Posts by admin:
- 1/2 cup soy sauce
- 2 limes, juiced
- 1 Tablespoon liquid smoke
- 2 Tablespoons El Yucateco Green Habanero Hot Sauce
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 Tablespoons spicy mustard
- 2 teaspoons oregano
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 2 packets stevia
- 1 pound chicken, boneless & cubed
- 4 ounces dried chorizo, sliced 1/2 inch thick
- 1 pound lamb, cubed
- 1/2 pound turkey sausage, sliced
- 30-40 bamboo skewers
- 1 pepper of choice, chopped in 1 inch squares
- 2 small red onions, diced 1 -inch thick
- 1 cup small button mushrooms
- 1 cup yellow squash, diced 1/2 inch cubes
- 1 cup zucchini squash, diced 1/2 inch cubes
- 1/4 cup vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Place all ingredients in a glass bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Cut meats and place in a quart ziplock bag.
- Add the marinade and refrigerate for 3 hours.
- Cut all the veggies and place in a gallon ziplock bag.
- Add the oil and salt and shake.
- Place in fridge until ready to use meat.
- Take a skewer and place a cube of meat first through the skewer.
- Follow with 1-2 veggies and repeat twice with different meats.
- Repeat with the rest of the skewers until all the meat and veggies are gone.
- Heat a grill indoors or outdoors and place skewers on heat and cook for 8 minutes, alternating the skewer halfway through and cover as well.
- Remove from heat and serve with corn tortillas.
- 1 half package puff pastry, refrigerated
- 5 ounces Kitchen Kettle Fig Balsamic jam
- 1 large red onion, sliced thinly
- 2 Tbsp oil
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced
- 5 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
- Remove 1 puff pastry from the box and put away the other for later.
- Unfold the pastry and thin it out using a rolling pin until it is closer to 9x13.
- Spread the fig jam over the pastry.
- Heat some olive oil in a pan and fry the red onion for about 10-12 minutes until completely caramelized. Spread onions over the jam. Cook the mushrooms in the same plan for 5 minutes and add over the onions.
- Crumble goat cheese over the ingredients and fold the edges over some of the filling creating about 1/2-inch crust edge.
- Bake at 400F and cook for 10-15 minutes until slightly golden.
- Cut into 6 squares.
Sweet and Spicy Parilla Skewers
September 21st, 2015This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #KingOfFlavor #CollectiveBias
Football season is here and how can I tell? By the sound of my husband’s cheering for his favorite teams. I truly enjoy hearing my girls laughing or asking their daddy questions about his excitement over his team scoring a touchdown. What better way for them to learn about sports!
One of the things my husband and I enjoyed a few years back was attending football games. My husband attended Michigan State and he had the opportunity to buy season tickets. Since I went to a college that had no football team, I was interested in enjoying this new extracurricular activity. Growing up I would hear my dad enjoy watching sports, but I hardly ever heard or enjoyed a live game. I was interested in seeing what the hype was all about.
We went TWO years attending MSU games because we enjoyed them so much. We would hang out with other grad students and even sometimes we were invited to tailgating parties. I really miss those days. After the second year, I got pregnant and I opted not to go the third season due to the uncomfortable seating. Either way, we still hung out with friends and had amazing food that we all shared.
Food just brings everyone together. It really does, and even if someone is on a diet, those are put on hold until the next day because there is so much delicious food! Finger foods, chips, dips, and grill food. As the autumn approaches and cooler weather creeps in, it is still the most ideal time to grill and have friends over during game season. We love entertaining and having a big screen television is such a plus in addition to having a spacious yard. While we have not been invited anywhere yet for tailgating parties, we look forward to hosting our own soon. As I started brainstorming for recipes, I decided that grilling should be something different from the normal hot dog and hamburger options.
As I was perusing Walmart, I purchased a few bottles of El Yucateco red and hot sauce. While hot sauces are seen as condiments, I thought I would create a spin on a regular kebab and marinate the meat using El Yucateco Green Habanero Hot Sauce.
Sometimes even a little heat can create the best flavor in meats, so I made my own marinade using soy sauce, mustard, spices, garlic, and El Yucateco hot sauce.
