Sooooo Much Halloween Goodness!!!

Okay, so now what you've all been waiting for....the rest of the Halloween menu for my party tonight. So, without further adeu let us begin.

Aren't these adorable?????? They are actually croissants that are made into ghosts. You simply make the croissants by the package instructions and then place poppy seeds for the eyes. So cute right?

This is a fab-u-lous ziti casserole. It's called Bippity Boppity Boo Ziti. It is super easy and so yummy! OMG!! So good. You've got to make this immediately! Send me a comment if you want the recipe (trust me, you want the recipe).

This is a called Scarecrow Crunch. It had Fiddla Faddle, M&Ms, pretzels, Chocolate Teddy Grahams and Quaker Oat Squares. It's a good snack food (and pretty too!).

These are Vampire Bats. They were supposed to be Vampire Lips, but I couldn't shape them correctly and there is no where that sells a lips cookie cutter. So anyway, I went out and bought a bat cookie cutter and made them into vampire bats. They are still so cute and yummy.

My friend made this adorable Haunted House cake. Isn't it fab-u-lous???? It was incredible. And actually it was pretty easy to make. It tasted so good too.

I love this little ceramic Halloween Boot. I filled it M&Ms.

This is the food table. I think it is quite festive.

So, what do you think? All together fantastic right?

A Whole Bunch of Halloween Goodness

Happy Halloween (almost)! I am having some friends over on Saturday evening to hand out tricks-or-treats and so starting today I am going to be making all kinds of yummy goodness! This evening I made these delicious chocolate dotted pretzels. They are cute and so incredibly easy to make.You simple buy the square pretzels that are called snaps. You should be able to find these in your grocery store. Then you go to your local craft store (Michael's, Jo Anns, A C Moore, etc.) and buy some of the Wilton chocolates. They have a ton of colors and since it is Halloween I bought some of the black ones and orange ones.

You lay out the pretzels on a cookie sheet, then place one of the chocolate circles on a pretzel and place in a 350 degree oven. I only let them in the oven for a short period of time. You have to keep an eye on them. You don't want them to completely melt, just enough so they will stick to the pretzel. Take them out of the oven and let the cookie sheet cool a bit and then I pace them in the refrigerator for a few minutes and then take them out and walluh...done!

They are sooooo good and sooooo cute! These can be made for Thanksgiving in orange and brown or I've made them for Christmas parties before in red and green. They would also be perfect for a baby shower in blue or pink or a for a bridal shower in the bride's colors. They are perfect for any party. And people LOVE them. They are always gone before you know it! Keep coming back to the blog because tomorrow will be more yummies.

Go ahead, be like Mikey, "Try it. You'll like it.". Extra points if you can leave me a comment and tell me who Mikey is and what that saying is from. :)

Start Thinking about Weekend Breakfast

This is the BEST EVER brunch food. It is a Baked French Toast and it is fab-u-lous!!! OMG! Sooooo good. I made it this past Sunday when some friends came over. It is really so simple to make. You get most of it ready the night before and then the next morning you add a little more, put it in the oven and then walluh....complete ooey, gooey goodness!!! You've got to make it this weekend for breakfast. I promise you 100% you will LOVE IT!!! Here's what you do.

Cut a french bread loaf diagonally into pieces (about one-inch each). Butter a 9x13 pan and then place the pieces of french bread in the pan. In a large bowl mix 8 eggs (yes, that is right 8 eggs!!!), 1 1/2 cups milk, 1 cup half-n-half, 3 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. cinnamon. Whisk it up really well and then pour over the french bread pieces. Cover the pan and place in the refrigerator over night. Below is what it should look like.

The next morning, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt 1 1/2 sticks of butter (yep you read that correctly too!), three tbsp. light corn syrup, and 1 cup brown sugar. bring to a boil and then remove immediately and pour over the egg and bread mixture. Put in the oven for 40 minutes, remove and eat! When it comes out of the oven it will be all puffed up, it's okay, it will go down in a little bit. Below is the yummy picture. Mmmmmm....I bet you wish you could smell it. Stop licking your computer screen. :)

OMG!!!! It is so good. My mouth is literally watering right now just thinking about it. It is perfect for Thanksgiving or Christmas morning. You can put it in the oven and then have a quick and so simple breakfast that will really fill you up until lunch time.

