Food — Page 15

Buy a Box, Donate a Meal: Love with Food Giveaway

Love with Food Gourmet Gift Box

I am a big fan of monthly “surprise” subscriptions. I love the Bluum Box for new moms, Fair Ivy has super fun packages for adults, teens, and pets – And now I can give gift subscriptions of Love with Food to my foodie friends too! Each monthly shipment comes packaged in a cheerful red box, and is filled with gourmet food bites to discover. You can then visit the website to get discounts on your favorite full-size products. Love it, right?

They Taste Good, and they Do Good!

Every box purchased through Love with Food means another meal donated to help feed a hungry child – Donations are made to No Kid Hungry, and almost 5,000 meals have already been donated! What an easy way to use your purchasing power to help other moms raise happy, healthy children. I love companies that use their profit for good things.

From Sweet to Savory – There’s a bite to please any palate!

Each of these fun gift boxes comes loaded with at least 5-6 new bite-size products to taste. The kids are already huge fans of the fruit snacks that were included, and fought over who would get to try this new flavor. I had never tasted Somersault snacks before, and am SO glad that they were in this box – What a perfect healthy snack for busy moms! There was nothing in the box that we didn’t like, and some will be new regular purchases in my house. The selection was just perfect.

Love with Food Giveaway!

You can try one of these fun gift boxes too – 5 lucky fans will each be shipped out their own box of gourmet food treats to discover new tastes too! Use the easy peasy Rafflecopter form below to enter – and be sure to come back each day for the bonus entry. Feelin’ lucky? Check out the BIG list of giveaways in the sidebar too – The more you enter, the more chances you have to WIN!

Have fun & Good luck!

{Disclaimer: I received a complimentary gourmet food box to facilitate this review, from Love with Food through Mom Blog Society. All photos, opinions, and ideas are my own.}

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 7, 2012 Filed Under: Giveaways | 55 Comments

Valentine’s Day: Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes

Looking for a fun Valentine’s Day Cupcake idea that looks super impressive, but takes only minimal skill? Then these super delish Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes are perfect for you! {They start with a boxed mix. Love that, right?} Keep reading to learn my secret trick to jazzin’ ’em up!

“Life is uncertain. Eat dessert first.” – Ernestine Ulmer

As I mentioned over on the Click, Color, Capture Photo Challenge post earlier this week – I’m not a fan of Valentine’s Day. But – I am a fan of cupcakes! And these Chocolate-Cherry filled Golden Cupcakes totally brighten up the holiday for me! They’re incredibly easy to make, and super delicious too. They’re like – cute puppy faces and pretty flowers delivered to your door and sparkles and pretty shoes – everything that’s happy and good, all put together, and transformed into a cupcake. They’re also why my jeans are fitting tighter these days… Lol.

“Forget love – I’d rather fall in chocolate!” – Sandra J. Dykes

This cupcake recipe is a kinda-homemade style dessert – Because that’s the only way I do my baking! It starts with the new Fun-da-Middles Yellow Cupcake Mix, with chocolate frosting. But I’m never happy with a plain ol’ boxed mix, I like to get creative – But I admit, I have much more creativity and enthusiasm than I do skill, so there are disasters sometimes. Luckily, this experiment was a total success!

Chocolate filled Golden-Cherry Cupcakes

1. Stir up the Fun-da-Middles mix, following the instructions on the package – but instead of adding regular water, use the Clear American Cherry Flavored Water from Walmart. It fizzes a little bit when you pour it in, which is cool. Now stir up the batter just like you usually would, and move on to step 2!
2. Put adorable cupcake liners into your cupcake pan. I prefer polka-dots.
3. Now, things get a wee bit tricky – You want to use just enough cupcake batter to cover the bottom of each liner, but have enough left over to cover the filling! So, fill each cupcake liner with a small scoop, and make sure it fills the whole bottom of the cup.
4. Now the fun part – Grab the pouch of chocolate filling included in the package, and squeeze it for a minute or two. I listen to my music loud while cooking, so I dance while I squeeze. It’s up to you.
5. Now that the chocolate filling is warmed up, snip off a corner, and start squeezing dollops of it onto each cup of batter. Make them even, and keep it in the middle, not touching the edges of the liner. You don’t want it to ooze out while baking!
6. Now, add one maraschino cherry on top of the chocolate filling! I absolutely love the combination of chocolate and cherry together!
7. Next, use the rest of your batter to cover the cherry and chocolate filling in each cup. Bake ’em up at the temperature recommended on the box. It’s ok to have a glass of wine while you wait….
8. Now, you can take a short cut and use a canister of Betty Crocker red frosting, or tint your own favorite recipe with the Wilton Red Icing Color, and use your own bag and tip to swirl on some fun frosting!
9. Almost done – Grab a pretty sprinkle to top your cupcakes! I used some silver pearls on half, and chocolate sprinkles on the other half. I love sprinkles. A lot.