In Mexico, there is a dish that is served in a stone mortar carved out of volcanic rock called a molcajete. In restaurants, they serve a variety of grilled meats in the molcajete with different sauces making it a very eye-appealing meals. I would have to say that it is the Mexican version of how fajitas are served in the US.
I decided to take that concept and turn it into a grilled meat skewer. Parilla means grill so these skewers are grilled outdoors OR indoors after the meat has been marinating over a few hours.
I diced turkey sausage, dry chorizo, chicken and lamb and placed the meat in a quart plastic bag.
I mixed the ingredients for the marinade and let it sit for 5 minutes.
I then added the marinade to the meat bag and sealed it. I placed it in the refrigerator for 3 hours. I used 2 Tablespoons of El Yucateco Green Habanero Sauce which has less vinegar than the red sauce and is a little zestier. It packs a little more heat than the red sauce so even though used 2 Tablespoons of the sauce in the marinade it only gave it a slight bite. If you care for spicier foods, then add 1-2 teaspoons more.
Since I wanted the skewers for a party and not for dinner, I bought smaller bamboo skewers and soaked them for 2 hours. I then chopped all the desired veggies. We like peppers, onions, squash, zucchini, and mushrooms so there was a little of everything on the skewer.
I made the skewers by alternating meats and veggies on the stick and then cooked indoors on my grill for 7 minutes, alternating halfway. I covered the meat at the halfway point as well to increase cooking. Once I had them all grilled I heated some corn tortillas that accompanies the meat and plated the food.
My husband enjoyed the skewers so much he could not stop talking about it. The meat was SO tender and the flavor was fantastic especially with the chorizo. When serving the skewers at a party, you can serve them with more hot sauce and some tortillas for instant taco goodness. My recipe makes about 30-40 mini skewers.
Ingredients
Instructions
Are you ready to bring on the flavor for football season? What is your favorite recipe with El Yucateco Hot Sauce?
Sharing is Caring!
Chicco NaturalFit bottles for your Growing Babies {Review}
September 20th, 2015I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Chicco. I received product samples to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for my participation. #ChiccoNaturalFit
Now that I have my third baby, I feel like I could have the hang of all this baby. Of course, that is what my mind says while real life says otherwise. I was looking forward nursing my third baby but what I was not anticipating was managing toddlers while breastfeeding. The other fact I did not anticipate and that I merely forgot is that I needed ti devote time. Since I had a 2 year break between my second and third child, I had gotten used to my schedule. Now I realize I need to change a few things in order to manage my life a little better especially since I want to nurse my new baby.
One of the things I started thinking was to pump ahead of time in order to feed the baby with a bottle especially when I am running errands with my kids. I have had to feed the baby in the car while my girls have patiently waited for their baby sister feeding. Since it has been a couple of years since using bottles I have looked forward finding a bottle that would a great fit for my baby girl. I have noticed that when my baby feeds, she gulps a bit of air, causing gas and pain for her.
When I started transitioning my first daughter from nursing to bottle-feeding, it took a while for her to take to the bottle. The second baby was easier but I knew I had to be prepared with my third child. I was happy to know while at Babies ‘R Us, that Chicco’s NaturalFit Advanced Feeding & Soothing System could fit into my lifestyle and accomodate my growing baby. All the nipples fitted for the bottles are made of extra soft silicone allowing for an easy transition from breast to bottle. There are three stages of bottles, nipple angles and sizes to accomodate families.
Stage One is geared for newborns which includes a 5-ounce bottle with a slow flow nipple and an 8-ounce bottle with a medium flow nipple. I found it fascinating that the nipple has a unique angle with a wide base to ensure a baby’s latching. The angle of the nipple allows for the milk to always be available for the baby without any air going through, perfect for my baby.
Stage Two is geared towards babies starting at four months. The nipple is no longer angles but straight to anticipate baby’s feeding skills. The bottles are at 8 ounces and can be adjusted for slow, medium, or fast feeding depending on the baby’s growing appetite.
Stage Three is designed for older babies with increased sunction strength so the nipple is longer to help with a baby’s sucking pattern. The bottles come in 11-ounce bottles fitted with a fast flow nipple and a small rounder base for tighter lip support.
