Living the SWEET Life

If you know me at all, you know I don't have much of a sweet tooth. That's certainly not to say I don't eat sweets - because I certainly do - but given the option of a cupcake or a big pile of mashed potatoes & gravy, I'll choose the taters 97% of the time.

This month, however, some of the Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassadors were partnered with SPLENDA® for an Apple vs. Pumpkin cookoff. And I was ready & willing to take on the challenge!

Let me start by saying I am most definitely a SPLENDA® fan. I've been using it for years. I particularly love the SPLENDA® granulated product. It measures cup for cup the same as regular sugar & dissolves perfectly in a glass of iced tea. I bought Jim a sugar dispenser like they have at coffee shops which we fill with SPLENDA® Sweetener for his morning coffee (he makes much less of a mess now than he did wielding a spoon). Of course it's great for baking, and I've already mentioned the coffee & tea, but I also use it in vinaigrette dressings, in spaghetti sauce and I put just a touch in my baby lima beans (my Mamaw's secret was always just a touch of sugar). Of course, I keep sugar on hand just in case, but I really only rarely use it.

So - back to the challenge! My biggest issue going into this thing was the pumpkin. Not only had I never - not once in my life - ever cooked anything with pumpkin, but I'm fairly certain I'd never eaten anything pumpkin either. And to be totally honest, I wasn't really looking forward to it. The results, however, were pleasantly surprising!

The first thing I did was select two recipes featuring SPLENDA® Sweetener from Allrecipes.com. There were four listed and I chose these two: Pumpkin Waffles and Baked Apple Turnovers.

Both recipes were Fantastic!!!! Like I said, neither Red, nor I, was excited about the prospect of Pumpkin Waffles - boy, were we wrong! We went crazy for them & both told everyone we saw for DAYS about them & how great they were! The Turnovers also turned out delicious. The recipe calls for packaged refrigerated pie crusts (uh, yes please!), so they're super easy to put together. I have to say, after cooking the apple mixture, I didn't think I would like the consistency of the filling - but the end product was Spot On! They totally reminded me of the Fried Apple Tarts my Nanny used to make (only a whole lot easier & NOT fried)!  Jim ate these with a scoop of ice cream every night after dinner until they were gone.

The verdict?

Apple vs. Pumpkin - Round 1 - A dead heat!

On to Round 2:

I chose two recipes from the SPLENDA® site:  Golden Pumpkin Loaf and Cinnamon Oatmeal Apple Crisp

First up - Golden Pumpkin Loaf:

Again, very tasty. My loaf fell as it was cooling - but in hindsight, I think that may have been me not really knowing how to work the convection setting on my oven & maybe I should have cooked it just a few minutes longer. The taste was quite nice though. I used Craisins® in place of the raisins and Vanilla fat free yogurt instead of plain, because it's what I had on hand. When I warmed a few slices for breakfast the next day, I paired it with a big glass of Sara's Iced Coffee (from Allrecipes.com) which I aslo made with SPLENDA® Sweetener. This was a great way to start my day!

Next up: Cinnamon Oatmeal Apple Crisp

Yummy! What was so great about this recipe is that it only makes 2 individual servings - SO easy to throw together! I found the crumb topping just a little dry, so next time I would probably add a tad bit more margarine, but otherwise it was de-lish! I'd like to tell you Red really enjoyed it too, but that's not the case. Unfortunately for him, he is out of town and I've already eaten all of it! And for a girl with not much of a sweet tooth, that's saying something!

Round 2:

Apple vs. Pumpkin - APPLE!

Share the LOVE of all things SWEET!

#Apple #Pumpkin #AllrecipesAllstars

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I am not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com. I participated in a campaign on behalf of Allrecipes.com and SPLENDA®. I received samples to facilitate my reviews and promotional items as a thank-you for participating. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of me, Mrs. Redeye.

Everything's gonna be alright-a!

I don't know about you, but Ore-Ida® frozen potatoes were a staple in our house when I was growing up - and they're a staple in our house now. My Mom always had a bag of Tater Tots® on hand for a quick snack or side and there was always a package of Diced (Southern Style) Hash Browns for our family's favorite potato casserole (every family has one). I'd put money on the fact that Mom has both of those in her freezer right now.

And I DO know, at least for us, that there are two specific reasons for that.

The first of those is convenience. Ore-Ida® offers so many options, each of which significantly cuts down on my time in the kitchen. It's really almost too easy to throw some Ore-Ida® fries or tots in the oven as a side for almost anything. Not to mention, in my many years of cooking, I've yet to make a batch of homemade french fries worth eating. I just haven't been able to get them crispy on the outside & fluffy on the inside - and believe me! I have tried! Also, once, when I was in college, I was going to make Mom's famous potato casserole for a group of us who were grilling out. I'd made it plenty of times, and knew exactly what I was doing. However..... the guy I was dating convinced me that making it with fresh, raw potatoes would be much better. He was wrong. We cooked that casserole for at least 2 hours - potatoes never did get done. [side notes: Didn't marry that guy. Redeye never questions the potato casserole.] That's a lesson you don't soon forget. Ore-Ida® potatoes are already clean, peeled, chopped or sliced and even partially cooked! They've totally done the hard part for you.

