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Real Solutions for Real Parents by Autumn Rose Reo

Gotta Whole Lotta Love for Bread Zeppelin

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Food Fridays:

Disclaimer: I enjoyed two sandwiches courtesy of Bread Zeppelin for purposes of this review. And they were good, so read on. 

Oh, how I love a sandwich. There’s just something so perfect about getting all these great ingredients and putting them between two pieces of bread…of course that is until they fall out or I accidently eat all the cheese and am left with nothin’ but a little lettuce for my last bite. Epic failure. 


 These same traumatic experience happened one time too many for Troy Charhon and Andrew Schoellkopf, so they created the Zeppelin. Bread Zeppelin to be exact, the new salad innovative ffering in Irving. Using fresh baked artisan bread from Dallas’ own Empire Bakery they core/hollowed out right before serving. So you get fewer carbs without sacrificing the crunch or you can always choose to just make it a salad, but why? 

The Bread Zeppelin concept offers 40 ingredients, 20 dressings and loads of suggestions to create the perfect masterpiece. After choosing from the list of fresh ingredients, they chop it up, dress it up and serve it up to you in bowl or in a Zeppelin. 


Leaving it to the professionals, we ordered up a NOLA and a Southwestern to try for our first time. The NOLA mixed up fried shrimp, tomato, red onion, some other fixins and dressed it with a zesty French remoulade. The Southwestern paired by favorite black bean and corn flavor along with avacado and cojita cheese. 


Both sandwiches were packed with flavor and large bites of meat, cheese and/or veggies. I’ll admit order up the sandwiches added some bulk to your bite, but by ordered up a coup of soup to go with it, you had the perfect amount of bread to tear off and dip into the soup and eat your sandwich. While the innards of these babies may not pretty when you chop them in small, bite-size pieces, remember, it’s this new sandwich-technique that gets you a shrimp in the whole sandwich, not just the first few and then fall out around your zeppelin. I could continue to “Ramble On” about the Zeppelin, but I think it’s just something you should try for yourself.
It may not be the “Stairway to Heaven,” but it makes worth waiting for in the meantime.

Bread Zeppelin
6440 N MacArthur Blvd #140
Irving, TX 75039
469.359.2661





Autumn Does Autumn Tablescapes on TV (with A LOT of help from GiggleGalore.net)

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Who better else to talk about autumn than Autumn, right? 

Actually, when I was asked to do two segment on Autumn tablescapes, I knew I need to bring in some “reinforcements” to show viewers it is possible to create functional, beautiful displays that aren’t just pretty, but memory making as well.  So I rang up one of the most amazing local DFW event goddesses and bloggers, Mariah from GigglesGalore.net, to put together a segment that would make Pottery Barn jealous. 

 Take a look at what we did for a kids’ table, every day dining, brunch with the girls and a formal dining experience that can take your fall from drab to fab – with things you can find in your house, your backyard and your local craft store. 

I think you can agree to say, she outdid herself with these perfect expressions of fall. 


Celebrating Dr. Smith’s Dallas Launch with Celeb Mom Ali Landry

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(Syndicated from Mom2Momdfw.com) 

Saturday was busy. 


After the Fox Good Day Saturday segment on all things pumpkin, I ran over to Fearing’s at the The Ritz-Carlton for Dr. Smith’s Diaper Ointment expansion launch. While it was rainy and humid, indoors it was a wonderful brunch experience with moms talking about what moms end up always talking about – their kids. 


The only thing that was different than my normal brunch is this time we had a special guest in our midst, a former Miss USA, model and 8-week post-partum mom Ali Landry. And she honestly was so incredibly nice, real and absolutely amazing. And I couldn’t take my eyes off her shoes. 

Here are more photos from this great event hosted by Dr. Smith’s Diaper Rash Ointment. 
Entrance to event

Of course I would have food shots! Here’s a fruit k-bob with yogurt drizzle (loved the napkins, too!)

Breakfast corny dogs with maple sausage.
It was also the opening day of the State Fair of Texas. Coincidence? I think not. 

Loved the presentation on bite-sized pancakes with blueberry dressing.
(Did you notice the deviled egg tray makes a perfect presentation?) 

