United We Dine for United Way #2

The next two weeks of the #UnitedWeDine for United Way campaign have some great restaurants lined up to benefit the United Way. 

I was able to enjoy dinner with a friend at Famous Dave's in Waukesha and support United Way in Waukesha. I hadn't been to a Famous Dave's in probably 10 years and it was just as tasty as I remember. You leave stuffed and with leftovers if you are like me, or like my friend and be a member of the completely clean plate club! We really enjoyed ourselves! 

From my last post: 
If you aren't familiar with this program, I'll break it down. United Way in Waukesha County partners with area restaurants in the months of October and November. These partnering restaurants provide United Way in Waukesha County a portion of the sales from the day(s) they chose. Each business can customize exactly how they want their day to work; some restaurants offer a full day percentage of sales and others will offer the proceeds if a special flyer is shown by the customer or the customer mentions United Way when ordering.

Here is a link to the October calendar. Remember to read the blue print to make sure you mention or print off the flyer that was requested (if needed) I hope to make it to a few this year and maybe some new ones as well.

10/21 - Texas Roadhouse in Waukesha - mention United Way or hand them the flyer. You will not leave hungry as the portions are large and someone I know loves their prime rib! 

10/22 - San Laurio Coffeehouse in Muskego. I have been here once before a mother/daughter pedicure date and the Chai was delicious!

10/23 - Applebee's in Pewaukee. Applebee's does a lot of donations to charities and the food is great for the price point. It says to bring in the flyer but I don't see a link to it on United Way's site. Maybe you can mention it? 

10/27 - Casa Tequila in Pewaukee. I have yet to go here - Maybe I can get a group together and get some Mexican in our bellies while trying this place not too far from my house. 

10/29 - Hispania in Delafield. Menu looks great but I have never heard of this one. 

10/30 - Nashotah Clubhouse. Again, I am not familiar with this one. 

10/31 - Cafe Esperanza in Waukesha. I have had a lot of their foods for banquets and events and they are donating 100% of the Fish Fry sales to United Way - this is awesome. Unfortunately I'll be out of town, but you all should go. It's not a Friday in Wisconsin without a fish fry! 

I hope you can get out and try some of these places and help support United Way in Waukesha County!

United We Dine for United Way

I know I have shared this information with you in past years (here and here) but it's again time for United We Dine: 2014 Edition!

If you aren't familiar with this program, I'll break it down. United Way in Waukesha County partners with area restaurants in the months of October and November. These partnering restaurants provide United Way in Waukesha County a portion of the sales from the day(s) they chose. Each business can customize exactly how they want their day to work; some restaurants offer a full day percentage of sales and others will offer the proceeds if a special flyer is shown by the customer or the customer mentions United Way when ordering.

Here is a link to the October calendar. Remember to read the blue print to make sure you mention or print off the flyer that was requested (if needed) I hope to make it to a few this year and maybe some new ones as well.

Here is a run down of the next few weeks so maybe you can plan out a day to participate while eating a great meal at a local establishment.

Today 10/6 - TGI Fridays in Brookfield (show this flyer). This place is currently running an endless appetizer promotion and great drinks. The burgers and pretty ok too!

10/7 - Sprizzo's Gallery Cafe - I love this place and have been here many, many times. The creative soup and sandwiches with the fancy mayos always tempt my tastebuds!

10/8 - Kim's Lakeside in Pewaukee - I keep wanting to check this place out and haven't found time yet.

10/9 - Gyros West Waukesha - I think I might just make this Thursdays lunch! I have been here quite a few times, but doesn't look like I have written about them yet!

10/10 - Uno Pizzeria & Grill, Menomonee Falls - I really miss the Uno's on Bluemound but I'm glad that there is still another location in the area.

10/13 - Famous Dave's Waukesha (show this flyer)- I have a friend that absolutely loves this place. Maybe I'll convince him to get dinner with me that night.

