Our 2:00 AM cookies turned out to be Iron Man Sugar Cookies.
Welch’s Natural Spreads in Recipes
March 9, 2012 By 349 Comments
Of course Welch’s Natural Spreads are good on toast, biscuits and bread of any kinds, but they’re also great for recipes…like Strawberry Cake.
Welch’s® Natural Spreads has no high fructose corn syrup and all natural with no preservatives. It also has no artificial flavors or colors and comes in the flavors you have already come to know and love from Welch’s. And I think it’s great that it’s natural and without high fructose corn syrup.
I’ve used Welch’s spreads in recipes before. You remember Zoe’s Tinker Bell Birthday Cake? This cake was made in grape and strawberry with the help of Welch’s. The grape cake and the strawberry cake were both very moist and tasty. 
Welch’s has a Welch’s recipe box where they share other really great recipes that you can create using Welch’s brand products.Try it in a cupcake or muffin recipe. Instead of maple syrup, spread over pancakes and top with a little powdered sugar. It’s also great in plain Greek yogurt, or can add some delicious fruit flavor to frozen yogurt!
Heads Up! National PB&J Day is April 2nd! Visit Welch’s on Facebook starting March 19th to enter the Where Do You PB&J? photo contest! You could win a $5,000 family vacation!
This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Vickie C.
We received samples.
All rules can be found under giveaway rules
Food Photography In The Space Needle #2DaysInSeattle
February 23, 2012 By 17 Comments
We had dinner at the Space Needle. Yes it is expensive to eat there but it includes your tickets to go to the observation deck. So it’s not that expensive after you factor that in. In fact it’s the same as any other nice restaurant in Seattle after you consider that. We spent around $150 for all four of us, we got two meals, four drinks, an alcoholic beverage, coffee and two desserts. Cost to get in for a family of four to the Space Needle is $62. Now for the food, I cleaned my plate.
And if this doesn’t make you hungry I don’t know what will. I ate it all and had a hard time not licking the plate in front of my children.
And this was my husband’s dessert
And my smoking drink! Dry ice cubes are awesome.
I was so hungry I forgot to take pictures of our entrées
We ended up spending more than 2daysinSeattle gave us, deciding that it was worth the experience for our family to have a fun night at the Space Needle.
A Curry Chicken Frittata Recipe #HormelFamily
February 22, 2012 By 6 Comments
I bought a Costco size package of red potatoes and I wanted to cook something else with them before they went bad. I’m not exactly sure when a potato has gone bad, I think someone once told me that once they start growing then they are bad but if that’s the case then how do you know when a potato is ok for you. That question is for another day I suppose because my potatoes were still good. I used my can of Hormel Chicken and potatoes and eggs and created a Curry Chicken Frittata.
I opened up the can of Hormel Chicken, drained it and rinsed it. Put butter in a skillet and used a teaspoon of salt and 2 Tablespoons of curry and 6 peeled and chopped red potatoes.
Cooked for about 10 minutes, then added 1/2 cup water and let simmer for 15 more minutes. Next I cracked 6 eggs and stirred with a fork, then added 1/2 cup of cheese and poured into the pan. Cooked for about 5 minutes, letting the eggs get solid. Now I was worried about the eggs getting over cooked on the bottom so I stirred it a bit to make sure the liquid on the top would cook.
Curry Chicken Frittata Recipe:
Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 10 OZ can of Hormel Premium Chunk Chicken (drained and rinsed)
6 red potatoes peeled and chopped
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons Curry
1/2 cup water
6 eggs
1/2 cup cheese
Directions:
- Cook the chicken, and potatoes in the butter for about five minutes.
- Add the salt and curry and cook for about five more minutes.
- Then add water and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, making sure the potatoes are cooked all the way
- Crack the eggs in a separate bowl, scramble them with a fork and add 1/2 cup of cheese
- Pour over the chicken and potatoes and cook the eggs until they are done, be careful not to over cook them.
I’m part of the Hormel Family Blogger Program and this post enters me into a contest at the end of six months.
