Winner of my Purex with Crystal Fragrance Giveaway

Congratulation to Jim L, Breanne T, and Jamie B!  They were selected as the winners in my Purex with Crystal Fragrance Giveaway.

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Timestamp: 2013-04-24 15:46:10 UTC

Purex With Crystals Fragrance Giveaway

I have another great giveaway to share with you thanks to the folks at Purex!  This time I am giving away 3 bottles of Purex detergent plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance.

Purex plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance is great for everyday laundry and will bring a fresh scent into your laundry room.  With this product you not only get the power of Dirt Lift Action to help deep clean your clothes, you also get the long-lasting scent of Purex Crystals Fragrance.

I am going to select three winners who will each receive a coupon good for one free bottle of Purex detergent plus Fabric Softener with Crystals Fragrance.  To enter all you have to do is complete the very simple form below.

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED!

Terms and Conditions:

The entry form must be fill out completely.

All entries must be received by 11:59pm CDT on Friday, April 12, 2013

Giveaway open to US residents only.

Any entry that is incomplete or that does not follow entry guidelines will be considered invalid.

Winners will be selected via a random number generator and will be contacted by email. The winners must reply within 2 days or I will select an alternate winner(s).

Disclosure: In exchange for sharing this information with my readers Purex provided me with a free product and sponsored this giveaway.  These items were not provided as payment for any favorable opinion or posts.   All opinions are 100% my own. You can read my full disclosure policy here: Sweet Tea's Disclosure

Lentil Soup Recipe

For the past four months or so I have really been concentrating on eating healthier and getting to a healthier weight.  To do this I have been restricting myself to 1200 calories a day and eating a lot of protein. 

A doctor told me that if I follow those two guidelines that I don't have to worry about keeping up with fat grams, carbs, or anything else because all of those things will fall into place.  

I have to say that it has worked.  When you only eat 1200 calories per day and emphasize high protein foods you don't have a lot of room for things like sweets, starches, and all of those other things that we tend to eat too much of. So far I have lost 44 pounds and I haven't been hungry!

We all know that lean meats and fish are great ways to get protein into your diet and those are great foods that I don't have a problem eating. I also love Oikos Greek Yogurt!  It is really high is protein and with a little Kashi Toasted Berry Crumble sprinkled on top it makes a great after dinner treat that I really look forward to eating.  That is saying a lot because I *love* sweets!  I can hardly believe that I actually enjoy eating yogurt for dessert.

After a couple of months following this diet I started looking at other ways to get more protein into my diet and that is when I discovered the wonderful world of LENTILS.  Lentils are almost exotic to me.  We never ate lentils when I was growing up and as an adult they just weren't on my radar of things I should try.  

Lentils are so nutritious!  In addition to protein they are a good source of folic acid, dietary fiber, and some essential vitamins.  People who suffer from diabetes are often urged to include lentils in their diet because the lentils help to reduce spikes in blood sugar levels.  

So, in honor of my new found love of lentils I want to share my favorite recipe that features lentils.  This recipe is an adaptation of an Alton Brown recipe found on FoodNetwork.com.  One warning - the color of the finished product isn't great looking.  Just keep an open mind!  

Lentil Soup

• 2 Tbsp. olive oil

• 1 cup finely chopped onions

• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrots

• 1/2 cup finely chopped celery

• 2 cloves finely minced garlic

• 2 Tsp. kosher salt

• 1 pound lentils, picked and rinsed

• 1 can diced tomatoes

• 2 quarts vegetable or chicken broth

• 1/2 Tsp. ground coriander

• 1/2 Tsp. ground cumin

• 1/2 Tsp. fresh ground black pepper

Place olive oil into a large dutch oven and set over medium heat.  Once hot, add the onion, carrots, celery and salt and cook until the onions are translucent - about 6-7 minutes.  Add garlic and cook for an additional 1-2 minutes.  Add the lentils, tomatoes, broth, coriander, cumin, and pepper.  Stir to combine.  Increase the heat and bring just to a boil.  Reduce the heat to low then cover and cook at a low simmer until the lentils are tender - about 35-40 minutes.

This is a great "base" soup that is tasty when prepared just as the recipe calls for.  My husband likes something a little heartier and we experimented with adding some cooked, crumbled breakfast sausage and it really put it over the top!  We like the spicy sausage the best.  You could also add meatballs and/or double the veggies.  I know some people have added things like a can of black beans or mushrooms. You can really make this recipe you own with a little bit of creativity.

My Favorite Reads of the Year - 2012 Edition

Each year I like to create a list of the books I enjoyed reading the most and this year is no exception - I'm just a little later than normal getting the list together.

It is always interesting to see how many books I read each year and thanks to my local library I broke a record this year!  I'm not going to mention the total number because my mother will think I don't do anything other than sit around on my butt and read! (Hi Mom!).  I will admit that the number is WELL over 100 books.  Yeah, she still going to think that I don't do anything but sit around on my butt and read but I refuse to give her any additional proof that she is right. :-)

As always, these are books that I READ during the year.  This means they were not necessarily published in 2012.  Some were, but most were not.

Although I have a strong love of southern fiction, you will see a variety in this list because I am always game to try out a new genre.

Here is my 2012 Best Reads List:

The Language of Flowers: A Novelby Vanessa Diffenbaugh

Gone Girl: A Novel by Gillian Flynn

My Brother Michael by Janis Owens

Big Cherry Holler: A Novel (Big Stone Gap Novels)by Adriana Trigiani

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Book 1 of the Millennium Trilogy (Vintage Crime/Black Lizard) by Stieg Larsson

The Sisters Montclair: A Novel by Cathy Holton

Eat, Drink, and Be From Mississippi: A Novel by Nanci Kincaid

Sweeping Up Glass by Carolyn Wall

The Orange Blossom Special by Betsy Carter

The Diary of Mattie Spenser by Sandra Dallas

The Persian Pickle Club by Sandra Dallas

Tallgrass by Sandra Dallas

Julie and Romeo by Jeanne Ray

The Devil's Dream by Lee Smith

Cavedweller: A Novel by Dorothy Allison

A Life of Bright Ideas: A Novel by Sandra Kring

A Grown-Up Kind of Pretty: A Novel by Joshilyn Jackson

Wife 22: A Novel by Melanie Gideon

The Story of Sassy Sweetwater by Vera Jane Cook

Diary of a Mad Fat Girl by Stephanie McAfee

Prayers for Sale (Reading Group Gold) by Sandra Dallas

Coal Run by Tawni O'Dell

The Healing by Jonathan Odell

State of Wonder: A Novel (P.S.) by Ann Pachett

Extraordinary, Ordinary People: A Memoir of Family Condoleezza Rice

You can see my lists from previous list by clicking on this link:

Sweet Tea's Favorite Reads

Southern Quote

"The most beautiful voice in the world is that of an educated Southern woman."

~~~~Winston Churchill