Flowers were beautiful and matched my mimosa perfectly!
Me and the girls with our new bestie, Ali (well, maybe not bestie, but she seemed like one of the girls that day!)


From their family to ours: Dr. Smith ointment to take home to our babies!

Right now the company is also offering a $2-off coupon on their Facebook site to use at local pharmacies like Walgreens. Visit the Dr. Smith’s Official Facebook page to download yours now. 


Saving you money and your child’s bottom too, that’s Dr. Smith’s.

Top 10 Must-Haves to Get Your Pumpkin Fix

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Fall (or autumn as I prefer to call it), is definitely upon us.

At least the calendar says so.
While here in Texas Mother Nature is taking her time to give us a little fall weather, the grocery stores have definitely served up a thousand ways for you to taste the official flavor of fall, pumpkin.

Probably one of the most pinned or hashtagged items on social media right now, pumpkin has replaced apple as the official flavor of the season, at least according to BusinessWeek – and I couldn’t be happier.


So if your Starbucks #PumpkinSpiceLatte isn’t enough to keep your tastebuds satiated, here are just a few of the items I picked up this week at Walgreens, Walmart and Tom Thumb.

Top 10 Pumpkin Must-Haves

1. Duncan Hines Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes: Comes with its own pumpkin spice icing!

2. Nestle Coffee Mate Pumpkin Spice: It’s not just for coffee; try this for making your french toast!

3. Kellogg’s Pop Tarts Pumpkin Spice: In less than two minutes you can have a taste of something like pumpkin pie!

4. Jello Instant Pudding Mix Pumpkin Spice: I’m thinking there’s going to be something delicious made with this soon!

5. Yoplait Light Pumpkin Spice Yogurt: Some people love it, some people hate it. You decide

6. Betty Crocker Pumpkin Cookie Mix: Need pumpkin stat? Then cook these up with a cream cheese icing for that almost-homemade cookie smell throughout the house.

7. Krusteaz Pumpkin Pie Bar: I want to eat these now – especially since they have a Gingerbread crust. It’s like heaven in a bar.

8. Pepperidge Farm Pumpkin Cheesecake Cookies: How could these be bad? Pumpkin + Cheesecake = happy tastebuds.

9. Kraft Jet-Puffed Pumpkin Spice Marshmallows: Not only are they pumpkin flavored, but pumpkin-shapped too. We use them for s’mores and fell in love.

10. Pumpkin Candy: Every candy has made a version of pumpkin-something shaped or flavored. The highly coveted and posted Pumpkin Spice M&Ms couldn’t even be found, but Hershey’s Kisses and Candy Corn have both turned into pumpkins this season. And if you are looking to find more pumpkin, check out McDonald’s, Einstein Bros., Seattle’s Best and Dunkin Donuts for more pumpkin, drive-thru style.

Join me in all kinds of PUMPKIN FUN on my Pinterest!

Satisfy Your Craving for Pumpkin without the Calories

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Satisfy Your Craving for Pumpkin without the calories! It’s possible with these easy but delicious recipes full of pumpkin flavor, but not pumpkin calories! 

So today to kick off my favorite season, we whipped up two delicious recipes that can help satisfy that pumpkin kick you are on (and everyone else on Facebook and Pinterest) on KTXD The Broadcast this morning. 

Did you see what I forgot to put in that shake? That’s right. The banana. Very fitting for my slip-up! But when you are doing live TV, you just smile and move on! Watch it again and see if you see my reaction when I realize I forgot!

 Did you also see that adorable chalkboard pumpkin on the table with the TV show name on it? My friend Shannon at MilkandCuddles.com made it, and it fit perfectly into the show! THANK YOU FOR ALLOWING ME TO USE IT! 

Anyhow, I’ve included the recipes here for the two recipes I made (although they are so super easy you really don’t need them!) 

 PUMPKIN BREAKFAST SHAKE


(Makes 2)

 Ingredients
1 banana
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup milk
4 Tablespoons honey (or 2 Tablespoons brown sugar)
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2-3 cups ice (depending on how thick you want your shake)
whipped cream granola for garnish

 Instructions
Place all ingredients except whipped cream and granola in a blender and blend until smooth.
Top with whipped cream and granola.

