Ice Age: Collision Course Featurette + Giveaway

When coming up with new recipes for the boys I try to stay with things that I know they will like, and only really adventure out if it with with something they already love. I was recently able to try out some Apple Butter from Dept. of Sweet Diversions. I’d never had apple butter but decided to try it out in a meal.
At the Dept. of Sweet Diversions we source local organic and/or sustainably grown fruit for our jams, marmalades, and jellies. To help reduce our carbon footprint most of our ingredients come from farmers markets within a 12 mile radius of our kitchen. Our goal is to elevate the art of preserving in hopes of inspiring people to try new fruit & flavor combinations.
Virginie Strub, is bringing a new level of culinary creativity and hip personality to the jam aisle that has been stagnant for years. Teaming with long-time friend and illustration artist Thomas Urech, the two have launched a boutique jam company called Department of Sweet Diversions. Made in small batches using traditional techniques, Strub’s cooking process is classic, while the flavors she creates are modern and delectably surprising. From fresh strawberries mixed with the smoldering orange-tinged notes of Grand Marnier to the smooth taste of Bartlett pears with luxurious acacia honey and fresh ginger, all of her jams feature seasonal ingredients.
I made Dept. of Sweet Diversions Apple Butter Chicken Salad with a Honey Apple Dressing…and it was a HUGE hit! Using the Apple Butter & a little Rosemarry on the chicken piled on top of a fresh salad with a Honey Apple Dressing just brought the taste of fall out!
The Apple Butter is so flavorful and is great on many things..but this salad was my favorite! I hope you try it out and love it as much as we do!
Apple Butter Chicken Salad with Honey Apple Dressing Apple Butter Chicken Salad with Honey Apple Dressing is loaded with fall flavors and is a great way to kick off fall!
Salad
1 Head of Lettuce
1/2 Bundle of Spinach
1 Pack Cherry Tomatoes
1 Pack Carrot Shreads
Chicken Breasts
6 Chicken Breasts
3 Tbs Dept. of Sweet Diversions Apple Butter
4 Tbs Honey BBQ Sauce or Honey
1 Sprig of Rosemary
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Honey-Apple Vinaigrette Dressing
3/4 Cup Honey
3/4 Cup Olive Oil
1/4 Cup Apple Cider Vinegar
2 Tsp Salt
2 Tsp Pepper
Cut your chicken into strips a few hours before dinner.
Place breast strips into large ziploc with your Apple Butter & honey BBQ sauce or honey with about a 1/4 cup of water, your rosemary sprig, salt & pepper.
Place in fridge till you are ready to cook
Combine your salad Ingredients slicing your tomatoes into halves
Toss your chicken into a skillet and cook thru slathering with the marinade throughout cooking.
Place Honey Apple Vinaigrette Dressing ingredients into a bowl and whisk till combined
Put salad into an individual bowl top with chicken & dressing
Enjoy!
For a crunch you can add walnuts and apple slices to your salad.
My Sparkling Life https://mysparklinglife.com/ The Dept. of Sweet Diverstions sell more than just Apple butter! Head on over and check out their other flavors of Jams and Spreads! They have a mystery box, gift set and even an ornament so you can pick out a great gift for any foodie on your list!
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Disclosure: I was contacted by Mothers Against Drunk Driving to help reach parents to give them the tools they need to talk with their children about the dangers of underage drinking. Nationwide is the PowerTalk 21 national presenting sponsor, and the GM Foundation is the national supporting partner.
Ahh, it’s the weekend time to sit back relax and have a few drinks…but If your kids are like mine they are always asking what your drinking and why if it’s bad, do I do it. You might think they are too young to understand “adult drinks” & the dangers of underage drinking, but, research shows children start weighing the pros and cons of underage drinking as early as age 8.
We’re sure to discuss the effects and why it is an adult only drink every time, even with our younger ones who are more of the inquisitive ones. I was a proud member of SADD when in high school and am proud to be working with MADD to share their Power of Parents program!
