Chocolate Fudge Football Brownie

This easy to make & fudgy Chocolate Fudge Football Brownie is the perfect family friendly sweet treat for the big game... 

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of The J.M. Smucker Company. The opinions and text are all mine.

Game day happens to be family time in our home. It doesn't matter which teams are playing or who wins or loses (okay, my husband just may disagree with me on that one depending on who is playing exactly ;) ), the big game is always the perfect opportunity to invite family over and to hang out. 

It also happens to be the perfect excuse to whip up a tasty game day menu, and what game day menu is complete without a sweet treat to share like this very appropriate Chocolate Fudge Football Brownie?

Not only is this fudgy football brownie the perfect dessert for your game day party, it is also crazy easy to make thanks to a little help from Pillsbury™'s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Mix & Creamy Supreme® Frostings! :) 

So easy in fact, that I got my husband and daughter in on the brownie making fun. Usually it is just me in the kitchen prepping the game day menu, but we thought why not mix it up a little & start the game day fun a little early with a family baking session?

Pomegranate Champagne Cosmopolitan

A classic cocktail gets a romantic and bubbly makeover in this Pomegranate Champagne Cosmopolitan...

It is no secret that my husband and I are pretty much homebodies when it comes to popular holidays like New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day. We would much rather stay at home, cook a special dinner-in, and enjoy a bottle of wine or mix up a cocktail or two. 

Honestly, I would love to go out for a romantic dinner for two at a swanky restaurant, but when you factor in wait times & the bill that is guaranteed to be double the norm the romanticism kind of flies out the window for me. 

But cozying up at home with a home cooked or take-out dinner for two and a couple of beautiful cocktails is speaking my love language. ;)

Every Valentine's Day I try to concoct a new cocktail for my husband and I to celebrate with. This year I am taking a cue from a cocktail classic, the cosmopolitan. (Just curious- am I the only one who can't drink a cosmo without thinking of reruns of Sex and the City?)

So what makes my Pomegranate Champagne Cosmopolitan special? The addition of pomegranate vodka & bubbly champagne! :) 

The color of this cocktail just screams romance and Valentine's Day. And how could you ever go wrong by adding some bubbly to the mix? (Hint- you absolutely cannot. ;) )

Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine

Moist & fluffy potato biscuits are topped with cheese curds, a homemade bacon gravy, and crispy bacon in this Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine...

If you happen to love poutine as much as I do, then I have good news for you, folks- I just took my poutine recipe game to the breakfast table! ;) As some of you may recall, I have been kind of obsessed with this traditional Canadian dish (& it's many variations) since I attended the Food & Wine conference last July. We were spoiled by this amazing and HUGE poutine bar for lunch one day of the conference, and I have been hooked ever since. Unfortunately, cheese curds are kind of hard to come by where I live. We have very few dairy farms here in West Virginia, and cheese curds are usually an artisanal product of local dairies. But then the other week as I was browsing the cheese selection at my local grocery store, I spotted them- Wisconsin cheese curds! Granted, there was only one kind made by a single brand, but to say I was ecstatic to finally have my hands on some cheese curds without having to drive hours for them (ahem... Ohio) would be an understatement. 

And I found them just in time too because Sunday Supper and the Food & Wine Conference had just announced their first recipe contest for 2016- a poutine recipe contest sponsored by the Idaho® Potato Commission. This hearty & comforting Potato Biscuits & Bacon Gravy Poutine recipe is my entry, folks... :)

Tropical Paradise Granola Clusters

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Sunsweet Growers for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Need a mini escape to the tropics now? You can't go wrong with these crunchy Tropical Paradise Granola Clusters infused with sweet tropical flavors... 

It has been in the single digits & teens around here this week, and these cold, frigid January temps have me daydreaming of a tropical paradise escape. I mean, it has been so cold that it literally makes my face hurt. And to quote that popular meme, "Why am I living where the air hurts my face?" It could be worse... I could be living in Fargo, or in Buffalo bracing for lake effect snow, or even the Arctic, right? ;) So, I will just bundle up, bake up some tropical paradise inspired granola clusters, and dream that I am enjoying a big bowl of these while swinging in a hammock on a white sand beach.

These Tropical Paradise Granola Clusters are so simple & easy to make with a little help from the new Sunsweet Philippine Tropicals flavors- Philippine Green Mango & Thai Coconut Chip. And for good measure, I added in some of their dried Philippine Pineapple to the mix. ;) Sunsweet does want to help you Find Your Paradise with an amazing sweepstakes to win a tropical paradise getaway (more on that at the end of this post.) But if you happen to be stuck in the bitter cold of winter (like me) and need a mini escape to the tropics now, you can't go wrong with these crunchy granola clusters infused with sweet tropical flavors...

Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder

This creamy Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder with its hearty potatoes, roasted chicken, and the addition of Parmesan cheese takes the traditional corn chowder to a whole other level of deliciousness...

I was provided a copy of 100 Creative Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken to review. I was not compensated for this post in any other way. All opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

This post may contain affiliate links. Purchasing through them helps support this website.

One of my goals in 2016 is to get my family around the dinner table more often. Last year that rarely happened unless it happened to be a special event- like a holiday dinner. So, yeah. It was a pretty rare occasion. 

Often times, my husband and daughter eat dinner in the living room. Sometimes I join them, but more often than not I find myself having a working dinner at my laptop. My teenage son makes a beeline for his bedroom where he hides away with his dinner plate watching Netflix. So this year I have decided that I am taking back our family dinners around the kitchen table! 

And just how I am going to do that? For one, the kitchen table is no longer permitted to be everyone's dumping ground when they walk through the door after coming home from school and work. If the table is clear, then we are more likely to use it.

Another way I am working to achieve this goal is by finding more and more home cooked meals that I can make easily and more quickly. If I can get dinner on the table a little faster, then that means more time around the table as a family. That is why I am so glad that I was asked to check out & review my friend Trish's (from Mom On Timeout) new cookbook, 100 Creative Ways to Use Rotisserie Chicken. :) Her cookbook is packed with no fuss, delicious chicken dinner recipes- from casseroles to 20-minute dinners to slurpable soups. Since we are full swing into soup season, I chose to whip up a pot of her Parmesan Chicken Corn Chowder (on page 217). This creamy chowder with its hearty potatoes, roasted chicken, and the addition of Parmesan cheese takes the traditional corn chowder to a whole other level of deliciousness...

Frothy "Almond Joy" Hot Chocolate

Inspired by a candy bar favorite, this rich & decadent Frothy "Almond Joy" Hot Chocolate is the perfect addition to a cozy weekend brunch...

Thank you to Blendtec for sponsoring this recipe post. The recipe and opinions in this post are 100% mine.

If you ask me, cold winter weekends were just made for warm, cozy brunches at home. I mean, who wants to bundle up, get everyone in the car, and brave the freezing temps for breakfast out at your favorite brunch spot? And you have no reason to when you can stay at home with a huge stack of homemade waffles, your family's favorite toppings, and mugs of this warm & rich Frothy "Almond Joy" Hot Chocolate.

I do have to confess that I have always been more of a packets of hot cocoa mix kind of gal. I mean, it is easy, peasy, right? You dump the packet into a mug, pour in hot water or milk, stir, & done. 

But while the instant stuff is great in a pinch (or when you are feeling lazy), cozy weekend brunches at home with the family call for something a little more decadent. I do save the good stuff- like this Frothy "Almond Joy" Hot Chocolate- for more special occasions... or sometimes just because. ;) And you know what? Making hot chocolate from scratch really doesn't take that many more steps than making the packet stuff, and it happens to be 10 times better. Trust me on this...

10 Secretly Healthy Mac & Cheese Recipes

Easily sneak in more whole grains & veggies into your family's diet with these 10 Secretly Healthy Mac & Cheese Recipes...

It's that time of the year when we find ourselves making resolutions & goals to try to eat better, healthier in the new year. I know most of us (myself included) start out with really good intentions for the first few weeks of a brand new year, and then we get sidetracked. Most often than not, it is my family that is my #1 distraction from healthier eating. 

And while I am the primary cook in the home, if my family refuses to eat what I make then it goes to waste. My almost 4 year old is pretty good about trying new foods & eating her veggies, but my husband and teenage son are a whole other beast. 

My husband turns up his nose at just about anything green other than iceberg lettuce in a bowl covered with shredded cheese & croutons and drowning in Ranch dressing. And my teenager can detect even the slightest bit of whole grains in a recipe & instantly becomes repulsed. 

I cannot even begin to tell you why that is (I LOVE whole grain pasta myself!), but instead of wasting my breath & time trying to convince my son & husband why they should be eating healthier I have decided to just be sneaky with it. What they don't know can't hurt them, right? ;) In fact, it can only do the opposite- help them!

Hidden veggies and sneaking in whole grains has become my regular thing when cooking for my family. Whether ground in, pureed and mixed in, and or super finely chopped & shredded, I squeeze in the good stuff whenever & wherever I can. And it usually goes more or less undetected. 