“I’d give up chocolate, but I’m no quitter!” – Author Unknown

Sounds good, right? These are so super fun, and the kids love the surprise of chocolate and cherry in the middle. They’re also pretty enough for fancier events too. So, while I boycott most things Valentine’s Day related – I do support holiday themed cupcakes, and will be making these again this week! Enjoy…. And – if you’re a cupcake junkie too, check out my Pinterest Cupcake Board!

“Save the earth. It’s the only planet with chocolate.” – Author Unknown

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 3, 2012 Filed Under: Holidays, Food, Featured Valentine's Day | 14 Comments

My Bacon Interview with Burger King Chef Koch!

Who Loves Bacon?

In my house, we are total bacon junkies. We believe every single dish can be improved by the addition of bacon. I recently got the opportunity to submit my questions about all things bacon to the Bacon Master himself – John Koch, the Executive Chef and Director, Product Innovation for Culinary Research and Development for Burger King restaurants {imagine trying to fit that title on your business cards, lol} – and was glad to see that he agrees with our family – There’s really nothing you CAN’T improve with a bit of bacon!

Check out my exclusive interview with Chef Kock…

“Porkchops and bacon, my two favorite animals.” – Homer Simpson

John Koch’s career is filled with experience in nearly every restaurant segment in the industry. From family dining to fine dining, with bar & grill, micro brewery, casual dining and chef/owner roles along the way, John has a clear and real understanding of who eats what, where they eat it, and why.

My own Favorite Bacon Recipe

In the video interview, Chef Kock mentions Bacon Jam – and he’s right, that stuff is so dang good. Here’s my favorite bacon recipe, including the uh-MAY-zing bacon jam…

Mmmmm…. Breakfast with Skillet Bacon Jam!!

What’s your favorite bacon recipe?

I’d love to hear how your family uses bacon – Is it simply a perfect breakfast food on it’s own? Do you have any unique recipes or ways that you add it to your meals? If you’ve got a great recipe, link it up in the comments! You guys always have the best ideas.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on February 1, 2012 Filed Under: Tips | 1 Comment

Superbowl Food Idea: The Snack Mahal

Superbowl Party Food Idea

Ok, many of you guys have now seen my recent party food creation just in time for the biggest football party of the year –

Superbowl food idea – The Snackadium

And I’ve loved all of the comments telling me how cool it is. I was rather impressed with myself in putting it together – it was a ton of fun, much easier to figure out than I expected, and it turned out really cool.

Well, I was impressed with myself until today!

THIS video is the coolest darn thing ever. The iPhone is a completely amazing addition. What do you guys think??

Having a Superbowl Party?

Find more great party ideas on my Pinterest Football Party board. And get some great party food safety tips for your Superbowl party too. If you have some favorite Football party ideas – Leave comments! Do you have a Football board on Pinterest too – Leave comments with your link! And – Who do YOU want to win the Superbowl this year – Yep, leave comments!

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 31, 2012 Filed Under: Holidays | No Comments

How to Lose Weight with Chocolate Ice Cream

The Challenge: Most of you ladies know that I’m still trying to lose my baby weight. {Can I even still call it that? She’s a toddler now…} But, I’m a busy momma. I struggle with eating a balanced diet – I get up early so I can do some writing before that adorably destructive toddler of mine gets up, and skip breakfast for a few buckets of coffee. I eat really healthy in the afternoon, and then attempt to make something healthy for dinner that the kids will like. But, my biggest weakness is sweets, at night, while I’m up working late.