 PUMPKIN DIP

 Ingredients
1 tub Cool Whip (Use this version for those watching calories) 
1 box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 can pure pumpkin (not pie filling, the real deal!) 
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice (homemade version or use this version.)

Instructions
Mix above ingredients and serve with graham cracker sticks, apple wedges, or ginger snaps (yes, the best gingersnaps I always suggest are these…but fruit is an excellent option for a healthier version.) 

Are you looking for more pumpkin flavors? Then check out my PUMPKIN PINTEREST board for all kinds of yummy things (both healthy and not-so-healthy!) 

Fast and Fantastico: Sorrento-Style Tilapia Spaghetti {Recipe}

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I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  I made this Sorrento-Style Tilapia Spaghetti for a shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias and their client.

I love to cook. Unfortunately, my schedule doesn’t allow it often, especially during the week when my family needs it most – at dinner. Between my work, the kids’ school, dad’s school and work and all the other “fun” things that mama has to do…dinner is a challenge. However, each school year I make the plan to at least have some quick and easy options for healthy meals that I at least made homemade…halfway. So it’s important for me to stay stocked up our staples, so I head to Sam’s Club to get our necessities for quick breakfasts, faster lunch-box making and almost-immediate dinners. Attempting to make healthier recipes, I grab items in the freezer section that can help me create meals that my family will love by just adding a few ingredients to create a real “dinner winner.” 



 Since my kids are young, getting them to eat fish is hard. However, when it looks and has the consistency of chicken nuggets, the are little more amenable to trying something like this amazing parmesan encrusted tilapia from Treasures from the Sea. You can have delicious fish from the freezer to the table in less than an episode of Mickey’s Mouse Playhouse with no preparation. And considering it has 9 grams and fat and less than 300 calories per serving, I was stoked that the tilapia was hitting up all our preferred food profiles!

 While you totally could serve it by opening just up a can of veggies, I was feeling reminiscent of my favorite vacation I took about a year ago to Italy so I decided to dress it up a little. Add some spaghetti, tomato sauce and a few fresh veggies I had sitting around in the fridge and presto – we had a Sorrento-Style Tilapia Spaghetti in less than 30 minutes! 

Print
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Sorrento-Style Tilapia Spaghetti

Print Recipe

Ingredients

Scale
  • 4 Treasures from the Sea Encrusted Tilapia, frozen
  • 1 ½ cups Hunt’s Tomato Sauce
  • 1 lb. Daily Chef™ Spaghetti
  • 1–2 sm. squash/zucchini, thinly sliced
  • 3 Tbsp. olive oil
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 2 Tbsp. capers
  • Freshly shredded Parmesan cheese

Instructions

  1. Prepare the tilapia according to package directions. (Approximately 25 minutes in the oven.)
  2. While the fish is cooking, boil spaghetti. (Tip: Add a little bit of salt to your water before boil to increase flavor. Olive oil isn’t needed until after the spaghetti is cooked to prevent stickage.)
  3. Sauté squash/zucchini in pan with 1 Tbsp. olive oil until tender. Then add minced garlic, capers and tomato sauce to the pan/skillet.
  4. Heat sauce for 15 minutes on low-medium heat to allow flavors to come together.
  5. Serve tilapia on bed of pasta and top with sauce.
  6. Garnish with shredded cheese.


 Are you tempted to pick up some Treasures from the Sea Encrusted Tilapia at your Sam’s?  Consider trying it or another great recipe like this one during an upcoming demo at your local Sam’s Club: 

 September 17:  Italian Style Fish and Pasta

September 19: Smoked Sausage Pasta OR Quick ‘N’ Easy Chicken Parmesan

September 24: Chicken dippers

 To find a Sam’s Club location near you, visit the Sam’s ClubLocator and type in your zip code. 

Gustare la ena (enjoy your dinner!) 

Mama Challenge on TV: Texas Dishes Put to the Pinterest Test on Good Morning Texas 9/3/13 {Recipes}

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Try-it Tuesday:


I’m putting John Wayne and some other Texas-themed Pinterest recipes to test again on WFAA’s Good Morning Texas! if you are coming to MamaChallenge.com for the first time because you saw me on TV, then I’m so excited to have here! I hope you stay a while and enjoy some of my other fun posts including my challenges for the newest fitness fads, local restaurants and cool products. 