MorningStar Farms joins the Meatless Monday Campaign Veggie Meatball and Veggie Dog Review
February 5, 2012 By 6 Comments
By Orshi,
Have you made a commitment to eat healthier this year? My guess is that you are among most families who try to take steps toward putting nutritious and great tasting dishes on the table daily. I grew up in a culture where eating meat IS what you do and I have not met a single 
vegetarian until I entered high school. Our mother went through many health kicks (funny, now that I think about it) and one of them was cutting some meat out of our diet. I am proud to say that she was quite successful with it and up to this day, she still prepares certain foods with soy and vegetable based products. That small little step she took still has lasing affects on my life. If it were up to me, we would eat meat only a few times a week and I do not think my children would mind it … except for the little carnivore I have for a youngest son.
Morningstar Farms Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs and Veggie dogs are just the thing to start you off on that small commitment that may change your family’s healthy eating habits on the long term, not to mention that it is truly a small step toward the health of our planet as well. MorningStar has just joined the Meatless Monday Campaign to give families a great start to every week by offering amazing meatless choices. Meatless Monday is a movement embraced by hundreds of thousands of people, seeking to change their health by going meatless just one day a week. Small commitment, don’t you think?
I have received samples from both the Veggie Dogs and the Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs for this review. My older son loves MorningStar Corndogs and he was super excited to get into the Veggie Dog box. To his great enjoyment, it was just as what he expected. My children usually just dunk their dog in mustard and ketchup and simply skip the bun so these ‘naked’ dogs were a nice snack one afternoon. They cooked up in a matter of minutes. If you are used to regular hotdogs, you might find them a bit firmer but just as defined in taste as the meaty competitors. With 50 calories, 7g of protein, only 0.5g of fat, and flavor not compromised, they just cannot pick a fight with real hotdogs when it comes to health.
As for the MealStarters Veggie Meatballs … well, they turned into this:
I tossed those little babies into a cast iron skillet with some olive oil and browned them to perfection. They were crispy and delicious on the outside and tender on the inside. In a whole wheat pita with tasty cucumbers, tomatoes, green onions, feta cheese and some home made tzadziki they made quite the ‘hmm’s’ and ‘yumms’ around the dinner table. Each serving (5 meatballs – and that’s a lot of meatballs) has only 130 calories, 15g of protein and 0.5g of fat (dare I compare that to Leading Frozen Fully Cooked Meatballs with 28g of fat?).
Meatless Monday’s are a great way to kick start healthy eating habits. “Most diets don’t last long-term because they’re not realistic”, argued by Kathy Kaehler, celebrity fitness trainer. Kathy offers simple steps to make small changes that will be lasting:
- Sunday SetUp: Create a list of what to buy. Include grain, lean protein, fresh fruits and veggies (preferably seasonal to a given area).
- Share the Health: Include family, friends, children in your commitment as supporters.
- Make the Unfamiliar, Familiar: Start incorporating familiar meatless products into your routine (for example make Veggie Meatballs with spaghetti).
- The rest of the week counts too: Try to exercise 3 times a week.
Join the movement and go Meatless on Mondays with MorningStar products! You can learn more about the Meatless Monday campaign from www.MeatlessMonday.com .
Both MorningStar Farms Veggie dogs and Meal Starters Veggie Meatballs are available at retail stores nationwide for $4.49 a carton.They are products from the Kellog Company and you can purchase them, along with all MorningStar products online as well at www.morningstarfarms.com .
About Orshi:
Orshi is a teacher at UCIC where she works daily with children. She shows a great love for children as she has three of her own. She also loves Facebook, gardening and baking. She was born and grew up in Hungary and now lives across the street.
14 Ways to Use Spinach and Kale
February 1, 2012 By 28 Comments
By Summer:
What do you do with spinach and/or kale? I’ve heard it but I’ve really seen it a lot on Facebook. I wanted to give you all my answers. Here are 14 things you can do with the spinach or kale you KNOW you should eat. Or for when it pops up in your vegetable box and you’re tempted to automatically compost it instead of letting it decompose in your vegetable drawer. Though they have different favors, I think you can swap, switch, and substitute the two for the most part.