MADD developed its Power of Parents® program to help parents feel more confident about talking with their children about the dangers of underage drinking. PowerTalk 21®, April 21st, is the annual day for parents to start talking with their children about alcohol.
To help you out in this talk MADD created the new Power of Parents handbook for parents of middle schoolers (grades 6-8) to equip them to have early, intentional and ongoing conversations about alcohol with their kids. The Power of Parents high school (grades 9-12) handbook helps evolve the conversation as children mature and their perceptions about alcohol change.
To download your FREE handbook or register for a FREE online webinar on this topic Visit http://bit.ly/1bS66wL! You can also learn how to get involved in your local community and view the infographic.
You can enter to win prizes (an Apple Watch Sport grand prize) by downloading the free handbook or registering for the online webinar on April 21st.
A MADD and Nationwide Survey showed that one-third of parents believe the ages they should start talking with their children about alcohol are 14-18, in high school. But, research shows children start weighing the pros and cons of underage drinking as early as age 8.
One in four middle school students have tried alcohol by the end of 8th grade.
Parents remain the biggest influence on their teens not to drink, even more so than their teens’ friends.
Teens are 80 percent less likely to drink if parents deliver a clear no alcohol before 21 message.
A common misperception is that drugs are the leading harm when alcohol is still the number one drug of choice of youth and underage drinking kills more people than all other illegal drugs combined.
References:
1: Brooke S. G. Molina, John E. Donovan and Katherine A. Belendiuk, Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, November 2010; Donovan, John E., Molina, Brooke S. G. and Kelly, Thomas M., Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, Vol 23(2), Jun 2009, 248-259.
2: Institute for Social Research, the University of Michigan, 2015.
3: Online survey conducted by MADD
4: National Academies Press, 2003

Today is a little bitter sweet…it’s my final coverage from my #McFarlandUSAEvent Trip to LA, but I get to share the behind the scenes look into the Tinkerbell and the legend of the Neverbeast music making process with Featured Instrumentalist Bleu McAuley & Music Supervisor Brett Swain !
Tinkerbell and the Legend of the Neverbeast is Bleu’s very first film that he’s worked on, ever! The director, Steve Loter, was a big fan of his career for years, even listening to it on his daily 1 1/2 commute to work..and after one of Bleu’s shows, Steve approached him and mentioned he was working on a project and wanted to see if Bleu had interest in meeting with him to learn more.
I walked into this building for my first meeting, and I was like, oh, man, I — I think I might be making some music for a Disney film.
Steve wanted something unique for this film, new sounds, especially for the Neverbeast, Gruff.
So the challenge for me was to come up with this unique sound palette for him and all the other characters in the film. So I’ll talk briefly about the instruments that we used for Gruff.
He shows us how he incorporated planters that he turned upside down and how they fit perfectly on cymbal stands. He talks about how they got dozens of pots, all different kinds, because they all have their own unique pitches. They also pulled in some drum sounds with different types of drums and a tin trash can.
Bleu knew that he wanted to use acoustic stringed instruments in the film because he has a big background in that and alternate tunings and low strung guitars and high-strung guitars and all these sorts of different things.
But I didn’t want it to be an acoustic guitar score ’cause again that has a specific connotation of folk music or country music or the west and that kinda thing. I didn’t want to place it in that territory. So, I was looking for new ways to play acoustic instruments.
So they created a unique sound with a guitar and dulcimer hammers, which requires two people to work the instrument. They call the instrument a dulcetar, which is a combination of the two instruments used. You will hear this sound a lot when you see Fawn.
Then he showed us the fun whirly tubes they used during parts of the film because they sound like wind through the trees.. after that they demonstrated different copper and chrome pipes that they had strung up to use when identifying with Nix.
You can see a short clip of the sound demonstrations below…
It was really cool to be able to see and hear the process behind the music. I never really knew so much went into it…Bleu was originally hired on to choreograph one song, but not long after working on that song, he was asked to do several other songs and the score for the movie.
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Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”