The WINNER!!!

I did the drawing last night and the winners of the Bountiful Beer Bread by Tastefully Simple are Southern College Girl and Sweet, Sassy, Southern and Classy. Yea for you gals!!!! Send me an email and give me your snail mail address and I will ship them later today. I know you guys are going to love the bread. YUMMY!! You'll have to blog about how good it is then. Ha!

If anyone would like to try any of the of Tastefully Simple products, please stop by my website and order away. :) They are perfect holiday gifts.

A Little TS Plug

As you probably know, because I think I have already mentioned it, I am a Tastefully Simple consultant. I have been a dedicated client for about 10 years now. I love their food! Recently, I decided to embark on something new and so I decided to sell Tastefully Simple. It's really not too hard because the food sells itself really. All of the foods take no more than 3 ingredients. Yes, you read that correctly, 3 ingredients!!! This is so perfect for working moms or stay at homes (because we know how busy you definitely are) or college students. They make great gifts...wedding gifts, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts or office appreciation gifts.

I am going scrapbooking tomorrow and made some yummy snacks today to take along. I thought I would share them with you.

This is the Bountiful Beer Bread. You don't have to use beer, any carbonated beverage will do and some butter and that's it! It so good. Simply delicious. OMG!!!! Is is soooo good! Everyone that tries it simply falls in love with it and cannot stop eating it. I like to tear it up into pieces and then use it for dips.

I also made some of the Absolutely Almond Pound Cake. OMG!!! This is so fab-u-lous! I am a lover of pound cake. I always have been. It is really one of my favorites. This simply takes some water and butter and that's it! Again, really simple.


Tastefully Simple is also selling this cookie mix for charity. It is the For the Love of Cookies: Chocolate Chip Toffee Almond Cookie Mix. I know that is quite a mouthful of a title, but it is even more of a mouthful of a cookie! Ha! :) They are donating $1 of every sale to "Share Our Strength, No Kid Hungry" charity. I think the charity is fantastic. Tis the season after all too.

So, I know, enough of my selling. :) If you would like to order anything or just peruse the new Fall/Winter products go to my Tastefully Simple website. It is really user friendly and I am always here for your questions too. Now, go take a look!

And since I am so feeling it right now and the holidays are coming up I'm going to start the gift giving early! I will give away two Bountiful Beer Bread Mixes (again remember you don't need to use alcohol) to those people that leave me a comment. You can enter your name again if you follow my blog and yet again if you mention my giveaway on your blog. Just leave me a comment on my blog telling me how many times to enter your name and for what. I will draw two names on Tuesday, October 27th at 11:00pm (pst). I will probably be having more drawings as the holidays get closer so keep coming back.

Hubba Hubba Sabra Hummus and Stacey's Pita Chips

I just totally love hummus. Fab-u-lous! There is nothing much to it, but the flavor and texture is such a great combination. It is just so smooth, both the flavor and the texture is smooth. I have never made it, but I know friends of mine that have and they say it is really simple. Basically it is mashed chick peas and some oil and then whatever other flavor you want to add in. I think that's all there is to it. If you have made hummus let me know and what have you added to it?

Sabra brand is my favorite. I've had Tribe brand and it is good, but not as good to me as Sabra. They even have these little snack packs of hummus. Aren't they so cute??? It's the perfect size and portion for a little snack or for you to take in your lunch. Or for your kids. My little niece (3 1/2 years old) loves hummus and it is good for her! I got these at BJs in bulk. But at the grocery store you can the little packs and then they have pretzel chips attached in a little cup on top.

I simply like the original flavor. There are a ton of different flavors (Garlic, Roasted Red Pepper, etc.), but I like the original the best.

There are many things that you can use to dip into the hummus. I usually use pita chips and my favorite are Stacy's Pita Chips. These are soooo good! OMG! Seriously, if you have not had them yet you really need to go to your grocery store and pick up some bags. If your grocery store doesn't carry them, ask them to immediately!! I like all the flavors. I haven't had one yet that I didn't like. My favorite though is the Naked. They are plain with sea salt. And all of the chips are low fat and good for you. You can usually find them in the healthy food or natural food section of the grocery store. Mmmm, they are so good.

