Showing posts with label dinner

We kicked off September with a fun and tasty Labor Day BBQ and my mouth is still watering over the perfection of our meal. My husband, master griller and smoker of meats, pulled out all the stops by smoking up a tasty beef rope sausage from Southside Market and Barbeque out of Texas and a brisket we bought locally. If meat is a love language for you too, you’ll want to read on. 


Beef Rope Sausage Link Goodness:


Smoked beef rope sausage link

Sunday dinners hold a special place in both my husband and my hearts. Memories of dining at our grandparents homes, surrounded by lots of family members; tables stuffed with so much good food it was certain no one left hungry or without leftovers!  Even though time and distance keeps us from having Sunday dinners with our extended families often;  we preserve these family traditions and pass them on to our daughters with home-cooked Sunday dinners. Thanks to today’s post sponsor: Publix #PublixVivaItaliaSale, I whipped up my tasty take of Chicken Cacciatore last night and my family loved it!

Sunday dinner: Chicken Cacciatore w/veggies and french bread



Let me say right up front- this is not a traditional Italian Chicken Cacciatore recipe. This is one I’ve changed and perfected over the years using as many ingredients as I have on hand. For instance, in summer, I’m looking for dishes to use up my zucchini and yellow squash so there would be no need for me to use frozen bagged vegetables like Green Giant's in my Cacciatore dish.  

Raid your pantry for Sunday dinner ingredients


Sunday dinners are perfect for “raid your pantry” type meals, so don’t be afraid to try out new flavors or products in a dish. That’s how I found out that adding Progresso reduced sodium creamy tomato with Basil soup to my sauce imparts a light and flavorful creaminess my family enjoys with less calories and sodium! To make this an even healthier dish, I use chicken breasts rather than skinned chicken thighs.

Ingredients:
Serves 6
  • 2 cups dried pasta of choice (I used Farfalle)
  • 4 medium to large boneless chicken breasts
  • 2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
  • ½ cup red wine
  • 2 cups fresh zucchini, squash, cauliflower chopped (use 2 bags frozen veggies if you don’t have fresh)
  •  ½ to 1 cup sliced mushrooms
  • ½ yellow or white onion
  • 2 14.5 oz. cans Hunts Diced Basil, Garlic & Oregano Tomatoes (use juice)
  • 1 19 oz. can Progresso reduced sodium creamy tomato with Basil soup
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 1 sprig Rosemary
  • Grated Parmesan cheese to garnish
  • Salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

In large, lightly oiled skillet brown salt and peppered chicken breasts till cooked. I cut my chicken into medium bite size pieces for faster cooking time.  
While chicken is cooking, chop up mushrooms, garlic and onion.
Once chicken breasts are cooked, pull from pan and set aside. Deglaze pan with red wine, then add onions, garlic and mushrooms. Lightly brown.
Next add fresh or frozen veggies to pan, sauté till al dente, about 10 minutes.
Put water with a bit of oil and salt on to boil.

Simmer Chicken Cacciatore veggie sauce till bubbly

Now that veggies are mostly cooked, add to pan tomatoes with juice, Progresso creamy Tomato and Basil soup.
Add chicken back to sauce. Stir until well covered.
Add Rosemary and any additional salt and pepper needed.
Simmer sauce for 15 minutes while pasta cooks.
Drain pasta, drizzle with olive oil. Cover.
Plate pasta, cover with Chicken Cacciatore Sauce.

Manja!


This hearty Italian style Chicken Cacciatore dish is a delightful Sunday family style meal! I served a loaf of Pillsbury French bread with our dinner that I’d picked up while shopping at Publix. You can save a $1.00 off any 3 Pillsbury breads and $2.00 off Publix fresh chicken and more when you shop the #PublixVivaItaliaSale in store and by visiting www.readyplansave.com to download coupons. Be sure to check out their great recipes while you are there too and you’ll be serving up smiles with your Sunday dinners as well.


Win it!

Thanks to our Sponsor, Publix, one lucky winner will receive a $10 PayPal cash transfer so they can go shop the #PublixVivaItalia sale and serve up something Italian soon.

