swanson Archives - MomStart

Swanson Unsalted Stock Flavor Boost & Beef With Caramelized Shallots Recipe

December 8, 2011 by Momstart 77 Comments

Thanksgiving may be over, but Holiday dinners, parties, and even New Year’s meals are EVERYWHERE on the calendar. When you’re trying to figure out what to make, or how to make your go-to dishes even better, make sure you check out Swanson Cooking Stock. Swanson is not a new name to the kitchen kingdom, but they have continued to develop innovative products that are easy to incorporate into your favorite recipes.

Swanson has recently introduced Swanson Flavor Boost to their line of stocks and broths. Usually broth is used to provide a richly-seasoned base for soups, sauces, etc. Sometimes it can even be used to add flavor or that extra moistness you are looking for in rice, vegetables, pasta, and even stuffing. Swanson Flavor Boost provides the hearty flavor of their regular broth products, but in a tiny concentrated liquid packet. Your eyebrows might go up a little as you wonder if that means it has added chemicals and products. Good news! Swanson Flavor Boost is 100% natural and has no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives, and no added MSG. It’s designed to be used as a finishing touch by adding lots of flavor at the end of some of your favorite meals without all of the excess liquid. It comes in three different flavors: chicken, beef, and vegetable.

While the Swanson Flavor Boost is an amazing product that I can personally say adds some juicy goodness to some otherwise bland dishes, I’m also a huge fan of cooking with Swanson Unsalted Cooking broths. Swanson Cooking Stock is made with premium meat that has been simmered with just the right herbs, spices, and veggies.

Broth is something that I ALWAYS keep on hand. You never know when you might need it to spunk up a bland dish. I can honestly say that there is a slight taste and quality difference between Swanson and my store variety. After having Swanson products in my kitchen for the review, I’m pretty sure that I will never go back to any of the other brands.

In order to test out the Swanson products I made 2 different dishes. You can check out the recipe for my Swanson Turkey Burgers on Momicles. I also wanted to share another great recipe here on MomStart. The Turkey Burger Recipe features the Swanson Flavor Boost while this one features their unsalted Cooking Stock. Both are DELICIOUS!

Beef With Caramelized Shallots Recipe

Also found on Momicles

Ingredients:

2 T olive oil
1 boneless beef sirloin steak, 3/4-inch thick (about 1 lb), cut into thin strips
6 medium shallots cut into quarters (about 1 cup)
1/2 c. dry red wine
1 T balsamic vinegar
1 T Dijon style mustard
1 T minced garlic
1 1/2 c Swanson Cooking Broth (Beef Flavor)
1 package of egg noodles

Directions:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat.
Add the beef and cook until well browned, stirring often.
Remove the beef from the skillet.
Heat the remaining oil in the skillet.
Add the shallots and garlic and cook for 5 minutes or until the shallots are lightly browned, stirring occasionally.
Stir the wine and vinegar and Swanson Cooking Broth into the skillet and cook on for 5 – 10 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by 1/2.
Stir in the mustard.
Return the beef to the skillet and cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling.
Serve the beef mixture with the egg noodles.

Want to try out one of the recipes for yourself? GOOD! Swanson has teamed up with MomStart for a great giveaway. You’ll be able to add some extra, flavory, goodness to some dishes of your own!

This giveaway has ended. Congratulations to the winner, Lily Kwan.

All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

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.

About Ashley:

Ashley has a background in teaching Kindergarten and working with children K through 8th grade. She is now a SAHM and President of our local MOMS Club chapter. She writes her own blog at Momicles.

The Ultimate Football Recipe Challenge: Swanson Poppy Seed Chicken Pizza Bites

December 18, 2010 by Momstart 47 Comments

Swanson Premium Chunk Chicken has asked bloggers to come up with the Ultimate Football recipe using the Swanson Premium Chunk Chicken. These cans of chicken are so convenient for busy moms, and families to throw lunch dinner, or a quick snack together in minutes. I knew exactly what I wanted to make for this contest.

This is a family recipe but altered to be more party friendly!

Swanson Poppy Seed Chicken Pizza Bites Recipe

1 cup of sour cream
2 cans of Swanson Chicken (large cans)
2 cans of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder
2 Tablespoons of Poppy Seeds
1 Package of Ritz crackers (crushed)
2 Tablespoons of Butter (melted)
1 Pre-made Pizza Crust

Directions:

1) Prepare the Pizza Crust according to the directions on the package

2) Preheat oven to 350 degrees

3) Combine the first five ingredients in a bowl and mix until well distributed

4) Pour into a 9 by 13 pan and heat for 20 minutes

5) Raise the temperature of the oven to 400 degrees

6) Spoon out the heated chicken mixture onto the pizza crust, use as much or as little as you would like on your pizza. Spread out to the edges.

