Strawberry and Blood Orange Salad {And winner of Applegate Pizza Party in a Box}

Strawberry Blood Orange Salad:

- greens of your choice, I use Organic Girl Super Greens

- Strawberries

- Segments of one half a blood orange

- Candied nuts

- Honey goat cheese

- Blood orange EVOO 

- Red Apple Balsamic 

Add to bowl and enjoy this spring salad!

And Gretchen P, you are the lucky winner of The Applegate Pizza Party in a Box! Please email your address.

Applegate Pizza Party in a Box Giveaway

It's no secret I LOVE me some Applegate.

I mean I did a whole lunch series with them back at the beginning of school, I buy their Sunday Bacon in bulk at our BJ's, and I always have some form of their cheeses on hand 

{another not so secret, I LOVE cheese}.

When I heard they had come out with new mini pepperonis in turkey and pork options, I was stoked.

And my excitement continued when my Pizza Party in a Box arrived.

When I pulled all the goodies out and said to the kids its PIZZA night, they responded with 

"Can we have calzones?" 

Um, sure why not.  

Cause pepperonis aren't just for pizza right?!

A little bit of important info on these tasty bites that will make you feel good about feeding them to your clan:

-100% vegetarian grain-fed pork or turkey - no fillers

- No antibiotics

- Less fat and sodium than conventional brands

- Made from humanely raised pork and turkey

- No hormones

- Perfect on pizza, salads, a meat and cheese board, and just snackin’

We leaned towards the turkey, thats not to say the pork isn't delicious.  But I think since we have been using turkey pepperonis for so many years it was just a taste and texture we were more use to. 

And yes I have a "fancy" calzone maker.  It's really not necessary but the kids love to flip it and cut the excess dough off so we use it. 

And for a little extra veg option I also made zucchini boats. Simply half and cut the ends of, then scrap the seeds out.  Fill with sauce, add you pepperonis and cheese and bake with your calzones or pizza.  

All in all I think Applegate has another home run on their hands. 

And they want to send one lucky person their own Pizza in a Box to see for themselves!

Box includes:

·         Both varieties of new Applegate Naturals Mini Pepperoni and Provolone Cheese

·         King Arthur Flour Pizza Crust Mix (also available in Gluten Free!)

·         Small batch tomato sauce

·         Recipe for mini pizzas

·         Pizza cutter

·         Kitchen towel

·         Apron

Just leave a comment below.

Open to US residents only til midnight Feb 16th. 

Winner will pick randomly by random.org and announced Monday Feb 17th.

GOOD LUCK!

Snap Shop DSLR Course Review {Under The Sycamore}

Hi.

I just noticed that it has been since December when I blogged last.

But not a week goes by that I don't think out loud to a friend, I wish I was blogging more.

I am not sure how or why I fell off the wagon.

Then I got an email back in December that had my jaw hitting the ground and my butt jumping in the air.

Ashley Ann had sent me an email, me little old me, seeing if I would like to take her DSLR Snap Shop Course for a review.

Two seconds later I was responding YES, but not before deleting all the excited expletives I had added, didn't want her second guessing asking me, haha.

We just finished the course and I am feeling refreshed.

Just like many of you out there my iphone has become my camera, its readily available, it takes AMAZING photos, its crazy easy to upload right to social media, and it fits right in our back pockets.

But for me I crave more out of photography.

I want to not take photos but I want to capture memories.

I want photos I can look back on and feel the moments.

I want to feel like I am creating art with my images.

And for that to happen I need to understand my camera.

I want out of that safe green box.

Because it is not the camera that makes a great photo it is how you use it in manual.

Ashley's course is designed for us amateurs to get the basics of operating in manual, using the elements of composition for getting a great shot, and telling a story.

First let me say this.

I am SO not an online course kind of girl.

I am a in yo face, hands on learner. 

Which made me nervous about this.

I am not one to go on message boards and dig for hours on questions asked and try to tie them back to the course material, thats just not how my brain works. 

So the relief I felt when I first logged on and saw how the course was setup was HUGE.

The fact that there is a comment section at the end of each chapter, made my life so much easier.

I like organization, despite what my desk looks like right now, I promise I like it. 

Like I mentioned before this course is designed for amateurs.  

If you have basic knowledge of your camera, ie ISO, aperture, and such, then its not the course for you. 

But if you are just now clicking over that dial from green to M, then this is the BEST place to start.

Ashley has a great knowledge and experience, but she doesn't leave you scratching your head thinking you will never get it. She is there to answer questions and provide helpful tricks to get it down.

There are helpful printouts with areas to add notes.

And at the end of the course you get the opportunity to share your images with the group and get critiques. 

I leave the course with a plan.

A plan to commit to at least one day a week putting my phone down and using strictly my camera.

It may be bigger, harder to use, more time consuming, but it gives me so much more satisfaction knowing I did it. 

And I owe that to Ashley, her course has given me the confidence I needed to step out of my comfort zone and work for that image.  

Looks like her next course is booked but one opening in May, so perfect time to ask for a Valentines gift! 

PS:

 If DSLR is not your speed but you want to nail down amazing shots with your phone, Ashley also offers up an phone course!! 

Thank you Ashley for giving the push I needed!