Food Fun Family

Favorite Tailgating Recipes – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #132

Lolli — Tue, 11 Sep 2018 11:01:29 +0000

We survived the first week of school AND my son got his driver’s license. Talk about a HUGE week for us!

I told the lady at the DMV (they call it the MVA here in Maryland, and I’m still not used to it) that I consider teaching 3 teenagers to drive is one of my greatest accomplishments, and definitely WAY harder and more frustrating than potty training (I used to claim potty training five kids as one of my most amazing accomplishments).

With back to school season comes back to FOOTBALL season, and so this week, we’re featuring a few recipes form our readers that WE would love to serve at a tailgating party. Do you have any favorite tailgating recipes or traditions? Share them with us below!

Welcome to Delicious Dishes Recipe Party! In case you’re new to the party, here’s what you need to know:

Delicious Dishes is a weekly link party where bloggers can share their most delicious recipes while checking out the amazing recipes that other bloggers are sharing.

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Delicious Fall Recipes You Will Love from Mama of Many Blessings

#2: Grilled Cheesy Loaded Potatoes from Poinsettia Drive

#3 Tuna Pot Pie from Joyful Homemaking

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Bacon Wrapped Water Chestnuts from Simply Stacie

Lois loved BLT Wraps with Avocado and Mozzarella from The Kittchen

Brett loved Gluten Free Baked Mini Mac and Cheese Bites from Strength and Sunshine

Susan loved Apple Nachos Recipe from The Simple Parent

Keri Lyn loved Asian Chicken Salad Wonton Cups from Adventures of Mel

Emily loved Easy Homemade Bagel Pizzas from Tuxedo Cats and Coffee

Mary loved Jalapeno Popper Chicken Dip from Meatloaf and Melodrama

Follow us along on our Pinterest board. We pin a ton of recipes that are shared to our linky party each week. So get your recipes ready. We can’t wait to see what’s cooking in your kitchen this week.

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Refreshing Summer Drinks – Delicious Dishes Recipe Party

Lolli — Tue, 31 Jul 2018 11:01:51 +0000

What is more refreshing on a hot summer day than a cold drink? The answer? Not much.

I don’t drink alcohol (or coffee or tea, for that matter!) but there are so many drink recipes available that are fruit based. I LOVE a good homemade smoothie or spritzer!

We’re on the final stretch for the summer as we finish off July and enter August. I’m not quite ready for the summer to end (so it’s a good thing we have about 4 weeks left before school starts back). What are your plans for the rest of the summer??

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Pineapple Orange Mimosa from My Turn for Us

#2: Cinnamon Toffee Blondies from Living on a Cloud Nine

#3: Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats from Food Fun Family

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Easy Mango Ice Drink Recipe from Rose Bakes

Lois loved Vanilla Bean Iced Coffee from Delightful E Made

Brett loved Sugar Free Raspberry Sweet Tea from Uncommon Designs

Susan loved Homemade Cherry Slurpee from Kleinworth Co.

Keri Lyn loved Lemon Basil Mint Spritzer from Walking on Sunshine Recipes

Emily loved White Cherry Fizzes Summer Drink Recipe from Celebrating Everyday Life

Mary loved Layered Tropical Slush from Dukes and Duchesses

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

HelloFresh Meal Kit Delivery

Lolli — Sun, 11 Dec 2016 12:00:31 +0000

I was recently sent a HelloFresh meal kit for my family of six so that I could test out the service in exchange for writing an honest review. All thoughts are my own. Be sure to grab the HelloFresh Coupon code at the bottom to save $35 off your first box!

What is HelloFresh?

HelloFresh is a meal-kit delivery service that provides delicious, easy-to-make meals each week. The concept is fairly simple. HelloFresh ships you fresh ingredients, perfectly portioned for your family, along with detailed recipes with color photos. You can choose between 2-person meal kits and 4-person meal kits. We chose one 4-person and one 2-person kit for our family so we had plenty to feed our six hungry tummies.

If you need anything else for the recipe (ie, very common ingredients like salt and pepper or Extra virgin olive oil) they’ll let you know right at the top of the recipe. Otherwise, the HelloFresh box really does have everything you need to make a delicious meal.

