Synovate Global Opinion Panel (Paid Surveys & Product Testing)

Ok so I have told you guys how much I love Pinecone Research–they are a great company and pay fast for your honest opinions. I have been with them almost three years now and will definitely continue!

I have received a ton of emails from you guys about Synovate. So may of you have told me that you have had such a good response I am giving this one a whirl too! With Synovate you do online surveys and product testing! It is that product testing part that really got me interested!!

I am always looking for ways to increase my coupon money and hey if I can get some free products to boot…I am willing to give it a go. You can go HERE to sign up. I want to hear if you guys start getting some good products!!

Recipe: Speedy Apple Tarts

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Mission Foods. All opinions are 100% mine.

Isn’t it funny how some of the best recipes come out of necessity??  My two year old is an apple fanatic…I mean big time!  He can go through five or six pounds of apples each week.  Last week I accidentally bought too many bags of apples.  I did a second mid week trip to Publix and because I am used to getting a bag each week I just grabbed an extra out of habit!  When the boys came in asking for a snack I decided to try my hand at something new.  I was in the mood for apple pie but there was no way the boys would be able to wait that long for something to eat…so I came up with my version of a speedy apple tart!  It was a hit at my house!!

Speedy Apple Tarts
4 Apples cored & thinly sliced
1 Tablespoon butter
1/2+ Teaspoon cinnamon (or to taste)
1+ Tablespoon sugar
2 -4 Mission Tortillas

Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter and add the apples and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon and 1 Tablespoon of butter.  Cook on low until the apples have softened and the sugar has caramalized a bit.  Once the filling is cooked place about 2 tablespoons of filling on a Mission tortilla and top with another tortilla.  I used a sandwich press to cut and seal the filling within the “tart”. (you could also use a cup to cut the tart then use the end of a fork to gently seal the tart closed) 

Place the tarts on a buttered cookie sheet and brush with butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.  Bake for 5 minutes then finish under the broiler for about a minute or until the cinnamon and sugar are melted!

My boys gobbled these up and I decided the next time I make them I will serve them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!!  The best part is that you will be able to enjoy them in no time flat!! I bet most of you will probably have most of the ingredients on hand. I love using Mission Tortillas–they have a great fresh baked taste and are super convenient.  Often I use them in place of bread for sandwiches and wraps. Another great thing is that Mission Flour Tortillas contain 0 grams Trans fat per serving and are cholesterol free!  I keep several packs in my freezer for a quick and easy meal!

If you have a great recipe that includes Mission Tortillas and will feed a family of five for $10 or less you might be a big winner!!  Just submit your recipe to the Mission Menus Challenge and you could win a $10,000 Kitchen Appliance Makeover!!  You can also enter to win their weekly sweepstakes! When you submit your recipe be sure and check out Mission Foods commitment to Share Our Strength and their effort to end childhood hunger in America.

I’d love to get an email from one of you letting me know you were the grand prize winner!!

Great Value Chicken Nuggets Recall

Heather over at My Sweet Savings emailed to let  us know to check our freezer as there is a voluntary recall for the Walmart Great Value Brand Chicken nuggets by Perdue Farms. Select varieties are being recalled as plastic may be found in the nuggets.

GO HERE to read the entire press release and to see all the details of this recall!

Thanks Heather!

Summer Vacation Specials In Branson

 This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Hiltons of Branson. All opinions are 100% mine.

The other day my husband and I were watching TV when an ad for Branson, Missouri.  My husband commented that he would like to go there.  I just sat there quiet and then giggled…he looked at me and said, “You don’t even know where that is do you?!”   Ok–so I never claimed to be a whiz in geography

So I checked out their website and maybe Branson is a place to consider for our family vacation!! Little did I know that Branson is the “Live Music Show Capital of the World”! This year Branson is celebrating it’s 50th year of Family Entertainment! 

