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. 

The Kentucky Derby was so exciting this month. I love seeing all the fun hats and people dressing up.

We don’t really celebrate that much, but when we lived in the south it was a constant thing. This year I decided to celebrate with the kids our own style. The kids all drew pictures and we had all the food picked out.

They decided to just decorate Burger King hats, for the occasion. LOL

 

For food we just did the basics, of Southern BBQ with Potatoes and then we did chips and dip

We chose all Hormel products for our party, besides being great products I had tons of coupons for them. So we went with Lloyds BBQ Beef, and Hormel Chili and Cheese for dip.

I miss being in the south, it always a bigger deal down there. We still had fun with our mini party though.

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. 

I love eating salads with my meals, but I do admit at times they can be just plain and boring.  So while I was at the grocery store I saw some Hormel food items on sale and thought I would try a new salad.

I made a salad with lettuce, carrots, tomatoes and cucumber, then I add a little bit of shredded cheese.

The Hormel Foods I added are Bacon pieces and Hormel Mini Pepperoni, when added to a salad. It is so good!

Definitely a good way to turn a sale into a meal.

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. 

April 12, 2012 is National Grilled Cheese Day. This year why not spice up your grilled cheese sandwiches.

We received a few Hormel products to help make our grilled cheese sandwiches better. The first sandwich we added double cheese and pepperoni.

 

 

We lightly buttered the bread, put the butter side down on frying pan then add cheese. Put some mini pepperoni on the cheese and cover with another piece of cheese, then the other piece of bread. Flip over and wait for cheese to melt.

This has become a favorite of my kids, they are asking for it all the time.

I also tried Grilled Cheese topped with Hormel fully cooked bacon

Just repeat steps above but add bacon instead of pepperoni

The grilled cheese bacon sandwich was really good too, my kids are considering it a breakfast food now since it has bacon on it.

 

How will you be changing up your grilled cheese sandwich on Nation Grilled Cheese Day?

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. 

 

Easter is coming up and every year we always have a nice Turkey dinner. Last Thanksgiving though, no one could even stand Turkey anymore, so now we have decided that for easter we will be cooking a ham. So we have decided to go with a Hormel Cure 81 Ham.

For more than 45 years, the Cure 81 brand on the label has guaranteed that every meal occasion will be perfect. Each Cure 81 ham starts by selecting the best ham and then hand preparing, trimming and inspecting it throughout the process to maintain the highest quality standards. The final result is a moist and tender ham that provides great texture and flavor.

We decided on a oven ready half ham, with brown sugar glaze. We don’t eat much with 3 small kids so that should do.  I can’t wait until Easter dinner, it’s going to be so yummy and fun.

Join in on the Twitter Party with @MomItForward and @Hormel on April 3 from 9-10pm EST

 

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.