Here are a couple things that stood out to me about HelloFresh:

You choose the day and time to have your meal kit delivered to you…and shipping is free of charge
You can specify dietary preferences, such as vegetarian, low-calorie, etc. and HelloFresh will show you recipes that fit your preferences
Chose from Classic, Veggie or Family Plans and see the upcoming recipes to chose from on their website
HelloFresh chefs work alongside a dietician to create 10 new recipes each week
Ingredients are sources from independent producers and are always fresh and high-quality
You can pause delivery or cancel your account at any time – there’s no long-term commitment. You have until 5 days before your next scheduled delivery to cancel
Because HelloFresh ingredients are delivered in separate packets, if there’s something you don’t like or are allergic to, it’s easy to leave them out without “ruining” the meal

Our HelloFresh Delivery

We tried the following meals:

Thai Beef Skewers aka Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce, Broccoli, and Jasmine Rice
Spanish-Style Spaghetti with Shrimp and Chorizo
Butter-Basted Chicken with with Peppery Potato Mash and Crispy Carrots

Opening the boxes – for me – was more exciting than opening Christmas presents. I was thrilled to not only have a fridge full of good, fresh food, but a menu plan of exactly what I would cook for the week. There’s nothing worse than having no idea what’s for dinner! I absolutely loved that HelloFresh took care of my two least favorite things about cooking: shopping for ingredients and making a menu plan.

The boxes were packaged extremely well. Everything was nice and cold when it got to my house. I was especially impressed that each meal had its own smaller box within the main delivery box so that I knew what ingredients and portions went with which recipes.

When it came time to cook each of the recipes, I found the recipes very easy to follow. I was impressed that they were all done, from start to on-the-table, in about 30 minutes.

Another thing I LOVED was that I’m able to keep the recipes and make the meals again and again.

The meal that got the most praise from the whole family was the butter-basted chicken. I cook chicken quite a bit, but I’ve never cooked it quite like that. The kids loved the chicken (who doesn’t love meat that’s been basted in butter?!) and I fell in love with the carrots. They were so simple but so, so tasty, and I’ll be roasting them like that again!

Not only is HelloFresh a great service to use when you know you’re going to have a busy week ahead (it’s so much cheaper than eating out, and you know exactly what’s in the food, too!), but it would also make a perfect gift. I would recommend HelloFresh as an awesome gift for new parents, for a family that’s just getting settled in a new house, or simply as a “thinking of you” gift.

When would you use HelloFresh? Check out their upcoming recipes and let me know which recipe you can’t wait to try!

Ready to try HelloFresh? I’ve got a HelloFresh Coupon code for you! Use code FOODFUNFAMILY35 to get $35 off of your first box!

Delicious Dishes Recipe Party #36 – Apple Recipes

Lolli — Tue, 13 Sep 2016 11:00:48 +0000

I’m back from Milwaukee (what an amazing experience that I can’t wait to tell you ALL about….as soon as I get the pictures and the green light from Kohl’s) and now I’m prepping and packing for my trip to LA next week for the Queen of Katwe red carpet premiere, followed by a trip to see one of my blogging besties – our party’s very own Emily! LOTS of excitement happening for me this month!

Each link you share here will be seen on each of the hostess’ blogs listed below >>

Food Fun Family – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

She Saved – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Walking on Sunshine Recipes – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

5 Minutes for Mom – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

This Mama Loves – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Clever Housewife – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Bunny’s Warm Oven –Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Cooking in Stilettos – Blog / Facebook / Pinterest

Each week we will be featuring our favorite recipes from the week before and pinning them to our Delicious Dishes Pinterest board.

We hope you’ll have fun with our party…we know we will!

The Recipes with the Most Clicks Last Week Were…

#1: Caramel Apple Cream Puffs from A Virtuous Woman

#2: Easy Lasagna Soup from Food Fun Family (yep, that’s me, and I promise I had nothing to do with being one of the top clicked…but yay!)

#3: Apple Coffee Cake from How to Nest for Less

Delicious Dishes Party Favorites from Last Week:

These are the recipes that the hosts loved the most…

I loved Caramel Apple Pie Cookies from Cincy Shopper

Lois loved Pumpkin Apple Butter from Grace and Good Eats

Brett loved Apple Cheesecake No Churn Ice Cream from Cupcakes and Kale Chips

Susan loved Caramel Apple Muffins from Bloom Designs

Aly loved Caramel Apple Overnight Oats from The Bewitchin Kitchen

Keri Lyn loved Slow Cooker Apple Cinnamon Raisin Bread Pudding from Eat Move Make

Emily loved Caramel Apple Cheesecake from Coupons and Freebies Mom

Mary loved Apple Blondie Cheesecake with Caramel Sauce from Clever Housewife

Follow us along on our NEW Pinterest board. We pin all your amazing recipes!

