Photo courtesy of Envirosax.com

I should know better than to play around with the widgets and things on my blog. I somehow messed up my subscription and most of you who were subscribed to Dine & Dish through your bookmarks or readers (such as Google or Bloglines) lost me. I’m sorry!

Would you be so kind to subscribe again? I’ve included the handy dandy tool for you to do so below. I’ve also included the option to subscribe via email… by doing this you will receive the most recent Dine & Dish news in your email inbox as soon as it happens! Once you have updated your subscription, leave a comment here. Everyone who comments will be entered into a Giveaway for a set of Envirosax’s. These gorgeous “sax” are my new favorite shopping accessory.  Going green has never looked so good! One lucky Dine & Dish subscriber will win one of their 5 in 1 pouch sets… winner chooses the design they want! Winner will be chosen through the random number generator. Subscribe today, leave a comment, and hopefully you will be the next Dine & Dish Giveaway winner! I will accept entries until Wednesday, August 27th at 10pm CST. Winner will be announced shortly after!

Stephanie from Stephanie’s Kitchen is the lucky winner of the most recent Dine & Dish Giveaway. Stephanie’s comment corresponded with the number from the Random Number Generator, so she will be receiving her very own copy of my new favorite cookbook, Table Talk by Carol McManus, plus the Food for Talk conversation starters. If you weren’t the winner this time, make sure you check out the Table Talk website. Consider buying this book for your collection… you will love it. Also, stay tuned for more great giveaways coming up! Thanks to all who had entered.

Since I am on the topic of great products, I just have to give a plug to the ladies at Truly Mom for creating the most perfect organizer. I recently ordered the Majilite planner in their Signature Style. Everything about this planner is great - it is like they got into my head and created a product with all the functional things I need in a planner but wrapped it all up into a stylish package! If you are bound and determined to get your household in order this school year, you will adore this planner. When I find great products, I like to pass on the news… hope you’ll check them out!

Tomorrow, back to food…. I promise!

(planner photo courtesy of Truly Mom)

Carol’s cookbook, Table Talk, continues to be extremely popular in my house. My love for this book has only increased with each recipe I try! I have decided that it would only be fair to give one of you the chance to win a copy of this fantastic cookbook. For dinner tonight, we had Tried and True Meatballs with Zingy Red Sauce. My husband’s comments, “These were the best meatballs with sauce and pasta you have ever made!”. Want the recipe? Get the book

Gathering together at least once a day for a family meal is very important. Because of that, I am also going to include in this giveaway Food for Talk by my friend Julienne Smith. Food for Talk is a box of conversation starters for families and friends to use at meal time to get the conversation flowing.

Entering to win is simple. First, head over to Carol’s website and check out Table Talk. After you have done that, come back and leave one comment on this post. Please fill out the form with your name, email address and blog address. If you don’t have a blog, that is fine. Just make sure you let me know how I can get a hold of you.

All entries must be received by Midnight CST on Wednesday, July 23rd.

The winner of the Roast Chicken and Other Stories cookbook is Grace of the blog,  A Southern Grace. Grace’s comment number was chosen by the Random Number Generator. If you haven’t made it over to Grace’s blog, do. It is full of yummy recipes full of that Southern charm that I adore!

Congratulations Grace. Thanks to all who entered. We will have a new giveaway coming up soon!

I was thrilled to pieces several months back when I got an email from someone at Culinate saying that I had won a book giveaway. I rarely win things, so it was to my delight when the package from Culinate arrived on my doorstep. Of course, it would be my luck that the book that was sent to me was one I already owned.

My win is now your win! The charming cookbook “Roast Chicken and Other Stories” can be yours simply by posting a comment on this entry. Please include your email address and blog link in the form. If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment on this post and then contact me via email with a link to your favorite blog. If your name is drawn, I’ll send the cookbook out to you. All comments must be entered by Midnight CST on Wednesday, June 18th. Good luck!

LyB from the blog, …and then I do dishes. The Random Number Generator selected the #1, which corresponded with LyB’s comment! Congratulations LyB!

If you weren’t the winner this time, stay tuned for another great giveaway coming up! Also, make sure to check out Miss ‘N Nick Designs. I love to support independent stores and artists and hope you will join with me in recognizing their talent. Nicole has some fantastic things, so pass the word on about her website!

