Dinner in a Hurry: Burrito Bowls

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

At our house, summer is punctuated with a variety of sporting events for the two kids and many times, the events overlap. The net result is that having a family dinner is increasingly more challenging, but since family dinner is something that I strongly value, I find creative ways to make it happen and to try to keep it reasonably healthy.

One thing that we have turned to this summer has been Burrito Bowls. I can prep most the night before and we can simply assemble and enjoy for dinner.

Ingredients:
Rice, prepared
Pinto and/or Black Beans, prepared
Pork, Chicken or Beef, prepared
Shredded Lettuce
Sour Cream
Shredded Cheese
Salsa - Mild, Hot, Verde

Assemble bowl, with desired ingredients, starting with the rice, the beans and the meat. Then top with the lettuce, sour cream and cheese.

Finish with desired salsas.

We love the Herdez Salsa Casera and the Herdez Salsa Verde as toppers for our bowls. They also make great dips for a side of tortilla chips. Sometimes, I even get ambitious and make some guacamole.

The last time we made bowls, I found a great product to help make the prep work even easier. I used Lloyd’s pulled pork for this. It’s this new variety I haven’t seen in store yet, but hope I do soon!

I love that it has no sauce. It makes it perfect for use in the bowls and it also allows more flexibility in my family where everyone likes their pulled pork a little different - more or less sauce, more or less spice.

What is your family's go to meal for a quick family meal during busy times?


No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product samples for my family to try. I also receive thought starters and information that can be used in a post.

Star Wars Vintage Posters - Big G cereals

No compensation was received for this post. A gift pack, information about the partnership, and the giveaway package have been provided by General Mills. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family.
My son is a bag fan of Star Wars, probably because my husband is a fan and has shared those movies with my son. With the upcoming launch of the new movie later this year, my daughter is looking forward to watching all of the movies with my husband and son, as they 'count down' to the new movie.

At our house, cereal is something that we enjoy on a regular basis. Not only is it our go to for breakfast most mornings, but we also have been known to enjoy a bowl of cereal for dinner and even as a snack. But, beyond that, I have several meals and snacks that I prepare using cereal as an ingredient.

So, when General Mills reached out to share about how they have teamed up with Star Wars to offer vintage movie posters in specially marked boxes of Big G cereals, I was excited to have the opportunity to participate in the promotion. We received a box of Cinnamon Toast Crunch and Reese's Puffs. The next morning, shortly after arriving at work, I received a text from my son asking if they could open the new boxes of cereal. Of course, I told him he could and asked that he leave it on the counter, rather than putting it away. We lucked out and got two different posters - I was disappointed that they were from the 'newer' movies and not the original trilogy...maybe in the next box!

Cereal Crusted Chicken
canola oil for frying
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 1/2 cups cereal
1 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 c milk
salt and pepper, to taste

Slice chicken breasts into long slices, like chicken fingers. Crush the cereal (or put through the food processor) and place in a baggie or on a plate. Combine egg and milk. Place flour in a baggie or on a plate. Season the chicken with salt and pepper.

Preheat oil in skillet over medium high heat. Dredge each piece of chicken, first in the flour, then the egg mixture and then coat with cereal. Fry the chicken for about 4 minutes per side, being sure to cook through.

We enjoyed this last week served with a mustard sauce and a side of oven baked potato wedges. The chicken has a nice caramelized, crunchy delivery - it is a kid favorite. Kix has been a favorite cereal for this recipe in the past, but I think that next time I will try it with Cinnamon Toast Crunch...I think the cinnamon would give it a nice flavor.

General Mills and Star Wars are teaming up to offer exclusive vintage movie posters in every specially marked box of General Mills cereals!

General Mills is once again connecting fans with what they love. Hidden inside each box, you will find one of six timeless movie posters featuring your favorite Star Wars films.

Star Wars and cereal fans alike can collect all six classic posters in each participating brand of General Mills cereals, including Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Honey Nut Cheerios, Trix, Cookie Crisp and Reese’s Puffs. The specially marked boxes of Big G cereals hit store shelves this month, for a limited time only.

Check out the #CerealWars Tumblr page that launched this week for more fan fun surrounding the General Mills and Star Wars partnership.

Giveaway!

Courtesy of General Mills, one A Busy Mom of Two Reader will win 2 boxes of participating General Mills cereals and an exclusive Star Wars vintage movie poster. It is open to US only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through May 10th and is open to residents of the US only. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will be contacted by e-mail and will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.


No compensation was received for this post. A gift pack, information about the partnership, and the giveaway package have been provided by General Mills. All opinions expressed are entirely my own or that of my family. The recipe is from my personal collection.

