Foodie Family

Say Hello to my Little Friend...

2008-03-29T10:18:00.000-07:00

That, my friends, is my little friend. What is it, you ask? It's a pizza cutter. A plastic-thrown-from-a-parade-float pizza cutter. I love it. I take it with me everywhere.

Why do I enjoy my pizza cutter so much? Let me explain; when Pi was 7 moths old, she decided that she wanted to only eat big people food. Little chunks of big people food. Do you know how hard it is to cut up a grilled cheese sandwich with a knife into little tiny chunks? Trust me, it's tedious and takes forever.

Enter my plastic pizza cutter.

I used to use this pizza cutter made by Pampered Chef... ... but it does not travel well in my diaper bag. Each time I would reach into the diaper bag to grab a diaper or wipes, I was afraid I would cut my finger off. I still use my Pampered Chef pizza cutter at home but my free-thrown-from-a-parade-float-plastic cutter sits in my diaper bag and I don't have to worry about a severed limb while trying to change a diaper.

EASY BBQ Pork Roast

2008-03-21T07:37:00.000-07:00

This is one of the fastest and most delicious meals you will ever make.

1 pork roast

1 bottle BBQ Sauce

Seasonings of your choice

Place pork roast in crock pot in the morning.

Cook on low all day.

When the roast is done, add BBQ Sauce

Serve on a bun.

** I use Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce. I love the sweet honey flavor. My seasonings of choice is a little Garlic, Garlic and some Onion, Onion from Tastefully Simple.

I usually cook my frozen roast on low for 6 hours and then on high for 2 hours. The house always smells FANTASTIC when it is done.

Chex Mix Dark Chocolate

2008-03-16T21:46:00.000-07:00

I am only reviewing Chex Mix Dark Chocolate to lower my blood pressure. According to The University of Cologne in Germany, dark chocolate will lower your blood pressure. That's the ONLY reason I am reviewing this product.

Yeah, right.

I had a coupon for .60 off of two bags of Chex Mix. There are times when I want something crunchy/sweet to snack on so I ventured over to the Chex Mix area of the grocery store and spotted the new dark chocolate Chex Mix. I bought two bags.

This stuff is good! Dark Chocolate Chex Mix is a blend of Chex cereal with chocolaty cookies, M&M type candies and dark chocolate covered pretzel. Not only do they taste amazing, they have 60% less fat than potato chips!

I am so glad I bought two bags!

Little Triangles of Chocolate Heaven...

2008-03-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

Today was the grand opening of an Arby's just a few blocks from my home. I've never been a fan of Arby's sandwiches but I am a HUGE fan of Arby's Jamocha shake. I love the Jamocha shake.

Well, tonight we went to the opening of the new Arby's and tried a Chocolate Turnover. Oh. My. Gosh. Let me say that again.... OH. MY. GOSH. They are awesome.

The outside is flaky and soft... the inside is what I imagine the chocolate river tastes likes in Wonka World. Actually, the inside taste like brownie batter. Raw brownie batter.

I only bought one and shared it with the hubby and Lo and Pi. What a bad decision. After the first bite, I knew I was in trouble for promising to share it.

Run do not walk to your nearest Arby's and try one of these. Forget it, get into your car and drive to Arby's and get one of these.

Hearty Vegetarian Soup... Ummmm Ummmm Good!

2008-03-10T20:32:00.000-07:00

Tonight I made a vegetarian soup.... it was delish! Lo, the 3 year old, had THREE bowls!

Cheesy Potato and Corn Chowder

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
2 cans veggie broth
3 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
1 can whole kernel corn
1 can diced green chilies
1 package country style gravy mix
2 cups of milk
1 cup Mexican Velveeta

In a large saucepan, met margarine over medium heat. Add celery and onion; cook and stir until tender... about 5 minutes.

Add veggie broth, bring to a boil. Add potatoes; cook over low heat for 25 milutes or until potatoes are soft, stirring occasionally.

Stir in corn and chilies, return to boil. Dissolve gravy mix in milk; stir into boiling mixture. Add cheese; cook and stir over low heat until cheese is melted.

Serve with crusty bread.

Sooooo good!

Fudge Brownie Cheesecake ~ A Review

2008-03-07T21:30:00.003-08:00

I love cheesecake. Seriously love it. My favorite cheesecake is Eli's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake. It's the best ev-er.

