I’ve always been a fan of a great at-home bar. I strongly believe it’s a must-learn life skill to mix up classic cocktails, and as an avid host, it’s important to provide an array...
Looking back on Easter as a child, I remember how excited I was to dig through my Easter basket. Full of chocolate bunnies, malt ball Easter eggs, Peeps, golden coins, and my favorite Cadbury...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Lets be honest, salads can be boring. So I’m always trying to think outside of the box to come up with salad recipes that I’ll thoroughly enjoy, but are beyond easy to make. Enter...
Pound cake has always been a favorite of mine; I grew up eating my mother’s, my grandmother’s and I’ll even enjoy a slice of pound cake from Whole Foods now and then too. A classic dessert, I’ve always had a soft spot for pound cake and all the traditional treats (read: my homemade hand pies). And now with berry season in full swing, I’m eager to indulge in all sorts of fresh pound cake toppings.
Pound cake originally got its name because the cake is traditionally made with a pound of flour, a pound of sugar, a pound of eggs, and—you guessed it—a pound of butter (butter makes everything better). With all of those good ingredients, what’s not to love?! Of course, proper pound cake is one that’s tangy, moist yet dense, and anything but generic…and while I’ve tested a lot of pound cake recipes over the years the one I keep coming back to time and time again actually belonged to Mr. Elvis Presley.
While pound cake can easily be enjoyed by itself (which I will always love), it’s really the perfect base for any type of topping your heart desires if you’re wanting a little something extra. And if you’re like me, it’s hard to narrow down your pound cake toppings to just a few…so why not pull them all out for everyone to enjoy and make a sundae-esq bar our of all the toppings? Think fresh berries or bananas, fruit preserves, decadent chocolate sauce, Nutella, gourmet whipped cream, honey, nuts, shaved chocolate; the list goes on and on. And a good rule of thumb: mix a cream/liquid with your berry or nut topping. You really can’t go wrong. Tell me, what are your go-to pound cake toppings? Truly, MKR
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Listen, the truth is sometimes my week is just too busy to cook no matter how well I plan or how much I want to. But, I know myself well enough to know that if I don’t have some sort of game plan to stay on the healthy train I’ll be pulling into that fast food line and completely throwing my 2018 healthy initiatives in the garbage. So my solution during those hectic weeks where I need to take my time back; frozen meals with a fresh kick.
Yep, I said it, frozen meals. But not the overly processed, full of salt, not-real-food, frozen meals of the past. I’m talking about Lightlife’s new plant-based frozen line. Recently while shopping at my local Kroger, I stopped dead in my tracks when I spied that Lightlife logo shining through those frozen glass doors.
If you remember I’m a big Lightlife fan, making vegan slaw dogs last summer. For more than 30 years, Lightlife has been on a mission to provide quality vegetarian and plant-based foods prepared in the most healthy and sustainable manner. And you don’t have to be a vegetarian to enjoy Lightlife.
I discovered Lightlife when I was meat-free, and still eat it now even not as a vegetarian it’s that good! By choosing to eat vegetarian just one meal a week you can have a dramatically positive effect on your overall health and the health of the environment. Win, win!
I of course had to try all of the Lightlife frozen meals. While I loved them all the four I kept coming back to where the Veggie Fritters, Southwestern Quinoa Black Bean Bowl, Wild Mushroom Ravioli, and Veggie “Sausage” Ravioli. Now, these meals are all great on their own, but I like to jazz them up a bit by adding a fresh kick. What’s a fresh kick you ask? Well it’s fresh ingredients that enhance the meal, but don’t take up any additional time. You can prep them while your meal is turning away in the microwave, boiling on the stovetop, or toasting in the toaster oven.
For example, fresh dill and homemade tzatziki dipping sauce for the Veggie Fritters. Organic tomato sauce and fresh chopped mushrooms for the ravioli. And for the Southwestern Quinoa Black Bean Bowl I find topping it with fresh cilantro, chopped jalapeños, and a squeeze of lime provides that extra heat I’m always looking for. These easy, fresh add ons, are the perfect way to make your frozen meal feel home cooked.
So now that you know it’s possible to get healthy, great tasting frozen meals I’ve got more good news. Lightlife is doing a major sweepstakes through the month of February giving away 369 frozen meals! Yep, you heard right…369 meals! That’s meals for an entire year! Next time you go grocery shopping at Kroger, Earth Fare or Sprouts, pick up some Lightlife frozen items. Take a photo of them at home using #HeatWithPride and #Sweepstakes and tag @Lightlife to enter. Easy as that!
I challenge you this year to join me in being a little kinder to our bodies, our environment, and ourselves. Take some of your time back, and #heatwithpride! Truly, MKR
P.S. Sweepstakes links with rules & regulations are…
Well our friends at Homespun have done it again; all of our mouths are watering, and we’re looking forward to the next time we can fire up the skillet for these delicious Roasted Summer Sausages. Once you taste this dish, with its shallots, garlic and a red wine grape mustard that’s seriously the most amazing thing ever, you’ll immediately see where we’re coming from too.
And lest we forget about the delectable Heirloom Tomato Au Gratin on the table! I’ve always thought heirloom tomatoes just scream summer, and I think they’re just as yummy as they are beautiful. While I prefer to use Cherokee Purple Tomatoes or even Yellow Brandywine Tomatoes in vibrant dishes like this, any will work great.
Check out Chef Jason’s recipes below for the makings of a wonderful Kinfolk-esque meal that should happen on a long farm table under string lights. Enjoy! Cheers, Kat
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