Living La Vida Holoka


Laurita Winery BaconFest 2019

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We enjoyed an afternoon of food, fun, and lots of local wine at the bacon-centric Laurita Winery BaconFest including food trucks, live music, and more!


Bacon.  And wine.  Bacon and wine.  

I spent Saturday, April 27th, at Laurita Winery’s BaconFest.  You might remember Laurita Winery from the Oktoberfest and Food Truck Festival I attended last fall.  This time around, the food truck festival was centered around everyone’s favorite salty meat.  Each food truck had special bacon offerings added to their menus.  We hopped from one food truck to the next, sipping glass after glass of wine, and it was marvelous!

Wine Tasting

 
Our first stop was the wine tasting tent to refresh our memory, and our taste buds, with some of Laurita Winery’s offerings.  You got six tastings of your choice for $7.  I wanted to try some of my favorites from our first visit as well as some new varieties this time around.  For $1, we each got a shot of their chocolate wine, Chocolate Therapy.

  • Riesling (2) – a fruity, floral, dry white
  • Norton – dark, dry red
  • Bistro – a favorite, fruity, dry red
  • Tailgate White – a light and sweet white that would be perfect for summer
  • Tailgate Red – very cherry forward semi-sweet red

Empanada Monster

 
Our first food truck stop was Empanada Monster.  My sister, Nicole, got tostones topped with bacon and I got an arepa stuffed with mozzarella cheese and bacon.  It basically tasted like breakfast and was a delicious start to the festival.

JD’s House of Bacon

 
What’s better at a BaconFest than a straight up strip of bacon?  Barbecue bacon!  Nicole and I split an order of Vanilla Bourbon BBQ bacon and Chinese BBQ bacon.  There was a slight sweetness that played off the saltiness of the bacon with the Vanilla Bourbon BBQ glaze.  But the Chinese BBQ had a ton of delicious flavor that made me happy that I ordered two! 

Five Sisters Food Co.

 
You might remember Five Sisters from Oktoberfest.  My sister and I split the Brie sliders and they were excellent!  When I saw a bacon topped mac and cheese cone added to their BaconFest menu, I knew I had to try it! 

I got two forks for sharing this large waffle cone stuffed with mac and cheese and topped with applewood smoked BBQ bacon jam.  Oh my yum!  It was amazing!  The best way to eat mac and cheese while you walk around a vineyard is definitely in a cone! 


Twisted Steaks

 
By the time we got to Twisted Steaks, we were all about to burst.  Knowing we weren’t going to eat the rest of the night, I ordered their Cheesesteak Dumplings.  The dumplings are homemade and served with a side of sweet hoisin dipping sauce.  Bite into the soft dumpling and you’re met with a juicy cheesesteak filling.  I can’t wait to try their Cheesesteak Egg Rolls next time! 

Nicole and her fiance, Jon, split a Chicken Cheesesteak Pretzel topped with cheddar cheese and bacon.  It looked amazing, but I could only muster up the belly room to try a piece of the pretzel.  

Elemen7ts by Nitro Girl

 
Unlike last food fest, I was so stuffed that I never got to try dessert!  Take a look at this beauty that my sister-in-law, Sara, ended up getting from Elemen7ts by Nitro Girl!  It’s a Nitro Maple Bacon Crack Stuffed Crust Pizza.  Say what?!? 

This pizza is made with a bacon crack crust and topped with Nitro Maple ice cream, a Nitro Maple ice cream stuffed chocolate cannoli, bacon crack crumbles, and a drizzle of chocolate.  Now that’s how you do dessert at a food fest! 

The full list of food trucks from BaconFest weekend!
  • Angry Archie’s
  • Bacon Broads
  • Coffee Bouteaque
  • Cold Stone Creamery
  • Cousins Maine Lobster (from Shark Tank!)
  • Dags Dippers 
  • Dogs Gone Wild
  • Elemen7ts By Nitro Girl
  • Empanada Guy
  • Empanada Monster
  • Five Sisters Food Co.
  • Grilled Cheez Factory
  • Gyros to Go
  • House of Cupcakes
  • JD’s House of Bacon
  • Jersey Roll
  • Joe Smoke Bar-B-Que
  • Maddalena’s Cheesecake
  • Mastoris Catering
  • Meat Wagon BBQ
  • Pierogi Flats
  • R.E.D. Pizza Express
  • Shore Good Eats n’ Treats
  • Star of the Sea Seafood
  • Tacoholics
  • Twisted Steaks
  • The Little Sicilian

It was a fun day full of great food and glass after glass of  wine!  I even managed to bring home a bottle of Chocolate Therapy (I’m usually not a fan of chocolate wine, but this delicious)!  There were vendors set up at the entrance, so I also snagged a few bags of jerky from Jerky James Fine Meats and a bottle of pineapple hot sauce from Rocky’s Hot Sauce.  

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Have you been to any of the food trucks at this festival?

Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash

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This post has been sponsored by Social Native and Organic Valley.  This post may contain affiliate links. Making a purchase through one of these links helps support this blog.

Add this super colorful Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash to your morning routine.  It’s a healthy and delicious breakfast skillet that’s a feast for your eyes and will wake up your taste buds!


Christmas is officially over and we’re about to ring in another year.  Maybe you’re considering this your last weekend to indulge in those holiday goodies.  We have some not-so-healthy bites on our weekend menu, but my head is already thinking about turning around my eating habits next week.  I’m ready to say good-bye to holiday indulgences and stock our fridge full of healthier options.

I don’t know about you, but when I start my day with a healthy meal, I kind of don’t want to wreck that flow the rest of the day.  What I eat for breakfast tends to set the tone for what I’ll eat for lunch and dinner.  That’s why I’ll have an egg pretty much every single day.  


If you asked me what my favorite breakfast food is, I would definitely tell you “eggs.”  They’re such a versatile protein.  Think about it – there’s not many ways you can eat cereal, but you can switch it up every morning with an egg!  I never get bored with breakfast with eggs.  My husband likes to whip us up omelets or egg wraps during the weekend.  During the week, I start my day with egg whites or a fried egg. 


Since most of us are probably thinking about eating healthier, I decided to use some of the seasonal produce I had to create a seriously colorful breakfast hash!  I ditched potatoes for butternut squash and cooked it in a skillet alongside onions, kale, and bacon.  Then, I topped it with a couple fried eggs. 

Want to get a little crazy?  Add a few splashes of hot sauce on top before serving!  I swear, I get that from my grandmother.  The woman used to carry a small bottle of Tabasco sauce in her purse and splash her eggs with it in the morning.  Now, I kind of see why she did it!  It adds the perfect amount of flavor and heat to wake up your taste buds!

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Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash

Butternut Squash Breakfast Hash

Ingredients

  • Extra virgin olive oil
  • 4 cups butternut squash, cubed
  • 6 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled
  • Generous 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
  • 2-3 cups kale, stems removed and chopped
  • 2 eggs
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions

  1. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat.
  2. Add the butternut squash and onion. Cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they soften.
  3. Then, add in the kale. Cook just until it softens, a few minutes.
  4. Sprinkle with crumbled bacon and stir.
  5. Lower heat to keep the skillet warm.
  6. In a small pan, cook two eggs however you like them. Then, place them on top of the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and serve.
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This breakfast hash is perfect for weekends and reheats beautifully during the week. Just add it back into a skillet with a little olive oil and warm it up.  Then, fry up a couple of eggs and pop them on top for a colorful, delicious, and healthy breakfast!  It’s a feast for your eyes and for your belly!

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If you like this breakfast recipe, you might enjoy these as well:

Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad {SoFabFood Post}

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Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad is an easy portable side dish to bring to your holiday gatherings and potluck parties. This salad is served with bacon, blue cheese, and pecans, making it a seasonally delicious side everyone will enjoy!


Aside from a good pie at the end of a holiday feast, I love side dishes! We ended up hosting a small Thanksgiving gathering at our house this year, but I was still cooking up a storm the day before!  Even though we were spending our holiday at home, I was still dishing out trays of sides for my family to take to their holiday destination.  One of the easy sides I made this year was a Warm Brussels Sprouts Salad. 

Brussels sprouts are everywhere this time of year!  When I first starting making them, I cooked them in a little olive oil with bacon and seasoned them with lemon pepper.  Then, I discovered that there is so much more that you can do with these little cabbages!  Now, one of my favorite things to make with them is salad.

For this salad, Brussels sprouts are halved and served with bacon (because the two are a match made in flavor heaven), blue cheese, onion, and chopped pecans.  This salad is full of flavor that’s perfect for this time of year!  Grab the recipe for this simple holiday side dish on SoFabFood.com today!  It’s so good!  Especially when served with a maple balsamic vinegar! 



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