7) Sprinkle out the crackers over the pizza

8) Pour the melted butter over the crackers

9) Cook in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes (or until the crackers are a nice golden brown color

10) Use the leftover mixture as a dip/appetizer

11) When the pizza is done, depending on what type of party you are having, cut the pizza into pizza slices or squares (pizza bites) for party snacking

What do you think? Would you try it? What would you make with the chicken?

This was posted as an entry into a contest sponsored by Swanson as a chance to visit the Campbell’s Kitchen prize package value of 1500 and the title “Ultimate Swanson Football Champion 2011!”

The Great Stuffing Debate Giveaway

November 23, 2010 by Momstart 604 Comments

Today I was sitting around the table with my neighbors and this conversation actually came up. My neighbor was asking me if I had ever heard of The Great Stuffing Debate, and I smiled because I knew I needed to write this post.

How do you cook your stuffing? Do you cook it inside the bird or outside of the bird? One of my neighbors actually cooks it in the turkey and then takes it out and cooks it even more outside of the turkey. They claim that you can’t get the right flavor without cooking it inside of the bird. Oh, and to top that off, what do you put in your stuffing? Mine changes from year to year!

EVERYONE AGREES that it’s not a proper holiday without stuffing. But EVERYONE DISAGREES about what should be in that stuffing. Bread crumbs or cornbread? Dried fruit? Nuts? Sausage? One person’s “yum” is another’s “yuck!” And where there is conflict, there is wicked comedy just waiting to happen.

I like to make my dressing outside of the bird and I make a lot of it separately. It all starts with a package of corn bread mix and changes every year. I put different stuff in my dressing depending on what I have on hand and what sounds good to eat. Last year I put pecans in it and this year I will not. It’s crazy because I know two years ago I loved pecans in the dressing and then last year I thought it was AWFUL. So yeah, I see why there is a great stuffing debate, since I can’t even keep one recipe straight.

My Stuffing Recipe

Package of corn bread

egg
milk

Package of stuffing mix
Swanson Chicken Broth
2 cups cooked Sausage
1 pkg fresh Mushrooms
3 Hard Boiled Eggs

Directions:

Make the corn bread, Boil The Eggs, Cook the sausage, or use already cooked sausage

Crumble up the corn bread

Pour out the dressing into a bowl, add 1 package of mushrooms, add 3 diced hard boiled eggs, add the crumbled corn bread, add the sausage and gently stir

Place it in a 9 by 12 pan

Pour 2 to 3 cups of Swanson Chicken Broth over the mixture, making sure everything is moist, and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until golden brown.

I’ve never written the recipe down, and I wish I had my grandmother’s recipe. She makes the most awesome dressing including parts of the turkey, and celery and onions. I just LOVE it, but I make something closer to what I hope my husband will eat, even though he doesn’t like it very much.

What I really Question is, do you even have stuffing with your Turkey. My husband doesn’t like it because he doesn’t like what most people put in it.

Find even more information at The Great Stuffing Debate!

The Debate Center – Weigh in on questions that gauge stuffing preferences and other related topics.
In the Kitchen – Use the stuffing spinner to find the perfect stuffing – from traditional to adventurous and everything in between – as well as other holiday recipes, cooking tips and techniques, substitution solutions, and leftovers ideas.
Stuffing Skirmish – This humorous video shows what happens when good people do bad stuffing. Watch the family dynamics unfold as two very different sides of the family – with equally different views on stuffing – come together for the holiday feast.
Fun Stuff – Get ready for the Turkey Dance! The Swanson CGI turkey does the tango, dances like Elvis and takes a trip to the 70s. Choose a favorite and share with friends and family via email, Facebook or Twitter.

Enter to Win:

150.00 Visa from Swanson in celebration of the Great Stuffing Debate

To Enter:

Leave a comment here telling me what you like in your stuffing.

Extra Entries:

Follow me on twitter & Follow Swanson on Twitter & Tweet: The Great Stuffing Debate Answer: What do you put in your stuffing? for 150.00 #Giveaway http://bit.ly/gTfXRb PL RT

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This giveaway ends December 13th. All rules can be found under giveaway rules.

M80 contacted me on behalf of Swanson Broth they provided me with a gift card to cover the costs of Thanksgiving and are providing the gift card for the winner.