Taste and Tell Blog

Slow Cooker Creamy Ranch Pork Chops and Potatoes

April 24, 2013 // 25 Comments

I seem to go in spurts with my menu planning. One week it will be all about the chicken. The next week, I find myself buying pounds of beef. I haven’t had a seafood spurt in quite some time (I really need to change that), but lately, I keep finding pork on my menu plan. I feel like I went quite a few months there without ever really buying pork (except bacon. You must always have bacon.) But lately, I have been going crazy.

Most of the recipes I’ve been making have been from my archives, but a time or two a new recipe has made the cut. And today is one of those days.

This is a spin off of a popular slow cooker recipe that most our moms have probably made. But instead of cans of condensed soup, a from scratch sauce is made. I’m not a food snob – I promise – but making your own sauce not only tastes 100x better, but it really is super simple. It takes a little bit longer than opening up a can, but believe me – it’s worth it!!

And since I love it when the side dish comes with the main dish, this one is cooked with some potatoes. The sauce not only coats the pork chops, but the potatoes as well, making for a delicious meal. Throw some easy fresh veggies on the side, and dinner is done!!

Now, let’s talk slow cookers. If you have been reading Taste and Tell, you’ll know that I haven’t always been the biggest slow cooker fan. And I’m now starting to wonder if one reason is because I haven’t had a good one. My friends at KitchenAid recently sent me this 6-quart Slow Cooker with the Easy Serve Lid, and let me tell you. I didn’t think these words would ever leave my lips, but – I’m in love with my slow cooker. My old slow cooker cooked really hot, so things were always done too quickly. This one cooked perfectly. Some other things I love about this slow cooker? It has 4 temperature settings – warm, low, medium and high. I love that it has a medium setting – I’ve never seen that before! I also love the hinged lid design. This way, if you take it somewhere or if you are entertaining with it, you don’t have to take the lid off. The sides lift up for easy serving. And this may seem like something little or insignificant, but I love that you can wind the cord on the bottom for easy storage. Seriously – I don’t know if you could find a better slow cooker!

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Tortilla Crusted Chicken Tenders | Recipe Girl Cookbook Review

April 22, 2013 // 23 Comments

Have you ever anticipated a cookbook that you just knew was going to be good?

I have been so excited for the release of Lori Lange’s cookbook – The Recipe Girl Cookbook. I have been reading her blog for years now, and was so excited when she announced that she was writing a cookbook. And I was even more excited when I had the cookbook in my hands!! Lori’s recipes are the kind of recipes that I’m always drawn to – family friendly recipes, but often with a twist. And her cookbook follows in line with her blog – great everyday recipes, with some great entertaining recipes and tips thrown in.

This cookbook really does have something for everyone. From breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes to a wide variety of desserts, delicious salads and plenty of sides. And if you are following a gluten-free, dairy-free or vegetarian diet, there are icons on each recipe so you can easily see if the recipe is adaptable for your special diet. And if you are an entertainer, there is a whole chapter of menu ideas and tips and tricks. See – something for everyone!!

Number of Photos: Many
The photos in the book are gorgeous – done by one of my favorite food photographers Matt Armendariz. There isn’t a photo of every recipe, but the quality of the photos is amazing.

Difficulty Level of Recipes: Easy to Medium
The majority of the recipes are on the easy side of the scale. But she does throw in a few recipes that are a little more advanced – or at least take a little more effort. I love that there is such a variety of recipes in the cookbook.

Availability of Ingredients: Easy
No crazy ingredients here! In fact, I’m sure I could find a few recipes that could be made of all pantry staples.

Here’s what I made:

Cilantro Rice

If it wasn’t for my inability to cook something as simple as rice, this would have been perfect. No fault of the recipe, (seriously – why can I not cook rice?), but the flavor of this rice was perfect. A great side to any Mexican or Tex-Mex meal!

Butterfinger Brownies

Not even kidding – my 4-year old daughter came up to me after eating one of these and told me that they were the best brownies that she had ever had. And if you know how picky my daughter is, you’ll know that these have to be pretty darn good to get that kind of praise!

Tortilla Crusted Chicken Tenders

As a food blogger, it’s hard to admit that my kids don’t eat. Seriously – dinnertime is a struggle pretty much every night. And it’s basically impossible to get either of my kids to eat chicken unless we go out and have chicken nuggets. But these chicken tenders? A miracle. Not only did both of my kids eat them, but they cleaned their plates. This, my friends, is a miracle food!! Recipe Below

Overall thoughts:

I definitely think this cookbook is a winner. I cannot wait to try the Apple-Bacon Waffles, the Butternut Squash Soup with Crispy Pancetta and Sage, and the Snickers Bar Cheesecake Pie. I would not hesitate at all in recommending this cookbook!

