Klondike Rose Potatoes & Johnny's Salts Giveaway

It's time for another fun-filled giveaway.

Everyone likes free stuff right?

But this giveaway is extra special....

It's FOOD!

 Klondike brands and Johnny's Fine Foods contacted me with a challenge.

You know how I love a good challenge.

To perform this giveaway I first had to create something using 

Klondike Rose potatoes and Johnny's salts.

This is what I came up with.....

 When I first looked at the bag of potatoes and seen that awesome color of red

and the word Rose, the first thing that came to mind was red wine.

You should always go with your first instinct, right?

Right!

 I chopped up 4 of those gorgeous red potatoes and covered them with red wine.

I know this going to be hard for you, and you will probably shed a tear or two,

but believe me, it's well worth it.

I let the potatoes soak in the wine for 2 hours.

I drained the potatoes, and yes, the wine went down the drain....

DON'T CRY!

There is enough left in the bottle for one glass.

 I arranged the chopped potatoes on a foil lined baking sheet

smeared with olive oil. Kind of toss the veggies in the olive oil to coat.

Along with the potatoes I sliced one red pepper and one medium onion, 

sliced and chopped.

Sprinkle with Johnny's Seasoned Sea Salt.

Place the baking sheet with veggies in a preheated 400 degree oven for

20 minutes, or until potatoes are fork tender.

 This is what they looked like when they were done.

We ended up with an awesome breakfast dinner.

Top the potatoes and peppers with a couple soft cooked eggs,

and you have heaven on a plate....NO JOKE!

The wine taste was fantastic mixed with peppers and onions.

So, since I completed my challenge I can now move on to the giveaway.

Two lucky winners will win this prize package shown below,

courtesy of Klondike Brands and Johnny's Fine Foods.

USA residents only please.

Klondike Brand is also providing a coupon for A'lil Country Sugar readers:

Coupon is here!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Recipe for Wilted Spinach

 Greens!

Is there anything better?

For some reason when I eat green leafy vegetables

I feel so satisfied,

complete,

full,

and just feel really good about myself after eating them.

I wonder if it's because they are packed full of so many

vitamins and minerals?

Heart healthy maybe?

Or what about the cancer fighting ingredients they carry?

This wilted spinach recipe was over the top amazing.

I will be making this over and over to place the 

perfect/healthy/vitamin packed side on my meal table.

And I even got the "You know I don't like spinach" person

to try it. And he liked it! Imagine that.....

There is a huge difference between wilted spinach and cooked spinach.

Wilted spinach stays more in a solid form and doesn't 

feel like mush in your mouth.

If I could have had my way.....I would have ate the whole pound myself.

This recipe came from Betty Crocker, Country Favorites Cookbook,

page 223.

I made some changes of my own like, increased the bacon amount,

and increased the garlic amount.

Got to have flavor in greens.

My theory anyway.....

Wilted Spinach

1 medium onion, chopped

2 slices bacon, cut up into pieces

2 cloves garlic, finely chopped (I used a garlic slicer)

2 TBS butter

2 TBS olive oil

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1 pound baby spinach leaves

Juice of 1/2 medium lemon

Cook and stir onion, bacon, and garlic in butter and oil in Dutch oven over medium heat until bacon is crisp and onion starts to brown. Reduce heat, stir in salt, pepper, and nutmeg.

Remove from heat and stir in spinach. Stir just until wilted. Drizzle with lemon juice. 

Serve hot.

This recipe is linked to:
Miz Helen's Country Cottage ~ Full Plate Thursday
Foodie Friends Friday

Roasted Balsamic Vegetables and Some Changes

 It's a new year!

Which means time for change.

You will see a lot of changes happening around here in 2013.

For one, we are going to focus more on healthy eating.

The taste "good" healthy eating.

Who's up for that?

Don't get me wrong, I'm not going to leave out those

fantastic desserts and full calorie meals,

I'm just going to even things out a little.

Starting next Monday you will see something different that

we should slip in here.

On Mondays you will begin to see one Weight Watchers meal

per week.

For two, I would like to see this blog hold its own domain name.

I will be working hard on that commitment too.

I am just so grateful for all of you faithful fans and followers.

 Now let's get down to business today.

I don't know about you, but I love roasted vegetables.

Any kind of vegetables.

And you can mix this up any way you want to.

I chose fresh green beans and red potatoes.

Don't be afraid to throw in what you like:

Mushrooms

Zucchini chunks

Carrots

Squash chunks

Sweet peppers

Hot peppers

Sweet potatoes....

And I think the list could be endless.

 I made this around the Christmas holiday just to lighten things up a bit.

Are you one that over-ate during the holidays?

Me too!

