dinner

The Crock-Pot Smart-Pot Slow Cooker Makes Hearty Winter Meals Easy

January 21, 2013 by Kathryn 12 Comments

Winter in Saskatchewan is very snowy and very cold, so hot and hearty comfort food is always a welcome choice for supper. And because my days are pretty busy, I love whipping up that comfort food with a Crock-Pot slow cooker whenever possible. Throw in the ingredients in the morning, plug it in and my boys and I have a delicious meal to enjoy when suppertime arrives. What could be better?

I have a Crock-Pot Designer Series 6-Quart slow cooker and I absolutely love it but recently I got the chance to review the Crock-Pot Smart-Pot 5-Quart slow cooker and I could see at once that it was going to help me make my slow cooker creations even better. The large oval cooker was perfect for pot roast or a whole chicken but it was a little big for soups, stews or desserts. The smaller round Smart-Pot looked like it would be just the right size for a smaller main course meal for my family. [Read more...]

Western Mozzarella Meat Loaf-Easy Winter Dinner from the Freezer #LMDConnector

November 27, 2012 by Kathryn

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With Christmas just around the corner, our little house is pretty busy as we juggle school, work, extra-curricular activities and holiday preparation. All that hustle and bustle means that I need dinner ideas that are fast and simple to prepare. So what do I do to make dinnertime easy? I turn to the freezer!

There are so many great meals that can be prepared in advance and frozen for later and to find one that appealed to me, I headed to the Life Made Delicious website. I had a great time perusing different recipes with the potential to be prepared, frozen and cooked later when needed.

Eventually I found the Tomato Basil Meat Loaves recipe. I knew at once that this was a recipe that could be easily modified to suit my family so I switched the Italian flavours out for Western ones to create a dinner that I knew my boys would enjoy.

western mozzarella meatloaf [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: #lmdconnector, beef, dinner, easy, freeze, freezer, freezer meals, general mills, life made delicious, lmd, meal, meat loaf, quick, quick supper, recipe, supper, western mozzarella meat loaf

Make Gourmet Meals in Minutes with Club House Flavourful Recipe Mixes-Giveaway #ClubHouseRecipeMix

September 26, 2012 by Kathryn

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My boys and I love Club House sauces and spices. It all started with the gravy. Whether we were eating it on mashed potatoes at Thanksgiving or using it on fries to make delicious homemade poutines, Club House gravy was a family favourite. Then I started trying some of the other Club House products including the pasta sauce mixes and the spice blends. It wasn’t long before I was addicted to Club House.

So when I learned about the brand new Club House Flavourful Recipe Mixes, blends of spices that can be used to create sumptuous main dishes in record time, I was thrilled. I recently received a fabulous package of Club House Flavourful Recipe Mixes and other Club House products for my cooking pleasure and I couldn’t wait to pick out a mix and see what kind of entrée I could create.

club house flavourful recipe mix and ribs

With just these three ingredients, I’m ready to create a mouth-watering meal for my boys!

It’s Time To Shake Up the Dinner Routine with VH Sauces-Giveaway #VHExcitement

September 18, 2012 by Kathryn

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After a long day of school, work and extra-curricular activities, I usually find myself planning supper at the last minute. And that means that I eventually fall into a fairly regular routine of cooking the same few quick and easy supper dishes week after week.

Well this year, VH Sauces wants to change that by providing Canadian families with some fun and time-friendly ways to excite their dinner. I received a themed travel pack from VH Sauces containing a cute travel diary, some useful and fun travel accessories, a gorgeous Lonely Planet’s 1000 Ultimate Experiences book and VH Sauces to help me add excitement to my family’s dinner. I also received a few recipe cards with some fun and easy meal ideas so I decided to whip up the Bulgogi for our dinner. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes, Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: bulgogi, dinner, dinner recipe, excite, recipes, supper, vh canada, vh dinner, vh excite, vh excite your dinner, vh facebook, vh recipes, vh sauces, vhexcitement

Get Cooking with The Mom 100 Cookbook-The Basic Quesadilla (and Its Infinite Variations)

July 29, 2012 by Kathryn

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the mom 100 cookbook cover When I heard that The Mom 100 Cookbook by Katie Workman was being touted as the must-have cookbook for busy moms, I admit that I was a bit sceptical. When it comes to cookbooks, I have a bit of an obsession and I really couldn’t imagine any one cookbook being so essential to me that I would use it again and again for different needs. But then I received a copy of the cookbook to review and started leafing through it. After trying one of the recipes and perusing a few of the others, I was sold!

