Johnsonville Italian Sausage

Sausage is one of those things that we don't have very often at my house. My husband isn't a big fan and only in the right mood will eat it, so I tend to reserve it for days when the kids and I are having dinner without him for one reason or another.

Sausage to me is something that I can remember eating as a child and it brings back memories for me. I can remember my mom cooking it up in a skillet and serving it with hash browns. I can remember ordering it on pizza when I was in college - it was a nice, fine crumble. I love having sausage links at breakfast, especially with pancakes, when they get a little bit of syrup on them. I prefer links to patties. A grilled sausage, especially if you sauteed some onions to go with it, is great with a little bit of mustard on a hot dog roll. When I make my own spaghetti sauce, sometimes I like to mix a little bit of sausage into the ground meat I am using for a little more depth of flavor.

I recently had the opportunity to try Johnsonville Sausage and share it with my friends, through SheSpeaks. They sent along this recipe book and I must say that my mouth waters, just looking at the pictures. I think I would like to try their Spicy Sausage Queso. They show it paired with garlic toast, but I think I would stick with tortilla chips. A tasty and seemingly quick to prepare recipe is for Italian Sausage & Pepper Medley (according to their website, this meal only costs $2.11/serving). Sliced sausage, paired with tri-color peppers, onion and tomatoes.

We kept it simple when we had the sausage, grilling it up and sharing with friends at our Memorial Day picnic. That first bite when the juices of the sausage explode into your mouth is so flavorful. I had mine with just a bit of Stadium Mustard. I think that is a taste that says summer.

I also saw that they are launching a line of Chicken Sausage. The varieties for the Chicken Sausage are Apple, Chipotle Monterey Jack Cheese and Three Cheese Italian Style. I didn't see these at my store, but I will definitely keep an eye out. I really enjoy Chicken Apple Sausage and can't wait to try theirs. If you want to try it, grab the coupon here to save some money on the Chicken Sausage.

No compensation was received for this post. I received coupons to try Johnsonville Sausage for free, as well as coupons to share with friends and family, through my participation in SheSpeaks.

Hormel Compleats Kids

Recently, we had the opportunity to try Hormel Compleats Kids. We are familiar with the Hormel Compleats line and generally have a few on hand for my husband to pack in his lunch, but had not yet seen or tried the Kids line.

My son was super excited by these. When I came home from the store with the first one, he wanted to know if he could pack it in his lunch the next day. I suggested that he wait and try them over the weekend at home. I am not sure that they have access to a microwave at school and wanted to make sure that he liked it before he packed it in a lunch.

We made them the following weekend. He tried the Beef Ravioli variety first. He seemed to enjoy it and ate it all. We had it with some munchies and fruit and it seemed to be the right size meal for him.

I like the flexibility that the line provides at lunch. Normally, if we are having a canned pasta style lunch, both kids have to agree to the same type. With the Hormel Compleats Kids, they could each choose a different variety. In fact, there are four flavors to choose from:

Spaghetti & Meatballs
Pasta & Chicken
Beef Ravioli
Macaroni & Beef

The product is easy to prepare, slit the plastic and microwave for 45 s. The contents are pretty hot and we let it sit for about a minute before serving to the kids.

When asked what he thought of the Hormel Compleats Kids, he says "I like that you could heat them up in like 60 seconds and they were good. And, you got a sticker."

I didn't have a chance to taste all of the varieties, but I can tell you that from my perspective that the flavor was a little lackluster. Perhaps I am used to other prepared foods for adults that come with a little more seasoning, but since they are geared for kids, I guess it is more important that my son liked them.

Based on the nutritional data from the website, the varieties have from 140 - 230 calories per serving and contain 3g of Fiber. According to the package, "Compleats Kids Meets Healthy Food Guidelines Established by the USDA".

For those times that we would be selecting a prepared pasta for lunch, these make a nice alternative. They were enjoyed by the kids and easy to prepare.

No compensation was received for this post. I received product samples and coupons to share through my participation in SheSpeaks.