Marinated Apples - Castello Alps Selection Cheese Plate

Last weekend was the biggest game of the year for the CFL, the Grey Cup.  I'm not a big football fan, but my hubby is.  And of course, he really really really wanted to watch the Grey Cup live...and he likes to have his appies.  He's a typical hubby, likes his wings and beer, but I wanted to try some new things, and when the opportunity came up for us to try the new Castello Alps Selection cheeses, it seemed like the perfect pairing! 

I took a look at all the options for the Castella Alps varities - Hirten, Chiantino, Weissbier and Classic.  I read up on all of the descriptions, and decided that the Hirten was the one to try for Grey Cup Sunday.  It seemed like a good fit with the other "goodies" that were planned for the game (aka beer and wings)...something a little more refined, tastier, and goes well with the beer in beautiful stein that Castello Canada shared with us!

When I was at my local retailer picking up the cheese, I found in a Castello brochure a few recipes, and the one paired with the Hirten cheese caught my eye as one I should try especially since I like to try new recipes!  Here is their recipe:

Marinated Apples

1 red-skinned apple, cut into very thin wedges
3 tablespoons liquid honey
2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons raisins
Cheese for the tray: Castello Alps Selection Hirten, cut into small pieces

Fold the apple wedges into the vinegar when cutting them out. Add honey and raisins and marinate the apples for approx. 15 minutes.

Remove apples and raisins from the marinade. Serve them with cheese wedges and crisp bread of your choice.

VERDICT:
In addition to the Castello Alps Hirten, I also picked up some of the Dofino Roasted Garlic Havarti, which gave us a nice, balanced looking little tray.  The two cheeses are very different in flavour, which I really liked.  The havarti was good, but the Hirten was oh-so-good.  My husband and I really enjoyed it and even our 5 year old was devouring it!  This is one cheese that I would most certainly be adding to a cheese tray to serve to guests or to take to a pot-luck in the future!

You can find Castello Canada on the web and on follow them on Facebook! There are tonnes of great recipes to be found there, contests, and coupons!

Disclosure: I received compensation as a thank you for sharing my honest opinion of this product.

Chewy Ginger Cookies

Christmas is coming, Christmas is coming! I have really been craving gingerbread cookies lately.  Which is funny, because I am not really a fan of molasses, yet I've been on a gingerbread roll.  Sometimes I confuse myself LOL.  I've been wanting to make gingerbread cookies, and I like cookies that are soft and "dippable" in tea.  I came across this recipe and thought I should give it a try!

Chewy Ginger Cookies (Source: Taste of Home, Best Loved Cookies and Bars)

3/4 cup shortening
1 1/4 cups sugar, divided
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flor
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Preheat oven to 375.

Cream shortening and 1 cup of sugar in a large bowl until light and fluffy.  Add in the egg, molasses and vanilla. Mix well.

In another bowl, mix together the flour, cinnamon, ginger, baking soda, salt and cloves.   Slowly add to the creamed mixture and mix well.

Roll into 1 inch balls.  Rolls balls in the remaining sugar.  Place on ungreased baking sheet, approximately 1 1/2 inches apart.

Bake for 9-10 minutes or until lightly browned.  Cool on wire racks.

VERDICT:
These were very close to what I was looking for!  They were a tad crunchy for me, but I think if I bake them for about 1 minute less they will be just perfect!   A nice, tasty, Christmas treat!

New From Kellogg's!

I love being a Kellogger!  This week we got the opportunity to try some of the new products that Kellogg's has just released - maybe you have seen them at your local retailer?  I was able to pick up the new Special K Flatbread Morning Sandwiches (Egg with Vegetables and Pepper Jack Cheese) and the Special K Morning Shakes (Vanilla).  I am super excited for us to try the new Eggo Mini Waffles, but my retailer was all sold out (at 7:30 this morning!).  Those must be a hot commodity :-)

My morning was another morning on the go - we've had a house full of sickies this past week, which has resulted in a bunch of sleepless nights and early mornings.  This morning was no exception (which is why I was grocery shopping so early...we were all up, so might as well get it done!).  I didn't have a big window of time between grocery shopping and when we needed to be at the rink for our oldest's hockey game and Christmas party - and when I got home, the baby was napping...so I had a few minutes of "me" time to grab a bite to eat before we met my hubby and our oldest at the game.  Perfect time for the Special K Flatbread Morning Sandwich.  It took me all of 1 minute and 15 seconds to prepare my breakfast...and I was able to enjoy it in peace :-)  It was a tasty treat!  Perfect for an on-the-go morning like today.  I can see these being consumed on hockey mornings when departure time for the rink is 5:30 am...a quick (quiet) way to have breakie before the game.

