Happy Saturday everyone!
The KCCI appearance went swimmingly yesterday morning! It was much easier this time, since I knew what to expect as far as timing and camera placement, and Bobby Flay would be so proud – I got the food on the plate! 
Cheese Stuffed Meatball Sliders
These puppies are lean ground beef meatballs stuffed with hunks of cut up mozzarella cheese sticks – you know, like the string cheese kind? Then they’re browned on both sides and finished in simmering marinara sauce.
The melty cheese in the middle oozes out after you take your first bite. So yum! The video isn’t online, but here’s the link to the Meatball Sliders recipe. 
After the news I ran around like a crazy person all day, ticking errand after errand off my list, before Ben and I face planted (read: passed out) in the middle of a glass of wine and chips and salsa circa 9pm…’cause we’re crazy like that.
It was probably for the best since I had to be up bright and early this morning to say goodbye to the downtown Farmers’ Market. It was the last one of the season!
I feel like the first one was just a few weeks ago?! I still maintain that this was the fastest summer of my life. Anyone out there feel me?
It was only 35 degrees at 9am but nevertheless, my Mom and I bundled up and said goodbye to all of our favorites – including the Pupusa Tent which tragically had a line at least 20 minutes long. We were too cold to wait, so instead we vowed to find their brick & mortar restaurant and go this winter.
Besides, we had a Cinnamon Crisp from the Dutch treats tent to snack on! Oooo, this was like thin and flaky pie crust smashed with cinnamon-sugar. Like Cinnamon Toast Crunch on ‘roids, if you will!
Afterwards we dominated the mall for a few few hours before I came home to feast on leftover Chicken Enchilada Pasta, doused with green Tabasco sauce, for lunch. OMG that stuff made this dish. Green Tabasco sauce isn’t that spicy – rather, it has a great tangy flavor.
A trip to Costco with Ben (where it was so crazy I got rammed into by no less than 10 carts – so sad!) to get CANDY, CANDY and more CANDY was next!
Normally I would never allow Costo-sized bags of straight up sugar anywhere near my house, due to my severe candy addiction condition, but it’s for the kids, mmkay? Beggar’s Night is tomorrow!
In most parts of the country, kids go Trick or Treating on Halloween, but around here they usually do it one or two days before.
Since the little ghosts and goblins will be arriving promptly at 6pm tomorrow, we had to stock up on treats to pass out. I, of course, had to taste them to make sure they are safe, and I’m happy to report that the nerds are definitely safe. And the starbursts. The starbursts are super safe.
The rest of the afternoon was spent watching the Iowa Hawkeyes basically hand their football game over to Minnesota, sooo…
Yeah!
Not sure what’s on the docket tonight. Definitely probably not more candy eating though!
Hope you had a great Saturday!
PS Check out my healthier version of PF Chang’s Lettuce Wraps on Shape.com’s Best Recipes from Healthy Food Bloggers.
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What’s your favorite Halloween candy?
Mine’s fun-size chocolate bars, which is why I always buy fruity bags of candy to pass out. Obviously I’ll eat some, but I won’t eat as many as I would if it was a bag of fun size Snickers and 100 Grand bars!
Laffy Taffy (banana) & Peanut Butter Kisses both make me weak, weak, weak…
Anything with Dark Chocolate, oh and Reeses pb cups.
Tiny Reese’s cups. Gah.
hahaha I “taste tested” our candy today and gave my husband the same reasoning- I have to make sure it’s safe for the kids…DUH
My favorite Halloween candy is Milk Duds. All the sticky, cavity creating, loveliness of it. *sigh* I didn’t get a bag of that either. I know myself!
Why do kids go trick or treating the night or two before Halloween? Do they still go days before even if Halloween falls on a weekend? Just curious:)
I’m not sure why exactly – just something we do here in the Midwest!
Your “Saying Goodbye” heading totally had me doing a double-take – I had to scroll to the bottom of your post before reading it all to make sure the blog was ending! Whew!
That would be, to make sure that your blog *wasn’t* ending… Oops.
Oh! haha, nope still here
I’m totally with you! I’m not a big sugary candy person so I’d buy those.
Also fun fact – in St. Louis you have to tell a joke when you are trick or treating, otherwise no candy! I thought it was like that everywhere until I went away to college!
GAH! Beggars’ Night is tomorrow! I hope Costco still has candy. Darn Halloween rules.
