Even better than I thought

Ever been so excited for something that while you were hopeful it would in fact equal how you are envisioning in your mind, it ends up being less than expected or worse? I know, when you realize I am simply talking about a side dish to a weekend meal you are possibly thinking my idea of excitement has a pretty low threshold. Hey, we all have our own definitions, right? Well, the Honey Apple Baked Beans I posted about last week were in fact on that level of expectation (it was pretty high) and in fact, they exceeded it.

They exceeded it in two ways - rave reviews by the entire family sitting down to the meal but even more importantly, they were easier than expected (and I was not planning on a high level of difficulty). Once the grill was started (I am a straight up charcoal griller) and while it took its charmingly sweet time getting ready, I started on the beans. Kari (my wife) suggested we toss the bacon in the oven - and if you have never tried this, highly recommend it for ease, little less mess and sacrifice just a little crispiness, but not much - so she took this on while I worked on the apples. I sliced and diced them up (left them with peel on), tossed them in the pan with the beans, mustard and then the bacon was done. After slicing up the bacon, stirred it all together and then as it began to simmer, in went the Honey Apple Grill Sauce.


Adding the Honey Apple Grill Sauce

From there, a low heat allowed for melding of flavors while I continued to work on the main dish on the grill of burgers and steaks. The final product was a pleasing side to the fresh grilled taste of the top attraction...although Kayden (my 11 year old) was willing to move this item to the feature placing on his plate.

Finished product ready to dish up

Favorite part of the dish - the apples. The texture and sweet/tart balance they added against the other flavors was great!

Officially kicking off summer - kind of

While the "official" start to summer is still a few weeks away, this weekend is it for many people. School is done for the year for my boys as of yesterday and Memorial Day weekend is upon us. Growing up, as the son of educators, summer started when school ended for all of us, which often times was into the first part of June - so Memorial Day weekend was not the launch to summer it is for our family now. The weather is usually cooperative, and while there is yard work to be done and other stuff to take care of, it is a great opportunity to soak up family time, fire up some BBQ and get down to business.

Since we have the time one of the days of the 3-day weekend (compared to usual dinner time of eating right before heading somewhere or late after getting back from something) I will usually do a main dish that takes a little more work and/or time than usual, something from the "low and slow" philosophy such as ribs or brisket. And round it out with a side dish or two that is traditional with a spin. (You have heard that from me before, haven't you?)

So, to that end, check out this version (recipe under the photo) of beans that will be accompanying whatever route I go with food this weekend, Honey Apple Baked Beans, courtesy of the food blog at tsrecipes.com.

 

 

Ingredients

• 5 slices thick-cut bacon chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 (15 oz. cans) baked beans
• 1/2 cup Honey Apple Grill Sauce
• 1 tsp. mustard
• 2 small apples peeled and chopped

Instructions

Using a deep skillet, cook bacon over medium heat until crisp, draining off any excess grease. Stir in all remaining ingredients. Simmer over low heat, stirring regularly, about 1 hour – until thick and bubbly.

So easy, so simple, so delicious. And there are some other tips and hints to twist the version even more. Enjoy the weekend, honoring those who served our country and starting off your summer!

Sweet, smoky, a touch of spice

I love a flavor balance of sweet, smoky and a hint of spice. And this is why Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce is one of my absolute favorite products from Tastefully Simple. It is the first sauce I can honestly say I tried on a whim prior to becoming a consultant and fell in love with it. The forward notes of the pomegranate lead to the smokiness of the chipotle and then the finish of a little kick to the throat. Yes, that is all good in my book.

Every once in a while, I will make a meal completely centered on a particular flavor or product and most recently, this was about the aforementioned Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce. We fired up the grill for some classic burgers (seasoned simply with Garlic, Garlic and Onion, Onion); cut sweet potatoes into thin slices for a "chip" effect, baked them in the oven with Ultimate Steak Seasoning; and tossed together some romaine lettuce and grape tomatoes. By now you are thinking, where does the sauce come in? That is where it gets real good, the sauce topped each item off!


Complete plate of finished products: a glaze to the burger, as a salad dressing and drizzled on the sweet potato chips.

This was once again a very simple and quick meal to pull together. Burgers: take preferred ground meat for burgers, mix with Garlic, Garlic and Onion, Onion to taste (I used 2 Tbsp of each for 2.5 pounds of ground beef), patty to about 1/3 pound and grill. Sweet potato chips: slice sweet potato into 1/8 inch slices, spray with cooking spray or drizzle with Roasted Garlic Infused Oil, sprinkle Ultimate Steak Seasoning on both sides, bake at 350 degrees until done. For the salad, toss together your favorite ingredients that make a light side to a summer meal. And again, finished each as pictured above, with the Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce.







Twisting on an old favorite

There are classic food dishes that exist in every culture, every setting, every meal of the day...and putting a spin on a "classic" is always fun to do. While this idea is not my own, I was inspired by the Tastefully Simple food blog tsrecipes.com who put out a version of a BLT (pictured below) that I will be trying soon, the Raspberry Avocado BLT.

 

 

So, what is something you like to put your own signature on? I like taking any BBQ sauce and trying it out as a Sloppy Joe (as detailed in a previous post). I also love to do different versions of meatloaf, meatballs and nachos. I know - nachos. We have successfully coined the terms "deli nachos" and "pasta nachos" in our house. The first being any favorite deli meat, deli cheese, mustard and pickles - heat until melted and enjoy. Pasta Nachos similar with tortilla chips as your base instead of pasta and then a meaty tomato sauce, melted mozzarella on top and call it good.

 

I look forward to sharing more twists of classics soon! 

