October 2013 – Makin' it Mo'Betta

Halloween Chicago Mix

Kim

My kids and I loooove a mix. I’ve made several over the years, and they almost always have a sweet and salty combo. When I recently had the opportunity to try Popcorn, the Chicago Mix was love at first bite! (A little Halloween humor) I was skeptical of a cheese and caramel corn popcorn mix, but I had already heard how good it was, and what can I say. It’s the bomb. Once we polished off a bag at warp speed, I couldn’t stop thinking about the cheesy/salty and sweet combo, and this Halloween Chicago Mix was born. I thought that it would be fun to have to munch on during the week of Halloween. Yeah, right. I made a huge bowl that lasted all of ONE day. Oh well, guess I need to make more!

Halloween Chicago Mix

4 cups Chicago Mix popcorn (or 2 cups cheese popcorn and 2 cups caramel corn)

2 cups cereal (I used Life and Corn Chex)

1 cup pretzels

1 cup cheese crackers

1 cup candy corn (or any candy)

1 cup M and M candies

Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and snack away! It’s cheesy, salty, crunchy, sweet and chewy. It’s fabulous!

Make it your own by using your favorite cereal, candy and crackers. I’m not a fan of candy corn, but I threw that in there for my kids. This mix is great for any occasion, just change up the candy you use. I’m sure there will be a Christmas Chicago Mix at our house too 🙂

Has anyone had G.H. Cretors popcorn before? It really is delish – just check out how big and fluffy the popcorn is!

I am definitely a fan. I’ve not seen it for sale around here, but it can be ordered (they have varieties other than the Chicago Mix too). You can find them on too if interested.

Disclosure: G.H. Cretors sent me a sample box of popcorn to try. All opinions expressed are my own.

If you are a fan of mixes, I also have this Pumpkin Spice Chex Mix

and Halloween {Muddy} Buddies

Are you a sweet and salty fan?

I may be linking up at any of the following – (Monday) , , , , , , , , , , , (Tuesday) , , ,,, , and , , (Wednesday) , , , , , , , (Thursday) ,, , , (Friday) , , , , , ,, , , ,, , , ,, , (Saturday) , , ,

Kroger® Private Selection® {#sponsored}

Kim

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of for . All opinions are 100% mine.

Anything chocolate covered gets my attention, how about you?! This picture encompasses what Kroger® Private Selection® products are all about – gourmet quality, without the gourmet price. The line of products includes all kinds of things from Angus meat, deli meats and cheeses, to ice cream, bakery items, ingredients, and more. Not only do they offer a wide variety of quality products, they are also widely available in the Kroger® family of stores including Baker’s, City Market, Dillons, Fry’s, Gerbes, Pay Less, QFC, JayC, King Soopers, Owen’s, Ralphs, Smith’s and Fred Meyer. Hopefully you are lucky enough to have at least one of these near you! You can check out their to see.

Being a chocolate lover, and the fact that I love to bake (especially during the holidays, and WOW are they approaching fast!), my cabinets are always stocked with vanilla extract, different flours, baking powders, cocoa and more. Many of these are available in the Kroger® Private Selection® brand. Not only that, I have 3 kids, who pack lunches for school almost everyday of the week. With Kroger® Private Selection® you can get premium deli meats and cheeses, without the premium price tag. That’s important when it comes to my budget! I want my family to have the best, but do not have a money tree to support their ever growing appetites. I mean really, how do kids eat so much?!

Whatever your cooking/baking needs, Kroger® Private Selection® is helping you create the ultimate meal, by offering a “Culinary Creations” Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will have the ultimate culinary experience with a new Viking range, WUSTHOF 26 piece knife set, 10-‐piece Culinary Arts cookware set, and a $1,000 Kroger Family of Stores Gift Card. Oh my goodness! The foodie in me is having a hissy fit right about now! Check out the to learn more!

Disclaimer: Official Rules NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED. Must be at least 18 years old and a legal resident of the 50 United States and D.C., (except FL, NY and RI). Subject to Full Official Rules. Game ends on 11/14/13. Full rules available at .

Are you familiar with Kroger® Private Selection® products? What are your pantry staples? You should swap one of your favorites with one of these premium products and see what you think. to learn more and for inspiration! Release your inner chef and create memorable meals for family and friends without the “gourmet” price tag!

Maxwell House Café Collection® {sponsored}

Kim

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of . All opinions are 100% mine.