Looking for those recipe fixes? then check them out below. While I didn’t come up with these recipes, I have added a few tips to make them even better. (Well except for the Corn Nuggets, they needed a little bit more help!)

John Wayne Casserole 
Source: Adapted from Mississippi Magazine 

Ingredients: 
2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained 
1 (1.25-ounce) packet taco seasoning 
4 ounces sour cream 
4 ounces mayonnaise 
8 ounces Cheddar cheese, shredded and divided 
1 yellow onion, sliced 
2 cups biscuit mix 2 tomatoes, sliced 
1 green bell pepper, sliced 
1 (4-ounce) can sliced jalapeno peppers
Directions: 
1. Heat oven to 325. Brown ground beef and add taco seasoning and water, according to packet instructions; set aside. 
2. In a separate bowl, combine sour cream, mayonnaise, 4 ounces of cheddar cheese, and half of the onions; set aside. 
3. Stir biscuit mix and water (directions on box) [MamaChallenge Tip: This is about one cup. I couldn’t find any directions on my box of biscuit mix!] to form soft dough. Pat dough on the bottom and one-half-inch up the sides of an 9 x 13 in. greased casserole dish. 
4. Saute remaining onions and bell peppers until slightly tender. 
5. On top of biscuit mix, evenly distribute ingredients in the following order: ground beef, tomato slices, green peppers, onions, jalapeno peppers, sour cream mixture and end with remaining shredded cheese. 
6. Bake for 30-40 minutes or until edges of dough are lightly browned.

Texas Corn Nuggets
Ingredients:
1 (11 ounce) can creamed corn
1 (11 ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 egg white
2 tablespoons milk
salt and pepper to taste
3 cups vegetable oil for deep frying
Directions:
1. In a medium bowl, stir together the creamed corn and drained whole kernel corn. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil, and coat with vegetable oil or cooking spray. [Mama Challenge Tip: Add about 1/4 cup of breadcrumbs to make the batter less runny.]
2.  Drop spoonfuls of the corn mixture onto the sheet, and freeze until firm, about 3 hours. [Mama Challenge Tip: Don’t use a cookie sheet, use a mini-muffin tin. Otherwise the batter will become a big sheet of corn instead of nuggets.]
3. Heat one inch of oil to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) in a large deep skillet, or fill a deep-fryer with oil as directed by the manufacturer.
4.  Mix together the cornmeal, flour, egg white, milk, salt and pepper in a medium bowl. [Mama Challenge Tip: Mix the cornmeal, flour, salt and pepper in one bowl to make a dry bath. In another bowl mix the egg white and milk together for a wet bath. Then dip the frozen nuggest in the dry bath, the wet bath and then the dry bath again.] Dip frozen corn nuggets in the batter, and quickly fry in hot oil until golden brown. Remove to paper towels to drain. 
Serve with a chipotle ranch dressing like this recipe or pick up one at the store!

Texas Caviar
Ingredients:
two cans of black beans, rinsed
one can of corn, drained
eight smaller roma tomatoes
half of one onion
half of a pepper
half cup of sour cream
fourth of a cup of mayo
two tablespoons of red wine vinegar
one teaspoon of cumin
one teaspoon of chili powder
half a teaspoon of salt
fourth teaspoon of garlic
black pepper to taste
hot sauce/jalepeño (optional)
Directions: 
1. Chop the onions, peppers and tomatoes in tiny pieces. (think: the same size as the corn and beans.)
mix all the vegetables, beans and corn and place in the fridge.
2. In another bowl mix sour cream, mayo, vinegar, seasonings, and hot sauce until smooth and blended. get the salsa out of the fridge and add the sauce.
3. Stir until it’s all blended.
4. Serve with tortilla chips or other munchies and enjoy!

Follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook and Twitter to get the 
solutions and tips for your mama challenges! 

Pinterest Recipes Put to the Test Featured on Good Morning Texas

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Food Fridays:

I was so privileged to be spotlighted this week on two different shows this week, Good Morning Texas on WFAA and D: The Broadcast on KTXD. We put some great Pinterest Dessert finds to the test with a celebrity tester and then I had another celebrity talk mom tips for creating cool tips for healthy lunches.