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Fridays with Rachael Ray – Grainy Mustard Chicken {Giveaway}

April 19, 2013 // 19 Comments

**Don’t miss the giveaway below!!**

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Ok, ok – it’s true. My favorite condiment is mustard. And I guess I really like mustard with chicken, because this isn’t the first time I’ve made a chicken dish that was covered in a mustard sauce! But what can I say – I like what I like!!

Truly, though, I was drawn to this recipe from the moment I saw it. One of those reasons is that I’m horrible with side dishes. I know we need to eat more veggies, but coming up with side dishes every night gets difficult for me. But with this dish, you don’t even have to think about it, because the side is included in the meal!! You cook potatoes and green beans, you cook your chicken, and the you coat them all in a delicious grainy mustard sauce. This was a no-brainer for me!

And it doesn’t hurt that it’s done in half and hour, and it’s a pretty budget friendly meal as well. I think it’s a winner!!

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Taste and Tell Thursdays – Lowe’s Grill Giveaway

April 18, 2013 // 26 Comments

Welcome to Taste and Tell Thursdays! Come link up your posts below!

It’s day 4 of the 5 days of giveaways! Thanks so much, Carrian, for letting us celebrate your birthday week alongside you!!

There are 3 other awesome giveaways, you don’t want to miss out! Day 1: Magimix Food Processor - Day 2: Vacation for 4 to Deer Valley – Day 3: Over $500 of Hamilton Beach Appliances

And today’s giveaway is definitely one you don’t want to miss out on. Especially since it’s finally starting to warm up outside!! Check it out – a Master Forge 5-Burner Modular Outdoor Grill, worth $1200 – courtesy of Lowe’s. Do you know how badly I’d love one of these babies in my backyard right now??

ENTER TO WIN A $1200 Grill!

To enter this giveaway just follow these steps:

1. Pin this post to pinterest

2. Follow each blogger on pinterest (each photo below links to each pinterest account for you)

3. Enter to win

Extra Entries

If you’d like to enter by pinning a recipe or post other than this one from each blogger or follow on Facebook the links are provided in each button on the Promo Simple.

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Blueberry Muffin Waffles {Giveaway}

April 17, 2013 // 28 Comments

**Don’t Miss the Giveaway Below!**

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Ok, I’m not going to wax poetic again about how much I love breakfast. Because we all know that I do. But do you want to know a secret?

I rarely eat all of these delicious breakfast foods for breakfast.

In a perfect world, I’d get up and make an elaborate meal every morning to start our days off right. But the truth of the matter is that I have 3 children that all wake up practically screaming “breakfast!” And while in my pre-kids days I was totally a morning person, I’ve turned into a night person (that is mostly when I work), so mornings are a little rough for me. Which is a nice way of saying that I’m pretty lazy first thing in the morning.

But enter Blueberry Muffin Waffles. All of the deliciousness of blueberry muffins, but done way faster because you don’t have to wait for anything to bake. Technically, you do have to wait for these to cook, but it’s way faster than waiting for a batch of muffins to bake. And you can always feed them to the kids as they come off of the waffle iron. If your kids are anything like my kids, they will eat them up as fast as you can make them!!

Do you want another bonus for this recipe? They are delicious on their own. While I admit that we sweetened them up even more by serving them with syrup, you could totally use these as a breakfast on the go. And although I’ve only tried them with blueberries, I’m guessing that any berry would work out well.

I don’t know about you, but these waffles could turn me back into a morning person!

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{Giveaway} Vacation for 4 to Deer Valley

April 16, 2013 // 3 Comments

First things first -

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CARRIAN!!

If you didn’t read yesterday, my good friend Carrian from Sweet Basil is turning 29 today. She decided to bring in the last year of her 20s by sharing and bringing you all kinds of amazing giveaways. And she’s bringing in some of her blogging friends to help spread the word. So you’ll be hearing about all of the giveaways here this week, as well.

First, you should head over to Carrian’s blog to wish her a very happy birthday. I’m hoping she gets flooded with birthday wishes today!

Second, don’t forget to enter yesterday’s giveaway if you haven’t yet. It’s pretty awesome!

And I have to say, if I could win one of the giveaways, today’s giveaway is the one I’d want to win. Seriously. A visit to Deer Valley Resort for 4. Carrian talked all about her trip – skiing, tubing, eating, and enjoying the scenery. I may be partial, because I do live in Utah after all, but this is a pretty sweet giveaway.