NY Foodie Family

Friday Favorites {Week 37}

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

Yes, it’s that time again! Friday! We had a really fun Halloween last weekend. Our daughter went with a friend trick-or-treating and then to the party her friend’s family was hosting. We ended up having a couple of our son’s friends and their families over for some pizza and trick-or-treating. We first went trick-or-treating at a nearby townhouse community. We ended up enjoying this a lot. The community was really big so there was lots of trick-or-treating. It was nice that the houses were close to one another and the kids appreciated less walking! When we got back to our house we then walked the boys around our neighborhood until they wanted to go home because their feet were so tired! We spent Sunday at a 1st birthday party. This week the kids had off Tuesday for Election Day and today for parent-teacher conferences. Otherwise, it’s been a pretty uneventful week. Here are some of our favorites:

1. A day off or two for the Weekend Chef – I had a staff development day for work, so the Weekend Chef stayed home Tuesday with the kids. It’s amazing how much stuff he can get done! He raked and bagged all the leaves in the front yard. Let me tell you there were a TON of leaves too! He also prepped the slow cooker for dinner and took one of the cars in for an oil change. Today, he’s home again with the kids and he’s tackling the backyard!

The Great Food Truck Race, Season 3

2. Netflix – The one thing I really miss about not having cable television is reality TV. I’m talking Real Housewives and The Bachelor/Bachelorette. I was really in the mood for some reality TV and found The Great Food Truck Race collection on Netflix. It’s not exactly what I was looking for, but I watched the first season of the collection (really Season 3 of the show) this week. The Weekend Chef watched a few episodes with me. Yes, you can tell it’s staged, but I like Tyler Florence and I didn’t have many options, so, it had to do. And now, it’s really gotten me in the mood for some food truck food!

3. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week: These Halloween Stash Devil Food Cookies from Frugal Foodie Mama. I already have the ingredients and recipe for this Halloween Candy Apple Crisp from Melanie Makes…..but I think we have more candy we need to use up. So, these cookies may also be making an appearance in our kitchen soon!

4. Children’s book: The Bear Report by Thyra Heder. We read this before bedtime this past week and both the kids and I enjoyed it a lot! It’s a fun, imaginative book about a girl who doesn’t want to write her report on polar bears. She ends up learning about the animal, right from the source, as she’s taken on an educational adventure in the Arctic.

5. Not Your Father’s Root Beer – I’m not sure that this is a favorite, but I’m glad I FINALLY got to try it this weekend! It wasn’t bad, but not my fave. I’ll stick to my hard ciders. I’ve heard that this tastes good in a root beer float though, so I may have to try that!

ICYMI:
Monday we posted our weekly meal plan.
Wednesday we joined Anne and Jenna’s monthly Currently link-up.
Thursday we reviewed snack subscription box MunchPak.

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

October 2015 MunchPak Review

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

Disclosure: This complimentary box was received for review purposes. All opinions are our own and no compensation was received.

MunchPak kindly sent us an October snack box to review. We have been a subscriber to the Universal Yums! Snack box for awhile now, but recently cancelled our subscription to explore some other snack box subscriptions. I was excited when MunchPak contacted us about reviewing a box, since this snack box has been on our list of possible subscriptions to try. MunchPak is an international snack subscription box. Each month they send out an assortment of snacks from around the world. They have three different snack subscription sizes including MunchPak Mini that includes 5+ snacks ($9.95), Original MunchPak which includes 10+ snacks ($19.95) and the FamilyPak which contains 20+ snacks ($39.95). MunchPak offers a customization option for $1 per variable. For example, you can opt not to have anything spicy in your snack box or prefer to have only candy in your box. They also offer a coffee or tea drink option for an additional $5 each. You can also decide how often you would like a box delivered, with options including every week, every two weeks or once a month.

MunchPak sent us the Original box to review. This box is supposed to have at least 10 snacks in it and ours included 11 different snacks. Unfortunately, they do not include an information card as to what snacks are included in the box and where they are from which would be useful. However, you can go to the shop on the MunchPak site and find most of their snacks, with descriptions. If you really enjoy a snack, you can even purchase more from the site! It appears every MunchPak contains a different assortment of snacks. So, you may not get the same selection of snacks each month in your box as someone else who also subscribes.

