Boston Foodie!

I'm going to be honest here and this should come as no real shock to those who know me..... The FOOD was the BEST part of Boston! And we didn't just randomly pick places, I researched places, made reservations a month out and had a lot to look forward to! I have composed my list of .....

MY MUST EAT places in Boston for your viewing pleasure!

* Mikes Pastry

This place is the original Cannoli! And they come in every flavor you could possibly want and desire! You will most likely stand in line and when you get up to the counter you shout of what you want, pay in cash and they send you off on your way to enjoy your treats! Worth every moment! This is in the North End/Little Italy!

 * Clam Shack
This place has no website, no phone and is literally a shack BUT a shack FULL of fried GOODNESS! This in Salem right on the water and I can taste those salty fried clams right now! Funny thing is the very next day via their Facebook page the Patriots NFL players ate there the day AFTER we did! This place felt just full on authentic East Coast Dive!

 * B&G Oysters
I did a lot of research like I said and this place always popped up, it's newer....so hip and the location was so chic!

Look how cute the entrance is, you enter thru the courtyard which houses the cutest patio! This place is SMALL and you will NOT get in without a reservation might I add! You know my favorite memories of our trip are enjoying these wonderful meals at a table with just Matt and I .... or a counter shared with strangers but enjoying the food and the wine. 

 This is just SOME of what we had at B&G, we also had the Scallop Ceviche! And oh ya, everywhere we went we ate our weight in Oysters.... I think that is where all our money went!

* Sam Adams Morning Mash Tour

This was so fun for Matt and it was FREE!! On Saturday mornings you can get a free tour of the Boston original home of Sam Adams and a fun little history lesson!

 When the tour is over everyone gets these cute tasting pints as a souvenir and you get to taste test 5, yes 5 of their newest beers to leave the factory! It was super fun and the gift shop had some awesome things in it!

* Bricco Italian, North End Little Italy!

Of course we had to have Italian when in Boston.... in the North End... In Little Italy! This place was recommended by friends and I got our reso ahead of time and it was so lovely! That plate I am showcasing is called "Ricotta Pillows"... I know and they make ALL their pasta fresh in house and we loved this meal. Our Italian Pinot Nior was perfect and we even stuffed in dessert before rolling ourselves back to our room!

 * Neptune Oyster
I saved the best for last.... sooooo good I ate it TWICE! Food & Wine Magazine named this the BEST Lobsta Roll in the US and I cannot even explain to you how right there were!

Here is the thing, they do not do reservations so you need to arrive at this place NO later than 5pm to put your name on the list! They will call you when and IF you get a table. We only waited an hour but it is worth waiting MUCH much longer! This food below doesn't look that special, I get it... but it is. Even those fries. You guys, for real. Matt got the Fish and Chips and I swear we were so fat and happy at this meal that we talk about this ALL the time!

Do yourself a favor and eat at any of these places.... You will THANK ME!!!!!!!!

Our 4th

Our 4th was very relaxing, just the way I like it! Matt and I spent a few hours at the pool and our neighborhood pool as a very fun water slide that we enjoy along with all the kids! ha! Then typically Matt went to hit some golf balls while I caught up on some DVR!

We had a fun cookout for 2, Brats with crispy onions on top (Matt loved) and grilled corn our summer staple! And of course Strawberry margs!

This is barely a recipe it is so easy but we eat this at least 2 times a week during grilling season! The key is the seasoning!  Sur La Table makes the BEST corn on the cob seasoning you can order online! Here is how we make our favorite summer staple!

Grilled Corn for Summer by nsavage on Polyvore

As you can tell our 4 legged kids also LOVED the corn! Oscar use to love corn, all day I thought man... I wish Oscar was here he would have loved today. That is until the crazy fireworks started! I can't tell you how much I miss him every single day,

We then went to our downstairs patio and used our fire table for SMORES!!!!!! It was fun and once again the dogs loved it... I mean look at Ralphs face.... priceless!

Now once fireworks started I was inside with our animals who were so scared BUT the cool thing is the city of Castle Rock fireworks happen behind our house! So from our patio is literally the best view in the city! How lucky is that??!

I hope you all had a nice weekend!!!

Super Bowl Eats!

I thought I would share with you all my Super Bowl Menu for this Sunday if you need any last minute inspiration!!! I am leaning in a more Mexican theme with this menu and it's hard not to for Game Days!

* Food Network Ranch Guac!

Find the recipe HERE!

 * Pillsbury Jalepeno Poppers! These look great and beyond easy!
Recipe is HERE!

* Matt loves Red Velvet and I was in the mood for cake so I thought this one looked easy and relish!
The recipe is HERE! 

 * Lastly the main dish is from my new Hello Fresh box I talked about yesterday and chicken tostadas it is!!!

So who is excited about the Super Bowl? Sadly, I am only excited for this menu and Katy Perry!

Hello Fresh!

So for the past few weeks my Mom has been using Hello Fresh to change up her dinner time routine and after her urging I decided to try it also! My first box for 2 people includes 3 complete meals and will be delivered today! I am so excited! Here is how it works........

What I like is that I can cancel at anytime and there is no commitment!!!! If you want to try it and get $40 off your first week here is how..............

With your unique Refer A Friend code, your friends will receive $40 off their first HelloFresh delivery and you’ll receive $30 towards your next HelloFresh box. It’s a win-win for everyone!

Your unique Refer A Friend code is: TM6WB6 Here is the website.... https://www.hellofresh.com How funny.... as I am typing this my Mom received her box and sent me a pic.....

