Food Archives - Page 5 of 7 - Look What Mom Found

Ball Parks Don’t Make Good CornDogs

February 22, 2012 by Melissa

Since our kids are literally spitting distance from their grandparents front door my parents like to keep their home stocked with certain things for those times we just stop by. Hot Dogs are on that list. This past weekend my mom and dad did their duty as babysitters since Rob and I had somewhere to go. Typically dinner with the kids involved a trip to Red Robin, take-out pizza or spaghetti & meatballs. This week I thought it would be the perfect time for Shae to hit up Pop-Pop for homemade corndogs. For some strange reason Shae’s been asking ME to make corn dogs. I don’t have a fryer but my dad does, of course.

The meal prep itself was fun. The kids helped with the measuring and mixing and then let Pop-Pop work his magic. While the corndogs tasted good they didn’t hold up well. We used Ball Park Angus Beef Franks-Bun Length. I blame the juiciness of the dog for the sliding off of the crust; that’s not really a bad thing though when you think about it. Ball Park Angus Beef Franks are perfect for the grill and that’s how we’ll continue to eat them.

Whether you keep the fridge stocked for the kids or for the unexpected guest Ball Park Franks are a must for everyone. Combined with other grill and bbq staples you have a full meal that is sure to please any palate. We all have our own recipes that include Ball Park Franks. Share yours with us, maybe we’ll try some.

“This is a sponsored post. Ball Park product and additional incentives were provided to me. All opinions stated are my own.”

Collecting and Organizing Recipes and Inspiration

October 27, 2011 by Melissa

Let’s talk recipes. No not sharing them, just letting you know how I store them and use them. First let me talk about my favorite places to get inspiration for new meals.

Everyday Food by Martha Stewart
An excellent source for information about herbs, shelf life of pantry items, descriptions of ingredients and of course delicious recipes. I’ve taken so many things from these little magazines like Shaun’s favorite meal of Penne, Peas and Ham in an Oregano Mustard sauce. I know it doesn’t sound like something a kid would like but he gobbles it up. The online version isn’t as good as the paper version, this is why I keep all of my issues. It’s one little “readers digest size” mag a month but they are stuffed full with great ideas and pictures and helpful hints. Trust me this will inspire great meals for years to come.

AllRecipes.com
Most of the recipes listed on this huge database are from regular people. The ability to leave and read reviews from others who have tried a recipe in the past is my favorite feature. Also the option to change serving sizes works great when you need to feed a crowd or just 2. My favorite recipe from AllRecipes.com is Best Chocolate Chip Cookies (without nuts). We make this recipe quite often and it never fails to please. Tons of articles and holiday tips, an excellent source for real eaters and home cooks.

Pioneer Woman

courtesy of Pioneer Woman

Ree Drummond is a food blogger extraordinaire! Her recipes come from her heart as well as her ranch and the photography that goes along is enough to make your mouth water. Her Salted Caramel Apples look divine and I’m hoping to make them for Halloween with my family.

When I find a recipe I want to try online, I print it or if it’s in a magazine I rip it out and it goes in sheet protectors. They then go into a binder that has been outfitted with dividers labeled:

Breakfast
Soups & Stews
Appetizers
Sauces & Seasonings
Sides
Main Dishes
Desserts
Breads

I’ve collected so many recipes over the years that every couple months I have to weed out what I haven’t attempted or what we didn’t really like. If I’ve altered a specific recipe (I often do) I make notes right on the page so that I remember for next time.

My routine for meal planning was to go through and pull out the pages and hang them on the fridge so I knew what we were eating all week. I recently took cut index cards and wrote our most fave meals on them and randomly pull them for meal planning. This should work well to keep the menu fresh and different. I’ll add more cards as I remember meals we like or try new recipes we like. Maybe I’ll make cuter/neater cards in the future but this is just an experiment so I didn’t want to put too much into it.

What are your meal planning tips and tricks? Where do you find food inspiration?

Potatoes with Sausage and Ricotta #Recipe with Fabio

September 19, 2011 by Melissa

There’s a reason he won Fan Favorite on Season 5 of Top Chef. Chef Fabio Viviani has a warm and welcoming presence that shines through his adorable smile and exuberant personality. Of course his cooking talent is what got him through to the final four on Bravo TV’s competition series.
Years of cooking experience and testing and tasting products makes him a bit of an authority on ingredients and tools to use in the kitchen. Bertolli Olive Oil is one brand that he endorses. I’m happy to say I’m a Bertolli user too even though I’m far from the talented chef that he is. I was given the opportunity to review Fabio’s iPad app Let’s Cook. This app offers over 100 handpicked recipes from Fabio himself, step by step instructions in 16 cooking demos, video tips and tricks to make the everyday cook, like me, a bit more confident and successful in the kitchen and much more.

