Giveaway Winner

First of all I have to give a big “Thank You!” to Jen Boss for the Home Executive planner giveaway.  I’m on week three of using mine and I’m still just really loving it. 

And now what you’re waiting for – the giveaway winner is…

Carol!

(I’ve sent you an email Carol)

Thank you to all of you – I wish I could give each of you one!   Jen does sell these planners on her website (you pay through paypal) and she also has a list of stores that carry her planner as well.  If you didn’t get a chance to look through the Home Executive planner, go here and flip through. 

And now because I should have a little bit of something that is food related…

These are a recent favorite around my house – black bean burgers with tomato, salsa, guacamole and lettuce.  Now lest you start to think that I’ve been cooking, I have to admit that there is no recipe for these burgers.  Here’s the secret:





Yes, Costco to the rescue again.  Don’t be afraid of the “chipotle” on the label.  These are not spicy.  They do have great southwest flavor though.  Another great thing?  You keep this box in your freezer and throw these burgers on the grill right from the freezer.  No thawing necessary.  They cook up in 6-8 minutes or so.  Perfect for those hot Summer evenings!

Today’s Find

On my once-a-month trip through Costco today I spotted this:



Several years ago when we lived in California, Panera was one of our favorite lunch spots.  Alas, Panera has yet to open a location here in Utah.  This Broccoli Cheddar Soup was one of Mr. Dinner’s on Me’s favorites.  He’d order the soup in a bread bowl and if I wanted a taste I had to get it quick before it disappeared.

Once we returned to Utah, I had to find a way to satisfy our craving for this soup.  After doing some research online, I found a clone recipe – a pretty close clone too.

I was so excited to find this soup today (and I hope Costco starts carrying some of Panera’s other soups.)  I tried it tonight for dinner with some slices of crusty bread.  Oh so perfect for a fall dinner.



Now just a note:  I will always prefer to make my own food from scratch rather than buying pre-made stuff like this.  However, there are nights (we all have them, right?) where if I want a hot meal then pre-made soup is a great option!  The package came with two tubs, we ate one and froze one for another busy night.

A Tasty New Find

Occasionally I enjoy stopping on the spice aisle of my favorite grocery store and taking a closer look. There are all sorts of spice mixes and interesting products to try out. On my last visit, I spotted these: McCormick Crusting Blends. There were 3 varieties on the shelf and I chose the Garlic, Lemon & Rosemary Blend. I loved that the (very simple) instructions for use were right on the lid of the container.

I used plain ol' boneless, skinless chicken breasts, and followed the instructions exactly as they are written and the chicken was delicious!

I think next time I'd like to try the Italian Herb & Cheese Blend and serve it either over fettuccine alfredo, or with a marinara sauce for an easy Chicken Parmesan. If you'd like more information, here's the link to the McCormick website. Also, here is a link to some recipes using the Crusting Blends.

Uncooked Flour Tortillas

A couple of weeks ago both my sister, and my sister-in-law told me about these great tortillas. What's strange is they both told me about them on the same exact day. Now that I've tried the tortillas myself, I add my own glowing review!


These can be found in the freezer section of Costco. Inside the package are two sealed packages of 22 tortillas each, so we pulled one out to thaw in the fridge, and left the other in the freezer for later.

I cooked the tortillas on my electric griddle so we could do a couple at a time. They only cook for a few minutes on each side, and we kept them all warm in the oven until we were ready to eat. They have terrific flavor, and we love how thin they are. The tortillas were great with our chicken soft tacos, and made a quick and yummy quesadilla for my son.

Another great new (to me) product! Thanks for the tip ladies.

Product Review: Grahams 'n Apple Dip

Ever since school began several weeks ago, I have become keenly aware of the lack of after-school-snacks in my home. While I'd love to be able to toss an apple or a nectarine to my son, he seems to have a severe aversion to fruit. So for snacks, we have gone through cheese sticks, 'Nilla Wafers, Goldfish Crackers, baggies of Cheerios, and plain ol' slices of bread.


In the store the other day, this box of Grahams 'n Apple Dip caught my eye. I must admit it did not look appealing to me, but I spotted an easy after-school-snack that at least tasted like fruit! We tried it out yesterday afternoon and they were a hit!

The grahams come as little sticks that you snap apart and dip into what looks a little like applesauce. The sauce turns out to be much sweeter than applesauce (of course) and reminds me of apple pie filling, without the pieces of actual fruit.

I think, for the future, this will be what I call a "special purchase" snack (meaning: "on sale"). It is really good, although not the healthiest option as far as snacks go. It also does something important: satisfies my hunger for apple pie, without me having to make an actual apple pie.