I was totally craving cheesecake tonight. After dinner I ran to the grocery store to grab an Eli's cheesecake. They didn't have my favorite so I decided to get something different.... something non-Eli's... something *gasp* on sale.

I bought a The Father's Table Gourmet Fudge Brownie Cheesecake for $9.99. It's 2 pounds of cheesecake fun! The website describes the cheesecake like this: "Dive into our Fudge Brownie Cheesecake for a delicious chocolate treat. We've nested our signature, creamy cheesecake onto our rich, fudge brownies so you can enjoy the delectable combination."

The Bad: The cheesecake part of the cheesecake is not that great. It's not Eli's, that's for sure. The taste is kind of bland and the texture is a little.... weird.

The Good: The "brownie" on the Fudge Brownie Cheesecake is FABULOUS! It is moist and chocolaty and the texture is like silk. It is really good, not as good at my Eli's Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, but really good.

I went to The Father's Table website and saw something that may have changed my mind about the cheesecake altogether.

The Father's Table Foundation donates a portion of their profits to different women and children's charities. AMAZING! Over the years, The Father's Table supported homes and schools for children, funded medical and dental clinics, water and nutritional projects, and poverty-lending programs. They have also benefited women and children world wide by assisted families in medical, nutritional, and financial crisis, provided housing and social reconstruction in war-torn countries, and have helped with emergency relief in disaster situations.

Hello?!?! I cannot think of a better reason for us all to run out and buy a The Father's Table Cheesecake!

Easy Sloppy Joes....

2008-03-06T07:02:00.000-08:00

Not only were these easy, they were yummy too!

2 pound ground beef
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
1-1/2 cups ketchup
2 Tbls brown sugar
salt and pepper to taste

In a large skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef, onion and green pepper; drain off any excess liquids.

Stir in the garlic powder, mustard, ketchup and brown sugar; mix well. Reduce heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Alex said these were the best he's ever had. *shrug* I thought they were good and the hubby gave them two thumbs up!

An Introduction...

2008-03-05T12:49:00.000-08:00

Ah... so here we are... the Foodie Family Six. Why six? Easy! There are six of us in this family.

I am Ann, an almost 40 year old mom of 4. I love food. I do not always love to eat, but I love food. I especially love to look at pictures of food. A good food pictures does something to me. Seriously. When I was younger I thought pepper was spicy and butter was gross. Okay, I still think butter is gross, but I've come along way from my spicy pepper days.

Tom is my hubby. He loves food too. Actually, he is the one who introduced me to food. I mean, I ate before I met Tom almost 6 years ago, but I didn't know good food. Remind me to tell you the sushi story one day. Tom does not have a favorite food because he "loves it all".

My oldest child is Alex. He is 19. He went to Culinary School for a while (mostly to make his mom happy and because he did not want to graduate from high school before his friends). His favorite foods are sushi and "anything" I make. Oh my gosh... a collective "awwww".

Mac is 11 and was once known as"Mac n Cheese" because that was all she ate. She was one of those "picky eaters" we all know and love. She used to think plain noodles were Italian and McDonald's was fine dining. About 6 years ago she tried sushi for the first time and became a foodie.

Lo is 3 and will try anything. I mean ANYTHING. He might not want to eat it again, but he will try what we ask him to try. He loves soup and sushi and pizza.

Pi just turned one and is the best baby ever. Ev-Ver! She will eat anything. At 4 months we started feeding her Gerber baby cereal. She refused to eat it. Flat out refused. Her doctor told me that she would eat when she was hungry and not to push her. When she 5 months old she was diagnosed as Failure to Thrive because she was not gaining the right amount of weight at each of her check-ups. At 6 months we started feeding her Gerber baby foods... you know, pureed fruits and veggies... again, she hated it. Mealtime became a chore. She would scream and moan and it was always such a difficult time for the entire family. The doctor thought maybe she had something wrong with her stomach but never took the time to set up tests for her. At 7 months we went to Disney World... everything changed at Disney World. After several days of worrying about mealtime because of Pi's antics, I finally tossed the pureed baby food and started feeding her table food. EVERYTHING changed. She started to love mealtime and so did the rest of the family. The hubby and I were so relieved because PI LOVED FOOD!! She went from a little 13 pound 7 moths old (she weighed 8.2 pounds when she was born) to a 20 pound 1 year old. Life was again good in the Foodie Family House.

This blog is going to have restaurant reviews, recipes, product reviews and a whole bunch more!