Halloween is one of my family's favorite holidays to celebrate, but we also love having decorations up throughout autumn.

We're known to host spooky dinner parties and serve as the home base for our kids and their friends as they go trick-or-treating, so it's important to me to decorate our house with plenty of jack-o'-lanterns, skeletons, and witches.

I’m always on the hunt for excuses to shop at Target more frequently, and the retail chain’s Good & Gather brand of grocery items is high on my list of reasons to grab a red shopping cart and go. In fact, I’ve yet to try a Good & Gather product I don’t like, from frozen cubes of minced garlic to flavorful jarred salsas I use for everything from taco night to midday snacking. Another Target freezer aisle item I always grab? Good & Gather Frozen Sautéed Chopped Onions.

The only thing better than a chocolate chip cookie is a chocolate chip cookie that’s three times its normal size. Fans of the iconic Chips Ahoy brand will soon see their chocolate chip cookie dreams come true with soft, supersized versions of the classic Chips Ahoy cookies snack lovers already adore.

From Kit Kat's cinnamon-flavored Ghost Toast wafers to Reese's Werewolf Tracks and Sonic's Witch's Brew slush, it's no secret that brands are already leaning into all things Halloween. But one thing that doesn't look like it's coming back is the fan-favorite Burger King Ghost Pepper Whopper. Luckily, another fast food spot is stepping in and fans are hoping they’ll find their ghost pepper fix at the drive-thru down the street—just in time for the spooky season.

It's officially fall and the spookiest of spooky season beverages may have just dropped at Sonic Drive-In. The fast food chain known for its carhops, crunchy tots, and scary-good deals has launched a bewitching new drink, and it’s the Halloween-themed sipper we’ve been waiting for this season.

As a food writer and lover of off-menu restaurant trends, TikTok easily influences me. Recently, my feed has been filled with Chili’s fans eating sauce-tossed mozzarella sticks outside their closest restaurant, raving about how the best appetizer at Chili’s isn’t even on its menu. Deep down the sauce-tossed mozzarella stick rabbit hole, I knew I had to try this off-menu Chili’s item for myself.

You’ve probably had cashew chicken at your local Chinese restaurant, but there’s a retro, Midwestern version that’s gaining popularity again. Springfield-style cashew chicken, which originated in Springfield, Missouri, in the 1960s, is making a comeback—both on our site and on TikTok.

A recipe for Springfield-style cashew chicken, shared by Allrecipes user Katie Mines, is getting rave reviews. Mines explains, “This cashew chicken is the style first shared in Springfield…It involves deep-frying the chicken in peanut oil. Serve this Show-Me State cashew chicken with soy sauce over a bed of fried riceif desired.”

With its exciting alligator exhibits, splash pad, and line-up of educational shows, Gatorland is a hidden gem in Central Florida that’s worth visiting with your family any time of year. For the sixth year in a row, Gatorland is throwing in a little something extra for families who want to experience a bit of Halloween fun, its Gators, Ghosts, and Goblins event.

As a food and travel writer who spends lots of time in theme parks like Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, I’m always on the lookout for a good small bag to carry my belongings on long park days. It never occurred to me to combine my choice of crossbody bag with my love of meeting and interacting with theme park characters until I spotted a person on a recent Disney trip who was carrying a white, faux leather mini backpack and a handful of permanent markers, having characters like Mickey Mouse and Princess Tiana sign their bag.

Before I even left the park, I hopped onto Amazon, hunting for faux leather bags that were the perfect material for character autographs.

As a journalist who covers theme parks and lives in Central Florida, I often joke that the spooky season is my Super Bowl.

From family-friendly Halloween parties at Disney World to jump-scare-filled haunted houses at SeaWorld, my family starts making its seasonal rounds in late August. But there's one event that stands above the rest: Halloween Horror Nights, or HHN, at Universal Studios Florida.

It's a tough time to be a chain restaurant, especially if you're serving fast food.

Fast-food chains are scrambling as they lose the value wars to sit-down spots and worry about retaining current consumers and appealing to future ones. At the same time, rising fast-food prices seem to only be making sit-down chains look like a way better value.

Pennies aren't just for tossing into wishing wells or dropping into the "take a penny, leave a penny" dish at the cash register. There's another take on these tiny copper discs—and this one is edible. If you haven't heard of copper pennies, let us introduce you to this retro dish, made with sliced carrots (which resemble pennies, hence the name) marinated in tomato soup and sugar. It's vibrant, tangy, and, as one Allrecipes member calls it, "A good old tried-and-true recipe that's been around for at least 60 years. No need to jazz it up, it is what it was intended to be: tangy, sweet, and DELICIOUS!" No wonder it's the nostalgic side salad I'm making over and over again.

On a recent trip to Disney World, my family and I decided we'd try a new restaurant — Shula's Steak House.

The small chain was named one of the 10 best high-end steak-house chains in America by the Daily Meal, and has seven locations in Florida, Chicago, Houston, and Richmond, Virginia.

The steak house, which is owned by Shula's Restaurant Group, is named after former Miami Dolphins coach Don Shula. The chain aims to carry on Shula's legacy, so each location has a loose football theme.

I've lived in Florida for eight years but only recently heard of 30A, a growing travel hot spot in the Florida panhandle.

Nicknamed "the Hamptons of the South" by visitors, the area is located between Panama City and Destin and sits along a 24-mile stretch of highway known as County Road 30A.

Whttps://www.businessinsider.com/best-ina-garten-cookie-recipe-oatmeal-chocolate-chunkhen looking for a new dessert to make, I turned to Garten first and decided to try making her salty oatmeal chocolate-chunk cookies.

While some of Orlando’s theme parks are better known for their family-friendly Halloween offerings, there’s lots of Halloween fun to be had at Universal Orlando Resort as well. Universal hosts the iconic event Halloween Horror Nights each year, but since it recommends kids only visit the scary event if they’re 13 or older, parents may wonder what else there is for kids to do to get into the spooky spirit at Universal’s hotels and theme parks.

Read on for our guide to different Halloween activities and happenings going on at Universal Orlando from now through early November when Halloween Horror Nights ends.

Trying sit-down chain restaurants has become a hobby for us and our teenagers. In the past year, we've shared meals at chains such as Olive Garden and Buffalo Wild Wings to see whether they lived up to the hype.

For my family, there's something special about sinking our teeth into well-seasoned burgers at a nice restaurant. But like many people choosing to cook at home nowadays, we like to make our meals from the comfort of our own kitchen.

Recently, I came across Ina Garten's recipe for high-quality burgers and knew I had to try it myself. Garten's recipe calls for beef from Niman Ranch, a company with a network of US farmers and ranchers who work to humanely and sustainably raise livestock.

Target and Walmart are usually our go-to spots for supplies. The discount department stores tend to have a broad selection and decent prices, so I was curious how they compared.

I don't mean to brag, but recently, while listening to parents talk about their never-ending back-to-school to-do lists, I turned to my husband and said, "I am so glad we don't have to worry about any of that."

I've been homeschooling my two kids for the last several years. While they both started out attending public school, the stress of putting two kids through the hoops of our school system was exhausting and anxiety-inducing.