4 Wonder-FALL Things To Enjoy With Family This Autumn

Visit Local Farms

I might live in the city now, but I'll always be a country girl at heart.  Last year, we finally ventured out and explored one of the local farms here in the Queen City.  Let me tell you, if you haven't visited one of the local or nearby farms in your area during the fall, you should.  There's so much to do like visiting the pumpkin patch, picking apples fresh from the orchard and Moo's favorite, getting to feed and see the animals!

There are activities for children of all ages.  With Halloween coming up, many farms even have corn and hay mazes.  This is one family activity that everyone needs to add their fall bucket lists.  Visiting a local farm will be both fun and educational!  Kids will get to see where the ingredients for their favorite fall foods (like soup) come from while having space to run around.

Get Crafty

Fall is such a beautiful season with the leaves changing colors.  Why not bring some of that beauty indoors with fall crafts like making wreaths, paper mache pumpkins, handprint turkeys and more.  Moo and JJ absolutely crafting on the weekends.  Recently we went on a nature walk to collect twigs, pine cones and acorns to make a few fall vases and table wreaths.  We all had a blast!  

Remember, the weather will continue to get cooler for many of us and there will be days when going to park isn't feasible.  For those days, a having a great craft planned out will certainly come in handy to help fight off cabin fever and keep the kids entertained. 

Host Family Movie Nights

We don't watch much tv during the spring or summer months. Between trips to the park, the pool and family cookouts, screen time is the last thing on our agenda.  But come autumn, all this changes.  Fall is hands down the best time of year enjoy screen time with the family, especially hosting family movie nights.

In case you didn't know, fall is the official kickoff to the holiday season.  With Halloween, Thanksgiving and even Christmas right around the corner, every weekend there's never a shortage off tv movies (new and old) to watch on your favorite channels.  What could be more homey when it's cold outside than snuggling together as a family in front of the tv with a fresh bowl of buttery (soy butter in our case) popcorn in the warm of your home?

Eat Soup

Did you know that studies have shown family mealtime is one of the best times for parents to bond with their children?  However, in the fall aka Fall Soup Season, mealtime can end up rushed between work, picking the kids up from school, getting homework done, cooking dinner and making sure they get a decent night's sleep.  Why not let Publix and Progresso help you spend less time at the stove and more time bonding around the dinner table?!

Right now you can stock up on family favorites like Traditional Chicken Noodle, Rich & Hearty New England Clam Chowder or Traditional Italian Wedding.  This year we added Rich & Hearty Beef Pot Roast with Country Vegetables and gluten-free Traditional Chicken Rice with Vegetables to the mix as well.  What's meal screams HELLO FALL more than a warm, delicious soup made from quality ingredients?  Progresso soups have no MSG added, no artificial flavors, are low in fat and calories and they offer a variety of gluten-free options for those of us with gluten allergies!

Need more incentive to try out Progresso's Traditional or Rich & Hearty soups?  Well, you can head into your local Publix and enjoy the following deals:

Oct 1st - Oct 7th: Buy One, Get One (BOGO) on all canned varieties of Progresso soup (this is an in-store coupon)

Oct 5th - Oct 18th:  $1 off any 2 cans of all varieties of Progresso soup (this is an in-store coupon, offered at the shelf)

Oct 1st - Oct 30th:  $1 off any 4 cans of all varieties of Progresso soup (Print here)

To make it even easier for you to enjoy Fall Soup Season with Publix and Progresso, I'm hosting a $15 PayPal Cash giveaway!  All you have to do is use the widget below to enter.  This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older.

Fall Soup Season $15 PayPal Cash Giveaway

What are some of your family's favorite fall activities?

 

5-Ingredient Gluten-Free Cheesy Spaghetti Recipe

I've always been a fan of spaghetti it comes three of my favorite foods- pasta, ground turkey and tomatoes.  When I found out about the kids' gluten allergy, I thought for sure I would have to give up my favorite Italian dish.  Thankfully, food has come a long way and brands like Hunt's (and Kraft) understand that the struggle is real for those of us on gluten-free diets.  After some experimenting I'm proud to share my 5-Ingredient Gluten-Free Cheesy Spaghetti recipe as part of the Publix Flavor Excursion campaign. 

Before we hop into this recipe, I would like to disclose that I always season my ground turkey with my own special blend of Italian seasonings anywhere from 3 to 24 hours prior to making this dish.  Of course, you're free to skip this step and tweak this recipe anyway that you see fit.  Also, if you're allergic to dairy or lactose intolerant you can totally use your favorite non-dairy cheese as a substitute.  Now that we have that out of the way let's get to the recipe!

Ingredients

1  28oz can of Hunt's crushed tomatoes with basil
1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
1 cup Kraft natural shredded Mexican style four cheese (or substitute)
1 12oz box of gluten-free spaghetti noodles

Directions

In a medium skillet brown ground turkey until done.  Drain fat/juices.  Then mix in Hunt's crushed tomatoes with basil and let simmer on low heat to create a meat sauce.

While the ground turkey is simmering cook gluten-free spaghetti pasta according to package directions.  Drain water and plate noodles once done.

Top spaghetti pasta with meat sauce.  Next sprinkle on a fine layer of Kraft natural shredded Mexican style four cheese blend.  Follow that with a few pinches of chopped parsley.  Top with another light layer of cheese and serve!

Time for a giveaway!  To help one YUMMommy reader try out this recipe I'm giving away $10 in PayPal Cash thanks to Publix and General Mills.  Simply follow the directions in the Gleam widget below to enter.

$10 PayPal Cash Giveaway

If you're looking for more meal inspiration, check out the Publix Flavor Excursion landing page for other recipes as well as coupons. 

Honey Glazed & Italian Breaded Baked Pork Chops

I have to admit the Mr and I don't get out for date nights much.  Thus, we have become more of the date night in sort of couple.  My husband gets to show off his awesome movie picking skills.  I get to show off my superb cooking skills by transforming an average week night meal into a date night worthy feast.  This week I made Honey Glazed & Italian Breaded Baked Pork Chops using Progresso Bread Crumbs.  Check out the recipe below.

Ingredients
4 pork chops
1/2 cup Progresso Italian bread crumbs
1/4 cup honey
salt (optional)
pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees and gather ingredients.

2. Using a sauce brush, cover both sides of each pork chops with a light coating of honey.  You can season with salt and pepper before brushing with honey if desired.

3. Pour bread crumbs into a shallow dish.  Place pork chops on top of bread crumbs and shake lightly using a back and forth motion.  Flip and shake again to bread other side.  Repeat until both sides are evenly breaded.

4. Place breaded pork chops on to a foil lined pan (easy clean up).  Bake for 30-40 minutes.  Flip halfway through cooking progress.

5. Let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

See how the honey caramelized with the bread crumbs in certain spots?  Yummy goodness I y'all.!

See how easy and simple it is to transform plain baked pork chops by adding two additional ingredients?  It's amazing the taste difference the Progresso Italian bread crumbs and honey make.  If you're interested in trying this recipe out be sure to print out this $1.00 off TWO Progresso Bread Crumbs products at Publix.  The coupon is available for printing until May 31st and expires June 30, 2015.  

Need more incentive to try out this recipe?  How about entering this $15 PayPal giveaway?  Yep, you could win a chance for me to pay for your date night in meal!  Just use the Rafflecopter widget below.  This giveaway is open to US residents 18 & under.  Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway