Featured Product: Collapsible Bowls

I have found the perfect bowl. The Pampered Chef has this line of collapsible bowls that have been extremely useful. They are made of this soft silicon style rubber that make it easy to pop them up and down, plus they also come with lids. In three different sizes – 2qt, 4qt and 8qt – they have been great to use for dinner outside by the fire. Swarming flies are no longer issue when having picnics outside. One of my favorite perks is that I can collapse them and stick them in the dishwasher and they come out completely cleaned. Considering how much space a normal bowl takes up, I can stack them vertically and still have room for other dishes. I have even been able to use them as a mixing bowl and they haven’t collapsed on me while stirring. I’ve already determined that I’m going to get an extra set of the 2 & 4 qt bowls and I can’t wait to get the 8qt. If you’ve been looking for a new set of all-purpose bowls, look no further than the Collapsible Bowl line from the Pampered Chef.

June 29, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: News  No Comments

Chicken & Broccoli Ring

This is another Pampered Chef recipe that I am trying to perfect since I have to demo it this weekend.  Normally, I try and stick to stupid easy recipes to do during the cooking show, but since this one was given to me 5 days in advance, I can’t really change something that has been agreed upon.  I will be honest (as I always am), I tried a different variation of this awhile ago and I wasn’t a fan of it.  So when I made it this time, I planned ahead of time to made some changes.

The first change I made was changed the amount of dill used.  The original recipe calls for 2 tsp of the Pampered Chef’s Pantry Dill Mix, but that was really over powering for us (although his co-workers said it was great cold, so maybe it’s only overpowering when its warm).  I also changed the salt content from 1/4 tsp to just a dash since Jesse is having an issue with his cholesterol right now.

The first time, I also did it as a braid and I want to say it came out looking a lot better as a ring.  You can also do it as a wreath which looks a little like the braid, but looks a lot easier to do.  I’ll include the directions for the braid and a wreath at the bottom.

As I starting thinking about writing this recipe up, I realized that I had sent it in with Jesse without one of the ingredients.  There is suppose to be a cup of shredded cheddar cheese with the mixture, but it didn’t look odd without it.  This is giving me the idea that this recipe could easily be changed to meet someone’s needs.  For instance, this could totally be done as a vegetarian.  Take out the meet and add a couple more veggies – i.e. carrots, celery, onions, green peppers, etc.  You could also probably change out the chicken for tuna or beef.  This would also be a great way to do an egg casserole for those early morning get togethers.

From what I’ve been hearing from Jesse’s co-workers, it sounds like this came out really well.  But, I don’t want to put words into anyone’s mouths, so I’ll wait and see if anyone says anything.

Ingredients:
2 pkg (8oz) refrigerated crescent rolls
2 cups coarsely chopped cooked chicken
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped broccoli
1 cup shredded cheddar
1/2 cup diced bell pepper
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 tsp Dill mix or dried dill weed
dash tsp salt
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 egg white, lightly beaten
1/4 cup slivered almonds

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In Classic Batter Bowl, combine chicken, broccoli, cheese, bell pepper, mayonnaise, seasoning mix, salt and garlic; mix well.
  2. Unroll crescent rolls and separate into 16 triangles.  Arrange triangles, slightly overlapping, in a circle on a Large Round Stone with wide ends 4 inches from the edge of baking stone.  Points will extend off the edge of the baking stone.  Roll wide ends of dough toward center to create a 5-inch opening.
  3. Using the Large Scoop, scoop filling evenly over dough in a continuous circle.  Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under dough at center to form a ring – the filling will show.  Brush with egg white.  Sprinkle with almonds.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.

