Back-to-School Giveaway with Polly-O String Cheese and Crayola

Updated 8/16/12 We have a WINNER! All the entrants were given a number, one number for each entry. The numbers were fed into the randomizer at Randomizer.org and the following screen capture shows the number to be 3 which is MANDA. Congratulations to our winner and thank you all for entering! Stay tuned for the next great giveaway starting tomorrow!

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The most hectic time of year for me has to be the weeks before and just after the back-to-school rush. This year the five youngest are off to school and the constant questions are already plaguing me: What are they wearing? What are they eating? What supplies do they need? This year I hope to help one lucky winner with at least a little of that worry.

Kraft and Crayola (two of my favorites) have teamed up to help feed our kids' hunger and creativity by offering the following terrific prizes, worth $70:

·         Two POLLY-O/KRAFT Sting Cheese Gratuity Coupons

·         Dry-Erase Bright Crayons

·         Dry-Erase Washable Markers

·         Dry-Erase Board Set

·         Twistable Colored Pencils

·         Wild Notes 1 subject

·         Wild Notes Journal

·         Wild Notes Refill Paper

·         A Lunch Box to pack their favorite lunches in

Everything in this photo PLUS two coupons for FREE Polly-O String Cheese!

How fun is that? Here's the deal. Below all this prize-winning mumbo jumbo, I'll share my own ideas for what to do with Polly-O String cheese and some more information for you to peruse, and then you'll enter and cross all you have!

Each one of the following actions will count as a single entry for this great prize, so the more you do, the higher your chances of winning.

1. Follow @CookingwithAnne on Twitter and Tweet the following:
I'm entered to WIN Crayola prizes and more @CookingwithAnne http://bit.ly/MZ1bsi  #KRAFTStringCheeseB2S!
Come back and leave a comment with a link to your Tweet.

2. LIKE the Cooking with Anne page on Facebook. Come back and leave a comment letting me know you've done so.

3. Tweet your favorite snack or lunch idea using Kraft Polly-O String cheese using the tag #KRAFTStringCheeseB2S. Come back here and leave a comment with a link to your Tweet - one Tweet per person.

4. Follow me on Pinterest at http://pinterest.com/annecoleman/ and come back to leave a comment letting me know you've done so.

That's FOUR ways to win! Go ahead and do that and I'll have coffee while you're gone...


All done? Good! Now, here's what I've done with Polly-O String Cheese to help feed the little minds I'm in charge of.

I STUFFED them! What? Really. I got to thinking about "ants on a log" and, honestly, my kids are only a fan of one part of those and it's not the ants or the log. So, I cut each stick of string cheese almost all the way through to the bottom, lengthwise, and got out some of the kids' favorite "little" foods and stuffed each one. Think of the possibilities! Once stuffed, wrap in plastic and pop them in their lunches or save them in the refrigerator for after-school snacks. Simple and really yummy. See what ideas you can come up with on your own.

From the left: Red pepper, red seedless grapes, all-natural no sugar added peanut butter, dried cranberries, almonds and salami.

Make sure you check out the following links for fun and information on Kraft and Crayola. Also, be sure to look for specially marked packages of Polly-O String Cheese from July 15th until September 30th that contain a coupon for $3.00 off your next $10.00 purchase of Crayola products. Who doesn't love that?


www.kraftbrands.com/kraftstringcheese 

www.kraftbrands.com/pollyostringcheese

www.crayola.com/kraftstringcheese

www.crayola.com/pollyostringcheese 


Thanks so much for reading and entering and best of luck to you!

Kraft Foods is providing the prizes for this program at no cost to me and has provided me with a gift of equal value for review.  This program is not administered or sponsored by Kraft Foods or its affiliates, but solely by Cooking with Anne. This contest will run until August 16th at 12:01 AM EST so enter today!

 

Happy Blogiversary to Me!

Cooking with Anne turns 7 this year on July 4th, and in honor of my new-found maturity at such a ripe old age, I thought I'd come clean.

When I started this blog, it was sort of like every other blog out there; chatty, filled with personal info, serious at times, silly at times. I feel like I've gotten away from that (I know I have) so I want to share where I'm at.

Blogs are supposed to be personal in nature and I realize most of what I've shared lately hasn't been very personal other than the fact that my recipes are mine. Big deal. There are thousands of blogs that share personal recipes and mine is really no different in that respect.

I shared my grandmother's passing here, I shared my father's illness and death here, I shared a pregnancy and birth here, and I shared a personal family tragedy here and through each was supported with an unimaginable caring by my readers.

Here's the deal. I'm divorced. I divorced last August after 22 years of marriage. I'm sure a few of you, the ones who read through each update about my ex-husband's fall and subsequent hospitalizations and recovery are wondering why.

The truth is, beyond that tragedy was another tragedy that was happening every day for many, many years. I've been called a "saint" by close friends and I don't think I am at all, but I do know what I and my children survived for a very long time, and I finally had the courage to say, "enough". I won't get detailed, I don't think it's necessary, but those times where there are large blanks in my posting were the times when things were hardest.

I was presented with an amazing person who helps me daily to see me for me, not the person I was made to think I was; who keeps me smiling and genuinely cares about me. Without that person, I don't think I would have stood my ground and moved on. God is very funny that way ... I think He holds out on you until you're hanging by your last thread only to throw you the strongest rope you've ever had.

The point is, I'm here. I'm probably here for the long haul. Know this though, silence now is more likely the result of something GOOD happening here instead of something not-so-good. For everyone who still reads, I love you. I really do. Some of you have been here from the very start and you know who you are - I appreciate you - some days you were the light that pulled me through.

And, to the amazing someone who still keeps me going now (and the seven amazing kids who love me no matter what) ... I love you, too.