Cook'n Recipe Organizer - review and giveaway

I received a complimentary copy as a participant in the Tryazon Cook'n Recipe Exchange Party back in October. I had previously had an older version. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

I love to cook and to bake. I love to find and try new recipes. One of my biggest challenges was always organization. I have a recipe box that is partially populated with cards. I have a recipe accordion file that is full of some recipes that I got from my family at one of my wedding showers, plus some others that I have added. I have two write your own cookbooks - one that maxed out on space (you could add refills and I did until the rings could hold no more) and a second one that is not quite full but is set up to hold a combination of papers you write directly on and some pockets to hold recipe cards. I also have a folder that contains hundreds of recipes that I have clipped from newspapers, magazines and even printed from the internet over the years that I had wanted to try. Once I tried them, I would either transfer them to a recipe card or a cookbook or throw them out if we didn't like them. (This was all before Pinterest of course, now I just Pin them and try them later. My organization there is a whole other issue.)

Having my recipes was great, but with so many places, it could be hard to locate the recipe that I was looking for, although I became an expert on location of some of the most used recipes. In addition, sharing with friends and family required either typing it up to share or writing it out on a note card. Then, a few years ago, I discovered the wonder that is Cook'n Recipe Organizer.

There are a number of features that I love about Cook'n. The first is that I can easily enter my own recipes. Not only can I type them up, if I am able to find a recipe online, I can use the features in Cook'n to capture recipes from the internet. In my experience, most of them over clean but sometimes you have to do a little bit of cleanup to align the ingredient name. One of the improvements that was made in the most recent version is that you can capture from almost any site now...it used to be limited to a handful of sites. I often will do a quick search to see if I can find a similar recipe, as a means of expediting the load of the recipe. There is also functionality that let's you scan or capture a photo of a recipe and import it to your cookbook. You can customize your chapters, to organize in a way that makes sense to you and change them as you go. I started with just a dessert category, but have since split it out to put cookies into their own chapter. I love the flexibility.

The program is able to calculate the nutrition per serving and uses values from the preferred or designated brand for the ingredients. Can't find your favorite? You can add you own ingredients and brands, allowing you to base your calculations on the ingredients and brands that you use. This is a nice feature in my opinion. For my favorites, I have entered the details from the nutrition label on the package and made that brand my preferred brand for the ingredient.

Once you have a recipe saved, it is also easy to scale your recipe. There is functionality to help you with menu planning and will even generate a grocery list. Plan your menu by dragging and dropping the recipes onto the weekly plan. Then, click on the grocery list and it will generate based on the recipes. Clean up the list to remove on hand ingredients and you are ready to go.

With the newest version, you can now Sync your recipes to your mobile devices. I really like this functionality, because now, I can take the iPad to the kitchen and easily access my recipes where I am, without having to print or walk back and forth to my computer while I am baking and cooking. It is also nice because with it on my phone, I can quickly reference a recipe...whether I am at the store and found a great deal and want to update my meal plan or I am talking to a friend and want to share it with them. Speaking of sharing, quick share buttons that allow you to e-mail, post to Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter and Google+ are available on your recipes. You can also use the embed in website button to get an HTML version complete with formatting for the theme. You can share links to your recipe as well.

There are several available cookbooks that you can buy and download into the software. This is a great way to find new recipes and increase your database. Just the other week, there was an offer from Rhodes bread in the Sunday coupon flyer to download their cookbook to Cook'n. Most of the other cookbooks are available for a nominal cost.

The newest version also features a Live Recipe feed, that provides a picture and link to several recently used recipes. It includes the most captured recipe from the last 24 hours and last 7 days, giving you the perfect opportunity to find some popular recipes. You can even customize the feed to easily follow your favorite sites and see the recently added recipes.

The search functionality in the software allows you to search a particular cookbook or chapter, all of Cook'n or even the internet. Search by key words to find ingredients you have on hand, focus on recipe names only and even search based on ratings. It really has worked well for me when looking for recipes.

I really can't say enough good things about the software. I simply love it.

I think it makes a great gift for family or friends that love to cook. This weekend, Cook'n is offering a great special on the software. You can get it for only $20, the regular retail price is $80...that is 75% off! Here is the link to this amazing offer. After this weekend, you can still save on your purchase, go to http://www.dvo.com/ to place your order and simply use the following code at checkout to save 50%: mb-busymom.

You can learn more about Tryazon by visiting them on Facebook or following them on Twitter or Pinterest.

Giveaway!

