House Parties

Recently I've had the opportunity to host two house parties. Have you heard of House Party? I was skeptical at first. Basically a company sends you a bunch of free stuff and you invite your friends so you can all check out the company's products. I applied for the Philly Cooking Creme house party and was selected as a host. They sent magnets, note pads, wooden spoons, and coupons for the products. The host gets cooler stuff for being the host. I got a Green Pan and a cooking mitt. Also four coupons for free Cooking Creme so I could make stuff for my guests. I made the Creamy Italian Chicken & Orzo Skillet:


and the Southwest Pasta Skillet.

Well, this experience converted me to House Parties, because dang that food was good. I had about six people come and everyone really liked the food. (Cassie, I'm looking at you. Have you tried the cooking creme? Because you would seriously heart it.) Also, that Green Pan ROCKS. I love it.

So after that I applied for all the house parties that sounded at all interesting to me. Just a couple months later, I was selected to be a host for Fresh Wave. I had never heard of Fresh Wave before that. I was even more doubtful about Fresh Wave than I was about the Philly Cooking Creme. (Because really, a creamy version of cream cheese? How could that be bad?) Fresh Wave is a line of odor absorbing products. Let me tell you, the stuff works. I received some crystal gel containers, a candle, room spray and pearl packs. The company sent lots of stuff, so everyone got a fair amount of loot. A couple of days after the party, my husband pulled out the George Foreman to make some hamburgers. That thing always stinks up our house to high heaven, so I lit the candle. Lo and behold, no nasty aftersmell! I could hardly believe it. I stashed a pearl pack in the kids bathroom (which smells bad no matter how often I clean it) and the car (which can get a little fusty) and both are noticeably odor-free. I love it.





I feel a bit like a corporate shill, but I don't really care. Neither company is paying me to say anything, and the parties are already over. I'm just sharing 1) delicious food that's ridiculously easy to make and 2) my surprise and delight about the lack of stink in my kids' bathroom!