1. Rancheritos (60 g bag) – These are Mexican style corn chips with chili powder and spices. The chip itself was not spicy and had a sour, tangy flavor. These were okay for us, but not our favorite.

2. Lotte Pepero Nude (1.76 oz box) – This snack is from Korea. The box contained hollow biscuit like cookie tubes that had a chocolate filling. These were similar to other Asian cookie sticks that we’ve had before but were good. *On a side note, November 11, is Pepero Day in South Korea. The holiday’s purpose, allegedly similar to our Valentine’s Day, is to exchange peperos to show affection.

3. 7 Days Bake Rolls (70 g bag) Mushrooms & Cream flavor – 7 Days in an international brand marketed in 65 countries. I could not find a country of origin for these chips though. These chips were a favorite of mine! You could really taste the mushroom flavor. These come in variety of flavors including pizza, bacon, cheese-spinach and tomato olive. These chips are sold in the United States as 7 Days Bagel Chips and come in less interesting flavors including roasted garlic, sea salt cinnamon raisin and everything.

4. Corn Potage – This snack is from Japan and made by a company named Yaokin. Research revealed that corn potage is a popular Japanese soup. This was a large, hollow cheese doodle like puff that had a discernible corn flavor. This was tasty and very different.

5. Solen Crazy Extra (1.06 oz bar) – I believe that this candy bar is made in Turkey. It’s a chocolate bar with crisp rice layers. This was really tasty and one of the family favorites.

6. Lotte Green Tea (1.90 oz) Chewy Candy – The Lotte company was founded in Japan but has headquarters in both Japan and South Korea. The package contains 10 pieces of green tea candy that are each individually wrapped. At first the candy is hard but softens quickly and has the consistency similar to a Starburst. The green tea flavor is very evident, so you must like green tea to enjoy this candy!

7. Chiki Snack Balls – This snack is from Indonesia. These had a similar consistency to Cheez Doodles cheese balls. However, even trying them after just opening the bag they had a slightly stale taste to them. They were cheese flavor but it was very faint. This was not one of our favorite snacks.

8. Ginbis Dream Animals (1.76 oz box) – This snack is from Japan. These were butter flavored biscuits in the shapes of animals. As seen from the photo above, each animal has it’s name printed on the biscuit. These tasted like butter flavored crackers with a hint of sweet. The kids really enjoyed these.

9. Haribo Gummy Teeth (bag with approximately 34 pieces) – Haribo is a German candy company, famous for their gummy candies. My son was especially excited to see these gummy teeth. These had a possibly strawberry gummy flavor. If you are a gummy candy fan like we are, you’ll like these!

10. Rama – Unfortunately, I did not take an individual photo of the rama snack, which is in the center of the picture above. I could not find much information about this snack, but believe it is from Bulgaria. This is a bar made of a variety of nuts stuck together with a sticky coating. It’s not hard and crunchy like brittle and is not very sweet. The nut flavor is overpowering and even tasted a bit burnt. This was also not one of our favorite snacks.

11. Ozmo Cornet Chocolate Cone – This snack is from Turkey. This is a chocolate filled cone with tiny candy-coated chocolate pieces. The cone is filled with chocolate but the candy pieces are just on the top. The chocolate is not the highest quality. However, this was a fun treat that the kids shared and enjoyed.

Overall, we were very happy with our MunchPak box. There’s a great variety of snacks including salty, sweet, chips and candy. If you are interested in trying MunchPak you can use this link to sign up. Use promo code “NYFOODIEFAMILY” to save $3 off your first MunchPak! Please note that this is an affiliate link.

November 2015 Currently

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

I am linking up with Anne and Jenna for their monthly Currently link-up.

Cooking: Last night we made this Queso Crockpot Chicken Chili with Roasted Corn and Jalapeno from Pinch of Yum. In general, I’ve been cooking quick and easy recipes and using the slow cooker a lot.

Planning: Nothing at the moment….although I know that we need to start thinking about our Christmas card picture.

Smelling: The Avon Whipped Pumpkin candle that I won from Sandra at Charmed Crown Blog back in September. It’s a perfect scent for fall!

Appreciating: That my family is in good health (knock on wood!) and happy. I am also appreciating the Indian Summer that we are experiencing this week here in New York. The first week of November and it’s in the 70’s! I will take that any day!