Yield: 8 servings

Nutritional Information: Calories 440; Total Fat 29g; Saturated Fat 8g; Cholesterol 50mg; Carbohydrate 25g; Protein 19g; Sodium 700mg; Fiber less than 1g
Diabetic exchanges per serving: 1 starch; 2-1/2 meat; 3 fat; 2 vegetable (1 carb)

Variation:
The Wreath

  1. Unroll 2 packages of refrigerated crescent rolls; separate into 16 triangles.  Arrange eight triangles in a circle on a large round stone with wide ends 3 inches from edge of baking stone and points towards the outside.  Points will extend off the edge of the baking stone.  Arrange remaining triangles in center of baking stone, matching wide ends with triangles already in place.  Points will overlap in the center.
  2. Using the baker’s roller, roll over seams of triangles where wide ends meet, creating a smooth surface for filling.  Do not seal center triangles.  Using a large scoop, scoop filling evenly over dough in a continuous circle.
  3. Beginning with the last triangle placed in center of the baking stone, bring point of triangle straight across filling.  Next bring point of opposite outside triangle diagonally across filling, covering point of previous triangle.  Filling will show.  Repeat, overlapping points of inside and outside triangles to form a wreath.  Tuck the last end under the first.

The Braid

  1. Unroll 2 packages refrigerated crescent rolls; do not separate.  Arrange dough on a rectable stone with longest sides of rectangles across width of baking stone.  Roll dough to seal seams.
  2. Starting on the longest sides of the baking stone, cut sides of dough into eight strips, about 1-1/2 inches wide and 3 inches long.  Using a large scoop, scoop filling evenly over center of dough.
  3. Starting at one end, lift one strip of dough; twist one turn and lay across top of filling.  Repeat, alternating strips of dough to form a braid.  Fold bottom edges of dough up at ends of braid. 

May 15, 2009   Posted in: Chicken, Main Dishes  No Comments

Orange Pheasant Breasts

This recipes comes from the Essential Game Bird Recipes by Pheasants Forever.  I’m not sure who contributed it to the cookbook, but that’s where I found it.

Jesse is always looking for an orange recipe and this one sounds tempting.  I may have to try this with chicken, if I don’t try it with pheasant first.

Ingredients:
2 skinless pheasant breast fillets
2 tbsp butter
4 tsp flour
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup orange juice (1 orange freshly squeezed)
2 tbsp orange marmalade
3/4 tsp chicken bouillon cube or paste
1 tbsp orange liqueur (optional)
1/2 cup green seedless grapes
2 oranges, peeled and sectioned
1/4 cup sliced or slivered almonds, toasted

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Line an 8×8x2-inch baking pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, leaving a 1-1/2 inch foil flap or cllar sticking out on all sides. Place pheasant fillets in a single layer in pan.
  3. Melt butter in a suacepan. Stir in flour and cinnamon until smooth. Blend in orange juice, marmalade and bouillon. Bring to a boil, stirring until thickened. Stir in the liqueur. Spoon the sauce over pheasant.
  4. Tear off a sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil 11 inches long. Cover the baking pan with this piece, pressing foil down on top of pheasant (leave a little extra room for heat expansion). Work around the pan, folding top sheet together with collar from lower sheet to make a tight seal.
  5. Bake for 30 minutes or until meat is tender. Remove top sheet, spoon grapes and orange sections over pheasant and bake, uncovered, for another 5 minutes, or until fruit is heated through. Garnish with almonds and serve over hot rice, if desired.

May 3, 2009   Posted in: Wild Game  No Comments

Cock ‘a la Crock

This recipes comes from Aaron Kuehl in the Essential Game Bird Recipes by Pheasants Forever.

Ingredients:
1 pheasant, deboned
1 pkg (8oz) mixed vegetables
2 cans (10-3/4oz) cream of potato soup
pepper to taste

Directions:
Combine all ingredients in crock pot. Cook on High for 4 hours. Serve over fresh-baked biscuits.

April 30, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Wild Game  No Comments

Pheasant Phenom

This recipes comes from Naomi Vasby, in the Essential Game Bird Recipes by Pheasants Forever.

This one actually sounds good and easy to make if you want to take the time.

Ingredients:
1 pheasant, breast and legs
2 cans (14.5oz) Del Monte diced tomatoes (Basil, Garlic & Oregano)
2 pkgs. Knorr Parma Rosa Pasta Sauces (creamy tomato sauce mix)
2 cups white zinfandel
1 pkg (8oz) linguine
1 cup shredded cheese

Directions:

  1. Defrost pheasant, if frozen. Place pheasant meat in pot of boiling water. Boil meat for 10 to 15 minutes (cooking times vary depending on the size of the pheasant). Remove pot from heat. Remove meat from bone. Shred and/or dice meat.
  2. In large saucepan, combine cooked, shredded pheasant, diced tomatoes, pasta sauce mix and white zinfandel. Stir ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
  3. Prepare linguine according to package directions. Place linguine on plate, top with sauce, add shredded cheese.

