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Seasonal

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Crave-Worthy Recipes

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins

Rice Krispie Treat Pumpkins_3

No tricks here! These Rice Krispie pumpkins are the easiest treat on the block. Make them for Halloween or for Thanksgiving, and they’ll be just as festive. If you’ve ever made Rice Krispie Treats before, you know your hands can get pretty messy. That marshmallow mixture can stick to your fingers and become really frustrating — but don’t fret! I’ve figured out how to rolls the balls without making a mess. Also try these Mummy Rice Krispie Treats for Halloween. The trick? Spray your hands with nonstick cooking spray, like Pam. I’ve tried all sorts of methods, including butter, but nothing works better than Pam. Just trust me on this. Spray your palms with a healthy coating and rub them together like you would to put on lotion. This way, you get the oil around the sides of your fingers and in all of the little corners that marshmallow could…

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Seasonal

How to host a stress-free Thanksgiving feast

How to host a stress-free Thanksgiving feast

Whether you’re a first time host or a seasoned veteran, whipping up a Thanksgiving dinner is no easy task. Add in a bit of forgetfulness, a touch of poor planning, and some overly eager houseguests, and you could quickly find yourself in the middle of a full-blown holiday disaster. But don’t fret! A little preparation and a few reminders, and you can be on your way to a totally stress-free Turkey Day. Here are 10 tips for a stress-free Thanksgiving: 1. Planning is the name of the game The best way to reduce stress on Thanksgiving Day is to have a plan made well in advance (we suggest preparing at least two weeks in advance). That includes knowing how many people you’re cooking for, writing a grocery shopping list (don’t forget the wine!), and a schedule of how you’ll actually manage your time on the big day. 2. plan out…

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Seasonal

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are America’s favorite Halloween candy, poll finds

Reese's Peanut Butter Cups are America's favorite Halloween candy, poll finds

Americans love Halloween candy, but let’s face it — not all candies are created equal. Some candy gets devoured before Halloween even ends, and others will linger clear through the New Year. So which candies do Americans like most? Perhaps not surprising to peanut butter fanatics, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups are America’s favorite Halloween treat (36%), according to a recent poll conducted by Monmouth University. Snickers came in second (18%), M&M’s ranked third (11%), and Hershey bars and candy corn rounded out the top five (each with 6%). “Candy corn even making the list may surprise some people, but it is one of the top-selling Halloween candies in the country,” said Patrick Murray, director of the independent Monmouth University Polling Institute. Love it or hate it, check out The Sweet History of Candy Corn. America’s Favorite Candies According to the poll, these are America’s top 10 favorite Halloween candies: Reese’s…

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Seasonal

A fun sized history lesson on fun sized candy bars

A fun sized history lesson on fun sized candy bars

Shouldn’t “fun sized” candy bars be really big and the ones given out on Halloween you eat in one bite be named something less rosy? It’s a question just about every kid in the past 50 years has asked themselves on Oct. 31. But just when did these bite-sized Butterfingers and snack-sized Snickers become the norm? Well, it seems the first shrunken versions of popular candy bars can be credited to the former Chicago-based Curtiss Candy Company. Now part of Nestlé thanks to a series of mergers and acquisitions, the company produced a “Buddie” size Baby Ruth bar in the early 1930s. “Junior” sized versions of their Baby Ruth and Butterfingers candy bars came along in the 1950s. Hershey also got in on the game early when it began selling its sleek “Miniatures” candy bars in 1939. Small candy bars had been well established by the time candy manufacturer Mars…

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Seasonal

The 9 best cheeses to use in mac and cheese

The best cheeses for mac and cheese

Instant mac and cheese might pass the test for as a college dorm room quick fix, but everyone knows that nothing beats the homemade stuff. At its best, the real deal — made from scratch — can truly transcend you to a carb-loving comfort food heaven. Whether it’s baked into a crunchy-topped casserole or scooped straight from the stove top, the creamiest mac and cheese starts with the right cheese. So what cheeses guarantee maximum creaminess? The main quality a cheese must have is meltability. It might seem obvious, but often times home cooks can lose sight of the end goal (And, admittedly, those fancy, sprawling cheese departments at the supermarket can have us wanting to experiment with all kinds of cheeses we don’t need). Plus, you want a cheese that isn’t going to separate into an oily, grainy mess. So stay on task and when you head to the…