Anticipating: My husband’s new job. He will hopefully be starting in a couple of weeks and it will mean big changes for the family.

Weekly Meal Plan {Week 18}

Posted on November 2, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Does everyone have tons of Halloween candy from Saturday like we do?!! The kids had a fun Halloween trick-or-treating with friends. We have candy for days….or more like months! The only downer was that when we went out trick-or-treating we left a bowl of candy out for trick-or-treaters. When we got back we discovered that someone not only took all the candy, but they took our bowl too! And it was our good, wooden salad bowl! The Weekend Chef has been giving me an “I-told-you-so” since he had questioned earlier in the evening why we weren’t using the plastic bowl (which I was too lazy to clean out – but hey, he could have cleaned it out just as well!!).

We are recuperating from the time change, which luckily, knock on wood, hasn’t affected us too badly. I’m sad seeing it get dark so early though! We are in store for a hopefully not as busy week, with the kids off of school two days and the Weekend Chef taking those days off from work.

Now, on to last week’s menu. You can read more about how we meal plan if you are new and would like some pointers. Here’s a look at what was on our menu last week:

Saturday – We ended up having a late lunch at the Chinese Buffet and were so stuffed we didn’t eat dinner!

Sunday – The Weekend Chef made London broil which he served with buttered noodles and swiss chard.

Monday – I made Asian Ground Turkey & Broccoli Lettuce Wraps inspired by a recipe on Cupcakes & Kale Chips which I served with frozen egg rolls. This wasn’t the first time that I’ve made some version of lettuce wraps. These were pretty easy to make and the kids enjoyed them.

Tuesday – I made Chicken Avocado Burritos from Oh My God Chocolate Desserts. I made one burrito without avocado for my son, since he doesn’t like it. I used leftover shredded chicken that we had in the freezer, which was a time saver. And I baked the burritos instead of frying them. We all liked these! I served these with yellow rice and sautéed swiss chard.

Wednesday – I made Spiced Sweet Potato and Goat Cheese Egg Skillet from Naturally Ella. The kids, especially my daughter who’s not a big fan of sweet potatoes, weren’t sure they’d like this dish, but they did! The seasoning really flavored the sweet potatoes. And honestly, I think they will eat anything if you put a fried egg on top of it!

Thursday – I made Chicken and Gnocchi Soup from Taste and Tell. This is supposed to be a copycat version of an Olive Garden Soup, but I’ve never had it. This soup though was creamy, tasty and filling with the chicken and gnocchi.

If I had realized that, I wouldn’t have made these Apple-Cheddar Scones from Pink Parsley to go with. But, we had the leftovers for breakfast, so it was all good. I didn’t realize the scones needed some prep work, like baking and cooling the apples. I did a kind of rush job on them, but they came out really tasty anyway! These were moist and sweet.

Friday – I made Brats with Beer & Mustard Sauce over Egg Noodles from Pink Parsley. This was of course after hearing in the news that sausage, bacon and other processed meats cause cancer. I added in a little honey to the sauce to sweeten it a bit and also added a little bit of heavy cream, since I had some left over from the scones. This was a hearty meal perfect for a cool fall evening. I used a Yuengling Black & Tan and the beer taste was pretty evident. I’m actually surprised the kids didn’t comment on it!

Friday Favorites {Week 36}

Posted on October 30, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy Friday before Halloween! Let’s get right to some of this past week’s favorites!

1. Trunk or Treat – This was the first year that we took the kids to our local Trunk or Treat event. It’s sponsored by our school education foundation so the money being raised is for a good cause – the students in our school district! Some families go all out in decorating their cars. As my daughter noted, “Mom, you would never do that.” She knows me too well! After trunk or treating (my son is Rocket Raccoon from Guardians of the Galaxy and my daughter is a vampire princess) we now have the above pictured plastic pumpkin filled with candy and the kids haven’t even gone trick-or-treating yet. I have a bunch of recipes saved for using up leftover Halloween candy. I may need to break some of those out in the next couple of weeks!

2. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week – These Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Pancakes with Caramel Cream Cheese Frosting from Closet Cooking. Can I even make this for “breakfast for dinner” or does this fall into the dessert category?!!

