food — Page 49

Del Monte – New Flavors!

October 10, 2012 By Anne

I’ve been making the same lunches for my kids for almost two months. I never get any complaints, but I want to switch it a bit up a bit.

Del Monte has come out with two new flavors in their Fruit Cups.

Diced Pears in extra light syrup with Vanilla & Spice and Diced Apples & Pears in extra light syrup with Caramel.

These both contain a full serving of fruit and contain no high fructose corn syrup.

I tried one of each and they are delicious! My kids are so picky, I’m not sure they will eat them, but I will!

Right now Del Monte has a game on Facebook, “Flavor Boom” Facebook game. This fun Del Monte game is played by filling up cups of fruit as you select the healthy ingredients that are found in the new Del Monte^® Fruit Cup^® varieties. You will see apples, pears and vanilla spice appear on your screen. The more cups you fill, the higher your score and the harder the game will get. You can also get a $1.00 off coupon after the game!

We recieved samples of the above produt. Opinions are my own.

Anne

I'm a mother of 2 who likes to get involved in too much! Besides writing here I started a non-profit, I'm on the PTO board, very active in my community and volunteer in the school. I enjoy music, reading, cooking, traveling and spending time with my family. We just adopted our 3rd cat and love them all!

The Southern Foodie – Cookbook

October 1, 2012 By Anne

The Southern Foodie – 100 Places to Eat in the South made it’s way to my house as my newest cookbook!

When I read a snippet of the book, I thought, Yumm! I’ve been wanting to travel to other southern states for a while now and sample all the delicious foods. The chapters in the book are made up of 13 souther states. Each state features several restaurants and food they serve, as well as a few recipes for each.

The first state I checked out was Florida, since that’s where I live. There is beautiful picture of key limes! Yumm – I love Key Lime Pie! Of course the first recipe in Florida is Chef Jim’s Key Lime Pie. Before the recipes is a whole page dedicated to the restaurants the recipes come from.

Each restaurant features 1-3 recipes. The restaurants are described in length. It makes me want to visit each and every one for them! I would love to have a job that allowed me to do that!

So, what’s on my to make list? Almost to many to list!

From Kentucky – Country Ham Fritters.

From North Carolina – The Southern Fried Chicken BLT – oh my!

From South Carolina – Hattie Mae’s Tomato Pie

Tennessee – Hash Brown Casserole

Florida – The Key Lime Pie

Hattie Mae’s Tomato Pie

Recipe Type: Dinner

Cuisine: Southern

Serves: 6

Ingredients

4 ripe, but firm large tomatoes, sliced 1/4-inch thick
salt
1 (9-inch) piecrust, chilled
1/2 cup finely diced onions
1/2 cup chopped fresh herbs, such as tarragon, oregano, parsley and basil
pepper
1 cup mayonnaise
1 cup grated Cheddar cheese

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350′. Place the tomatoes on a baking sheet and season with salt. Allow to sit for a few minutes until some of their water is drawn out. Pat dry with a paper towel. Place 1/2 of the tomatoes in the piecrust. Top with the onions and 2 tablespoons of the herbs, and season with salt and pepper. Combine the mayonnaise, cheese and remaining herbs in a small bowl. Spread this mixture on top of the pie. Bake for 25 minutes, until golden brown.

The author, Chris Chamberlain writes about food and drinks in Nashville. He’s lived there most of his life, except for four years of college. He has served as judge for numerous restaurant competitions around the South.

If you are looking for some new fun ideas fro cooking, check out The Southern Foodie!!

I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze®.com <http://BookSneeze®.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Anne

Simply Potatoes…

September 29, 2012 By Anne

Sometimes making dinner is a pain. Don’t get me wrong I love a good homemade meal, but all the prep work and get me down a bit.

There is some things you can do to make it easier on yourself, like already made mashed potatoes. Have you tried them? My mom makes instant potatoes, but I like the already made kind better.

We received a couple coupons to purchase Simply Potatoes. They were BOGO at Publix so I got 2 free!! Score!

We made out usual chicken and mashed potatoes and corn dinner. This is a favorite in our house. We eat it about once a week. BUT, this time I used Simply Potatoes instead of the homemade kind.

Let’s just say that we had to open the second package, because the first one was quickly eaten!

