I’m one of those moms who can’t bear to see certain things go after my kids grow out of them.  Isaac’s first tiny booties.  Emma’s sweet classic Pooh bib with the ruffle.  Some of our favorite onesies and baby blankets.  There are some things that are irreplaceable, you know?  You have pictures, but being able to touch them really brings the memories flooding back.

For a long time, I’ve been planning on making Emma a quilt with her old baby clothes… but I’ve never made a quilt before and didn’t want to practice on those items.  So I turned to a company that makes professional quilts, Campus Quilt Company.  And I am SO glad I did!  But before we get to the great reveal (I’m so excited to show you!), I want to show you the process, and how easy it was to have done.

This is the kit they sent me:

The kit includes:

• A bag to mail all your quilt pieces (t-shirts, baby clothes, whatever you wish) to them in
• A prepaid label
• Detailed instructions with diagrams and pictures
• A form to fill out describing how you want your quilt to look
• Samples of the fabrics you have to choose from for the backing and binding

You have the option of designing your quilt completely yourself, down to where you want each piece you send in to be placed on the quilt (that’s what the sticker numbers are for), OR you can have their amazing designers do it for you.  That’s what I chose to do – have them design it for me – since I had already cut my onesies down to squares and rectangles.  I had no idea how I wanted it to look or what would be the best way to do it, I just knew I wanted them in a quilt.  I did throw an idea out, though, and suggested they put the squares in groups of four with white binding around each square.  Then I carefully put my precious onesies, a bib, and some super soft minky fabric I wanted in the quilt as well into the bag and dropped it off at a FedEx dropbox.  So. Easy!

Over the next month, I received updates via email letting me know that the quilt was being made and where it was in the process.  A designer emailed me at one point, too, telling me that they had some extra space to fill and I could choose the color and material to be used.  They were awesome!  Finally, I received the email letting me know that my quilt was on the way.  *Note that it normally takes about two weeks, but because I ordered mine over the Christmas holidays, it took longer.* 

One day, I received THIS in the mail:

Eeeee, so gorgeous – I couldn’t be more pleased with the result!  This quilt is so beautiful, and so special – I love it!  The flannel backing is really soft and pretty, and everything looks so pretty.  It is a true quilt, with batting inside and everything.  I can feel that the materials used are high quality, and the quilt is made so well!  It’s not going to fall apart for a LONG time, let me tell you that.

I love the way they incorporated the bib and Pooh mittens that went over her tiny hands!

Emma really loves her new special quilt, too.  She likes to go over each piece and really look at the details, then look through her baby album and find the onesies she wore.  She won’t go to sleep at night without it now!

I really could not be more thrilled with this quilt.  And now I know for sure I want to save up and do the same thing with Isaac’s baby clothes in the future!  And yes, I am saving them all.  It is going to be one spectacular quilt.  ;-)

Want to have a quilt made at Campus Quilt Company?

Campus Quilt Company makes T-Shirt Quilts, Baby Clothes Quilts, Photo Quilts, and even T-Shirt pillows!  They make them in all sizes, and what you receive is truly quilted!  Apparently not everyone who promises a t-shirt quilt actually quilts it.  Campus Quilt Company DOES.  Check out their FAQs for more information!

Here’s another cool variation of their baby quilts:

Yep, that’s right, they can stitch anything to the quilt that they can get a needle through! :)

See more examples of their quilts here. (I personally think mine is the prettiest!)

I would like to thank Campus Quilt Company for making me a quilt with my daughter’s baby clothes that I will treasure ALWAYS!  I was not charged for this – I was only expected to share my experience with you.  :) 

Who knew there were so many recipes for dishes that could be made in a rice cooker?  I sure didn’t!  I was recently given the opportunity to review this awesome cookbook – 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes by Katie Chin.  I love my rice cooker, so I was looking forward to trying some of the recipes and seeing what the book is all about!

First, know that there aren’t many pictures… though there are two sets of a few glossy photos of recipes in the middle of the book.  Although not top priority for me, glossy pages and pictures with each recipe are one of the things I love in my favorite cookbooks, so I can’t help wishing there were more photos in this cookbook.  However, that just means there is more room for recipes!

