Mommy Day by Day

A little Frozen Paradise on the Island

Posted on October 1, 2012 by mommydaybyday

Sunday night I enjoyed a little frozen paradise on the Island. And of course when I say Island I mean Long Island.

My frozen treats were Daily’s Cocktails and I couldn’t wait to try them. I loved the idea of a no mess frozen drink. Like a kid waiting for ice pops to freeze I waited for my frozen drinks to be ready. I had big plans for the evening. Of course like most of my plans for relaxing on the weekends they fell by the waste side.

After Mass and breakfast it was already early afternoon. I even played hooky from Caroline’s soccer game so I could get all my weekend chores early. My thought was get everything finished and get ready for Monday morning madness and then put the kids to bed. After my husband and I could enjoy a little island paradise with some frozen cocktails. You know snuggle on the couch put on some reggae music maybe… I have quite an active imagination. I think I watch way too much tv.

First mistake was trying to do too many things. And honestly my to do list is so long I could never finish it in one night. It’s like a never-ending pasta bowl from Olive Garden. It never seems to get any smaller only bigger.

I kept waiting to break out the drinks till I was all ready. However clocks keep ticking and the day was ending and it was dangerously close to bed time. Not wanting to get a buzz on and then head into bed I had to break out the cocktails. The kids were not in bed, my to do list was barely addressed, I was in my pajamas, and the only sound was coming from the Sunday night football game on the television. Best laid plans and all…

The good news was it was so worth it! The Daily’s Cocktails were awesome! So easy and they tasted great. It’s pretty great to be able to enjoy a frozen drink in the comfort of your own home and for way less then it would cost if you were out at a bar. I bought them for less than two dollars a pouch. My favorite was the Pina Colada and my husband’s was the Strawberry daiquiri. Both were delish! I can’t believe how easy they were.

Freeze- Squeeze- and Enjoy! It really was that simple.

There was no mixing or blenders or even clean up involved. All I had to do was throw out the pouch and wash the glass. The alcohol is already in the pouch. All you need to do is freeze for 8 hours. Technically you could stick your straw in and drink it out of the Capri-Sun like pouch. They were so refreshing and tasted great.

These are five ways to enjoy Daily’s Frozen Cocktails and keep summer alive this fall.

1.) Watching your favorite shows on television- I ended up ditching the football game and watching the premiere of Revenge in another room.

2.) Have a porch party- Break out some Daily’s Cocktails and invite some of your friends over to the porch for happy hour. It still warm enough for some outdoor partying

3.) Hostess parties like Pampered Chef or PartyLite Candles. Frozen cocktails will definitely liven up your party.

4.) College style with a pouch and a straw.

Posted in Food & Snacks, Life | Tagged Capri-Sun, Cocktail, Daily's Cocktails, Eat and Drink, frozen cocktails, island paradise, Long Island, Olive Garden, Pina Colada, Strawberry Daquiri | 3 Comments

Monday Mealtime Homestyle Meatloaf

Posted on October 1, 2012 by mommydaybyday

Now that it’s fall and the weather is getting chilly I find myself looking for hearty meals. My go to hearty meal is always meatloaf. Meatloaf is such a good comfort food. Perfect for fall! This recipe is my mother’s and I always loved it when I was little. It was one of the first meals I ever made for my husband when we got married.

Over the weekend I took out my battered recipe card with my mother’s meatloaf recipe, although I have made it a hundred times I still like to have the recipe on hand. I couldn’t find the card so I called my mother to ask her for it. We talked for a few minutes about the recipe and she said, “You know you can always look on the back of the Lipton Soup Box.” My mouth dropped, I couldn’t believe me ears my mother’s special meatloaf recipe that I thought had been handed down for generations was the recipe off of the box! I was floored! Apparently my mother’s home-style meatloaf is really Lipton’s Souperior Meatloaf.

I am still laughing about it! Here it is anyway maybe not a family secret recipe but still a really good meatloaf. Over the years it has been modified slightly the ingredients are the same as Lipton’s but some of the measurements have changed.

Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground Beef
1/3 cup Ketchup
3/4 cup water
3/4 cup bread crumbs
2 eggs
1 packet Lipton’s Onion Soup Mix (Dry)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
Combine all of the ingredients into a mixing bowl and mix.
On a 13X9 pan place the mixture in a loaf shape. You can also use a loaf pan, I like to use my Pampered Chef cooking stone
Cook for one hour
- The best way to mix is to use you hands. For those of you with sensory issues this may be a problem. I usually wear a pair of rubber gloves to mix. Before we were married my husband worked on a ship and he always made meatloaf for the crew before he would come home. He insists making meatloaf is the best way to wash grease of your hands. Pretty disgusting needless to say he makes no meatloaf for me!

So simple to make and the leftover meatloaf makes great sandwiches the next day.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

Posted in Diet & Nutrition, Family, Recipes | Tagged Bread crumbs, Cook, cooking, dinner, family secret recipe, hearty meals, Home, Lipton, lipton soup, Lipton's Onion Soup, Meat Loaf, Meatloaf, onion soup mix, Pampered chef cooking stone, recipe, Souperior Meatloaf | 19 Comments

Fall is here!