Let's Cook home page

recipes

I used the app, the provided Bertollii Extra Virgin Olive Oil and recipes cards to create a new but really delicious meal for my family last week. While I didn’t follow the recipe 100% I used it as a guide, incorporating ingredients we had on hand, methods I preferred and adjustments to measurements.

Roasted Baby Potatoes with Sausage and Ricotta

16 baby Yukon potatoes (recipe called for reds)
½ cup of Bertolli Classico Olive Oil (recipe called for 1 cup)
2 TBLS fresh chopped rosemary (recipe called for 1 cup)
2TBLS fresh chopped thyme (recipe called for 1 cup sage)
8 oz ground cooked sausage
8 oz ricotta cheese
4 oz Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven 450 degrees
Boil potatoes till just tender, remove from water let slightly cool. Halve then scoop out some potato insides to create cup. In a bowl combine sausage, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese and salt and pepper if needed. In another bowl add oil and herbs and gently coat potato cups then place on baking sheet.

Fill each potato with sausage and cheese mixture and bake for 8-12 minutes till bubbly and brown.
We enjoyed with fresh steamed broccoli and spinach salad. The meal was really really tasty, everyone ate without a peep and all but Shae had seconds. Next time I will make more so there are leftovers for lunch the next day.

baby potatoes with sausage and ricotta

According to the recipe card this meal makes 8 servings, Prep Time is 15 minutes and Cook Time is 15 minutes. Not in my world. This got made in over 1 ½ hours. Potatoes were boiled then set aside. Sausage was cooked then aside. Herbs were picked and chopped then set aside. This is the way I usually have to cook especially with kids and dog running around and others things going on. This WILL be made again and adjusted to try something new. Maybe bigger potatoes, maybe some cooked spinach, maybe cannellini beans. I see lots of possibilities and I think that’s the way people are supposed to cook. There was a big difference in the Bertolli provided recipe cards and the recipe listed on the app.

Let’s Cook is a really entertaining and informative app especially if you learn better by watching than by reading. Fabio Viviani is fun to watch and yeah not to bad to look at either. Oh and it’s only $.99, can’t beat that! I wish he had a video for pizza dough. Better yet I’d love a visit from him to teach me how to properly make homemade dough, sauté scallops and cook fish.

Bertolli wants a LookWhatMomFound… and Dad too! reader to improve their own cooking skills and win a bottle of Bertolli Extra Vergin Olive Oil. Let me know what meal or technique you’d like to learn from Fabio.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry above. Please note the changes to the entries and frequency, entries that don’t follow rules will be disregarded/ignored/deleted.

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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Monday, October 10, 2011. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our contest rules page.

Turkey and Rice Stuffed Cubanelles

September 17, 2011 by Melissa

My favorite type of food is Mexican. If I could eat burritos, beans and tacos every night I’d be a happier woman. This summer our garden was literally overflowing with peppers and tomatoes so I had to modify lots of our existing everyday recipes to accomodate the abundance of produce that was growing. I usually make stuffed bell peppers with an Italian influence but the cubanelles felt more ethic to me. The flavor of them cooked was much better than raw so I knew I had to get them in the oven. Hope you like!!!

Ingredients
1 lb of ground turkey (or beef, chicken or pork)
1 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
½ cup salsa + ½ cup salsa
½ tsp Adobo seasoning (can substitute with garlic & onion powder)
3 cups cooked rice
Tbls chopped fresh oregano
½ cup shredded cheese of choice
4-6 cubanelle peppers

fresh from the garden

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees

cooked and fluffed

In large skillet cook turkey with cumin, adobo, oregano and pepper until just done. Add ½ cup of salsa to cooked meat, mix thoroughly.

Mix cooked rice and meat mixture together and season with salt and pepper to taste. Split peppers down one side and remove seeds and ribs. Stuff peppers full with rice mixture, close with toothpick if necessary. Bake at 375 for 12-16 minutes, till warmed through. Top with tbls of salsa and sprinkle of preferred cheese.

ready to bake

Serve with seasoned black beans and a salad for a complete tasty meal.