The recipes are separated by breakfasts, appetizers, salads, soups, stews and chilis, main dishes and one-pot meals, risottos and pilafs, side dishes, steam cuisine, and desserts.  And it’s definitely not all based around rice!

Some examples:

• Cowboy Breakfast Tamales
• Stuffed Japanese Rice Balls
• Turkey and Wild Rice Curry Salad
• Thick and Hearty Split Pea Soup
• Shrimp Jambalaya
• Thai Pineapple Fried Rice
• Mexicali Rice
• Crab Dumplings
• Blackberry Custards

This book is packed full of information about the different settings on rice cookers, how to choose and store rice, the differences between certain rices and beans, and how you can get the most out of your rice cooker.  I realized after reading it that I need a new rice cooker – mine has only an on/off switch, but some rice cookers can cook with fuzzy logic which means they don’t cook at only one temperature (like mine), they have different settings for brown rice, white rice, soup, things like that.  I have my eye on this one right now!

Testing a Recipe

I decided to try a recipe I found for Rice Pudding, something I knew my kids would like (they’re rice fiends!).

Click photo to enlarge

Note that the recipe states it is “Fuzzy Logic Only“.  I ignored this and tried it in my rice cooker, and although I know the consistency could have been better, it still tasted really good, and was a total hit with my kids!  Here’s Isaac downing his serving…

Final Thoughts:

There is a wide range of difficulty levels of the recipes throughout this book – meaning that some take no time at all to put together and others seem to be more time-consuming.  The more time-consuming recipes that require going back and forth from the rice cooker to the stove or to the oven don’t appeal to me quite as much as the one-pot recipes, and I wish there was a way to search out the one-pot recipes separately from the others.  Also, many of the recipes contain types of rice and beans I’d never heard of, and some of the recipes are unfamiliar to me, so if you’re looking for simple, you’ll find some throughout this book – but it’s not all easy and familiar recipes. For those who are looking to branch out and try some different recipes, who want to explore the different types of rices and beans out there, this is a terrific find!  I have to admit that I am intrigued and want to try black rice now.  :)

I think this is a great collection of recipes you can use with the rice cooker and can recommend this cookbook highly.  I’m pleased to see that I have reason to invest in a more expensive, multitalented rice cooker!

Want it?

Buy 300 Best Rice Cooker Recipes from Amazon.com now for $16.30.  It retails for $24.95.

I received the book reviewed in this post free of charge in order that I might share my thoughts on it with you.

If you’ve been to Target recently, you may have walked by the aisle full of Giada De Laurentiis‘ brand new line of bakeware, cooking tools, and food.  Who is Giada, you ask?  Why, only one of my favorite Food Network chefs with her own cooking show dedicated to Italian cuisine!  She has a wonderful show with recipes that are easy enough to follow that even I, definitely not a cooking extraordinaire, can bring a wonderful, fine restaurant-quality meal to the table.

I’ve walked through the Giada for Target aisle and nearly drooled over all of the lovely things that I just knew would make me a better cook.  ;-)  So you can imagine my excitement when I found out I was going to receive some of Giada’s line for review!  And I was right, I am able to put some new yummy things on the table now!  Partly due to Giada’s recipe inspiration, and partly due to the jarred specialty foods I received with her label on them.

Now for the anticipated review!  Let’s start with the bakeware and cooking utensils…

I received:

Giada De Laurentiis for Target 2-Quart Ceramic Oval Baker, $19.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target 9” Ceramic Pie Pan, $16.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Silicone Spoonula with Stainless Steel Handle, $9.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target 3-Piece Plastic Bowl Set with Pour Spout, $19.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Stainless Steel Balloon Whisk, $7.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Stainless Steel Measuring Cups, $15.99

I’m very happy with the quality of all of the cookware I received – the oval baker and pie pan are both made of a smooth, heavy ceramic that is tarnish resistant, corrosion resistant, odor resistant, heat resistant, warp-proof, and rust resistant.  Both need to be washed by hand only.  I love the presentation of these pieces, they are so simple and classic and are made to go straight from the oven to the table.