Clare, you have to tell jokes or perform a dance or otherwise work for your candy here. Beggars’ Night was started in the 1930′s here by the Parks and Rec Dept. after so many juvie arrests (broken windows, etc.) for Halloween mischief. Arrests went down the next year, so it stuck.
i just put your lettuce wraps recipe on my favorites page bc thats my husbands favorite thing at changs. if i make them, i will be wife of the year!
I have sad news for you – the El Salvador pupusa stand doesn’t have a restaurant in town! We asked today where we could find them during the winter (b/c we’ll need our fix!). She said she hasn’t opened a restaurant yet, but she is considering it because so many people ask!
We love their pupusas enough that my husband actually asked if we could order them directly from her during the winter. She said if we ever wanted to order at least a ten, she’d do a special order that we could pick up and she gave us her number!
Also, there is another pupusa restaurant in town (on 6th Ave I think – I have the address at home). And they’re pretty good but they’re just not the same.
DANG! I thought for sure they did for some reason!?
Can we get Iowa Mom Eats to lead us in a letter writing campaign to get them to put the video online?
I want to see it!
It wasn’t until I moved to California that I realized that not all places did beggar’s night and not all kids told jokes. Back in my day we had to work for our candy.
Congrats on your Shape shout-out — that’s awesome!
I always hand out mini Snickers, knowing that Snicker Apple Salad is my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner. If the candy becomes a pantry item, for some reason I’m able to keep my hands off them.
I don’t think the papusa people have a restaurant in town, but you should definitely check out Mi Patria in the strip mall by Michael’s!
I also did a double-take over your title of ‘saying goodbye’ I was worried! I am a sucker for the peanut butter kisses, I bought a bag just for me, pretty extraordinary, I am not a sweets lover normally.
We’re having our beggar’s night on the 31st and I live in a small town. Strange.
New to your blog, and been lurking until now. This post made me horribly homesick for a real fall back home (I’m an Iowa girl too, born and raised in the SE part, lived there 30 years.) Fall was always my most favorite season there. I am just slightly jealous of all of those brilliant colors, but not a BIT jealous of the 35 degree weather!!!
I always thought it was normal to have beggars night before Halloween when I lived there. It wasn’t until I moved west (Vegas, now Northern CA), and asked people, “so, when is trick or treating?”, that I realized this isn’t the norm other places. In the small town I grew up, we wouldn’t have it on Sundays, as the whole holiday was sacrilegious. Go figure!!
Enjoy some fall weather for me….
definitely twix! been my fave since childhood.
i am so sad to see farmer’s market season go
I had to ask about Halloween & trick-or-treating when I moved to SoDak–And I remember my husband looking at me like I was nuts! When I was a kid in Cincinnati, trick-or-treating was always on Halloween, like it is here in Brookings. When I went to college in Columbus, I found out they did Beggar’s Night & I thought that was so bizarre!
As for Halloween candy, my favorite always has been and always will be Reese’s Cups. Minis, snack-sized, any shape or form, I love them!
The mini Oh Henry chocolate bars! Oh, and the mini Smarties
I don;t buy any chocolate or candy for the Trick or Treaters because it would not last with me 
haha. So I bought chips instead this year!
Just wait. When you have kids summer flys!!! Have a great Sunday!
I was surprised when i moved to San Diego that they hadn’t heard of out trick or treat. I really miss that part of Haloween and isn’t quite as fun. I was told when i was little that it’s the night before because the big kids are out doing crazy stuff on Haloween night.
You are just about the cutest thing ever on TV! Thanks for the recipes!
Beautiful photos!! Looks like your having a gorgeous fall.
When I first moved into my new place, I bought two huge bags of candy for the trick or treaters and didn’t get a single one! So, all that candy was left with me. Fortunately my family was down visiting at the time so I could send it all back home with them.
I’ve tried and just can’t find the link to your KCCI gig. Would you please forward it?
thanks
Hi Gail! They didn’t put the video up on the website this time – just a link to my site!
It used to be 3 Muskateers minis but now I am TOTALLY digging the mini Twix. Two is the perfect serving.
Reeses Peanut Butter Pumpkins, Milk Duds and Take 5 bars!
so strange, I am born and raised in a suburb of Chicago (so clearly midwest) and I’ve never heard of beggars night. It’s always been trick-or-treating on Halloween night, whichever day it falls on!
The colors of your trees are amazing. My favorite candy is for sure anything with dark chocolate esp. dark chocolate reeses peanut butter cups.