Buffalo Chicken Pizza with Pillsbury Artisan Crust ~ and a Giveaway!

Ever since I was a kid, pizza has been one of my favorite meals.  We didn't eat pizza every week, but when we did it was always takeout and always on Friday nights.  Pizza delivery and a video rental was always a perfect start to the weekend!

After I moved out of my parents' house, Friday night pizza was still a tradition.  The only difference was that we didn't always do takeout pizza.  Occasionally, we would pick up a pizza crust and add our own toppings.     Store bought pizza crust and leftovers for toppings made preparing our own pizza easier than finding the menu for the local pizza place!

Now that we're trying to eat healthier, I was super-excited to hear that Pillsbury now offers a whole grain Artisan Pizza Crust with 16 grams of  whole grain per serving!  Thanks to General Mills, Pillsbury and MyBlogSpark, we had the opportunity to try the Artisan crust along with a bunch of other great gifts (but we'll talk about those later).

Since we've both been in the mood for Buffalo Chicken Pizza from our local pizza place, I saw this as the perfect opportunity to save some cash and make our own at home.

I started by making a crock pot full of Shredded Buffalo Chicken.  When it was time to shred the chicken, I reserved about a 1/4 cup of the sauce.

After unrolling and pre-baking the crust, I used a silicone brush to coat the top of the crust with some of the reserved sauce.  I then topped with some reduced fat mozzarella cheese.  The shredded buffalo chicken is next. Once the pizza was assembled, I poured some of the reserved sauce over the top of the pizza, being careful not to add too much.  I wanted to make sure the pizza was full of buffalo flavor without getting soggy.

The result?  A deliciously crunchy, whole grain crust topped with ingredients that suits our family perfectly!  I mean, what pizzeria is going to use reduced fat mozzarella on your pizza delivery?  Let me tell you, that pizza didn't last long either!  The two of us polished off that 6-serving pizza in no time!  It was soooo good!

I am very pleased that we bought a spare crust when we picked up the one to review!  I'm thinking our next pizza will be a Cheese Steak Pizza like the ones we used to get when we lived in Philly!  I'll be sure to let you know how that one turns out, too!

For more pizza making ideas and flavor combinations, check out Farmer's Market Ideas from Pillsbury.

As I mentioned earlier, along with the coupon for the Pillsbury Artisan Crust, my prize pack (shown below) included a bunch of great kitchen items perfect to help with making great pizzas!

What's even better is that I've been given the opportunity to giveaway one of these awesome prize packs to one lucky reader!  It's easy to enter!  Just follow the instructions on the rafflecopter form below:



a Rafflecopter giveaway




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

Yoplait Original Yogurt Review and Giveaway

****giveaway is closed****

After Joe ended up in the ER last week (we were lucky, it turned out to be nothing serious), we decided that we're both going to start eating healthier. 

We are polar opposites in our eating habits.  The only thing in common is that neither of us are practicing healthy eating. 

• Joe eats breakfast in the morning (if he has time) and doesn't eat anything for the rest of the day until dinner.  He often works 12 hours or more a day after having nothing but a bowl of cereal or oatmeal to start his morning. 
• Me?  Well, I tend to just snack all day long.  No real food.  Just snacks.  Crackers.  Cookies.  Chips.  Whatever.  All Day. 

Earlier this month, I started taking some vitamins.  I'm not fond of taking vitamins, they always made me feel sick to my stomach.  But after suffering from the winter blues since just after Christmas, I asked Joe to pick me up some vitamin-D supplements to see if they would help my mood.  While he was at the pharmacy, he also picked up a bottle of women's health vitamins.  So, every night at dinner, I take one of each.  It's a small step, but it's a step in the right direction.  Now to quit the all-day-junk-food-fests and start adding in some healthy meals and snacks to my daily routine. 

Okay, don't get me wrong... it's not all about pizza and french fries or chocolate and cake... we do buy and eat healthy foods.  I just tend to reach for a cookie instead of a carrot!  That's the big problem I need to address.  Choosing healthier snacks. 

