The sun is shining and everyone is enjoying BBQ season. July is National Hot Dog month and July 28th is national chili dog day.

I am not really a big hot dog fan, but my kids love them and I will eat them from time to time. My favorite way to dress up my hot dog is with chili and cheese. They are so good.

When it comes to my kids, it’s usually ketchup and relish or just plain.

there are so many ways to dress up a hot dog, ketchup, mustard, relish, onions etc.

How do your dress up your hot dog? Do you have any family recipes?

Disclosure: I am a Hormel Foods ambassador and was provided products to help with my post. All opinion are my own.

I just love going to a party or small get together and having finger foods available. I love the trays with cheese, crackers and pepperoni, they are so good.

This Fathers Day we decided to have a nice family brunch, and had a variety of different things to eat. I even decided to bring out the Hormel Party Tray, which I love.

I love how it just has a variety of little finger foods, cheese, cracker, pepperoni and more.   My family loved it.

The party tray has crackers, salami, pepperoni, and 2 kinds of cheese.   There is so much n the tray too, we still have a ton left that we have been using as after school snacks.   The first thing my husband had mentioned when we were eating this was how good everything tasted. He was expecting it to be kind of like a lunchable, but it was so much better. High quality of meat and cheese!

You can find Hormel Party Trays at any supermarket nationwide, they cost about $17 unless on sale.

Disclosure:  I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving product, coupons, giveaways and promotions. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own. “

One thing we absolutely love in my house is taco night. We always make hard shell taco’s and Burritos from Chi Chi’s Tortilla’s.

We use Chi Chi’s taco mix for the stuffing in our burritos. They are so good when you out lettuce, cheese and all the toppings on.

Chi Chi’s also has Tortilla chips and salsa, that we love with our taco night and even for a snack.  I pack the snack pack in my kids lunches all the time.

To view all of Chi Chi’s products and to learn more visit Here.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving product, coupons, giveaways and promotions. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own. “

June 18, is National Picnic day it’s the perfect time to get your family out nd enjoy lunch outside.

It has been raining here constantly almost everyday for 2 weeks. Luckily it cleared up for 2 days so we could get out and enjoy the sunshine and have fun. We decided to make it a picnic and hiking day.

The best thing about a picnic is location, you want to find a place that has plenty of space for the kids to run around if they get tired. You also want to make sure there is a bathroom nearby.

Here are a few tips provided by Hormel as well as a video to help you with your perfect picnic.

• If packing sandwiches, make sure to use heartier bread like a baguette as it will not get as soggy over long periods of time. Fill baguettes with slices of your favorite Hormel Natural Choice product and add-on tomatoes, lettuce and other condiments of your choosing.
• Hormel party trays don’t have to be restricted to indoor gatherings; let them join in the party outside! Bring along your favorite tray to your picnic the Turkey and Cheddar or Supreme Party Tray. Bring along paper plates and utensils and let guests choose their favorites from the tray!
• Veggies and dip are always great to bring along to your picnic. Try a delicious new Peloponnese® Mediterranean spread available in several different varieties including Artichoke, Hummus and Red Pepper and Cheese. Cut vegetables at home beforehand and store in plastic containers and keep in a cooler along with a dip of your choice!

We just did the simple things like juice boxes, sandwiches with Hormel meat of course and some Chips. We even tried something new we got some french bread which we ut into little pieces and dipped it into Peloponnese red pepper and cheese dipping sauce.

We had all the fun picnic gear to go with it. My kids said it’s not a real picnic without a basket and blanket. LOL!

Will you be having a picnic on National picnic day? What will you be eating?

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving product, coupons, giveaways and promotions. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own. 

Finally the weather is beautiful and it’s time to get out and about. I live in Long Island NY, and it has been raining for almost two weeks straight. Luckily the last couple days, the sun has come out and it has been really warm.

It’s the perfect time to get out and have a cook out/BBQ and have fun. This year Mothers Day was our first official cook out at the park.  It’s my favorite thing to do. The beaches here have eating and playing areas walking distance from the beach. So we can eat, play and then walk on the beach.

My husband did all the cooking for this trip, we decided to cook Hot dogs, steak and corn.

The food came out so good. The only thing  hate about cooking at a park is it’s not your own grill, you don’t know what has been on it or in it. The food did come out okay though.  We all had a blast.

Another form of BBQ we love is actual southern BBQ. I had never had it until we moved to the south, but it has become one of my favorites.

So for family night I decided to make Chicken BBQ and  try out Hormel’s BBQ beef. My chicken came out a little plain, It just lists it’s flavor in the crock pot. Luckily we had Hormel’s BBQ beef on hand to eat and everyone loved it.

May is National BBQ month, what will you be barbecuing?  I wanted to make a original recipe, but I am not the best at original. My husband does most of the grilling.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Hormel Foods as part of the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger Program. Throughout the year I’ll be receiving product, coupons, giveaways and promotions. However, no payment was given or expected for posting about the program, and as always, all opinions given here are fully my own.