Ore Ida Totchos Recipe and Review-Influenster Jingle VoxBox

Last month I received the Jingle VoxBox from Influenster. It featured a lot of nice products in it and one of them was a coupon to pick up some Ore Ida tater tots. And they challenged up to come up with our own version of totchos (tater tot nachos). You can check out the Ore Ida Totchos Hub for more recipe ideas. I decided to go with a Greek theme for my version of totchos-tater tots, chicken, feta, cucumber, tomato and tzatziki. Here's the recipe so you can enjoy them too.

1 1/2lbs. chicken breast - seasoned with greek seasoning and sautéed and chopped
tomatoes - chopped
cucumber - chopped
tzatziki sauce
feta cheese crumbles

Cook the tater tots and top with chopped chicken, tzatziki sauce, cucumber, tomato and feta cheese.

I thought the tater tots were nice and crispy when I deep fried them. They have a nice texture to them and I like how versatile they are.

*Disclaimer: I received this product complimentary to test from Influenster. The above thoughts are my own honest ones.*

Cooking with Blue Diamond: Blueberry and Salted Caramel Almonds (sponsored)

 

Earlier this month I got the opportunity to participate in another project with Blue Diamonds Tastemakers. I was sent two kinds of almonds for testing and review purposes-Blueberry and Salted Caramel. We decided to use them in our favorite granola recipe. They worked well in the granola and add a nice flavor and crunch to it. Here's the original recipe from Alton Brown with the changes we made on this batch noted.

Granola
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

Ingredients:
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup slivered almond (we used 1 cup of chopped blueberry almonds)
1 cup cashews (we used 1 cup of chopped salted caramel almonds)
3/4 cup shredded sweet coconut
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins (we didn't use any)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.  In a large bowl, combine the oats, nuts, coconut, and brown sugar. In a separate bowl, combine maple syrup, oil, and salt. Combine both mixtures and pour onto 2 sheet pans. Cook for 1 hour and 15 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes to achieve an even color. Remove from oven and transfer into a large bowl. Add raisins and mix until evenly distributed.

We made parfaits with the granola, blueberries, nectarines, and vanilla yogurt. They were pretty tasty.

Summer Fun with Blue Diamond

Recently I had the opportunity to join the Blue Diamond Taste Makers. While I received a can of almonds and a bag of almonds for free for testing and review purposes the following opinions are my own honest ones. Almonds are a great on the go snack and Blue Diamond offers a wide variety of flavor options.

I had a chance to try the toasted coconut almonds and the blueberry ones. We decided to try the toasted coconut almonds in an ambrosia salad. We have made ambrosia many times but never with an nuts in it. And I decided to add the blueberry almonds to some homemade granola and ate it on top of some strawberry yogurt. I really like the crunchy texture that the coconut almonds added to the ambrosia. I liked the coconut almonds more than the blueberry ones. The blueberry almonds did taste nice in my yogurt. I would definitely purchase the toasted coconut almonds but probably not the blueberry ones. Here our version of ambrosia salad with blue diamond toasted coconut almonds-You should definitely give it a try.

Ambrosia Fruit Salad with Blue Diamond Toasted Coconut Almonds

1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
2 T sugar
1 C sour cream
1 20oz can of pineapple tidbits - drained
1 10oz can of mandarin oranges - drained
1 10oz jar of maraschino cherries - drained and chopped
3/4 C shredded coconut
1 cup mini marshmallows
1/2 C chopped Blue Diamond Toasted Coconut Almonds

Whip the heavy cream and sugar until it forms stiff peaks - whisk in the sour cream.  Add the rest of the ingredients and stir together.  Put in the refrigerator and chill for a couple hours before serving.

Ambrosia with Blue Diamond Toasted Coconut Almonds

Strawberry Yogurt with Granola and Blue Diamond Blueberry Almonds

Plum Kuchen

I decided to try out a recipe from Cooking Light the other day. I have quite a sweet tooth so any time I see a dessert recipe that while satisfy my sweet tooth but doesn't have as many calories in it-I am willing to give it a try. I think that it turned out pretty taste and looks good too!

Here's a link to the recipe incase your interested in trying it out. I think it would make a great cake for a special occassion. Plum Kuchen recipe from Cooking Light.

Black Raspberry Swirled Muffins

I was going to try out another recipe from my muffin book but then I stumbled onto a recipe for Jam Swirled Muffins. I found it on a lovely blog called Technicolor Kitchen-here's the recipe. They are very tasty and I can't wait to try it again with other types of jam. The recipe calls for lemon juice if you need to thin the jam but I used some apple cider. Next time I will go back to my muffin book unless of course I stumble upon another recipe on the net.

Scallion and Goat Cheese Muffins!

Today I decided to try out another one of the recipes in my muffin book. I decided to try out the Scallion and Goat Cheese Muffins. They aren't bad but I think they need some herbs. I am thinking perhaps some of Penzey's sandwich sprinkle. Or you could use the goat cheese that already has herbs on it. I think I may try a sweet muffin recipe next. Here's the recipe in case you want to try it. *Note: Muffins pictured only have 4 oz of goat cheese in them and a little less scallions than the recipe called for. *

Scallion and Goat Cheese Muffins
adapted from: 1 Mix, 100 Muffins by: Susanna Tee
Makes about a dozen

Ingredients:
oil or melted butter, for greasing (if using on muffin pan)
2 cups of flour
1 tbsp. of baking powder
1/8 of salt
a pinch of freshly ground black pepper (didn't use)
1 bunch of scallions, finely chopped
5 1/2 oz of goat cheese, finely diced or crumbled
2 large eggs
1 cup of buttermilk
6 tbsp. of oil or melted, cooled butter

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. (200 degrees Celsius) Grease a 12-cup muffin pan or line with a dozen paper liners. Sift together the baking powder, flour, salt, and pepper to taste into a large bowl. Stir in the goat cheese and scallions.

Lightly beat the eggs in a large bowl or pitcher, then beat in the oil and buttermilk. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the beaten liquid ingredients. Stir gently until just combined, be careful not to over mix.

Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan. Bake in a preheated oven for about twenty minutes, until well risen, golden brown, and firm to the touch.
Let the muffins cool in the pan for approximately 5 minutes. Then serve them warm.