Great Food, Great Atmosphere, & Good Service

Thank our Facebook Fan Larri-Ann for this post! I asked our fans what was their favorite restaurant in Harrisburg and Larri-Ann suggested McGraths Pub.  She had this to say about the pub…

Great Food…great atmosphere and good service! Not a super huge place, but a nice place to have a good time with friends.

McGraths came to Harrisburg nearly eight years ago. This pub is a favorite among locals and give a great option for sitting down, relaxing, grabbing a bite, and a brew.

The best part about McGraths is it’s less then 15 minutes from Sunpointe Townhomes!  Check out their Menu.

Every Monday night, you can enjoy Open Mic Nite at 9pm featuring Raczar. Join-in on the fun or sit back and listen to some  amazing talent from your neighbors.   

Happy Hour is Monday thru Friday from 5pm to 7pm. Half off ALL DRAFT BEERS, half off certain food selections and $1 off all bottled beers and liquor.

Your Turn: Have you tried McGraths pub? Tell me about your experience…

McGrath’s Pub and Restaurant
202 Locust Street
Harrisburg , PA 17101
(717) 232-9914

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Fri 11:30am – 2am / Sat 12pm – 2am

Image Courtesy of ktylerconk

Save Money: Pick-Your-Own-Produce

I love saving money! Well, I think I really hate spending money, particularly my money, but it sounds better when I say I love saving money.

We live in a great city and it’s very convienient for us to save money on our grocery bill by picking our own produce. There are over a dozen pick your own produce farms around town. I found an article with about 10 farms  from Lebanon to York County offering everything from blueberries to raspberries, apricots and even fresh flowers. Check out these 2 places and if you like those check out the rest of the article for the other farms….

 Before heading out to one of these farms, it’s recommended you call ahead to check availability. Some farms have become so popular they shut down for a few days to allow fruit to ripen.

Paulus Farm Market, 1216 S. York St., Mechanicsburg, 717-697-4330  

This family owned farm has its own niche with pick-your-own flower bouquets. Head out to the field with clippers and cut your choice of zinnias, lisianthus, straw flowers, dianthus, cosmos, coxcomb and more, July through September. Available in two sizes. 

Paulus Orchards, 22 E. Mount Airy Road, Dillsburg, 717-432-2544  

The orchard is a popular spot for blueberry picking. The season is underway and runs through July. Picking hours are 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday. Buckets are provided. Cost is $2 a pound. Pick your own apples and pumpkins in the fall. 

Strite’s Orchard Farm Market and Bakery, 1000 Strites Road, Lower Swatara Twp., 564-3130 

Strawberry picking is done but cherry and black raspberry picking is underway at the busy East Shore farmers’ market. Bring your own containers. Picking is 8 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. Cherries are 95 cents a pound and raspberries $3.75 a pound. Pick apples and pumpkins in the fall.

 Image Courtesy of ~MVI~

Create Your Own Hershey’s Bar

A well known part of Pennsylvania is Hershey, PA because of Hershey’s Chocolate World! The best part of Hershey, PA is that it’s only about a 20 minute drive from Harrisburg.

They have just come out with a new attraction to CREATE YOUR OWN CANDY BAR! I don’t know about you but I love chocolate so the thought of making a Candy Bar specifically designed how I want it, makes me want to run and jump in my car right now.

The attraction is completely interactive. You will start with a pure HERSHEY’S Milk Chocolate base, then choose your ingredients, follow the entire process, and design your own wrapper to create your own customized candy bar!

 To check out some of their other attractions check out Hershey’s Chocolate World.

Are you going to take a trip to Hershey to make your own candy bar? What ingredients will you put in your candy bar?

Image Courtesy of anne.oeldorfhirsch

A ‘Berry’ Good Jam

Are you ready for the Berry Jam Festival in Lancaster County this weekend?

The Berry Jam festival is a food festival to honor berries, jam, and music in Pennsylvania Dutch Country, June 18 and 19.

The event will be full of homemade berry foods, recipes, and food displays including strawberry shortcake, berry drinks, sauces, side dishes and entrees.

There will also be live musical groups at the festival. Check out everything from Dixieland, to bluegrass, to country and more. Kids of all ages (adults & children) will enjoy activities including a Berry Eating Contest and a Berry Whoopie Pie Filling Contest.

There will be many contest and challenges including the Berry Eating Contest, Berry Whoopie Pie Filling Contest, and the Kettle Berry Cooking Challenge.

Come to the event with an empty tummy and ready to have fun!

For more information about the event check out Kitchen Kettle Village website.

Image Courtesy of mccun934

Make Italian Ice at Home

It’s almost summertime and nothing is better than Rita’s Italian Ice over in Swatara Square but why not save a little money this summer and have some fun by making your own Italian Ice at home. I found a great recipie for a Strawberry Mint Granita (Italian Ice) and it’s the perfect time of year to grab some strawberrys from Strites Orchard Farmers Market. Check out the recipie and let me know how it turns out for you…

 

Strawberry Mint Granita

2/3 cup hot water
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 cups strawberries (de-stemmed)
4 mint leaves

Stir first 3 ingredients in small bowl until sugar dissolves. Process strawberries in a food processor until smooth. Add sugar mixture and mint and blend until combined.

Pour mixture into metal sheet pan. Freeze until icy around edges, about 25 minutes. Using fork, stir icy edges into middle of pan. Freeze until mixture is frozen, stirring edges into center every 20 to 30 minutes, about 1 1/2 hours.

Check out the finishing steps and how to serve at Babble. Be sure to also tell us about your favorite summer berry recipes!

Image Courtesy of theimpulsivebuy

How to Make Pie Crust!

Quick and Easy Recipe

I am not going to lie to you, I am still upset that Jeffery did not win the ”Next Food Network”. I just think that his pitch for interesting ingredients appealed to me more than another cheap meals show. I mean we already have Sandra Lee right? I decided to give Melissa a chance though and watched an episode of ”10 Dollar Meals”. She made a really yummy looking salad that I thought would be fun to try on my own. Here is the shopping list.

• Fresh spinach
• Green onions
• Orange
• Butter
• Sugar
• Pecan halves
• Dried rosemary
• Cayenne
• Black pepper
• Citrus Dressing

Steak Tacos with Mango Salsa

I love tacos, they are easy to make and delicious. Try these fun tacos at home for a twist on dinner.

Take a package of skirt steak and combine in a large freezer bag with store bought chimichurri sauce. Refrigerate over night. Saute in a large pan.

While steak is cooking, cut up one mango, one tomato, some pineapple, a jalapeno with seeds removed and combine.

Add to a salted tortilla shell and top with your favorite cheese and a little bit of lettuce. So Delicious.

Good Skin Foods

Recently, stress has really been taking its toll on my skin. At my age, I thought break outs were a thing of the past. Here are some helpful foods you can eat to help you have beautiful glowing skin. Vitamin E is the key apparently

1. .Fortified Cereals: These contain a lot of Vitamin E.
2. Vegetable OIL
3. Turnip Greens
4. Avocados

I like to make an Avocado and strawberry mask to exfoliate my skin. It is also suggested that you can just rub Vitamin E on your skin.

For more foods, visit here:

Best Hot Chocolate Recipe

Are you in need of some holiday goodies, but not sure what to make? I’ve got the remedy with these easy to follow recipes. Try some banana nut bread, magical peanut butter cookies and wash it all down with the best hot chocolate ever.

Next Page »