3. Turkey Hill Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream – And speaking of pumpkin, the kids and I have been enjoying this ice cream all week. It’s pumpkin ice cream with a cinnamon graham cracker swirl. Of course, the graham cracker swirl is my favorite part. After this ice cream is gone….no more. I need to take an ice cream hiatus! The Weekend Chef is being so good with his diet and I really need get more serious about eating healthier.

4. Free Fresh Fruit and Veggies – Every Saturday morning I volunteer at a local food pantry. Since my son’s soccer season started, I can only usually stay for an hour, in which I help set up by bagging produce and bread deliveries that arrive. This past Saturday, the Weekend Chef’s Tae Kwon Do class was cancelled, so I was able to volunteer at the pantry for the full shift. After all the families have shopped and we’ve cleaned up, any leftover produce is offered to the volunteers. Most of the produce is locally grown. This past week I brought home a bag of pears, two of which are pictured above, as well as a bag of mixed purple and orange carrots and two bags of swiss chard. While I’m not a pear eater, the Weekend Chef and my son enjoyed them, noting how ripe and juicy they were. As the growing season is pretty much ending now, there won’t be much fresh produce for the next couple of months. As the Weekend Chef noted, my volunteer time at the pantry is paid for with fruit and vegetables!

5. Behavior Modification Charts – Once a special education teacher, always a special education teacher! When we got an e-mail from our son’s teacher that he was being disruptive and talkative, I immediately pulled out a behavior modification chart. The rule is that if he does not come home with a smiley face each day we go all out on consequences – no treats, electronics, playdates, etc. If you noticed, there is only one so-so face (where he just lost his treat for the night) and the rest are smiley faces. When I e-mailed the teacher about using the chart she was totally on board with it and happy that we were being so supportive. If all goes well and he comes home today with a smiley face we are hoping to phase out the chart for next week and he will get a special treat over the weekend for having five smiley faces in a row. While you don’t want a child to be dependent on a behavior modification chart, it’s a great visual reinforcer. I’m just happy that it’s worked and that his behavior is so much better!

ICYMI here on the blog:
Monday I posted our weekly meal plan.
Tuesday I posted a link-up that I was guest co-hosting for the month of October.
Wednesday the Weekend Chef reviewed Ernest Cline’s newest book Armada.
Thursday I posted about my first experience with Jamberry nail wraps.

Have a great weekend and have a Happy Halloween! If you are trick-or-treating with kids, stay safe and enjoy the treats!

Linking up with Tif @ Bright on a Budget, Amanda from Meet @ The Barre and Andrea @ Momfessionals!

I tried Jamberry Nail Wraps

Posted on October 29, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

I am a very low maintenance girl. I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve gotten a professional manicure. My nine-year-old daughter has probably gotten more manicures than I have, since my mom sometimes takes her for some granddaughter bonding time. I do love nail polish though (sidenote: possible dream job is coming up with the nail polish color names!). I can paint my nails pretty well on my own. However, the Weekend Chef will often paint my nails while we catch up on Netflix (sidenote: sadly, this is our married with kids, weeknight bonding time)!

I had heard of Jamberry nail wraps but had never tried them until now. I actually won the Apple Cider Jamberry nail wraps pictured below from a giveaway that Della hosted along with Jamberry consultant Becky. I loved this design and received many compliments! (Please note that the below picture was taken after the nail wraps had been applied to my nails – thus the missing wraps!)

The wraps came in a pretty pink envelope along with a set of directions for applying and removing the wraps.

I like that you receive a variety of sizes, so you can pick the wrap that best fits the size of your fingers. There is also enough wraps for at least two applications. I believe there’s definitely a learning curve to applying the nail wraps. Yes, the Weekend Chef applied these for me. After choosing the correct size for my nail, he cut the strip in two pieces (for matching fingers on each hand), peeled the backing, applied the wrap to my nail, used the hair dryer to help adhere and soften the wrap to my nail and then trimmed the excess with nail clippers. He then filed the edges smooth with a nail file. He found this process easier than painting my nails but it still took about a half hour this first time to apply the wraps. He tells me that he can apply the next set much quicker now that he knows what he’s doing.

So, here is picture of the nail wraps after application. You can see on my middle finger there’s a little piece of wrap hanging off that needed to be filed down.

