Posts by admin:
- 6 ounces Jarlsberg Part Skim Semi-firm Cheese, shredded
- 6 ounces frozen spinach, thawed
- 1/2 cup light sour cream
- 8 egg whites or 2 cups of carton egg whites
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/2 Tablespoon Italian seasonings
- 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
- 1/2 cup red onion, chopped
- 4 Phyllo Dough Pastry Sheets, divided
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- olive oil spray
- 8 cups water
- 4 cups black tea
- 4 cups apple cider
- 3/4 cup dried apples, chopped
- 1/2 cup prunes, chopped
- 1/2 cup dried pineapple, unsweetened and chopped
- 1/2 cup dried guava fruit, dried
- 1/2 cup star fruit, chopped
- 2/3 cup Don Victor honey
- 1/2 cup hibiscus flowers
- 10 cloves
- 3 cinnamon sticks
- Spiced rum
- star fruit for garnish
- honeycomb for garnish
Meet & Eat with McDonald’s USA Chef + $25 Gift Card Giveaway
December 12th, 2014Disclosure: I was invited to attend a luncheon sponsored by McDonald’s to help facilitate this post. Attendees received a swag bag and gift card for participation. All opinions are 100% my own.
A few months ago I had a chance to meet McDonald’s USA Chef Jessica Foust, RDN during a luncheon that was held at Bartram’s Garden. It was really focused on how to focus on nutrition and the benefits of eating healthy. Much of the issues that many do not know is that McDonald’s offers fresh salads, smoothies, snacks and more. It is nice to know that there is a commitment, quality and menu innovation occurring chain wide.
I loved listening to Ms. Foust share all the testing and recipe creations she has a chance to create. Even though McDonald’s is a fast food chain, there are plenty of options available for all families. When we go out of town or we leave home late in the mornings we occasionally pick up Egg McMuffins, or an Egg White sandwich, fruit, oatmeal and some coffee.
As a busy mom, we occasional are out and about working on crafts, going to the library, or even having a play date. I do not always get to pack up a lunch so we usually stop for a salad with grilled chicken, which I have enjoyed because McDonald’s provides Newman’s Own Dressing. The grilled chicken or even crispy chicken wrap work out for a snack, but I have to say that the girls mostly love enjoying the fresh apples and the occasional cookies.
The great thing about attending the luncheon with other journalists and the USA Chef was being able to discuss and question the issues that have been going on in social media. McDonald’s does not always seem to have the best reputation for providing the best ingredients but after being able to ask questions at our luncheon I was happy to know that a company is at least trying to provide the best quality. All in all, we all make choices and can eat in moderation.
McDonald’s created a questionnaire called Our Food. Your Questions. There you can learn about food science, fresh food choices, sourcing and sustainability and more.
Want a chance to try McDonald’s salads, smoothies, wraps and more? How about entering my giveaway for a $25 gift card? Open to US readers.
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Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Phyllo Quiche #JarlsbergUSA
December 10th, 2014
Christmas is my favorite holiday of the year because it is when we get to see most of our family. This year things are a little different and we get to stay home for the holidays and have both our families come spend time with us. It has been a while since I have hosted family in my home but I am looking forward seeing and serving them.
One of the things we enjoy doing during this time of the year is preparing a menu for the Christmas and New Year’s festivities. Sometimes we plan on recipes we have prepared years past and some are brand new that we have been saving over the year. Either way, there is never a moment where food is lacking.
This year I planned to have a Christmas brunch for my family since everyone will be awake, ready to open presents, I am prepared to have an array of delicious breakfast foods to enjoy with my family and my in-laws. Depending on how the morning goes, it will be more like a brunch, since it seems there is always a need to have food around to enjoy during the holidays.
Growing up, my grandmother would very often make quiches for brunch with a nice crisp green salad, tapioca fruit salad, and a moist coffee cake that is my go-to recipe. I plan on making her coffee cake and the quiche because it is so quick and east to mix up and it is also a great pairing of something savory and sweet for all those partaking.
My Spinach and Sun-Dried Phyllo Quiche is a lighter version of what I am used to eating. Since there is always an array of food I thought I would make a dish that would not be too heavy even though the options for add-ins are numerous. The quiche is a take on one of my favorite Greek dishes called Spanakopita, a savory spinach pie in a pastry shell. I decided to mix in Jarlsberg cheese with spinach and egg whites with some finely chopped red onions. The phyllo dough was layered over a pie shell and was ready to bake with the cheesy spinach filling.