Also, if you stop on over to Clemson Girl and the Coach's blog she has a great giveaway going on through Friday. Seriously, check it out because the wristlet key fobs are adorable.

Teriyaki Chicken

I tried another really good World Harbors marinating sauce tonight. It was Teriyaki and oh so good! These marinades/sauces are sold in most grocery stores and can be found with the other sauces and marinades. There are probably about a dozen different kinds of them. They are good and so simple to use. Using marinades is great for those people that are busy and don't have a lot of time for preparing dinner.

I just put some of the marinade and the chicken into a zip lock bag this morning before I left for work and when I came home it was good and ready to go. I have a stove top grill pan, which is great for inside grilling.

I also made these very yummy Parmesan Cheddar Biscuits. OMG! They are so good! Right out of the oven they are warm and so cheesy. Fab-u-lous! They are by Tastefully Simple. I am a consultant for Tastefully Simple and so I am a bit partial, but they are really, really good! I swear it!!! :) I mean really what's not to like about cheese and biscuits. Ha! :) If you are interested in buying some of them, just go to my Tastefully Simple website and order some. There are so many good products they have, but that's for another post.

Black Beans + Cheese = Mmmm Good.

Tonight for dinner I had black bean and mozzarella quesadillas. Yummy!! You know me and the quesadillas and I am always thinking of different foods to put into a quesadilla. I like black beans and I do like cheese and so I knew it would be a yummy combination.

So simple to make...a flour tortilla, some black beans and cheese on top.

Then a second tortilla on top of that one.

This is the fab-u-lous, amazing, fantastic...quesadilla maker!!! You simply close and lock the lid and then a few minutes later...

walluh (okay, I know I've been spelling this word wrong, but it sounds better this way and I like it!), you have cheesy goodness! And you know, of course I added sour cream on top. I seriously think I could have sour cream with every meal. :) Are there others of you out there that really like sour cream too?

If you've never had black beans (if that is even possible!!) I'm not sure how to explain them to you. I can't really explain the flavor. The texture is very similar to that of a baked bean, but the flavor is different. I just know they are good. Ha! :)

Hot Now!!

If you have ever been to Krispy Kreme you know exactly what the title is all about. Krispy Kreme has the most amazing donuts! They are completely surgary though. If I didn't know any better I would think it was cotton candy. Mmmmm...cotton candy, but I digress, that is a blog story for another day. :) I didn't grow up around Krispy Kreme donuts. I actually never had my first Krispy Kreme donuts until about 4 years ago. Nothing has been the same since. I don't know of any Krispy Kreme donut shops in PA. and there is only one in CT. that I know of. I was near that one this morning and so of course, I stopped and got some.

The glazed donuts at Krispy Kreme are out of this world. They literally (no joke!!!) melt in your mouth. If the "Hot Now" sign out front is lit up then the glazed donuts are really, really fresh and warm. They literally take them right off the belt as they go through the glazing machine. OMG! They are fantastic!!! The chocolate iced cremed filled are also so yummy! The creme is so soft and creamy and just full of sugar. Ha! My mouth is watering just thinking about them. This is funny considering I just had some this morning. :)

The whole donut-making process is open to viewing in the restaurant. It is located right smack in the center of the restaurant. I don't know what it is, but watching donuts being made makes me feel like a kid again. The Krispy Kreme experience is kind of nostalgic. So, go get some Krsipy Kremes and feel all warm and fuzzy inside. :)

Lemon to Die For

Have you tried this yet???? OMG!!!! It is sooo good!! This is the new Yoplait Delights Yogurt. But it really doesn't taste too much like yogurt (although I am a yogurt lover). It is truly a pudding.

The lemon is to die for. It is my favorite. I have also tried the chocolate raspberry and it is delicious too. But the lemon is outstanding. It is out of this world! For real, it is soooo good!!! There are two other flavors too, but I haven't tried them yet. If you go to Yoplait's website (www.yoplait.com) you will find a $1.00 off coupon, which is so worth it. I would, and have, bought it over and over again without a coupon, but who doesn't love saving some money and so the coupon is just an added bonus!

After you've tried it out come back and let me know how fab-u-lous it is.

