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It's been a little bit since my last post, but I'm back today to share some fabulous food from Smashburger and a Giveaway! If you haven't been to a Smashburger yet, let me fill you in on what you are missing. It's not just your average "burger joint", it's designed as a fast-casual restaurant. Upon walking in, you'll notice a fun decor and you'll be greeted by someone ready to take your order.
During our recent vacation to Florida, we were staying just outside of Orlando in the Kissimmee area. Luckily the area is so close to Orlando that there are an abundance of dining options. Once we arrived in Florida, we had the afternoon to relax and poke around some of the local shops. As we were trying to figure out where to eat for dinner, it only took My Oldest moments to decide on what
I've made it no secret around here that I have a major sweet tooth. You may or may not have noticed that the number of sweet treats I've been sharing has declined the last month or two... well, the reason for that is that with diabetes in my family and my latest blood results,
When planning our recent family vacation to Florida, we knew one destination was definitely on the list... Legoland! With a 9 year old who loves to build the various sets that are available... especially anything related to Star Wars, getting to go to an amusement park dedicated to his favorite past time was a no-brainer. Located about 45 minutes from Orlando in the town of Winter Haven,
April is SoyFoods month! So it’s the perfect time to learn about the place for soy in a healthy diet and easy ways to incorporate it into everyday meals. Packed with protein and fiber, soyfoods are a tasty way to reduce calories, saturated fat and maintain your weight. Many soy products like veggie burgers cook and thaw faster than traditional meat sources so that means more time and
Where oh where have I been? Well, here are some photos to show you the fun-filled vacation we took last week! I'll be posting about the places and restaurants we ate at very soon... but, wanted to share a few photos from our vacation in Florida! We decided to drive to Florida, so having just arrived home today... it's time for some relaxation before the work and school week begin for us
I'm on a constant search for quick and easy lunchbox ideas. Sometimes I struggle with ideas for My Boys lunches, but other times... it's actually mine that gets lost in the shuffle. If I forget to send their lunches in, I'll get a phone call from the school and they'll serve them a hot lunch (that they already told me they weren't interested in, which is why they didn't order it) and then, I
I recently had the pleasure of receiving a plentiful package of Florida tomatoes courtesy of the Florida Tomato Committee. I was tasked with coming up with a new recipe to be featured on their site and boy, did I have some fun playing around with all of the gorgeous tomatoes they sent to me! I tried several different ideas before getting some inspiration from a pizza night we had at home.
Every year during Passover I peruse recipes and plan to make a few new ones. Sometimes they are worth sharing here, other times they are ok enough to enjoy but not always blog-worthy. This time, I'm sharing a side dish that may make the cut for our Seder next year. This Passover Mushroom Stuffing recipe was adapted from a recipe I received from a cousin who lives in Florida... we don't get to
We are in the midst of Passover this week, and as promised I plan to share a few new recipes so that I can have them all in one place. Today, it's all about the Charoset (or Charoses - depending on how you grew up pronouncing it). This sweet combination of apples, nuts and wine is an important part of the Seder plate and the story that we retell each year. It symbolizes the mortar used by the
Every once in awhile we find a restaurant that is worth going back to a second time. That second trip is not always within the same week, but this time... it was. We happened upon Thatcher McGhee's on our way home from doing some shopping one night last week. We figured we'd see what was happening in Denville since we hadn't been over that way for dinner in quite awhile. It seems kind of
Passover is in just a few more days! Are you ready? Have you planned your Seder meal yet? I've been planning our meals for the coming week for a little while, but since we tend to enjoy some dishes every year I don't have to start over... it's just making sure I purchase everything ahead of time! Check out some of our favorite dishes to enjoy either at Seder or during the week of Passover:
We went to the circus! Not just any old run-of-the-mill circus... but, the Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus! Our elementary school PTA organized a trip as a fundraiser when the circus was in New Jersey at the Izod Center. It was a pretty good deal on the tickets, so we couldn't say no. Both My Husband and I had fond memories of attending this circus as children. The usual
Every year, Passover seems to sneak right up on me... and this year it's a bit earlier. When I received an email from the lovely people at Manischewitz asking if I'd like to try some of their new Kosher for Passover products, it was an easy "yes" and it got me thinking about preparing for the holiday sooner than I usually do. As Passover approaches, I begin thinking about my meal plans for that
Guess what? Green Giant has a fabulous new healthy snack that you can feel good about enjoying! They now make some tasty veggie snacks! Green Giant has been a popular name in my family since I was a little girl. We always had their canned veggies in the pantry to use
Sometimes life gets pretty busy and you find that all of your so-called spare time is being spent running from one place to the next... getting the kids to this practice or that scout meeting or working on homework... or whatever else you might have on your to-do list. One of the things we find that slips through the cracks is getting a night out as a couple. Recently, we had an epiphany... we
