Oscar Party Food (2015)

This year we had our smallest Oscar party ever with just three partygoers in attendance. Actually, if you count the Barbie and Monster High dolls Greta plopped down in chairs near the TV there were actually seven. Either way, it was probably my favorite Oscar party ever.

We had Oscar nominee crafts for Greta, loads of fun Oscar nominee-themed candy (my favorite were the Nerds Rope for The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game and the Whoppers for all the historical innaccuracies in the Best Picture nominees!) and a big bowl of taco salad to support all of the Mexican and Latino nominees this year.

That said, I must admit that we both loathed Best Picture winner Birdman with a passion. Oy, talk qbout art with a capital “A”…so annoying. And that score, my God, it was such a struggle sitting through that crap. And we watched it at home too! I can't even fathom seeing Birdman in an actual theatre. Yikes…

The worst thing is that if what Birdman director Alejandro G. Iñárritu said about good luck charms actually working is true, I fear that our taco salad may have had a hand in bringing that lunatic three Oscars last night. Guess we should have followed our first instinct and gone with all kid-themed food for Boyhood. Oh well…there's always next year.

Oh, and by the way, Nerds Rope are ahmazing! So yummy! And they seemed to work a little magic last night for the nerd movies too, so, hooray for Nerds!

 

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Happy Meal Sweethearts Plush

As if Red Velvet Oreos weren't already enough, with just a few days left to Valentine's Day, Greta and I stumbled upon these super cute plush Sweethearts at McDonald's! Cool, huh?

Available for a limited time in all “girls” Happy Meals, because you know, what boy would want something that celebrates love. So lame. In fact, one of the boys from Greta's class actually asked for the “girl Happy Meal” so he could get a plushy Sweetheart for his mom. Adorable!

Anyway, Greta and I liked them so much that we actually went back and just bought a heart outright, without the meal, so we could each have one come Valentine's Day. I wanted one that said Rock Star, but hey, I can live with Hug Me too. 🙂

 

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Limited Edition: Red Velvet Oreos

Usually when I hear about some too-good-to-true new flavored cookies, candies or ice creams one of two things happens. Either the story turns out to not be true or, as is usually the case, the finished product is absolutely disgusting. Luckily this time, the rumors that have been swirling online for a while now are true and Nabisco's Limited Edition Red Velvet Oreos are on store shelves as I type.

But the better news is that they are freaking awesome! Stuffed with some sort of delicious cream cheese filling (I would not advise you to even look at the nutritional information on these little pieces of heaven!) the cookie itself is amazing. Crisp, flavorful and the perfect compliment to the filling. Yum!

And best of all, these little cuties are not too sweet. I'm pretty picky about my red velvet flavored goodness and these guys totally take the cake, or um, cookie. Seriously, it's red velvet perfection! And what better way to celebrate Valentine's Day?

The only problem is actually finding Red Velvet Oreos in stores. Apparently they weren't kidding about that “limited edition” tag line on the package. These things are impossible to find, so, if you see them, buy them. And if you hate them, send them to me. 🙂

Happy hunting!

 

 

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Cadbury Screme Eggs!

OK, I know I just gushed poetic about the current crop of pumpkintastic seasonal food offerings at Trader Joe's, but, Greta and I stumbled upon another fun Halloween-ish treat over the weekend that I simply had to share with you. So, please bear with me as I give you Cadbury Screme Eggs!

That's right, amigos, Cadbury eggs aren't just for Easter anymore! And though Greta swears the oozing green filling tastes like melted mint chocolate chip ice cream. I think they taste pretty much the same as the sugary yellow and white Cadbury goodness we've all come to love (or loathe!) over the years. Except for the fact that they're, you know, a sickly green color!

Anyway, Greta was so excited about these tasty treats that she had me film her eating one for the first time on her Planet Greta blog. We even added a little Halloween movie magic to this shoot too, so, enjoy the clip below and happy October!

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Pumpkin-palooza at Trader Joe’s

When pressed to pick their favorite flavor additives, most people pick something fruity, a nice strawberry lemon or cherry lime perhaps, but, if you ask me, it's all about banana and pumpkin. And while we don't have a national holiday or season that celebrates banana flavored stuff (yet!) pumpkiny goodness reigns supreme in the fall. And nowhere will you find the sweet, spicy flavors of pumpkin on display more than at your local Trader Joe's.

And while we're all used to finding the usual seasonal offerings like pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin bread and even pumpkin granola on display this time of year, the sheer volume of pumpkin-flavored goodies on TJ's shelves right now is positively staggering!