This post is for all the coffee lovers out there! I recently saw something on Pinterest that sums me up perfectly, it said “How do you take your coffee? Seriously. Very seriously.” Yes, I do love my coffee. It is what gets me out of bed in the morning, and it keeps me going throughout the day. My favorite cup is definitely that very first one however. My day just doesn’t start off well without it (did you read about my experience with the fast metabolism diet? No coffee did me in!) I try to get up before the kids every morning, so that I can enjoy that first cup in peace and quiet! My girls even gave me a mug one year that says “Not before Mom has her coffee”. Yes, even the kids know the deal 🙂

My husband drinks coffee too, but only in the winter, and only with a lot of sweetener and vanilla creamer. Oh, and it’s DECAF! Thank goodness for my Keurig®! “To each his own” is right! More good news is that now single serving cups are now available at Dollar General, making my luxury of daily coffee more affordable. They carry , made from 100% Arabica beans, in House Blend, French Roast, and Breakfast Blend.

The Maxwell House Café Collection® is the only brand Dollar General will be carring in the single serving cups, and they are offering great deals, which I have come to expect from the DG. I love that I can run up to my local Dollar General and grab my beloved K-cups® when I start to run low, and not have to pay a fortune. (Those little cups can really add up at some places!)

So what about you? What is your favorite coffee break moment?! Are you a cream and sugar person, or do you drink it straight? Let’s all just take a moment to stop and smell the coffee, shall we?

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake {starts with a mix!}

Kim

Yes, I went there. I’m all about some “semi” homemade, and a doctored up cake mix can be pretty darn delicious if I do say so myself. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but….toot! toot! This cake was fabulous!

It was moist, not too dense; had a fluffy soft crumb, but wasn’t crumbly; and it was full of warm spiciness without being overbearing. This cake screams FALL! And the best part…it’s a cinch to make! (It also freezes well, which I had to do for portion control purposes!)

You may remember a couple of weeks back I discovered Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix and jumped on it like a dog in heee……uhm…nevermind – scratch that analogy. Let’s just say I promptly bought a few boxes and immediately made the Pumpkin Spice Eclair Cake (another easy to make, yet crowd pleasing recipe. And it’s no bake!)

Since I’ve been doctoring up devil’s food cake mix with pudding mix for years, I decided to adapt my Chocolate Layer Cake into a Spice Cake….a Pumpkin Spice Cake! It was a winner.

Pumpkin Spice Bundt Cake

1 box Spice Cake Mix (I don’t remember what brand I used)
1 (4 oz) box Pumpkin Spice Pudding Mix *This is a seasonal item, so grab some while you can!
1 cup canned or homemade pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup sour cream (I used fat free. Normally I use plain yogurt, but I was out.)
1/2 cup canola oil
3 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease and flour a bundt pan or use Baker’s Spray (cooking spray with flour mixed in).
In a large bowl, mix the cake mix, pudding mix, pumpkin, sour cream, oil, eggs, vanilla and spices. Mix on medium speed for a couple of minutes until well combined.
Pour into prepared bundt pan.
Bake for time suggested on cake mix box for bundt pan cakes or until the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Allow cake to cool for approx. 10 minutes in pan, then flip cake onto wire rack to finish cooling.
Glaze, frost or sprinkle with powdered sugar once cooled. I used a simple glaze of 1 cup powdered sugar, a tablespoon (approx) of Pumpkin Spice Coffee Creamer, a tsp of vanilla, and a 1/2 tsp cinnamon. The glaze was a little too sweet for me, so next time I think I will just dust it with a little powdered sugar and cinnamon, just to make it look pretty. This is one of those cakes that can really stand alone as far as flavor, but I wouldn’t knock a little cream cheese frosting either 😉

This recipe is a keeper! Also, my dad claims to not like pumpkin but he really liked this cake. To me, it had the flavor of pumpkin pie, but in cake form….which is awesome for me since I like the flavor of pumpkin pie but not the texture.

Smokehouse Brisket – slow cooked food, FAST! {sponsored}

Kim

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of for . All opinions are 100% mine.

Imagine this….beef brisket cooked low and slow for at least 13 hours, piled high on a toasted bakery style bun with smoked Gouda cheese, crispy onions, BBQ sauce and mayo. Need a visual?