I love the fact that I can make this dish again and add whatever extra fillings I want especially if the need for more protein is required. Chopped ham would be an excellent addition as would be some breakfast sausage. Sharing crisp, fluffy quiche is the way I want to enjoy brunch with my family and I cannot wait to share this dish with them on Christmas morning.
Spinach & Sun-Dried Tomato Phyllo Quiche
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 minutes
Keywords: bake breakfast brunch lunch entree low-carb oil free vegetarian recipes on recipage vegetarian eggs spinach Christmas
Ingredients (8 servings)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degree Fahrenheit.
Use a 9-inch pie dish and spray with olive oil spray. Take 4 phyllo sheets at room temperature and cut eat sheet in half. These will overlap over the pie dish. Place one half phyllo sheet onto pie plate and press gently. Brush some melted butter over the sheet. Repeat by overlapping the rest of the phyllo sheets alternating each direction and brushing with butter.
In a medium bowl, shred the Jarlsberg cheese. Thaw the spinach according to packaged directions and make sure all the liquid is drained from the spinach. Add it to the cheese. Next, add the egg whites, spices, onions, and tomatoes, and mix well.
Pour the egg mixture into the pie plate. Bake for 45 minutes on middle rack. Remove from oven and let quiche sit for 10 minutes.
What do you like preparing for your family during the holidays?
Since I paired my Jarlsberg cheese with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, what do you like pairing with our cheese? Submit your favorite Jarlsberg Cheese pairing for a chance to win on Facebook and visit www.JarlsbergUSA.com.
This is a sponsored post with Jarlsberg. All opinions, recipes and reviews are my own.
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Chick-fil-A Thrive Coffee + Free Coffee for a Year Giveaway
December 9th, 2014This is a sponsored post with Chick-fil-A. All opinions are my own.
One of the things I enjoy the most during the winter season are, of course, hot drinks. I always feel cold and I am usually with a warm drink in my hand trying to enjoy it before it gets cold. One of the newer drinks I have been enjoying at Chick-fil-A over the last couple of months is their new coffee blend that is sustainably-sourced by THRIVE farmers, a farm-direct coffee company that works to make lives better within the community.
What does this mean? Chick-fil-A changed from using a traditional model and started using the The coffee beans are cultivated at high altitudes and are working directly with farmers which means that they keep up to 10 times of the profit than if a traditional model were followed. The beans are hand-planted and processed completely differently and given special attention and not mixed with random coffee roasts.
When you have a cup of coffee at Chick-fil-A, you are having specialty grade coffee, which happens to be unique because only 10% of coffee in the world is considered specialty grade which means that 90% is commercial grade. Don’t know how I feel like that but if I am going to be drinking coffee that one could normally get at a boutique then I will go for some Chick-fil-A coffee.
Thrive Farmers Coffee is available in Regular or Decaf and also is available for Iced Coffee. While I normally enjoy the regular coffee with a little cream I also enjoy the iced coffee too. The ice coffee blend is made daily with 2% coffee and pure sugar cane and poured over ice and is available in Original or Vanilla. Despite it being winter, it is a drink I like enjoying a lot. It is good to alternate with hot and cold coffee anyway, right?
At least I like to know where my coffee comes from and I like the fact that Chick-fil-A has decided to go down a route that helps others to also provide the best taste and flavor quality to consumers.
Are you interested in trying it? My local Chick-fil-A wants to give several of you a nice Christmas gift to some of you. ONE person will get a chance to win coffee FOR A YEAR while THREE people will win coffee FOR A MONTH. How great is that? I totally would be all over that and of course ANYONE can enter since this coffee is available chain-wide.
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Spiked Honey Spiced Cider Punch #HoneyForHolidays
December 8th, 2014This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #HoneyForHolidays #DonVictor #CollectiveBias
Christmas is quickly approaching and all I can think about is seeing family very soon. This year we are not traveling back home so I get to share a lot of nice recipes from my kitchen with my out of town guests. There is something about cooking and baking when you have more people to share each meal. As I plan my recipes for the holidays, I thought I would put a spin to original recipes I enjoyed growing up like a punch we normally enjoy in Mexico every Christmas, made in the USA, in my own kitchen, with Don Victor honeycomb and honey instead of sugar cane. I cannot wait to call my abuelita to share my recipe with her.
One of the things we like enjoying after a long day in cold weather is a warm drink and sometimes, even spiked with some rum. The warm drink runs through the body and quickly warms up to recover from the chilly weather. Honey is an easy ingredient to sweeten any beverage, and as I prepared the punch for my family, I knew that a right set of spices, fruits and sweetener would make for a unique dessert drink and treat for even my girls.
