This contest is over.  The winner is Michelle. Congrats!

Every so often a product comes out that I seriously don’t know how I lived without it.  The SmartShopper is that product for me.  I can’t tell you how many times I have been working on a shopping list to have it disappear to who knows where.  Then I have to restart my list, and I have no idea what was on there.  I also have had my list walk off with little children who are trying to help (even though they don’t know how to read and write).  Now, if you have kids, you all know what I am talking about.  However, the SmartShopper really is my answer to this.  The SmartShopper is an automated grocery organizer that allows you to add items to your shopping list by simply speaking into it. Yes, it is seriously that easy. You can edit and customize your SmartShopper using the easy-to-read LED display, and SmartShopper will automatically sort your items alphabetically. Now, there are 2,500 things already listed in here that are categorized. There is going to be something you need that isn’t listed. No problem. You can easily add your custom entries. The best part: when you are ready to go grocery shopping, hit the button that says print. It will print you your list printed out into categories!  You have no idea how much time this saves me.  I use to make my list and then rewrite it that way!  You can also wall mount this or stick it on your refrigerator (which is what I did).  I literally just walk around the kitchen and figure out what we need.  I hit record, say the item, select the item it thinks I said, and then repeat. That’s it! Now, if you are interested in purchasing a SmartShopper can use the exclusive code LM12398 until December 31 to receive $5 off your order. Also, all orders placed between now and December 31 will receive free ground shipping (although be sure to order before December 18, if you want the SmartShopper by Christmas).

Now, if you’d like to win one of these for yourself (or someone else), here’s what you need to do:

1. Leave a comment on this post. I want to know what feature the SmartShopper has that you love.
2. Twitter about this contest. Please leave me your username so I can verify.
3. Stumble this post. If you don’t know what Stumble Upon is, please read Lori’s post at Blogging Cents. She explains it extremely well.
4. Add this post to other social media sites like Digg, Kirtsy, Blogging Zoom, Reddit, Propeller, Etc.

For 5 additional entries,

1. Blog about this on your blog. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
2. Add this to any forums you belong too. Please give me the URL, so I can verify.
3. Subscribe to this blog using either my email or RSS feed
4. Add my badge to your sidebar:

<a href="http://lisacooking.com"><img src="http://i282.photobucket.com/albums/kk258/blm03_photos/125ad.png" border="0" alt="Lisa Cooking" /></a>

Good luck! This contest will end December 16, 2008 at 8:00 PM CST and is for US residents only.

If you are a busy mom like me, you definitely need EmailsforYou in your life.  This is an online service that helps you do customizable web based meal planning.  They will help you with recipes, shopping lists, wine pairings (I seriously needed this), techniques, and just overall ideas to help you!  You can get all of this for one year for $36!  Now, if you use the code COOKIN-23, I can save you an additional $8!  You will not find all of this elsewhere for this low of a price!  Think of it this way — this is just the cost of a dinner at a restaurant.  Cut that out, and you’ve got meal planning made easy for a whole year!  My personal favorite part of this site is that it will scale the recipes down for you (you can go as low as 2 people).  I personally hate having a recipe and standing there trying to figure out the math to cut it down (it has been a long time since I have had to divide fractions).  Now, since I have such great readers, I am able to give away 3 ten year memberships to their site!

How to Enter:  I need to know is your favorite recipe to make.  The recipes should be:

• makeable in 30 -40 minutes,
• using products and ingredients that you would normally have around the house,
• something you have made (no downloads from websites).

Your recipe also needs to fit under one of the categories listed here.

Besides the free memberships, the winners will have their recipes published both on the Emailsforyou blog and their site.  You will be given credit for the recipes on the sites too. I will also be mentioning the winners on a post on here with credit to you for a great recipe.  The judges for this contest will be me, EmealsForYou, Elizabeth from MomCooks.net, and Val from Fun, Crafts, and Recipes.

I’ll be running this contest until Dec. 15th at 8:00pm CST, so good luck.  I am looking forward to some new ideas to be making this holiday season!

With food costs going through the roof this year, it definitely effects the bottom line of most households.  I know that a typical run to the grocery store for my family on four runs us over $200 (and I have two little ones).  I can only imagine how much it costs those who have larger families or teenagers.  I am already seeing articles in our local papers about how the food pantries are having such a high demand, and it is not even the holidays yet.

