I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Many years ago, my husband and I decided we would change our diet, eliminating meat, cheese and butter.  We also stayed away from gravies and sauces with high fat or caloric counts.  We did this for 3 months.  While I can say that we each lost 20 pounds and that our gastro-intestinal health was better than ever, I really missed meat, cheese and butter!  If you ever try this no meat diet, a word of warning.  The first meat we had made us very ill.  Our entire systems went haywire.

All of that being said, I do miss the meals where I looked across the dinner table and their were bowls and bowls of veggies!  When I make a meal with 4-5 veggie dishes, I still eat meat, just much less (like only the 3 ounces that are recommended).  I made use of the steamer bags and recipes in the Market Fresh Sampler this weekend.  No joke from Friday through Sunday, we had fresh broccoli, brussel sprouts, green beans, yellow and zucchini squash, mushrooms, and new potatoes.  We also had fresh tomatoes, cucumbers and a huge green salad.  On the fruit side, we had strawberries and cantaloupe.  Clean up was much easier than ever in the past.  I only had to wash the serving bowls, but had no pots or pans to wash.  The veggies were crisp, flavorful and retained their vibrant colors.  If you haven’t purchase the Market Fresh Sampler, I encourage you to do so.

I wish I could say I was trying to eat healthy just for the heck of it.  The REAL reason I felt we needed an entire weekend of veggies, is that Thursday night was FRIED FOOD night.  We had battered and deep fried zucchini, eggplant, mushrooms, and okra.  I cannot tell you the amount of grease I poured into my system on Thursday.

Don’t think to well of me, I am thinking of chicken fried steak, mashed potatoes with cream gravy, fried okra and corn on the cob for dinner tonight!

What is your favorite “good for you” meal?

What is your favorite “not really caring if it is good, it just tastes great” meal?

When we were developing the That’s A Wrap Sampler, everyone at Home Office had to eat a lot of different kinds of wraps, before we determined the best combinations.  Since the Sampler has been launched, we have had an overwhelming response from customers and distriubtors alike.

First, everyone likes the health aspect.  You can use low-fat ingredients, wheat tortillas and any fresh veggies or lean meat that lights your fire!  Second, we got a big thumbs up from the vegetarians in the crowd.  Finally, meals that you could put together and shove them full of every kind of known veggie and have an awesome wrap.  This crowd has also been singing the praises of the Market Fresh Sampler.

Some people are more daring than others and have been experimenting with different spreads and ingredients in their wraps.  I thought it would be nice to share with others.

Here is my favorite:

Spinach flavored tortilla, Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Dip as a spread, roasted peppers (yellow and red peppers that I put on the grill), steamed asparagus and leftover pork tenderloin.   Yummy!  What have you tried?

I do so love a good story.  Hosts are the best, since they are either having an Ah-ha moment about 4 meals in 4 minutes or they are just so excited that their freezer is filled and they have a pantry full of free product that they are beaming from ear to ear.

My best host story was about a repeat host.  She had already had 2 homeshows before, but there were a couple of people who hadn’t been able to come, so she asked could we do another.  I know, don’t we all wish we had that problem with every host . .  PLEASE can I have another homeshow!  Any how, she was all jazzed, but several guests had last minute things come up and couldn’t attend.  So basically, it was 4 guests, me and the host.  I did the 4 meals in 4 minutes preparation, but about half way through, she said, “I have to show you my freezer!”  Everyone ignored me and went to her freezer, where she explained what each meal was, how she cooked it, what she served with it and how much her husband and son fought over the leftovers.

Each of the 4 guests bought a 4 meals in 4 minutes top collection.  It really helps when you have a host who really gets the concept, finds the value, uses it and is willing to share her excitement with her friends.

Tell me about your BEST host.

This post arises from the responses from the last post.  There were many of you who said that the Italian Mozzarella Meatloaf was in your top five favorite mixes, but almost without fail you said, BUT NOT AS MEATLOAF.  So now, this will be the shortest blog I have ever done, but, I just have to know . . .

What in the world are you making with the Italian Mozzarella NOT Meatloaf Seasoning????

I am doing a little research project, so I hope that anyone who reads this will respond.  Here is my curiosity:

Tell me first, what are your favorite Homemade Gourmet products to eat that you use all the time?  It could be that you use Garlic Basil Seasoning in everything you make or you could have a top five list that you think is better than sliced bread.

Second, tell me the mixes you NEVER eat.  It may not be that you don’t care for them, I just am curious of the ones that you personally NEVER use.

So here is my example.

I use Sunday Roast, Garlic Basil, Maria’s Salsa, Mock Spinach Dip,Basic Cheesecake and Bonnie’s Blue Ribbon Chili every month without fail.  Sometimes all in one week!

I hardly ever use the Casserole mixes, the teas or the tomato basil soup (I like them all, I just don’t use them for the most part.)

I know, I know, Curiosity killed the Cat.  What can I say??  Meow!

How many times did your Mother telling you to quit playing with your food?  Chances are, if you did, you didn’t like the food or you were eager to leave the table. 

It’s a good thing I ignored my Mother’s warnings, since playing with my food is how some new Homemade Gourmet recipes come about.  For most of our mixes, I have dabbled around, added some of this and some of that.  Some are good, some are okay, some are down right disgusting.  Someone asked me once how I came up with so many 4 meals in 4 minutes recipes.  My answer was, “The only ones you see are the ones that taste good, you should have seen the combinations that ended up in the garbage disposal!”  The point is if we all only ate the recipe on the label, we would be so limited in our meal choices.  For a Pantry Staple to be created, there must be at least 15 recipe cards that support it.  Not just any recipe, mind you, it actually had to get good taste test scores.  The only way these recipes were created was by playing with the food.

Some recipes are created by Research and Development, but loads of them are created by distributors and customers that were simply playing around with combinations.  Of course, everyone’s tastes are different and something that you think is fabulous, other may turn away in disgust.  (For more on the topic of Icky Foods, see an earlier blog entry!)  The trick in creating new recipes comes in creating a dish that most people will like, understanding that some will say, “Oooo, too spicy for me!” and others will say, “Could you put a little kick in this sucker??”

One of our Directors, Rebecca Gengler, made taco seasoned hamburgers on the grill the other night and then topped them with the Jalapeno Bacon Cheddar Dip as a spread.  She called them Cowboy Burgers.  I can’t wait to try them.

Do you play with your food?

I never know who reads the blog, so here goes . . . the New Kitchen Connections are here!

If you are a customer or a Homemade Gourmet Preferred Member - Fantastic new light and refreshing recipes that will keep your kitchen cool, but your summer meals HOT!  The absolute BEST news, is that each Kitchen Connection magazine comes with a coupon that not only allows you to start your own Homemade Gourmet business for FREE, yes, FREE, but also get tons of products for FREE!

If you are a distributor - This is an excellent opportunity for you to share with your customers the great business opportunity that Homemade Gourmet has to offer and some really AWESOME recipes.  The host benefits page has a wonderful visual spread so that everyone can SEE how many phenomenal benefits there are to hosting a 4 meals in 4 minutes homeshow.  AND . . .  there is a two-fer deal on ordering packs of Kitchen Connection magazines that will allow you to offer it as a host gift or gift with purchase.  You will want EVERY customer to have one of these magazines.

Check out the Fill your Freezer and Perk your Pantry winner and the Susie Says article that has a fantastic bran muffin recipe.  Of course, the 4 meals in 4 minutes planner in the middle of the magazine will help you fill your own freezer and hopefully those of all your customers!

Tell us what you think.  Tell us what you would like to see if future editions.

And by the way . . . What’s in your Freezer? - Cindy