Halloween Candy

It's that time of year when everywhere you go there are piles of candy bags, just waiting to jump into your shopping cart.  I managed to ignore them until just the other day.  I thought that I'd better buy a couple bags, meaning four, just in case we get a few trick-or-treaters this year.
Now the trick for us will be trying not to eat all of that candy before Halloween.  It will be hard because I always have to buy my favorite candies.  The one year, I was actually sticking to my diet, I bought the candies that I don't really like.  Yes, there are actually some candies I don't like and can easily pass up.  One of those candies is Smarties.  When I mentioned last year to someone at work that I didn't like Smarties, they ridiculed me.  They said that is the all time favorite treat and that everyone loved them.  So I had to set out on a mission to ask everyone at work if they loved them or not.  Truthfully, most people did like them but there were a few that didn't.
Another candy that I can do without is the Three Musketeers bars.  Not sure why, but I just really don't care for them.  Candy corn is not a favorite.  Anything that is cinnamon flavored like red hots...ugh!
Now for some of my favorite Halloween candy treats!  I love those little snack sized Take Five bars.  The only problem is I can't find them in very many places and so far I haven't found them at all this year!  *sigh*
I also love Mounds, Butterfingers, Milky Ways and Peanut butter Snickers and a whole long list of other chocolaty treats.  Those were the four bags I bought the other day.  So far I've managed to only eat one Mounds bar, although just writing about them is making me think I might need another one.

  I like to go to my Mom's on Halloween and help hand out candy.  The best part is she hands out full sized candy bars and we get to bring some home for ourselves!  That is very good incentive to go up and visit her on Halloween.

Do you have a favorite Halloween candy?  Are you able to keep enough for those little trick-or-treaters or do you need to run out and buy more before they show up at the house?  Or better yet, do you just keep your porch light out and sit inside and eat all the candy yourself?

Yummy Chex Mix!

As I've said before in a previous blog, Autumn makes me think of assorted foods.  Things like homemade soups and bread, hearty casseroles, apple crisp and Chex Mix.  This time of year just seems to scream Chex Mix.  Maybe it has something to do with all of the carefully displayed boxes of Chex at the grocery store and the big multi pack at Costco.  Whatever the reason I usually do make it several times throughout the season and into winter.

The thing I like about it is, it's quick, if you use the microwave method and you can change the recipe to suit your tastes.  Here's a copy of the recipe to get you started and a link to their site and other recipes that are just as yummy. 

3	cups Corn Chex® cereal
3	cups Rice Chex® cereal
3	cups Wheat Chex® cereal
1	cup mixed nuts
1	cup bite-size pretzels
1	cup garlic-flavor bite-size bagel chips or regular-size bagel chips, broken into 1-inch pieces
6	tablespoons butter or margarine
2	tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2	teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4	teaspoon garlic powder
1/2	teaspoon onion powder

Did You Know?

The original recipe includes Corn Chex®, Rice Chex® and Wheat Chex®. You can mix and match to suit your taste—just use a total of 9 cups of cereal.

Health Focus

To reduce the fat to 2 grams and the calories to 80 per serving, use 3 tablespoons margarine instead of the 6 tablespoons butter, omit mixed nuts and use fat-free bagel chips.

Special Touch

Make enough of this favorite mix to package up as gifts for special friends—it’s so good and always a welcome surprise!

1.	In large microwavable bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In small microwavable bowl, microwave butter uncovered on High about 40 seconds or until melted. Stir in seasonings. Pour over cereal mixture; stir until evenly coated.
2.	Microwave uncovered on High 5 to 6 minutes, thoroughly stirring every 2 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool. Store in airtight container.
Oven Directions Heat oven to 250°F. In large bowl, mix cereals, nuts, pretzels and bagel chips; set aside. In ungreased large roasting pan, melt butter in oven. Stir in seasonings. Gradually stir in cereal mixture until evenly coated. Bake 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes. Spread on paper towels to cool, about 15 minutes. Store in airtight container.

1 Serving: Calories 140 (Calories from Fat 60); Total Fat 7g (Saturated Fat 2 1/2g, Trans Fat 0g);Cholesterol 10mg; Sodium 280mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 2g); Protein 3g % Daily Value*: Vitamin A 6%; Vitamin C 2%; Calcium 6%; Iron 30% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat Carbohydrate Choices: 1 MyPyramid Servings: 1 tsp Fats & Oils
*% Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.

http://www.chex.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?RecipeId=6709

Some changes I usually make to the recipe are:  no pretzels or bagel chips.  I use dry roasted, salted peanuts instead of the mixed nuts.  I use a whole cube of butter instead of 6 tablespoons because it's easier!  I always add a little more Worcestershire sauce because I like it.  Once I have the butter melted and all of the seasonings mixed in I add the wheat Chex first because I like them to absorb lots of that buttery goodness.  They are my favorite Chex.  Next I add the other two Chex cereals and the nuts.  Mix it up and start the microwaving process.  It's fast and delicious.  Perfect for movie night or the big game, although you might need to make more than one batch, it's that good!

