The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to JKT!
Happy Blogiversary to A Taste of Home Cooking! Hard to believe it's been 6 years since I first entered the world of food blogging. Where does the time go? It feels like only yesterday I was artfully arranging my Cobb salad, snapping a few pictures and trying to come up with a catchy blog title. 
I've got a few fun things planned to celebrate the milestone, the first being a GIVEAWAY! It's been awhile since I've done one and what better excuse than an anniversary.
I received a copy of The Busy Mom's Cookbook: 100 Delicious, Quick and Easy Recipes by Antonia Lofaso. I couldn't wait to look through it. I've already got my eye on a few of the recipes and had a very hard time picking something to make. In the end my love of chicken salad, especially curry chicken salad, won out.
I usually make my curry chicken salad with grapes and walnuts, so subbing dried cranberries and pine nuts sounded interesting. I had to add a minced stalk of celery for crunch but otherwise I made the recipe as printed. And it was delicious! I think I still prefer the grapes to dried cranberries solely because of the moisture the grapes add to the chicken salad, but I'd totally use both next time. The pine nuts were a great sub. I love pine nuts and any excuse to use them, although they can be a pricey ingredient.
The Giveaway
One lucky U.S. reader have a chance to win The Busy Mom's Cookbook: 100 Delicious, Quick and Easy Recipes. Here’s how you can enter:
1. Leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite home-cooked meal for 1 entry.
2. Like A Taste of Home Cooking on Facebook for 1 entry. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.
3. Follow A Taste of Home Cooking on Twitter for 1 entry. Leave a separate comment letting me know you did so.
RULES: Maximum of three (3) entries per person. This giveaway opens Saturday, August 4 at 7:00am EST and will close Thursday, August 9 at 11:59 p.m. EST. The giveaway is only open to U.S. residents. Be sure a valid email address is included with your comment(s). Winner will be chosen randomly and contacted via email. If the winner doesn’t respond in 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. Good luck!
Curry Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Pine Nuts
From Antonia Lofaso
4 tablespoons raw pine nuts
2 cups (1 lb) chopped cooked chicken
1/3 cup mayo
8 teaspoons chopped fresh cilantro
4 teaspoons chopped red onion
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/4 cup dried cranberries
Salt and Pepper to taste
8 cups mesclun greens (if serving as a salad)
8 slices hearty white bread, toasted (if serving as a sandwich)
1 lime, halved
Heat a saute pan on low. Add the pine nuts to the pan and let them toast, stirring occassionally, for 5 to 6 minutes, until golden brown.
In a large bowl, mix the chicken, mayo, cilantro, red onion, curry powder, cranberries and toasted pine nuts. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Spoon the chicken salad over the mesclun greens (or place on toasted bread with a handful of salad greens). Squeeze the lime over the salad before serving.
Disclosure: This giveaway is provided by Penguin Books, but my opinions are completely my own. I received a free copy of the cookbook.
Curry Chicken Salad with Cranberries and Pine Nuts and a GIVEAWAY!!
And the winner is....
I'm sorry to have made everyone wait until Monday for the big announcement of who won the giveaway for the Furi Rachael Ray Froggy Double-Bladed Mezzaluna with Wooden Cutting Board and Non-Slip Mat. In the future I promise to have all giveaways end on Thursdays so I can announce the winner the next day.
Without further ado...
Drum roll please...
The winner is: 
Jaida from Sweet Beginnings! Congratulations, Jaida! I hope it makes chopping herbs an easier task. Please contact me with your mailing address within 24 hours.
Thank you to everyone who entered. I really appreciate my readers and am so happy you enjoy reading my blog (and hopefully making my recipes) as much as I enjoy sharing my meals with you. Happy Cooking!
It's time for a GIVEAWAY!
Thanks to my wonderful readers, my Facebook fan page reached 300 "likes" this week. Thank you all so much! In honor of this milestone I've decided it's time for another giveaway. 
In the interest of full disclosure, I received this Furi Rachael Ray Froggy Double-Bladed Mezzaluna with Wooden Cutting Board and Non-Slip Mat as a gift a few years ago. It was an incredibly thoughtful gift, but since I haven't taken it out of the box yet I figured it might be nice to give it a home where someone will actually use it. 