All you have to do with this recipe is,

throw all of your veggies in a Zip-lock bag and pour the sauce mix in.

Shake or Squeeze!

And then dump onto a foil lined cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick spray.

Pop in the oven, and in about 20-30 minutes you have heaven on a plate.

And the darker the veggies are roasted, the more I love them....

Just a "favorite" taste of mine. 

The inspiration for this recipe came from Kalyn's Kitchen.

I had to leave out the mushrooms due to a mushroom hater in the house.

Roasted Green Beans and Potatoes with Balsamic and Parmesan

1 pound fresh green beans, washed with ends snipped

4 medium sized red potatoes, washed and sliced thin

Place these two ingredients in a gallon size Zip-lock bag.

1 1/2 T. olive oil

1 T. balsamic vinegar

salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste

2 TBS finely grated Parmesan cheese (and more for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Wash, prep, and slice vegetables of your choice.

Put vegetables into a Zip-lock bag. Whisk together olive oil, balsamic vinegar, and Parmesan cheese. Pour balsamic mixture into bag with veggies. Shake or squeeze bag until all veggies are coated. Arrange on a large cookie sheet covered with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray. Spread out the veggies so they are not crowded on the cookie sheet. Roast for 20 to 30 minutes, starting to check for doneness after 20 minutes. You will want your veggies to be tender-crisp. Season to your taste with more salt and pepper, and then sprinkle with more Parmesan cheese if desired.

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday

Pinterest & Spontaneous Treasures Thursday

 The month of December is always crazy for any family.

It seems like December always whisks by without even knowing its there.

So to keep December simple,

I plan on keeping my meals simple.

And try and stick with low calorie since there are lots of 

Christmas feasts ahead. 

I ran across this recipe at Kaylyn's Kitchen. 

I love roasted vegetables, and green beans is one of my favorites.

So when I noticed these green beans and mushrooms I knew I had to make it.

But wait!

I have a mushroom hater in the house.

So quickly I had to come up with a replacement.

I decided to place sliced red potatoes in place of the mushrooms.

This dish is in my oven as I type.

Anything with Balsamic vinegar I tend to love. 

I'm anxious to see how this 

Roasted Green Beans with Red Potatoes, Balsamic, and Parmesan

turns out. 

 Along side my green beans I would love to see this 

Fiesta Lime Chicken from Rachel Schultz.

I think they would pair perfectly.

 And just to keep the holiday in check, these sweet little

Candy Cane Snowballs would be perfect to top off this meal.

This recipe comes from Cooking During Stolen Moments.

I hope you enjoy this as much I KNOW I will.

Scalloped Potato/Butternut Squash & Ham

Don't you just love scalloped potatoes and ham?

I sure do!

To me, it's a comfort food.

Growing up my mom used to make it all the time,

but she always used the cream of mushroom soup for

the sauce to cook it in.

I used to love pulling the leftovers out of the fridge and 

eating it cold.

Don't judge!

It was good!

At least I thought so when I was a kid..... 

 Speaking of my mom....

I was at her house the other day, and on my way out the door

I noticed this carton of soup setting on her garage table.

As soon as I picked it up,

"Do you want it?"

Came from my mom.

I thought it looked interesting.

Corn & Lemongrass?

Yup, I really wanted to try it.

But instead of just trying it out of the carton,

I used it as my sauce for scalloped potato/butternut squash & ham.

Why not?

Right?

Corn and potatoes are excellent together.

Now come on.....I know you mix your corn with your mashed potatoes. 

This was one fantastic meal.

And yes, I WILL make it again.

Scalloped Potato and Butternut Squash

1/2 butternut squash, peeled and sliced

2 ham slices, cut in cubes (or to your liking)

8 medium golden potatoes, peeled and sliced

1/2 of an onion, sliced

4 TBS butter

2 TBS flour

1/2 c. frozen corn

1 (8 oz.) container corn & lemongrass cream soup

salt and pepper to taste (I like lots of pepper)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Prepare squash and potatoes in slices. Place half of the potatoes and squash in the bottom of a 13x9 pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Place half of the sliced onion on top, and sprinkle with half of the ham cubes. Repeat this process for another layer.

In a medium saucepan over med heat melt butter. Add flour and whisk. Add corn and whisk some more. Slowly pour in the cream soup until slightly thickened. Pour sauce over the layers of potatoes, squash, onion, and ham. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake in a 350 degree F. oven for 1 hour, or until potatoes test done with a fork.

Leaves Are Falling: Grilled Chicken/Veggie Dinner

 The leaves are falling....

which means it's the perfect time to hit those grills.

Have you ever grilled a whole dinner?

My brother invited me over for a grilled foil pack dinner.