One of my favorite quotes from the show Modern Family, “Kale is the new spinach.”
14 Ways to Cook with Spinach and Kale
1. Simply in a Salad. I favor the taste of spinach, so I enjoy a good spinach salad. Kale, I would use to make a Salad Mix my combining a bunch of different leafy greens. You can also add wilted spinach or kale to a quinoa salad for some color.
2. In your Taco Bar. One of my favorite dinner nights is taco night! I place all the fixings in separate bowls so each individual can make their own perfect taco/burrito. Common elements in our “bar” include cheese, onions, tomatoes, beans, sour cream, avocado, and spinach though kale would work fine too!
3. Through a hand full into your favorite Soup. I love to add kale to soup and spinach too. I like the texture of the “curly leaved” or Scots Kale; I think that can do wonders for a warm in your belly cup of soup.
4. Bake! WHAT?!?! That’s right! Use it in your savory or sweet cooking. If you add a full handful to a normal sized batch, you won’t taste it:
a. Blend – Put a handful of leaves into your blending machine and make it a puree. Then pour the puree into your favorite chocolate baked desserts like brownies or cake.
b. Wilt and Chop – Add it to breads and muffins. It’ll look green, but won’t alter the flavor much if at all. (Teaser! There is a Summertime Savory Muffin hitting Mom Start in July.)
5. Layer into Lasagna. Noodles, meat, cheese, sauce, spinach and/or kale, repeat. It cooks right in, but it’d be best to wilt it before just adding it as the leaves are “puffy”. Once you wilt the leaves allow time to dry and offer assistance in the drying by wringing it out and pat dry with a paper towel.
You might also be able to include it not only into lasagna, but into your families other favorite casseroles and bakes. Another layering option is pizza.
6. Add to Pasta Sauce. You can add spinach or kale to both homemade and store bought pasta sauce. When you’re heating up the sauce just add a handful of green or more. Remember the size will significantly reduce during wilting/cooking. Here are two options to add green into your sauces, just through a handful of spinach or kale into either recipe.
7. Make Chips. Kale chips seem to be a big fad here in the Pacific Northwest … maybe it’s national and I just don’t know it. The recipe is simple: 1 bunch kale or spinach, 1 Tablespoon EVOO, and salt to taste. Bake at 350oF for about 10 minutes. Chips are crispy and edges are brown but not burnt.
8. Build a Sandwich. You got the bread. You got the protein – meat and cheese. Don’t forget the veggies and fruits too! Instead of iceberg add some spinach or kale in addition to tomatoes and avocado.
9. Wrap. Not just sandwich wraps; that’d be cheating on #8. Wrap wilted spinach and kale into eggrolls, spring rolls, and wontons. Making your own at home are easy and the kids will love helping. Just pick up a package of eggroll or wonton wrappers in the refrigerator section of your grocery store. Don’t forget other veggies and meat too … not one wants just green inside! Try some water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, meat, matchstick carrots, celery, and corn; mix what you like in a bowl with the spinach and/or kale and then stuff your wrap.
10. Blend into smoothies and popsicles. My sons love GREEN smoothies. We drink what we want and make popsicles out of the rest. Good and good for you! If you add only about a handful you won’t alter the flavors from your sweet fruits.
11. Cream of spinach or kale. “Classic”! You can find different recipes on different sites, including vegan “creaming”. So check around, you can get healthy with it!
12. Form into Patties. Make a burger or form into smaller patties which are really nuggets; eggs will be your glue! Add in cheese, bread crumbs, onion, garlic, bell peppers. Fry it up on each side on your griddle.
13. Just add Egg – like an omelet, frittata, quiche, bake, or scrambled. Throw some green in it! You can also add other vegetable like onions, garlic, peppers, and meat.