April 23, 2009   Posted in: Pasta, Wild Game  No Comments

Strawberry Pastries (w/3 different variations)

I’m doing a show for my cousin on Friday and she had this recipe she wanted to do again.  It had been done at a previous party and she really liked them and since I haven’t had them yet, I said why now.  The recipe comes from the Pampered Chef and it came out really well.

I did forget to separate the pastries squares after cutting them and before baking them.  I ended up with some odd edges, but nothing that prevented me from doing what needed to be done.  I also found that going overboard on the strawberries can make them a little overpowering, but nothing I didn’t enjoy.  Thankfully, I tried one before I got finish filling them all and did cut back on the number of strawberries I was adding to the centers.  Overall, this is really an easy and pretty dessert to make if you’re looking to impress someone.

However, while this was good, I thought the whipped cream and strawberries were a little boring, so I started brainstorming.  I began thinking of the Strawberry Cream Trifle recipe and the pudding mixture it has – yogurt, cheesecake pudding and whipped cream.  Simple to make and yet might add something to this.  Give it a little zing.  C’mon, cheesecake is always good.

Added after tasting the creation:  I’m not sure what I think.  I’m thinking I can’t substitute milk for yogurt with the whipped mixture or if I do, then I need to let the mixture set longer than an hour.  The whipped mixture came out a lot runnier than I would have liked.  I am going to try it with yogurt next time (plain of course) and see if that made the difference or not.  Plus, I’m not crazy about the cheesecake pudding flavor.  It was off in my opinion and I think it would have came out better if I did chocolate pudding with chocolate Cool-Whip with plain yogurt.  Maybe.  I’m taking it to a gathering tonight, so we’ll see how it goes.

Strawberry Pastries

Ingredients:
1/2 pkg frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups thawed, frozen whipped topping
12 large strawberries, sliced

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Unfold pastry sheet onto flat baking stone. Combine almonds and sugar; sprinkle over dough. Lightly press almond mixture into dough.
  2. Using Pastry Cutter, cut dough lengthwise into three strips; cut strips crosswise into four squares for a total of 12 squares. Separate squares evenly over baking stone. Bake 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.
  3. Split open cooled pastry squares; arrange half of the strawberries over bottoms of shells. Top with whipped topping, remaining strawberries and tops of pastry shells.

Yield: 12 pastries

Nutrients per serving: (1 pastry): Calories 60, Total Fat 3.5g, Saturated Fat 2g, Cholesterol 0mg, Carbohydrate 6g, Protein 1g, Sodium 15mg, Fiber 1g

Strawberry Cheesecake Pastries

Here’s the experiment I did.  I took the recipe from above and added the pudding mixture from the Strawberry Cream Trifle recipe; but I did change one ingredient, but only because I didn’t have any on hand.  Instead of the 3 containers (8oz) blended strawberry yogurt mixed with the pudding and whipped cream, I simply used 1 cup of milk instead.   Because I used something that is a little thinner than yogurt, I refrigerated the mixture for an hour to let the pudding set up a bit.  Next time, I do plan on using the yogurt instead of the milk, but we’ll have to see how this comes out first.

Ingredients:
1/2 pkg frozen puff pastry sheets (1 sheet), thawed
1/4 cup sliced almonds, finely chopped
1 tbsp sugar
1-1/2 cups thawed, frozen whipped topping
12 large strawberries, sliced
1 lemon or 2 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup milk
1 pkg (3.4oz) cheesecake instant pudding and pie filling
1 container (8oz) frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Unfold pastry sheet onto flat baking stone. Combine almonds and sugar; sprinkle over dough. Lightly press almond mixture into dough.
  2. Using Pastry Cutter, cut dough lengthwise into three strips; cut strips crosswise into four squares for a total of 12 squares. Separate squares evenly over baking stone. Bake 16-18 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.
  3. Juice lemon using Juicer to measure 2 tbsp juice. In Stainless (4-qt.) Mixing Bowl, whisk lemon juice, yogurt and pudding mix until smooth using Stainless Whisk; immediately fold in 1 cup of the whipped topping. Refrigerate 1 hour.
  4. Split open cooled pastry squares; arrange half of the strawberries over bottoms of shells. Top with whipped mixture, remaining strawberries and tops of pastry shells.