And here’s a picture of the nail wraps nine days after applying the nail wraps (please disregard my dried out, paper cut-ridden fingers!). There was some nail growth and although hard to tell from the photo, the wraps were looking a little ragged.

Removing the wraps were really easy. I stuck each finger in a capful of nail polish remover for approximately 25 seconds and then wiped them off with a paper towel. There was some adhesive residue that I removed with a cotton ball doused in nail polish remover.

Overall, I am a fan of Jamberry nail wraps. I loved the color and design of the Apple Cider wraps. These would be especially nice for glittery designs since glitter nail polish is such a beast to take off. It appears that most nail wraps are $15 per sheet. However, there is usually some sort of sale or deal going on. Since I can get a bottle of nail polish a lot cheaper, nail wraps are not something that I’d use often. However, after trying them now, these are a product that I would use again, most likely for a special occasion!

Becky was nice enough to include some samples of other Jamberry nail wrap designs. I actually plan on using these on my ring finger as an accent nail, with the other nails painted in a solid nail polish color. With all of the designs and styles, there is definitely a nailwrap for everyone!

If you would like to try Jamberry nail wraps please feel free to check out Becky’s site!

Have you tried Jamberry nail wraps? What’s your favorite design?

Armada: Attack of the Video Games

Posted on October 28, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Armada by Ernest Cline is the second book from an author who showed a promising start with Ready Player One. Nancy and I both read and enjoyed his debut. Apparently, a bunch of folks did as it was a bestseller and has already been developed for a movie by Steven Spielberg. I had high hopes for Mr. Cline’s second effort. He has a knack for blending video games and popular culture into a fun adventure. Would he be able to recapture the excitement?

In a word, somewhat. Armada is packed with some great elements: fast-paced intergalactic space battles, underdog antagonists, and a regular flow of big twists and surprises. The pacing for me was way off. There entire story occurs mostly in a few days which is just too fast for my liking to develop the story and to immerse yourself in rise and fall of the characters on the page. The characters, as a whole, just don’t have me hoping and cheering along the way. And the fun elements of Ready Player One really felt forced and fell flat for me this time around.

The main character Zach Lightman is a high school senior on the verge of graduation when some abnormal things begin happening in his sleepy town. It seems as though an alien invasion is upon them but the real surprise is that the alien spacecraft looks exactly like the enemy ships in Zach’s favorite video game. His mother and friends and the wider world are dragged into the conflict. It’s difficult to say much more about the book without some level of plot ruining. Let me just say that Zach gets the chance to be the classic (played-out?) reluctant hero. How does the fast-paced arc of the character from bored teen to space pilot play out? I do recommend Armada as a worthwhile read. I wouldn’t consider it a compelling page-turner, but perhaps it would be an advantage to those of you who haven’t read the first book to read Armada first instead. Then you won’t feel compelled like me to keep comparing the two unfavorably and go in with a fresh mind. Please chime in if you’ve read either book and share in the comments section.

I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review. However, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

Turn It Up Tuesday #110

Posted on October 26, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

This is the last week that I am guest cohosting Turn It Up Tuesday at Epic Mommy Adventures. Last week there were over 340 participants in the link-up! This week is the Halloween Edition! We’d like to wish you all a spooky Halloween with loads of family fun! Feel free to share all of your Halloween-inspired posts, old or new, with us this week! We can’t wait to check them all out!

Halloween TUT

We had a spectacular time reading all of your posts last week – and we welcome you to share some more amazing posts this week!

TUT new

Turn It Up Tuesdays is all about being happy, excited, energetic…and having fun! Link up all of your favorite posts (old or new) and meet some awesome bloggers in return! Link up your funny stories, DIY posts, recipes, mommy moments — anything at all. We want to laugh, be entertained, be inspired, and have a good time! Thanks so much to everyone that joins us each week and makes this link party the best that it could be!

SPONSOR OF THE MONTH

Our sponsor for October is Humbird.

HumBird_Ad_300_x_300

HumBird is located at the base of the bavarian mountains in Germany and is a mother-daughter creation which began in 2010. We currently make 3 different types of wool covers; boiled wool, merino wool interlock, and upcycled. Along with sewing I enjoy hiking, running, and gardening. Free shipping on all orders $25 or more.

All month, Turn It Up Tuesday partygoers will receive 10% off all orders using the code Epic10.