As I gathered all my ingredients, it was easy to find what I needed in the Hispanic aisle at Walmart. It is pretty amazing the array of products available including Don Victor Honey. This honey was nice and thick and included the honeycomb in each honey container. It had been a long time since I chewed any honey comb but I had always heard of it’s health benefits, like aiding in headaches and allergies.
Another excuse to make this spiced punch is because it naturally makes your home smell delicious. Simmer apples, spices, and fruit in a pot for an amazing aroma and the beauty of the punch and flavors will make this a regular favorite. I learned, originally from my grandmother’s recipe, that fruit is added to the punch for added depth and is served to visitors with a spoon to eat after drinking the punch. I enjoy drinking the beverage hot and cold and is easy to consume.
As I created this new recipe I kept imagining what sort of memories I would leave for my girls as the holidays are always a time to celebrate and share food and drink together.
Spiked Honey Spiced Cider Punch
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 60 minutes
Keywords: boil beverage apples dried fruit winter in-season
Ingredients (12 cups)
Instructions
In a sachet or large cheesecloth, add the cloves, cinnamon sticks, and hibiscus flowers.
Add the water, black tea, apple cider and add the chopped fruit to a large pot. Add the spice sachet to the pot and place on medium heat. Allow the punch to boil for 20 minutes and then decrease heat to medium and allow the punch to simmer for 30 minutes. Remove cheesecloth.
Allow the punch to cool for a 15 minutes before serving 1-cup portions. Ladle some of the fruit into each cup and pour punch into each cup. For those who want it, add 2-ounces of spiced rum to each serving.
Garnish with 2 slices of star fruit and add an inch of honeycomb to the rim or drop into the punch. It adds an additional sweetness and health benefits by chewing the honeycomb.
Don Victor honey provides premium quality and superior taste and I really enjoyed how it brought this seasonal punch a natural sweetness along with the dried fruits. I also had a chance to try some whipped honeys that include cocoa, cinnamon and caramel that go great on toast as well as some Spanish extra virgin olive oil that was excellent on fresh tomato.
I hope this season our hot OR cold punch will be a new tradition for families all over.
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Etsy Shop feature: Gems From Before {giveaway}
December 4th, 2014
If you are like me then you like going through Etsy and seeing all the wonderful homemade items that people create from all over the world. I love the fact that there is joy in the art of something handmade and sharing those talents with friends and the public. Instilling this in our children and keeping it active in our lives is definitely a must in our day today. This week I’d like to introduce you to a local mom I know who has opened a shop called Gems From Before, a sweet shop full of sweet wooden toys and vintage finds for your children’s kitchen. Here is a little about the store and the owner of the shop:
Welcome! I hope you enjoy our little world of simplicity and wonder. My shop came to fruition in 2013, soon after my son was born. I started searching for simple and natural toys that were affordable and came up short. When I created Gems From Before it was partly out of necessity when I was on a mission to find simple, natural and affordable pieces for my child’s play. Our wooden learning pieces are inspired by nature and the teachings of Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia and encourage open ended play so that children can explore their world with creativity and imagination.
Everything in the shop is sealed with my handmade beeswax polish and all the colors are derived from food grade dye. Because nature inspired learning should be affordable and accessible, I offer simple and minimal packaging that is earth friendly and keeps my price affordable for you.
My niche is play kitchens, in fact it makes up almost half of my shop – cherries, acorns, eggs, honey pots, cookies, apples, scoops, bowls, dishes and more. I love creating small pieces that reflect the simplicity of our big kitchen. So you will find lots of wood but also small vintage metal and glass – a wonderful sensory combination.
The pride and joy of my shop is the ‘Swarmlovin” Beeswax Polish.’ It’s made from local raw beeswax from West Grove, PA and all my wooden gems are sealed with it. My goal in the next few months is to incorporate more fabrics and to build upon the purposeful pieces in the ‘Waldorf Child’s Cabinet.’ I am very passionate about repurposing and reusing items and also appreciate the quality ‘From Before’.
What a wonderful story behind Gems From Before. I know my girls have enjoyed the wooden eggs to use in their play kitchen. I like seeing them pretend to eat them and knowing that because these toys are sealed with the beeswax polish that there is nothing toxic that could harm my children. It is true what this mom said, it is hard to find any simple toys for children to use in their everyday play time.
These items and MORE would be great as stocking stuffers and Christmas gifts for your toddlers. The owner of the shop is giving away $15 off a purchase for ONE person. Enter giveaway below. If you simply can’t wait to order something, you can also get 15% off an order using the code SINGER when checking out at Gems From Before. ENJOY!
