Dec

12

Girls Night In - A Twist on the Traditional Cookie Swap

Filed Under Favorite Finds, Food | Leave a Comment

Thanks to Duncan Hines for sponsoring my writing. There's no limit to the baking possibilities, so grab your favorite Duncan Hines mix and Comstock or Wilderness fruit fillings and Bake On! www.duncanhines.com.

So, I've always loved the idea of a cookie swap. The thought of selecting an awesome recipe and having a party to share it sounds pretty cool. Except that it's a lot of work during a time of the year when time is pretty hard to find.

Enter my idea for a fun girls night in with recipe sharing and yummy treats but without the time commitment of making a zillion dozen cookies. It's all about the "Cake Mix Creations." What's that you ask?

Here's how it works. All your friends pick a recipe to make that involves a boxed cake mix. When they rsvp, they also send you a copy of the recipe that they will be bringing. On the girls night out, everyone gets to sample the different cake mix creations, and you have a ready made party favor -- a list of all the recipes. Easy, peasy AND delicious.

Some simple alternatives to the regular cake involve adding flavor to cakes. Canned pumpkin and applesauce make for great alternative flavors to the boxed cake mix. You can also add fresh fruit like bananas and berries.


You might think that the different options for cake mix creations is limited to different flavors of cake. Oh no, never fear. There are so many awesome recipes out there. There are cakes, cookies, cupcakes, truffles, pancakes, and even dinner rolls! And don't forget the cake pops. The different cake pops that you can make (both in flavor in design) are endless. Take a look at my pinterest collection of cake mix creations to see a few samples.

What's your favorite creation to make with a boxed cake mix?

Remember to check out Duncan Hines' website www.duncanhines.com to find some great recipes for your holiday get-together! I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective.

Oct

11

Wegmans Coming to Northborough Crossing October 16

Filed Under Events, Food, Metrowest, Wegmans | Leave a Comment

Can you feel the excitement? The Wegmans grocery store chain from Upstate New York is making its debut in Massachusetts in the Metrowest Boston suburb of Northborough on Sunday, October 16.

wegmans-northborough-massachusetts

I am so excited to see what all the hub-bub is surrounding these stores. I was lucky enough to be able to  listen to a presentation by and chat with the Wegman's Northboro Store Manager Kevin Russell at a community presentation. Wegman's sounds like a pretty amazing company for employees to work and for customers to shop. He said that this store will be unlike any other store that currently exists in the market. That's a pretty bold statement, and I can't wait to check it out.

He also said that there will probably be some superfans camping out the night before the opening. That is pretty unbelievable for, um, a GROCERY STORE.

The store is going to be at the brand spanking new Northborough Crossing, an outdoor shopping center at the intersection of Routes 20 and 9 that also is home to BJs, Kohls, TJMaxx, and BabiesRUs/ToysRUs.

Check out a the video of a recent opening in Maryland. Sort of makes me want to suffer the opening day crowds (i'm getting the ikea sweats thinking about that crowd).

Also, be sure to visit the Wegmans Northborough web site to sign up for their Shopper Club (which gives you benefits including an aisle-by-aisle shopping list AWESOME) and visit the Wegman's Northboro facebook page where you can witness some of their super fans in action including a customer who penned a haiku. Plus learn some of the lingo and fave products -- black & white halfmoon cookies,  Zweigle's Hots, beef on wick, Vegetarian Oyster Sauce, spiedie marinade, french vanilla muffins, Wegman's Basting Oil, Multigrain bread, Finishing butter, sponge candy, salt potatoes,  and Dinosaur BBQ sauce...just to name a few.

And, finally, if this facebook post where someone literally leaves their grocery list in the comments and store employees track down what they will carry in the store is any indication of the level of service customers can expect, Wegmans should be a really great experience.

Here's some helpful directions to Wegmans Northborough for your trip, and an interesting article in Boston Globe about Wegmans and its namesake Danny Wegman.

Will I see you there?

Northborough Wegmans Grand Opening is October 16


Mar

27

Nutella Breakfast Party

Filed Under Food | Leave a Comment

I was recently given the opportunity by MommyParties to host a breakfast party for Nutella.

My first encounter with Nutella was my college roommate, who was studying in Spain, gushing about a chocolate spread that was like a "European Peanut Butter." She couldn't get enough of it. She brought back a jar that she coveted like a prize posession.Times have changed. Nutella is widely available in the United States now, but it's still as yummy.

For the party, I served waffles with nutella for the moms.

Nutella Party

And for the toddlers, a miniature version.