The Mom 100 Cookbook contains twenty common mealtime dilemmas moms tend to encounter with five solutions for each one. The dilemmas include everyday meals like Breakfast, Lunch and Snacks as well as some of the less common occurrences like Potlucks and Bake Sales. But the book doesn’t just provide a few recipes and leave it at that. Most of the recipes also feature a handy “Fork in the Road” option that lets a meal be customized in different ways to suit different members of the family. I decided to try The Basic Quesadilla (and Its Infinite Variations) recipe in the Vegetarian Mains section because it seemed to really exemplify the quick, easy and versatile theme of the cookbook. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Lunch and Snacks, Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: cookbook, dinner, katie workman, mexican, mom 100, quesadilla, snack, tortilla, vegetarian

Cooking with Hidden Valley Ranch-Kat’s Asiago Spicy Ranch Chicken with Mango Avocado Salsa

June 29, 2012 by Kathryn

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There’s no dressing I love more than Hidden Valley Ranch and now there’s even more creamy ranch goodness to love with the introduction of two brand new varieties of Ranch! To celebrate the introduction of new Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch and Hidden Valley Cheesy Ranch, Hidden Valley is hosting an incredible recipe contest with a grand prize of a KitchenAid Stand Mixer!

I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of fifteen food-loving and recipe bloggers to create my very own recipe using Hidden Valley Ranch for the contest. The recipes will be judged by celebrity chef Ned Bell and the top recipe will even be showcased by Ned at the 2012 Calgary Stampede!

I received a recipe creation kit containing Hidden Valley Ranch dressing and a grocery gift card to help me invent my recipe. I decided to create a main dish that combined the heat of the new Hidden Valley Spicy Ranch Dressing with the tropical flavours of summertime. Without further ado, here is my recipe! [Read more...]

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Recipes Tagged With: asiago, avocado, chicken, dinner, hidden valley, mango, ranch, recipes, salsa

Take the Work Out of Lasagna with New Olivieri Lasagna Sheets-Giveaway

May 20, 2012 by Kathryn

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If there’s a more delicious pasta dish than my mom’s famous Spinach Lasagna, I haven’t discovered it. But as most cooks know, lasagna is a pain to make! Cooking the noodles, making the sauce, layering, baking…it really does take hours by the time it’s finally finished!

olivieri lasagna sheets Fortunately, Olivieri has expanded its line of scrumptious fresh pasta and sauces to include handy lasagna sheets; fresh sheets of pasta perfect for lasagna that require no precooking! I recently received some coupons to try out the new lasagna sheets for myself and I couldn’t wait. [Read more...]

Filed Under: Reviews, Reviews and Giveaways Tagged With: dinner, lasagna, lasagna sheets, noodles, olivieri, pasta, sheets, spinach lasagna, supper

Add Extra Nutrition to Your Dinner with Barilla Whole Grain-Giveaway

May 10, 2012 by Kathryn

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Is there anyone that doesn’t love pasta? Whether you like spaghetti topped with a homemade marinara sauce or rotini slathered in rich and creamy basil pesto, pasta is one of the most versatile dinner foods there is. But most of the time, it’s not especially healthy since it’s usually made with enriched white flour. Fortunately, Barilla Canada, the premiere maker of delicious authentic Italian pasta, has an amazing new line of pasta products that are as good for you as they are delicious!

barilla whole grain pasta Barilla Whole Grain is a line of scrumptious spaghetti, spaghettini, penne and rotini made with 51% whole wheat. Every serving is packed with 28g of whole grains and 6g of fibre! I received some samples of Barilla pasta to test out for myself and I couldn’t wait to use the pasta in some of our favourite pasta recipes. [Read more...]