Uncategorized Archives - Page 11 of 16

Happy Birthday Virgos!

Posted on September 17, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy belated birthday to me! Yesterday was my birthday. Since I’ve gotten older and had kids, birthdays seem to be less significant, minus the fact that I’m getting older! And a birthday on a weekday?!! I spent the evening at my son’s back-to-school night! We had an early birthday celebration this past weekend with a family dinner out and a night of bowling. Good times were had by all! Instead of posting a 40 by 40 list or things you don’t know about me, I am posting about my astrological sign. I am a Virgo, the sixth sign of the zodiac, represented by the Virgin (August 23 – September 22). I believe I have many of the traits of a Virgo, some of which are listed below. Read on to find out more about Virgos!

Traits of Virgos, according to Astrology.com:
*can be picky and critical
*have a strong attention to details
* “born to serve”
*industrious, methodical, efficient
*practical and logical
*good at fact finding
*balanced and fair
*brain in overdrive
*prone to skepticism
*can over-think things
*interested in understanding things
*perfectionist
*most Virgos are neat and clean
*reliable and sensible
*humble and easy-going
*most Virgos are grounded
*can be worrywarts
*extremely health conscious

According to a recent PopSugar article, the best astrological matches for a Virgo are Taurus, Capricorn, Cancer or Scorpio.

Link Love:
12 Things to Know Before Dating a Virgo
Find out what your zodiac sign smells like as a fragrance.
12 Things Only Virgos Understand

Some Famous Virgos (this is NOT an exhaustive list!):
Lance Armstrong, Jack Black, Alexis Bledel, Ruby Bridges, Warren Buffet, Louis C.K., Agatha Christie, Cameron Diaz, Gloria Estefan, Richard Gere, Salma Hayek, Michael Jackson, Stephen King, Beyoncé Knowles, D.H. Lawrence, Blake Lively, Cesar Milan, Maria Montessori, Mother, Teresa, Bill Murray, Regis Philbin, Amy Poehler, Pink, Keanu Reeves, LeAnn Rimes, Cal Ripken Jr., Molly Shannon, Charlie Sheen, Shania Twain, Amy Winehouse

Sooo true! I have absolutely zero patience for a fool. #virgo:
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It can and probably will be used against you.... seriously, don't piss off a virgo!!:

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Sounds like Me.:
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Lemony Risotto with Mascarpone and Spinach

Posted on September 15, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Today I’m sharing this recipe with the Tuesday’s Recipe Swap link-up hosted by Kate @ Green Fashionista and Emily @ Martinis & Bikinis and the Tasty Tuesdays link-up. This was one of our meatless meals that I made awhile ago for dinner. I’m sharing it now though, since the weather is getting cooler and risotto feels like a fall food. Although risotto can sometimes feel heavy and filling to me (since you are basically eating a big plate of rice!) the lemon flavor helped make it feel less so. I added spinach to the recipe since we had some leftover, and extra veggies never hurt! Plus, I served it with some roasted broccoli. My son helped with the lemon zesting and stirring of this risotto. The kids ate this, although my son complained that it was “too lemony.” He then proceeded to eat a lemonade Outshine bar for dessert after taking forever to finish his risotto….go figure!

Lemony Risotto with Mascarpone and Spinach
Recipe slightly adapted from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
6 cups vegetable stock
2 lemons–1 peeled (yellow part only), 1 zested and juiced (about 1 1/2 tsp. zest and 4 tbsp. juice)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large shallot, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 1/2 cups arborio or carnaroli rice
5 cups spinach
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 rounded tbsp. mascarpone cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish
A few leaves of basil, torn

Directions:
1. In a medium pot, heat the stock and the lemon peel over medium-low. Cover and keep warm.

2. In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high. Add the shallot and garlic and stir until softened, about 5 minutes. Add the rice; stir until coated, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Add the wine; stir until evaporated, about 2 minutes. Add about 2 cups warm stock and cook, stirring frequently, until almost evaporated, about 6 minutes. Add 2 more cups stock and cook, stirring frequently, until almost evaporated, about 6 minutes more. Add 1 cup stock and the lemon zest; stir until almost evaporated, about 3 minutes. Taste the rice. If it’s tender but still has a bite to it, stir in the lemon juice, mascarpone and 1 cup Parmigiano-Reggiano. Add the spinach, stirring to wilt. Season and stir in some of the remaining stock if the risotto isn’t saucy enough. Divide among bowls; garnish with basil and more grated cheese.

Disney Vacation Recap

Posted on August 31, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

And we are back from our six night, seven day Disney vacation. If you follow along on Instagram, then you have seen some of the fun and food (yes, there was LOTS of food) we had on this trip. The last time we went to Disney, our kids were 3 and 5. My son doesn’t remember anything from his first trip, except for what he sees in the scrapbook that I made of the vacation. We were really excited for this trip because he’s now seven and we could all ride the roller coasters together.