I had chicken pieces marinating,

so I grabbed my chicken and drove 70 all the way there.

My brother makes the best grilled foil packs.

 I cut up 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts into chunks.

And for the life of me, I can't remember what I was going to use 

this chicken for.

All I know is where it ended.

In my brother's foil pack.

 I used Vidalia Onion Vinaigrette dressing to marinate the chicken in.

Overnight. 

This may be a little tricky to complete for some of you.

My brother used an infra-red grill.

He put carrots, potatoes, onion, mushrooms, and my chicken

into a casserole size deep foil pan that had been rubbed with 

olive oil (maybe 2 TBS).

Threw in some salt and pepper, covered it tightly with

aluminum foil, and placed it in a 450 degree infra-red grill.

He left it in the grill for 50-60 minutes, shaking it occasionally,

(every 15 minutes).

He also told me that this can be made in the oven.

The infra-red grill at 450 degrees is equivalent to

a 375-400 degree oven. 

So, lookie there.....you can make this in your ovens. 

This recipe is linked to:
Foodie Friends Friday

I'm Tired! Roasted Balsamic Zucchini

The Zucchini Apocalypse!

Are you tired of hearing about it?

I am!

But let me tell you....

I am just plain TIRED.

I cannot fight off the zucchini any longer.

I give up!

Let them take me over.....

I am collapsing with my white flag....

I surrender!

But before I surrender,

I'm going to leave you with one last zucchini recipe.

This one will be made again next year during zucchini season.

I am a huge fan of balsamic vinaigrette's.

The flavors are amazing.

So I introduced these attacking zucchini with it.

This is what I did:

And yes, that is a paper plate.

There is only two of us eating in the house, so we cut down on dishes.

It's easier to throw them away than wash them.

Roasted Balsamic Zucchini

1/4 c. Marzetti Simply Dressed Balsamic Dressing

1/3 c. Kraft Parmesan, Romano, Asiago cheese blend

A few shakes of garlic powder

1 TBS olive oil

Salt and crushed black pepper

I seeded and cut the zucchini into chunks. Placed it in a bowl and poured the dressing ingredients over it. I tossed to coat all the pieces, and poured it onto a baking sheet with sides. Place it in a 400 degree F. preheated oven for 20 minutes. The cheeses will melt, so when you remove it from the oven place it in a serving bowl and stir. A fabulous way to eat zucchini.

This recipe is linked to:

Bobbi's Kozy Kitchen: Manic Monday

Lady Behind the Curtain ~ Cast Party Wednesday

Foodie Friends Friday

It's Just A Thang....Mexican Stuffed Roasted Peppers

 I seen these come through Pinterest from Simply Love Food,

and I knew right then and there that they had to be on MY plate.

But I put my own twist on them.

 Is there anything more beautiful than colorful peppers?

Okay, maybe a slice of blueberry cheesecake....

But right now the beauty is the peppers.

And if I would have known that a roasted pepper was 

out-of-this-world-amazing

I would have been roasting them years ago.

 You can even top these bad boys with sour cream if you want.

I will for sure be making these over and over in my kitchen.

 Do you remember the homemade taco seasoning that was just

presented the other day?

Yup, it's in here.

And so is some of our left-over grilled brats (jalapeno brats).

Just a tid-bit of information....

it's easier to remove the casings before the brats are cooked.

But anyway, I managed to get a little meat out of those

grilled brats without using most of the casing. 

Once you try these on your own plate,

you will be making them again, and again.

I hope you enjoy these as much as we did.

Quote from a taste tester: 

"I am not a fan of beans, but these are AMAZING!"

Chalk one up for the 'Lil Country Sugar cook 

to get a bean hater to eat beans....

Mexican Stuffed Roasted Peppers

Olive oil

6 left-over grilled brats (try and remove meat without using the grilled casing)

1 c. chopped purple onion

1 heaping TBS of homemade taco seasoning

2 c. cooked rice (I used white basmati rice)

3-4 bell peppers, halved and seeds removed (I used 3)

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 c. frozen corn

1 (15-16 oz.) jar picante sauce, or salsa (I used medium heat picante)

Shredded cheddar cheese

Optional toppings:

fresh cilantro

sour cream

sliced avocado

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly coat the peppers with olive oil and roast in a baking dish about 20-25 minutes. Remove the peppers from the oven and allow to cool until you can handle them.

In a bowl add the taco seasoning, cooked meat (brats), chopped onion, black beans, corn, and rice. Add in the picante sauce and mix well.

Carefully spoon the mixture into each half of the roasted peppers (mine were heaping) and place back into the baking dish. Cook the peppers for another 15-20 minutes or until the peppers are cooked all the way through. Before removing  from the oven sprinkle the tops with shredded cheese. Place back into the oven until cheese is melted.