The 3-piece plastic bowl set is a favorite.  I love the fact that they are made of a lightweight but sturdy plastic and the non-slip base makes mixing worry-free (nice, especially when you’re cooking with kids who want to “help”).  They are tall (no more splattering while mixing) and have an easy-pour spout.  At $19.99, I think this is a great price for all three bowls!

I also received a silicone spoonula (with stainless steel handle), stainless steel balloon wisk, and a set of stainless steel measuring cups.  I love cooking with all of these!  I had never had stainless steel measuring cups before and these are very nice – they are surprisingly heavy, too!  The measuring cups are hand-wash only and the utensils are top-rack dishwasher safe.

Now for the Giada foods I received:

Giada De Laurentiis for Target Giada Blend Coffee, $6.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Black Olive Tapenade, $2.99
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, $3.49
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Marinated Roasted Red Peppers, $3.49
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Marinated Mushrooms, $3.49
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Genovese Basil Pesto, $3.49
Giada De Laurentiis for Target Eggplant & Pepper Pesto, $2.99

Let’s start with the coffee.  I received Giada’s Blend ground coffee, a mild-medium roast, “a toasty blend with a smooth, winey finish”.  It is delicious, especially when served with her Spiced Coffee With Cinnamon Whipped Cream recipe which I tried and loved.  You make the spiced syrup first and add two tablespoons to each cup of coffee, so it’s super easy to make, too!

Now for the jarred goodies I received.  :)  I had a blast playing around with these!  As a lover of Italian foods and ingredients, I enjoyed adding them to our pastas and feasting at snack time.  Each jar features serving suggestions, too, so I knew exactly how they were meant to be enjoyed.  I think my favorites were the Eggplant and Pepper spread and the Genovese Basil Pesto – they were recommended to be eaten with toasted bread or crostini so I made a special plate up for Emma and myself one day.  We spread dinosaur-shaped toasted bread with layered pesto and the eggplant and pepper spread and it was SO good!  Emma even gobbled hers up quickly, and she’s been picky lately.  :)

I am very pleased with everything I received from the Giada for Target line, both the grocery and bakeware.  I will most definitely be adding more of Giada’s pieces to my kitchen, and I know I’ll be buying at least the Eggplant and Pepper Spread again.  It’s crave-worthy!

Giada’s Tips for a Stress-Free Holiday

Plan ahead! Prepare most of your dishes ahead of time, rather than trying to cook everything at once. You’ll feel less stressed and will be able to enjoy the party. Giada recommends leaving only one item for last minute prep – this brings everyone into the kitchen and sets the tone for a cozy, comfortable evening.

Don’t overdo your menu – keep it simple! As a general rule, Giada suggests offering four to five appetizers. During the holidays, choose foods that have vibrant colors for an added festive touch. Also select foods that are beautiful to serve and easy for guests to eat.

For guests who pop-in unexpectedly, keep ready-to-serve delights in the pantry such as Giada De Laurentiis for Target Marinated Sun Dried Tomatoes, Marinated Roasted Red Peppers and Marinated Mushrooms for quick entertaining options. The Giada De Laurentiis for Target Genovese Basil Pesto and Eggplant & Pepper Pesto are also easy and delicious treats. Serve with toasted bread or crackers and display on a festive serving platter.

Create less work for yourself by using multipurpose kitchen tools. The Giada De Laurentiis for Target Ceramic Bakeware can go directly from the oven to the table. The bakeware beautifully displays the dish and makes less clean-up for you!  Kitchen and food items also make wonderful gifts. Add a personal touch to a hostess gift by baking your favorite homemade pie in The Giada De Laurentiis for Target Ceramic Pie Pan.

If you’re going to be hosting a Christmas dinner, I’m sure those tips are helpful!

I hope this post helps you if you have been wondering whether or not to add Giada’s line to your kitchen.  I plan on using my lovely new bakeware to make a beautiful presentation for Christmas Eve dinner and using the jarred specialty foods to make delicious appetizers.  I can’t wait!

Lindsey’s Note:  I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Mom Central Consulting on behalf of Giada De Laurentiis for Target and received product samples to facilitate my review.  All opinions and experiences are 100% mine.