Winter keeps on hanging on... even though we are now officially in March! I don't know what it is, but my mind switches to spring as soon as we get into the month of March... the days are starting to get a little bit longer the sun is rising a little bit earlier (at least until daylight savings time begins again). So, with
When it comes to birthdays, My Boys begin planning their parties MONTHS before the big day. By the time we get within a week or two of the big day, I'm wondering where the time went and how I'm going to get things done. This time My Oldest happened to be staring over my shoulder as I was flipping through the Jan/Feb issue of Food Network Magazine. They had an entire feature that had a cake
Do you have the luck of the Irish? Seems that when it comes to St. Patrick's Day, everyone feels a little bit Irish! To celebrate the day with some sweet treats, I'm joining in with the folks at Gourmet Cookie Bouquets for a fabulous giveaway! Wouldn't you love to share a cute gourmet cookie gift with someone special? I'm loving the chocolate covered Oreos! The lucky winners (yes, there
Simple things. Listening to My Boys laugh and play together (before they decide it's time to annoy each other)... having lunch with My Husband... receiving "snail mail" cards from girlfriends who I live much too far away from to see regularly... hand-drawn pictures from My Youngest who knows that's all I really need when I've had a rough day. These simple things can put a smile on my face no
There are two parts of every meal we share with family and friends that I look forward to... appetizers and dessert! Not to say I don't enjoy the main course and the side dishes... but, who can stop nibbling on appetizers and really save room for dinner? I can always save room for dessert... which is why I have been known to
The winner of the Tate's Bake Shop Giveaway is: Comment #6 - Louis! Please forward your mailing information to me at pkfamilyfriendsandfood (at) gmail (dot) com so that I can ask the nice folk at Tate's Bake Shop to send the Cookie Cube to you right away! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ When I was growing up as
The winner of the Cheez-it Game Day prize pack as selected through Random.org is.... Comment #6 - Congratulations, Nicole! Please send me your mailing information so that we can get that prize pack sent out right away! pkfamilyfriendsandfood (at) gmail (dot) com ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The big game is on Sunday... even
I haven't shared a book review in a little while, but I really wanted to share the one I finished last night with you. Four of a Kind by Valerie Frankel is a story of four very different women who come together under the plan that they will be on a diversity committee for their children's school. In the beginning, it seems
I'm a little behind on posting this week. Wish I could say it was because I had some really exciting things going on... no such luck. I'm at the tail-end of yet another head cold (no, I can not catch a break) that started one day after I made it to the gym last week. I'm thinking I may have to just stick to my home
This week, I've been working on preparing and planning things ahead of time. Taking a cue from Cate's #EatLiveBe post last week. What a difference thinking ahead and putting together my lunch and snacks the night before makes. I restocked my fruits and veggies later in the week last week to make sure I could fill my
Sometimes when I'm grocery shopping, I like to stroll slowly through some of the aisles to see if there is anything new that I've been missing when I'm rushing through to get the items on my weekly list. Occasionally, I'll pick up a new product and bring it home to see if we like it or not... other times I just shake my head
I can't believe its been a week since the last #EatLiveBe post! I would love to sit here and tell you how I've gotten in some exercise every day but, I can't. It's not that I didn't want to, but I ended up at the doctor after that last post and found out that I had a pretty awful sinus infection that was causing me some
With the end of our fall activities, we tend to keep things a bit lighter in the colder months. Even though our boys take indoor tennis lessons during this time... I purposely left our Saturdays completely unscheduled. The reason? So, that this year, they could learn to ski and/or snowboard. With a snowfall toward the end
Happy New Year! Yes, I do realize I'm a day late on that one... but, can you blame me for taking a couple of days to just kick back? Ok... so, I didn't totally kick back the last couple of days because I was sick for several days before that and finally had the energy to get some things done... which meant, just catching up
We are heading into the last days of 2012... I am actually looking forward to the beginning of a new year. There have been too many friends who have lost parents this year and others who have had a very difficult year in general. I'd like to think once we get passed December st, that it's like starting off with a blank
It's almost the end of 2012, and as I'm looking back at the year there are a few things I really wanted to do... but, they just didn't happen. For one reason or another, I didn't stay focused beyond the first few months of the year.Rather than wait for January 1st to set my goals for the coming year... I'm getting started now. No time like the present, right?Some of my goals
All too often, I look forward to the weekend so that I can do some cooking and we end up eating out for dinner or whatever. This weekend, for various reasons, we were home on Saturday. With the chilly weather and brutal winds blowing, the idea of dining out didn't even enter my mind. I had picked up some beef short ribs and wanted to braise them. I made them this way last winter adapting
I've been meaning to post this chicken recipe for a couple of weeks now... but, as everyone knows this time of year is hectic and sometimes the blog has to take a backseat to other things. I had put together a meal plan for the week and this was a recipe I had wanted to make because it had some amazing spices in the rub and the maple glaze sounded pretty good... a nice contrast that should ple
