Category Archives: Food

Food

Bumble Bees

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Aren’t these cute? The kids were delighted with this little treat and it was just assembly.

Ingredients:
Round Cookies
White icing
Blue Coloring
Yellow Coloring
Mini Twix
Large Marshmallows

Process:
Take any round cookie as a base. Here I am using premade lemon sandwich cookies but homemade would work just as well. Then I took a can of premade white icing (though homemade would have worked) and split it. Some I tinted blue like the sky. And some I tinted yellow like bees. Then I iced the cookie in blue and placed a Twix in the middle. I put the yellow icing in a sandwich bag and cut a small whole in the corner. Then just add 3-5 strips on each Twix. Then cut the marshmallows in half and stick them on the sides of the Twix.

And there you have yummy bees!

Food

Oikos Greek Yogurt Review

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I wrote this post while participating in a blog tour conducted by Clever Girls on behalf of Dannon. I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program but my opinions are my own.

For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.oikosyogurt.com or www.Facebook.com/oikos. I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective, which endorses Blog With Integrity, as I do.

As a lover of Middle Eastern food, I am not a newbie to the world of Greek yogurt. Many a time I would attempt to make my own by draining yogurt in cheese cloth;). So I was very happy when everyone started coming out with Greek yogurt! I could use it in dishes I was cooking but I never had contemplated just sitting down to eat it.

But that was until I found out how good the fruit ones were and how good it is for you! Dannon® Oikos® Plain and Fruit on the Bottom contains 0% fat, while the Dannon® Oikos® traditional blended varieties contains about 3% fat. Both are an excellent source of protein, twice that of most regular lowfat yogurts.

I admit it, I tend to skip breakfast. Then I grab a Starbucks drink of some type with a lot of calories mid morning. So by the time the afternoon hits I need something with protein but that isn’t to heavy. And yes, usually I am sitting at my laptop when I eat;).

So that is when I tried the Oikos Greek yogurt with peaches on the bottom. Why did I choose that kind you might ask. Well, I had already tasted the fab berry varieties at BlogHer and it was clear why Dannon® Oikos® 0% Fat Berry Flavors beat Chobani 2-1 in a taste test! But I wanted to make sure that it was a well rounded line.

So as a Greek yogurt fan, what did I think? Oikos is a great introduction to Greek yogurt. It doesn’t have the tartness that traditionally turns people off from the Greek yogurt experience. I find it a delightful sweet treat in the middle of the afternoon when I need real food but am craving candy;). This will be my kids’ new favorite side kick to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches from now on!!!

Have you ever tried Greek yogurt? What was your first impression? Are you going to try it again?

(I have partnered with Dannon to help promote the Dannon Oikos Greek Yogurt Series.  I have been compensated for my time commitment to the program, which includes writing about the promotion and product.  However, my opinions are entirely my own and I have not been paid to publish positive comments.)

Food

New Coupons!!!

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It is the beginning of the month so there are tons of new coupons!!! Usually there are only so many copies available so print them before they are gone!!!

 

Food

Meal Plan Monday 8/1

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 I can not believe that it is August already!!! And more than that, I can’t believe that I am heading off to BlogHer this week!!! But that means I need to make sure that shop and plan well for the family while I am gone! I warn you, NerdDad really likes rice!

Monday: BBQ steak, corn and broccoli
Tuesday: Cheeseburger pie with spinach
Wednesday: BBQ’ed chicken thighs, rice and broccoli
Thursday: Spaghetti
Friday: chicken, bean and rice bowels with broccoli

Food

How to Cut Up a Mango

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I was raised with mango being a flavor in prepared things like candy or yogurt, but never did my mom bring one home and cut it up. With a non-sale price of only 59 cents how is it that an ingredient can seem so fancy, so distant? It is because we didn’t know how to use it. Now that I know how to cut it up…the taste possibilities are endless.

Food

Zucchini Egg Casserole

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Did you know that June is National Dairy Month? Well, here is a little something to celebrate it!

The weather in Fresno has had the weirdest break in the weather! All of a sudden is has gotten cool. While the forecast has made it clear that this break is extremely limited (we will be going to over 100 this weekend) there is no reason to not take advantage of the break! So I made a little lunch picnic for the Nerdlings! And one of their favorite things is any kind of egg casserole. So I put together a super simple recipe that got to use our first zucchini out of our garden!!!

This was a big learning experience for us because I let the 10 year old do everything except slice the turkey bacon! By the way, the magic of turkey bacon is that it comes cooked and since it won’t crisp up you don’t need to cook it before adding it to the casserole!

All my ingredients (yes, all)!

