Do you cook together?

Do you cook with your significant other? I typically do all of the cooking (Caleb graciously does the dishes), but earlier this week we cooked dinner together. I love the idea of us both relaxing in the kitchen after work, talking and preparing dinner together. But of course it didn't exactly go down like that. We were both starving so the talking was kept to a minimum, and I was a hot mess having just finished working out. Caleb hates reading recipes so every time he needed a new job I had to stop what I was doing to look at where we were in the recipe to give him a new task. I put too much pasta in too small of a pot and the water kept bubbling over and burning on the stove top, so eventually we had to turn on the oven fan because of the smoke. And then you know there was no talking because that thing is so DANG LOUD. 

Anyway, despite all of the above, we had dinner on the table in just 30 minutes, which I absolutely love. We made the below Italian dish, a recipe from Publix's Flavor Excursion sale. Lots of the ingredients are on sale now through September 24 at Publix, if you're interested. You can find more recipes and coupons here.

Disclosure: I received the prize pack and information from General Mills through Platefull Co-Op. All opinions are 100% my own. As you know, I love Publix :)

Publix Breakfast Savings Event

Breakfast is the most rushed meal of the day for me, so it takes some planning to make sure I have what I need to start the day right. Instead of letting coffee or hot tea be my first meal of the day, I try to take the time to blend together a smoothie packed with fruits + veggies or to eat a bowl of cereal or granola. To celebrate American Heart Month in February, General Mills and Publix are partnering together to offer savings on heart smart cereals. Now through January 29th, you can shop great savings at Publix during their Breakfast Savings Event. You can also find extra coupons here to use on everything you need for a good breakfast.

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided to me by General Mills through Platefull Co-Op. All opinions are 100% my own.

Healthier Choices in the New Year

I love fresh beginnings, especially the fresh start of a new year. I always have high expectations and goals at the beginning of each year, but I try to bring them down a notch and make them as realistic as possible. This includes healthy eating, exercising, etc. I never resolve to lose x-number of pounds at the beginning of the year, but I do make goals of choosing healthier snacks, eating more fruits + veggies, and trying to be more active. Publix has a number of Weight Watchers-endorsed products that help make this a reality in my pantry and fridge. Right now there are a number of great coupons that can help get your year started off on the right foot with good food choices at Publix.

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlockSpark.

Running Out? Run In.

Through October 25, look for the Running Out? Run In. event in Publix stores to take advantage of great savings on some of your favorite products from General Mills and Proctor & Gamble brands. Plus you can get a $10 Publix gift card for spending $30 on participating items. Publix always has great savings (and doubles coupons up to $0.50 every day!), but with this event you can save even more.

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark.

Fresh Savings at Publix

We're kind of in that awkward time of year as far as cooking goes. We're in between the easy summer barbecues and not quite to the pots of chili on the stove for fall. Publix is making it easy to transition your cooking between the seasons with the Fresh Savings Event, where you can save on produce, meat, and eggs when you buy participating items from some of your favorite brands. 

I'm stocking up on Lipton Recipe Secrets Onion soup mix to make some of my favorite dinner recipes:

Cranberry-Dijon Pork Roast

Chicken Italiano

Onion-Apple Pork Tenderloin

I can eat chips + salsa all day long, but I also like to have Tostito's scoops on hand to crush and put on top of our favorite fall soups + chilis:

Classic Chili

Chicken Enchilada Soup

Finally, I can't resist having a few Betty Crocker cake mixes on hand, especially to make these:

Cake Pops for Beginners

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by Publix® through MyBlogSpark.

What's your favorite household chore?

What's your favorite household chore or errand to run to take care of your home? Mine is grocery shopping, hands down. I know a lot of people hate going to the grocery, but I think it's so satisfying to buy a ton of groceries and come home and stock the fridge + pantry. Since we moved to the South I've really enjoyed being able to do all my shopping at Publix. I drive past several other grocery store chains every week on my way to Publix--it's just that good.

There are always a ton of carts, the carts are actually clean (sticky carts are SO gross), and the entire store is organized and clean. Dirty, unorganized stores lose me as a customer real fast.

Publix carries all of the brands I really like, but I also use the Publix brand for quite a few items. The quality is good, and there are some items that I can't even tell a difference (I did a blind taste-test with Nestle chocolate chips vs. Publix chocolate chips - couldn't tell!). The produce is also good quality, which is really important to me. I love that I can stock up on everything I need for the week in one place, because grocery-store hopping is inefficient and frustrating for me. 

My favorite thing about Publix, though, is the customer service. They take your groceries to your car for you! And load them in your trunk! And return the cart for you! Those three things were the only parts of grocery shopping that I didn't like, and now someone else does them for me! The baggers that take my groceries to the car are always super nice, too. I can't remember a week they didn't ask me how my day was going, or if I had a good day at work, or what my plans for the weekend are. It's top notch, folks. Since I've been going to the same grocery store for two years now, I know who the cashiers and baggers are, and I really like that. One day an employee who restocks shelves was talking to me and he mentioned that he noticed I came in every Monday after work. The employees are just SO nice and I love that!

Now through July 24, look for the Running Out? Run In. event in Publix stores to take advantage of great savings on some of your favorite General Mills brands. Plus, you can get a $10 Publix Gift card for spending $30 on participating items now through August 2.

P.S. My reusable shopping totes.

Disclosure: The information and prize pack have been provided by General Mills through MyBlogSpark. But the above opinions on Publix are 100% my own. I really do shop at Publix every week :)