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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...]

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I was never a picky eater when I was a child, so I must admit that I find my boys’ fussiness about food to be rather frustrating. Zackary currently argues against eating virtually any new food I put in front of him and Benjamin, despite the fact that he actually likes every food I give him, inevitably refuses to try anything that his brother has refused to taste.

Needless to say, I will try anything when it comes to getting my little picky eaters to try new things. So I was very excited when I learned about the quick and easy Chinese New Year recipes currently being featured on the brand new VH Facebook page!

I got the chance to try one of these tasty family-friendly meals for myself so I decided to indulge a little with Bacon-Wrapped Pork with Bok Choy. I couldn’t believe how easy this recipe was; with just five ingredients and five steps, what a perfect main dish for a busy mom!

Ingredients

1 lb (500 gr) pork tenderloin
1 tsbp (15 mL) vegetable oil
8-10 slices bacon
8 cups (2 L) baby bok choy, sliced in half lengthwise and washed
1 bottle VH_® Sweet & Sour Sauce

Directions

Heat oven to 400˚F (200˚F), slice tenderloin into 2 pieces. Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium-high, brown the pork, about 7 minutes.
Layer 4-5 bacon slices side by side on a cutting board, allow edges to only slightly overlap. Place one piece of pork across the bottom ends of the bacon strips, roll the bacon around the tenderloin and place the wrapped pork seam side down in a baking dish. Repeat with second piece and remaining bacon.
Place baking dish in oven and cook until bacon is browned and pork is cooked through, about 30 minutes. (pork should be cooked to an internal temperature of 160˚F (70C)˚).
Pour out leftover oil from sauté pan, add baby bok choy and 2 tbsp (30 mL) water, cover and cook on medium heat for 8 minutes, add bottle of VH_® Sweet & Sour Sauce and heat through, lower heat to simmer and keep warm.
When pork is ready slice and serve with bok choy and VH_® Sweet & Sour Sauce.

In my small hometown, baby bok choy was nowhere to be found so I decided to substitute broccoli, another popular ingredient in Chinese recipes. The bacon-wrapped pork looked so classy and the VH Sweet and Sour Sauce that I drizzled over the top really completed the entire elegant look of the meal. I’ve always been better at hearty home-style meals than gorgeous gourmet ones, but this amazing VH recipe made creating a gourmet meal easy!

Best of all, both of my boys loved their special Chinese New Year meal! They decided they would prefer raw broccoli instead of the sweet and saucy broccoli that my husband and I gobbled up, but they positively devoured the pork loin! It just goes to show that when you’re cooking for a house full of males, making a main dish that’s wrapped in bacon is probably a good decision!

Chinese New Year starts on January 23 and runs for fifteen days, so the upcoming few weeks are a great time to introduce some ethnic flavours into your usual meal routine. This year is the Year of the Dragon according to the Chinese Zodiac and by adding kid-friendly themed decorations like paper lanterns or dragon printouts and fun extras like fortune cookies to your meal, you may just get your children excited to try a new meal! But best of all, with the oh-so-easy Chinese New Year-themed recipes from VH, adding a little diversity to your menu doesn’t have to mean a bunch of extra work either!

If you’re longing to try your own easy Chinese New Year recipe now, you’re in luck because VH has a great prize pack for one lucky Mommy Kat and Kids reader containing a $40 Sobeys gift card and an assortment of VH sauces so that you can create your own Chinese New Year feast! So get ready to ring in the Year of the Dragon with a kid-friendly ethnic meal that’s as easy as it is delicious, with a little help from VH Sauces and the great recipes on the VH Facebook page!

For more chances to win, don’t forget to check out the giveaways at Mom vs. the Boys, Mommy Moment and My Wee View too!

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