A lot of you have asked for the recipes I made on GMT for easy and delicious Texas-themed desserts:

Apple Enchiladas
1 (21 ounce) can apple pie filling (Cherries or peaches can be substituted for apples.)
6 (8 inch) flour tortillas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup butte
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water

1.       Spoon about one heaping quarter cup of pie filling evenly down the center of each tortilla.
2.       Sprinkle with cinnamon; roll up, tucking in edges; and place seam side down in prepared dish.
3.       In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine butter, white sugar, brown sugar and water. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly; reduce heat and simmer 3 minutes.
4.       Pour sauce over enchiladas and let stand 45 minutes.
5.       Bake in preheated oven 20 minutes, or until golden 350 degrees. Serve with vanilla ice cream.
Pink Lemonade Pie

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (one packet)
1/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons butter
1. Mix the crumbs, sugar, and butter in a nine inch pie pan or spring form pan.  Mix until the crumbs have absorbed the butter and the mixture is uniform. 
2. Press the crumbs across the bottom of the pan and up the sides. 
3. Bake for ten minutes at 350 degrees. 

Filling
1 8-ounce packet of cream cheese, softened
1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk
2/3 cup pink lemonade concentrate (not mixed with water)
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or bottled)
red food coloring as desired
1. In a medium bowl, beat the cream cheese until soft.  Add the sweetened condensed milk and beat until smooth.
2. Add the lemonade concentrate and lemon juice and continue beating until smooth.  Color with red food coloring as desired.
3. Poor into the pie shell and place in the freezer while you mix the topping.

Topping
1/3 cup shredded coconut
Several drops of red food coloring
1 cup whipping cream
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1. Place the coconut in a small bowl with several drops of food coloring and rub until the coconut turns pink.
2. Whip the cream until stiff, adding the sugar and vanilla in the process.
3. Spoon the cream over the pie filling and garnish with the pink coconut.
4. Freeze the pie until firm.
Margarita Pie
1 cup graham cracker crumbs (12 squares)
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
1/4 cup frozen (thawed) margarita mix concentrate
1 pint (2 cups) lime sherbet, softened
1/3 cup frozen (thawed) margarita mix concentrate
3 tablespoons tequila, if desired
2 cups vanilla frozen yogurt, softened
1.       In small bowl, mix cracker crumbs and powdered sugar.
2.       Stir in 1/4 cup margarita mix until crumbly.
3.       Press mixture firmly against bottom and side of 9-inch glass pie plate.
4.       In large bowl, mix sherbet, 1/3 cup margarita mix and the tequila.
5.       Gently swirl in frozen yogurt. Spoon mixture into crust; spread evenly.
6.       Cover; freeze 4 to 6 hours or until firm.

And for some of those great items we featured on the D: The Broadcast, you can find the following: 

Lunchboxes: The Container Store (including that cute Lego box and Lego Man Thermos.
Go Go SqueeZ, squeezable natural fruit: Whole Foods, Walmart and Target (Target even has a great $2/4 special right now.) 

Bolthouse Farms Shakedowns, carrots with seasoning mix: Walmart in Dallas (they are still launching in other areas around the US!)

Sabra, Spongebob Squarepants Hummus: Kroger 

Foodles, healthy, Mickey-shaped snack packs: Walmart

Let’s Get Back to School!







“Cool Tips for Healthy Lunches” on KTXD TVs D: The Broadcast

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Wow Mom Wednesdays:

Going back to school is a hard transition — and so is getting back to the routine of making lunches for the kids. However, did you know it’s possible to make healthy lunches that kids will love to eat and not spend all night making them? Yep, you can with three easy tips and a few examples I shared today with the amazing Pat Smith on KTXD TVs D: The Broadcast today. She’s a mama of five kids with Dallas Cowboys great Emmitt Smith and runs her own busy non-profit for women called Treasure You.

She’s an amazing woman, so I was so excited to share a little time in the spotlight and give her a few tips I think might help you, too!




 Do you have any healthy lunchbox tips to share? 

Also, you can check out my other TV appearances here!

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