Are you drooling? I know I am. Now imagine that you can get this slow cooked goodness in the time it takes to whip through a drive-thru at Arby’s. Is it possible….YES! Slow cooked goodness, fast! Of course, you can also go inside and have a nice sit-down lunch or dinner – but as usual, on the day I had this deliciousness I was in a thousand hurries. But what a nice break it was to have this…

The Smokehouse Brisket sandwich with a side of curly fries, because no trip to Arby’s is complete without curly fries (and Arby’s sauce)!

and a nice iced tea to wash it all down. Please ignore my flat hair and lack of makeup – it was a long day! So, do you want to hear how the slow cooked beef brisket was piled nice and thick or how the bun was made of really good bread (not just some dry bun), or maybe how the creamy gouda was the perfect accompaniment to the crispy onions, beef and barbecue sauce?

Here, have a bite. That was mean, I know. Maybe you don’t want to hear anything else about this amazing sandwich and you just want to as quickly as possible. I don’t blame you 😉 Just make sure that when you visit, especially if it’s in the drive-thru, that you make sure you have plenty of napkins! Yes, I had this magnificent sandwich and fries dripping with Arby’s sauce, and not nary a napkin in sight. *sigh* But that’s okay, tissues work in a pinch! Now I’m hungry for Arby’s Smokehouse Brisket all over again…

Are you an Arby’s fan? What’s your favorite thing on the menu?

‘Skinny’ Pizza & Friday’s Fun Finds #7

Kim

I haven’t kept up with the Friday’s Fun Finds very well, but I haven’t been able to keep up with blogging very well either! Busy, busy, busy – with more busy in the forecast. Oh well, that’s life with kids and I’m not complaining ~~much~~.

When trying to find low point options for Weight Watchers, while still enjoying my favorite foods, I discovered these flat wraps –
Light Italian Herb Packaging
(link provided for more info if interested. Not a sponsored post). I have only found the Italian and Original flavors (at Food Lion), but the website says they also have Tomato and Spinach. Each wrap is a good size, and only 2 points each! They make an excellent base for pizza, one of my favorite foods.

I can’t tell you how many of these pizzas I have made, or how many varieties! The one pictured is probably my favorite because it is so low in points, yet filling and gives me my pizza fix.

Skinny Pizza (5 points plus)

1 Flatout Light flatbread (2 points)
pizza sauce (too taste) (0 points) – this may vary depending on kind used and amount
Chopped fresh spinach (optional, 0 points)
1/2 cup Kraft Fat Free Cheese (2 points)
Hormel Turkey Pepperoni (8 slices) (1 point)
fresh basil, chopped (optional, 0 points)
red pepper flakes, not pictured (0 points)

*Basically, any low fat toppings you like. AND all veggies are FREEEEEEE! (Bedtime Stories anyone?!)

Heat oven to 400 degrees F (I’ve also made them on the griddle). Place assembled pizza on pizza pan (I use one that has holes in it, and it makes the bottom nice and crispy) and bake until cheese is melted and edges are browned slightly.

Have your pizza and stay on your diet too 🙂

Spaghetti with Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

Kim

It has been a.week. Not necessarily bad, just seriously busy, hence the no blogging. However, tomorrow is Friday, and hopefully things will calm down for the weekend. I’m not holding my breath, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed. I can’t tell you how many miles I’ve put on my car just racing back and forth to different places with my kids, not to mention I’ve been trying to make it to the gym everyday. This whole ‘getting fit’ thing is WORK. Don’t get me wrong, I’m grateful that I’m not at work. Been there, done that, and the whole staying-at-home-mom-thing is way more fun.

Today is National Pasta Day (and y’all know how I like my food holidays!) so in honor of, I thought this Spaghetti with Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce would be the perfect thing to share today. Pasta is quick and easy, and so versatile! My neighbor had given me a bunch of gorgeous cherry tomatoes, and I am struggling to keep my basil plant alive b/c I absolutely love fresh basil. With the addition of a few other pantry staples, this pasta comes together pretty easily, and tastes fresh and delicious!