Are you looking to get your blog or website in front of numerous people per week? Do you enjoy Turn It Up Tuesdays? Interested in having your blog or website featured for an entire month? Then, sponsor Turn It Up Tuesday for a month by clicking here!

Welcome the lovely ladies of Turn It Up Tuesday!

(from the top – left to right)

And welcome our awesome guest hosts for October!

TUT Oct 2015 (1)

(from the top – left to right)

Kayla from Scatterbrained Mom | Lyn from Mid Michigan Mom | Donna from Two Chicks and a Mom | Nancy from NY Foodie Family | Glenda from Mommies Point of View

Interested in being a guest host for the month or becoming a permanent co-host?

Complete the form here! Monthly guest hosts will be chosen on a first come first-serve basis.

Here are the Featured posts from last week!

TMNT_Costume

Kayla chose Nickelodeon TMNT Costume and Spooktacular Extravaganza at Party City from Logan Can… “My Nephews LOVE, The Ninja Turtles, made me think of them when I seen this!”

Totschool-Baking-with-Toddlers-By-Jolene

Kayla chose Totschool: Baking with Toddlers from Year Round Homeschooling. “Always looking for ways to get my little girl involved in things at home! This is terrific!”

crafts-15-mason-jar-crafts-christmas-halloween

Mari chose 15 Mason Jar DIY’s – Halloween, Christmas from Mom ‘N Daughter Savings. “I love DIY projects with Mason Jars so Jody’s share was a nice treat to add to my Must try collection.”

pumpkin-french-toast-bake-12

Mari chose Pumpkin French Toast Bake from Annie’s Noms. “My sweet Annie got me again with this yummy looking French Toast dish that I can’t wait to try!”

Lyn also chose this post. “This recipe couldn’t have come at a better time. I have fresh pumpkin puree that I need to use!”

Melissa also chose this post. “Annie had me at Pumpkin, but Pumpkin French Toast… YUM!! I love that this recipe is a bake, making it look pretty easy to put together all in one dish!”

strawberry-watermelon-infused-water-3

Kelly chose Strawberry Watermelon Infused Water from The Not So Creative Cook. “Drinking water is so much healthier than sugary drinks, but I strongly prefer flavored water options.”

thanksgiving-pack-mtm

Kelly chose Free 25 Page Thanksgiving Printable Pack! from The Multi Taskin’ Mom. “I love this Thanksgiving printable set. I love having things for the kids to do on Thanksgiving while I am finishing up dinner.”

Lyn also chose this post. “What a fantastic printable package for the upcoming season”

Pumpkin Napoleons Poster

Bev chose Pumpkin Napoleons from A Sprinkle of This and That. “Wow, these pumpkin napoleons look absolutely fabulous. The puff pastry makes them light and fluffy with a nice pumpkin pudding filling and the caramel drizzle. Let’s eat!”

industrial mail holder title photo

Bev chose Fan Repurposed Into Industrial Mail Holder from Redo It Yourself Inspirations. “What a great reuse of a fan. I think everyone will be on the look out for broken fans to make their very own mail holder.”

Organized-300x300

Stacey chose Keeping Organized with your Life from 2 Chicks Blogging. “Some days, I feel so completely unorganized, between kids, school, and regular day to day life. Maybe I need to incorporate some of these amazing tips. Thank you for sharing!”

Do-It-All-Working-Mom-Brown-Sugar-Pinwheel-Cookies-449x1024

Stacey chose Easy Brown Sugar Pinwheel Cookies from Do It All Working Mom. “These cookies look so quick and amazingly easy. I can’t wait to give them a try. Thanks so much for sharing!”

Silvie chose How to Easily Make Ghost Boogers with Homemade Gummies from Heaven is Smiling Above. “My boys picked this one, all 3 agree that this recipe is awesome!!!”

tote for for Halloween

Silvie chose Hello Kitty Halloween Tote Tutorial from Eclectic Red Barn. “I love Hello Kitty and this tote is super cute!!”

Donna chose DIY Halloween Bat Candy Holder Tutorial from Lou Lou Girls.

Frozen-Cinderella-Halloween-Pumpkin-Five-Marigolds-

Donna chose No-Carve Family Halloween Pumpkins from Five Marigolds.