The kids loved it, hubby liked it and I liked it!! Yeah!

Will I buy it again? Probably… my hubby loves to make his own, but I can see me buying them on sale to make dinner a little easier.

I received 2 coupons to review. Opinions are my own.

Anne

Arbor Mist Wine Review #SSCheers

September 14, 2012 By Anne

Summer is ending but the wine doesn’t have to! Arbor Mist Wines have some fun new flavors – Blackberry Merlot, Strawberry White Zinfandel, and White Pear Pinot Grigio.

I’ve seen these in almost every store lately. They are little pouches of wine that come warm. Just stick them in the freezer for five hours and massage, pour and enjoy!!

I participated in the Arbor Mist Frozen Wine Cocktails Program through She Speaks. I received a box with two of each flavors: Blackberry Merlot, Strawberry White Zinfandel, and White Pear Pinot Grigio. Each pouch will fill 2 glasses.

My mother and I shared the Blackberry Merlot. I liked it, but my mom did not. She drank it, but thought it was too sweet. The Blackberry is a mix of ripe blackberries and Guava.The White Pear Pinot Grigio is a mix of ripe pear, apples and citrus. I was not a fan of this one, but then again I don’t drink Pinot Grigio often. My next glass of wine was the Strawberry White Zinfandel. Now I liked this one, very sweet and strawberry – Yumm!

Here is my list in order of most liked:

1. Strawberry White Zinfandel

2. Blackberry Merlot

3. White Pear Pinot Grigio

Arbor Mist Frozen Wine Cocktails are great for the end of summer barbecues, parties or just a get together with family and friends. It’s super easy, just freeze and serve. No mixing, ice or blenders.

I received Arbor Mist Wines to try through She Speaks. Opinions are my own.

Anne

Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cook Book Giveaway

September 12, 2012 By Anne

Having been home since the move in February I have been trying to cook more and try new things. When asked to review Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts Cookbook, I was ecstatic!

I asked my cousin, Merrilee if she would like to have a girls cooking day. I went to her house and found 20 recipes we wanted to try. But we had to narrow it down a bit. There are so many fun and yummy recipes to choose from. Merrilee took down a few recipes while we were looking. Here hubby likes anything lemon.

We choose – Hummingbird Cake, Peach Pie and Blackberry – Peach Coffee Cake.

The Blackberry -Peach Coffee Cake

The Peach Pie

Savannah went to help put! She had fun stirring and measuring and cracking the eggs! Merrilee loves to bake and cook and she has everything you could ever want! I’m so glad I went to her place to do this!! The only thing she didn’t have was 3 9-inch cake pans! I should have pre-read more carefully and brought mine too. We made it work and just used 2.

Some tips I learned from all of this? (All from Merrilee)

Room temperature eggs cook better.

Always measure correctly. I’m one of those people that just kinda guesses.

Place wax paper on plate before frosting. When done, just peel away the paper and your plate is clean!

I choose to share the Hummingbird Cake recipe with you! I hope to share the others with you soon!

Hummingbird Cake

Recipe Type: Dessert

Author: Southern Living

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 23 mins

Total time: 43 mins

Serves: 12

Ingredients

3 cups all purpose flour
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
2 large eggs
1 (8 oz) can crushed pinepple, undrained
1 3/4 cups mashed ripe banana (about 5-6 bananas)
1/2 cup unsweetened applesause
3 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla exract
5 cup Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting
Garnish:chopped walnuts

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350. Combine flour and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Stir together eggs and next 5 ingredients; add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened. (Do not beat) Pour batter into 3 greased and floured 9-inch round cake pans.
Bake at 350 for 23-25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Let cool in pans on wire racks 10 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks and cool completely (about 1 hour).
Spread 5 Cup Lemon-Cream Cheese Frosting between layers and on top and sides of cake. Garnish, if desired.

5 Cup Cream Cheese Frosting –
prep. 10 min

2 (8oz) packages of cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 (32oz) package powered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

1. Beat cream cheese and butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powered sugar, beating until fluffy. Stir in vanilla.

Would you like to win a copy of Southern Living Classic Southern Desserts? One Mommy Has to Work reader will win a copy!!

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I received a copy of this book to review. Opinions are my own.