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Mrs. Prindable’s Gourmet Apples Review

Posted on April 19, 2010 5:36 pm by TheAngelForever

Back when TechyDad and I were distance dating, we used to meet up at an outlet where they had a place that specialized in candy coated caramel or chocolate covered gourmet apples. We used to split them and they were amazing. The place has long since gone out of business and nobody around here does anything like that. Thanks to MomImpact, I now know about Mrs. Prindable’s. When I was asked if I would like to try one of their apples I immediately said yes.

About Mrs. Prindable’s:

From their website:

Mrs. Prindable’s starts with a handpicked, extra-fancy apple, grown especially for us. Delivered fresh from the orchard and with the utmost care, it is gigantic in size, crispness, taste, and juiciness.

The apple is dipped-by hand-in creamy, smooth caramel cooked that very day. Using only the best all-natural ingredients-butter, sugar, cream, vanilla-the caramel is prepared in copper pots in small batches.

Why small batches? It enables us to better monitor the quality and consistency of the caramel, ensuring that each layer is up to the soft and creamy standards that make our caramel so famous.

Now coated in velvety caramel, the apple is hand-rolled in the finest nuts and toppings. Sometimes it is covered in premium pecans. Other times they are coated in large cashews. Now and then it’s chocolate cookie and cream pieces. From time to time it is rich toffee that becomes the final layer. Maybe, even, it’s dipped or drizzled with milk, white or dark chocolate.

Who determines the final toppings that our expert chocolatiers hand-apply to this apple? You do.

Each gourmet caramel apple ordered from Mrs. Prindable’s is made to order to ensure freshness and delivery without delay.

Mrs. Prindable’s apples come in two sizes and are certified kosher. They have have jumbo and petite apples available. The jumbo apples can weigh up to 1.5 pounds and serve 8-10 people. The petite apples are 8 ounces and serve 1-2 people. Both sizes are available in eight classic gourmet flavors that include:

Dark Chocolate Delight – apple dipped in creamy caramel, rolled in chunks of chocolate and doused in premium dark chocolate
Triple Chocolate – an apple surrounded by caramel along with milk, white and dark chocolate (this is what we received)
Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Almond – apple with peanut butter chips and bursts of dark and milk chocolate team up with whole almonds
Milk Chocolate Walnut Pecan – an apple hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in pecans and walnuts and smothered in milk chocolate
Milk Chocolate Toffee Walnut – an apple is hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in walnuts, smothered in milk chocolate and coated with Ol’ English Toffee
Dark Chocolate Cashew – an apple hand-dipped in caramel, rolled in cashews and smothered in dark chocolate
Dark Chocolate Splendor – an apple dunked in dark chocolate, covered with nonpareil-coated dark chocolate drops and topped with dark chocolate shavings
Milk Chocolate Pecan – an le hand-dipped in our caramel, rolled in premium whole pecans, and smothered in milk chocolate

Mrs. Prindable’s offers their apples, along with gift baskets and items for all occasions. Right now there are great ideas available for Mother’s Day.

What we thought:

The day after Passover we were sitting down to our traditional pizza dinner when we heard the doorbell. The boys were wondering what it was. I told them I had a feeling it was a delivery with a very special apple in it for us. NHL immediately asked what kind of special apple. I told him it was going to be a caramel and chocolate covered apple. I left the table and went to the door. From this point on, my 6 and 2 year old boys were telling me that they loved me. They learned quickly that it was a chocolate apple and they wanted me to share. Yes, even at their age they have mastered the fine art of kissing up. While the boys finished their dinner, TechyDad and I opened up the box to reveal what was inside. Take a look:

The pizza quickly took a back seat and the boys were chanting for some of the Mrs. Prindable’s apple that we received. TechyDad worked on slicing up the apple and getting them ready to serve.

Below are the two boys eating them. We also took video (will share that another day) because they gobbled it up so quickly.

