Olive Garden Trip to Italy Sweepstakes (and a giveaway)

I love to cook and bake. If time and money were no factor, I would love to go to Culinary School. I'm not sure when I first started to love baking and cooking, but it is something that I honestly enjoy. Maybe it is a little bit of Grandma shining through. I can remember nights spent at her house and I would wake to the sound of Grandma humming in the kitchen. She was a great cook and baker - everything from Chicken Noodle Soup, to Goulash, to Seedless German Rye, to Apple Strudel, to Strawberry Rhubarb cake - she made it all.

Home Ec in Junior High School was my first real opportunity to spend time in the kitchen. Then, as I got older, I would help Mom out by getting dinner started. I can still remember the first time she asked me to help her get started by browning ground meat for dinner and she would finish the meal when she got home. I put it in the pan and it started to brown, a few minutes later, I decided I was done. When she came home, she explained to me that the meat should all be brown, not pink as my browned ground meat was.

In college, when I was working as a co-op and living on my own in unfamiliar cities, I took quite a few cooking/baking courses offered at local school and grocers. It was not only fun to learn new things, it was a great way to entertain myself and not just sit around my apartment.

I still try to take classes here or there that are offered locally. Right now, Olive Garden has a sweepstakes going on with a grand prize that I would love to win! They are giving away a Trip to Italy and interactive classes from the Culinary Institute of Tuscany's Master Italian Chef, Paola Lafata. First, let me say that an eight-day trip to Italy with my husband would be a wonderful getaway - like a second honeymoon. But, add cooking classes to that and it becomes even better!

Now through May 9th, 2011, Olive Garden is offering Italian food lovers the experience of a lifetime: an eight-day immersion into Italian cuisine and culture and an insider’s look at the Olive Garden’s Culinary Institute of Tuscany.

The sweepstakes will reward four grand-prize winners with an eight-day guided trip for two, including visits to some of Italy’s most popular cities and interactive classes from the Culinary Institute of Tuscany’s Master Italian Chef, Paolo Lafata. Also, 600 first prize winners will receive a $20 Olive Garden gift card to be used towards a genuine Italian dining experience at their local Olive Garden. Your readers can enter at www.olivegardentriptoitaly.com.

Giveaway
Thanks to Olive Garden, I have the opportunity to giveaway a $25 Olive Garden Gift Card to one A Busy Mom of Two reader.

To enter: Leave a comment sharing what your favorite item is at Olive Garden?

Additional Entries (leave a comment for each additional entry)

Follow A Busy Mom of Two on Twitter and tweet about this giveaway. This can be once daily, please be sure to leave a link to the tweet in your comment.

Post about this giveaway on your blog and leave a comment with a link to your post

Sign up to receive daily updates. Leave a comment letting me know you subscribe (or that you already do)

Add my button to your sidebar or my blog to blog roll. Leave a link letting me know where you added it.

Giveaway will remain open until April 14th at 6pm and is open to US residents. Winner will be selected using Random.org random number generator. The winner will be contacted by e-mail (Please make sure that your email address is either in your comment or clearly visible on your profile or blog) and will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner may be selected.

As a side note, I think that Olive Garden must have a very effective slogan and ad campaign, because each time I write Olive Garden or read it, my brain finishes it with: "when you're here, you're family." Of course, my husband thinks I'm an advertisers dream, as I sing along to not only the music but also to all of the ads on the radio. The funny thing is that half the time, I don't realize that I am doing it. And, there are still songs from ads floating around in my head from my childhood - places that were local to where I grew up and maybe even some that aren't in business anymore.

No compensation was received for this post. Olive Garden provided me with a $25 gift card for myself and one to use as a giveaway.