January 27th, 2010 12:09am
by WineCountry.Mom
So, you ever have some sort of food that makes you think you have died and absolutely gone to Heaven? Does it make you close your eyes, breathe in deep, and savor every ounce of flavor that has exploded in your mouth? Do you stay as silent as possible, not wanting to disturb your taste buds as they do the happy dance all over your tongue? People, I think I just had a holy moment – one of those “talked to God” moments. I think I can safely say that I have experienced the mecca of all meccas, the crème de la crème, what’s been hiding in Pandora’s box, and the ambrosia of the gods. I finally caved and realized I’m in love. And it’s the perfect time of year for this scrumptious kind of affair. I can only be referring to one thing. That’s right people.
We’re talking Red Velvet Cupcakes.
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TAGS cupcakes, Food, recipe | CATEGORY Food
December 1st, 2009 06:40pm
by WineCountry.Mom
There is a steadfast rule when it comes to grocery shopping. Never go when you are hungry. I remembered this rule as my stomach growled on the way into the grocery store parking lot. When you are hungry, it is so easy to succumb to the smells and sights of really good food that are whispering to you, “Buy me, you know you want me. Don’t worry that I am 5,000 calories per bite and cost twice as much as I should. I will love you more than anything else in this world.” My problem is that I was going grocery shopping because I had no food in the house. My son had made that abundantly clear to his teacher earlier today when the teacher asked him why he was spacing out in class.
“I didn’t really have a good lunch today,” he told him.
“Well, you might want to think about packing a bigger lunch for school,” the teacher told him.
“I couldn’t,” my son said matter-of-factly. “We have no food in the house.”
The teacher laughed and said, “Then you should get yourself over to a shelter and get some food.” He turned to me. “Isn’t it funny how kids can be so dramatic?”
I smiled weakly, still recovering from the teacher’s joke. I had just paid out a couple of unexpected bills that left my checking account in a precarious position, and any check I wrote today was going against a paycheck I hadn’t received yet. And the food situation in our house was at the bare ends since I had stretched it for as long as I could, which is why I was going to the store on an empty stomach.
You could say the economy is affecting this household. (Read more…)
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TAGS grocery shopping | CATEGORY As a Parent...., Food
November 30th, 2009 04:21pm
by WineCountry.Mom
Nerves were racking in Virginia’s Food City, the first setting of “Ready, Set, Bag!”, a documentary on competitive grocery bagging by Executive Producer and Pixar CTO, Oren Jacob, and directed by his wife Justine Jacob as well as Alex D. da Silva. The winner would be flown to Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas to compete in the National Grocers Association’s Best Bagger competition. Not only would the baggers have to be fast, the bags had to be packed properly – no squished bread or frozen peas below cans – and the weight of each bag had to be even.
States across the country held their own bag-a-thons to compete for the big event. Some held competitions reminiscent of rock concerts, treating the baggers like celebrities while they cheered them on under strings of lights wearing togas, referees and announcers called out the stats (California, where else?). Others kept their grocery store settings or held the competitions in banquet halls. (Read more…)
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CATEGORY Charity, Food
November 19th, 2009 04:18pm
by WineCountry.Mom
My last Stuffing Recipe wasn’t met with much enthusiasm from people watching calories. One commenter even wondered if that was what I was feeding my kids. Only on days that end with a Y, washed down with a glass of egg nog. Kidding! While I’d love to have Thanksgiving dinner every night, I’d have to say no. Stuffing is reserved for holidays, and unhealthy dinners are a rare occasion. I will …
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TAGS Food, holidays, recipe | CATEGORY Food
November 17th, 2009 06:59pm
by WineCountry.Mom
Stuffing is one of the easiest things to make for Thanksgiving, and one of the easiest to embellish. Thanks to my mom’s creativity in the kitchen, I have never made a stuffing exactly like the package recipe, but instead add to it to make it my own and create an even tastier dish for Thanksgiving.
Everyone has their favorite stuffing mix that they use. My favorite? Whatever’s on sale. This week, …
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TAGS Food, holidays, recipe | CATEGORY Food
September 21st, 2009 04:35pm
by WineCountry.Mom
I’ve been fighting the baby bulge. No, not the kind that you have when you are newly pregnant and possess a cute little bump that later turns into an adorable basketball on your tiny frame (uh, yeah, unless you’re me and even your ankles get a baby bump). I’m talking about the baby bulge you battle once the baby is already out. To be fair, I did just have a …
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TAGS baby, battle, diet | CATEGORY Food
September 2nd, 2009 02:17pm
by WineCountry.Mom
Because school is in, during the next few months there will be plenty of blogs and forum topics by me about the lack of time available. I know I am not alone in this boat, so I have been trying to share as many time-saving tips that I have. And the one area that takes a beating because time is so scarce is dinner time.
It is tempting to skip a …
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TAGS busy, crockpot, dinner, grocery shopping, meals | CATEGORY Food
Life seemed to start when my daughter was born in February of 1998. I was 20 years old and I knew nothing about motherhood. 3 years later and I also became the mom of a son. But when I look back at all that now, I can see that this was only the prologue. Life changes, and mine certainly did when I became a divorced mom with two kids to raise.