Okay, so it's not a TOY, exactly, but that doesn't mean we're not playing with it. I mean, seriously, look at this beauty. Don't you want to play with it, too? 
Yes, that's the Keurig Rivo, a single-serve espresso machine with a milk frother built right in. This is what's known as heaven for us non-coffee types who can't make a good cup of coffee to save our lives.
Food & Cooking
The very best recipes and more
Macy’s Great American Grilling Guru is leading up to the Sizzle Showdown Finale
The Everywhere Society and Macy’s Culinary Council invited me to attend this event and provided me with compensation for this post. However, as always, all thoughts and opinions are my own.
When I think of summer, one of the first things I think of is firing up the grill. When the weather gets warmer, I look forward to spending extra time outside instead of the kitchen and I really love not heating up the house by cooking with the oven and stove.
I know I’m not the only one looking forward to grilling season this year because there was a very excited crowd this past weekend at the Grilling Guru event that happened at the Alderwood Macy’s in Lynnwood, WA. Macy's is looking for America's Greatest Grilling Guru and they have sent chefs from their Culinary Council around the US to pick the best of the best. 
Our new Easter tradition: HoneyBaked Ham
I love Easter. I love all the spring colors, I love pulling out my mismatched “fancy” dishes, and I love having family and friends over to celebrate with tea and snacks and then a full dinner.
But, there’s one Easter tradition I just can’t get behind. You see, I just do not like ham. I do not like it, Sam I am. I do not like it here or there, I do not like it anywhere.
Knowing this, you wouldn’t think I would be excited to write about a company like HoneyBaked Ham, but you’d be wrong. I will admit that when I was presented with a menu, the first thing I searched for was ham alternatives. Once I saw they had turkey {both smoked and roasted}, as well as a ton of sides, entrees, and desserts, I was in.
Homemade peanut butter in the Ninja Ultima Blender
The other day I realized we were out of peanut butter just as I was starting to make lunches. Instead of having to rethink what I was going to serve all week, I merely made my own peanut butter, right in the Ultima blender.
Whole Foods has Valentine’s Day covered
Like always, Valentine's Day has snuck up on me and here it is just a few days away. But, this year, I'm not worried at all because I've got Whole Foods to help me get everything in one quick and easy trip. With everything from fresh flowers and gourmet chocolate to aisles and aisles of gourmet foods begging to be cooked up for a special Valentine, Whole Foods really does have you covered. 
The Ninja Ultima Blender + can make anyone a pro in the kitchen
'Tis the season of baking, cooking, and entertaining.
While some years I might dread the holidays and how much time is spent in the kitchen, this year I’m actually looking forward to it. Ever since this bad boy arrived, I’ve been looking for any excuse to whip up anything homemade.
Readers, meet the Ninja Ultima Blender. Ninja, meet readers.
I’m sure you can see from the picture that this is no ordinary blender that merely makes smoothies and mixed drinks. This is a professional model that can do oh so much more than a drink station – this is an amazing kitchen tool that can make anyone a pro in the kitchen.
Keep your tablet safe during holiday baking season with AT&T
Remember when we used to use cookbooks to cook? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but those days are fading fast. These days, I get my recipes from Pinterest, from other bloggers, and from recipe sites – very rarely do I crack open a cookbook.
These days I leave my tablet or laptop on the dining room table and simply memorize the recipe in small pieces while I gather ingredients and cook so it’s safely out of my work zone.
In case you’re wondering, this isn’t the best idea for a forgetful cook who also has very distracting “helpers”. There have been many times I’ve transposed numbers or doubted myself enough to check the same ingredient over and over again because I got sidetracked.
But, not anymore. Now I’ve got this little guy to help me in the kitchen.
The Zaycon Foods experience
Enough people have asked me about my Zaycon Foods experience this fall that I thought I would share it here so you can see how the whole thing works.
Missed my first post and don't know what Zaycon is? Here's what you need to know:
Zaycon Foods is a fairly new company started here in Washington State two years ago as a 
means of offering natural, hormone free meats at bulk prices all across the US.Instead of traditional delivery services, Zaycon calls itself a “drive thru” meat market that allows you to order online and then pick up during one of their many events across the US in a matter of minutes – no unloading kids or searching through the grocery store to find the best deals.
