As part of the Wisconsin Whisk group, I willingly participate in the “All Whisked Up” blog challenge. How this works is that I am sent another Wisconsin Whisk member’s blog, spend a little time getting to know them and their style and select a recipe to recreate. You can see my previous challenges here and here. For February, I was provided the Wisconsin From Scratch blog. Sarah is actually one of the founders of Wisconsin Whisk and I have tried a few of her recipes before. She focuses on using fresh, local ingredients in her recipe creations and she also loves the science behind the food, being an engineer. In…

My fiance and I are huge fans of the show Shark Tank. Last season, we saw the episode that featured Tom + Chee, a grilled cheese and soup shop that wanted to franchise the business. I fell in love with the concept and from what I saw, the food looked terrific. They were given an offer on the show and a few months later, the first Tom + Chee opened in the Fox Valley Area. I have family in that area so I told them all about it and hoped we could check it out together. A few months later, I found out a Tom + Chee was opening in…

Whether you have been struck by cupid’s arrow or not, this weekend in downtown Waukesha will be great to wine and dine. Here are just a few of the many Valentine’s Day specials going on. I hope to enjoy one of these with my fiance! Yes, he is no longer just “my guy” as he surprised me on New Year’s Eve and proposed in front of all of our friends at our NYE Party. I cried happy tears and then we really celebrated the night! So here are some places to enjoy with the loves in your life this weekend.225 South – Mia Famiglia is offering Valentine’s Specials Friday –…

The big game is this weekend! Are you going to watch….the commercials? That’s about all I really care about this year, and even half of those I have already seen online. Being the advertising industry, I do find it fascinating how much money is spent for 15 seconds and that the payoff is great enough to come back and spend more the next year! Anyways, I will be heading to a friends to watch the game on Sunday night and we are going to bring over chili cheese dip. This is probably one of the easiest, but tastiest dips to make. One can hormel chili (beans or without doesn’t make…

I shared with all of you my first experience at 225 So. – Mia Famiglia and I gave it rave reviews back then. I returned last month with some co-workers for Happy Hour and enjoyed some wine, appetizers, and flatbread. We stayed well past Happy Hour talking about everything except work (like you should) and loved that the owner kept coming over and checking on us. He even told us to throw something at him if we needed anything. I love his fun spirit and smile that I see – such joy in his business. Last week, I introduced my friend Tiffany to 225 So. She knew the business from…

Updated** 2015 is coming to an end, but not without a big bang to close it out. Many local places are hosting some sort of New Year’s Eve special and I wanted to share with you what I found out. No matter where you go or what you do, please do it safely. Don’t drink and drive. There are Taxis, Uber, and Shuttles as options to get you home safely!  Here’s what I know so far: The Cooler is offering $40 all you can drink all night. Mainstream Bar & Grill – The Great Big” perform for their New Year’s Eve party. Click for details. Boscos – Balloon Drop &…

The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap is back again this year. I always have such a great time researching, planning, and making my treat for this exchange. I always find a million recipes and have a hard time slimming it down to the perfect one to send out. Here’s what I did last year, the year before and even the year before that! This year I decided on S’mores Cookies from the Chocolate Moosey blog. I did alter the recipe slightly because after the first batch of dipping the cookies in chocolate, I realized they wouldn’t be ideal to ship that way. So I modified and put the chocolate on…

Recently I was contacted by Oh Snap! Pickles and asked if I am a pickle lover. That couldn’t be closer to the truth. I love pickles – the crisp crunch of a dill pickle is something I really enjoy!. I could probably eat pickles every day! It’s a must purchase for me each year at State Fair. If you aren’t familiar with Oh Snap! Pickles, they are individually wrapped pickles and can be found at Wal-Mart and soon at area Kwik Trip gas stations. And they are from Wisconsin! In honor of #NationalPickleDay on Saturday, November 14th, Oh Snap! Pickles is running a contest to find the pickle on their…

It’s the November edition of the Wisconsin Whisk All Whisked Up Challenge! How this works is that Members of the Wisconsin Whisk group are blindly sent a blogger by the organizers and sent their info via email. We are to wander through their blog, learn about them, and cook one of their recipes. This month, I was given YummySprout as my blind blog. Tara, from the Madison area, creates her own recipes, with the occasional inspiration from other recipes she finds online. She also teaches cooking classes at Whole Foods in Madison for children and adults. I love that she is getting the kiddos active in cooking at such a young age. This really instills…

With my life changing in the next few weeks when my guy and his little ladies move in with me, I decided I needed to create more meals in a hurry. I typically eat later at night after I wind down from the work day, but the little ladies eat pretty much right when they get home. So with my guy and I both working full time, I needed to find meals that work in a hurry that are yummy. I have had a recipe for Southwest Pasta pinned to my The Main Event board on Pinterest. I used this as a base for my meal, but made a lot…