One of the many ways people are making ends meet for their households is doing some debt consolidation. Now, debt consolidation isn’t going to erase your debts. However, it does allow you to get a lower interest rate on the debt you are carrying. By consolidating everything at a lower interest rate, you will have a lower monthly payment. You can do this by using a low interest credit card, getting a loan, or using your home equity (which just became much harder in this recession).  You also are able to make one payment a month instead five or ten to other places (just think how much you’ll save on stamps).  Debt consolidation also doesn’t hurt your credit score like bankruptcy can and does.  Actually, if you close the accounts that you consolidate together, it most likely will help your score.

Now, I highly recommend for items like grocery shopping not to charge them. You really don’t want to be paying interest on high priced groceries if you can help it.  Stop charging on the cards and make them for emergency use only until you get them paid off.  If you can, make more than the minimum payment.  You need to do what you have to do for your situation.  However, in these tough times, people are choosing between heat and food which is a choice that no one should have to make.  Hopefully, people can look at their situation and figure out how to make ends meet to get both.

Now, you know I like to pass along tips (like my tip of the day feature I do daily).  If any of you are food bloggers (and I know several of you are), you definitely need to check out Dragon Naturally Speaking (and the Mac version is called Dictate.  Since I have a PC, I own Dragon Naturally Speaking).  I know you are asking yourself why?  Well, this software has literally made writing posts for this blog ten times easier!

How many times have you found yourself writing yourself notes on recipes that you are making?  I know I do this all the time — especially when I am modifying a recipe for my family.  I also find myself writing notes that I want to include on my posts on the recipe itself.  Wouldn’t life be easier if you could dictate this recipe while you were cooking it?  Wouldn’t it be great to be able to add your notes when you were making the recipe instead of having to remember them?  I can’t tell you how much time I have saved using this software. Want to see how easy this is to use?

Now, if he can use it on a windy day, you can use it in your kitchen. I use mine with screaming children in the background with no problems (note: if you accidentally swear, because you burned yourself it, it will record those words down. Not that I know this from experience or anything). I am writing this post right now with Dragon Naturally Speaking, and my children are right here playing like they normally do. Now, I have a wired headset for my computer. I just keep everything right next to the stove, so I can keep the headset on and cook. However, you can buy Bluetooth headsets, and will not have that problem! Oh yeah, and instead of typing what you normally do (if you don’t know, check out Dragon’s typing speed test), you can be typing around 150 words per minute. I know it sounds crazy, but it’s true. Watch the difference:

Amazing, isn’t it? Now, there are so many more uses that you can use this for in your home. You don’t need a cooking blog to make use of this. I have four other blogs I use this on. I also am able to answer emails, IMs, and even making out my grocery shopping list! What uses for this would you have in your house?

My family and I recently got the opportunity to try several Pillsbury products.  Needless to say, they were a big hit in our house.  The first item we tried was the Pillsbury cinnamon rolls. We have both the normal sized ones and the mini ones.  I love how easy they are to make. All you need to do is open the package, put them on the cookie sheet, and throw them in the oven. It is so easy that Madison (my four-year-old) can do it.  We made these with her on Sunday morning before my parents left to go home (back to Green Bay). The mini cinnamon rolls are the perfect size for little kids. Both of my kids love them. If you are watching your portion control, these are great for you also.  All of the rolls were eaten for breakfast Sunday morning.

Tonight, we tried making pizza with the Pillsbury thin pizza crust.  Normally, pizza making is my husband’s job.  With two little ones underfoot, it is a pain to have to take dough and shape into a pizza.  It just takes way too long.  We were both pleasantly surprised when we open the thin crust pizza dough and found that it fit right into our cookie sheets. Actually, my husband was ecstatic.  Since we did not have to shape the dough, pizza making took half the time it normally does.  We actually like to make homemade pizzas, because it becomes a family event.  We are able to include Madison, and she truly enjoys that.  In a couple of years, Will will be able to join us also.  The pizzas only took about nine minutes to cook.   The cheese was melted, and the crust was cooked to perfection.  What more can you ask for?

The only thing we have left to try are the Crescent Recipe Creations. They are just like the crescent rolls, but without the perforations! I am hoping to try those within the next couple of days and let you know how they are.

Right now, I have been told by my husband that I need to buy these two items (especially the next time I go shopping, because they are a huge hit here!  Have you tried these yet?  If not, what are you waiting for?