredients. They use real cheese, premium meats and their sauces are made out of tomatoes picked at the peak of their ripeness.
What does this mean for you?  Yummy pizza you can have at home in minutes - that's what!
Freschetta offers delicious flavor combinations like Farmers Market Veggie, Southern BBQ Recipe Chicken, Harvest Supreme and lots more.  We tried the Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro and it was fantastic!
Their FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ Packing locks in the vibrant flavors, while using 30% less packaging material.

Here are my friends Ashley and Bekka enjoying some Freschetta pizza - aren't they pretty!
Of course we had a nice glass of wine or two to go with our pizza :)

Freschetta sent me a bamboo cutting board/cheese tray - wasn't that nice!
 

















And guess what?  They sent one for you too!  Along with a coupon to try your own Freschetta Simply Inspired pizza for FREE!  Want to know how to win?
 First go to Facebook and  "like" Me and My Pink Mixer.
Then leave a comment on my Facebook giveaway post (not here) about what flavor of Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza you would like to try.
Be sure to "like" Freschetta Simply Inspired Pizza on Facebook to be entered for their weekly
giveaways and follow them on Twitter @FreschettaSI too!
Good luck.  Contest ends May 6th.
Giveaway is now closed.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins

I almost always make my muffins from scratch using at least some whole wheat flour, but sometimes it's just easier to go the semi-homemade route. Hey, Sandra Lee does it all the time!  I made these for my daughter since she loves chocolate chip muffins, but I ended up taking some to work too since the recipe made 20 and I do not need that many muffins sitting around in my house!

The original recipe called for sour cream, but I didn't have any, so I used Chobani greek vanilla yogurt instead and they turned out great. 

















Chocolate Chocolate Chip Muffins
Recipe slightly adapted from Your Cup of Cake

3 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1 box Devil's Food Cake Mix
1 small pkg. instant chocolate pudding
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 container (6 oz.) Greek Yogurt (I used Chobani)
1 1/2 cups Milk Chocolate Chips

Preheat oven to 375 and line muffin tin with liners.
In a large bowl, lightly beat the eggs.  Add oil, milk, vanilla and beat again.
Stir in yogurt and then add the cake mix, pudding and cinnamon.  Do not over mix.
Fold in chocolate chips and fill muffin liners with a large cookie/ice cream scoop about 3/4 full.
Bake for about 18 minutes, or until tops spring back.  Let cool and then store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!

Linking to:
All Things Inspired
Weekend Wrap Up Party

Strawberry Cupcakes

Strawberries are one of my favorite fruits, so I thought I would celebrate spring with some Strawberry Cupcakes.  These cupcakes are super easy to make and taste fantastic.  Garnish them with fresh fruit and a mint leaf to make them extra pretty!

Strawberry Cupcakes

Cupcakes
1 16 oz. container frozen sliced strawberries in sugar, thawed

1 pkg. white cake mix plus eggs and oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 24 standard size muffin cups with cupcake liners; set aside.

Drain packaged strawberries, reserving syrup.  Set aside 6 tablespoons of the syrup for frosting.

Add enough water to the remaining syrup to measure 3/4 cup total liquid.  Prepare cake according to package instructions, substituting the water-syrup mixture for the liquid called for on the package.

Stir in the drained strawberries.  Your batter will be thick.

Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each about 2/3 full.  Bake about 18 minutes or until tops spring back.  Cool cupcakes in muffin cups on wire racks for 5 minutes.  Remove cupcakes from muffin cups.  Cool completely on wire racks.

Strawberry Frosting

8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

1 stick unsalted butter, softened

6-8 cups powdered sugar

2 tsp. vanilla

6 T strawberry syrup from packaged strawberries

strawberries and mint leaves for garnish

In the bowl of your stand mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla and the reserved syrup on medium speed until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in powdered sugar, one cup at a time.  Pipe or spread frosting over cooled cupcakes.  Before serving, top each cupcake with a slice of strawberry and a mint leaf.

Makes 24 cupcakes.

(Cupcake stand from Target)

Click here to "like" Me and My Pink Mixer on Facebook.

Linking Post to:
Made by You Mondays
This Weeks Cravings
New Nostalgia

Crispy Shrimp Pasta

I served this pasta dish last Sunday and it was a big hit.  Everyone loved the crispy shrimp and the creamy, buttery sauce.  I only used a half of a teaspoon of cajun seasoning because my husband doesn't like spicy food, but my daughter and her boyfriend sprinkled more on theirs, so just adjust it to your family's preference.  It was just perfect for me.

I bought the shrimp frozen in a one pound bag, already peeled and deveined with tails removed, which made the dish even easier to prepare.  I just put it in the fridge overnight to thaw.

Hope you like it as much as we did.  It will definitely be added into my meal rotation and it tasted even better when I had leftovers the next day!

Crispy Shrimp Pasta
recipe adapted from Kevin and Amanda

14.5 oz box of penne pasta (I use Barilla Plus Multigrain)
1 lb raw shrimp, peeled, deveined and tails removed
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
2 1/2 T flour
1 T olive oil
1 T butter
1 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 tsp cajun seasoning

Cook pasta according to package directions. Sprinkle shrimp with salt, pepper, and toss to combine. Sprinkle 1 1/2 T flour over the shrimp, and toss to coat the shrimp. Sprinkle one more tablespoon of  flour and toss to evenly coat the shrimp. Melt butter and olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. When hot, add the shrimp in a single layer and cook on each side, flipping once, until golden brown, approximately 2-3 minutes per side. Remove to plate.

Pour in the chicken broth. Cook for about 5 minutes, whisking the bottom of the pan to deglaze. Reduce heat to medium and pour in cream, whisking constantly. Cook sauce over medium heat until bubbly and the cream starts to thicken the mixture, about 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and add seasonings as desired (salt, pepper, cajun seasonings, etc.) Add the drained pasta and shrimp to the sauce, and stir to combine.
Enjoy!

Peeps Pudding Parfait

Pudding, crushed vanilla wafers and whipped cream make a peeptastic easy dessert for the kids at Easter dinner or even the adults ~ I know I enjoyed eating this one!

















Peeps Pudding Parfait

1 box (3.4 oz) Jell-O Pudding (I used Banana)
2 cups milk
crushed vanilla wafers
whipped topping

Whisk together pudding and milk per package instructions.
Layer pudding, crushed vanilla wafers and whipped cream in a cute martini glass. 
Top with a cute peep & enjoy.
Serves 4.

Linking to:
Made By You Mondays
All Things Heart & Home
Tip Junkie
Fireflies and Jellybeans
Tatertots and Jello Weekend Wrap Up Party
Sundae Scoop Sunday Link Party
This Week's Cravings