A couple weeks ago I got to attend the first Wine Tasting Dinner at my local Romano’s Macaroni Grill.  Every location around the US participated and they plan to do them every month.  It cost $40 per person and included 4 courses and 4 glasses of wine and lasted 2 hours.  SO WORTH THE MONEY !!!

4 courses:

• Course one was your choice of antipasti… I chose the Bruschetta and my boy friend chose the Sausage and Peppers Flatbread.  The bruschetta was grilled rosemary bread with whipped ricotta, roma tomoatoes, garlic and basil.  IT WAS AMAZING !!!
• Course two was your choice of soup or salad.  I chose the lobster bisque soup and Rich chose the Bibb + Bleu salad (other choices were a fresh greens salad or tomato basil soup). Both were delicious.
• Course three was your choice of entree.  We both chose the Signature Truffle Mac & Cheese which was to die for (other choices were Chicken Parmesan or Parmesan Crusted Sole).
• Course four was your choice of dessert.  I chose the lemon passion which is a citrus cake with lemon curd and whipped cream and Rich chose the Romano’s Cannoli.  Both were delicious.

*Food and wine choices may change from month to month but I am sure they will be just as yummy as this meal was

For the wine pairing you got to pick which wine you wanted from a select list.  I was hoping they would pair the wine for you but they didn’t really do that for us.  Between Rich and I we did get to try pretty much all the wines though.

The next wine tasting dinner is going to take place on Wednesday June 5th from 7-9 pm.  Call your local restaurant to reserve your spot.  Plus if you dine with a group of 6 or more you will receive 20% off.

SONIC Drive-In just got better with the addition of two new flavors of Lil™ Doggies and Lil™ Chickies. Along with the Classic Lil’ Doggie with ketchup and mustard and the Chili Cheese Lil’ Doggie, Sonic has added the Cheesy Bacon Lil™ Doggie.  Plus along with the Classic Lil’ Chickie with mayo and pickles and the Buffalo Lil’ Chickie, Sonic has added a Honey BBQ Bacon Lil™ Chickie.

For only $1.49 these perfect little snacks are available all day at your local SONIC.

I decided to bring a few home to my kids and they fought over who would get which and loved every one of them. And for only $1.49 each, what a great deal !!!

I received the following Monster 500 products for review: Monster 500™ Toxic Terror Trap Playset, the Monster 500™ Graveyard Gauntlet Track Set, a Monster 500™ Small Vehicle and a Monster 500™ Large Vehicle.  They all seems like good quality products and putting it together was pretty easy.  It was nice having the extra vehicles and having 3 total trading cards made the free app more fun to play while on the go.

Once you have the sets, you will probably want to get extra vehicles.  There are a total of 10 different 3 inch die cast cars which are sold as individual cars or in packs of 3.  Each comes with a trading card to unlock a monster car in the free Monster 500 app.

There are also 4 larger vehicles which stand 4 inches high and 5 inches long.  These include Zoom Zombie™, CrocPot™, Lead Foot™ and Flattop Frank.   With the touch of a button, scary-good lights and sounds are activated on each vehicle for additional fabulously freaky fun.

With the Monster 500™ Toxic Terror Trap Playset you can speed down the twisting track, blast through the gate, topple the toxic monster and avoid being eaten by the mutant gator. The hazmat mutant activates the elevator that moves the car to the top of the track, while scary septic sounds add to the terrifying atmosphere. This set includes a trading card with a code that unlocks a monster car in the free Monster 500 racing app. 

The Monster 500â„¢ Graveyard Gauntlet Track Set starts off your racing team with a Drac Attack racer and trading card. Just connect the track pieces, screw the skull launcher onto any flat surface, then press down. Fearless drivers fly down a daredevil drop and speed through a swinging pendulum. Danger is imminent, but if a villain is victorious, an eye-popping skull end piece raises a checkered flag!

Includes 10 track pieces, 8 connectors, a skull launcher, a pendulum with base, a skull end piece, a Drac Attack racer and trading card with a code that unlocks a monster car in the free Monster 500 racing app.

This set is a lot more fun with an extra car so you can drag race them.  Invite friends over and bet on who will win.  You are sure to see your child having a blast with this track set !

You can buy Monster 500 playsets and cars at Monster500.com

Plus here is some info on the Monster 500â„¢ Racing App:

Join the battle for Monster 500™ supremacy in this frighteningly fast racing app. Fight other monsters as you navigate the death-defying tracks to the finish. Pick up weapons, avoid toxic spills and other creepy obstacles as you race.  As I mentioned above, the trading cards each have  code to unlock a monster car in the app so the more codes you get, the more cars you can play with in the app.

The App is FREE at the App Store and Google play.

Make sure you Like Monster500 on Facebook and Follow Monster500buzz on Twitter to keep up with all the latest promotional news.

Disclosure: I was given the products featured in this post to facilitate my review. All opinions are 100% mine and not influenced in any way.

I am so excited to tell you about my new Bradley Smoker.  Seriously this is definitely my favorite product that we own because we can make amazing meals with such ease.  This electric smoker comes with 4 removable racks and has simple to use temperature controls which provide a consistent and controlled smoke and temperature.

The day it arrived we could not wait to smoke some meat so we rushed out and bought chicken, Baby Back ribs and a Boston Butt to make pulled pork.  We started by seasoning the smoker for 1 to 2 hours without any food in it and because we wanted to let the meat rubs soak in we had to wait 24 hours before we could start smoking the meat.

We rotated apple and pecan bisquettes which gave it a very unique flavor once it was done.  The whole family LOVED it and we had such delicious meats to eat for the next week.

Tonight we were craving smoked oysters so we headed to a local seafood market and got a half bushel of oysters.  Kevin smoked 1/4 of them plain, 1/4 with bread crumbs, 1/4 with parmesan cheese on top and 1/4 with a mix of bread crumbs, cheese and chopped garlic.  They all tasted amazing but each had their own unique flavor.  The hardest part of this recipe was shucking all the oysters.

The next thing I want to smoke is salmon and fish for smoked fish dip.  I like that you can eat some of the food by itself and then use some in recipes to create even more meal options.  If you are looking for other delicious recipes, you can check out their website HERE for all kinds of recipes for fish, seafood, pork, lamb, nuts, beef, vegetables and more.

I can’t wait to try some of the other smoking briquette flavors they offer.

Their flavors include:

• Alder
• Apple
• Cherry
• Hickory
• Maple
• Whiskey Oak
• Mesquite
• Oak
• Pacific Blend
• Pecan
• Special Blend
• Jim Beam

You can find a retailer that sells Bradley Smokers near you HERE (in Orlando you can find them at Bass Pro Shops, Dicks Sporting Goods and Gander Mountain).  Or you can order one online at Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Cabelas.com, HomeDepot.com and other retailers.

And make sure you “Like” Bradley Smoker on Facebook and Follow Bradley Smoker on Twitter