Nutella Party

And, my favorite, Nutella Smoothies. YUM. I used banana (real and frozen slices), Stonyfield Farms Fat Free Plain Yogurt, and Nutella. Did you know that Nutella makes for an awesome milkshake? Try it, I bet you'll love it!

Nutella Party

We had a great time talking about how Nutella can fit into a nutritional diet for our families.  Thanks again to Mommy Parties and Nutella. They also provided my guests with a gift bag full of information and treats including coupons, Nutella samples, and an awesome biodegradable travel coffee mug.

Nutella Party

Aug

10

Pimp My Annie’s Homegrown Organic Beef Stroganoff Skillet Meal

Filed Under Diet & Exercise, Food | Leave a Comment

That's a great title for the next hit reality show, don't you think? Tonight's Dinner consisted a little something I whipped up starting with the Annie's Homegrown Organic Beef Stroganoff Skillet Meal. I'm not a super fan of the box kits, but 1)this one is organic and 2) it's yummy and 3) it's fast! It's hard to find in grocery stores in the Boston area, and if you do find it, it's over $4, so I buy mine here. The directions say to add a pound of ground beef. I don't know that I've ever made it that way. I've used the Morningstar Farms crumbles with good luck though. Tonight I added a can of Trader Joe's premium white chicken, drained. (Don't say ick. It's awesome in soups and stews.) About a cup of frozen peas. About 1/2 cup of baby carrots that I had boiled up for the toddler. (Much like the pizza phase. The carrot phase has involved adding his loved carrots to lots of dishes where that you wouldn't normally think a carrot should go.) And about 1 cup of sliced organic portabella mushrooms that I sauteed in a smidge of olive oil.Yum. And it took about 10 minutes. And looked like this:

Dinner 8/10/2010

That's on a salad plate. Last week I read The Skinnygirl Rules: For Getting and Staying Naturally Thin by Bethanny Frankel. Don't judge. I love her on Bravo, and since I've gotten the Kindle App for my Blackberry, I've read more books in one week than I have the entire 2 years since I had the toddler. Anyhoo, one of her rules is to serve your meals up on smaller plates. Seems easy enough and it does seem to help trick your mind into thinking you've gotten a bigger portion .

Then we finished off with a little dessert. I love summer.

Dessert 8/10/2010

So what's with the food photos, kim from kimworld, you ask? Well, I got lost in a wonderful blog today called Carrots 'N' Cake. Tina, the blog author started her blog by photographing everything she ate to keep her on track on her goal to lose weight before her wedding. Something just struck me when I read that, and, well, I can use any help I can get to keep me on the eating healthy/exercising/losing weight trend. I'm going to borrow the idea for awhile and see if it sticks.

Does banana creme pie photograph well? Hope so. Just kidding. I think.

Jan

18

Favorite Find - Perfect Diaper Bag Snack: Trader Joe’s Applesauce Crushers

Filed Under Baby Land, Favorite Finds, Food | 1 Comment

So I was wandering the aisles of Trader Joe's the other day looking for something new and fun, when I ran across these little crazy tubes with  twist off caps filled with applesauce.

Trader Joe's web site gives us the nitty gritty.

Applesauce Crushers
Enhancing the convenience of the consumption of applesauce has challenged applesauce purveyors throughout the ages. We’ve crushed that challenge. How? With our Applesauce Crushers. We’ve taken all natural applesauce and packaged it in unique pouches that allow you to squeeze, squish, crush the delicious fruit sauces straight into your mouth. Yes! Right into your mouth – no spoon is necessary. Made just for us in France, these unique snack pouches are perfect for lunch boxes, briefcases and slip into a decent sized pocket with ease. Kids love to crush ‘em! And could there be a more fun way to get a good supply of Vitamin C? Doubtful. Each package of four 3.17 oz. pouches of Applesauce or Apple Carrot Fruit Sauce Crushers is $2.99.

Update: Nutrition Information for Applesauce Crushers

I got a few questions about the nutrition information. Here it is!
Serving Size: 1 pouch, Servings per Container 4
Amount Per Serving:
Calories 50 Calories from Fat 0
Total Fat 0 g
Cholesterol 0 mg
Sodium 0 mg
Total Carbohydrate 12 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugars 11 g
Protein 0 g
Vitamin A 2%  Vitamin C 15%
Calcium 2%  Iron 2%

I'm sure kids would love them. My boy is just barely gumming his way through stage 2 solids, so we have some time before I'll be able to turn him loose with the tube of Applesauce Crushers. So when I saw these little products, I was actually thinking of the boy's mom instead of the boy. It struck me at the perfect snack to pack in the diaper bag for moms. It's quick, clean, and nutritious -- and only 50 calories.

What's your favorite snack to pack in the diaper bag?