Would you grab a flatbread sandwich on your on-the-go mornings?  Which flavour would you choose?  Egg, Ham & Pepper Jack Cheese, Egg & Sausage, or the flavour I tried, Egg with Vegetable & Pepper Jack Cheese?

Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #40

Hello everyone! Happy Sunday to you!  A little late getting today's post up - we've had a long week with sickies in the house, sleepless nights, early mornings, and lots of naps.  Today we were all feeling human again, and after my 7:30 am grocery trip, it was off to hockey and our oldest's hockey team Christmas party.  The party was a lot of fun!  Lunch for everyone, and the team rented one of our indoor soccer fields so we all got to "play" soccer (even the toddler was out hacing a blast running on the field).  Without further delay...

It's time to PARTY! Come on over and share your recipes...Scrumptious Sunday Recipe Link Party #40 is now open!

Don't forget, all featured recipes will be shared on my blog, and on my Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest pages!

Scrumptious Sunday #38 and #39 - Features

Hello everyone! I hope that this post finds you well!  What a week we have had.  The "bug" seems to have hit our house...the kids and I seem to be hit hardest, so far hubs is a-ok.  Though he did do something to his knee this week and is walking like an old man.  We're quite the crew :-)  I sure hope this bug passes, I have lots to get done, parties to host and attend, and of course, gear up for Christmas!

As promised, I have two weeks worth of features for you.  If you are featured, please grab a BUTTON and display it proudly, you've earned it!

<a href="http://iamaddictedtorecipes.blogspot.com"><img src="http://i1079.photobucket.com/albums/w519/AddictedtoRecipes/addictedbutton.jpg" width="200" height="177" border="0" alt="I was featured, I was Featured by Addicted to Recipes"></a>

Here the features from Scrumptious Sunday #38:

DIY Hot Coco Mix from Back to the Basics

 

Banana Nut Muffins with Oatmeal Streusel from Sugar Cookies to Peterbilts

Spicy Cranberry Chutney from Atkinson Drive

Cinnamon Roll Ring from Growing Up Gabel

Baked Caramel Cheesecake from With A Blast

And here are the features from Scrumptious Sunday #39:

Berry Cheesecake Muffins from Lady Behind the Curtain

Cranberry Salsa from Sunflower Supper Club

Skinnylightful Asian Chicken Broccoli Slaw Salad from Skinny Kitchen

51 Decorated Christmas Cookies from sugarkissed.net

Hanukkah Cookies from Lizy B

All of these recipes will be pinned to my Pinterest account, posted on Twitter, and shared on Facebook!

Just a reminder, this week's Scrumptious Sunday Link Party goes live Saturday - at 8 pm PST. Can't wait to see what you bring to the party!

Tuesday Tortilla Soup - Slow Cooker Thursday

Wow, I cannot believe that November is nearly over!  Are you getting a little anxious about Christmas?  I am...even though I am fairly organized and a lot of our shopping is already done (we don't go all out), there are the little details that I fuss about that I haven't started yet.  I'll get there!

In the meantime, I am sure you know (but I am going to tell you again!) that I just love my slow cooker.  I love Slow Cooker Thursdays.  It makes our lives so much easier after school/work/hockey each Thursday.  And, you've already read about my newest addition to my cookbook collection - my Best of Bridge Slow Cookers Cookbook - and today's recipe is from that cookbook (ps - this would make a great Christmas gift...just sayin'!).

Thanks to Robert Rose for providing the recipe and photos for today's post.

Quick to assemble — ideal for mad midweek mornings. It cooks all day; just add the finishing touches when you get home.

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 can (28 oz/796 mL) diced tomatoes, with juice

2 cups chopped cooked chicken 

1 cup corn kernels (no need to thaw if frozen)

1 tbsp ground cumin  

1 tbsp dried oregano            

Salt and pepper

4 cups chicken broth

2 cups crushed corn tortilla chips, divided

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp chipotle chile powder (see tip)

2 tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice 

Shredded Tex-Mex cheese blend or Cheddar cheese

Sour cream

In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine garlic, onion, tomatoes, chicken, corn, cumin, oregano, 1⁄2 tsp (2 mL) salt, 1⁄4 tsp (1 mL) pepper and broth. Cover and cook on Low for about 8 hours or on High for about 4 hours, until onions are tender and soup is bubbling. Stir in half the tortilla chips and the cilantro. In a small bowl, combine chipotle chile powder and lime juice until smooth. Stir into soup. Cook on High for 20 minutes, until tortilla chips are softened and soup is thickened. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper, if desired. Ladle into bowls and garnish with remaining tortilla chips, cheese and sour cream. Serves 4.