Cherry Creek Food and Wine Festival

2 Weekends ago Matt and I went to the Cherry Creek Food and Wine Festival and we just had the best time! It was stepping outside the box for us, going to something new without knowing anyone but this event had me at FOOD and WINE! Did you hear me say Gourmet FOOD???????

 All the restaurants in Cherry Creek participated and we got to have some really thoughtfully prepared tasting portions from them all!!! There was live music, perfect weather and we even met some new people! Next year we will dress us a tad more.....I realized this was an event in an exclusive area but we were shocked by how dressy it was! :)

 The food was AMAZING! We had everything from this delish baby Key Lime Pie to Sushi to Ribs to Pasta!!!! And the sizes were enough to fill us up!

We just had a wonderful time, the perfect Date Night!

JUST what I needed.......

Yes, it's me...I am back.....3rd post of the day.....but I couldn't wait to share with you all something exciting!! So...I have been having an awful day, just down right crummy for many reasons and reasons I don't (shouldn't) post. It is also gloomy here in OKC which is enhancing my awful mood when the door bell rang! (The dogs went wild) The postman had a pretty heavy box to deliver and I am thinking "Gosh Nicole what did you order now"?!?!? But the box was weird no markings...................

And I open it up much to my COMPLETELY SURPRISE.....I WON something! I entered awhile back a contest at The Chew's FB site and I WON! This is legit................check it.........

I got a "The Chew" hoodie in my favorite color GREY, all I need to do is shrink it a tad.....................

And I then won 4 BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 1 book from each of the hosts (except Carla)! I can not believe it! SO cool..........

I mean I REALLY needed this today.............. I never win anything and I won something that I love....cookbooks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Maybe this is the "worlds/Gods" way of telling me things will get better.

SO thank you to The Chew for picking me......too bad there wasn't any tickets to come see their show in the box (I double checked)! HAHA, I know beggars can't be choosers, right?

So I just had to share! I am off to devour my new books!

Brillant Boxes

Yippee....in a matter of 2 days I got my September Birch Box and my Foodzie Box!! If you love getting things in the mail this is SO for you!!
First up my Birch Box, here is what I got! (All sample sizes)
* Birch Friendship bracelet
* Minimalist Colorscience pro mineral powder
* Adventurous Nail Polish strips! love them!
* Practical Jouer lip enhancer
* Hands On Rose hand cream!
* Classic perfume by Salvatore Ferragamo
If you want to start getting all this for $10 a month, leave your email in a comment and I will send you the invite! I love it!

And my Gourmet Food Box which I adore, the best thing I have signed up for!!! Here is what I got:
*Vegan "Snicker Dudes" cookies
* Tupelo Honey (you can get online and find the exact hive your honey came from, so cool)
* Coconut Chili Macadamias
* Salted Rosemary Shortbreads (so good)
* Bengal Breakfast Tea
The theme this month was "Tea Time"!! You can get your own box for $20 a month by clicking HERE!

SO! There you go folks!

Foodzie...

 so so so so...I finally took the plunge......something I have wanted to sign up for a LONG time.......my Foodzie Monthly Tasting Box! Say What? Ok, I came across this site last November while Christmas shopping and since then my mom has been getting monthly boxes (much to my encouragement) and I am jealous NO MORE because I now get my own. Foodzie is a gourmet food website.....they are amazing and they have everything from all organic productd, cheese, candy and almost all of the food is produced by small "home grown" companies and farms! So....back to the Box....for $20 a month you will get the box below sent to your house once a month (products are often seasonal which is great)........

 And behold the treasures inside! The "jest" is to expand your food horizon, find new foods and appease all the "foodies" out there! And if you want more than a sampling then head on over to Foodzie and but whatever you liked best! Here is what came in my box today (it's ok to drool)..........
* Fleur De Sel Peanut Brittle
* Organic Olive Oil from California
* Black Truffle and White Cheddar Popcorn (too die for)
* Organic dried cherries
* Fennel Pollen Shortbread
* Organic Heirloom Emmer Farro (grain)
Each box also comes with a great card explaining about all the products, where they come from and fun facts! It is a real treat!

 And what is great is that these are really good size samples not just a miserable looking pouch filled with 2 or 3 things......this is more than your monies worth.

So if you want to troll the Foodzie site and look into the boxes click HERE!

Food Revolution

Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution debuted it's Season 2 (LA) last night on ABC and I forgot how much I enjoyed this eye opening show.  This show is much more than Jamie trying his best to start a movement and fix our school systems meal plans, it is also eye opening on how America lives. Last night he did one of his grand experiments meant to shock, this time showing us how ground beef is made and treated. Did you know that "misc meat parts" are treated with 70% Ammonia to "clean" the meat which is then turned into ground beef?! I tried to find the video but since the show is so new I couldn't find the video online yet. How does this show impact me? He truly makes me think twice about what I eat, it makes me think about what is really in my fast food meal and it makes me want to try harder.  Here is a video "Food for Thought" from last season......the famous chicken nugget experiment. I will say I have not eaten nuggets since (not even once).....


So what am I offering we do? I am pledging NOT to eat a fast food meal for 1 MONTH from today! Now to May 13....NO fast food. This means all chain fast food meals especially nuggets, burgers and gasp McDonalds Fries! So Who is with me? I am betting that after 1 month it will be easy to not go back......it all starts with baby steps!! Leave me a comment if you would like to take the "I will not eat creepy fast food meat" pledge with me!
To learn more about Jamie and his movement check out his website http://www.jamieoliver.com/