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Me Moments with Udi’s

The Christmas season is busy around here with two preschoolers.  Add a five year old birthday party to plan, surgery for said five year old ON HIS BIRTHDAY, and some days I just want to hide.  While I can’t lock myself in the bathroom and pretend the world doesn’t exist, I can sneak a “me moment” or two.

One of my current favorite ways to enjoy a “me moment” is this little bowl of yummy goodness, made possible by Udi’s Gluten Free.

Me Moment with Udi's

I start with some low-fat cottage cheese or Greek Yogurt, sprinkle on Udi’s Sweet & Crunchy Vanilla Granola, then top it off with homemade banana jam.

Ermargerdness.

It is awesome, and this bag o’ granola is ALL MINE.

Of course, I have Udi’s muffins, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, and pizza crusts stashed in the freezer awaiting the arrival of my in-laws for Christmas.  I suspect, though, that the granola will be long gone by the time they arrive. You may recall from my An Udi-Ful Thanksgiving that I had trouble finding some Udi’s products in my local grocery store.  I spoke with the store manager, and he ordered them for me, then called to let me know when they hit the shelves.  It pays to let your local grocer know what products you want to see on the shelves!

Check out Udi’s Special Offers and subscribe to their newsletter to receive money saving coupons.  You’ll be glad you did!

***Product samples received to facilitate this post.  All opinions are my own.***

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Creamy Parmesan Basil Pasta with Chicken

From time to time I find myself at a loss for an answer to the age old question, “What’s for dinner?”  I know, I know.  A menu plan would (and does) help, but sometimes I don’t want what I put on the menu last month for that night.  KWIM?  When that happens, I find myself scrounging in the pantry for something else to make.  When it happened recently, I came up with a Progresso Recipe Starter.  Score.

The one that I found was the Creamy Parmesan Basil.  I paired it with some wacky mac noodles (the only kind my kids like) and chicken breast and walah…

Creamy Parmesan Basil Pasta with Chicken

A delicious dinner to the rescue that my kids would enjoy and that I didn’t have to stress too much to make.

We are really trying to cut back on processed foods around here, so I wouldn’t turn the Progresso Recipe Starters into a pantry staple.  It was, however, a nice alternative to the other things we had in the pantry.

Download a printable coupon for $.65 off 1 can of Progresso Recipe Starters Cooking Sauce.

Check out the Flash Progresso Prize Pack #giveaway on my Facebook page that ends 12/18!

Check out the Progresso Website for even more dinner solution ideas. For coupons and recipes, check out Progresso on Facebook.

Disclosure:  The information, products and ProgressoTM Recipe StartersTM gift pack was provided by Progresso through MyBlogSpark.”

 

 

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Avocado Pie and more

***We are going to an Avocado party this weekend. I have to share this recipe with the hostess. Yum!***
aguacate-maceta

I recently had the opportunity to try some Avocados from Mexico.  As I mentioned in my Random Recipe: Strawberry Avocado Turkey Treat post, my husband is generally not a fan of avocado.  I, on the other hand, love them and frequently buy them.  I like them raw and by themselves, sliced on sandwiches, diced in salad, mashed in guacamole… Yah.  I like them.  In fact, I haven’t eaten an avocado that I didn’t like.  So, when I heard of an opportunity to review Avocados from Mexico, I immediately jumped and squealed expressed my interest.

I received my Avocados from Mexico in this cute little green basket.

Isn’t the basket cute?

And that nifty little tool there is an avocado peeler!  Who knew!  That little gadget sure would have saved me some time and mess over the years!

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Of course I quickly peeled one and ate it.  LOL.

Then I used some to make this yummy Avocado Pineapple Milkshake

Avocado Pineapple Milkshake

Ingredients:
1 fully ripened avocado from Mexico, halved, pitted and peeled
2 cups milk
1 can (8 ounces) pineapple chunks in juice
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch of salt
1 cup ice

Preparation:
In blender container, combine avocado, milk, pineapple, sugar and salt; whirl until smooth. Add ice; whirl until ice is crushed.

We liked it so much, we drank it all before I remembered that I needed pictures, so I had to borrow this one from the site!

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Since I had some avocados left, I thought I would really go outside of the box.  I searched the Avocados from Mexico site until I found an Avocado Pie recipe.

Avocado Pie

The recipe is courtesy of Kathy Tauber of Great Gatherings, Houston TX

Ingredients:
3 fully ripened avocados from Mexico, halved, pitted, and peeled
1 can (14 ounces), sweetened condensed milk
½ cup plus 1 teaspoon lemonjuice
1 (9-inch) prepared graham cracker crust Sweetened whipped cream or thawed frozen topping

Preparation:
Coarsely chop 2 1/2 avocados (wrap and refrigerate remaining 1/2 avocado) and place in the bowl of a food processor; process until smooth. With motor running, gradually pour in sweetened condensed milk and then lemon juice through the feed tube; transfer mixture to graham cracker crust swirling top. Cover and refrigerate until firm, about 4 hours. Just before serving, spoon or pipe whipped cream around edge of pie. Dice remaining 1/2 avocado and toss in remaining teaspoon lemon juice; sprinkle over top of pie.

The recipe looked so incredibly easy and interesting that I had to try it.

I gathered all of my supplies…

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And set to work.

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I used a chocolate graham crust because that is what I had on hand.  I adlibbed just a bit on the topping, because I like a little pie with my whipped cream, plus I forgot that I was supposed to save half an avocado for the topping and ate it.  So, I covered the pie in whipped topping and added a few chocolate sprinkles to the top to make it pretty.