Shirley the Divine

I have a new best friend. Her name is Shirley and she owns a bakery here in Provo, Utah. Ok, well actually we haven't met yet, but if we ever do I KNOW we'll be best friends! (Because I'll pay her a lot of money to be my friend and bake for me every day.)

Here's the true story about Shirley and her bakery. Last Saturday I was at an event and had a very delicious cinnamon roll and I was instantly hooked. It had the perfect ratio of cinnamon, bread, and frosting. I demanded (in my nicest voice possible) where this cinnamon roll may be purchased and was told about Shirley's Bakery on Freedom Blvd. Within an hour my little family and I were in the car and on our way.

The bakery is unassuming, modest in size, lacking any superfluous decoration, and packed to the gills with customers! We looked over the large selection of dinner rolls and chose a dozen white rolls and two eclairs. The wait was minimal (considering the number of customers) and the prices were reasonable. I must also add that a very charming feature of the bakery is the trail of flour-footprints that leads from the back out to the front display case. I can just picture the baker proudly carrying out the goodies herself.


Now for my review of the food: The rolls are little clouds of melt-in-your-mouth goodness. Really, these rolls are as close to cotton candy as they can get and yet still be considered a bread product. The eclairs are the best we've ever had. I usually don't enjoy eclairs at ALL. Today I went in and bought six more. It's the cream inside that gets me. I have no idea how they make it so creamy, yet light, but it works.


Next time you're driving by, stop at Shirley's and pick yourself up something yummy. My apologies to those of you who don't live close enough to become best friends with Shirley too.

Shirley's Homemades Bakery: 684 N. Freedom Blvd Provo, UT 84601

It's Not As Bad As You Think.

Canned meat. I know, I know. When you hear that phrase, your mind conjures up a nice juicy chunk of spam, right? Well today's canned meats are much improved. I also think they're a convenient addition to your pantry/food storage.

The meat is fully cooked, and usually packed in its own juices, although I prefer to drain and rinse the meat as well as pick it over for "questionables." It works great for recipes that call for meat that is already cooked: it can save you a lot of time.

I know a few of you have used canned chicken (maybe pork and beef too?). Leave a comment below and tell me how you use your canned meat.


Here are some suggestions & links from me-

Recipes from Dinner's On Me:
Chicken Pasta Pesto Salad
Chicken Salad
Asian Chicken Salad with Roasted Peanuts
Magic 6 Chicken Tortilla Soup
Chicken Cordon Bleu Crepes

Links to other recipes:
Chicken Noodle Casserole II
Chicken Apricot Bundles

Other ideas:
*toss on top of Fettucinni Alfredo (Chk)
*heat w/ bbq sauce, shred meat & serve on buns (Chk,Bf,Pk)
*add to quesadillas (Chk,Bf,Pk)
*heat with taco seasoning for yummy tacos(Chk,Bf,Pk)
*Hawaiian Haystacks (Chk,Pk)
*add to stir-fry near the end (Chk,Bf,Pk)

New Favorite Snack

Our local grocery store had these on sale so I tossed one in my cart thinking that if I put a big enough slice of cheese on top, they might not taste half bad. Two days later, I had finished off the box- no cheese. On my next visit to the store, I made sure to grab 5 more boxes.

I used to be a Wheat Thins girl, but I have converted and these bad boys are now what I grab from the shelf. They have 20% of your daily fiber and also some calcium and iron, which we could all use, right? Cheese or no cheese, they're delicious.

My Favorite Kitchen Tool

I'm back. Sorry everyone, I had to take a week off. I was battling sickness, and then out of town for a funeral.

In one of my recipes for this week (Quesadillas) I mention a food chopper. Some of you may be quite familiar with the food chopper, but if not, here's a picture. Disclaimer: I got this picture off the Pampered Chef website, I did not take it myself :-)

This handy little food chopper is one of my all-time favorite kitchen tools. At one point I had two of them so there would always be a clean one for me to use. I use it to dice onions (my hands don't smell!) to dice cooked chicken (see quesadilla recipe) and to make my taco beef look just like Taco Bell's (the way taco meat should look, according to Mr. Dinner's on Me.) It also removes hard water stains from your kitchen sink. Not really, but it's almost that wonderful.

Pampered Chef is not the only place to find these. I've also seen them at other stores that sell kitchen supplies. Maybe hint to your hubbies that it would make a fabulous Mother's Day gift.

Post is over. I'm off to watch the much-anticipated Heroes. Have a great week everyone!