Product Endorsement: Macaroni Grill Meals

Our family loves to eat at Macaroni Grill. It's relaxing, delicious, expensive, fun...you get the idea. I was pleasantly surprised when they branched out and began offering some of their staple entrees in the dry pasta section of the grocery store. I will admit that I thought the boxed meals were still expensive so I purchased them on occasion or waited until they were on sale.

Last week I had chicken breasts in the freezer and these two boxed meals in my pantry so I thought we'd cook them both up for dinner and offer the first, of hopefully many, product endorsements.

I made the Chicken Alfredo. The instructions were easy to follow and the ingredients that I had to add were readily available in my kitchen (chicken, butter, milk.) In both meals the boxed pasta cooks for a few minutes and then you turn off the heat and let it continue to cook for another 5 minutes. I think this works well to yield the perfect bite to the pasta for each dish.

Mark made the Chicken Piccata. The sauce was just right - not too thick or thin. The chicken was quite tender. We had all the ingredients listed on the box, but the Piccata at the restaurant also includes a few capers. We had some expired ones in the fridge so out they went. Next time I will make sure I've got fresh capers on hand to add that finishing touch. The meal doesn't lack in flavor for want of the capers, I just really enjoy them.

My rating for both boxed meals is a: 3

Rating Scale:

1=distasteful/won't buy again

2=good/might buy again

3=loved it/will definitely buy again

Corn Chowder

Although it seems I start with "This is one of our favorite..." all the time, it really is true! We're such food lovers around here. Anyway, this is one of our favorite soups. It's hearty because of the vegetables, and comforting 'cause of the cream. I've made this recipe for a family with a new baby and used lowfat milk and turkey bacon to suit their tastes. They loved it and asked for the recipe. So feel free to change it up!

Corn Chowder

Ingredients:

1-14 ½ oz. can of vegetable or chicken broth
2-3 med potatoes, peeled and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1 celery rib, diced
1 med onion, chopped
½ red pepper, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1-10 oz. pkg frozen corn niblets
1-14 ¾ oz. can creamed corn
1 T. Dijon mustard
1 C whole milk or heavy cream
1 T. unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 chopped scallions, for garnish
6 strips bacon, cooked and crumbled for garnish

In a large saucepan, combine broth, potatoes, vegetables, and garlic. Add a little water if necessary. Bring to a boil over med-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and simmer for 15 min, or until vegetables are fork tender. Add frozen corn, creamed corn, mustard, milk, and butter. Cook for another 5 min, uncovered, on low heat. Add salt and pepper to taste. Ladle into bowls, garnish with scallions and bacon.

Serving: 3 quarts
Recipe Given By: BabyTalk Mag, 11/2001

And the winner is...

Kelly Kahler!

Congrats, Kelly! I'm so happy to share my Homespun Give-Away with you.

I used the Random Sequence Generator, assigned the three ladies numbers for your entries, beginning with 1 for Lori, 2-9 for Nel and 10-12 for Kelly based upon the order in which you left comments, the blog followings and shout-outs about the give-away.

The results:

Here is your sequence:11
7
12
6
10
5
1
9
3
4
2
8
Timestamp: 2010-03-08 02:30:19 UTC

# 11 is first in the sequence, hence, the winner. (So easy to use at Random.org!)

Thanks for sharing in my blogiversary everyone!

Homespun Give-Away for my One Year Blogiversary!

It's my One Year Blogiversary!

I'm celebrating with a "homespun give-away!"

Included in the give-away is a copy of my favorite recipes in a small binder (a gift I've only shared with family and new brides), two embroidered dish towels and some bright notecards to possibly use in sharing your recipes with others.

Here's all you have to do to enter the Give-Away:

1) You get one entry for leaving a comment on this post.
2) You get two entries for being a follower of this cooking blog.
3) You get five entries if you post about this give-away on your own blog.
(be sure to leave me a comment telling me about your post!)

A winner will be drawn at random next Sunday, March 7th, at 9pm EST.

Snickerdoodles!

In January I wrote here about trying to perfect my husband's favorite cookie when we were newly married. I had several bloggers ask about the recipe, so here it is! It's a good one!!

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients:

½ C shortening
½ C butter/margarine
1 ½ C sugar
2 eggs
2 ¾ C flour
scant 1 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
¼- ½ t. salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix shortening, sugar & eggs thoroughly. Sift remaining ingredients and stir in. Roll into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in mixture of 6 T. sugar/ 6 t. cinnamon. Place 2” apart on an ungreased cookie sheet. (* You can slightly press them down with the bottom of a glass, but you don't have to. I do. ) Bake 8-10 min or until lightly brown. (They puff at first, then flatten out)

Serving: 5 dozen
Recipe Given By: Angie’s original!

That is one stylin' paper plate! Ha!

Pork and Beans

Best-ever baked beans = Moms!

These pork and beans have a sweet/tangy balance that satisfies.

Pork and Beans

Ingredients:

28 oz. Campbell’s pork and beans
2 slices bacon, uncooked
½ - 2/3 Can (15 oz) tomato sauce
¼ C chopped onion
½ C brown sugar

Cook 1 ½ hours at 350 degrees uncovered (or 1 hour at 350 is ok.) Mix all ingredients in a oven proof bowl. Should have consistency of tomato sauce – soupy, not runny. If it tastes sweet, then perfect. If it tastes tangy, add a little brown sugar.

Recipe Given By: Nancy Underhill

Coleslaw

My grandma made the best coleslaw! This is a "down-home" kind of recipe that doesn't use measured ingredients. When it says a mug, it means a coffee mug. It's best to mix the slaw up a few hours before you want to serve it so the flavors have time to meld.

Coleslaw

Ingredients:

mayonaise
sugar
½ head green cabbage, grated or chopped
1/8 head purple cabbage, grated or chopped
1 carrot grated
Salt and pepper, to taste

In a mug ¾ full of mayo, add ½ scoop (about 1/4 C) sugar and stir. Let it sit and keep returning to it, stirring until all the sugar is dissolved. Add the dressing to the slaw, stir and refrigerate.

Serving: 1 batch
Recipe Given By: Martha Dye
Hint: I used a premade slaw mixture (located by the bagged lettuce/salads) for a quick throw-together dish.