Oh and did I mention they are only 100 calories??? You would never know it though. The flavor is amazing and so rich and creamy. Mmmmmmm. Well, excuse me, but I think I need to go and have one right now. :)

No Court for This Squash

It has gotten pretty chilly here in CT. and I got home too late to make something fresh and so I grabbed one of these soups. When I was at BJ's last week and picked up the Legal Seafood Lobster Bisque, I also bought this Butternut Squash and Apple soup. It is made by Panera. It is fab-u-lous! I looooove butternut squash soup. It is so rich and creamy and totally YUMMY!!!

But c'mon it is from Panera and so how wrong or bad could it really be? Panera is awesome! I love Panera. I have actually never seen this soup on the menu in the restaurant, but they obviously sell it in the grocery stores.

Of course I had to add some sour cream to it. I don't know what it is, but I seem to always do that to my soups. Sour cream is such an incredible condiment. I should seriously buy some stock in sour cream. Ha!

This soup has some different flavors to it (besides the butternut squash and apple flavors). I tasted a hint of garlic and also some onion and it overall tasted roasted to me. I really couldn't tap into just one of the three, the flavors kept switching on me. It reminded me of Violet on Willy Wonka when she was chewing that gum and going through the various courses of a dinner. Seriously, it was like a riot going on in my mouth. I love when that happens, when there is one fantastic flavor after another. There was a party going on in my mouth and I was haaaaaappy! :)

An Apple A Day...

This past weekend I was home to PA. and my mom and I went to the National Apple Harvest Festival in Arendtsville, which is a bout 25 minutes from where I grew up. This festival goes on for two weekends and is huge! It is a tradition that we do every year together. I was limited in what I could eat because of the esophagus, but believe me, I found some stuff to eat. Ha! :)

The first thing we had to eat were these amazing crepes. I know! Can you believe it? Crepes! And at an Apple Festival in south central Pennsylvania! We got a Nutella and Banana Crepe! OMG!!! It was absolutely fab-u-lous!!!! The whipped cream on top was fresh and homemade too!!! I used to not like Nutella, but what was I thinking. The stuff is amazing!!!! It is a chocolate hazelnut spread/sauce. If you have never tried it, go to your grocery store tonight and pick some up. It is really that good!

Next up, we got some apple sauce. Duh! Of course we got apple sauce at the Apple Festival! These are pictures of my mom with some apple sauce and me with some too. :)

Then my mom and I got an Apple Daiquiri (no alcohol). It was delicious! My mom ate the apple in it, but we shared the drink part. Who would've thunk it?

I also had to buy some Apple Blueberry Syrup. I've never had this before, but I tried some there and it was so good that I couldn't pass up buying some. I cannot wait to try it. I'll let you know how yummy it is!This is a picture I took on the way there. It is completely beautiful isn't it??? I so miss being at home near all of my family, especially in the fall when the leaves are amazing. The scenery is beautiful in CT. too, don't get me wrong, but my family isn't in CT. Ha! :)

Attention Sonic, I love You!

Tonight we went to Sonic, which is the absolute BEST, most fab-u-lous place ever!!!! I love Sonic. It was a total bummer that I couldn't get my usual Foot Long Chili Cheese Coney and Frito Chili Cheese Pie because of this stupid illness I have.

But I could get my favorite Cherry Vanilla Diet Coke. OMG!!! It is sooooo good!!! If you follow Kelly's blog over at Kelly's Corner then you know she also loves Sonic and goes there a lot. I wish I had one as close to me as she has to her! :) I would seriously be there every day. Ha!

Tonight, I had to settle for only half a grilled cheese sandwich (I shared it with my mom). I could get down only a few bites, but oh man, were those bites worth it. Mmmmmm.....sooooo good!

This is my niece eating her little junior candy sundae. It's only 50 cents and oh so adorable. She was loving those M&Ms.

If you have never been to Sonic, go to their website and check to see where the closest one is to you. The drive will be so worth it. Belive me, my mom and I drove an hour this past summer just to go there to eat!!!! :)

Mashin' & Sundaes. No Really, It's Good.