We ended up leaving on Wednesday night at 10 PM and driving straight through the night. The goal was for us to get past Washington D.C. before morning rush hour. We actually made it to North Carolina by 7:30 AM, where the Weekend Chef took a little detour to get some Krispy Kreme doughnuts and of course….coffee!

We had hotel reservations in Savannah Georgia and made it there by 2:00 PM with lots of bathroom and stretch breaks along the way. We ate at our first Waffle House and then went to the hotel and crashed for several hours. We woke up, watched some television and by 10 PM we were all asleep again. We were exhausted! We woke up around 6:30 the next morning, had breakfast at the hotel and then left for Disney. We arrived at Disney Pop Century hotel around 1 PM and were able to get into our room early.

We unpacked and then headed to the pool. We decided not to do a park the first day since we weren’t sure what time we’d get to the hotel and had 6 PM dinner reservations at Cape May restaurant at the Beach Club Resort.

Saturday we spent the day at Magic Kingdom with a lunch break at Whispering Canyon at the Wilderness Lodge Resort.

Sunday we spent the day at Animal Kingdom with dinner reservations at Tusker House with Mickey and other characters.

Monday we had breakfast at the Contemporary Hotel with Chef Mickey and Friends and then headed to Hollywood Studios for the day.

Tuesday we spent the day at Epcot and had dinner at Akershus in Norway with the Princesses. Wednesday we were back at the Magic Kingdom and later had dinner at Ohana at the Polynesian Resort.

Thursday we spent the day at Epcot and ended up leaving around 8 PM to start our drive back home. We stayed at the same hotel in Savannah, Georgia Thursday night, got up at 6:30 AM (or more like 7 in my case!) and spent the entire day driving home. We ended up getting home at 1:30 AM!

Despite the heat and crowds, we had an amazing trip to Disney. With my super planning before we left, coordinating Extra Magic Hours, Fast Passes, dining reservations, etc. we feel like we did everything that we wanted on this trip. We rode all the major rides and my son only cried after Space Mountain, Expedition Everest, Tower of Terror and Haunted Mansion (I had to walk him out after the intro of Haunted Mansion, he didn’t even make it on the ride!).

We have tons of character autographs including at least three different Mickeys, Aladdin, Princess Tiana and Dr. Facilier (as seen above, from The Princess and the Frog, which we own and I’ve never seen!) Mary Poppins and Alice in Wonderland! I referred to Disney lover Brenda from Chatting Over Chocolate prior to our trip about the Memory Maker package and ended up purchasing it. Between our cell phones, our DSLR camera and the Memory Maker package we have TONS of photos!

And of course, we tried to make the most of our meal plan, trying new restaurants and eating lots of yummy treats!

Unfortunately, the way we do Disney (at the park when it opens and staying until the fireworks/night time show/etc.) is not relaxing. We’ve spent the weekend catching up on sleep and getting readjusted to “real life.” We think we may do another Disney vacation in four years or so, with our next big vacation being something more relaxing!

And We’re Off!

Posted on August 19, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

The photo above is the last page in the scrapbook that I made from our last Disney trip in 2011. Four years later and we are finally on our way back. The car is jam packed with our bags, snacks and hopefully lots of fun things to keep the kids occupied (yes, we’re driving this time…..not sure if we’re crazy or not. We’ll let you know when we get back!)! We are leaving tonight from New York and after a quick night in Savannah, Georgia will be in Orlando by early Friday afternoon. Things will be quiet around here while we’re away, but you can follow along on our adventure on Instagram! We will post plenty about our trip when we get back! Enjoy these last few weeks of summer!

Cheesy Taco Skillet

Posted on August 13, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I have a tasty recipe for you today! When I see any recipe with “taco” I’m almost guaranteed that it will be a hit with the kids (wait, who am I kidding?!! I mean my son, the picky eater! My daughter eats almost everything). This dish is basically a taco without the shell. I served the mixture over rice but it would be a great taco or burrito filling. Next time I make this, and there will definitely be a next time, I’m also going to add a can of black beans and possibly add another tablespoon of taco seasoning. This was a quick, easy and delicious recipe that we all loved!

Cheesy Taco Skillet
Recipe adapted from Sweet C’s Designs

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground turkey
1 onion, diced
Kernels from 3 ears of fresh corn
1 (14.5) ounce can diced tomatoes with jalapenos
2 Tbsp. taco seasoning (I used Penzeys)
1/2 cup water
2 cups shredded Colby jack cheese
3 cups mustard greens, chopped (any greens will do – kale, spinach, etc.)
2 cups cooked rice

Directions:
1. In a large skillet, brown the turkey, breaking up into crumbles as it cooks and draining any excess fat.