Tip: Jars of chipotle chile powder are available in most supermarkets. The reddish-brown powder is made from dried smoked jalapeño peppers. It lends an authentic Mexican touch to soups, stews and chilis. Regular chili powder can be substituted if you prefer to not have a smoky flavor.

VERDICT:

Yet anouther slow cooker hit at our house!  We all really enjoyed this soup - to be honest, this was my first time adding sour cream to a soup, and I just loved it.  Oh my goodness - for sure this one is a keeper!

Excerpted from Best of Bridge Slow Cooker Cookbook by Sally Vaughan-Johnston & The Best of Bridge © 2012 www.robertrose.ca May not be reprinted without publisher permission.

Butter Chicken Pizza - VH Excite Your Dinner Giveaway

Recently Addicted to Recipes was selected to take part in the VH Excite Your Dinner Tour!  Talk about excitement in our house!  When our box of goodies arrived, we were just thrilled.  Inside we found some great ingredients to make delicious family meals (including recipes!...right up my alley!) as well as a fun games and crafts for our family.
 
Dinnertime at our house can be rather crazy.  With two working full-time parents, a Kindergartener and a toddler...by the time dinner rolls around we are all usually tired, hungry and sometimes a little cranky.  I am a big planner when it comes to meals, I find it so helpful when trying to find ways to make the dinner hour less stressful.  And when the box arrived from VH, I knew that a few of our dinner meals were easily planned!  Woohoo!
 
We decided to try the VH recipe for Butter Chicken Pizza.  We love pizza, and we love butter chicken - seemed like a perfect fit for us!
 
Here is the recipe (Recipe Courtesy of VH)
 

1/2 cup VH Butter Chicken Sauce
1/3 cup plain yogurt (we used Greek)
1/2 teaspoon  minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 boneless skinless chicken breast, cut into bite-sized pieces
Cooking spray
1 prepared thin crust pizza crust or Naan Bread
1 cup pizza cheese, shredded and divided
1/2 cup spinach, fresh
1/4 cup red onion, sliced
24 cherry tomatoes, cut in half

Directions

Pre-heat oven to 425.

Stir together VH Butter Chicken Sauce, yogurt, garlic and salt.

Mix 3 tablespoons of the yogurt sauce with chicken pieces.  Set aside remaining sauce. Cover and marinate chicken for 15 minutes.

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Add marinated chicken pieces; stir-fry until no longer pink inside; about 5 minutes.

Spread reserved yogurt sauce over pizza crust. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup of the cheese. Layer the spinach, onion, cherry tomatoes (cut side up), and cooked chicken. Top with the remaining 1/2 cup of cheese.

Bake directly on the oven rack for 12 minutes or until cheese is melted and bubbling. Remove from the oven and let sit for 2 to 3 minutes before cutting into slices.

Enjoy!

VERDICT:
This was a HUGE hit at our house.  Everyone really enjoyed the pizza.  I liked that the sauce wasn't so "tomatoey" - an issue that I sometimes have with restaurant pizza.  This really was so good, and something that we WILL make again!

One of the tips on the recipe card was to try the pizza on Naan bread, which we did (we LOVE naan bread!) - and it was so so so good! 

I'm really thankful to LaQuita from Just Us Girls for passing the VH Excite Your Dinner opportunity along to Addicted to Recipes...and I am pleased to be paying it forward to one of my favourite Canadian bloggers, Tara from Noshing with the Nolands. If you aren't familiar with either of their blogs, you really should check them out!

And now, for more VH EXCITEMENT!  It's YOUR TURN to enter to WIN a VH Prize Pack! (ARV $25).  Easy Rafflecopter is below (you may need give it a moment to load).  Giveaway is open to CANADA ONLY and closes on December 7, 2012.  Winner will be contacted by email and will have 24 hours to respond to claim their prize.  GOOD LUCK!

 

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway  

 

Disclosure – I am participating in the VH Excite Your Dinner blog tour by enCompass Media on behalf of Con Agra Foods. I received compensation as a thank you for participating and for sharing my honest opinion