14. Lastly and least … Garnish with spinach or kale. If my husband and I are enjoying a meal with spinach or kale then I present it on my sons’ plates too. If it’s “plain” like in a salad they won’t eat it, but it’s there on their plate and they can name it. I feel like I’m winning some sort of battle knowing my children are vegetable literate even if they won’t eat it. They’ve been exposed enough that every now and again one of them will take a bite out of the “garnish” even if they don’t like it … which they usually don’t (I’m not going to lie to you!).
If you have other ideas on what to do with spinach or kale please share them here in our comments section. I always like new ideas and other readers can then benefit from your knowledge
About Summer:
Summer is very active in our Local MOMS Club chapter, she is the mother of two adorable active boys, and is always thinking of ways to help others. She is a friend, a wife, and always busy as all mommies are. She is very active on Facebook, addicted to Geocaching and very interested in organic and green living while cooking up a storm
Fun Daisy Cottage Cheese Hearty Pasta Recipe Giveaway
August 27, 2011 By 214 Comments
Did you see our Tropical Cottage Cheese Smoothie recipe? It was super yummy and very filling. Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese is an excellent source of protein to help keep you going throughout the day. It has 14 grams of protein per ½–cup serving! Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese can be found in grocery stores and supercenters in select markets across the country. I wasn’t sure if we had the cottage cheese in our area but we do, our local Target carries the Daisy Cottage Cheese. Oh and In addition to the select markets, all U.S. military commissaries carry the products.
![DaisyCCLogoBB [Converted]](http://momstart.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/08/DaisyCCLogoBB-Converted.jpg "DaisyCCLogoBB [Converted]")
I’m a big fan of cottage cheese, it’s one of the only snacks that I can give to the kids that keep them full until dinner time. That makes me want to give it to them every day. It’s also quite fun to cook with. Try out this pasta recipe.
Ingredients
- 4 cups dry penne pasta
- 1 1/2 pounds ground beef
- 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 small chopped onion
- 1/4 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 4 ounce can mushrooms, drained
- 1 15 ounce can tomato sauce with Italian herbs
- 1 14.4 ounce can diced tomatoes, drained
- 1 cup Daisy Brand Cottage Cheese
- 8 ounces sliced Swiss cheese
Directions
Cook the pasta in salted water according to the package directions; drain and reserve. Meanwhile, in a medium skillet cook the ground beef until no longer pink; sprinkle with flour and salt. Add the onion, green bell pepper and mushrooms. Cook for an additional 2 minutes. Remove the mixture from the heat. Add the tomato sauce, drained tomatoes, and cottage cheese. Combine the beef mixture with the drained pasta. Pour into a 9×13 inch (3-quart) baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Top the casserole with sliced Swiss cheese. Bake the casserole at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese has melted and started to brown.
This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winners: susitravl, ayelet, and Emma Peel.
All rules can be found under giveaway rules. We received free samples.
5 Uses for Town House Crackers
July 27, 2011 By 14 Comments
Town House Crackers are a tasty and versatile complement to all of your favorite dips and toppings. Create crowd-pleasing snacks perfect for any holiday bash, neighborhood block party, pool party or when your neighborhood friends stop by. In our neighborhood we take turns feeding all the kids, and it’s so nice to just get out a box of crackers. At the very beginning of this summer we received a special Town House Cracker package. Of course I devoured a box with the help of the kids. I used one package to make meat loaf and another package for entertaining.
We enjoyed our boxes. We received three different variations of the crackers and after having and liking all of them, I wanted to share 5 fun ways to use Town House Crackers:
1. Making Smiley Faces
2. Making Meat Loaf
3. Making Curried Vegetable Spread
4. Dipping in Roasted Sweet Pepper Spread
5. Housing Spicy Broccoli Spread
Check out the latest offer or saving from Kellogg: Kellogg’s™ CARS 2™ Program. We received samples in exchange for this post.
Spinach & Artichoke Pinwheels Recipe
June 8, 2011 By 5 Comments
When it comes to entertaining and parties, growing up I went to a ton of them. I’m part of a huge family, each parent I have and I have four of them, has like four or five brothers and sisters so we have LOTS of family which means we need lots of food. One really cool tip I learned from my step mom is how to make pinwheels. She uses a different cream cheese recipe than the one I’m using today, but this just came to me today.