Sugar-Sensitive-

Tina (Happy Creations) chose Want to Help Your Child Have Fewer Hard Times? from Spoil My Family. “Wonderful post,very informative and helpful,I’m sure many mommies can relate to this:) Thanks so much for sharing!”

Halloween

Tina (Happy Creations) chose DIY Halloween Candy Cat Party Favors from Mid Michigan Mom. “I love this project,easy to make and great for kids favors-table decorations!Thanks for sharing this lovely project with us.”

Watch-Some-Classic-Scary-Movies-This-Halloween

Natasha chose 6 Classic Scary Movies To Watch This Halloween from Ramblings of a (Bad) Domestic Goddess. “What a great list of scary movies – thanks for sharing!”

Natasha chose Forget Zombies and Haunted Houses: 12 Things That Scare You If You’re A Mom from Fun Money Mom. “I just love this post! It’s so true! Thanks so much for sharing with us!”

3 Reasons why your blog doesn’t make any money.

The post with the most views is 3 Reasons Why Your Blog Doesn’t Make Any Money from Pretty Shabby UK.

Stop by and show some love to our featured bloggers this week! I’m sure they’d all appreciate it!

If you were featured above, feel free to share the badge below with pride on your blog or website!

<div align="center"><a href="http://epicmommyadventures.com" rel="nofollow" title="Epic Mommy Adventures"><img src="http://epicmommyadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Featured-TUT.png" alt="Epic Mommy Adventures" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

And the Best of the Best goes to…

pumpkin-french-toast-bake-12

Pumpkin French Toast Bake from Annie’s Noms

Do-It-All-Working-Mom-Brown-Sugar-Pinwheel-Cookies-449x1024

Easy Brown Sugar Pinwheel Cookies from Do It All Working Mom

Show some love to our Best of the Best bloggers this week!!!!

Best of the Best Bloggers – make sure to showcase the button below on your blog!

<div align="center"><a href="http://epicmommyadventures.com" rel="nofollow" title="Epic Mommy Adventures"><img src="http://epicmommyadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/Best-of-Best-TUT.png" alt="Epic Mommy Adventures" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

So now that you’ve seen all that we have to offer in this week’s Turn It Up Tuesday,

let’s get started!

– Show some love to your hosts and co-hosts simply by following them on social media and leaving a comment so they can follow you back. – Link up as many posts as you’d like! The more, the merrier! – Check out some of the other posts and make some new friends! – Grab the button below and showcase on your sidebar! Invite your fellow bloggers to join the fun!

<div align="center"><a href="http://epicmommyadventures.com" rel="nofollow" title="Epic Mommy Adventures"><img src="http://epicmommyadventures.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/TUT-new.png" alt="Epic Mommy Adventures" style="border:none;" /></a></div>

Link up your posts, make some friends, and earn the chance to be featured or become the Best of the Best on Turn It Up Tuesday! We will feature the favorite posts each week! **Disclaimer: Adding your link to this link party gives permission to Epic Mommy Adventures, along with co-hosts, guest hosts, and participants of Turn It Up Tuesday, to share your posts and pictures via social media and as features, roundups, etc. with an explicit link back to the original source.**

An InLinkz Link-up

Interested in reading all of our favorite posts on Turn It Up Tuesdays – past or present? Or do want to know if your post was featured before we go live next week? Follow Natasha Peter’s board Featured on Turn It Up Tuesdays! on Pinterest.

Weekly Meal Plan {Week 17}

Posted on October 26, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy last week of October! We have another weekly meal plan for you today! We used the crockpot twice this week because quick and easy is what we need these days. You can take a peek at our meal planning process to see how we plan each week’s menu.

Saturday – The Weekend Chef was with my son at a cub scout overnight camping trip. My daughter and I had Panera for dinner.

Sunday – The Weekend Chef’s family was over and we went out to “linner” at Applebee’s. We never used to be a fan of the restaurant chain, but they’ve revamped their menu and we’ve enjoyed some tasty meals there.

Monday – I made Chicken, Bacon, Avocado Salad with Roasted Asparagus from Pinch of Yum. This recipe uses deli cold cut chicken so there was not a lot of cooking. I roasted the asparagus and cooked the bacon at the same time in the oven. My kids first were like, “just a salad for dinner?” But this salad was tasty and filling and we all enjoyed it.