Terms:

No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter from below.  My WAHM Plan is responsible for prize fulfillment.  To win, you must have a valid PayPal email account. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 24 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel. 

Good luck!

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Wordless Wednesday: Good Eats

in , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Wednesday, February 10, 2016
                            
 We cook, we laugh, we love, we eat together. #Family

Grilled burgers and fries
Grilled burgers and fries



Beef Broccoli Noodle Stir Fry
Beef Broccoli Noodle Stir Fry




Pork Shoulder Roast
Pork Shoulder Roast

What do you cook with your family? 
Football season is heating up all over the country and here at Casa Kinsman, you can hear us cheering touchdown on Saturday and Sunday afternoons as we root for the VOLS and the Titans. If football fever has struck you family too, you’ll want to take a look at this crowd pleaser of a meal I served this weekend- Easy Pollo Verde Tacos with sides and Guacamole. True Game Day Favorites!

Easy Pollo Verde Tacos for game day! Recipe on mywahmplan.com




If you’ve read my blog for long, you know I’m a fan of family dinners and tasty snacks. I try to plan out my meals for the week well ahead of time, so when I saw that Old El Paso dinner kits and Avocados from Mexico were on sale at Publix, inspiration struck and I knew I’d be serving tacos on game day. Not only would I be saving money with the dinner kits being BOGO’s, I could stock up on the best tasting Avocados in town. That is a budget touchdown!



Old El Paso soft taco dinner kit


Once I told my husband and kids that I planned on serving tacos, they chimed it with helpful ideas and the meal grew from there with everybody pitching in. My girls have helped me with making guacamole and sides before, so we started there. Avocados from Mexico make the best tasting, creamiest guac! I served mine with blue corn chips for a fun pop of color. 

Serving up smiles with fresh Guacamole! #MWP #GameDayFavorites


The delicious Poblano Avocado soup my husband made is a true labor of love! I’m going to be sharing a fall soup recipe round up next month and will be sure to share his recipe. 

After we’d all snacked on the chips and guacamole, I got started on my Pollo Verde Chicken, which really is easy to make once you’ve assembled all your ingredients. 

Pollo Verde Tacos and Poblano soup ingredients #MWP


Ingredients:
Serves 6

  • 2- pounds chicken breasts
  • 2- 10 oz. cans Old El Paso Mild Green Enchilada Sauce  
  • 1- 4.5 oz. can Old El Paso mild green chilies
  • 2- small gloves garlic
  • ½ large yellow onion
  • ½ cup water
  • 1- tablespoon Canola oil
  • Salt/Pepper to taste
  • 10- Old El Paso soft taco size tortilla’s (from soft taco dinner kit).
  • Red Taco Sauce (from soft taco kit).
  • Cilantro for garnish

Pollo Verde tacos taste fantastic served on warmed corn tortillas’ as well.


Directions:

In lightly oiled frying pan, sear chicken breasts on both sides to just light brown color. Season chicken with salt and pepper prior to turning. 

Reduce heat and continue to cook chicken breasts, until no longer pink, about 20 minutes depending on thickness of breasts. While chicken is cooking, chop garlic and onion. 

Once juices run clear from chicken breasts, pull from pan and place on cutting board. 

Next, saute garlic and onions in chicken pan until lightly brown, making sure to scrape up any chicken happies' left on the bottom of the pan. 

Cut or pull apart chicken breast meat and add back to pan. Add green chilies and enchilada sauce. 

Bring to a low boil and then reduce heat and simmer for about 15 minutes.  Place tortillas in oven to warm for 5 minutes. 

Serve your tacos buffet style, with refried beans, making sure there is lots of cilantro, limes, onions, sour cream and guacamole condiments available. Enjoy!


Win It!

My thanks to Old El Paso for hosting this #OEPGameDay giveaway! One lucky winner will receive a $10.00 PayPal transfer to use for their own #GameDayFavorites menu items! I did received monetary compensation for my thoughts, however, I only share content I feel will benefit my readers. I’m disclosing this in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”


Terms:

No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter from below.  My WAHM Plan is responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel. You must have a PayPal email account to enter. 