In addition, I have the opportunity through my participation the Tryazon party to giveaway one complimentary copy to one A Busy Mom of Two reader.

a Rafflecopter giveaway


Giveaway will remain open through December 10th. Winners will be selected through Rafflecopter. The winner will have 24 hours to respond or a new winner will be selected.

I received a complimentary copy as a participant in the Tryazon Cook'n Recipe Exchange Party back in October. I had previously had an older version. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family. The discount code and the giveaway copy are compliments of Cook'n.

Bacon Cheddar Ranch Dip #Hormel #Dip

*information for this post was in part supplied by Hormel Foods through their Hormel Extended Family Blogger program. No compensation was received for this post.

The other weekend, we hosted a game night at our house. We have always been a big game family and have always enjoyed having friends in for game night. This most recent evening was a smaller gathering with only three couples able to join us. One tradition is that everyone brings a snack to share. One of the women that I met when I first moved to town 12 years ago brought along a dip that my kids both loved. So, when we hosted family for a birthday party this weekend, I reached out to get the dip recipe to make it for party. The recipe called for bacon, to make it easy, I used a jar Hormel Real Bacon Pieces. It actually was less bacon than the recipe called for, but was just right in my opinion. I loved that it made prep quick and there was no mess from frying bacon that I had to clean up. The dip was a hit!

Bacon Cheddar Ranch dip

16 ounces light sour cream
1 package ranch dip mix
2.8 ounces Hormel Real Bacon Pieces
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Mix all ingredients. Chill. Serve with pretzels, crackers or chips.

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some product and some of the information for this post. The recipe was shared by my friend, I don't know the original source.

Baked Wonton Cheese Sticks

No compensation received for this post. Complimentary packages of Frigo Cheese Heads string cheese were provided. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Now that the kids are back to school, there seems to be more snacking occasions than normal. They seem to come home from school hungry for a snack, which works out well on days when we have sports and can't eat until after. Of course, on those days, I find myself grabbing a snack to go too! Then, there are the evenings, after the kids are in bed and I am looking for a little something to nibble on with a glass of wine, as I relax, wind down from the crazy day and watch a show.

I don't know about your house, but at our house, string cheese is a favorite snack. Personally, I am a fan of cheese of all forms and find it to be a satisfying snack. I feel good providing string cheese to the kids because I feel it is a reasonably healthy option - the pack I have at home right now is only 80 calories per serving and provides 6 g of protein and some calcium. I don't know that the kids think of it as a healthy snack, but I know that they think that it is fun to eat as they tear off string after string.

As America’s Favorite String Cheese, Frigo® Cheese Heads® String Cheese is:
- Perfect for school lunches and after school snacks
- High in calcium and a good source of protein
- Individually wrapped for wholesome and fun snacking on-the-go
- Easy to use in recipes the entire family will enjoy

Typically, I think of string cheese as a stand alone snack or an accompaniment to a bowl of crackers. But last weekend, as we geared up for the official start of football season, we decided that it would be nice to have a little snack while we watched the games. We had had our fill of chips the prior day as hosts of the fantasy football draft, so I decided that I could use string cheese as an easy way to enjoy baked cheese. I decided that breading them and trying to fry/bake them would likely turn into a mess, but figured that wrapping them up in wontons would allow us a way to have baked cheese with less mess. When I suggested the snack and started to pull out the ingredients, both of the kids were anxious to help, so I let them help me roll them up and took over when it came to bake.

Baked Wonton Cheese Sticks

Wonton Wrappers
String Cheese
Oil
bowl of water

Open the string cheese and cut each piece into three equal sections. Place on the wonton wrappers and roll up like an egg roll, using the water to wet the edges to help the wrapper seal.

Place the wrapped cheese in a skillet with oil, over medium heat. Turn until browned.

Place the cheese sticks into an oven safe glass dish and bake for 10-12 minutes at 375.

Serve with a side of marinara.

Everyone liked the baked wonton cheese sticks and agreed that we should definitely make them again.

No compensation was received for this post. Complimentary packages of Frigo Cheese Heads string cheese were provided for the purpose of sharing. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia, Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan and Twice-Baked Potatoes - Cooking Planit review

Tonight for dinner, we tried out some new recipes. Not only did we try new recipes, I tried this really cool website/app called Cooking Planit. You may recall that a few months ago that I shared about Cooking Planit and you may recall that soon I will be hosting a T-Fal Cookware giveaway courtesy of Cooking Planit (the full list of participating blogs is located below, so you can check it out and enter to win on several blogs). Tonight though, I want to share with you about my experience with Cooking Planit.

What is Cooking Planit?