I am a sucker for office supplies and paper goods. I have drawers full of pens, pencils, sticky notes, notecards, markers, scissors, etc. I have no idea what draws me in, but this obsession of mine is slowly taking over not only my desk, but the drawers in my kitchen. I think part of the reason for the plethora of pens, scissors and paper in my house is that I grew up in a house quite the opposite. If you needed to write down a phone number or a message, you would have to search and search for a pen and paper to write on. And, if you were having a really lucky day, the pen you would actually find would work! Imagine that!

Now that this obsession is out in the open, it will come to no surprise to you all that when I stumbled upon the website of Nicole Howard, I fell in love. Nicole is the owner and designer for Miss ‘N Nick Designs. Her stationary designs are sophisticated, yet whimsical. The cupcake note cards got my attention right away… what a perfect little note card to send out to all of your foodie and non-foodie friends! This is why I chose the Box of 10 Cupcakes Note Cards as the 2nd Dine and Dish Giveaway.

If you are interested in participating, simply leave a comment (please include your email address and link to your blog in the contact form) on this post by midnight CST on Saturday, May 31st. If you don’t have a blog, leave a comment and email me with a link to your favorite blog… just to control trolls. The random drawing will take place on June 1st and the winner will be announced sometime that day.

While you are taking a look at Miss ‘N Nick Designs, head on over to Nicole’s food blog too. Her blog, Art and Ailoi ( a blog about art, food, and the art of food) has quickly become a favorite!

Thanks for entering and good luck!

Congrats to Lesley from Lesley’s Kitchen blog! I used the Random Number Generator to select a number from the entries, and Les in NE was the winner of the Honey I’m Home apron from Simply Aprons. If you weren’t the winner and are still interested in an apron, head over to Simply Aprons soon. Julie just added a couple of gorgeous new designs! Thanks to those of you who participated. The recipes you sent in were fabulous! Stay tuned… another foodie giveaway is coming up soon!

I think it is high time that we have a giveaway here at Dine and Dish. Don’t you agree? My dear and enormously creative friend, Julie, recently opened an Etsy store to showcase her fun and whimsical new aprons. She brought me over one last week as a gift and I knew just then and there that one of her half aprons would be the perfect first Dine and Dish giveaway. Julie’s aprons are high quality, well crafted, and they have so much personality… just exactly what we want in the kitchen!

I thought and thought and thought about how I should conduct this giveaway when it hit me. I need some help from you all, and if you help me you will be entered into the drawing to win the “Honey I’m Home” apron from Julie’s store, Simply Aprons.

I recently started a weekly column over at the family friendly site, Blogged In. The new column is a fun one and is all about weekend cooking. Our weekday schedules are hectic, but as time passes and the kids get older and more involved in things, the weekends are catching right up. The new column, Dishing It Up Weekend Style, gives me the chance to share some of our favorite weekend menus with you. The concept is to share ideas that will help families to gather around the table, even on the weekends when the door is revolving with people running in and out.

This is where you come in. I would love to have you share with me some of your favorite weekend recipes. In return, I will promote your blog and recipes in my column giving you complete credit, and you will be entered to win the prize. Please take the steps below to be entered to win:

• First, visit Julie’s Etsy store and take a look at her gorgeous aprons. She will be adding more designs soon, so go ahead and bookmark it now as a favorite. Oh - and Mother’s Day is coming up! Julie’s aprons make a great gift for Mom!

• Email me at kristen at dineanddish dot net (replace at with @ and dot with .). In your email include the link to at least one main dish recipe and one side dish or dessert recipe that you think makes a great weekend dish. In the email, please include:

Your name and your blog name (with link)
The names of your recipes, including the permalink to where they are on your blog
A written note within the email that gives me permission to link back to your blog through my column, and if you are oay with it, to use your recipe photo on the printable recipe sheet (with credit back to you).

• Leave a comment in the comments section of this post saying that you have emailed me your recipes and would like to be included in the drawing
• All entries to win this apron must be received by 11pm CST, Friday, May 9th. The random drawing will be held on Saturday, May 10th and the winner will be notified by email.

I am excited to see what kind of things you all cook up on the weekends! Thanks for participating.