Top peppers with your choice of toppings.

This recipe is linked to:
Thursday Treasures ~ Recipes for My Boys
Foodie Friends Friday
The Better Baker ~ Weekend Pot Luck
Six Sisters Stuff ~ Strut Your Stuff Saturday

ASAP!! Bloody Mary Salad

 This is my off day....

And on my off days I do nothing but sit around,

drink wine,

and eat the foods that I present to you on Mondays,

Wednesdays,

and Fridays....

FOR REAL!

And drinking wine is my favorite part.

Why do you think I'm partial to recipes that call for alcohol?

I had to get this recipe to you ASAP! 

So, that means I'm interrupting my wine drinking day.....

So, that means this recipe is pretty darn special.

 I bet if you search my blog you would find at least twelve

recipes that call for some kind of liquor.....

And I know what you're thinking.....

"I'm following an alcoholic." Right?

I would be thinking that if I were you.....

I found this recipe at Framed Cooks, and when I saw the title,

I started doing flips.

For real!

Flips!

A Bloody Mary is one of my all time favorite drinks.

Don't forget, you're following an alcoholic.....

I also have to share with you the obsession I have with 

pretty plates and antiques.

I have it bad!

I sometimes go to a local antique store in my tiny little town

and walk around the store all day long.

That pretty bowl and glass salad tongs came from that store.

It's called The Green Awning Gallery.

And you can find their blog here.

Make sure you bookmark the blog because Kathy has some

awesomely amazing decorating ideas.

Oh, and I was telling you about a Bloody Mary Salad....

I'm not only an alcoholic,

antique freak,

but also a side tracked Sally.....(no offence to any Sally)

Sorry!

Bloody Mary Salad

4-6 ripe heirloom tomatoes, cut into wedges (I used garden tomatoes)

1 bunch of celery, cut into 2 inch sections. Include some of the leafy part!

1/8 cup capers (I used pimento stuffed green olives, sliced)

1/4 c. olive oil

3 TBS horseradish (I used finely minced onion)

1 TBS Worcestershire sauce

2 TBS vodka

1 tsp. celery seeds

1/2 TBS Tabasco (or less if you like), (or more if you like)

Fresh ground black pepper and coarse salt

Gently combine tomatoes, celery and olives in a salad bowl.

Combine all remaining ingredients except for salt and pepper in a medium sized mixing bowl. Whisk together. Then add the salt and pepper to taste. 

Pour dressing over salad and mix gently. Garnish with a scattering of celery seeds if desired and serve.

This recipe is linked to:
Thursday Treasures ~ Recipes for My Boys
Swanky Stuff Link Party ~ Something Swanky
Foodie Friends Friday
The Better Baker ~ Weekend Pot Luck

It's Nameless: Meatless Masterpiece

 This is one hell-of-a vegetable soup!.....Yup, just vegetables!

I didn't have a name for this soup,

so I turned to my Facebook fans (of course!) to help create a name.

There were three participants:

Vickie Collins - Summer's Delight

Tori Winegarner - Vegetable Penne

Michelle Brenneman - Summer Stew

They obviously were all thinking alike, 

and it was hard for me to pick just one.

Therefore, I decided to combine all three.

The name I came up with....Summer's Penne Stew

Thank you so much ladies for helping me out with this.

I have some of the best fans in the world!

You should come and join us.....A'lil Country Sugar fan page.

 Since I have been hitting the local Farmer's Markets 

I've been eating a lot of vegetables.

Which is good for me, right? 

I don't think I could possibly become a vegetarian though....

I tried once, and at the end of five days, 

I was ready to kill a cow. 

For real!!

The loss of meat in my diet turned me into a beast.

 To create this Summer's Penne Stew I worked in stages.

I took my leftover beef broth from a roast I cooked (6 cups worth)

and added two more cups of water to give me an even 8 cups.

 I chopped my carrots, 3/4 c. (sorry, that's all I had)

4 red potatoes, washed and chopped

4 celery heart stalks, chopped.

I simmered these vegetables for 8 to 10 minutes.

Then added:

I chopped one small zucchini into bite sized pieces (skin on),

Added the zucchini with the penne pasta (1/2 box)

and simmered according to pasta directions.

When there was about 3 minutes left on the pasta timer

I added 2 handfuls of spinach leaves.

When the timer went off, I shut the burner off.

Summer's Penne Stew complete!

This recipe is linked to:
Lady Behind the Curtain, Cast Party Wednesday
Foodie Friends Friday
The Better Baker~ Weekend Pot Luck
Fit and Fabulous Fridays~ Amee's Savory Dish
Share it Saturday~ Lemon Sugar