Cooking Planit has a website featuring many recipes and meals (the photography is great and makes me want to try a lot of the recipes). Cooking Planit is also available as a free app for your iPad or iPhone, so you can plan on the run - who hasn't been at the store trying to make an adjustment to the meal plan because there is a great deal on something. Think of Cooking Planit as your very own Personal Kitchen Assistant! Cooking Planit is an app perfect for a home cook at any skill level. Cooking Planit walks you through the whole cooking process and keeps you on track so dinner get’s on the table on time!

• Simplified Meal Planning - choose 'pre-set' meals or choose a few recipes that you want to try.
• Build your menu and it will put together your shopping list.
• Guided Cooking Steps, it even helps align all of your dishes so that they finish at the same time (I know I could use that when I host a Thanksgiving or other group meal)
• Cloud Sync – Sync your account across the web, your iPhone and iPad

I started by setting up an account on Cooking Planit's website and then downloaded the app for the iPhone and the iPad.

As I sat on my sofa watching TV one evening, I was browsing through the pre-set meals on the iPad. I bookmarked a couple of the meals as I scanned and then switched over to scanning and marking some of the recipes. I decided that to really check it out Cooking Planit and all it has to offer, I wanted to go with my own custom meal.

So, yesterday, as I was planning my menu for the week, I sat down at my computer and did some additional searches, bookmarking more recipes. Then, I looked over the recipes that I had bookmarked to decide what would go best together and what was different than what we normally ate. I decided on Parmesan-Crusted Tilapia, Roasted Asparagus with Parmesan and Twice-Baked Potatoes.

After building the meal and saving it, I decided to check out one of the features of Cooking Planit - I created my shopping list for my meal.

I love that I was able to create and save my meal on my computer and then access my account from my phone to create a portable shopping list. After the grocery list is generated, you can add additional items to your list, indicating section of the store and get a complete grocery list. In addition, you can mark off the items that you have and update the list to only show those that you don't have. I did that and then also used the check boxes to mark the groceries as I moved through the store.

Fast forward to tonight, it was time to prepare my dinner. I pulled the app up on my iPad and set it upon the easel in the kitchen. I then selected my meal on the app and it pulled up on the screen, ready to go.

Once on my screen, it gave me a list of ingredients and tools that were needed, some information about prepping and cook time (mine was actually shorter...I cheated and microwaved the potatoes to prep them and used ready bacon!). I really like how it lists out the ingredient and tools. The ingredients are the total amount needed for all of the recipes and the tools let you know what type of equipment (measuring spoons, slotted spoon, baking sheet), appliances (oven and stove top), and supplies will be used (paper towels). When you select start, the app asks how many servings you would like to prepare - 2, 4 or 6. Of course, if you choose an alternate number of servings the ingredients you had seen on the first page are no longer what you need. Never fear though, because the next page will tell you the ingredients you need to gather for prepping and the quantities for each recipe. Then, it steps you through the preparation of your recipes, so that they all finish at the same time.

On each step, it lets you know what ingredients you will need and what to do. You can either swipe you finger to advance pages or put it on audio controls, allowing you to use your voice to flip the pages. As you step through, you have the option to see the next few steps - I found that looking ahead gave me perspective of what was coming and allowed me to adjust where I needed (you know for the microwave or the ready bacon). When you get to a step where there is time until you start the next step, it suggests things such as clean up a little or (my favorite) enjoy a glass of wine or your favorite beverage. When there are cooking or sauteing steps, when you advance the page, it automatically starts a little timer that will pop up on the screen when it is complete and have you check that the item is done - if it is, you dismiss the timer, if not, you can select adjust and it will run a timer for a few additional minutes.

Everything made its way into the oven and soon it was dinner time:

My family very much so enjoyed the meal that I had prepared. It was full of flavor and yet, part of the beauty, to me, was the simplicity of the meal. There were few ingredients, but they paired well.

I'm ready to build another meal and try out even more of the recipes that Cooking Planit has to offer.

You can sign up for Cooking Planit on their website or you can down load their app at iTunes. There are both free and paid versions of the app, so you can try it risk free and then upgrade for even more features.

Don't forget to check out the matrix of bloggers participating in the giveaway and be sure to come back tomorrow, when my giveaway goes live!