Even though my baby is 2 months old she has amazing sunction strength and feeds really well. She was able to quickly grow into the 5-ounce bottle with a medium flow. I was amazed at how quickly she grasped and transitioned to a bottle. It was definitely no work at all!
Do have little ones and struggling to find a bottle for them? Chicco is now offering a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee for all NaturalFit bottles. Those who purchase NaturalFit bottles have the opportunity to return the bottles for a full refund plus the cost of shipping (up to $6.99) if they are not satisfied with the purchase. For additional details about the satisfaction guarantee visit ChiccoShop.com.
How about entering to enter some Chicco prizes? Now through September 30th you have a chance to win a variety. Also follow Chicco on Twitter and Facebook for additional information. Enter below:
I-C will randomly select 18 winners from all tiered program entries and will handle fulfillment of the winning prizes.
Sharing is Caring!
Rustic Fig Balsamic and Goat Cheese Tart & Lancaster County Must-Do’s
September 16th, 2015
Last week I shared our trip out to Lancaster County but still forgot to share the rest of the activities that were planned in our day. When I plan to be away from our home more than 45 minutes away, I try to pack our schedule as much as we can in order to make the trip worth the travel. Although this is not necessary, I usually cannot help myself especially if there are places to see.
Before we got to Strasberg to catch the Sight and Sound production fo Joseph, we stopped at the Kitchen Kettle and had breakfast. We figured that if we were in the area, then we could eat breakfast and still make it to our show. Breakfast was not exciting but it filled our tummies until dinner. Before we left, I walked in the The Jam and Relish Kitchen located in the Kitchen Kettle Village. I was given some spending money to purchase products that caught my eye. It was a nice shopping spree until I realized I needed to get into the car to head to the show.
After the show was over we headed to the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm to check out the activities available for our little ones. When we arrived almost close to the peak time of day because it was really hot.
The first thing I saw was a shed with air-conditioning for nursing moms and a place to change diapers. I definitely kept it in mind for later. The kids and my husband scoped out the first activity and immediately the girls found themselves having fun. Was my husband?
We continued walking through the farm until we came to an area for smaller kids. There was a playground, an area they could play with water and toy boats, and a jumping area which was immediately my oldest daughter’s favorite. There were a lot of places with fans to help cool off and also places for people to get drinks and snacks. I really was surprised with how many places were selling food.
We continued to walk around the farm enjoying the different options for our girls and decided to skip the wagon ride because everyone was hungry. One of the things we have come to find is that smorgasbord dinners are THE thing in the Lancaster county. We headed to Miller’s Smorgasbord and were really glad we called with a reservation because it was crowded, especially since it was Labor Day weekend. We were all SO hungry there was no way we could wait the long lines.
The restaurant was packed and while we never thought we were going to eat, because everyone needed to go to the bathroom or because our infant decided to throw a fit. My husband and I finally alternated and got food for ourselves and the kids. The fried chicken was the best! I had heard and could not wait since it is pretty much a novelty. My oldest daughter loved the crispy skin. We found the food to be fresh, hot and satisfying. We were not going home with an empty stomach for sure.
Since I have left you salivating, I decided to leave you with a recipe that I created using one of the jams I purchased at the Kitchen Kettle – The Jam and Relish Kitchen called Fig Balsamic Jam.
It tasted so delicious I immediately knew what I was going to do with it. I made a quick tart for dinner one night and accompanied it with a green salad and some grilled chicken.
My husband could not believe that it only took 30 minutes to prepare and bake. I also loved seeing my toddlers devour it as well. Make this meal for a quick and gourmet meal for your family. It will not disappoint.
Ingredients
Instructions
Disclosure: We were given tickets to visit The Cherry Crest Adventure Farm and Miller’s by DiscoverLancaster at no charge. The Jam and Relish Kitchen supplied me with product to create this recipe. All opinions and photos are my own.
Sharing is Caring!
The Biggest Story: How The Snake Crusher Brings Us Back To The Garden Review & Giveaway
September 13th, 2015
I am always searching for new material to read to my girls when it pertains to stories from the Bible. I do not know what system each family has with rotating books in their home, but I have to learn a way to bring in new books into our home. I somehow wondered if people have swapping parties and bring their old books to trade with other families. I personally think it would be an awesome thing to do.