Yield: 12 pastries

Strawberry Pastries – 2nd version

Added 4/28/09: So I had Adrian’s show this past weekend and we found out that we had two different pastry recipes. Her recipe actually came out a lot better, although eye balling the sour cream isn’t necessarily a good thing.

Ingredients:
1 box puffed pastry (frozen foods section)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
8oz sour cream
1/2 cup splenda or sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1 1/2 cup cool whip (sugar free or not)

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Unfold pastry sheet onto flat baking stone. Combine almonds and sugar; sprinkle over dough. Lightly press almond mixture into dough.
  2. Cut dough lengthwise into three strips; cut strips crosswise into four squares for a total of 12 squares. Separate squares evenly over baking stone. Bake 12-16 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven; cool completely.
  3. Mix sour cream, splenda and almond extract.  Gently fold in cool whip. Once pastry is cooled cut in half then layer, strawberries, scoop of filling, then sprinkle with almonds. Place top pastry over filling.

April 20, 2009   Posted in: Dessert  No Comments

Venison & Wild Rice Casserole

This recipes comes from Michelle Caspers in the Essential Game Bird Recipes by Pheasants Forever.

Ingredients:
4 cups cooked wild rice
2 lbs chopped venison
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 can (10-3/4oz) cream of celery soup
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp sage

Directions:

  1. Heat oven to 250 degrees F. Layer cooked rice in buttered 3 qt casserole.
  2. Sauté venison, celery and onion in oil, browning meat well.
  3. Blend the soup with beef broth, garlic salt and sage. Stir soup mixture into sautéed venison and vegetables. Spoon on top of wild rice and bake, covered, for 45 minutes.

April 18, 2009   Posted in: Wild Game  No Comments

Spicy Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Talk about fabulous! I never knew stir-fry could be this easy.  For some reason, I’ve always been hesitant to try and make a stir-fry.  I’m not sure why, but the concept was always intimating, but I finally tried it with this recipe from the Pampered Chef and it was amazing.  It only took me 30 minutes to make and everyone loved it.  Seriously, Jesse and I are already thinking of making it again, but trying different foods to vary it up a little.  The bonus part, the entire house smelled delicious long after dinner was over.

I love cooking with fresh veggies – they look so vibrant on the dinner plate compared to frozen – so I’m always excited to find recipes that allow me to hit the produce section more often.  That’s actually one of the best parts about this recipe.  I either had everything on hand or once I bought it, it would be ready to use again and again.  The only things I will have to buy before making this are the veggies and the meat.  Seriously, this meal probably only cost me $10 to make and I’m going to have enough for lunch for the boys tomorrow.  Granted, once I run out of the staples (soy sauce, gingerroot, cornstarch, etc), it’ll cost me a little more at the store, but it’s a 1 out of how many times?

Plus, I could so do this with chicken, pork, seafood (if Jesse would let me).  The possibilities of mixing the veggies and meat around with this recipe are going to be so much fun to explore.  We’ve been looking for another recipe to have that’s easy to make AND healthy and I think we found it.

Now I did change a few things, but mainly because of our personal preferences.  I didn’t add a whole onion and red bell pepper.  I’m not a fan of either (I don’t mind the flavor of onion, but I dislike biting into them), so I only added half.  Actually, other than those two things, I didn’t change anything else about this.  Now the spice did catch Jesse by surprise, so the red pepper flakes do give it a kick, but it didn’t bother me too much and I really don’t have that high of a tolerance anymore.  I just don’t think Jesse was expecting it.

I made this with rice, but you could easily substitute egg noodles for the rice as well.  Which gives me an idea of what to do with the egg noodles that have been sitting up in my cabinets.