10/14 - Denny's Waukesha - (8 - 2 pm & 4 - 10 pm) - Who doesn't want a Grand Slam?

10/15 - Chuck E Cheese's Brookfield (mention United Way)

10/16 - Trysting Place Pub, Menomonee Falls - I have been here once after Brewers Opening Day and I remember the burger to be excellent!

10/17 - First Watch Brookfield - Love this place - I think of it at a healthy version of Perkins....not that Perkins is really bad for you, but First Watch makes protein and fiber loaded breakfasts with a focus on health. The fruit filled crepes are one of my favorites. Maybe I'll call ahead and drive there before work??

Hope you can support United Way in Waukesha County by enjoying a meal at one of these fine places!

Wauk Wednesday: Plowshare Gifts

Last weekend was the Art Crawl in Waukesha and my parents had planned to go. I decided to tag along and see what this crawl was all about and then get some yummy dinner with them. I have been to many crawls but not a wintery weather one.

Parking was really easy as we snagged a spot right by J. Lotti's on South Street. It was a little chilly out, but it's Wisconsin and we are troopers, so we parked the car and walked the whole downtown.

My mom's favorite shop is and probably always will be Plowshare Center in downtown. She found the shop when it used to be where Bangles & Bags is now located. She can always find something at Plowshare - a necklace, pin, figurine, scarf and more.

Plowshares' website describes the store as "The products in our store support fair trade, environmentally friendly production, independent artists and organic farming." I describe it as the most beautiful, unique gifts that I can buy for someone else (mostly myself) that supports a great cause.

I was immediately drawn to the Women's Bean Project food products. I had recently read about them and the mission is to "change women's lives by providing stepping stones to self-sufficiency through social enterprise."

I picked up a Snickerdoodle mix (one of my favorite types of cookies) and a Garlic Herb Dip Mix. I'm not sure if I'm keeping the mixes or passing them along to the foodie penpal - only time will tell.

My mom loves scarves and the scarves at Plowshare are sooooo soft. We decided to buy a teal scarf to add to our collection. Her purchase = my gain :)

My dad has switched from coffee to tea recently and is always looking for a new favorite. Plowshare has a tea club where when you buy 10, you get one free, but my dad held off on joining for now. He picked out Organic Mint Green - sounds like a good one to me.

Mom also picked up a pumice stone in the shape of a heart. She loves little things like this to add to a wooden platter on display in our family room.

The jewelry is my favorite part of the store and where I gravitate too. There are bracelets made of recycled tires, plants and more. I found some coconut shell earrings in jade green - the new color for Spring 2013. I can't wait to wear them.

If you are out and about in Waukesha, I definitely recommend a stop at this store. Get something to make you feel good and in return you are doing some good for others :)

PS - the next Art Crawl will be on May 4th and shopping at almost all the stores benefits local Breast Cancer Research in conjunction with the Riverwalk for Breast Cancer held at Frame Park.

#MKEFoodies Bake Sale - Cookies For Kids' Cancer

Grab bag table at 2011 Bake Sale

I'm very excited to announce that again this year, I am participating in the #mkefoodies Bake Sale to raise money for Cookies for Kids' Cancer - an amazing charity for childhood cancer research. It was started by two former OXO employees whose son had cancer. Click here for the story.

2011 Bake Sale Ingredients

I will be baking some great cookies and maybe some other treats, package them up in holiday wrappings and then prep them for sale. (I, along with the other bakers, will do all the work for you!!) Customers can come and buy their favorite treats to share/gift to family and friends. There will be plenty to choose from because Milwaukee has some very talented bakers that will donate wonderfully tasting and beautifully decorated treats to this great event.

The event even has treats for those with special dietary requests. Last year, I made peanut-free and gluten-free varieties and they were all gone by the end of the day.

If you aren't a sweets fan, feel free to stop by and make a donation. The Pabst Brewery is a really neat building, so enjoy some beer, wander the gift shop, or take the tour. If you can't stop by, you can donate here.

