August 28, 2008
It seems that every year there is a hot new flavor that every is clamoring to eat. Homemade Gourmet has tried to keep one step ahead of the trends when we starting offering seasonings with Sesame Ginger, Teriyaki, Caribean Jerk, Cilantro, Chipotle, Vanilla Chai and Cinnamon Dolce.
Do you have a favorite new flavor that is a new trend in the making? We’d love to hear from you! - Cindy
I know, I know, strange title for a company who promotes 4 Meals in 4 Minutes using beef, chicken or pork. For a variety of reasons, some health related, some not; more and more people are limiting or avoiding meat. Can Homemade Gourmet work for them? Of course!
We eat loads of either fresh or frozen veggies seasoned with everyone of the Homemade Gourmet Seasonings (that’s why I LOVE the Pantry Staples . . . a little bit here, a little bit there, mix and match). Grilled portabello mushrroms seasoned with Garlic Basil seasoning make a great meat substitute, they are very hearty. Additionally, most grocers have frozen meatless crumbles that look like cooked hamburger meat. We use this in our spaghetti, sloppy joes, chili and soups.
Hey Veggie Eaters . . . I know you are out there. We’d love to hear about your favorite meatless meals! - Cindy Pirtle
I know that many of you love to serve others by providing meals for families. I had a great moment in our Sunday School class recently and I thought I’d share it for you to consider as well.
We had been discussing the need to get better at providing meals for other families in crisis. We had great intentions, but individually we kept dropping the ball because of all the distrations in a family’s life. So right there, in the class I was inspired to do something about it. I shared with everyone there that if they would each commit to bringing one 3 pound bag of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and one of the following canned goods (cream of mushroom soup, diced tomatoes, tomatoes with chili’s, or chicken broth) I would bring gallon zip lock bags and the seasonings. I told them that we could put up as many meals as individuals who participate in the same time we spend gathering around the coffee pot and chatting before class.
I am very anxious to see how it goes. I’ll let you know. It will be great to have our church freezer stocked with quick entrees we can pull out and carry to a family without even having to schedule time into our weeks.
How do you use meals as a ministry?
God Bless and Keep You,
Tami
Every time I am in the kitchen making meals, I think of things I want to write about…and then when I get time on the computer ~ I forget them!!! I need to start carrying a recorder with me and just making myself recorded messages! I was in the kitchen a lot this last weekend as I took advantage of a 3 day weekend and made up for some lost time in stocking the freezer. This means I thought of a LOT of things to say…and today I can’t remember any of them!
I am sure I will have an ah-ha moment when I go home tonight, but for now I will share a few fun things that we had for Easter Dinner (since Sunday is the freshest memory this aging brain can access!)
The biggest hit for me was that I wasn’t cooking on Sunday! I did all of the prep on Saturday and enjoyed my house full of friends and family on Easter. We left the house around 7:30am to get to all the church activities. We walked in the door at 12 noon and here is what we had…
As guests arrived, I had hot dill dip with veggies and chips along with some Maria’s hot sauce and our black bean salsa set out to curb the hunger till everyone was gathered. Each guest brought a dessert so our meal was complete! I did not touch a stove, oven or microwave the entire day. It was so much fun to visit and enjoy!
So that was my Easter Sunday story….what is yours?
God Bless and Keep You,
Tami
I’m sure I am no different than any other parent trying to feed their kids healthy food in this day and age when I say…”it’s HARD!” I find that the snack and meal choices kids have today are my biggest challenge. I was thinking about this just today as I was having lunch with my 17 yr. old daughter. We were enjoying a Field and Feta Wrap (I’ll give the recipe at the end) and she was telling me that we need to have healthier choices in the house because ‘the boys’ eat too much junk. I pointed out that I buy fresh fruits and veggies every week…and toss too many to mention when they don’t get consumed. She said I need to make it more interesting. And so I took up the challenge and here is what I did. I packaged the fresh fruits and veggies in small containers and grouped them with an assortment of dips, using all HG products and recipes. For the fruit, I have Lemon Dip and Spiced Vanilla Yogurt. For the veggies, sun dried tomato dip, KC BBQ dip (to fullfill that craving for bbq chips!) and black bean salsa. I also have fat free wheat thins in the pantry for the salty snack cravings to dip. Next week I may try a different variety of dips to find the ones my kids like best. The thought is that if I make the fruits and veggies more ‘interesting’ and eliminate the junk choices…we might get fresh this summer! I’ll let you know how it is going. And if you have fun ways to make healthy eating fun…please share with me and the other parents fighting the junk food battles!
Here is the recipe for the wrap:
Make one batch of HG sun dried tomato dip. Use it as a spread on flat bread or a tortilla. Top it with tossed salad greens (the kind you can buy prebagged), cherry tomato halves,feta crumbles, kalamata olives. That was my wrap….my sweet Allie was a little picky and did without the olives and substituted shredded mozzarella for the feta. Just roll them up and enjoy.
God Bless and Keep You!
Tami