Posted on September 22, 2012 by mommydaybyday

Have you noticed it?

That cool chill in the early mornings.

The subtle wind that chills you even though the sun is shining.

The cravings for apple cider and pumpkin pie.

The quintessential signs of fall have been creeping up on us.

I have been clinging desperately to summer and I have not wanted it to end. I just love the long lazy days. The lack of activities is what I savor most about summer. The absence of a busy schedule has made summer my favorite season as an adult.

I am definitely the queen of denial but even I can no longer deny that the seasons are changing and we are have landed firmly into fall. The signs were all there I just chose to ignore them. The kids have already been back to school for over two weeks. All of the fall activities are back in full swing. We are back at soccer games and practices as well as dance classes on the weekends. The PTA meetings have begun and Back to School Nights have all been held. Time to take my head out of the sand and admit fall is definitely here to stay.

Time for me to embrace the season or be left behind wondering on the first day of winter “Where did the fall go?”

Even though the hectic schedules are already in progress there are so many great fall activities to take advantage of like pumpkin and apple picking. And who doesn’t love the colors of fall? The beautiful reds and oranges hues that decorate the landscape as the leaves change color?

The changing of the seasons will always remind me of my grandmother. My entire childhood she would call me on the first day of each season to let me know it was the first day of fall, winter, spring, or summer. In honor of that tradition I turned the tables on my 94-year-old grandmother and I called her to let her know today was the first day of fall. She chuckled recalling all the years she called me to do the very same thing.

So get out your jackets and get ready for some fall fun. That is if you can manage to schedule it in around soccer games, dance classes, and homework!

Happy fall.

Posted in Back to School, Family, Family Fun, Life | Tagged Apple cider, apple picking, Autumn leaf color, fall color, fall leaves, fall soccer, first day of fall, long lazy days, Pumpkin, pumpkin picking, Pumpkin pie, Recreation, travel | 4 Comments

Summer is not over yet… Daily’s Cocktail’s Lunch Tote #Giveaway

Posted on September 18, 2012 by mommydaybyday

Summer is not over yet. If I keep saying that it might be true!

One of my favorite things about summer are the frozen drinks. Who doesn’t love a Strawberry Daquiri or Pina Colada? Daily’s Cocktails are the easiest way to enjoy these frozen delights. They come in Capri Sun style pouches and according to the website you just Freeze, Squeeze, and Enjoy! What could be easier?

If you would like a chance to win the Daily’s Cocktail’s insulated lunch tote- the best way to carry around your frozen cocktails and keep summer alive all year- follow these easy steps.

1.) Leave a comment here

2.) Like my facebook page

Three lucky winners will be chosen. Contest ends 9/21

Posted in Contests, Giveaways | Tagged Contest, Daily Cocktails, Daiquiri, Frozen Drinks, Giveaways, insulated lunch tote, Margarita, Pina Colada, Strawberry Daquiri | 5 Comments

Finding Nemo in 3D Opens Today!

Posted on September 14, 2012 by mommydaybyday

Last week Amelia and I trekked into Manhattan to see a preview of Finding Nemo in 3D. Amelia seems to always luck out when I get tickets to previews, maybe it’s because she is the only one who is not playing soccer and therefore has the most free time.

I decided, after 39 years of insisting the train is the easiest way to get to Manhattan from Long Island, that I would drive in to the city. I have GPS how bad could it be?? Well not bad, the trip was pretty short but basically I drove around the world to get into the city. I knew that the directions seemed shaky since it was sending me over the Throgs Neck Bridge which I am pretty sure goes to the Bronx. We usually take the Throgs Neck when we are heading away from NY, but I made a gut decision to follow the GPS basically because I knew I had no idea where I was going and figured I was better off with an automated voice telling me what to do. So over the Throgs Neck Bridge and to the Triborough Bridge to the FDR to the upper east side where the theatre was. Like I said it was fine the trip was quick but basically it was like going through Canada to get to Florida a little round-about. A little bit of over the river and through the woods.

Finally we arrived at the theatre and were treated to a great show. I love Nemo, honestly who doesn’t it is a great movie. The cast is great, Ellen DeGeneres and Albert Brooks make a great team as Dory and Marlin. It really has an – cast Brad Garret, William Dafoe, and Allison Janney are priceless as the trapped aquarium fish. My favorite part about Finding Nemo is that the movie appeals to adults as well as children. Which isn’t always the case so it is nice to find a movie that appeals to the whole family. Some shows and movies the kids like are unwatchable. It’s nice to find a movie that I can laugh at too.

Mostly I only get to listen to Finding Nemo in the car while I am driving and the kids are watching the DVD in the back seat so it really was exciting to see it again and in 3D! The technology is really amazing! I am not a huge 3D fan. I just don’t always see the need to remake a movie in 3D but it really worked for Nemo. The underwater scenes were breathtaking in 3D- you really felt like you were right there with Nemo!

For those of you who have never had a chance to see Nemo I would definitely recommend you take the kids to see it! Definitely worth the trip to the theatre. The 3D glasses were even shaped to look like goggles- very cute.

Amelia gave it a thumbs up and I agree.