Food, Fun and Friends

It was my first bloggy PR trip ever (thank you Coyne PR!).

I'm not sure why General Mills chose me (in addition to 25 other bloggers) but I sure am glad they did. I think I fit the "Stressed Out Moms Who Need a Break" category that they were trying to fill.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

The weather was a nice respite from the 100 degrees here in Texas.

Our only night there and GM treated us bloggers to a dinner/cocktail cruise around Lake Minnetonka. Did I get the lake name right? Not sure. Anyhoo, it was a gorgeous night, and later, kind of cold for this Texas girl.

Our boat

The beautiful sunset

The next morning, we hit the General Mills headquarters...

with a a short walking tour down GM Memory Lane (I couldn't resist posing with the Pillsbury Dough Boy, but I was really hoping to see the real deal- he did not materialize much to my dismay)

and then, and THEN, we rounded a corner and right before my very eyes, looking down below, was the Betty Crocker Test Kitchens. I think I might have squealed with delight, I'm not sure. I pushed the other bloggers out of the way, ran to the elevator and traveled downward to the ground floor. We spent the rest of the day in the kitchen area.

It was wonderfully awesome.

We created, we cooked, we cleaned (ha ha, not really but kind of), we ate tons of food.

Oh, my aching waistline and thank goodness for elastic pants. Oh wait, I wasn't wearing elastic but I wish I had been.

Next up......

FOOD!!!!!!

Mid-morning, they divided us into groups of four and sent us to our individual stations to prepare a pre-selected Betty Crocker meal. Everything we could have ever needed was at our fingertips. Think "Top Chef", except we were teams and we stuck to the recipes given to us.

Geri (Pink and Posh), me, LaTricia (1 Stop Mom), and Jennifer (J. Leigh Designz) photograph taken by the nice General Mills photographer

My group was entrusted with making Garden-Fresh Lasagna. I have to be honest and admit that I have never made lasagna from a box- ya'll know I love to cook and most times, it's NOT from a box. I was skeptical but willing to try anything.

Since there were four of us and really, this recipe did not need all four of us in the kitchen, I took it upon myself to photograph our food (and everyone else's) and let my team do most of the cooking. I hope they didn't mind!

I love taking pictures of food, much easier than children in my opinion.

I came up with the pretty, little food creation (above)- their photographer took the picture.

Below, our final product- it was deliciously awesome!

Other great food shots of what some the other groups were working on.

Oven-Fried Chicken Tenders

Double-Layer Tacos

Easy Fish Tacos (by far, one of my favorites)

Spicy Skillet Chicken (presented two different ways)

Fattoush Pasta Salad

Next up: FRIENDS!!!!

Kristin (An Ordinary Life) and her sweet 2 month old baby Brooklin

Lindsay (Suburban Turmoil) and Elizabeth (Busy Mom)

Nicole (Being Frugal is Fabulous and I think Nicole's hair is FAB-U-LOUS!), me, Mandy (Gourmet Mom on the Go- Mandy is my fellow "we love to cook" pal but she is WAY MORE creative than I), and Jeri (Pink and Posh, the first night I met her, I thought OMG, this girl is so classy, she scares me, lol. That went away quickly as soon as she spoke with that gorgeous Georgia accent.)

I met tons more of amazing people, like the girls who shared a plane ride home with me- Toni (A Daily Dose of Toni), Brandie (Free Sample Freak), and my seatmate whom let me talk her ear off the entire plane ride home Lizzie (Lizzie Dear's Life - LOVE HER!).

I met many more wonderful bloggers of course!

I had an awesome time and can't wait to do it again.

General Mills, you got my email address, ha ha!