Now let’s get this party started!

An InLinkz Link-up

Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill Restaurant Review

Lolli — Wed, 21 Oct 2015 02:12:26 +0000

I had the pleasure of attending the recent opening of Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill in Springfield, Virginia, with my husband (it was one of those nights that he was very grateful for my job). Although we were hosted for dinner, all thoughts (and photos from my phone) are my own.

Let me start off by saying that I love to eat out. As much as I love to cook, if I were given the option to eat out for dinner every day or eat a home cooked meal every day, I would choose the meal out….as long as the restaurant served food that I liked, of course.

Have you ever noticed that you can get a feel of a restaurant before you even take a bite? I could tell as soon as I walked in to Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill that it was a perfect match for me – from the atmosphere to the smells (Oh! The glorious smells!) to the friendly greetings we received even before we took our seats.

The Springfield, Virginia, restaurant where our VIP/grand opening event was held is the first Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill to open outside California. I’m personally hoping that the new Virginia location will be so popular that they’ll have to open a new restaurant closer to my house. Although if it was too close, I think I’d run the risk of wanting to eat there a little too often.

During our preview event, we were able to sample several of the dishes from the Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill menu – from appetizers to salads to main dishes to desserts. The problem was NOT finding things that I liked. Far from it! I was so smitten by all of the dishes that we were served that I had a hard time NOT eating everything. I was able to take a couple of small bites of most dishes, but some items – like the original peanut coleslaw or the Tuscan kale salad (How does watermelon radishes, green beans, golden raisins, carrots, toasted pumpkin seeds, chives, cauliflower, shaved Parmesan, topped with a balsamic vinaigrette sound??) – were so delicious I could bear to not finish them….or at least take another few bites before they brought a new dish out.

The main part of our dinner included award-winning BBQ such as dry-rubbed and smoked St. Louis Ribs, Carolina Pulled Pork, Texas-Style Brisket, Baby Back Ribs, Brisket Burgers and more. My favorite meat by far was the Wood Ranch tri tip. If you have the opportunity to visit a Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill, order the tri tip. It was some of the best meat I’ve ever had. Ever.

I have to say that, although I was completely stuffed by the end of the evening, I loved tasting so many cuts of meat side by side. I was amazed by how different beef (or pork or chicken or seafood) can taste depending on the sauce or the method of cooking. By the end of the night I was totally hooked on Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill’s BBQ sauces – and so I was particularly thrilled when they sent us home with a bottle.

Did you know? All of their sauces are gluten free, and they are also sold to-go in the restaurants so diners can enjoy the great taste at home.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the desserts (and yes, we had to try all four of them):

WARM CHOCOLATE CAKE: Flourless Guittard chocolate cake, hand-candied pecans, vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream
MOM’S DEEP DISH COBBLER: Freestone peaches, whole grains, brown sugar, cinnamon, vanilla bean ice cream
THE BEST CHEESECAKE: Graham cracker crust, raspberry sauce, whipped cream
OREO® COOKIE CRUNCH: Vanilla bean ice cream hand-rolled in ground Oreo® cookies. Served with caramel sauce and fudge

I don’t know if I could choose a favorite. I was very impressed by the flourless warm chocolate cake, but I often gravitate towards the cheesecake when I’m eating out. I think the dessert that hit the spot that night was the Oreo® Cookie Crunch.

Build-Your-Own-Dinner Menu

One of the new features that we discussed during our event was the new Build-Your-Own-Dinner Menu, which gives diners the option to mix and match meat dishes, sides, and sauces to enjoy their ultimate combination of quality meats and flavors. The build-your-own-dinner option will be available initially dine-in only from 4:00pm to close. Perhaps my favorite part of the Build-Your-Own-Dinner Menu is that families can order and eat “family style” by ordering a unique selection from the menu and trying a little bit of several dishes – just like we did at our event.

The menu includes the signature Wood Ranch Tri Tip, an iconic California sirloin cut, Wood Ranch’s #1 seller and available in 4, 7, and 16 oz. portions. Also included on the menu are All-American Baby Back Ribs, Fire-Roasted Chicken, Double R Ranch® Brisket, St. Louis Ribs, Carolina Pulled Pork, Pecan Wood Smoked Beef Ribs, and Boneless BBQ Chicken Breast.