A while back my mother-in-law gave our girls a whole set of Bible story book series written by Guideposts. We now have a good collection that the girls alternate choosing a story or two to read in the mornings or evenings. The have started memorizing the photos with the Bible story they have been hearing. It really is sweet.
We were recently at our pastor’s home for lunch and noticed he had a new book written by his friend who is also a pastor in Michigan. I loved seeing how colorful the cover was and thought it would be a good book for my girls. Needless to say I received a copy a short week later to review and was real happy!
In The Biggest Story, Kevin DeYoung – a best-selling author and father of six – leads kids and parents alike on an exciting journey through the Bible, connecting the dots from the garden of Eden to Christ’s death on the cross to the new heave and new earth. With powerful illustrations by award-winning artist Don Clark, this imaginative retelling of the Bible’s core message-how the Snake Crusher brings us back to the garden-will draw children into the biblical story, teaching them that God’s promises are even bigger and better than we think.
I loved seeing my oldest daughter thumb through the book, immediately recognizing Bible stories just by seeing the illustrations. They are so colorful and detailed that it really keeps the attention of the reader and the listeners engaged. The girls even pointed out their favorite colors on most of the pages and since the book is arranged in short chapters, one of them pointed out the numbers on each page in delight. What a great way to see how my toddlers are recognizing their numbers.
Want a chance to win a copy of this book? Leave a comment below letting me know what your favorite Bible story is. Giveaway ends on September 20th at midnight and is only open to US readers.
Disclosure (in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”): Many thanks to Propeller Consulting, LLC for providing this prize for the giveaway. Choice of winners and opinions are 100% my own and NOT influenced by monetary compensation. I did receive a sample of the product in exchange for this review and post.
Only one entrant per mailing address, per giveaway. If you have won a prize from our sponsor Propeller / FlyBy Promotions in the last 30 days, you are not eligible to win. If you have won the same prize on another blog, you are not eligible to win it again. Winner is subject to eligibility verification.
Sharing is Caring!
Watch Joseph at Sight and Sound Theatres in Lancaster Co, PA
September 11th, 2015
Last weekend our family went to Lancaster county for a day and filled our day with a few activities. Our family of five was invited to watch the newest show performed at Sight and Sound Theatres. Joseph, based on the Biblical story comes to life on stage with a huge company of performers and live animals. As we drove into the property I was in awe at how big the building was. As we entered the building, we were shown where we seated and had time to gawk at how many seats were available.
While we had great seats for our family, we realized that our little ones would not be able to see over the people’s heads in front. We asked if we could move to the inclined seats rather than the floor seats closest to the stage. Once we moved, everyone was able to see the stage. Since we were in the dark, I held the baby and fed her when I needed to while the girls each had a seat. While children 2 years and under can sit on a parent’s lap, we chose to have a our middle daughter to sit on her own.
The show was divided in two parts, retelling the Biblical story through great songs, dances, and creative dream sequences. The sets and costumes were definitely period costumes and the staging was elaborate and was built around half the theatre. It was pretty incredibly colorful and the performance pretty much kept our attention the whole time.
We occasionally explained parts of the performance to our toddlers even though they were somewhat familiar to the Bible Story. There was a combination of dialogue and music that kept us engaged even until the end. I love the fact that the show keeps tru to the story filling historical gaps naturally and even presenting the Gospel throughout the show. Even if you are not a church goer, the performance is entertaining and definitely worth the trek to Strasberg, PA. I was so surprised by the amount of people from out of state and even from Cananda. I found out later that there is even translation devices for Spanish, French, and Portugese visitors. How great is that?
Worried that your little ones will not stay seated the whole 2 and a half hours of the show? The theatre has a Family Room where mothers can come with their crying babies or toddlers.
There are toys to keep the little ones occupied and a big screen plasma for parents to continue watching the show. I felt like the theatre took care of all the important needs of each individual.
Now I cannot wait to see Samson in 2016. Check out their display in the lobby! If you get a chance, check out the incredible show that runs now through October 17, 2015.
Sight and Sound Theatres
300 Hartman Bridge Road
Ronks, PA 17572
Disclosure: Our family received tickets for the performance at no charge in exchange for a review. All photos and words are my own.