2. Add the onions and corn kernels cooking for approximately 5 minutes until onions start softening.

3. Add the diced tomatoes, taco seasoning and water, stirring to evenly coat the meat mixture. Once combined add the greens mixing until wilted.

4. Cover the mixture with the shredded cheese. Once melted serve over the cooked rice.

What’s Hap-“Pinning” {Volume 1}

Posted on August 12, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

So, I’m always game for a good link-up! I recently discovered the new What’s Hap-“Pinning” link-up hosted by Jessi and Jenn. Unfortunately, I haven’t been too busy pinning things on Pinterest so I’ll just share what’s going on with NY Foodie Family. The kids left today to spend a couple of days with their grandparents. The kids will get to spend some quality time with the Weekend Chef’s parents. It’s not all fun and games for the Weekend Chef and I though. He has his normal work week and I get to spend today and tomorrow in training for my new job that starts in September. We may have some fun things planned for the weekend though!

My Goodreads TBR list just doubled yesterday after linking up and getting new recommendations from the Show Us Your Books Link-Up hosted by Steph and Jana.

I had to get a PPD for work. I spent an hour on Monday waiting to get into the room for something that literally took 30 seconds. Did I mention I had both kids with me, who were luckily super patient! Lucky me gets to go back today to get it checked. It better be quick though since I have to be down at training and can’t sit and wait for an hour to be seen!

I’ve been so busy binge watching shows on Netflix that I forgot that I hadn’t seen the latest season of Grey’s Anatomy. Whenever I’ve been able to get a chance to watch television, this is what I’ve been watching.

I’ve been reading this book for what feels like forever. I’m only about half-way through but it’s really good! It’s been on my TBR list for what seems like forever and I finally decided to read it.

As of today, we have 9 more days until we are in Disney! The countdown has begun!

I Volunteer

Posted on August 6, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Ever since I was little I have volunteered in some capacity or another. It started with Girl Scouts in elementary school all the way up to college where I volunteered at a soup kitchen, was a Big Sister with the Big Brother Big Sisters program and was a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a national service organization. Since I’ve gotten married and had children, I have put volunteering on the back burner. Both my children are actively involved in scouting, however, I don’t have the time and energy to devote to being a leader. The Weekend Chef and I volunteer and help out with their den/troop as much as we can though. However, I know that there’s more that I can do. This summer, I reached out to a local homeless shelter and asked how I could be of service. The director noted that they could use help at the Saturday food pantry so I immediately signed up. For the past several Saturday mornings, I’ve been going to a local church that houses a choice food pantry. I arrive at 8:30 AM and help package vegetables and shelve bread and dessert donations. Once the pantry opens I walk patrons around assisting them choose and carry their food items. By 11:30 AM the pantry closes and I help clean up.

This volunteer job is not “fun.” It’s actually a lot of physical labor. However, volunteering at a food pantry like this gives me a good dose of reality. While I may think I’m having a bad day, I am able to see many people who have it a lot worse than I do. Some of these patrons line up outside the pantry at 5 AM to make sure they get a “good spot” in line. I doubt that anyone wants to “shop” at a food pantry. However, if faced between paying your rent and buying food, I think housing takes priority. After spending a couple of hours at the pantry, my problems don’t seem so bad in comparison.

I also feel that it’s important to be a role model for my children. They need to see that volunteering and giving back to their community doesn’t end when they become an adult. Although it’s taken me awhile to get back into giving back I am hoping to continue pursuing volunteer opportunities when I can.

There are many volunteer opportunities available in your community from building a house with Habitat for Humanity to being a sports coach for your child’s team or volunteering at a local food pantry. If you are thinking about volunteering, check out these Top 10 Reasons to Volunteer. Every little bit helps!

August Currently

Posted on August 5, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I am excited to be participating in Anne and Jenna’s monthly Currently link-up for the first time this month. Currently I am:

Creating: lists of all sorts! We are leaving for Disney in about two and a half weeks. I’m trying to plan/buy some things to occupy the kids for the very long car trip. I am also trying to figure out what we need to pack/buy before we go. And then of course there’s the lists of foods that we need to eat while we are there!

Wishlisting: Can you believe that I can write nothing at the moment?!!! I can’t think about fall clothes at the moment even though the stores are full of back-to-school stuff. Possibly some home décor stuff since we really need to get on top of that. We’ve been in our house nine years and some of our walls are still bare!! I need to start checking Pinterest to get some inspiration!