I am not a big chocolate fan, but, oh my, this apple was delicious. The Granny Smith inside was sweet, juicy and fresh. The caramel was rich, creamy, and still gooey (that’s a technical term). I must admit, that was by far my favorite part. The combined chocolates tasted almost like the apple was coated in an extra special fudge and drizzled with white chocolate on top. I think this is what sold the boys. My three chocolate addicts loved them. Before you knew it, the four of us consumed what should serve 8-10 people. Shhhh. . . . remember, it was after Passover and we were celebrating the fact that we were done with matzoh for a year. Another huge perk to us, the apple was certified kosher. This allowed us to use our big knives and not rely on plastic to slice through it.

I know that we will definitely be getting more apples from Mrs. Prindable’s and it is something that I can send to our relatives that keep Kosher without a worry in the world.

Thank you Mrs. Prindable’s for making such a mouth watering delight!

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a campaign for MomImpact on behalf of Mrs. Prindable’s. My family received a Triple Chocolate Gourmet Apple to facilitate our candid review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are from my family.

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My belated birthday dinner – four months later

Posted on April 13, 2010 10:46 am by TheAngelForever

Being a December baby, I am used to the snow altering plans for my birthday celebrations. The white nasty stuff put a damper on things this past year. It is hard to believe that, four months ago, we had almost two feet of snow dumped on us – happy birthday to me!

Of course, the snow was just the start of the fun on that very cold and snowy December day. (Please note the extreme sarcasm here) While outside shoveling with my hubby, six year old NHL was hit near his eye with a shovel. I was inside the house baking my own cake when I heard screams and then saw a lot of red all over my child. A quick trip to the ER, glue and take out Chinese food rounded out the day.

TechyDad and I were supposed to go out for dinner at Hana Japanese restaurant, but it never happened. Things kept popping up and we pushed it off. Fast forward to Saturday when hubby and I left the kids with Nana and Papa and went out to dinner. We went to Hana and had an amazing dinner.

I had hibachi steak, while TechyDad opted for the hibachi salmon. We both started off with a bowl of miso soup. Everything was absolutely delicious. I made sure to save half of my meal for a lunch because I wanted to get something after dinner. Last year, we never made it to the local soft serve ice cream place. We packed up from dinner and went over. Both of us had the following:

That would be a mint and chocolate swirl cone. I swear, it tasted like a Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookie on a cone . . . it was amazing! When we were done with this, we went to Toys R Us for a kid free look around. JSL’s birthday is in a month, so we needed ideas without two kids telling what "I want" to everything they see.

All in all, my belated birthday dinner out was delightful. I told JL that I really liked the spring deal and not having to worry about driving to the celebration in snow and ice. Who knew a birthday outing could be so care free?! Thank you again to Mom and Dad for watching the kids, I know they had a blast with both of you.

So, do you go out to dinner for your birthday? What did you have for dinner on your last special day?

Categories:
birthday food glorious food jl looking back me moments photos TechyDad weekend yummy

A week gone by – Passover 2010

Posted on April 5, 2010 8:03 pm by TheAngelForever

The count down begins. There are only three more Passover meals left until we can officially say the holiday is over and begin eating chametz again. The funny thing is I do not miss bread. I miss the little things. Here are a few of the items I can not wait to have again:

Fiber One Bars – missing these a lot
Greek Yogurt – the Dannon All Natural that is for Passover is just not the same. It passes with fruits mixed in . . . or other items as I will mention later.
Cereal – Quinoa for breakfast is not my thing, the pilaf for lunch and dinner – YUM!
Gum – The Passover sugar free gum leaves a lot to be desired. It has little flavor and goes stale quickly. Really miss my Extra Watermelon Gum.
Cheese – The Kosher for Passover cheese is just not my favorite. The other ones we get during the year are SO much better.

No doubt, there are other items that I miss, but those were a few that came to mind. We have been eating a lot of fruits and vegetables. Broccoli stir fry with mushrooms was amazing. TechyDad also cut up sweet potatoes and put a little olive oil on them with salt and pepper. Those were delicious with chicken and quinoa pilaf.