Branson is also the home of the Hilton Branson Convention Center Hotel and the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing!  Both of these hotels are beautiful and are within easy driving distance of Branson’s best destinations including:

• more than 50 live performance theaters
• three pristine lakes
• 12 championship golf courses
• an international award-winning theme park
• dozens of attractions and museums
• an Historic Downtown district
• shopping galore
• a full range of dining options

With so much to offer, this exciting vacation community is perfect for everyone!  Hilton is offering so many fabulous packages to meet anyone’s needs.  They have packages designed for golfers, packages for romantic getaways as well as packages for family entertainment!

I think we could definitely find things to make everyone in my family happy. I’d love to stay at the Hilton Promenade at Branson Landing as it is very family friendly and located within the Branson Landing shopping and entertainment district.  I would be happy to shop a while then watch a show followed by a fabulous meal.  I think the kids would be all about the theme park.  My husband would probably want to test out the golf courses…I think Branson may have made it onto our list of places to consider for this year’s vacation.

Have any of you guys visited Branson?  What was your favorite thing to do?

Happy Father’s Day

Have a fun filled Father’s Day!!

Another Update To The Sears Rebate

I wanted to pull this comment out so everyone would see it…a member of the Sears Cares team left the following comment and I would encourage you all to email them at the address listed. Apparently they noticed my tweet as iheartsavingmny is my twitter handle.

Hey maybe I should tweet more often

My name is Shayne with the Sears Escalations Team. Please allow me to apologize on behalf of Sears for the trouble that was encountered by all when trying to get their $50 rebate. Here at Sears, we value each and every customer that we have. It is not our intensions to mislead our customers in any way and we are very sorry that this has happened. Here at Sears Cares we are a single point of contact for our customers and our case managers work an issue from the beginning to the end when we get a resolution that best suits our customers and Sears. I would like to ask each and every one of you to contact our office via email at searscares@searshc.com and we will have a case manager contact you directly within 24 hours of receipt of the email. In the email, please provide a contact phone number and we will call you directly. Also, in your email, please reference this web site (iheartsavingmny) for reference to where you heard about us, and we do look forward to talking to you soon.

Thank you,

Shayne W.
Senior Case Manager
Sears Cares

Sears Rebate Issues

Many of you have emailed me about the Sears Come Back Cash Promo/CVS deal.  Several of you were notified that your rebate submission was not accepted because a gift card was used.  I have called three different times and each time I have received a different answer!! 

During my last call, I was told that if I took my receipt into the store it could be adjusted so that it would qualify.  WHAT???  June said that she was able to have her items returned and the cashier then created a new receipt indicating that she paid cash.  It irritates me so bad when stores pull these tactics and what I hate even more is the fact that it is impossible to get a straight answer from their representatives.  Why should I have to go through the inconvenience of a return because they can’t get their act together??!!

A gift card is a form of payment and in no way should negate the rebate.  I would suggest that you call Sears and let them know what you think of their tactics!!  In my opinion if they wanted to exclude gift cards being used all they had to do was list that in the exclusions…seriously– would it really have been that difficult.  I also encourage you not to just accept the refusal of your rebate…several readers have reported getting the issues fixed and others are being told that the system will be modified so that future rebate request will not be rejected.

World Blood Donor Day

June 14^th is World Blood Donor Day– an opportunity to donate blood and receive limited-edition “GIVE” bandages by Nexcare to help you show off your commitment to the cause. 

Did you know that every two seconds someone needs a blood donation??!! The Nexcare GIVE mission is to make this need a national priority. Blood donation centers across the country will be joining in this celebration and distributing limited edition Nexcare GIVE bandages to those who donate blood from June 14^th to June 20^th.  

You can go HERE to find more information, find a blood center in your area AND sign up to receive free samples of the limited edition 2010 Nexcare GIVE bandages!  Please consider giving blood Monday, June 14, 2010 – Sunday, June 20, 2010 as your donation can save up to 3 lives!   Did you know that less than 10% of Americans donate blood each year, but if just 1% more donated, the national blood shortages would disappear for the foreseeable future!!

Email Subscription Issues Fixed (hopefully!)

So many of you have emailed me letting me know that you have not been getting your email subscriptions!!  After doing a bit of research I have finally chosen a new service–FeedBlitz! 