Love me some mashed potatoes. Tonight for dinner I had Herb & Butter Mashed Potatoes. They were actually Wal-Mart brand and really tasty. Okay, call me weird, but I like instant mashed potatoes better than real mashed potatoes. There I said it, I'm not too proud to admit, I like them instant! You say, "What?", well, whateva. :)

I added some cheese to them and that made them extra yummy! OMG! Sooooo good. And then added some butter to them too. Ha! I know right? They just keep getting better. But that's what I usually do to a lot of foods, I buy them already made and then just doctor them up. Genius right? No, not really. C'mon Sandra Lee has a whole show about that on Food Network...Semi-Homemade! I love that show too though.

Then my mom (I am home for the weekend) went and got me a sundae from McDonald's. Mmmmmm, they have some tasty sundaes. My favorite is always the caramel sundae. I usually get the nuts too, but with the ulcers and all I had to forgo the nuts this time. I do like hand dipped ice cream, but there is nothing like soft serve. It's so creamy and uh...soft. Ha! Let me know if you like McDonald's sundaes too and which is your favorite?

Don't Be Scared, It's Legal

I may be down, but I'm not out. :) I had an endoscopy this morning and found out I have some ulcers on my esophagus. Yuck, I know! I am on a bland, soft diet for the next couple of weeks. That can be difficult for a foodie like me. But, I'm going to work through it. Bear with me my friends, I will be posting yummy foods I swear, they just won't always be of the solid type.

Okay, enough of that. Tonight I was at BJ's and saw this amazing, fab-u-lous soup. It is by Legal Seafood, which is located in Boston. The soup is the Lobster Bisque and OMG!!!! it is fantastic! Mmmmmmm...it is so rich and creamy. I also added a dollup of sour cream and yummo! True, you don't need that extra sour cream, but hey I haven't eaten hardly anything since Friday and have dropped 5 pounds since Friday and so I could handle it. Ha!

If you have a BJ's near you, grab your keys, jump in your car and drive there right now (or I am sure you could order it online too; it would be so worth it). You've got to have this for dinner. For the amount you get (2 large containers) the price is not too shabby. It's a steal at $11.99 (but it's legal!). :)

OMG! Look What Nina's NOT Eating. :(

Sorry for the brief hiatus, but I have esophagitus (an inflamed esophagus). I was on prescription Doxycylcine and one of the side effects is esophagitus and of course I don't ever read ALL of the side effects (I mean really, there are pages with the prescription and it is in 7-point font size). I thought at first I was just having heartburn but Tums weren't working and it was getting worse and so I went to the doctor and they found out what I had. Basically the medicine was eroding my esophagus and now it is also inflamed. The worst thing is NO COFFEE and NO SOLID FOOD!!!!! OMG! For this foodie that is unfair and so not right.

So, I have been trying to be good for the past day so it heals faster. Bland, liquid food is not fun and definitely nothing to write home about, or in this case write on the blog about. Ha!

2 Eggs in a Basket

Love Cracker Barrel!!! Mmmmmm, what's better than some down home cookin'? Believe me, nothing much. I am a big fan of the Cracker Barrel. I have two favorite breakfast items there (I also like some of their dinner menu items, but that's another blog for another time). One of my favorites is the Maine Blueberry Pancakes, which I will blog about again some other time. My other favorite item is the Eggs in a Basket. OMG! Yummy!!!

It's a simple breakfast, but so incredibly tasty! It is two pieces of buttered sour dough toast and there are circular disks cut out of the center of each piece. They then put an egg in the center of each piece of bread and cook it. I like my eggs dippy. You know over easy. I grew up calling them sunny side up and then realized that not many people knew what I was talking about. Leave me a comment if you've heard of sunny side up eggs. :) You can then dip the bread disks into the dippy yolk. Might sound gross, but oh so good!

So, you get it right, eggs in a basket...two eggs in the cut out centers, hence like baskets. Honestly, I don't get it. I really don't know how bread is like a basket. I mean it's not shaped like a basket or anything. Anyway, it is really yummy, so who cares. Ha! :)

The breakfast also includes their signature hash brown cheesy goodness casserole (you have the choice of this or baked apples, but c'mon there is no thought involved here for me). OMG! Fab-u-lous! And then you get bacon too (or sausage if that's your liking, but I'm a bacon gal).

So, head on out to Cracker Barrel. The viddles are on.