Good Luck!


By August, our family meal plans have fizzled and we all are getting a bit bored with the same dinner fare. That’s why last week, I decided to go old school and serve up tasty tacos on, you guessed it! Tuesday- much to the delight of my family! If your summer dinner routine has hit a snag, maybe it’s time to bring back Taco Tuesday and delight your family too.




Bring back Taco Tuesday #summerfiesta


I wanted to keep dinner a surprise, so I headed to Publix by myself with the intention of buying the ingredients for good old fashioned beef and bean tacos. That’s when I noticed the Stand ‘n Stuff Taco shells dinner kit right beside their refried beans and green chilies that I normally buy. I knew these stand-alone shells would be a big hit with my girls, so in the cart they went, along with some avocados for guacamole.



 My WAHM Plan: Avocados from Mexico make tasty guacamole

As soon as I got home, I started making some guacamole with these beautiful avocados. I’m fortunate that my family loves the taste of this fruit! Of course we aren’t alone- did you know that Americans eat 1.4 billion pounds of guacamole a year?! Yeah, I was pretty blown away by that number myself.


I keep my guacamole recipe really simple and easy to follow by using ingredients and spices I have on hand like ground garlic, cumin, Adobo and fresh squeezed lime juice. I’ve found it I stick to this recipe, the guacamole will get gobbled up and used for more than just chip dipping,  We spread it on sandwiches, dip our carrots and peppers and more.


My WAHM Plan: freshly made Guacamole


Avocados do ripen really quickly, so I used all 5 of mine in this batch of guacamole. If your family won’t eat that much, you can store uncut avocados in the frig for a few days, or slice them and squeeze fresh lemon or lime juice on them to keep the avocado from browning. If you’d like to see some recipes for guacamole and other avocado dishes, just head on over to Avocados from MexicoMy guacamole tasted perfect with some Blue Corn tortilla chips I had on hand, so I set it in the frig to chill and got started on my stand’n stuff tacos.


My WAHM Plan: Taco Tuesday stand n stuff tacos

With the Old El Paso dinner kit that has shells, meat seasonings and taco sauce, my Taco Tuesday dinner was done in a flash. Besides cheese and sour cream, I make sure I serve tacos with lots of veggies- romaine lettuce, black olives, tomatoes, peppers, and more guacamole to help them be a bit healthier. 

When my family came to the dinner table, they couldn’t have been more surprised and delighted that I was serving tacos on Tuesday again. And the crunchy, easy to use stand n stuff shells were a huge hit!


My WAHM Plan: serve up a plate of crunchy tacos for dinner


If tacos aren’t your thing, you can find lots of quick and easy dinner recipes like Grilled Fajita Boats over at Old El Paso. They sound just as yummy as my tacos and I’m sure will be just as welcome at your next #summerfiesta dinner. 

Save!

From now, through the 19th, you can save on all Old El Paso products by shopping with Publix. Just upload, or print out the coupons at readysetsave.com to your loyalty card.


Win It:

My thanks to Old El Paso and Publix for sponsoring this $10 PayPal cash transfer giveaway! Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below.

Terms:
No purchase is necessary to enter using the Rafflecopter form.  My WAHM Plan is responsible for prize fulfillment. Winners will be notified by email used on entry form and have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen.  This giveaway is not associated with nor endorsed by Facebook, Twitter, or any other social channel. 


Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway
Thanks to Viva Italia Days at Publix: Hunt’s Tomatoes, Progresso™ Brand Products, Kraft Parmesan Cheese, Pillsbury™ Refrigerated Breads, Betty Crocker™ Cookies for sponsoring today's discussion. All opinions and love of cooking are my own.

How many times has this happened to you? You’ve forgotten to lay out the chicken for dinner, again - or worse, you remembered to defrost the meat, but your kids veto what you’ve got planned for dinner. There’s an uprising over “another” stir fry; like you’ve been trying to feed them this for days on end. 