Let’s talk Baking

September 12, 2011 by Melissa

I’m no Betty Crocker but I like to bake. I’ve experimented lots over the years and have hads lots of hits and lots of misses. One thing I do try my best to realize is that baking isn’t the same as cooking. I can’t deviate from baked goods recipes or I risk a disaster. Here are some of the “rules” I’ve learned to make sure I get the best possible outcome when it’s time to get some sweets on the table.

use for liquid measuring

use butter when a recipe calls for butter, margarine can cause cookies to spread too thin.
reading a recipe that calls for grams and ounces means ingredients should be weighed not measured in cups or spoons.
unless a recipe specifically calls for sifted flour don’t bother, spoon flour into your measuring cup and then level off with the straight side of a knife, easy peasy!
always prep ahead. Measure out ingredients before you start mixing, this allows for smooth and swift additions. Doing this also helps make ensure you have enough of all the ingredients to correctly make your recipe.
measure measure measure, baking is a science where as cooking is not. what looks like a teaspoon in the palm of your hand might not be. Not enough baking powder will prevent getting the proper rise from your sweets.
preheat your oven-not much more to say about that
cooking spray can be your friend; a quick spray in your measuring cup will lessen the amount of scraping you need to do when measuring out peanut butter, shortening or honey.
invest in rubber spatulas, they make for less clean up when you can get every morsel of batter or dough out of the bowl.
parchment paper is awesome!You’ll be amazed how easy it is to get a whole pan of brownies out of a pan without losing a single crumb.
dry ingredient measurement

What are your fool proof tips or secrets to successful baked goods and desserts?

The Clean Fifteen

August 29, 2011 by Melissa

We’ve all heard about the Dirty Dozen; the list of potentially contaminated fruits and veggies. This list contains the produce that typically harbor the highest percentage of pesticide residue.

The Clean 15 is the list of produce that contain generally low amounts of pesticides due to their outer covering, rind or chemical make-up. Strong smelling onions are naturally pest resistant due to their odor.

Onions
Corn
Pineapples
Avocados
Asparagus
Sweet Peas
Mangoes
Eggplant
Domestic Cantaloupe
Kiwi
Cabbage
Watermelon
Sweet Potatoes
Grapefruit
Mushrooms

The best route to take when selecting fresh produce is stay local and thoroughly rinse everything before eating and cooking. Eating lots of fruits and vegatables regardless of the list they come from far outweighs the risks of ingesting the residual pesticide on it’s skin or flesh.

Show Off Your Chicken Dish

August 20, 2011 by Melissa

Perdue believes you deserve better chicken. For more than 3 generations the Perdue family has prided themselves by sticking to the highest standards when it comes to feeding your family. Now they want to see what you do with that chicken.

America’s Best Chicken Dishes contest is all about what looks good. Upload a picture and brief description of a family favorite chicken meal for a chance to win a year’s worth of Perdue Chicken. Read all of the official rules for complete details and upload your picture on Facebook.

LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! readers are getting the special chance to win 1 of 3 VIP Vouchers (full value coupon) for Perdue Chicken. Tell me one of your favorite chicken dishes.

Submit an entry to the America’s Best Chicken Dish contest (leave your name, entry will be verified) 5 Entries
Follow Mom and Dad and Perdue on Twitter and Tweet this giveaway 1 time per day, please leave your twitter link each time, tweet a form of this message: Share a picture of a Chicken Dish #Win year supply @PerdueChicken or coupons from @lkwhtmomfound @anddadtoo http://bit.ly/paXdai
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Enter another Giveaway – let us know which one in the comment (one extra entry per giveaway you enter, just leave separate comments)
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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Friday , September 2, 2011. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our contest rules page.

Best Rocky Road Brownies #Recipe

July 26, 2011 by Melissa

I’m not a big dessert eater; it takes something special to get to sidle up to the table for the sweet dish. This Rocky Road Brownie is one of those dishes. It’s a delicious blend of sweet, salty, gooey and crunchy.
The best part of this recipe is there is no need for a mixer. Everything is mixed together in on bowl over a double boiler. A quick prep of all of your ingredients and this can be mixed up in just a few minutes and on the table in time for an after dinner treat.

Rocky Road Brownies
Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, cut into cubes
1 cup chocolate chips, semisweet
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs
3/4 cup all purpose flour, spooned and leveled
1 cup mini-marshmallows*
½ cup caramel sauce*
1/2 cup chopped lightly salted walnuts, pecan or almonds*
1/2 cup chocolate chips, your choice of flavor*
1/2 cup fudge topping*
1/2 cup peanut butter chips*
½ cup chopped candy bar or toffee bits*
1 cup broken Oreos or other cookie of choice*

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter an 8-inch square pan and line with parchment with a couple inches overhang on 2 sides, then butter the parchment paper. It sounds like a lot of work but you DON’T want these brownies sticking to the pan.
In a double boiler or heatproof bowl set over a pan with 1” simmering water add butter and 1 cup of chocolate chips. Mix until completely melted, remove from heat. Add sugars and salt, mix until combined. Mix in eggs then flour until just combined. Spread batter into prepared pan.

Bake 28-32 minutes until inserted toothpicks come out with moist sticky crumbs attached.