Now that you have a bit of background, here's my Zaycon story:
- We placed an order with Zaycon for 40lbs of chicken to be delivered in October.
- I cleared out freezer space like a mad woman in preparation of 40LBS OF CHICKEN. My family dined on some crazy meals in my clearing spree.
- A few days before the chicken event near us, I got reminder emails so I wouldn’t accidentally miss it.
- The day of the chicken event, I drove my car to the church where the event was taking place where there were maybe 2 cars in line in front of me. In about 3 minutes I was talking with the Zaycon reps, confirming my delivery, and then accepting my chicken, which came boxed and covered in plastic sheeting to contain any juices that may seep out of the internal packages. I never even got out of the car, and my kids stayed buckled.
- Within 5 minutes of arriving, I was leaving the parking lot with my order. That's roughly 10x faster than any grocery store trip with two kids if anyone is wondering.
- I drove home and began a 2 hour process in which I packaged the chicken into smaller portions, cleaned up after myself, and then I split the chicken packages in between the fridge and two freezers to store them. All in all, I washed my hands over 50 times in this process because I am absolutely crazy about raw meat – especially chicken.
The only part that I did not like about the process was the last step, as 2 hours is far too long to be dealing with raw meat. If I had to do it all over again {and I definitely will}, I will make sure I have someone here to help me with the chicken once I get it home. If one person had the designated clean hands and the other handled the raw meat, this process would have taken about ¼ of the time as most of the 2 hours was honestly spent scrubbing my hands in between tasks.
Maestro Dobel Tequila for the holidays
During my teens and early twenties, I used to stress about the perfect birthday presents for friends and siblings. But, after age 21, nearly all birthday presents were given in drinks or shots at the bar and gift giving was as easy as hanging out with friends. Then, at some point in the past few years, a few drinks at the bar was replaced with full bottles of the good stuff and we would just swing into a liquor store on the way to celebrate birthdays so we didn’t have to show up empty-handed.
See, growing up isn’t all bad.
Now that I’m coming up on birthday season for our group of friends as well as the holiday season, I know that I can make it as easy or as complicated as I would like. I could go around store to store looking for something for the friends that have everything, or I could do a one-stop shop and grab a few bottles of Maestro Dobel Tequila – no stressing and no wrapping required.
Enjoy a hot lunch anywhere with Lava Lunch
I’ve become quite the expert lunch packer in the past 6 years. I have my method down to an exact science to make sure everyone always has a healthy lunch with all the food groups in it.
My planning starts on Sunday when I wash fruits and veggies, prep cheese and yogurt, and place each into reusable containers in the drawer of our fridge, as well as pre-portion items from the pantry for every day of the week. Then, on the morning of, I’ve got ice packs, a container in the fridge for each family member, and loads of insulated totes at the ready to make lunches only take a few seconds.
But, sometimes those lovingly packed lunches come back to me just exactly as I sent them because hubby or the kids was offered a hot lunch instead. Not that I blame them, there’s something really satisfying about a nice, hot lunch. If I’m being truly honest, I prefer hot over cold lunch any day of the week, especially during the winter.
In fact, I’ve even attempted to send hot lunch once or twice… and, unfortunately, haven’t succeeded yet. So, when I read about Lava Lunch, I was immediately excited about the idea of hot lunch on the go.
Melissa Zimberg, the owner of Lava Lunch, explained that in addition to just being nice on a cold and rainy day, hot foods are also more nutrient dense, have more flavonoids, and are easier to digest. She also described how hot food signals the satiated response sooner, so it also prevents overeating, which makes a lot of sense.
Lava Lunch makes sending a hot and hearty lunch possible without worry of spoiled food or cold and tasteless food. Instead of ice packs, Lave Lunch offers you something not available in other lunch bags – warmth. By combining proprietary insulation and Lava Rocks that provide additional heat, Lava Lunch bags can keep food warm for up to 6 hours, which allows you to pack all sorts of healthy and flavorful foods that were never possible until now.