My only advice, skip the sauce portion.  When you take the stir-fry from the pan at the end (and put it in some kind of serving dish), use a slotted spoon.  The sauce has the majority of the kick and both of us really didn’t see a need for it.  The veggies and meat were fabulous over the rice and we really didn’t see a need for anything else.

Oh!  I did add one thing.  I julienne’d some carrots and added that to the stir-fry at the end.  Cooked carrots may be cooked, but they are better raw in a stir-fry in my opinion.  I simplied mixed them in after removing the veggies and meat from the skillet.  They added a bright color to the mix and added some crunch.

This recipe was good.  I’m already looking forward to making it again.

Ingredients:
1/4 cup reduced-sodium soy sauce
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 boneless beef top sirloin steak
3 cups broccoli florets
1 medium onion
1 medium red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 tsp peeled, finely chopped fresh gingerroot
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
1/2 cup beef broth
rice, cooked

Directions:

  1. Whisk together soy sauce, cornstarch and 1 tbsp of the oil in a bowl. Cut beef in half lengthwise and then crosswise into 1/4-inch thick strips. Add beef to soy sauce mixture; toss to coat. Cut broccoli florets in half and onion into thin wedges. Cut bell pepper into 2-in strips; set vegetables aside. Press garlic.
  2. Heat 1 tsp of the oil in stir-fry skillet over medium-high heat 1-3 minutes or until shimmering. Add half eac hof the beef, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes to skillet. Using a spatula, stir-fry 1-2 minutes or until outsides surfaces of beef are no longer pink. Do not overcook. Remove from skillet; keep warm. Repeat with 1 tsp of the oil and remaining beef, garlic, ginger and pepper flakes. Remove from skillet.
  3. Add remaining 1 tsp oil to skiller. Add vegetables; stir-fry 3-4 minutes or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Return beef mixture to skillet; add broth and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute or until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring gently.

Yield: 4 servings

Nutritional Information: Calories 280; Total Fat 12g; Saturated Fat 2.5g; Cholesterol 45mg; Carbohydrate 11g; Protein 32g; Sodium 790mg; Fiber 3g
US Diabetic exchanges per serving: 2 vegetable, 4 low-fat meat (0 carb)

April 17, 2009   Posted in: Main Dishes, Meat  No Comments

Pheasant Patties

This recipes comes from Linda and Paul Hayes, in the Essential Game Bird Recipes by Pheasants Forever.

Mmm….I recently posted a Duck or Goose Burger recipe and then I came across this one.  Has  potential.  This one doesn’t say to grill it, but I’m sure you can.

Ingredients:
2 cups chopped, cooked pheasant
1 egg, slightly beaten
1 tbsp finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
2/3 cup sliced celery
Bread or cracker crumbs
1 tbsp melted butter

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except crumbs and melted butter. Chill. Shape into six patties; roll in crumbs. Melt butter in skillet at low heat. Brown patties for about 10 minutes. Serve on a bun with your favorite toppings.

April 14, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: Wild Game  No Comments

Oven Pad

I have found an oven pad that I am loving.  I am not a fan of the oven mitts or the glove looking things.  I always feel like they are more in the way than letting me do what I need to do.  However, I just got the one Pampered Chef sells and this thing is awesome. This thing rocks.  My first impression when I opened it up was “damn this thing is huge”, but that’s the beautiful part.  It may be huge, but on the back of the it is a place to slide in your hand and it fits to your hand like a baseball glove.  You don’t have to concentrate on holding the pad and it’s really easy to grab any dishes out of the oven.

In all honestly, I will admit, it is kind of hard to explain the benefits of this pad without actually seeing it, so make sure you ask about it at the next show you go to. If you’re looking to replace your current oven pads, I would highly recommend getting a couple of these. I’ve already ordered my second one and am seriously thinking about getting another set.

___________________________

#1346 Oven Pad — $10.50
Thick, quilted terry cloth keeps hands safe. A unique elastic hand band gives you a comfortable, secure grip when handling hot dishes. 10″ x 10 3/4″. Machine washable.

April 14, 2009  Tags:   Posted in: News  No Comments