food Archives - Sunshine and Holly

Easy Valentine’s Day Candy Charcuterie Board

By sunshineandholly on January 29, 2021

Since we’re stuck at home this year, I wanted to do something special for my family for Valentine’s Day. I keep seeing yummy candy boards all over Pinterest, so I decided to try to make us an easy Valentine’s Day candy charcuterie board to share. Plus we just got a brand new cheese board and I’ve been taking advantage of any excuse to use it lately. My kids are all about make-your-own and choose-your-own type of meals (taco night/make your own pizza night/etc). And I knew if I pulled out a huge charcuterie board full of candy and sweets – they were going to flip! Here’s how I made it:

Easy Valentine’s Day Candy Charcuterie Board

First I browsed Target.com to see all of the different types of Valentine’s Day candy and sweets they had available. I tried to keep the colors simple (reds and pinks) and also tried to pick things with different shapes and sizes. And I couldn’t resist adding a cute heart table runner to my cart!

I placed a drive-up order and headed over to Target to pick up our goodies. Later that afternoon while the kids were playing outside, I got out all the things I had bought. Starting with the larger items, I placed things around the board, moving them around until I was happy with how it looked. Then I threw a clean dish towel over the whole thing and waited to surprise the kids after dinner! Unfortunately, Maddie (my sneaky child) ended up peaking under the towel while I was cooking. Such a stinker! So I didn’t get to surprise the kids like I wanted to, but they still loved it!

Here’s a link to our charcuterie board. It’s amazing and I’m so glad we bought it!

How is your family celebrating Valentine’s Day this year?

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food | fun | recipe

The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara

By sunshineandholly on June 24, 2020

The Perfect Recipe for Spaghetti Carbonara

Spaghetti Carbonara is one of my husband’s favorite things to eat. In fact, when we were in Italy he ate it almost every day! It’s creamy and salty and gooey and meaty and comes together fairly quickly. It’s also made of mostly pantry ingredients, so it’s easy to throw together when you’re not sure what to make for dinner. We’ve made a lot of versions over the years, but I think we’ve finally figured out the perfect recipe for spaghetti carbonara.

We like to use pancetta (our grocery store usually has pre-chopped pancetta near the hummus and Boar’s Head sliced meats) but you can also use bacon. I typically throw in some peas too so we can have a vegetable. Asparagus is another tasty option!

The trickiest part of the dish is not scrambling the eggs when you add them to the hot pasta. But if you temper them first and make sure to continuously stir the pasta when you add the eggs, you’ll end up with a creamy sauce instead of chunky scrambled eggs. But honestly, even if the eggs do scramble a little bit, the pasta is still delicious!

What’s your favorite pasta dish?

Click here for the recipe!

The Best Myrtle Beach Attraction for Families – The Pirates Voyage Dinner Show

By sunshineandholly on March 3, 2020

We received complimentary tickets to the Pirates Voyage Dinner Show and accommodations in Myrtle Beach in exchange for an honest review. As always, all thoughts and opinions are my own!

The Best Myrtle Beach Attraction for Families – The Pirates Voyage Dinner Show

We just got back from a super fun weekend in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Josh and I had both been to Myrtle years ago, but this was our first time taking the kids. I did a lot of Pinterest research before we left to see what family-friendly attractions were offered near our condo, and the Pirates Voyage Dinner Show kept popping up over and over. The reviews made it seem like a blast and we were so excited to check it out!

(The show is also a Dolly Parton Production, so I knew it would be excellent!)

Here’s everything you need to know for your trip to the Pirates Voyage Dinner Show:

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Pumpkin Shaped Deviled Eggs

By sunshineandholly on November 1, 2019

How was your Halloween? Ours was lots of fun, despite the cold weather. It was freezing last night! When we went trick-or-treating, the hubs and I brought warm Glühwein in to-go coffee mugs. It helped me keep warm from the inside out. #yum The kids had a blast going from house to house and ended up with a pretty good haul of candy. Don’t worry – I’ve already taken my “mom-tax.” (I gave you life, you give me your Reese’s!) We ended the night at our neighbor’s house. They serve a chili dinner each Halloween for a few of us, and it’s always so nice to not have to worry about cooking on Halloween. I wanted to bring a fun treat to share, so I whipped up a batch of these pumpkin shaped deviled eggs. There are lots of different recipes for these on Pinterest, but I kept mine simple. A few drops of red and yellow food coloring made the filling the perfect orange pumpkin color! They were a big hit and we didn’t bring any leftovers home. Click here for the recipe!

Witch, mermaid, and firefighter!

And don’t forget Superman!

Scary!

I found the Glühwein at Aldi! We usually have it when we go to Disney World at the Germany Pavillion in Epcot.

Click here for the recipe!

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Pumpkin Shaped Deviled Eggs

Looking for more fun Halloween themed foods? Check out our spooky face lasagna and my jack-o-lantern pumpkin pie!

The Local Guide – Things To Check Out Around Atlanta Vol. 7

By sunshineandholly on October 11, 2019

Happy Friday! What are your plans for the weekend? It finally feels like fall here in Georgia, and I’m all about the lower temperatures! Yesterday we spent 4.5 hours at the playground. The weather was just so nice! I’m hoping to spend a lot of time outside this weekend. If you’re local and looking for something to do, check out these events:

The Local Guide – Things To Check Out Around Atlanta Vol. 7

Oakhurst Porchfest

46th Annual Lilburn Daze

Atlanta Pride Parade

Atlanta Comic Convention

Ghostly Gatherings at Fernbank

Oktoberfest Atlanta

Festival on Ponce

Chalktoberfest

Stone Mountain Park Pumpkin Festival

Pumpkin Patch at Jaemor Farms (Click here to see our visit to Jaemor from last year!)

Scarecrows in the Garden at the Atlanta Botanical Garden (Click here to see our visit from last year!)

Upcoming Events You Need to Put on Your Calendar:

Beech-Nut’s Million Meals at the Movies Benefitting No Kid Hungry – November 10th

In Georgia, more than 20 percent of children are hungry. Beech-Nut is partnering with No Kid Hungry because all kids should have access to real food. Join us at the Fernbank Museum – The Giant Screen Theater on Sunday, November 10th from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. for Beech-Nut’s Million Meals at the Movies – a FREE family movie night fundraiser and storytime, benefitting No Kid Hungry. You’ll also have the opportunity to learn more about food insecurity and how every dollar donated to No Kid Hungry helps hungry children across the United States. Register to reserve your space and to make a tax-deductible donation to No Kid Hungry. You can also donate on No Kid Hungry’s web site by clicking here.

Santa in Tucker

Pictures with Santa should be fun! There is nothing like driving all over Atlanta only to end up standing in a long line surrounded by grumpy toddlers and parents to make you go Grinch. Skip the expensive holiday mini sessions and the trendy Santa photos that all look the same. Instead, visit Santa while enjoying cookies, crafts, coffee, music, merrymaking, and miscellaneous Christmas magic! This year, walk into a Winter Wonderland in historic downtown Tucker and get the kind of holiday photo you really want! Click here to book a session!

I hope you have a great weekend!

Looking for a fun Halloween craft to do this weekend with your kids? Check out this quick and easy Halloween sensory jar!

Looking for a tasty and festive Halloween meal? Check out our Halloween Lasagna! Or how about a jack-o-lantern pumpkin pie?