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Seasonal

How to store apples so they last all winter

How to store apples so they last all winter

For many people, autumn means one thing: apples. Families love heading to the orchard and loading up on bags full of apples for making devious homemade applesauce, pies, and cobblers. But don’t let your enjoyment of those tasty fall treats end earlier than it needs to. Believe it or not, some varieties of apples can last you all the way through March. They just have to be stored the right way. Also see, the best apples for eating fresh. Apples are abundant in the fall, meaning you can buy them at cheaper prices and stock up. You’ll save money by buying in bulk, and you’ll also avoid grocery store apples which can be coated in unnatural waxes or doused with chemicals used to delay their ripening. Here’s everything you need to know about storing apples for winter: What type of apple should you buy Apples come to maturity between late July…

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News Bites

Where to get Halloween 2019 food freebies and deals

Where to get Halloween 2019 food freebies and deals_2

Don’t just indulge in candy this Halloween. Treat yourself to anything from creepy cocktails to freaky flapjacks. Here are 14 places you can score scary-good deals and freebies this Halloween. And check back soon! We’ll be updating the list as the specials come screaming in. Applebee’s Celebrate Halloween with a $1 Vampire cocktail; available for a limited time. This “freaky tiki” rum cocktail is made with run, strawberry, passion fruit, dragon fruit, and pineapple juice. It’s topped with vampire fangs and a cherry. Baskin Robbins Scoops are just $1.50 at BR on Halloween. Choose from any of the ice cream chain’s 31 flavors, including the flavor of the month, the Candy Mashup, made with all your favorite Halloween candy classics like Snickers and caramel cups. Bubba gump Kids eat free with (purchase of an adult entree) at Bubba Gump on Halloween during its “no tricks, all treats” promo. Chipotle Boorito…

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Seasonal

Is white chocolate actually chocolate?

Is white chocolate actually chocolate?

White chocolate is one of those polarizing foods like black licorice, Brussel sprouts and cilantro — you either love it or you hate it. But what actually is white chocolate, and can it really be considered chocolate? Let’s first look at chocolate in general Chocolate needs no introduction. You’ve had it. You love it in all its forms: bunnies, bars, brownies. But what makes chocolate, chocolate? Well, both the dark kind and the milk kind contain cocoa solids or cocoa powder — which give them their rich brown color — as well as the fatty cocoa butter — the fat that gives them their creamy mouthfeel. White chocolate just has cocoa butter — no cocoa. Both milk chocolate and white chocolate also typically include some amount of milk or cream powder, sugar, and sometimes vanilla or other add-ins. where does cocoa butter come from? Cocoa butter is the foundation of…

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Seasonal

Mistakes you should avoid when cooking potatoes

Mistakes you should avoid when cooking potatoes_2

Potato problems? Potatoes may seem basic, but there are a lot of ways to mess them up. Whether they come out partly raw, mushy, or generally flavorless, the good news is there is usually a simple solution. Read on and see what you might do differently next time to achieve those perfectly tender, flavorful spuds you salivate over. You don’t choose the right potato for the job. You’ll come across more than a dozen different kinds of potatoes at the grocery store, so how do you know which will work best for your recipe? Well, a good rule of thumb is to use russet potatoes for baking or steaming, and use red or gold potatoes for roasting or sautéing. Russets and yellow potatoes are best for mashing. Round red potatoes and fingerling potatoes are best for boiling. Not sure what to use? Those round white potatoes that you see at…

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Seasonal

Why we give candy to kids on Halloween

Why we give candy to kids on Halloween

According to the National Retail Federation, Americans will spend approximately $2.6 billion on Halloween candy this year — that’s a lot of Skittles, Starbursts, and snack-sized candy bars. But as you’re buying bags of goodies to giveaway, you may wonder how this sweet tradition got its start. Well, the answer isn’t totally clear, but let’s shed a little bit of light on this dark holiday. Many scholars think that Halloween can be traced back about 2,000 years to its roots as a pre-Christian Celtic festival called Samhain (pronounced “sah-win”), which means “summer’s end.” The festivities, usually held around Nov. 1, were a celebration of the end of harvest season and the beginning of darkest days of the year. Because the ancient records surviving to this day are largely incomplete, our understanding of the holiday isn’t fully understood. But Samhain is also thought to have been a time for the spirits…

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