The little guy did not eat much during the Passover Seders. The second night he devoured four giant matzoh balls. Check him out here:

For days, he would not eat matzoh in any other form. He would lick cream cheese off and pick off cheese when I made him matzoh pizza. Aside from slices of cheese, he would only eat "chocolate" yogurt. What exactly is "chocolate" yogurt you ask? Well, it is the Dannon All Natural Yogurt with a special mix in. The little guy was begging for his Chobani chocolate Greek yogurt and could not have it for Passover. I improvised with what we had. I took a chocolate macaroon and crumbled it up within the yogurt. Mix it all together. . . voila "chocolate" yogurt is born! This has been a huge life saver.

NHL has been a lot easier to please. He loves hard boiled eggs. I fear that he make start to cluck from eating so many over the last week. His favorite meal, aside from Aunt S’s matzoh ball soup, was the potato crusted fish fillets that we bought the boys. He absolutely loved them.

This year, we did not bake. We only had a few boxes of macaroon and the pre-made cakes that came with items we received from a gift basket. The only candy we bought were two bags taffy. No Chocolate bon-bon cookies, rainbow cookies, jelly rings or marshmallow logs. Keeping things simple, having delicious Seder food at Aunt S and Uncle M’s house, and not buying pre-packaged items was the way to go for us.

The week went by with a lot less fuss than I expected. How were your holidays?

Categories:
family food glorious food holidays jsl nhl photos yummy

Making things sweet with Splenda

Posted on April 4, 2010 11:51 am by TheAngelForever

Making things healthier for our family is a major goal in our house. We do not bake sweets too often because of extra sugar in these items. In addition to this, my mother and TechyDad’s mother are diabetic. We try to watch things because we know diabetes is in our genes. I was recently asked by Mom Central to participate in a Splenda tour to receive a free sample of Granulated Splenda No Calorie Sweetner and the Splenda Tastebook. I agreed since it was a fabulous opporunity to have some recipes to try with my family and friends that are diabetic and/or trying to watch their sugar intake.

We had Splenda packets in the house before this, but had never really used it for anything beyond adding to drinks. Splenda recently teamed up with celebrity Mom chef, Katie Brown, to offer recipes and tips on how to use Splenda in more items than you can imagine. Brown offers recipes for cookies, cakes, breaks and even smoothies.

Our sample and cook book arrived just before Passover . We wanted to try something quick and easy that did not require baking. TechyDad mentioned that we had a lot of overly ripe bananas. I opened up the Splenda Tastebook and found the Banana Strawberry Shake. It was the perfect fit since we had strawberries in the freezer. Bananas, strawberries, Splenda and fat free milk was all we needed with our handy dandy blender.

If you are interested in the recipe you can find it here. One item that I especially liked was the nutritional information was included – big kuddos for that! As you an see below, both of my boys loved it. My little guy actually drank a lot and told us he now likes strawberries. We liked it SO much that TechyDad and the boys actually made three batches of this for the entire family for a snack. It was delicious!

When Passover is over, there are a bunch of other items that look really good including the Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars. I will also be looking at other items to add to my online cookbook to make for my son’s party to bring special for the diabetic members of the family present. I know I have a lot of options with the online recipes and ones in my Tastebook thanks to Katie Brown who included not only drinks, desserts, but also side dishes, sauces, salads and salsas.

Have you used Splenda in any recipes that you liked? Please share, I would love to know.

Disclosure: I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Splenda and received products necessary to facilitate my candid review. In addition, a donation was made in my name to the Meals on Wheels organization to thank me for taking the time to participate.

Categories:
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Checking into the Polynesian Resort & ESPN time

Posted on February 18, 2010 12:41 pm by TheAngelForever

After a morning full of fun and adventures, we finally checked into the Polynesian at about 4:00. From there, we quickly went to the hospitality sweet where I literally bumped into Amanda Tinney from Disney Every Day. This is where we were given a large bag filled with goodies for the entire family, credentials, agenda for the Disney Social Media Moms Celebration and park passes. Then we rushed to drop things off at our room and change a diaper.