Here is the matrix of participating blogs and information on when they go live:

THE COOKING PLANIT AND T-FAL 2013 GIVEAWAY
Start	End	Flight 1	Flight 2
8/19/13	8/25/13	Baby Boomster	Mrs. Schwartz’s Kitchen
8/20/13	8/26/13	CopyKat Recipes	Daily Dish Recipes
8/21/13	8/27/13	Lisa Cooking	Lark’s Country Heart
8/22/13	8/28/13	ME Redone	Hot Eats and Cool Reads
8/23/13	8/29/13	Mother Would Know	The Two Bite Club
8/24/13	8/30/13	Sophistishe	Citron Limette
8/25/13	8/31/13	Kitchen Concoctions	Cupcakes and Kale Chips
8/26/13	9/1/13	I Can Cook That	Leave a Happy Plate
8/27/13	9/2/13	Peaches & Cake	i love my disorganized life
8/28/13	9/3/13	Diddles & Dumplings	Yates Yummies
8/29/13	9/4/13	basilmomma	Cooking With Libby
8/30/13	9/5/13	Persnickety Plates	Creole Contessa
8/31/13	9/6/13	Ancestral Chef	Bite Sized Blog
9/1/13	9/7/13	The Staten Island Family	Mamal Diane
9/2/13	9/8/13	Food Fash	Recipes For My Boys
9/3/13	9/9/13	The Wicked Noodle	Hungry Little Girl
9/4/13	9/10/13	Unorganized Mommy of 3	The Tasty Fork
9/5/13	9/11/13	Yi Reservation	Dixie Chik Cooks
9/6/13	9/12/13	Chicago Foodie Sisters	The Fountain Avenue Kitchen
9/7/13	9/13/13	Cooking from a SAHM	FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe
9/8/13	9/14/13	Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen	Rants from My Crazy Kitchen
9/9/13	9/15/13	What Jew Wanna Eat	Sumptuous Spoonfuls
9/10/13	9/16/13	The Mama Report	A Busy Mom of Two
9/11/13	9/17/13	Culicurious	Huppie Mama
9/12/13	9/18/13	Three Diets. One Dinner.	Spice’s Bites

No compensation was received for this post. As a participant in the Cooking Planit T-fal Giveaway, I was provided with a set of pans to use and share my experience with my readers. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

Cooking Planit T-fal Giveaway #CookingPlanit

50 BLOGGERS ARE GIVING AWAY 50 SETS OF T-FAL COOKWARE OVER THE NEXT 30 DAYS!

I am excited to share this giveaway with all of my readers. I am partnering with Cooking Planit and joining 49 other bloggers in giving away a 12-piece set of T-fal Cookware. You can watch for my giveaway to go live on September 10th, but in the meantime, you really should check out all of the participating blogs and enter for a chance to win. You can only win once, but your odds will certainly be better the more that you enter. That's 50 chances to win.

Here is the matrix of participating blogs and information on when they go live:

THE COOKING PLANIT AND T-FAL 2013 GIVEAWAY
Start	End	Flight 1	Flight 2
8/19/13	8/25/13	Baby Boomster	Mrs. Schwartz’s Kitchen
8/20/13	8/26/13	CopyKat Recipes	Daily Dish Recipes
8/21/13	8/27/13	Lisa Cooking	Lark’s Country Heart
8/22/13	8/28/13	ME Redone	Hot Eats and Cool Reads
8/23/13	8/29/13	Mother Would Know	The Two Bite Club
8/24/13	8/30/13	Sophistishe	Citron Limette
8/25/13	8/31/13	Kitchen Concoctions	Cupcakes and Kale Chips
8/26/13	9/1/13	I Can Cook That	Leave a Happy Plate
8/27/13	9/2/13	Peaches & Cake	i love my disorganized life
8/28/13	9/3/13	Diddles & Dumplings	Yates Yummies
8/29/13	9/4/13	basilmomma	Cooking With Libby
8/30/13	9/5/13	Persnickety Plates	Creole Contessa
8/31/13	9/6/13	Ancestral Chef	Bite Sized Blog
9/1/13	9/7/13	The Staten Island Family	Mamal Diane
9/2/13	9/8/13	Food Fash	Recipes For My Boys
9/3/13	9/9/13	The Wicked Noodle	Hungry Little Girl
9/4/13	9/10/13	Unorganized Mommy of 3	The Tasty Fork
9/5/13	9/11/13	Yi Reservation	Dixie Chik Cooks
9/6/13	9/12/13	Chicago Foodie Sisters	The Fountain Avenue Kitchen
9/7/13	9/13/13	Cooking from a SAHM	FoodThoughtsOfaChefWannabe
9/8/13	9/14/13	Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen	Rants from My Crazy Kitchen
9/9/13	9/15/13	What Jew Wanna Eat	Sumptuous Spoonfuls
9/10/13	9/16/13	The Mama Report	A Busy Mom of Two
9/11/13	9/17/13	Culicurious	Huppie Mama
9/12/13	9/18/13	Three Diets. One Dinner.	Spice’s Bites

Stay tuned for further details on how to enter and to learn more about my experience using the T-fal cookware set and the CookingPlanit app. The app is a really neat recipe and meal planning tool that you can test online and/or download the free version HERE. Or you may go to the Apple store and simply search “Cooking Planit.”