Hoping: that everything works out with the new job that I will start in September. I am enjoying the summer off with the kids but financially, we just can’t swing it for me to stay home full-time. I thought I was done working in the education field, however, I found a job that is very flexible and seems like a good fit for me and the family.

Eating: At this exact moment an ice cream cone. However, overall, we eat pretty healthy. Most weeks I cook dinner Monday through Friday. I’ve been posting our weekly meal plans on Monday. You can check out Monday’s post for a look at what we cooked the previous week. The Weekend Chef is really getting lucky with summer and our busy weekends out and about and not having to cook very much!

Watching: While I’m typing this the Weekend Chef and I are watching The Killing on Netflix. During the day while the kids have been at camp this week I’ve been watching Revenge while I eat lunch. Other shows that the Weekend Chef and I are watching include Orange is the New Black and House of Cards.

Philly Cheesesteak Fries

Posted on August 4, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I have to confess that French fries are one of my favorite foods. The Weekend Chef most recently created this recipe to fulfill my French fry cravings It has all the flavors of a cheesesteak but eaten on a pile of fries, rather than a roll. Topped with a homemade cheddar beer sauce, this dinner was delicious! The kids enjoyed this just as much as we did!

Philly Cheesesteak Fries
Recipe from the Weekend Chef @ NY Foodie Family

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 green bell pepper, sliced
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
6-8 white mushrooms, sliced
24 oz steak (we used thin sirloin)
8 oz shredded sharp cheddar
8 oz beer (we used Yuengling lager)
1/2 cup flour
2 Tablespoons butter
4 servings of frozen French fries, prepared per directions on package

Directions:
In a medium pan over low heat, add the olive oil. Cook the pepper, onion, and mushrooms until softened, approximately 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. In a small sauce pan, melt the butter over medium heat and mix in the flour. Cook 5-6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the beer and cook until thickened. Remove from heat and mix in cheese until fully melted. Season liberally with pepper. Cook the steak(s) to your desired doneness and allow to rest. Slice the steak thinly. To serve, plate the fries and top with the vegetable mixture, steak and cheese sauce.

Friday Favorites #24

Posted on July 24, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy Friday! With summer in full swing, the kids and I are enjoying their vacation! This week the kids weren’t in camp so I got to enjoy some quality time with the two of them! Here are some of this week’s favorites:

1. Rainbow loom – My daughter has had her rainbow loom since it was “the big thing” a couple of years ago. It’s been sitting in her closet collecting dust but out of the blue she recently took it out and has gotten back into it. Her favorite thing to do now is watch YouTube videos on making charms. She’s made all of the charms pictured above by watching videos. It’s hard to tell from the picture but she’s made the letter “A,” a sword, a rainbow with clouds, a bowtie, a popsicle and a gnome. She has also taught her brother how to make regular bracelets (he made the ones picture above). She’s been rainbow looming non-stop!

2. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week – These Barbecue Bacon Peach Chicken Turnovers from blog Melanie Makes. Barbecue, Bacon, Peach and Chicken are all ingredients my kids love. These will surely be a hit with them!

3. Chuck E. Cheese – I can’t remember the last time that we took the kids to Chuck E. Cheese. When I asked them if they wanted to go, of course they said yes! The smiles on their faces were priceless. Then my daughter asked, “but why?” I told her “Just for fun?!!!” And fun we all had! It was even Carnival Day at the Chuck E. Cheese and in the parking lot there were a couple of games that the kids could play to win free tokens, candy and prizes. And after what felt like hours of playing games, they had enough tickets (351 tickets to be exact) for a blow-up sword, some vampire teeth and some Chuck E. Cheese Fun Loops. Plus, we have enough tokens left over for another trip so the Weekend Chef can join in on the fun!

4. $1 Movies – Yesterday we headed down to Yonkers to the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema. They have “Kids Camp” Monday through Thursday where each week they show a different movie at 11 AM and you can choose to pay $1-$3, with all ticket proceeds going to a local nonprofit. We saw Muppets Most Wanted, which we hadn’t seen when it was in theaters last year. I am very happy that I only paid $1 to see it! Although the movie had several stars including Ricky Gervais and Tina Fey, we’ve seen much better children’s movies!

5. My Apt. 9 Zipper Crossbody Bag – This purse from Kohls is an oldie but goodie (similar one on sale for $11.70!). It’s been super convenient this week when going out with the kids. It’s nice not having my big purse that keeps sliding off my shoulder. Plus, my hands were free to play some skee ball at Chuck E. Cheese! This will definitely be coming to Disney with me in August….although I just read in the latest issue of Glamour that fanny packs are making a comeback?!!! Not sure I can pull that one off……..

Linking up with Tif @ Bright on a Budget, Amanda at Meet @ The Barre and Andrea @ Momfessionals! Have a great weekend!