Product Features (taken from Amazon.com):
1. Füri Rachael Ray Froggy Double Blade Mezzaluna, reversible wood chopping board and a non-slip mat
2. Froggy has a bright green patented 'grippy' polypropylene and rubber handle that is antimicrobial-treated
3. The knife's dual blades are designed to offer additional cutting efficiency while providing ample stability for even the youngest of cooks
4. Use to mince and chop - from herbs, to nuts, to chocolate
5. The reversible wood chopping board has a curved bowl for easy chopping and measures 13.5-inches in length, 7.75-inches wide and 1-inch in height. Hand wash - not dishwasher safe.
To enter the giveaway: Leave a comment on this post telling me what you plan to chop with the mezzaluna.
For a second entry: Let me know what recipe(s) you've made from my blog.
The Rules: Maximum of two entries per person, U.S. residents only. Each question should be answered in a separate post for you to receive credit for each entry. Commenting will close on Friday, September 30, at 4:00 pm, EST. Entries that do not follow the entry requirements will not be considered. The winner must be willing to provide a mailing address, so make sure to leave an email address if there isn't one in your profile. If the winner does not respond within 24 hours of being notified a second winner will be chosen. Good luck!
And the winner is...
UPDATE: Unfortunately I didn't hear from Wendy so a new winner was chosen. Danielle, please contact me to claim your prize!
Drumroll please.
The winner of the adorable apron from 5 Little Elephants is...
Congrats to Wendy Lynders! Please email me at tasteofhomecooking at gmail dot com to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you within 48 hours I will pick another winner, so please get in touch!
And remember, this drawing was extra special and there is a second place winner who will receive a $5 off coupon for the 5 Little Elephants Store. The second place winner is...
Carrie, please email me to claim your prize. If I don't hear from you within 48 hours I will pick another winner, so please get in touch!
Thank you to everyone who entered this giveaway and who took the time to check out 5 Little Elephants. I hope to partner with them on another giveaway in the future. Thank you for making the adorable aprons, Christa!
200 Facebook "Likes" Giveaway
Thanks to my wonderful readers, my blog's Facebook fan page reached 200 "likes" this week. In honor of this milestone I'm teaming up with my friend Christa from 5 Little Elephants on a very special giveaway. One lucky reader will receive this adorable toddler apron:
This apron is made of cotton material, measures 19" long and is perfect for any toddler. The apron, decorated with various birds, has decorative stitching around its two deep pockets. 
The neck piece is made of pink satin ribbon. 
It needs to be hand washed separately and dried flat. This apron retails for $16.95 plus $3.95 s/h. A matching adult apron is available for $22.95 plus $4.95 s/h. A special $5 discount is available for matching aprons.
UPDATE: Here is the boy version:
About 5 Little Elephants: Christa and Sarah are stay at home moms with a total of 5 children. Sarah has a 2 year old daughter, Riley, and a 5 month old son, Lucas. Christa has a 2 year old daughter, Ella, and 4 month old twins, Juliette and Tucker. They decided that they needed a creative outlet and chose to make products for moms that are tasteful, useful and reasonably priced. You can also check out their Etsy site. You can contact Christa directly at christa.nielsen@gmail.com or go to their Facebook page and leave a post on their wall.
And because this giveaway is extra special, there will be a second place winner as well. That person will receive a $5 off coupon for the 5 Little Elephants store.
To enter the giveaway: Leave a comment on this post telling me what you love most about cooking with kids. Even if you don't have children of your own, this is a perfect gift to give a friend or relative.
For a second entry: Like 5 Little Elephants on Facebook and leave another comment on this post letting me know you did.
The Rules: Maximum of two entries per person, U.S. residents only. Each question should be answered in a separate post for you to receive credit for each entry. Commenting will close on Friday, July 15, at 4:00 pm, EST. Entries that do not follow the entry requirements will not be considered. A first and second place winner will be chosen at random and announced next week. The winner must be willing to provide a mailing address. Good luck!
And the winner is...
The winner of the Redpack gift set is Melissa at I Was Born to Cook! 
Melissa, please email me your mailing address and I will forward it to Redpack. I hope you enjoy your prize!
Look for my next giveaway in April.