The Signature Sides are available for $3.95 and include Original Peanut Coleslaw, Grilled Corn on the Cob, Skin-On Fries, Lauren’s Favorite Mac & Cheese, and more. Premium Sides are $4.95, and include Loaded Baked Potato, Sweet Potato Fries, Asparagus, and more.

Have you ever been to a Wood Ranch BBQ & Grill? What are your favorite items on the menu? If you haven’t been to a Wood Ranch, what would you love to order?

Death By Chocolate {A Collection of 35+ Chocolate Recipes}

Lolli — Fri, 06 Feb 2015 11:00:45 +0000

Chocolate cake. Chocolate chip cookies. Chocolate brownies, pies, drinks, candies…

Chocolate is, perhaps, one of the my favorite treats (in its many forms), and so it was kind of a no-brainer for me to choose Chocolate as the theme for my Foodie.com collection this month. While this post is sponsored by Foodie through Mode Media, I hand-selected these recipes and all opinions and comments about them are my own.

I must say…putting this collection of chocolate recipes together this week had a rather severe consequence.

Yes, the cravings for something warm and chocolatey hit pretty hard and I made some double chocolate chip cookies as soon as I had a chance to get in the kitchen.

I’m considering sharing the recipe I used…if anyone would be interested in seeing it. I know I’ll be making these chocolate chocolate chip cookies again. They certainly satisfy that chocolate craving, as do many of the recipes in my Foodie collection.

Which recipe are you most excited to try?

Love chocolate? Here are some of the chocolate recipes found right here on Food Fun Family. Enjoy!

Nutella Brownie Bites
Light Cookies and Cream Milkshake (no ice cream)
Weight Watchers Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins
Triple Chocolate Cupcakes
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Rice Krispie Treats
Frozen Chocolate-Covered Banana Wafers
Mini Chocolate-Bottom Berry Cheesecake
Chocolate Chip Cookie Oatmeal Muffins
Nutella Rocky Road Rice Krispie Treats
Reduced-Sugar Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies
White Chocolate Red Berry Rice Krispie Treats
White Chocolate Dipped Ginger Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie-Stuffed Oreos
Mint Chocolate Rice Crispy Treats
Nutella Wontons
Andes Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie Pops
Chocolate & Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches
Hand-dipped Chocolate Truffles

Weight Watchers Friendly Meals – A Collection of 35+ Recipes

Lolli — Thu, 15 Jan 2015 04:41:45 +0000

This collection of Weight Watchers-friendly meals is sponsored by Foodie.com, but all thoughts and opinions are my own. Even though I am currently working on a campaign with Weight Watchers, this post and collection are in no way endorsed by Weight Watchers. I am just personally interested and invested in finding (and sharing!) great Weight Watchers recipes!

Since I’ve started using Weight Watchers to eat better and shed pounds, I’ve been amazed at how differently I look at food. I am craving more vegetables and fruits, and I’m thrilled that I can eat and eat fruits and veggies to my heart’s content. There were so many incredible looking recipes in this collection that were loaded with wholesome vegetables and other good-for-me ingredients.

I can’t wait to try them all! From breakfast to lunch to dinner – I am so excited to be eating better without having to sacrifice what I love the most – food that tastes great!

I will be adding more recipes to my collection as well as adding NEW Weight Watchers recipes right here on Better in Bulk. Be sure to check back for more good-for-you food!

Which Weight Watchers recipe are you most excited to try?

The Ultimate Christmas Cookie Exchange {40+ Recipes}

Lolli — Thu, 11 Dec 2014 18:58:18 +0000

My mom always made a holiday plate full of treats to deliver to our neighbors and friends. So after I got married, I naturally started making goodie plates for our neighbors and friends, too.

While I do love eating all of my family’s favorite holiday treats, a huge part of what makes our Christmas cookie plates so special is the time we spend together making them. We bake, we mix, we wrap….and we snack along the way. Consider this collection our own little Food Fun Family family-and-friends holiday cookie exchange.

