Tag: "food"

How to make Ultimate Party Meatballs

Am I the only one that has last minute guests around Christmas time? When we have company I like to be able to put a little something out, like some appetizers. But how can you serve freshly prepared appetizers to last minute guests if you didn’t know the guests were coming the weekend before when you went to the grocery store? There is a way to do it, and this week I learned how thanks to Mom Central. Wanna know how to do it?It’s easy. Make Ultimate Party Meatballs.

Ultimate Party Meatballs are a recipe that Heinz and Ocean Spray cooked up as a quick and easy appetizer. The recipe only calls for three ingredients, one pot and less than a half hour. Here’s how you make them.

Buy these three things - 1 can of one 16-ounce can Ocean Spray Jellied Cranberry Sauce, one 12-ounce bottle Heinz Chili Sauce and one 2 pound bag of frozen, pre-cooked meatballs. Grab a big sauce pan.

Combine the Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce and the bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce in a large saucepan.

Cook this over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth. Add in the frozen, pre-cooked meatballs. Cover and cook for 15 minutes or until meatballs are heated through, stirring occasionally.

Serve with little toothpicks or forks. This recipe makes 30 appetizer servings. If you wanted to cook this in a crockpot instead of on the stove you’d just place the meatballs in a slow cooker, combine the sauces and pour that over the meatballs, cover and cook for 4 hours on high. Sounds easy right? It is.

I tend to think very much in the box when it comes to certain things. When I read this recipe the first thing I thought was that cranberry sauce and chili sauce would be gross together. Good thing I didn’t bet on that because I loved these meatballs. The Ultimate Party Meatballs reminded me of Sweet And Sour Meatballs but different. The sauce was sweet and a little tangy. I didn’t find it spicy at all, which is good because I don’t like spicy things. The recipe was super easy and very quick to make, keys to convenience for a working girl like me. The recipe didn’t cost much, I got my bag of meatballs on sale for $3.49. I’ll be keeping one of each of these ingredients on hand from now on, and I’ll be prepared for any surprise or last minute guests. Maybe they’ll think I’m some sort of great chef with super powers, being able to come up with something so good in no time at all.

If you’d like to find more recipes and entertaining tips visit the Ultimate Party Meatballs website http://www.ultimatepartymeatballs.com. There’s a sweepstakes going on right now of which the winner will receive $3,000 so that they can throw the ultimate party.

Dec 04, 2008 | 1 comment | View Post

Home Is Calling - a request for help and a giveaway

I am a big believer in the importance of home and family. Pillsbury’s new Home Is Calling campaign brings to mind the family and home cooked meals that so many of us look forward to during the holidays. Sadly, not all people are fortunate enough to have these things to look forward to.

Pillsbury is promising to donate more than one pound of food to food banks across the nation for each time you forward their Home Is Calling campaign to a friend by email. I’m asking my readers to please help by spreading the word. If you’re hesitant, consider how many times you’ve forwarded jokes, quizzes and funny pictures to friends that they haven’t asked for, or how many times they’ve forwarded them to you that you didn’t ask for. If ever there was an email destined to be forwarded, this is the one. I guarantee the people that benefit from the food Pillsbury donates will enjoy that food far more than anyone will enjoy a forwarded joke. I am sending it to everyone I know. If they don’t like the fact that I sent it to them they’re probably not people I’d really want for a friend anyway. Thanksgiving is a time of year when people should reflect and be thankful. Thanksgiving is also a time of year when the spirit of the holidays really starts to shine and people give to others that are less fortunate. So let’s be thankful for what we have and help those less fortunate by forwarding the Home Is Calling campaign to as many people as possible, so that Pillsbury donates the maximum amount possible.

I have three Pillsbury gift baskets to give to three winners of this giveaway. Each basket includes a coupon for Pillsbury refrigerated crescent rolls, a magnetic coupon holder, a house-shaped mouse pad, pot holders, a cookie sheet, a bread basket and a Pillsbury Doughboy figurine.

Earn an entry by leaving a comment on this post stating what your favorite Pillsbury product is AND what you like the most about a family meal.
You can earn additional entries for the giveaway by:

visiting the Home Is Calling site and forwarding the campaign AND leaving a comment here stating how many friends you sent it to and which of the top 10 recipes to warm your home sounds yummiest to you.
blogging about this giveaway and the Home Is Calling campaign
twittering about this giveaway
subscribing to the rss feed

This giveaway will end on Monday 12/01/08 at 11:59 pm est. US addresses only please. Only comments containing the requested information will be eligible. The winners will be selected using random.org and they must contact me to confirm they wish to receive the prize within three days of my email notifying them they’ve won. Good luck everyone!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED.