There are pumpkin cookies, pumpkin ravioli, pumpkin croutons (which are freaking awesome, BTW), Joe's Pumpkin O's and of course, pumpkin spiced coffee to wash it all down. But the real standout this year is Trader Joe's new Harvest Salad mix! Yes, they even have pumpkin salad!

Featuring a fall-tastic blend of baby kale, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin cornbread croutons and pumpkin vinaigrette, this salad tastes as good as it sounds and smells. The only thing I'd caution against is using too much of the dressing. As I said above, I loves me some pumpkin-flavored food, but the vinaigrette is very flavorful and a little goes a long way, so, use it sparingly.

And speaking of using things sparingly, stay away from the Pumpkin Joe-Joe's! I know they sound good, but the pumpkin-flavored stuffing is flat out disgusting. Seriously, I defy you to find a more processed, sickly-sweet and artificial-tasting flavor in the Trader Joe's pantheon. Blech!

That said, I am kind of dying to try the pumpkin Joe's O's and the pumpkin soup they were sampling last week is absolutely delicious! So, if you're looking for some seasonal yumminess, you'd better get a move on!

Oh, and if you're looking for actual pumpkins for the low, low price of $2.99, you might already be too late. I think we bought the last four at our TJ's over the weekend. Seriously, those things are going like well, Trader Joe's pumpkin-flavored hotcakes, which are also quiet yummy. Especially smeared with pumpkin butter and syrup! Yum!

Happy pumpkin palooza, amigos!

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Gingerbread House 101: How to stay sane while decorating with candy, gingerbread and a very willful four-year-old!

Despite the fact that Mrs. Yeti and I created an award-winning gingerbread house in 2008, this year’s casa de gingerbread was a totally different story. To start with, we had a very opinionated four-and-a-half year old at the helm and an even more opinionated construction crew helping her.

To complicate matters further, we started the project when we were all very hungry, for, you know, real food, which is never wise. And though the candy involved in the making of our house was tasty, one can only eat so many M&M’s and sour gummy worms before true holiday madness sets in. So, as you can imagine, the hunger-fueled sniping and arguing came on pretty fast and furious like.

Mrs. Yeti, who had already been baking all weekend, dropped out first, followed quickly by our master junior architect who got bored and left the table in a huff after assembling the roof. That left my mom and I to finish up the sides of the house and the yard. And despite some major artistic differences (I still say we need a wreath or something over that back window!), overall, I think we did a pretty good job. And as the pictures prove, we all came together again at the end to share in the glory of our crooked little candy house. So, there’s always that.

Anyway, if you’re interested in making a gingerbread house with your kids this season, I highly recommend using Trader Joe’s tasty Deep Dark Gingerbread Cake and Baking Mix (a house mold our size takes two boxes) and one of Nordic Ware’s amazing Gingerbread Cake Pans. Both will save you loads of time and heartache in the early stages of making your house.

And, trust me, anything that saves you time and heartache when you’re creating Christmas memories with a four-year-old is a very good thing. Enjoy!

The upside of relapse

Urgh…I don’t know what I was thinking weighing myself the day after a long weekend of cheating on my gal, Project X, but, I did it anyway, and the results were less than stellar. Let’s just say I need to get back in this diet’s good graces and fast.

But first, I simply had to enjoy some classic Mother’s Day fare for brunch — Greta and I made French Toast, bacon, orange juice and watermelon and it was delicious — and I had my first-ever protein-style Double Double at In-N-Out for dinner. Hey, if Mrs. Yeti wants burgers for dinner on her big day, who am I to deny her? For the uninitiated, protein-style means that they wrap your burger (or cheeseburger, or…gasp, double cheeseburger!) in lettuce leaves instead of a bun. And, lemme tell ya, it was FANTASTIC. Like a little double cheeseburger salad… amazing!

So, yes, I did totally relapse this weekend, but, like my horoscope said on Sunday: “Take it easy, don’t stress”. Yes, they give you a horoscope reading when you use the cow scale at the laundry mat. Lucky lotto numbers too. I guess I should start writing those down, I mean, who knows?

Anyway, back to the grind. Hope you all had a great Mother’s Day. We watched really awesomely-bad-good movies all day — a triple feature of Joyful Noise, New Year’s Eve and The Vow, which was way better than the ads made it look. Seriously, we both got a little weepy more than once — and just hung out on the couch while Greta ran around banging pots and pans and shit. It was crazy and loud, and altogether wonderful…Happy Mother’s Day, Mrs. Yeti. I love you.

The taste of Easter!