I have been working on getting everything set up and I think I am finally done (hopefully!)  If you subscribed in the past I imported you to the new service so hopefully there is nothing you need to do.  I have set the delivery for once daily between 10pm – 1 am.  I will keep an eye on it but if you all see any issues let me know and I can tweak it!

For all of you who have not signed up –it is super easy to subscribe.  If you look on the top right sidebar you will see all the little social media icons.  Click on the envelope to sign up!  You can get a digest version of all the deals sent to your email everyday–that way you won’t miss any of the deals I post!!

For all my blogging buddies out there…if you are having similar issues and want to move to FeedBlitz you can use the code HEART to get a 10% lifetime discount!! Might as well save a few bucks (code valid through 7/11  )

Time To Paint With Glidden

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Glidden. All opinions are 100% mine.

Glidden is giving away two FREE paint testers  AND the opportunity to send two more free paint testers to a friend! The testers will be given away on a first come, first serve basis while supplies last! If you don’t get the freebies you can always find Glidden’s inexpensive paint testers in any Home Depot location.

We just purchased a bunch of Glidden paint and now we just have to find the time to paint.  Yes…our basement should be completed soon!  You know you are getting close when you buy paint!  I took the opportunity to order the samples in the colors we chose so I will have a bottle ready when the boys mess up the walls.  Notice I said when –as I am pretty confident that I will need a touch up at some point.  I love the Glidden paint testers because they have a handy brush included in the lid.  I don’t have to go hunt for a brush–fabulous!!  You could of course snag some samples in colors that you want to try before you buy!

If you are not sure where to begin Glidden has a great option called the Glidden Room Painter to help you with a color palette or even match a mood you are attempting to create.  You can view Glidden’s Glidden’s Top 10 Color Palettes or snag an XL Paint Chip from Home Depot.  I taped at least 20 different paint chips to my wall before I finally chose the winners   Now let’s hope that I made good choices.  My husband is not a fan of me changing my mind AFTER he has painted –tee hee!!

Inserts That You Can Toss

Amy has posted her list of expired inserts!! I have been working hard all day in an attempt to get organized and I am hoping that I will have time to do a clean out of my coupon filing cabinet too. Head over HERE to see the list of coupons that you can toss!

Thanks to Amy over at Who Said Nothing In Life Is Free

Happy Mother’s Day

I hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day!!

Stamp Out Hunger 5/8

This Saturday, May 8th, the USPS is holding a food drive for local food banks. This would be a great time to clean out of your stockpile or buy a few Super Deals to share with others in need!! All you have to do is put your nonperishable items in a bag and leave it at your mailbox! Your mail carrier will make sure the food gets to your local food bank or pantry!

Go HERE for more information.

Here’s a list of some recommended donation items (no glass or expired food):

• Meats: Canned meat (Spam, ham, meat spread, beef stew, chicken, tuna) • Breads & Cereals: Baking mix, muffin mix, dry cereal, oatmeal, grits, rice, pasta noodles, cornmeal, sugar, flour.

• Fruits and Vegetables: Canned fruit (citrus sections, oranges, pineapples, applesauce, apricots), canned juices (tomato, orange, pineapple, grape), canned vegetables, soups, dried fruits (raisins, apricots, prunes) • Miscellaneous: Macaroni and Cheese, spaghetti sauces, boxed juice, peanut butter, canned nuts, jams and jellies.

Thanks to Becky and everyone else who emailed!

Dawn- Save The Wildlife

I am sure most of you have heard about the massive oil spill that is threatening the beautiful Gulf Coast…well my buddies Aubrey over at Eastern Shore Mom and Shannon over at The Bargain Buggy emailed to share that when you purchase a bottle of Dawn and go HERE to log your purchase, you will donate $1 to the clean up efforts! 

Pull out those Home Made Simple Booklets and use those coupons to grab some cheap Dawn and help wildlife conservation and clean up efforts (don’t forget to check your stockpile for previously purchased bottles)

SunChips Environmental Education Donation For Earth Day

Happy Earth Day everyone!!

SunChips® is GIVING green for Earth Day! They’re donating $1.00 to environmental education for every new fan they get TODAY. Visit their Facebook page to become a fan.

Thanks to Kristy at Frugally Thrifty!

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