Nov 23, 2008 | 67 comments | View Post

Country Bob’s - A review, a giveaway and a thank you

Earlier this week I received a surprise delivery. It was a copy of The Original Country Bob’s Cookbook, sent to me by the folks at Country Bob’s. Regular readers may recall reading my review of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce earlier this month. If you don’t recall or if you’re a newer reader, let me tell you it is FAAAAAAAAAANtastic! Very yummy stuff.

The Original Country Bob’s Cookbook is a hard cover book that is 96 pages long. It contains at least 90 recipes, broken down into the four categories of appetizers/soups/snacks, grilling, main dishes and desserts. I’ve only had enough time to make two recipes since receiving the cookbook and both of them tasted delicious. Which ones did I make? The Bacon and Cheese Mashed Potatoes and the Thirty Minute Chili Mac. Tomorrow night I’m going to make Country Bob’s Chip Dip, to snack on during the race.

Hubby and I both liked that the recipes were easy to understand and easy to make. We were happy to see that the recipes call for regular ingredients that you might have at home anyway and can use in other recipes. I try to avoid making meals that call for an ingredient that I have no other uses for. Most of the recipes use at least one of the Country Bob’s line of products - all purpose sauce, spicy all purpose sauce, barbecue sauce and seasoning salt. Thanks Country Bob’s, for sharing this terrific cookbook with us.

The original Country Bob’s Cookbook is available for sale online from the Country Bob’s website and sells for $22. If you’re interested in buying one I’d suggest getting the gift pack for $32 because it has one of each of the Country Bob’s products and then you’ll be ready to make all of the recipes as well as some creations of your own. And, Country Bob’s ships within the US for free. How cool is that!

Not sure you need a cookbook that primarily showcases one product you haven’t tried? I can fix that. Country Bob’s has been generous enough to offer to send two bottles of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce to the winner of this giveaway. To enter, just visit the Country Bob’s website (it will open in another tab/window) and check out all of the recipes. Then, leave a comment on this post telling me one recipe from their site that you’d like to try. Comments that do not include the specified information will not be eligible. The contest ends on Saturday 08/30/08 at 11:59 pm est. US addresses only please.

Good luck to all who enter!

THIS GIVEAWAY IS OVER.

Aug 22, 2008 | 30 comments | View Post

Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce

I was recently offered a chance to try Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce, which I eagerly accepted. I was eager to see what my oldest son and my hubby thought of it because both RB and TJ are big fans of barbecue sauces, steak sauces and ketchup.

I received two 13 ounce bottles of Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and a brochure about Country Bob’s Sauce, background on the company and a couple of recipes. I wasn’t going to try a new food with a new recipe because then I wouldn’t be able to compare it to previous taste, so I knew it would take me a week or so to have an opportunity to try it. Two nights later I was going to make meatloaf and realized I did not have the small can of Italian tomato sauce that I always put in it. Determined to make meatloaf anyway because I’d planned it AND remembered to defrost the meat (I often forget to defrost the meat), I decided to try making my meatloaf using Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce in place of the Italian tomato sauce.

Other than the sauce, I prepared and cooked the meatloaf as usual and served it with fries. I was very surprised to find that the meatloaf tasted better this way instead of the way I typically make it. It tasted a little zestier, a little barbecuey and a little sweet. It was a big hit with the rest of the family too. TJ dipped his meatloaf and his fries in it and really enjoyed it. RB dipped his fries in it and said he liked it better than barbecue sauce and steak sauce. We knew CJ liked it because he said “good”.

When I looked at the label, the ingredients weren’t full of chemicals and things I couldn’t pronounce. The sauce is of about the same color and texture of steak sauce. It’s flavor is sort of a combination of ketchup, barbecue sauce and steak sauce all rolled into one. I can’t find the right words to describe the taste, but it’s unlike any other sauce I’ve had. We’ve tried it in the meatloaf, on hamburgers and we marinated some chicken in it and were very pleased with each of the resulting meals. We really like Country Bob’s All Purpose Sauce and will be recommending it to everyone. Hubby wants to try it on pork chops. Tonight we’re having some of my family over for steak and I can’t wait to try it with the Country Bob’s.

Country Bob’s is manufactured in Centralia, IL. Country Bob perfected the sauce in 1968 and started giving it away. He began selling it in 1977. They make several other products besides All Purpose Sauce. Other products available include Spicy All Purpose, BBQ Sauce, Seasoning Salt and a Country Bob’s Cookbook. Their products can be purchased through their own online store or in select stores nationwide. Their website also offers lots of recipes and a kids page. Country Bob’s even offers corporate gift packages and fundraiser packages. Look for Country Bob’s products next time you’re out shopping. Be sure to pick it up and try it if you see it. You won’t be sorry!