Recently, yogurt has become one of my favorite healthy snacks.  Let me start by saying that I am pretty picky when it comes to yogurt.  As a child and most of my adult life, I've had "issues" with dairy products.  Not health issues.  I just didn't care for dairy products at all.  Since I was always pretty finicky about dairy products, it's been an ongoing struggle to get enough calcium into my diet.  So, I'm really excited to have had the opportunity to try the newly reformulated Yoplait Original style yogurt and to tell you about it today: 

Now with two times the amount of calcium of the leading yogurt, that’s 50 percent of the Daily Value in one convenient 6-ounce cup, Yoplait Original yogurt provides women with an easy and delicious way to get the calcium they need. Yoplait Original also contains 50 percent of the Daily Value of vitamin D, which helps with the absorption of calcium. Yoplait is committed to women’s health and is proud to offer a product that has even more of the calcium and vitamin D they need for strong, healthy bodies.






In an effort to further educate women about the importance of maintaining strong, healthy bones through an active lifestyle and a diet rich in calcium, Yoplait is partnering with TV host and celebrity mom Nancy O’Dell on a one million cup giveaway of Yoplait Original yogurt, beginning December 13th. Visit Yoplait on Facebook to sign up for your free cup and make a personal commitment to meeting your calcium needs each day. While you’re there, take a moment to enjoy daily calcium tips from Registered Dietitian Katherine Brooking and healthy lifestyle advice from Nancy O’Dell.                                  ~MyBlogSpark

I picked up 2 cups of the Yoplait Original yogurt earlier this week and I loved it!  So creamy and flavorful!  Yoplait Original yogurt is available in a variety of flavors, Frech Vanilla is flavor of choice.  Mmmm!  I ate one container along with bowl of fruit salad for breakfast one morning and used the other in my Coconut Banana Smoothie that I enjoyed for breakfast yesterday. 

Yoplait Original is a hit and will be a regular item on my grocery list! 

Yoplait recently sent me this great Yoplait Original Yogurt gift pack through MyBlogSpark!



Yoplait (through MyBlogSpark) recently sent me this great gift package! 



Here is what was included in the Yoplait Original Yogurt gift pack:

• Coupon for a free cup of Yoplait Original Yogurt
• Yoplait Original duffel bag
• speed rope
• sport towel
• water bottle

*This coupon offer for Yoplait yogurt is not valid in some states, including California, Idaho, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey, Nevada, North Dakota and Tennessee.




Would you like a chance to win a gift package like the one shown above?  You would?  Great!  I'll tell you how you can enter in just a second! 

First, I want to remind you to Visit Yoplait on Facebook to “Like” the brand, and get your free cup of Yoplait Original yogurt by pledging your commitment to consuming more of the calcium you need.

Also, be sure to “Follow” Yoplait on Twitter to keep up with the latest news from Yoplait.

Okay, so back to the giveaway!  ***Giveaway is closed***

Here's how you enter: 

• Mandatory Entry:  Leave a comment on this post telling me how you plan to incorporate more calcium in your diet and how Yoplait can help.  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win***

• Extra Entry:  Follow this blog via Google Friend Connect and leave a comment on this post letting me know you are a new follower.  (Already following via GFC, leave a comment)  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win***

• Extra Entry:  Follow Under the Big Oak Tree on Facebook and leave a comment on this post letting me know you are or already do. (Please provide your Facebook profile name)  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win***

• Extra Entry:  Follow @TheBigOakTree on Twitter and leave a comment on this post letting me know you are or already do.  (Please provide your twitter handle)  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win***

• Extra Entry:  Subscribe to this blog via email. (use the buttons at the top of the right sidebar) All email subscriptions should be confirmed in order to be counted.  Leave a comment on this post letting me know you are or already do.  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win***

• Extra Entry:  Since I'm trying to lose weight, I figured this would be a great way to get you all to share your weightloss tips with me!  Leave a comment telling me your best weightloss tips!  Keep in mind, I'm a beginner and won't be running any marathons anytime soon!  ***Please include your email address so I can contact you if you win*** 

Giveaway rules:

• Mandatory entries must be completed first in order for your extra entries to be counted. 
• Giveaway will end at 10:00pm on Thursday, March 3rd
• Winner will be chosen by random.org and will be contacted by email.  Winner will have 48 hours to contact me to claim their Yoplait Originals gift pack. 
• This giveaway is open to US residents only. 

Disclosure:

• I was not monetarily compensated for this review.
• All opinions and thoughts are my own and true.
• The items included in the gift package sent to me and for the giveaway were provided by Yoplait through MyBlogSpark.