DETAILS: Contests open to US only. Limit one-winner per household/per family from the 50 blogs participating in the promotion. If an individual is the winner of more than one giveaway, they will receive only one set of cookware and an alternate winner will be chosen for the other set(s).

No compensation was received for this post. As a participant in the Cooking Planit T-fal Giveaway, I was provided with a set of pans to use and share my experience with my readers. All opinions expressed are my own or that of my family.

New Year's Eve Menu

Before we had kids, we went to a New Year's Eve party every year at our friends' house. It was great, because it was an overnight party and we didn't have to worry about people making it home safely late at night. We would eat a lot of food and play a lot of games and have a few drinks. There were a number of appetizers and desserts that we would enjoy.

Most years at our house, we do an appetizer (small bites) meal for dinner for New Year's Eve.

One of our favorites is of course pizza. To achieve bite size pizza, we like to make pizza using rolls. Whether French bread or Ciabatta mini loaves, simply slice them open long ways. Top with sauce whatever suits your fancy and bake at 375 for 20 minutes. Here are some combinations that you could try:

• Peloponnese Pitted Kalamata Olives, caramelized onions, Hormel chunk breast of chicken and some Feta Cheese for an easy Greek Pizza
• Banana Peppers, Onions and Crumbled Sausage with Pepper Jack Cheese for a pizza with kick
• Mini Pepperoni and Mozzarella for a traditional pizza
• Diced Ham and Pineapple Tidbits with Mozzarella for an easy Hawaiian Pizza

Another favorite is tortilla roll-ups. Again, there are a few options for these as well:

• Chicken and Salsa Tortilla Bites - combine Hormel Chunk Chicken, a cream cheese spread and some salsa. Roll up and enjoy.
• Salsa and Cheese - spread the tortilla with cream cheese, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and add some salsa. Roll up, slice and enjoy.
• Turkey/Ham/Bologne and Cheese - choose your favorite lunch meat, sliced cheese and mayonnaise or dressing to create a personal favorite. Roll up and slice into bit size pieces.
• Southwest Chicken and Bacon Rollups
• Turkey Tortilla Rollups

We also enjoy meatballs. My favorite is turkey sausage meatballs and pineapple in a sweet and spicy sauce.

Meatball & Pineapple Fondue
2# Turkey sausage, rolled into meatballs
pineapple chunks
1 1/4 c ketchup
1 tbsp soy sauce
1/4 c brown sugar
1 tbsp lemon juice

Combine the sauce ingredients and pour over the meatballs and pineapple. Bake at 250 for 2 hours. Serve with toothpicks. I like to put this in a small crock pot for serving at a party, so that it will stay warm.

You could also do traditional Italian meatballs heated with spaghetti sauce and serve them on mini-buns with mozzarella as a mini-meatball sandwich.

What other type of appetizers does your family enjoy? Do you have a traditional New Year's Eve Menu?


No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided a thought starter and some of the information for this post.

National Pizza Month

I don't know about you, but I don't need a special occasion to enjoy pizza. However, I guess it is sort of nice that they dedicate a whole month to celebrating all that is pizza. October is National Pizza Month, as was first observed back in 1984. Gerry Durnell, the founder of Pizza Today magazine, chose October because the first issue of his magazine debuted in October of 1984.

Pizza is a popular treat, enjoyed at least once a month by 94% of Americans. As a girl from the Midwest married to a man from New Jersey, I can tell you that what people consider to be the ideal pizza can vary greatly. So, can the toppings that they enjoy. If I am eating out, I am a fan of the thin crust pizzas cut into squares or a nice hand-tossed pizza. I enjoy a variety of toppings (not necessarily on one pizza) - crumbled sausage, banana peppers, green peppers, onions, green olives, pepperoni. I also like the deep dish Chicago pizzas full of all that glorious ooey-gooey cheese. Some of my favorite, non-pizza place pizzas, include toppings like feta cheese, kalamata olives, caramelized onions, fresh sliced tomatoes - of course, prepared in a brick oven. My husband on the other hand needs a large pizza that has a doughy crust that can easily be folded for eating - New York Style he calls it. I can tell you that here in Ohio, it is very hard to find good New York Style pizza.