Spaghetti with Quick Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

4 quarts water
1 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces uncooked spaghetti (I used Barilla Plus)
3 cups cherry tomatoes

1-2 cloves garlic, unpeeled
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided (I used )
2 teaspoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper (or to taste)
3 tablespoons chopped or torn fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup crumbled feta

Preheat oven to 450°.
Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a large pot. Add 1 teaspoon salt (or more if you like) and pasta to boiling water; cook until al dente.
Drain spaghetti over a bowl, reserving 1/3 cup of hot water.
Return spaghetti to pan; set aside, and keep warm.
While spaghetti is boiling, combine tomatoes, garlic (unpeeled), 1 tablespoon olive oil, vinegar, salt, and red pepper on a baking sheet. Toss well to coat.
Roast tomatoes for 10 minutes or until tomatoes are soft and lightly charred in places.
Once done, add tomatoes and any tomato juice to the cooked spaghetti.
Peel roasted garlic (I just squeeze it out of it’s peeling) and add to spaghetti.
Add about 3 tablespoons reserved cooking water to the baking sheet and scrape up any bits; carefully pour water mixture and remaining 1 tablespoon oil into spaghetti.
Heat spaghetti over medium heat. Add remaining reserved cooking water, 1 tablespoon at a time, until spaghetti mixture is moist. Toss frequently.
Stir in basil and sprinkle with feta. Serve immediately.

Recipe source:

Pasta – a big bowl of comfort, and just what I need after the week I’ve had! And if you really want to go all out on the carb train, you could serve the pasta with this bread…yummmm!

Disclosure – I received the Carapelli Olive Oil as a sample to review.

Italian Meatball Sliders & GIVEAWAY!

Kim

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of for . All opinions are 100% mine.

When I think of meatballs, I think of labor intensive and time-consuming. However, that’s not the case at all wtih this recipe from . They came together quickly, baked up in less than 20 minutes, and tasted delicious!

I decided to make meatball sliders as a quick meal before heading out for my girls’ volleyball games. My middle child loved these! I loved the fact that they were simple to prepare, flavorful, had a great texture (sometimes meatballs have a weird texture that I don’t like), and they weren’t greasy in the least…

See…almost no grease! I used a very lean ground beef (90/10) but the original recipe calls for ground turkey, which would also work great as I use turkey quite often. Even though the meat was very low in fat, the meatballs had a great flavor from the blend of spices.

I threw in some red pepper flakes for a few of the meatballs (not all, since I knew my kids would not like any heat!) The have a blend of basil, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper; combined with bread crumbs. I used plain Japanese Panko bread crumbs and spices by McCormick. I think next time I may reduce the garlic just a little, but that’s just a personal preference – we aren’t huge garlic fans. Meatballs can be used for any number of dishes, but since we were so short on time, I thought sliders would be a good option. I took a roll, split it, added a little pizza sauce, topped it with the meatballs and reduced fat mozzarella cheese, and baked for a few minutes – until the cheese was nice and melted.

YUM! I am definitely adding these to my “make again” list – I can see meatball subs, spaghetti and meatballs, meatball sub casserole, meatballs in sauce….all in our future. We enjoyed them so much, I made a video…I’m calling it the original ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs’. haha, enjoy my “movie”!

Now, onto the giveaway! How would you like to win this McCormick Gift Set?

Nice right?! I would personally love to win this myself! All you need to do to qualify is answer the question “What’s your favorite McCormick Spice?” in the comment section of this post!

For additional entries, you can also “like” on Facebook; on Twitter and on Pinterest. Just leave a seperate comment for each additional thing you do. (Shipping is only available within the US.) *GIVEAWAY ENDS 10/20/13 at midnight EST*

Angel Food Cake Day + recipes

Kim

Well, I just couldn’t let today go by without some mention of it…it’s !! Since angel food cake and pie filling is one of my most favorite low fat discoveries, I thought I would do a little round-up!

You can’t get much simpler than this – angel food cake mix + 1 can of pie filling. Mix and bake. I’m not kidding, that’s it! I’ve also recently made a cherry version –

Very easy, and very tasty when that sugar craving hits and you want something fast. This is low in points if you are a Weight Watcher too!

Another delicious Angel Food Cake recipe is this one –

Not Your Average Strawberry Shortcake. yummers.

What about you? What’s your favorite way to enjoy angel food cake?!

Biscoff Cereal Treats with Chocolate-Butterscotch Frosting

Kim

Biscoff. How do I love thee…let me count the ways….okay, enough of that nonsense – but seriously, Biscoff is the bombDOTcom and if you haven’t tried it, I really think you should. Not only is it good straight from the jar (don’t judge), it also adds yummy flavor to baked goods. Well, and non-baked goods too – like these delicious cereal treats….
Biscoff Cereal with frosting
The melted chocolate on top…my, oh my! Head over to see my post at to get the recipe for these easy, no bake (but very tasty) cereal treats!