What’s a mom to do? Raid the pantry, of course!

#PublixVivaItalia raid the pantry dinner


This recipe was inspired by the notion of always having a plan B dinner on hand for those nights when life throws you a curve-ball. Thanks to Publix, it’s super easy to plan ahead and make this tasty recipe! Your family won’t believe you got this meal on the table in under an hour! 




Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake #recipe on MyWAHMPlan.com


Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake – serves 8


Ingredients:

1 – 18 oz. can Progresso Creamy Mushroom Soup
1- 14.5 oz. can Hunts Fire Roasted Diced Tomatoes w/ Garlic
2- 10 oz. can Chicken Breast Meat in water
1 box Rigatoni or pasta of your choice, raid your pantry!
1 cup Kraft 6 cheese Italian blend shredded cheese
3/4 cup Kraft shredded Parmesan cheese
2- tablespoons Canola or other cooking oil (for casserole dish and pasta water)
¼ cup water (I use pasta water)
Salt, pepper Italian style dried herbs to taste.


Directions:

Boil pasta to al dente as per box directions. About nine minutes.
Preheat oven to 350° F
Grease casserole dish.
Using a spider or slotted spoon, pull al dente pasta from water and spread evenly in casserole dish.
Add salt, pepper and Italian style dried herbs to pasta.
Add ¼ cup pasta water.
Mix in seasonings.
Next, add all canned ingredients starting with creamy mushroom soup, then tomatoes, then chicken and mix.
Add the Kraft 6 cheese Italian blend shredded cheese, and lightly fold in to casserole.
Top with Kraft Parmesan cheese.
Bake in preheated oven for 20-25 minutes or until cheese is bubbling.


Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake dinner MyWAHMPlan.com
Dinner is served!

Serve with a garden salad and Pillsbury French bread loaf, which can be cooked at the same oven temperature as the Cheesy Chicken Pasta Bake. Serve Betty Crocker Double Chocolate Chunk cookies for dessert, if time allows you to bake them ahead of time.  Enjoy!


More easy recipe inspiration:



Save!

By shopping #PublixVivaItalia days at your local Publix from 2/19 until 3/4, you can save up to $7.00 and have this meal ready in a jiffy, just by raiding your pantry.
Use these links, starting with the Plan and Save at Publix link. 

Then save on:
  1. Progresso And Pillsbury Coupons
  2. Save $0.30 When You Buy ONE Bread Crumbs, Beans, Broth, Vinegar, Seafood Sauce Or Artichoke Hearts
  3. Save 50¢ Off Any Three(3) Hunt's® Tomato Paste (6 Oz. Or 12 Oz.)
  4. Save 50¢ Off Any Three(3) Hunt's® 8 Oz. Sauce AND One (1) Mueller's® 16 Oz. Spaghetti




Win it!
PayPal #giveaway MyWAHMPlan.com

Thanks to the nice sponsors of #PublixVivaItalia days, one lucky reader will win a $10.00 PayPal transfer  to use at Publix, or anywhere you’d like! Entering is easy using the Rafflecopter form below. 


Terms:

Prize will be fulfilled by My WAHM Plan and transferred within 48 hours of winner supplying correct PayPal account email  address. No purchase necessary to enter. One entry per blog please! If you have entered and won this prize on another blog, please remove yourself by emailing me at 4lkinsatgmaildotcom upon notification of win. One winner will be randomly selected using the Raffle Copter tools random selector and notified via email. Once notified, the winner will have 48 hours to respond or a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is in no way associated with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest or Google. Void where prohibited.


Good Luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My family will be gathering around the dinner table tonight tired but happy to have our first full week of school over and done.  Even though we started practicing our back to school schedules ahead of time, it still shocked our systems to get up so early, so I plan on hitting the easy button tonight for dinner. That means it time to visit Papa Murphy’s pizza.


Papa Murphy's take N Bake Pizzas #PapaMurphy'sMom


Long before I became a Papa Murphy’s Mom, I enjoyed the convenience of being able to pick up one of their made to order, take and bake pizzas, through together a quick garden salad and have a wholesome dinner on the table in no time. If I am really time crunched, I can pick up a pre-made salad at Papa Murphy's, right at the check out line.