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I just had to tempt you with a picture right away on these little treats! Perfect little bites that may be hard to keep from eating before it's time to put them in my holiday gift baskets... so, I'll have to put them together quick and give them away this week! These little treats are from the The Cookie Dough Lover's Cookbook: Cookies, Cakes, Candies, and More cookbook. I love this
What a weekend it was for us! We kicked off Hanukkah on Friday night (a day early) by joining other families at our temple for a dinner before the service. From there, it was prepping on Saturday for our family party to celebrate the 1st night of Hanukkah! I always plan to have the family party on a Saturday during the holiday so that I can have as much time as possible to plan, shop and prep th
I took a bit of a break from reading for awhile... not because I wanted to, but life got busy. Even though things are still somewhat hectic, I find that reading for an hour before going to sleep is so relaxing.I've become very fond of reading mysteries this past year. I was drawn to the synopsis to a book by Lisa Unger, Fragile. Something about a small town with a mystery from the past that
Eating food with your hands is something that everyone enjoys once in awhile right? I know kids really love foods that they don't have to worry about scooping up with a fork or spoon... so, when I can I try to make something that might be a bit more fun to eat.Puff pastry lends itself to a lot of creativity. You can use it as a base or crust for various tarts and "pizzas", but I li
It's been cold here the last week or so... so much so, that I've already begun a countdown to spring! I've never pretended to love the winter months, and I think My Mom even wondered how it was possible I moved somewhere that had equally cold winters after my years of complaining before I got married. One day, I will live somewhere that will require me to go and "visit" win
The holidays are upon us and shopping is in full swing... planning cookie baskets to give as gifts to friends, wrapping gifts and sending cards to family and friends across the country (by-the-way, I've got an awesome giveaway going on over on THIS POST! Go ahead check it out, but come on back when you are done).With all of this craziness, it can be hard to remember that there are many famili
Updated on 12/4/2012: Giveaway is now closed!The winner of the Shutterfly $50 giveaway as selected using random.org is....Stevie! Comment #6. Please email me so that I can send you the code for your $50 off of a Shutterfly purchase! Congratulations! If I don't hear from you within 48 hours, a new winner will be selected. Thanks, for entering!Thanksgiving is a time to share not only with f
I hope everyone of you had a fabulous Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and fabulous food! We hosted this year, and took the opportunity to try frying a turkey.I know it sounds awful, but I've never been a fan of roasted turkey... I love the smell of the house as it roasts away (taking up every inch of oven space for hours and hours), but even the most skilled cook cannot turn out a tu
We are at T minus 6 days until Thanksgiving! Are you ready? Do you still have questions about the big meal and preparing it? Then, you just might want to check out this video from the Hormel Test Kitchen! Joan Hanson, Hormel Foods Test Kitchen Director, answers the most frequently asked questions related to the big feast! Tweet!function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElement
Can you believe that Thanksgiving will be here in just one week? Do you know what you'll be serving or bringing to the big meal? I'm hosting this year, and looking forward to some of our traditional favorites and maybe some new dishes as well... because well, I can't resist sometimes! The recipe I'm sharing today is part of a promotion I'm working on with Mrs. Cubbison's
Do you have a slow cooker? Do you use it alot? I'm trying to love mine... and work up enough recipes to justify getting one of those new programmable slow cookers. Why? Because the idea of walking into the house after a long day and being greeted with the scent of dinner already cooking away is soooooo appealing!I'm getting closer to liking this method of cooking more lately. I've
It seems like we jumped from October to November in the blink of an eye since Hurricane Sandy so rudely came ashore along the Southern New Jersey coast right before Halloween. I imagine you've seen the photos of the devestation of our beloved shore. It breaks my heart every time I see the homes and businesses that have been lost, not to mention some of our favorite spots to visit during the
When you think of Thanksgiving, what comes to mind? For me, it's always a table filled beyond belief with everyone's favorite dishes! While I know the turkey is typically the main attraction... it's not what I look most forward to when it's time to sit down to this special meal... it's the side dishes! These are dishes that we don't always get to enjoy during the year.These dis
We've got a hurricane coming our way... yep, sometimes they come all the way up the East Coast and share a bit with us in New Jersey. After Irene came to do some damage last year, I was hoping it would be a long time before another one would come our way... but, it seems Sandy is determined to bring strong winds and rain over the next couple of days. We'll be staying close to home since
Giveaway is now closed! The winner is....Healthy Deals and Steals - comment #7 as selected by Random.org Please send me your mailing information so that the folks at Tate's Bake Shop can send you the cookie tower! Congratulations!I love a good baking cookbook. I think that's pretty clear to anyone who's been stopping by here for any amount of time. I continue to search for the bes