“I keep trying to lose weight… but it keeps finding me!” – Author Unknown

Busy Mom Solution: Weight Watchers new Ice Cream bars!! Ohmyheck ladies – these are goooood. When I heard that I was going to get a shipment of samples to check out, I thought it would be fun to try them, but honestly – I didn’t have big expectations. Most “diet” sweets have that really artificial taste to them. Since they were Weight Watchers, I knew that they’d be better than most, but I didn’t think they’d be anything that exciting. Um, I could not have been more wrong!

“I’m not overweight. I’m just nine inches too short.” – Shelley Winters

I loved all of the flavors that we tried out, and the whole family actually really liked them too – Even the guys! My very favorite was the Dark Chocolate Raspberry – These taste just like my favorite chocolate truffle from a little candy shop downtown. They are, honestly, my favorite ice cream bar that I’ve ever eaten. And when you top that with the fact that they have only 80 calories, 2 grams of protein, 0 grams saturated fat, and a Points value of 2 – well, let’s just say that I have fallen in love. Heck, I’m calling this the Chocolate Ice Cream diet – join me in adding these sweet snacks to your daily routine too!

“I have gained and lost the same ten pounds so many times over and over again my cellulite must have déjà vu.” – Jane Wagner

Dark Chocolate Dulce de Leche Ice Cream Bars

Learn more about the other flavors of Weight Watchers Ice Cream bars, like Triple Chocolate and Dark Chocolate Dulce de Leche. You can also check out all of their other products, and join the Weight Watchers program yourself.

Social media junkie like me? Follow Weight Watchers on Facebook & Twitter to stay updated on new products and promotions.

{Disclaimer: I was provided with complimentary products from Mom Select and Weight Watchers for this review, so that I could share my honest opinions. As always, all photos and opinions are 100% my own and not influenced by a little bit of swag. Thanks for reading!}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 31, 2012 Filed Under: Busy Mom Solution | 1 Comment

Super Bowl Party Food Idea: How to Build a Snackadium!

If you’re a football lover – or even just a party lover who looks for any reason to entertain, even when you don’t know a thing about football {*cough, cough* talking about me here! Lol.} – you’ll love this super fun, super impressive – yet I promise still super simple! – football party food. Check it out….

“The reason women don’t play football is because eleven of them would never wear the same outfit in public.” – Phyllis Diller

A couple weeks ago, I was searching Pinterest for some super cool Superbowl party food idea. And I came across a picture of a stadium made of snacks, which led me to the uh-MAY-zing Snackadium.com. The Snackadium site is filled to the top with fun food ideas – but it’s not filled with many instructions. So – I’ll show you how to build your own Snackadium! Awesome, right?

“Half this game is ninety percent mental.” – Danny Ozark, Philadelphia Phillies manager.

Start with either a cookie sheet, {ignore that I used our super duper old one for this project, lol} or a foil baking sheet if you want something disposable – this is going to become your field. You could also use a thicker baking pan, if you wanted to make a 7-layer dip, instead of just the basics like I did. I started with the center section – and used Wholly Guacamole {the best kind evah!} for the playing field. My secret to making the lines nice and even is to use kabob sticks – those type that you get at Walmart in the BBQ section. Outline your “field” with sticks, and fill in with guacamole. Once you have it full – fill your other sides with salsa, and then nacho cheese. You can cover the sticks with the dips, and you won’t even see them. To finish your field, scoop a bunch of sour cream into a plastic sandwich baggie, snip off a tiny end, and pipe it out like frosting to draw lines on your field. Now you’ve got your football field – Easy peasy, right?

“I am thankful for the mess to clean after a party because it means I have been surrounded by friends.” – Nancie J. Carmody

Next you want to build your goal posts. We used a package of pepperoni sticks – so good. As you can see in the picture, I used toothpicks to hold the pieces together. To get them to fit together tightly, you can push a spoon against the outside edge, to keep the toothpick from poking out through. Then cut a big square of cheese for the base, and attach it with another toothpick. Done!

“The NFL, like life, is full of idiots.” – Randy Cross

For the outside wall of the Snack Stadium we used Rice Krispies Treats cut into squares, and held together with more toothpicks. I tried using homemade ones, but they were too soft. The store bought type worked MUCH better! And just one treat sheet gave me enough pieces to go all the way around, with a bit leftover.