I’m relying on Papa Murphy’s again tonight and I know their pizzas won’t disappoint us. The hardest part is deciding what to order! 

While all Papa Murphy’s Pizzas are tasty, our family has clear favorites like the classic Pepperoni. You can’t go wrong with this for a quick dinner, especially if your teen or tween is having guests over. Pepperoni Pizza is like a whole food group to them and their top pick is always Papa Murphy’s.


Papa Murphy's Pepperoni Pizza #dinner


Quick health tip: Press a napkin or paper towel on your slice of Pepperoni Pizza to blot off excess oils. Depending on the size of your slice, you could save yourself and your family up to 50 calories a slice.


You can use the blotting technique on Papa Murphy’s Cowboy Pizza too. This pie is one of my husband’s favorites!

Papa Murphy's Cowboy Pizza #meatlovers


Followed closely by the Papa Murphy’s meat lover’s pan pizza. Make no mistake; this is a loaded, man fuel pizza pie sure to please your hungriest bunch! I can eat one slice and I'm done.


Papa Murphy's Pan Pizza #manfuel


Quick cooking tip: Even though Papa Murphy’s cooking instructions say to wipe off the bottom of the pan and to check for holes before baking the Pan Pizza, I still wound up with baked on grease on the bottom of my oven the first time we got this pie. I suggest you always cook this pizza on a pizza pan just to be on the safe side because it does have a fair amount of grease.


I’ve saved my personal favorite for last, This is by far one of the  healthiest pizzas I've had in a long time. I LOVE Papa Murphy’s Herb Chicken Mediterranean Delite Pizza. 


Papa Murphy's Herb Chicken Mediterranean #Delite Pizza



From its flavorful chicken, Feta cheese, fresh spinach and sun-dried tomatoes to its thin, crispy crust, this pizza is just delicious. Made with olive oil and a zesty herb blend, it is a light pizza that never makes me feel like I ate a heavy meal.


Papa Murphy's thin crust Herb Chicken Med. Delite #Pizza


Have I made you hungry for pizza now? I invite you to learn more about Papa Murphy’s Pizza by visiting their website and following them on Facebook and Twitter


Please share in comments: What is your family’s favorite kind of pizza? Would your family like one of the pizzas I shared today?




Disclosure: As part of the Papa Murphy's Mom group, I receive promotional and educational items occasionally to use and share my thoughts. All opinions are 100% my own.

Friday Nights are for Family Fun

in , , , , , , , , by Linda A Kinsman, Friday, June 07, 2013

Ever since our daughters were old enough to voice their opinions, Friday night has been reserved for family fun.  Whether it’s going out to eat at a favorite restaurant or staying home and having dinner and movie fun, we always take a vote.

My husband and I feel it is important to let our daughters help make these choices because honestly, there are so many things in their lives that they have zero control over. School is one of the major contributors to this. From grumpy teachers to redundant and what seems like, non-stop testing, our kids have very little say in their day.


But it’s June! It’s summer time here in Tennessee!

fun


School is out and the living is easier here at our house, so tonight the girls get their say. Maybe they will want pizza and a movie or maybe we will go out to eat and then come home and catch fireflies or play flashlight tag. Maybe we'll go bowling. Or maybe we will all sit on the back deck and talk about our day while we listen to the frogs and toads sing.




lunch time
Enjoying the food and company at Swetts in Nashville, TN.


The important thing is our togetherness and some fun!  Now I might be singing a different tune by the end of summer when we’ve all had a little too much togetherness and the litany of sibling complaints start.

Some of my favorites: “She’s looking at me!” “She’s touching me!”  “I’m bored!” And of course the question all parents should get a nickel for every time they answer it - “Are we there yet?”

I may even have to answer that question tonight if we decide as a family that we are heading out for dinner and other family type fun. But, I’m fresh and full of optimism for our Fun Family Friday nights! 

It’s just June 7th after all.


What are your Friday night traditions?



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