As you can see, the rooms at the Polynesian are huge! The decor is amazing and works perfectly with the theme. There was no need to crowd in the room and stuff the double stroller from Orlando Stroller Rentals into the corner. We were now able to leave the stroller by the sliding glass door where the balcony was with the pretty garden view. For a fabulous walking tour of the room at the Polynesian head on over to see Carolyn’s vlog tour – I love it!

With time ticking, we quickly packed the boys back up and were off to meet Christina (@CutestKidEver) and her family to go to ESPN for the first official event. The chartered buses to the event were fabulous. We did not have to fold up the stroller. The cast members helped us to put it right under the bus and it was waiting for us when we stepped off and at our new destination. At first, we tried to stuff into a bus that was filled. The nice part was I was able to quickly meet and say hello to Monica Brady of Mommy Brain Reports (@MommyBrain). Wish I had had more time to chat, but the bus was filled and we had to move. When we arrived at ESPN, we walked in the cold to our destinations. Christina and I went to the press conference while the five boys went to play out on the fields.

Thanks to coming a little late, we walked into the session as they were finishing up the talk about the new plans for Fantasyland. As a long time Disney World visitor, it is hard to imagine such change. Of course, all of that went out the window when they explained how the new Dumbo ride would work. Rather than just have one set of Flying Dumbos for everyone to enjoy, there will eventually be two. The new waiting areas will be intereactive. No more waiting on boring lines, families will be able to participate in carnival games as they wait to fly with Dumbo. Once again, Disney shows that they understand how to get guests to wait patiently for a ride while keeping them busy.

In addition to this, we also heard news about the changes to the Disney Cruises. My extended family has always talked about taking a Disney Cruise together once our children are older. Now, there will be even more options for us to consider. The one that I am most excited about is the excursions to Alaska. My dream has always been to go on an Alaskan cruise, so Disney Cruise + Alaska = a Magical adventure at sea! We also saw the makeover plans for Disney’s Castaway Cay and the debut of the new Disney Dream Cruise ship. This new ship will have a water coaster called the AquaDuck and virtual port holes inside every cabin. You can check out video about the Disney Dream here:

Before concluding, it was time to explain the new ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. As visitors that evening, we were getting a sneak peak of the digs before they officially reopen later this month. For more details about the ESPN press conference, please check out some blog posts from other DisneySMMoms attendees:

@FreeIsMyLife – Disney Social Media Moms Conference Part 2 (Great summary of the announcements made at the conference)
Please let me know if you have another post you would like me to add here.

Meanwhile, the boys were out and about running on the fields. They seemed to enjoy the time running around. While listening to the press conference I received a Tweet from TechyDad that he had fallen while trying to catch a football or something. LOL! Apparently he was more worried about my reaction to a possible grass stain on his jeans than about being hurt. Oy! Here are some photos of NHL and JSL romping around outside with their friend TJ:

Once the press conference was over, Christina and I followed the crowd over to where the Tailgate style dinner/party was taking place. We grabbed a drink and went to the tables where peanuts and Cracker Jacks were on each of the table.

After a while, the boys met up with us and we had some dinner and met a few characters along the way.

There was music playing, activities on stage for the older kids and tons of people. Eventually, we spotted desserts. The Mickey ice cream bars were too much for us to say no to. The boys certainly enjoyed their treats.

We decided that the boys were getting really tired and packed our items up to head back. On the way out, we were given ESPN hats and then boarded the buses back to the Polynesian. During that ride, we also met up with @MorethanMommy (she writes at Quirky Fusion and More Than Mommy). We had been Tweeting with her while planning the Disney trip since she was also staying at Pop Century the night before moving to the Polynesian. Loved chatting with her and hope to do so again soon.

As we left the bus, we were able to see the Wishes fireworks from the Magic Kingdom over the Lagoon at the Polynesian. We went back to the room to settle the boys. The next morning, I had to be at the bus by 7:30 to be to Epcot for a busy morning.

More coming soon!

Disclosure: Although we paid for our own trip to Disney World, we were given an incredible deal thanks to Disney. The $350 conference fee included 3 nights at the Polynesian, several meals for the entire family, 7 day park hoppers for everyone, conference/meals for me and some other items to take home.