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My parents happened to come over for dinner, so I served dessert to them as well as Brian and the kids.  Oh, did I mention that I didn’t tell anyone what kind of pie it was?  I didn’t want any pre-conceived ideas to get in the way of their possible enjoyment.

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See those smiles?  Everyone liked it.  And I mean EVERY ONE!  My Dad, who is VERY selective (eh-hem, picky) in his tastes, actually ate his whole slice!  My husband has asked me several times when I am going to make another one.

I think the next time I make one, I am going to add a layer of strawberries, just for the fun of it.  I think the red and green together would be pretty, and I already know I like strawberries and avocados together.

You can check out the Avocados from Mexico site for tips on how to tell when an avocado is ripe, how to open an avocado, sensational summer recipes, and more.  You can also follow Avocados from Mexico on Facebook or Twitter for more great tips and recipes.  Did you know that if you don’t plan to use your avocad
os right away you can put them in the refrigerator to keep them a few extra days?  That little tip could have saved me some money in the past!  The site recently held a contest called The Adaptable Avocado: A Recipe Challenge.  The winning entry was from The Kitchen Enchantress for avocado deviled eggs!  I cannot wait to try them!

What’s your favorite avocado recipe?

The fine print/FTC Compliant Disclosure… I received the a selection of Avocados from Mexico to facilitate my review.  No other compensation was received.  All opinions are 100% my own and are based upon my experience.  Your experience may differ.

Originally posted on 07/23/10. Reposted on 11/07/12.

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Udi’s Makes Gluten Free Good #gf

Did you know that July is National Hot Dog Month?  As if my kids need another excuse to eat a hot dog.  LOL. Seriously, though!  I recently received a G’Udi box from Udi’s Gluten Free for review.  It was chock full of gluten free goodies.   As I’ve mentioned in my Gluten Free Bagel Sandwich post, we do not require gluten free products, but we do enjoy them from time to time!  I like Udi’s products because they TASTE like real bread, contain no artificial ingredients, no GMOs, and very few preservatives.

Locally, Udi’s is also the easiest gluten free brand to find and is carried by our local grocer.  Udi’s Gluten Free Foods are also now 150 Wal-Mart stores across the country—here’s hoping they come to MY Wal-Mart stores!

We wasted NO time putting them to good use!  Hubs and Sister started in on the cookies while I served dinner.

I already had cranberry chicken on the menu for the evening.  I had previously decided to throw the cranberry chicken in the crockpot and let it cook to the point that it shred, and serve it on buns, because I had a day full of errands.   I had plain ole buns on hand for it, but when the Udi’s Gluten Free Whole Grain Buns arrived, there was no contest.

Udis Gluten Free Bun Sandwich

Oh My YUM!

Seriously one of my favorite sandwiches EVER.  Fortunately, I made enough cranberry chicken that we were able to have it THREE times that week!  Mister, however, was NOT a fan of the crockpot version of cranberry chicken.  When I served it the second time, he chose to have… you guessed it… a hot dog.

Udi's Gluten Free Hot Dog Bun

What’s your favorite Udi’s?

***Product samples provided to facilitate post.  All opinions are my own.***

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Fresh Apricot Cobbler Recipe with C&H Light

I recently had the opportunity to put C&H Light to the test.  I’ve been using an artificial sweetener for years.  LightCH-MainIn recent months, I have been trying to eat healthier and have begun to question the wisdom of using the artificial sweetener as much, although I am not quite ready to add the calories of pure sugar back into my recipes.

C&H Light is an all natural blend of pure can sugar and stevia that has half the calories of your typical granulated sugar.  In fact, for every cup of sugar you replace with C&H Light, you save over 350 calories.

Now THAT is sweet.

It just so happened that I had been apricot picking the day that the C&H Light arrived.  What better way to give it a test drive than to make fresh apricot cobbler

C&H LightC&H Lightbaking with C&H Light

I had never made a fresh cobbler before, and was nervous about the results.

Fresh Apricot Cobbler

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 60 minutes

Total Time: 75 minutes

Fresh Apricot Cobbler

This fresh apricot cobbler is the bees knees!

Ingredients

  • 8-10 cups fresh apricots (enough to make 6-8 cups apricot filling)
  • 1-2 Tbsp Corn Starch to thicken
  • 1 cup C&H Light
  • 1 box yellow cake mix (dry)
  • 1 stick margarine, melted

Instructions

  • Halve and pit the fresh ripe apricots, and place them in a large bowl (I leave the skins on).
  • Use a ricer or masher to mash the apricots together.
  • Add 1 cup C&H Light sweetener to apricots and stir well.
  • Add corn starch to thicken to desired consistency.
  • Pour mixture into lightly greased 13 x 9 cake pan.
  • Sprinkle dry yellow cake mix over the top of the apricots.
  • Pour melted margarine evenly over the top.
  • Bake at 350 for 50 to 60 minutes.

Notes

Serve warm or chilled, either way it's #ohmyyum

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That being said, I have to say, it was one of the BEST cobblers I have ever made!  Itwas a real hit with my family, and didn’t last long.  Hubs told me, “Now THAT you need to make again.”

baking with C&H Light

Learn more about C&H Light on Facebook and click on the coupon tab to get a money saving coupon.  You can also visit  C&H Light on the web for a coupon or yummy recipes to try for yourself.

Be sure to check out the C&H Light Twitter Party on August 8th, where they are giving away $500 in Visa Gift Cards!

***Product sample and compensation received to facilitate to this post.  Recipe and opinions are my own.***

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