Aug 06, 2008 | 0 comments | View Post

I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream

We LOVE ice cream in my house. I simply cannot keep it in the freezer. We all have different favorites. My oldest loves plain chocolate. My youngest seems to like everything he’s tried so far. Hubby likes butter pecan. My all time favorite is chocolate cookies and cream, which I can’t find anywhere, so I usually go with my second favorite which is cookies and cream. Today I found a contest, over on Mom’s In A Blog. The prize is ice cream. I gotta get me some of that. I think I deserve to win because it seems whenever I go for a bowl of ice cream in my house there isn’t any left, or there’s only a spoonful. nobody ever thinks to be sure there’s enough for a bowl for me, self preservation rules in my house when it comes to ice cream. What kind of ice cream do you like?

Jul 25, 2008 | 0 comments | View Post

Get Snacktivated

We all snack a little in my house. Oh, who am I kidding? We snack a lot in my house. Growing up my brothers used to come to my house because “Mommy has nothing good to eat”. (Actually, that one hasn’t changed.) I’ve been trying to buy less junk and more good foods. Always up for some new ideas, I was glad when Mom Central emailed me asking me to check out the new Kellogg’s Snacktivate website.

Snacktivate is about forming healthier, more nutritional snacking habits. Think snack, active and motivate. Deb Geigis Berry, a leading family activity planner, and Rachel Brandeis, a nutrition counselor, are the two experts behind this food philosophy. The four principals of the philosophy are plan it, pick it, make it and move it. Plan it means that snacks should be scheduled as part of an every day routine. Pick it means that parents should be mindful of the foods they pick when grocery shopping. Make it means that parents and children should make snack time a quality, fun, family time activity whenever possible and that everyone should be involved. Move it means that everyone should be physically active.

The Snacktivate website has helpful tips and suggestions as well as recipes, brochures, tips and all the nutritional information you could ever want. There’s even suggestions on getting your children involved in cooking. The site is easy to navigate and everything on it is written so that it’s easy to understand. Snacktivate recipes are broken down by season, and each one has a picture showing the final outcome. Wait until you see the Teddy Bear Pancakes, the Butterfly Quesadillas and the Sassy Sunpops!

The nice folks at Kelloggs were gracious enough to send us two boxes of Frosted Mini Wheats, the Sassy Sunpops recipe and a Cereal To Go Cup. This is the neatest cup! The top part of the cup has a lid and operates as a bowl. The bottom part of the cup has nontoxic freezer gel inside it to keep milk cold. And there’s a spoon in the lid. (Since I’m not giving you mine, you can buy the cup from the Kelloggs website store.) Until I received this bowl here’s how I took my breakfast to work. Cereal was put in a baggie. Milk was put in an empty water bottle. At work cereal was poured into a paper coffee cup and then milk onto the cereal. I’d have to do this twice. Usually by the time I was ready for the second half of my cereal my milk was getting warm. This cup makes it so much easier to bring breakfast to work and keep it tasting fresh. Thanks Kelloggs!

The idea for Snacktivate is a good one. We all do need to eat healthier. And quality family time is always good. So take some time to learn about Snacktivate and cook up some fun with the kids.

Jul 23, 2008 | 0 comments | View Post

Review of lunch at Boston Market

After seeing the Simple Review and giveaway of Boston Market I decided I wanted to try it for myself. It’s rare that I eat out by myself. Since I was all alone after dropping TJ at a party I decided to treat myself. From the outside it looks pretty much like a typical get in and get out franchise eatery. Once inside you see that it’s quite different. Yes, they have a dining area and they offer meals through a drive up window for adults in a hurry. I don’t use the word fast food because to me it just doesn’t seem to apply to this restaurant as it does to the other places we’re all familiar with. I didn’t know that they also offer catering!

Boston Market is now offering 5 new value meals for $5.99. I decided to get one of those. The choices were soup and a salad, chicken and a side, chicken pot pie, meatloaf and a side, a three side sampler. I chose the meatloaf. I was going to choose mashed potatoes with gravy as my side but the meal also came with an individual cornbread so I decided to go with the sweet corn instead. I ordered lemonade for my drink.

The sauce on the meatloaf is a hickory sweet combination of ketchup and barbeque sauce that I really liked. I’d buy it if it was sold in a bottle. The meatloaf was flavorful and juicy, The corn was crisp, not soggy as I feared it might be. It was sweet and had a hint of garlic in it. The cornbread was warm and soft. The meal was quite filling and I enjoyed it very much.

At $5.99 these value meals are priced competitively with the other fast food chain combo meals. The food there looks more appetizing and since they don’t fry everything I’ll bet that the food is better for you too. Next time you want grab a bite on the go, see if there’s a Boston Market around and give their new value meals a try.

Jun 22, 2008 | 0 comments | View Post