I don't know yet what I'm making for the sale, but with the awesome and ever time-consuming website, Pinterest, I know I will not come up short for ideas. I'm definitely considering some mint chocolate chip cookies. 


And lastly, this past Friday, I received a package in the mail and inside was a spatula. But not just any spatula, an OXO "Good Cookie" Spatula. 50% of the proceeds from the sale of these spatulas will go to pediatric cancer research. I can't wait to use mine for this bake sale and The Great Food Blogger Cookie Swap (more details to come on this one!)

Here are the details for the #MKEFoodies Cookies for Kids' Cancer Bake Sale
What: #MKEFoodies Bake Sale for Cookies for Kids' Cancer
Where: Best Place at the Pabst Brewery 
(901 W Juneau Ave, Milwaukee)
When: Saturday, Dec. 8
Time: noon - 4 pm
Why: No child should have to deal with cancer (nor should anyone), so come help support a great cause and get some great treats, and leave the baking to us!


So come on out to the bake sale and donate to this great cause!

Bake Sale Recap

Last week Saturday was the #mkefoodies Holiday Bake Sale for Cookies4Kids. It was held at The Best Place at the Pabst Brewery. So many donations were brought in including some amazing vegan cupcakes from Compassionate Cake. I can't believe the skill that was put into decorating and I got the joy of trying a gingerbread cupcake and the flavor was spot on and amazing.

I snapped a few pictures at the event and I have to say that the fill-a-bag table was a huge hit. Volunteers had packages up their cookies in groups of 3-4 per bag and we had "donators" fill a lunch bag full with as many of those little bags as they could for $10 - a very fair deal. I couldn't believe how fast the cookies were going off the tables. We were constantly condensing and learned for the future to package more cookies that way.

Right before the event began - tables full of cookies!!!

From the balcony at The Best Place looking down on the event.

Cookie lovers buying and donating to Cookies4Kids

In all the event raised $1200 for Cookies4Kids and very few treats remained at the end. All of the volunteers were able to take home a treat for working and nothing went to waste. I think that next year the event will be even larger and we can raise even more. I'm very excited for that.

So here is what I made for the day. I had a few recipes in mind that I wanted to try but I knew that I wanted to try some more and went hog-wild at the store buying baking ingredients.

I knew that a lot of children have food allergies to either nuts or gluten so I decided to make two cookies to hit those marks. The first cookie that I made was a gluten free peanut butter kiss cookie that I found on RecipeGirl.com. They were extremely easy to make and I think they may become a staple cookie for me. You would never know that they didn't have flour in them when you taste them. It is a richer cookie as you truly taste all the peanut-buttery goodness, but what's wrong with that. I even decorated mine with a little red and green colored sugar on the outside. I use the chocolate stars instead of kisses to fancy them up a little more but this is one good cookie.

Another cookie that I made was from Gluten Free Essentials called a Cocoa Mudslide Cookie. I bought the mix from A Gluten Free Frenzy in Brookfield and it was a really easy mix. The only thing that I learned on this batch is with the chocolate and marshmallows in the mix, these can quickly turn into a mess in your oven and stick to the pan -- parchment paper is a must for the future! I of course had to try a few to see how they turned out. It was a very light cookie that resembled cake more than a cookie but the crunch on the outside with the soft middle was something that I dream for my cookies most of the time. I definitely got mudslide out of them and they sold pretty quickly at the Bake Sale as well.

I also made basic snickdoodles for the sale that I got from AllRecipes.com, but unfortunately I can't remember which one I used as they are all very similar. They turned out very well and sold great too.

I also attempted regular chocolate chip cookies, a cinnamon roll cookie and chocolate/butterscotch cookies and none of those turned out. I'm not sure what I did wrong but I was 3 for 6 this time around. Not the best odds, but I'm just happy I had somethings to donate that were delicious. And I gained a new cookie or two for my recipe box. Until my next blog, Happy Eating!