One thing we can all agree on is that we enjoy homemade pizza. When I was a kid, I can remember my mom making pizza crust from a box mix. It was a nice thin pizza that you ate with a fork. I tend to use frozen bread dough to make most of my homemade pizza, but sometimes, whether to mix it up or to use up leftovers, I also like to use other crusts.

When we have bagels, English Muffins, Hoagie Rolls, French Bread or hamburger rolls on hand, I like to make pizzas on them. It is fun because each pizza can be built the way they like it. We can add onions to one and green olives to another. It can be heavy on sauce or light. With or without pepperoni. The choice is theirs. They are the chef. Plus, these mini-pizzas are fun to eat.

Have you seen the new Pizza Toppings from Hormel?

I love that I can now have crumbled sausage or crumbled beef to add to my pizza. One of my favorite non-traditional pizzas to make is Cheeseburger Pizza. I've shared it before, but here it is (updated), in case you missed it.

Cheeseburger Pizza
1 package Hormel Beef Crumbles or 1/2# ground beef, browned and drained
1 pre-baked shell
1/2 c Ketchup
Mustard
2 c shredded sharp cheddar
onion rings

Place shell on baking sheet. Spread ketchup on shell and then add mustard in a criss-cross fashion. Top with beef, cheese and onion rings.

Bake in a preheated oven at 425 for 12-15 minutes, until cheese is melted and onion rings browned.

How do you enjoy your pizzas? What type of crust/style is your favorite?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided a thought starter and some of the information for this post.

Better Breakfast Month

Did you know that September is Better Breakfast Month. As the school year gets underway, Better Breakfast Month is meant to serve as a reminder for you to stay focused on healthy breakfast eating habits. I'm sure you have all heard at least once that breakfast is the most important meal of the day.

There are many reasons why this statement holds true:
"The typical person spends eight hours asleep each night with no food or water. By the time you wake up, your body is dehydrated and you have little energy to start your day off with. According to BetterBreakfast.org, breakfast can also help you lose weight. Without breakfast to get the metabolism going again, hte body stays at the lower level of metabolism, burning fewer calories then if it had breakfast. If you skip your morning meal, you tend to eat more throughout the day and the foods are usually unhealthy and high in calories. An individual who fueled up for their day with breakfast can wait until lunch to eat with energy to spare."

At our house, most days our breakfast is cereal and milk. Some days the kids might add some fruit or yogurt or toast or swap it up with oatmeal. We love breakfast foods, in fact, we have breakfast for dinner on a regular basis.

Usually, the reason is because we perceive a hot breakfast as something that takes too much time. But, with proper planning, it can be achievable - at least on occasion.

One easy to make meal is a breakfast sandwich - not only is it quick, but it is easy to take on the go too! Place an English muffin in the toaster. Using a small microwaveable bowl, spray with some cooking spray and add an egg. Using a fork, puncture the white and the yolk one time. Then cover and microwave for 45 seconds. Start with the bottom of your muffin, add a slice of cheese, add the egg, add a slice of Hormel Natural Ham or a couple pieces of Hormel Microwave Ready Bacon and top with the other half of the muffin. This is so easy, that I often take it for lunch!

Looking for other ideas? Check out these recipes from Hormel:

Hormel Canadian Bacon Breakfast Pizza
Ham Scramble
Huveos Rancheros with Bacon

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided a thought starter and some of the information for this post.

The Kentucky Derby

Growing up, I am sure that I had heard of the Kentucky Derby, but I really don't remember knowing much about it.

When I met my husband, that changed. He is a big fan of horse racing and as such, being someplace (home works) to watch the Kentucky Derby is very important to him. I can remember when we lived in Pittsburgh going to Ladbroke's where they hosted a Kentucky Derby party. They even had official glasses available with Mint Juleps. I tried one the first year that we went and I must say that I was glad to learn the next year that you could get the glass with another beverage - the Mint Julep just wasn't my thing. I generally like mint, but to me it was just too strong.

My cousin and her husband briefly lived in Louisville and we had the opportunity on a visit to see them one year to actually visit Churchill Downs, the home of The Kentucky Derby. It was pretty neat to check out both the facility and the pictures/history around the Kentucky Derby. The fashion alone was an interesting aspect. As is noted on their party planning site, "The Kentucky Derby is a chance for every female to express her inner Southern Belle so take note and don't hold back when planning your party hat (especially if you are the hostess!)."

During my travels last week, one of the dinner themes was The Kentucky Derby. The fashion was definitely interesting. Many of the women had a hat of some fashion and even some of the guys came in some rather unique clothes. The menu for the meal was all Kentucky inspired food. One of the sandwiches that we had was the Turkey Hot Brown. I really enjoyed the combination of flavors, and although not listed on The Kentucky Derby website, I think that we will be enjoying them for dinner on The Kentucky Derby day.