Treating Mom right

To me, nothing defines a special day more than breakfast prepared with heart and soul, which often means a time committment. Yet so many times, the time committment is a challenge. With Mother's Day approaching this weekend, the boys and I almost always start the day off for Kari with a special breakfast. Some years, there is more time involved than others but planning and executing is always so much fun.

Quiche is one dish that does not have to take a lot of time, but the finished product almost always looks like there was much put into preparing it. A continued strength of Tastefully Simple products is the execution of something delicious, with plenty of thought and preparation put into a meal while also not having to put in the time. You can really have all that you want. So often, quiche will be involved in the breakfast we prepare.

In celebration of Mom - the time she deserves with those close to her and the end result of something special to start off her day, I think the Corn, Black Bean Quiche below (featuring one of my absolute favorite products) is a great way to go.

Corn, Black Bean Quiche
Submitted by Pat Boll (MN)

Ingredients
1 refrigerated pie crust
1 1/2 cups Corn, Black Bean Salsa
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese, divided
1 Tbsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix™
6 eggs
1 cup sour cream
Avocado for garnish

Directions
Bake pie crust for 10 minutes at 425°. Pour salsa into crust; top with 1 cup cheese. Combine Fiesta Party Dip Mix™, eggs and sour cream; pour over filling. Bake at 425° until quiche rises and is set, approximately 20 minutes. Top with remaining cheese; bake an additional 5 minutes until cheese melts and is brown. Cool 5 minutes before serving. Garnish with avocado and addtional salsa. Makes 8-10 servings.

Who wants more soup?

When this question was asked Friday night when I served up my own version of the Chicken Corn Chowder recipe in the post from Friday, it was met with a resounding "ME" by everyone at the table. I did what I love to do - take a recipe proven as good and put my twist on it, thankfully enjoyed by everyone.

Here is what I did differently from the recipe: I used a bottle of beer in place of 12 oz of water; used about 1.5 lbs of chicken boneless, skinless chicken thighs seasoned with Wahoo Chili while cooking and further while they rested in prepping the soup; used 1 cup of cheese instead of 2; added diced red bell peppers right before serving.

My steps: cooked the chicken in a dutch oven with Wahoo Chili seasoning; removed to let rest, seasoned a bit further with Wahoo Chili; drained most of the liquid from the pan but left some for deeper flavor within the soup; added the soup mix, a bottle of beer, 4.5 cups water and cooked as directed; then added the remainder of ingredients, again with only half of the cheese. After letting it further simmer to let flavors come together, dished into bowls and topped with the diced red bell peppers. I would have also added green onions had we had them, but did not.

On the side, I served the below recipe but altered it by using the Savory Wheat Beer Bread Mix and mad them into biscuits instead of baking as a loaf of bread.

Fiesta Party Bread
Submitted by Teresa Ovalle (VA)

Ingredients
Bountiful Beer Bread Mix^®
12 oz. lime flavored beer
1 1/2 Tbsp. Fiesta Party Dip Mix™

Obviously, it was a bit of a Cinco de Mayo menu just a couple of days early. And it is one I will be repeating for sure.

Soup sounds good to me

Back in April, I wrote how it was odd to be seeking comfort food in April. Well sure enough, we sit here in eastern Iowa on May 3 and thank goodness I am looking at nothing but 35 degrees and persistent rain. Because in central Iowa (and many other parts where friends and family live) wet and heavy snow to the tune of almost a foot has rocked the start to month number 5 of 2013. Heck, school delays, cancellations and early dismissals are a part of life right now because of weather.

In light of all of this, while soup is never a bad option to me, has it ever sounded so good? So tonight, soup it is. I am thinking Chicken Corn Chowder sounds good. It will make use of chicken we have already in the fridge, will have a little flavor of Mexico - appropriate since Cinco de Mayo is this weekend - and

One of the many great things about Tastefully Simple products is turning them into dinner. With a product or two, an ingredient or two (that usually is on hand or easily obtained from a quick grocery run) and not that much time, dinner is on the table. So hopefully, following the below recipe (not my own but from tastefullysimple.com, thanks Dawn Dean from Georgia), dinner tonight will resemble this:

 

I will update this with any personal twists I apply to the recipe and maybe, a photo of my own.

 

Chicken Corn Chowder
Submitted by Dawn Dean (GA)

Ingredients
Perfectly Potato Cheddar Soup Mix
6 cups water
1 lb. chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
11 oz. can mexi corn
4.5 oz. can chopped green chiles
2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Prepare soup as directed on package with water; Simmer 30 minutes. Add remaining ingredients;stir to blend. Let simmer until heated through. Makes 6-8 servings.

A fine pork chop indeed

We mixed it up tonight on the grill - away from the red meat we have been favoring of late to nice bone-in pork chops. While this sounds odd to say, it has been a long time since we have had these at our house. True, we eat plenty of pork, but usually in the form of boneless pork loin, pulled pork, butterfly chops, any variations of sausage...you name it, we will enjoy it here. We usually opt for something without the bone for ease of eating with the boys. This time though, we went full on traditional pork chops.

After seasoning with Everyday Grillin' Seasoning, I tossed the chops on the grill and in very short order, a couple of turns, they were ready to roll. I made sure to let them rest before serving them up, preserving the juices. I then finished mine off with Pomegranate Chipotle Sauce. I also tossed my veggies with Everyday Grillin' Seasoning. The finished plate is below.

Both of these items I have used individually on pork previously, but this was the first time together and it was overall a thumbs up at the dinner table. The smokiness of each product complemented each other well. A good dinner for sure!