*Remove from oven and start adding your toppings. Start with something sticky or melty like chocolate chips and marshmallows, and then add dry toppings like nuts or cookies then finish with sticky melty topping like caramel. Bake an additional 3-5 minutes to set toppings onto brownies.

Remove from oven and let brownies cool completely in pan. Using parchment handles, remove brownies from pan and cut into squares. Using a large plastic knife or wet sharp blade works best. These will keep in a sealed plastic container for about 3 days but they don’t last that long in this house.

WhoNu a cookie could be good for you plus giveaway

June 30, 2011 by Melissa

Is it snacktime yet? At least 8 times a day I hear this coming from one or more kids. My kids would eat all day long if I let them and NO, they wouldn’t always make the best choices. I hate always denying them a treat but know they need the nutrition and sustenance to get them going throughout the day.
WhoNu cookies arrived one day and claimed to be loaded with 20 vitamins and minerals plus 3 grams of Fiber. Fine, a healthy cookie but would it taste good? The vanilla sandwich and chocolate chip cookies are gone. You might be saying kids will eat cookies even if they were covered in dirt, not my kids. They are picky. If it doesn’t taste good they aren’t going to waste the snack time on it. Rob even raved about the WhoNu Chocolate Chip cookies, and he’s the cookie freak. Me I like a salty bag of popcorn but he would dust off a pack of cookies in a heartbeat.

There is no healthy cardboard food feel here. WhoNu cookies are just good cookies. We haven’t opened the other two flavors yet but I’m guessing we aren’t going to have any issues.

Get your own WhoNu cookies from retailers near you starting in July and get the complete run down of healthy details from the official website. Win a couple packs of WhoNu cookies and a $25 WalMart GC just by letting me know what flavor you would most like to try. TWO LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! readers will be winners of this tasty prize pack.
EXTRA ENTRIES:
To receive these extra opportunities for entries, you must fulfill the first REQUIRED entry above. Please note the changes to the entries and frequency, entries that don’t follow rules will be disregarded/ignored/deleted.

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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Sunday, July 24, 2011. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our contest rules page.

Firebirds – Awesome Family Friendly Restaurant

April 7, 2011 by Melissa

If you love your food cooked over hardwood flames like Melinda and I do then you need to check out Firebirds Wood Fired Grill.

Firebirds Wood Fired Grill introduced a taste of Colorado to the Carolinas when it first opened its doors in Charlotte, North Carolina in December of 2000. The restaurant is the creative concept of owner and restaurateur, Dennis Thompson, who regularly travels out west. He fell in love with the feel of the area as well as the food. Drawing from those experiences, he developed Firebirds.

Melinda and I discovered Firebirds maybe 6-8 months ago after a friend mentioned they went there for dinner and that the food and atmosphere were terrific. Melinda and I now try to go to Firebirds at least once a month if only for Happy Hour. Firebirds has awesome Happy Hour food and drink specials. Firebirds does it right on every level so if you live near a Firebirds Wood Fire Grill be sure to stop in for Happy Hour and dinner.

Firebirds menu is to die for. They have a vast selection of items from burgers and sandwiches to wood fire grill items and even an awesome kids menu. Melinda and I will endorse any restaurant that has a good kids menu for Shaun and Shae and Firebirds does it right. Shaun and Shae ordered the kids burgers and when their meal came out the burgers were HUGE. I was expecting a small dinky burger but I was happily mistaken. Sabreena was extremely happy with her fish selection while Melinda and I were both delighted with our steaks. I do not eat steak very often but I ordered the Blue Cheese Filet and thought I died and went to heaven.

I love Firebirds for the food and atmosphere. At first when Melinda and I went it didn’t seem to be a restaurant that we would take our kids to but after we did we realized we were totally wrong. They cater to everyone and really take care of the kids so Firebirds in now on our list of family friendly restaurants. The servers and staff are extremely friendly and cater to your ever need which makes dining at Firebirds a great experience.

If you live near one of the many Firebirds Wood Fired Grill locations do yourself a favor and be sure to stop in for drinks, lunch or dinner. You will leave an extremely happy person.

Want to check out Firebirds for yourself? If so you are in luck. Firebirds is giving one luck Look What Mom Found…and Dad too! winner a $50 gift card (alcohol not included). Just head over to Firebirds and tell me what you would order if you won the $50 gift card.

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Subscribe to LookWhatMomFound…and Dad too! via email or RSS feed
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Your entries must follow the rules or they won’t be eligible for prizes. This contest ends 11:59 pm, Friday, April 29, 2011. The winners will be emailed and will have 24 hours to claim their prize. This contest is open to Continental US residents only. For complete rules please read our contest rules page.

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