One of my family's favorite dishes is macaroni and cheese. I mean, who doesn't like a creamy, cheesy mac & cheese? So I went on a quest to search some of my favorite food blogs for the best secretly healthy mac & recipes I could find. :) 

From fun edible cups made from macaroni cheese to creamy mac & cheese dishes packed with veggies (some hidden, some not), you are sure to find a homemade macaroni & cheese recipe in this collection that your entire family will love...

Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Dipping Sauce {+ a P.F. Chang's Date Night-In}

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of P.F. Chang’s Home Menu for IZEA. All opinions are 100% mine.

Although I try to meal plan almost every week, there always seem to be at least a few evenings each month when I don't have a dinner plan in place. Or I forgot to defrost meat for what I did have planned. 

Or what I did have on the meal plan for that evening isn't appealing to me that day for some reason. Or by the time 6:00 rolls around, I am out of steam for the day & just want something easy to make. 

For all of the above reasons, I try to have a few easy & quick dinner solutions tucked away inside my freezer. Meals that can be quickly defrosted or cooked or baked and that require minimal prep on my part. 

Recently I discovered P.F. Chang’s Home Menu items in the freezer aisle of my local grocery store (available in your grocer's freezer aisle nationwide), and I am smitten, folks. They now have a permanent place in my freezer as one of my new favorite quick meal solutions.

The other day I picked up the P.F. Chang's Home Menu Orange Chicken and their Chang's Cream Cheese Wontons. I decided to whip up a quick flavorful dipping sauce for the wontons. Golden honey and bold sriracha sauce come together in this delicious & quick Sweet & Spicy Sriracha Dipping Sauce. And though I call this a dipping sauce, it is also fabulous poured over plain rice... ;)

Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding

Creamy, comforting rice pudding is jazzed up with apple butter & chunks of fresh apple in this easy to make Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding...

Since a good, home cooked risotto happens to be my favorite savory adult comfort food, then a creamy rice pudding has to be my ultimate sweet comfort food. But rice pudding wasn't a comfort food that I came to love as a child. Now my mama made this great quick version of rice pudding with a little leftover rice mixed with melted margarine & sprinkled with cinnamon & sugar. 

But the first time that I tried an honest for goodness homemade rice pudding was when I baked up a batch myself a few years after moving out of my parents' house. Yes, making rice pudding from scratch equals adulting when you are in your earlier 20's. ;) And thus began my love affair with creamy, comforting rice pudding.

But the thing with most homemade rice pudding recipes is that they require both stove top cooking & oven baking and thus twice the dirty dishes. Is it worth the extra effort and dish washing? Yes! 

But I knew there had to be a better way to whip a homemade rice pudding recipe that I would love without all the extra steps. My solution? The slow cooker- duh! ;) 

You literally just dump everything in, mix, and let the slow cooker do the rest. Now I jazzed up the basic rice pudding with spicy apple butter and chunks of fresh apple for this Slow Cooker Apple Butter Rice Pudding I am sharing with you all today, but you could leave out the apple flavors for a classic creamy rice pudding (just increase the cinnamon to a 1/2 teaspoon)... 

Spicy Italian Style Jambalaya

This Spicy Italian Style Jambalaya is the perfect fusion of classic Italian flavors and the spiciness & kick that you expect from Cajun cuisine...

This post is sponsored by Ragu. All thoughts & opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

One thing that my family and I love is spicy... all the spicy foods. Even my almost 4 year old loves them. Whether it is chili or wings or jambalaya, I always find myself cranking up the heat level just a tad & the entire family loves it. So when Ragu contacted me about giving their new Spicy Italian Style sauce a spin in my kitchen, it was pretty much a no-brainer for me. Spicy and Italian? Sold! ;)

We have recently become obsessed with homemade jambalaya, so I thought why not a spicy Italian twist on this new family favorite? This Spicy Italian Style Jambalaya is the perfect fusion of classic Italian flavors and the spiciness & kick that you expect from Cajun cuisine. And the addition of Ragu's Spicy Italian Style sauce ensures that this jambalaya comes together quickly and easily making it perfect for busy weeknights...

12 Healthy & Comforting Soups

Not only are these 12 Healthy & Comforting Soups better for you & packed with the good stuff, but they are also hearty & comforting at the same time...