White Chocolate-dipped Ginger Cookies
Caramel Pecan Cookies
Chocolate Chip Cookie-Stuffed Oreos
Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies
Homemade Nutter Butters
Gluten-free Apple Spice Cookies
Butterfinger Peanut Butter Cookies
Chewy Ginger Cookies
Butterscotch Bars
English Toffee
Famous Fudge
Easy Peanut Butter Fudge
Classic Homemade Caramels
Pepppermint macarons from Joanne Eats Well with Others
S’mores Cookies from Look What Mom Found
Reindeer and Snowman Oreo Cookie Balls from Chelsea’s Messy Apron
Dark Chocolate Peppermint Super Cookie Cups from Mom On Timeout
Skinny Cut Sugar Cookies from Kim’s Cravings
Dark Chocolate Candy Cane Whoopie Pies from Your Cup of Cake
Chocolate Chunk Peppermint Pudding Cookies from I Heart Naptime
Lemon Snap Sugar Cookies from This Mama Loves
Gingersnap Christmas Cutouts from This Mama Loves
Cinnamon White Chocolate Cocoa Cookie Sticks from This Mama Loves
Mamma’s Old Fashioned Sour Cream Sugar Cookies from This Mama Loves
Melted Snowman Cookies from This Mama Loves
M&M’s Cookies from This Mama Loves
Chocolate Chip Pretzel Cookies from Simmworks Family
Soft Chewy Gingerbread Men Cookies from Simmworks Family
Pretzel Toffee from Desert Chica
Twix Cookie Bars from Sassy Girlz
Shortbread Cookies with Jam from Busy Creating Memories
Chocolate Shortbread Cookies from Busy Creating Memories
Honey Christmas Cookies from Our Family World
Frozen-themed Snowball Cookies from She Saved
Peppermint Sandwich Cookies from Kids Fun Reviewed
Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies from Kids Fun Reviewed
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies from Thrifty Jinxy
Peanut Butter Pretzel Reindeer Cookies from Thrifty Jinxy
Oreo Peppermint Bark from Thrifty Jinxy

Do you have any traditional holiday treats that you make every year? What are your favorite Christmas goodies? I’d love for you to share in the comment section of this post!

The Ultimate Thanksgiving Feast Recipe Collection #Foodie

Lolli — Wed, 19 Nov 2014 14:42:50 +0000

Thanksgiving dinner is officially my favorite meal of the entire year. I’ve collected some of my favorite recipes along with recipes from across the internet – from appetizers to side dishes to turkey to desserts – to create this Thanksgiving Feast Foodie recipe collection. This post is sponsored by Foodie but all thoughts are my own.

It may take me two long days of slaving in the kitchen to prepare the massive amounts of food that I cook for the family, but every minute is worth it. I have a set of recipes that I *have* to serve every year (it just wouldn’t be Thanksgiving without them!).

This year, my goal is to make the time to take pictures of everything I cook for Thanksgiving so that I can update all of my Thanksgiving recipes here on the blog. A few of our favorite recipes include Strawberry Jello Salad, 7 Layer Salad, Crescent Rolls, Wonderful Dessert, Mashed Potatoes, Apple Pie, Cheese Log, Butternut Squash and Candied Apple Bread and more. And that doesn’t include all of the fabulous leftover recipes that we enjoy the week after Thanksgiving, like Turkey-Cranberry Paninis and Chicken Pot Pie.

Ready to check out this ultimate Thanksgiving Feast recipe collection? What are your favorite meals to cook for Thanksgiving? Feel free to leave your recipes in the comments below and I will add them to my collection on Foodie.

An Apple a Day – A Collection of Apple Recipes

Lolli — Wed, 22 Oct 2014 12:44:22 +0000

Apples were always my favorite fruit (at least for as long as I can remember), so you can imagine my sorrow when I became allergic to fresh apples after I had kids. Since I can’t eat a cold, crisp apple straight from the fridge, I try to find as many ways as I can to eat them cooked. Fall is the perfect time of year to cook with apples! I pulled this Foodie collection together this week and can’t wait to try some of these recipes. This post is sponsored by Foodie.com but all thoughts are my own.

40+ Apple Recipes

Check out my Foodie collection to see some of the most delicious apple recipes ever!

When the average person thinks of cooking with apples, they think of apple pie. And while I do have a pretty incredible apple pie recipe (Honestly? It’s the best apple pie ever!), apple pie is hardly the only thing – or even the best thing – to bake with apples.

This past year, I got creative with apples, adding grilled apples to mac and cheese, potato salad, cakes, and breads. Apples made everything better.

What are your favorite recipes to bake with apples?