“I’ve been big ever since I was little.” – William Perry, Former Chicago Bears Defensive Tackle

Now you’re ready to assemble the stadium! You’ve got your playing field filled with dips, the Rice Krispies walls are ready to assemble, and your pepperoni goals are built. So – start putting together the wall all around your field, as large as you want to make it. Use a toothpick in between each Rice Krispies Square to keep it together. Then, fill the space in between the field and the wall with chips. {Another great idea that I saw was to add hot dogs all around that inside edge, to keep the chips from falling into the dips – so smart!} Then, put your goal posts in. You’re almost done!

“The Rose Bowl is the only bowl I’ve ever seen that I didn’t have to clean.” – Erma Bombeck

One last piece – You have to make the football players! We used hot dogs cut into little pieces, and topped them with tiny cheese helmets. I’ve also seen little smokies as players, and Fritos corn chips as helmets. You could get really creative and use those tubes of cookie decorating icing to color the helmets to match the teams too. Put your players on the field – and bam! You’ve just built yourself a Snackadium.

“I feel like I’m the best, but you’re not going to get me to say that.” – Jerry Rice, San Francisco 49ers Wide Receiver

Totally fun, right? It was actually a lot simpler to build then I thought it would be. If you want to check out more fun football party ideas, check out my Football Party Ideas board on Pinterest. And for more Snack Stadium inspiration – visit Snackadium.com and check out the Snackopolis! Wow.

Do you have a fun football idea to share?

I’d LOVE to see your fun food ideas too – if you’ve posted a cool project, leave me a link in the comments so that I can check it out. Or stop by and visit me on Facebook, and post a picture of your creation! I love to see what you guys come up with! Also – See the sweet version: The Snickers Snackadium!

“You’ve got a goal in life. I’ve got a goal. Now all we need is a football team. ” – Groucho Marx

Posted by Meagan Paullin on January 25, 2012 Filed Under: Food | 58 Comments

Meal Planning in 4 Easy Steps

Do you need to save money on groceries?

Hahahahaha – That’s like saying, “Do you need a little more sleep?” or, “Would you like the kids to get along a little more often?” For most families, the food budget is one of the only things left to cut, and it’s often one of the biggest places that we over spend. The problem is, we’re often too busy to figure out exactly HOW to save money on groceries.

How to Cut Costs

Meal Planning + Savings Match-Ups = Food on the Table! Seriously, this site is awesomesauce. It is totally simple to use. It’s free to join. It will save you loads of time, and money. And your family might even eat healthier, since you’ll be cooking more ‘real’ meals at home! It makes meal planning very quick and simple – you no longer need to save all of those weekly sale inserts. Food on the Table matches your meals directly to the best savings at your own personal local grocery store!

Open a free Meal Planning account on Food on the Table today!

Here’s how it Works

Set up your meal plan for the week – Food on the Table lets you add the local grocery stores you shop at most. Then, when you log in, it’ll let you see which meats are on sale this week, so you can quickly click your choices.
Get Recipes – Next, input your own recipes, use previous recipes you’ve added, or check out their huge selection. Pick and click to add your favorites – easy peasy!
Savings at your grocery store – Food on the Table will now build you a grocery list, auto-filled with the ingredients that you need, based on your recipes for the week. Scan it quickly – see something you already have? Uncheck it. Have extra basics you want to add? Type ’em in! Then it will show you how much you’re saving when it matches your needed ingredients to sales at your favorite store!
Printable Grocery List – Finally, it loads up a super cool printable grocery list of everything you need for that weeks meals! Even COOLER – you can send that list to your email, or as a text message, so that you have it whenever, or wherever, you need it! You could even email it your husband at work, so he can shop on his way home. Score!

Meal Planning is one of the most helpful tips I can share with you – I’m still working on getting into a groove, and am always looking for great new tips, sites, and apps to help me stay organized and on top of things. This is one of my very favorites that I’ve found – and I know it will help your family too! Plus – It’s free! What do you have to lose – Check it out today!

For more BIG savings at the grocery store – make sure to check out my coupon resource page – How to Get Coupons: 11 Ways to Get Coupons Today. There are also more tips on matching your coupons to store sales, and info about another meal planning service that I use too. Check it out!

Check out more ways to creatively stretch your budget

These are some of my favorite books and tools to save time and money in kitchen – Smart solutions for busy moms like us. If you have a favorite tip to make meal time simpler, cheaper, and more efficient – please share your wisdom in the comments below. I love hearing from you smart ladies!