Ingredients:
8 eggs
3/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
3/4 cup grated zucchini, (wrung out after 1 minute of microwaving or after being frozen or if warm off the vine)
1/2 cup thin sliced turkey bacon
2 cups cottage cheese
2 cups shredded cheese

Action Shot: The NerdBug Shredding Away

Process:
Whisk the eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and baking soda. Then mix in everything else. Dump it into a 9×13 baking pan. Then bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with fruit and crackers for a great lunch or brunch! Great served hot or room temperature. Serves 6.

(This project has been compensated as part of the June Dairy program for Safeway for the #SafewayDairy series. While they provided the subject all opinions, recipes and ideas were mine!)

Food

Bacon Wrapped Tri Tip & Roast Potatoes

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Did you know that Smart & Final has their own meat line? I didn’t until I received the opportunity to create recipe utilizing the Cattleman’s Finest meat in the Grill Up Your Summer contest!! Let me take this opportunity to ask/beg you to pop over to the Grill Up Your Summer contest and vote for my recipe!!! Now back to the blog post;).

 

I was perusing their meat case and saw a beautiful trip tip that was just begging for some bacon! So here is my super, super easy and flavorful Bacon Wrapped Tri Tip with Roasted Potatoes! This is a great grilling or oven recipe!!! I have a metal sheet pan that I put on the area that doesn’t have an active burner. That way I can cut up my potatoes for roasting. But you could just slap the meat right on the grate on the side that is turned off. It gets so hot here I like to cook passively on my BBQ a lot so it doesn’t heat up the house!

There aren’t a lot of firm measurements to this recipe. Some of the lack of measurement is about seasoning to taste and some is about growing a recipe to feed your crowd. I made 2 tri tips  in these pictures and use about 2 lbs of red potatoes.

Ingredients:
Pappy’s Seasoning: Low Salt
1 Cattlemen’s Finest Tri Tip
6 oz Bacon Strips
Red Potatoes
Olive Oil

Process:
This is so simple but the crowd will go crazy! Generously rub Pappy’s seasoning all over the tri tip, don’t be skimpy! Then just wrap your bacon around the meat. Remember that regular sliced bacon has quite a bit of stretch to use it. Then tuck the very end into the previous bacon slice. It helps fight the shrinking of the bacon as it cooks.

Then cut up your potatoes. Toss them with a little olive oil and a generous amount of Pappy’s. Put the potatoes on a sheet or in a an aluminum boat. If you keep the meat on the sheet with the potatoes in the beginning the potatoes will cook in the bacon grease. Then heat your grill to 400 degrees. Put everything on the low to off side of the grill for about 45 minutes.  Let the meat rest for 5-10 minutes before you slice into them in order for the juices to redistribute.

Then enjoy!

(This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias. But while they may have given me the subject, all the ideas and opinions are mine!#GrillUpYourSummer)

Food

Meal Plan Monday 6/13

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So summer is finally here! What does that mean for how your family eats? Do you have more time to cook or do you take it easy? Here is birthday season. Today is the 2nd of 4 in 2 months!

Well, let’s jump in!

Monday: Bacon & Chicken Quesadillas (as requested by NerdPud)
Tuesday: Beans & Rice with Broccoli and Tri tip
Wednesday: Hamburgers, Broccoli
Thursday: Burritos
Friday: Steak, Chili, Broccoli

Food

You Scream, I Scream

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You know what comes next…”We all scream for ice cream!” Now that it is officially summer time our schedule has loosened up quite a bit. So I have time to do something special for the kids after dinner every now and then. This time I did sundaes!

First we headed out to Walmart to stock up on supplies! While I may have a little more time, I don’t want to spend it all shopping. So I love that I can combine all my stops into 1 place;).

First is the ice cream! I may be a bargain hunter but in this house we do not chintz on the ice cream! So we went with the Dreyer’s Slow Churned Thin Mint. I had no idea that there was a Girl Scout Thin Mint flavor!!! I know that  I am in not alone in my love of the Thin Mint cookie so I was stoked to have it in ice cream.

Then the kids had fun picking out extras! It is funny how everyone has a different list of must haves. NerdDad wants waffle bowls and chocolate syrup.  The kids are all about sprinkles, whipped cream and cherries.  But you can always find something for everyone! And I love the fact that I can use all those ingredients not only in sundaes but in other desserts too! Have you had frosting flavored by cherry juice? Yum.

But this, like all food experiences, isn’t really about the food. This is about the experience together. The kids love feeling like grownups as they add a little of this and a little of that without anyone keeping track or caring. We remember sitting around and just relaxing with nothing more important than each other to focus on. These are the memories that our kids take away from the many years they live with us. These moments are more memorable that Tuesday night’s homework or the morning rush to get out of the house. These are the moments that we will all take with us!

 
(This shop/project has been compensated as part of a campaign for Nestlé. And while they may have provided the subject, I provided all the words and opinions.)