The colder temperatures have finally started to settle in around here.  With temperatures in the 60's & 70's over Christmas weekend, I was beginning to wonder if I was ever going to be able to break out my cute winter sweaters and cozy scarves. ;) 

But it seems that winter has finally caught up with us here in the mountain state & just in time for the new year. Time to cozy up with a warm bowl of comforting soup now that it is finally cold enough to.

I know healthy isn't usually the first thing that people think of when they think of a big warm bowl of comfort food, but who says that comfort food can't also help you reach those healthier eating goals for the new year? 

Not these 12 Healthy & Comforting Soups I have rounded up from some of my favorite food blogs! :) That's right, folks. A dozen homemade soup recipes that are not only healthy, better for you, and packed with the good stuff, but that are also hearty and comforting at the same time...

The Best Money Saving Tips for Ski & Snow Family Vacations

Plan a budget friendly wintertime family getaway this year with these Best Money Saving Tips for Ski & Snow Family Vacations...

This post was created in partnership with Family Travel Forum. 

While I was compensated for this post, all opinions expressed below are 100% my own.

Winter and snow (aka, ski season) is upon us, and it is time to start planning those wintertime family getaways. Whether you are planning to stay close to home, heading to the snowy slopes of Colorado, or heading northeast to ski the mountains of Vermont & New Hampshire, it is no secret that ski & snow vacations for the family can get a little pricey. But there are ways to save money and cut the costs without also having to cut back on the experiences and the frosty family fun.

I have partnered up with my friends at Family Travel Forum today to bring you all the very best tips for saving money on ski passes, lift tickets, equipment rentals, lodging, and so much more this coming ski season. A fabulous wintertime family vacation doesn't have to break the bank, folks. :)

The Best of Frugal Foodie Mama- Top 10 Posts of 2015

Here are my Top 10 Posts of 2015 as clicked on, pinned, shared, and decided by you all- my readers...

Happy 2016, friends! :) Another year has come and passed here at Frugal Foodie Mama, and I have to say that 2015 was a pretty incredible year for this little space of mine. I had the pleasure of being invited to my first ever blogger press trip by the friendly and generous folks at Southern Living & Delta Faucet. Not only did I get to check off Birmingham from my travel bucket list, but I also got to tour Southern Living's headquarters & test kitchens and meet the incredibly talented people behind those southern recipes we look forward to each month. From there, 2015 just kept getting better for this little food blog of mine. I attended the Indulge Conference in Portland in May, and then traveled to Orlando for the Food & Wine Conference as a brand ambassador for Wisconsin Cheese. In August, my family and I were invited on our first travel media trip to a part of the Kidsburgh press tour hosted by the folks at Visit Pittsburgh. And I rounded out the year with a blogger press trip to Cleveland to take part in the Ohio Dairy Adventure. :)

I was afforded some incredible opportunities to work with some brands and companies that I had only dreamed of collaborating with before. And in return, I was able to provide you all with even more delicious and budget friendly recipes, money saving tips, and family friendly travel ideas in 2015. And speaking of family travel, I met my goal of really growing and expanding that section of Frugal Foodie Mama in 2015 ! :) If you haven't visited my Family Travel page recently, you should pop over and take a peek. I added lots of travel recaps and tips to that section over the past year. 

I am so thankful for how much this blog has grown in the past 365 days, but as always none of this would be possible without all of you all. My readers who come back day after day to read my posts, share them, and support Frugal Foodie Mama. I can never say it enough, but THANK YOU. :) You all are the reason why this blog of mine has done so well. 

And now for the real reason you all are here- the top posts of 2015! Not surprisingly, recipes dominated what you all loved the most from the past year. But we did have one non-recipe rank pretty darn high in the countdown this year. 

Let the countdown from #10 to #1 begin NOW...

Turkey Chili-Stuffed Baked Potatoes

Hearty baked potatoes are simply steamed in the microwave, & then topped with a homemade chili that's packed with turkey and beans in these Turkey Chili-Stuffed Baked Potatoes...

This content was created in partnership with Kroger Family Stores using free products provided by Kroger.

This recipe post first appeared on the Kroger Inspired Gathering site.

Some of my favorite healthy recipes are the ones you don't realize are healthy. They're so filling and flavorful, your taste buds and appetite totally believe they're splurging and enjoying a naughty meal. 





These Turkey Chili-Stuffed Baked Potatoes totally fall into this category, folks. Hearty baked potatoes are simply steamed in the microwave, then topped with a homemade chili that's packed with turkey and beans. Topping them with a sprinkle of shredded cheese and a dollop of low-fat plain yogurt takes these tasty stuffed baked potatoes over the top, without the guilt.