It is hard to believe that May is just a day away and that the 'Greatest Two Minutes in Sports' is already next weekend, so if you would like to try it too, here is the version of the recipe that I will make, there are several variations out there, so I chose my favorite aspects from each. There are recipes that use special bread, egg battered bread, toast or regular bread. There are versions that use cheddar, those that use Romano and those that use Parmesan. There are recipes that have you start by roasting a turkey breast and others that use deli meat. I even found that they are called Turkey Hot Browns, Louisville Hot Browns and Kentucky Hot Browns, depending on the version of the recipe. In the end, I chose the combination that I found to be most appealing to me and simple enough to prepare.

We aren't having a 'formal' party, but we have extended the invitation to some friends to come over for the event, and if they do, I will need to increase the recipe as I'm guessing that this version would serve four adults. If it's just us, I probably will make the same sauce, but will use less bread and less turkey/bacon.

Turkey Hot Browns

The Bread:
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
Salt
8 slices of bread (I'm using a 'heartier' bread like Italian)
2 tbsp olive oil

Whisk together the eggs, milk and salt. Dip each slice of bread in the eggs for about 30 seconds to allow it to soak through. In a skillet, over medium-high heat, heat the oil. Add the bread and cook to a golden brown on each side.

The Cheese Sauce:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
2 1/2 c milk
3/4 c sharp white cheddar, grated
1/4 c Pecorino Romano, grated
dash of Nutmeg
Salt and Pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in the milk, bring to a boil and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and the flour has cooked out, about 4 to 5 minutes. Whisk in cheese and cook until melted. Season with nutmeg, salt, and pepper, to taste.

The Sandwich:
Bread from above
Cheese Sauce from above
Pecorino Romano for sprinkling
Paprika
Tomato Slices (I'm using Roma Tomatoes)
Hormel Natural Choice Oven Roasted Deli Turkey
16 slices of Hormel Black Label Bacon, cooked until crispy

Preheat broiler.

Place bread on baking sheet. Top each piece with 2-3 slices of turkey. Add cheese sauce. Sprinkle with grated cheese and paprika. Place under broiler and cook until bubbly and golden brown. Top with 2 slices of tomato and 2 slices of bacon.

Now, I just need to figure out what type of sides to have. I'm thinking that perhaps a salad and maybe some green beans.

How do you celebrate The Kentucky Derby?

No compensation was received for this post. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family. I am completing this post as a participant in the Hormel Foods Extended Family Blogger program. Hormel Foods provided some of the information for this post.

Pudding Pops

I have a weakness for pudding. I think it started at a young age. My grandma would always tell the story of me asking for pudding and her not understanding what I was asking for. When Grandma would make pudding, she used an egg beater. I can still remember the sound that it made as she mixed up the pudding. As with anytime that she was in the kitchen, you would hear her humming a soft tune while she was making it too.

Now, I find myself buying pudding from time to time, simply to have on hand for a quick and easy dessert or treat. The other week, when I cleaned out my pantry, I found a few boxes tucked in back and created a cookie that was super tasty with the pudding. I also had a few boxes of cook'n serve pudding that had been purchased by accident one time for a recipe (nothing wrong with Cook'n Serve, but generally if you are using pudding in a recipe, it needs to be the instant variety).

The other day, I decided it was time to use up that pudding. I had some excess milk in the refrigerator (some weeks we easily go through 2 gallons, others we barely get through one), so it seemed like the right time to make it. As I was making it, I was suddenly inspired - pudding pops!

When I was a kid, I can remember Bill Cosby doing commercials for Pudding Pops. I'm not sure if they were new or had been around for a while at the time, I just remember that he was the spokesperson and did the commercials. Of course, I also remember that I rather enjoyed eating the frozen, creamy pudding treats and figured that the kids would too.

I grabbed my popsicle making tubes (what exactly do you call those?) and filled them with the warm pudding. I put in the sticks and set them in the freezer. The kids were very excited to try them the next day. Of course, they feel now that we should have them more often.

So, when I made the German Cream Puffs this weekend, there was so much Vanilla Cream left, that I decided to put it in the popsicle molds and make pudding pops (cream pops?) out of the leftover cream. The drawback of cooled pudding/cream is that the finished pop has more 'bubbles' in it, but they still taste just as sweet.

Not only is it a fun to make treat, but it is a great way to use up milk so it doesn't go bad.

They were so good, that now I'm thinkking of finding a recipe for using pudding to make ice cream too!

This post shared at Works for Me Wednesday.