The Lure of the Local Casino.

In the distant past I have enjoyed vacationing in Las Vegas or Reno.  They were fun destinations, not just because of gambling but there was entertainment, great food and local attractions to visit.  Sure, I would gamble but it was included in my planned vacation expenses.

Several years ago, sometime in the mid 90's, a small casino opened locally.  My husband and I had heard  about it and decided to go out there and check it out.  I was very disappointed.  First it looked like it was in a large tent.  The machines weren't the same as in Nevada where you put in your coins and pull the handle and hope a bunch of coins spill out.  You bought some type of pull tab type thing that you fed into the machine and then played off of it.  The buffet was a line of roped off tables running down through the middle of this tent.  Needless to say I wasn't impressed with the experience and didn't want to go back.  Unless it was a "real" casino I wasn't interested!

Fast forward several years to 2010.  My sister and Mom decided to take my daughter to that same old local casino for her 21st birthday.  I wasn't interested in going.  I still had that mental picture of how it looked the one time I had been there.  After thinking it over I decided to go along and see what it was like now.  After all it was my daughter's birthday! Was I ever amazed!  This was a big casino.  No more tent!  It had restaurants, bars a hotel and lots and lots of machines.  You walk in and it looks like something you'd find in Reno or Vegas!  I was thrilled!

You still didn't feed coins in and pull the handle but at least you could put your own money in and then cash out and carry that little ticket around, which is actually easier than a big bucket of coins.

That was the beginning of numerous trips to our local casino and even venturing out to other casinos within an hour or so drive.  We would go there for a fairly inexpensive but delicious dinner at their deli or buffet.  We would play a few dollars and hope for the elusive "big" jackpot and then we'd go home.  It became our local entertainment.

No I haven't become a gambling addict.  I would hate to become one of those many gamblers I see that win a $1000 jackpot or larger and don't even bat an eye because it's not that big of a deal to them.  I get excited when I win $20 and you should've seen my face when I won a $400 jackpot! I go with a budget and don't spend more than what I plan, usually.  I don't withdraw more money out of the ATM.  If I win a jackpot I cash out and hit the road before I spend it all trying to win more.  More often than not I don't win that jackpot so, if the machines are tight I lose the desire to go back for a while until the craving for some of their delicious Pho hits me.  They really do have good food!

Last summer my husband and I drove down to Reno for the first time in 13 years.  We had a good time but this time I was disappointed at how it compared to our casino, back home.  The machines were older and worn.  The food wasn't that great.  My own bed was more comfy.  Next time maybe we'll just spend the night at one of the casino resorts nearby and save a lot of money and a numb butt from all of that driving, although I really did like those jumbo frozen margaritas! :o)

The Delights of the Deli.

As I've mentioned before, I like deli food.  Unfortunately, as far as I know, we do not have any of those wonderful delis like you see in the movies or on TV or read about in books.  The delis I frequent are in my local grocery stores.  Each one of the three, that I go to, has at least one item that I crave.  I'm not sure if it would be a good or bad thing if one of those stores had all of the items.  Of course each of these items is incredibly healthy and nutritious.  Okay, I'm lying.  I have a feeling if they were healthy and nutritious I probably wouldn't crave them.
So I'm sure by now, you're just dying to know where I go and what I get there. Well, I can pretend you're interested anyways.

The Safeway deli has pretty good Chinese food.  Not quite the quality of my fave restaurants but good if I need a quick fix of General Tso's chicken or potstickers.  This deli also has my favorite olive mix.  It's Greek olives and green olives mixed with chunks of feta cheese.  Yum!

The next deli on my craving list is at Albertson's.  Albertson's fried chicken is the best!  I'd take it over KFC any day!  I like to stop by there, on my way home from work, and pick up their 8 piece mixed meal that comes with the chicken and a pound of your choice of salads or jojo's and a 4 pack of rolls.  It's a good, inexpensive meal.  Definitely, finger lickin', artery clogging, good!

The last items, I get a hankering for, are from the Fred Meyer deli.  I love their seafood/shrimp salad.  They also have great sandwiches and an olive bar as well.  Their spicy olives are delicious!  My daughter can not get enough of their macaroni and cheese salad.  You should see her face when we go there and they don't have it.  Talk about a frown, like the one she'll have when she reads this. hehe

So, there you have it!  One of the reasons I'm overweight and several of the things I crave when I try to lose weight.  Just what you always wanted to know. ;o)