The second reason is quality. Over the years we've tried other brands of frozen fries and diced potatoes. There's a difference. I haven't been able to count on consistency with any other brand. When I buy an Ore-Ida® product, I know exactly what I'm getting, and I know it will cook perfectly and it will taste great.

It's really nice when you realize you can use Ore-Ida® potatoes as elements in so many other recipes too. You may not have made a Tater Tot Casserole - but chances are you've heard of it. I made a casserole recently with french fries, ham, broccoli & mushrooms. This would be a great idea for holiday leftovers.

Try something new with them that you haven't before. I know a lot of people who use the Shredded Hash Browns as the base of their breakfast casseroles. Diced Hash Browns are great to use in pot pies and potato soup. Top Ore-Ida® Fries or Tots with chili & cheese, or gravy, or bacon & ranch to satisfy a crew of hungry teens (ore one lady with a sudden craving...). Go ahead! You know you already have them in the freezer!

Click here Ore-Ida for new products and recipe ideas.

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I am not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.

Products received from Ore-Ida are only used for experienced-based reviews on Mississippi Madness with Mrs. Redeye. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of me, Staci Maddox.

 

Italian Sausage - one of my new favorite things!

I have a confession to make. Until just a few years ago, everything I knew about Italian sausage came from pizza. Like most people, I'd had it on pizza - along with lots of other things (Redeye will order a Meat Lover/Carnivore/Man's Man pizza every time if I let him) and I'd used it in one recipe - exactly one - ever. And do you wanna take a stab at what that was? Yep. Pizza. A stuffed pizza at that. It consisted of Italian sausage, peppers, onion, etc. sandwiched between (get this) two frozen pizzas and topped with cheese. Sounds very Julia Child, no? OK, so I haven't made that in a REALLY long time. Don't see it in my future either.

But several years ago, dear hubby showed up with probably 10lbs of Italian sausage from his new deer processor. Neither of us had any idea what to do with it. So I started digging around on Allrecipes for what I could make with it. We tried several Sausage, Onion, Pepper (and sometimes Potato) combinations - something you don't see much of here in Mississippi - and of course I used it in lasagna, baked ziti, things like that. I certainly wasn't being adventurous - just trying to use it up. We've since changed processors & haven't gotten any more (venison) Italian Sausage. But I knew I needed to try the real thing.

Since then, I've turned to Johnsonville® (my go-to brand for Brats - Yum!) for Italian Sausage. AND I've ventured out and found that I can incorporate Italian Sausage into so many other things - even Non-Italian things. I know this should have been obvious, but truly, it wasn't.

A while back I was making up a big batch of spaghetti sauce. As is often the case, it was a fridge & pantry cleaning-out project. Of course I didn't write anything down - just threw it all in. There was ground beef, Johnsonville® Italian Sausage (Hot, I think), zucchini, mushrooms, onion and obviously tomatoes & sauce and lots of seasoning. It was, hands down, THE best spaghetti sauce I've ever made. Hopefully I can recreate it.

Another thing I love is Italian Wedding soup. A friend turned me on to it about 15 years ago and I'll order it any time it's available. Sometimes (gasp!) I even eat the canned version. I cannot imagine why it took me so long to finally make it. I know I didn't think the Red man would eat it. It turned out great!!! And I was wrong - He Loved it! Wants me to make it again & again!

Italian Wedding Soup

I also tried the Italian Sausage Market Meatloaf. Besides being full of veggies, it has a layer of spinach & provolone in the middle too - hubby thought that was pretty awesome. It was jam-packed with flavor! Definitely not your momma's meatloaf! (I'm going to go ahead & apologize for the terrible photo - it tasted way better than I made it look).



Italian Sausage Market Meatloaf

This sausage is also delicious incorporated into South-of-the-border-type dishes. I've made the Chiliville Chili before. It has a bit of sweetness to it, not what I was used to, but great flavor. < I have a photo of it somewhere, I'll come back & post if I can find it. >

Sizzlin' Sante Fe Dip

This dip is super easy & very hearty (Red found it totally man-worthy). It looks like your typical Mexican dip, but the Johnsonville® Hot Italian Sausage really added something special to it. Now Johnsonville® All Natural Italian Sausage is available in 1lb. bulk packages - no casings to remove & the perfect size to easily replace it for another meat in some of your old favorites too! I'm really looking forward to finding more new ways to use it!

Now I certainly don't mean to imply that Italian Sausage is all Johnsonville does! For goodness sake, Don't forget the Brats! And you may not know that they also make smoked sausages, breakfast sausages, chicken sausages - they even have frozen products. Check out the Johnsonville® website for ideas, product availability, recipes & promotions. Oh! The possibilities!

#JvilleKitchens     #AllstarsJville

I am an Allrecipes Allstar Brand Ambassador (a voluntary position) and I’m not compensated for my work with Allrecipes.com.

Products received from advertiser are only used for experienced-based reviews on Mississippi Madness with Mrs. Redeye. The reviews, content and opinions expressed in this blog are purely the sole opinions of Staci Maddox .

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