I have written about how much fun we have around here, making the family meal plan. Meal planning is not difficult, but it takes time. Then, after you’ve been doing it for a while it takes even more time because even if you come up with creative names for what you’re making and you’re crazy about the recipes you’re using, the desire to come up with new dinner ideas takes over. If you’re a busy person especially, the idea of spending hours combing through cookbooks or searching the web for who-knows-what can be a little overwhelming. I have a confession. It never occurred to me to regularly follow any food…
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Tim McGraw And Me: Lunch At Outback Steakhouse
Well, not just the two of us. But it was fun, and he is super-nice. It happened on Friday, was in honor of military personnel, and featured Steak Flights by Outback Steakhouse. Read more here.
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Outback Steakhouse, Operation Homefront, & Tim McGraw Honor Military
I had the honor of being invited to a special luncheon last week, sponsored by Outback Steakhouse and in conjunction with Operation Homefront, which is a great organization that “assists military families during difficult financial times by providing food assistance in the form of food boxes and gift certificates to grocery stores.” (Disclosure: I received a gift bag from Outback Steakhouse on the way out of the luncheon and was not compensated financially for attending OR for writing this post. Writing this post–all words and opinions are mine, by the way–was not required as a condition of attending.) The event was lovely, and I was one of only a few…
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Chicago Food Swap: Seriously Yummy.
My sister and I had a great experience at the 2nd Chicago Food Swap back in March, and we signed up immediately for the 3rd one, which was today. Just like last time, my friends Emily and Vanessa did a fabulous job of organizing the event. New this time was the location: the folks at the Savory Spice Shop in Hinsdale were kind enough to host. I wanted to give a shout-out to Dave and the rest of his crew over there, because they have a great store (the smells! so good!) and we all really appreciated their allowing us to “clutter up” the shop for two hours! (Thanks, Savory…
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Chocolate Milk: It’s Not Just For Kids Anymore!
When I was a kid, I used to drink chocolate milk all the time. Then I grew up, and stopped drinking it for the most part. (Confession: I often order chocolate milk if we go out to breakfast. WHAT?? Don’t judge.) Recently, chocolate milk has been big news. Not only is it a great way to get kids to get their dairy servings in (I couldn’t stand white milk when I was a kid!), but it is also a FANTASTIC post-workout drink–the best, actually–because it contains the protein, carbs, electrolytes, fluids, calcium, vitamin D, B vitamins, and other nutrients you need to refuel muscles, build muscle and help reduce exercise-induced…
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Is It Possible That Food Could Taste TOO Good? Nah.
With all of the hub-bub surrounding the LISTEN TO YOUR MOTHER show, I fell sadly behind on posting about a few other experiences I’ve had over the past couple of weeks. I’m back though, and getting back on the wagon… I don’t keep it a secret that I love to grocery shop. Not only am I a big fan of eating, but I also enjoy the actual act of grocery shopping, especially when I’ve got the time to do it right and as long as nobody touches my meat, because we all know what happens then. (It’s not pretty). It really helps when the store is a pleasure to visit.…
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Cotton Candy Cure
I’m a pretty busy person, to put it mildly. If you’re a regular reader, you know this already. If you’re new (welcome!), just know that I don’t have idle time very often because I am always running in five or six different directions simultaneously, while juggling. It’s not often that I can just hang out, just for fun. Although events (planning and attending) are a big part of my life these days and I immensely enjoy seeing friends old and new at huge, noisy gatherings, the experience of a non-stop-laughing hang-out session with a friend or two has become almost totally foreign to me. Yesterday I was reminded how much…
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A Cheesy Visit To The Mars Cheese Castle In Kenosha, Wisconsin
Since this is a week in which so many are traveling, I thought it would be fun to tell you about a very famous tourist attraction that is just over the Illinois/Wisconsin border, off the stretch of Interstate 94 between Chicagoland and Milwaukee. It’s the Mars Cheese Castle. The “Mars Cheese Castle” has been there for more than forty-five years. The owners recently built an actual “castle” just west of the land on which the original building stood. Regardless (and even though it’s not *right* on the border but actually about eight-ish miles north of it), when you see that sign you know for sure you’re in Wisconsin. The mouse,…
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Chicagoland Food Swap Debuts December 4!
You are probably sick of food, being just a few days removed from Thanksgiving and all (unfortunately I have never had that problem, being sick of food), but I have a pretty exciting food event to share with those of you who live in the Chicago area. My friends Emily and Vanessa, along with a couple of other ladies, have created the Chicagoland Food Swap, which will be happening once each month at various locations all around Chicagoland and makes its debut next Saturday, December 4. The Chicagoland Food Swap brings together those who share an appreciation for making/baking/growing their own food and involves swapping jams, canned goods, cookies, eggs,…