The tortilla rolls pictured above have the New Light Spinach and Artichoke Soft Spreadable Cheese from Alouette. The new soft spreadable cheese is so easy to use when you don’t have time to make something from scratch. Cheese Details:
-
- 50 percent less fat and 30 percent less calories than regular spreadable cheese
- 100% all natural and a delicious lighter alternative to hummus
- Gluten-Free
- What’s more, artichokes contain more than 14 vitamins & minerals and are a great source of dietary fiber, magnesium and Vitamin C
- Spinach is loaded with phytonutrients and flavonoids that provide powerful antioxidant protection
Or Make Your Own:
Spinach & Artichoke Pinwheels Recipe:
| Spinach & Artichoke Pinwheels Recipe |
Recipe Type: Appetiser
Author:
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 25 mins
Total time: 35 mins
Serves: 15
Ingredients
- 1 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
- 1/2 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
- 1/2 cup sour cream (feel free to use low fat to save on calories)
- 1/4 cup mayonnaise (feel free to use low fat to save on calories)
- 1/4 cup cream cheese
- 1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
- 1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
Directions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees
- Mix all the ingredients, place in a glass baking dish, cover with foil
- Cook for about 25 minutes or until bubbly
- Let Cool for 20 minutes
- Spoon healthy amounts onto the tortilla and spread it out
- Then roll up the tortillas
- Cut Tortillas into 1 inch rolls and place them flat on a serving dish
Google Recipe View Microformatting by Easy Recipe
Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation
Post Great Grains and Honey Bunches of Oats with Raisins
April 24, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last week, Post held a Facebook live video chat with Curtis Stone from NBC’s “America’s Next Great Restaurant” and host of Bravo’s “Top Chef Masters,”on the Post Great Grains Facebook Page. The conversation was about how Curtis believes in a whole-food philosophy and the importance of eating less-processed foods, like Post’s Great Grains Cereal, for better nutrition. Curtis said, “The best approach to food is to keep it whole. That’s what they do with Great Grains.” You can learn more from Curtis by watching the video over on the Post Great Grains Facebook Page.
I actually had no idea that Great Grains is a name of a type of cereal that Post makes. Great Grains uses more simple ingredients; more "whole food" ingredients like whole grain flakes from the actual wheat berry, as well as real fruit and nuts. Rather than grinding our wheat into flour and then stamping it into uniform flakes, Great Grains Cranberry Almond Crunch carefully cracks the whole wheat berry, and adds a mix of grains to provide a flake that helps lock in the full flavor and nutrients. The Great Grains cereals come in three different varieties, Cranberry Almond Crunch, Crunchy Pecan (which I really want to try) and Raisins, Dates, & Pecans.
We received Post’s Honey Bunches of Oats newest variety, Raisin Medley. With Three kinds of Raisins you’re sure to find raisins in every bowl of cereal. My husband and kids both really enjoyed eating it. There’s only one cereal with THREE different kinds of raisins and multi-grain flakes – New Honey Bunches of Oats Raisin Medley! Enjoy the crunchy oat clusters, crispy flakes and delicious raisins for the perfect balance of taste, texture and nutrition. I’m not a big raisin fan, so I didn’t care for the cereal, but my opinion doesn’t really count. I don’t like any cereal that gets soggy. You may be thinking, how do I eat cereal, I actually try not too. Or I eat it dry. I do love cereal dry.
Honey Bunches of Oats vanilla bunches is actually one of my favorites when eaten dry. I love that slight hint of vanilla on my cereal. While I was writing this review, I found that Post also makes a cereal called Just Bunches. Now Just Bunches looks like a cereal up my alley because they removed the part that gets soggy, the flakes. I’m going to have to try a box of Honey Roasted Just Bunches the next time I find it in the grocery store.
Disclosure – A product was provided to me free of charge by the manufacturer or representing PR agency for the writing of this review; however, opinions expressed are my own and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.