Tuesday – I made Cauliflower Chowder from Damn Delicious. I’ll be honest, this wasn’t my favorite soup and I won’t be repeating it. I was surprised that the kids ate it without complaint though! I served this soup with Trader Joe French rolls.

Wednesday – I made Crockpot Thai Chicken from Iowa Girl Eats. The slow cooker chicken part of the recipe has three ingredients so it ranks high up in the easy category. I couldn’t find the Spicy Peanut Vinaigrette that Kristin used in the recipe so I used a Peanut sauce that I found at HMart, an Asian grocery store.

Thursday – I made Slow Cooker Italian Breakfast Casserole from The Seasoned Mom. I precooked the sausage Wednesday night, so Thursday morning all I had to do was dice the onion and pepper and prepare the casserole. We haven’t had too many egg type dishes in the slow cooker. This wasn’t bad and was nice that it was made in the slow cooker. However, I prefer the taste of egg casseroles baked in the oven.

Friday – I made homemade cheese pizza. An easy, tasty dinner that the kids helped make.

What was cooking in your kitchen this week?

Friday Favorites {Week 35}

Posted on October 23, 2015 by nyfoodiefamily@gmail.com

Happy Friday! This felt like one of the busiest weeks ever. Add in several schedule changes for the kids and a last minute meeting and my organized, structured self was not happy! Oh, and who doesn’t like to start off their day with their front door latch breaking and getting locked out of their house after putting the kids on the bus?! Yeah, that was me Wednesday morning. Luckily, the Weekend Chef was able to call a locksmith and I didn’t have to be at work until 1 PM. Nothing like helping the locksmith break into your own house! Fun times, people, fun times! But, it’s Friday and everything’s better on Friday. It looks like this weekend will have some relaxing time (after getting a new door latch) – score! Here are some favorites from this past week:

1. Last weekend the Weekend Chef and my son went to a Cub Scout event and then camped outside overnight. Yes, last weekend, when it was like 30 something degrees here in New York. While they were roughing it in the cold, my daughter and I spent the afternoon shopping at the mall. After perusing Claire’s and Justice and actually making purchases at Gap and Gap Kids, she of course requested a pretzel and lemonade snack at Auntie Anne’s. Later that night we ordered dinner at Panera Bread and brought it home and watched episodes of Girl Meets World. We had a great Mom-Daughter Day.

2. Favorite bookmarked recipe of the week: This Skillet Sausage, Egg, and Cheese Grits Breakfast Bake from Peas & Crayons. I’m not Southern, but sometimes think I was in another life. I love Southern food! Grits, collard greens, biscuits and gravy…..yum!

22716447

3. Reading: Why Not Me? by Mindy Kaling. I may have to read her first book Is Everyone Hanging Out With Me? again, because my goodreads rating says I only gave it 2 stars! I am loving Why Not Me? I am a fan of The Mindy Project and as I’m reading this book, I am imaging Mindy’s voice reading it. Funny and entertaining, I should have this book finished this weekend.

4. Cold Bibimbap from HMart – My new job is right near a Trader Joe’s and an HMart (a very large Asian supermarket that has a food court as well). I am in trouble! Or as the Weekend Chef notes, “there goes your paycheck!” The other day I went to HMart and got their cold bibimbap for lunch. Bibimbap is a traditional Korean dish meaning “mixed rice.” As seen above the dish includes vegetables, a fried egg, usually meat and rice served with a chili pepper paste over rice. You mix it all together and it’s delicious! Normally, it’s served hot in a stone bowl (which is how I prefer it). However, HMart only serves a cold variation. Either way, this was a super tasty lunch!

5. The Mets – I grew up as a Yankees fan. But, thanks to my brother-in-law, the past couple of years our family has had the pleasure of an annual trip to Citi Field to watch the Mets play, all from the comfort of a suite. Regardless, the Mets have just won their first pennant since 2000 and will be playing in the World Series. To say that New York fans are a bit excited is an understatement! Unfortunately, we don’t have cable television, so we will have to figure out a way to watch some of the World Series.

ICYMI, here’s what was on the blog this week:

Our weekly meal plan
Tuesday link-up that I’m guest hosting this month (and it’s not too late to add your post!)
The Weekend Chef’s book review of Why We Get Fat

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