#TastyParTEA: The Giveaway!

So.
I signed up for another event.  But this one is totally in line with fall.  As the days get shorter and colder, I am more wont than in summer to drink tea.  And this event is all about the good stuff.

A baker's dozen bloggers have come together to share different recipes that use tea during the month of November. Whether you're a fan of sweet or savory #TastyParTEA's creations will make your mouth water.

See all the posts on our Facebook page, check out the pins on our Pinterest board, or follow the conversation on social media with hashtag #TastyParTEA.

We Are the #TastyParTEA Bloggers...

listed alphabetically by blog name

A Day in the Life on the Farm

A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures
Amy's Cooking Adventures

Café Terra Blog

Cookaholic Wife

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Famished Fish, Finicky Shark

Jane's Adventures in Dinner
Kahakai Kitchen

Making Miracles
Our Good Life

The Gluttonous Geek

Things I Make (for Dinner)

Our Blog Tour Schedule...

The Giveaway...

Our generous sponsors have contributed prizes for this event.

The giveaway will begin on November 12th and end on November 21st
and is open to US residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our Sponsors*...

and how you can find them around the internet

Charles Viancin

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest

The Republic of Tea

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram

*Disclosure: Bloggers received complimentary products from sponsors for the creation of this event. This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.

Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are our own.*

Grillmistress: Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken

So.
Remember in January when I Spatchcocked a chicken and roasted it in the oven?  Well, at that time, I bought a couple of whole chickens and froze them for later.
Later finally arrived when we were cleaning out the freezer for the move.
While I was looking for something to do with a whole chicken, I came across this recipe with an interesting marinade that would use the pastes provided to me from Garden Gourmet.  A win all the way around as I tried to clean out my freezer and prepare for the move.
Now I need to buy another whole chicken so I can do this again.
I present to you now from Martha Stewart Grilled Spatchcocked Chicken:

#GuacSquad12: Bacon Ranch Guacamole

So.
Remember when I posted last week that #GuacSquad12 was coming, and that I would be posting my recipe soon?
That day has come.
My knowledge of guacamole is fairly limited.  I'd never made it before.  But as with many recipes, I searched Pinterest, and added bacon.  Because frankly, everything's better with bacon, is it not?

Read the details of the event (and the fabulous giveaway.  Make sure you enter!) below, and then follow the jump to see the great guac I made!

A dozen bloggers have come together to share fourteen different guacamole recipes during the month of July. Whether you're a guacamole purist - think avocado, cilantro and lime - or you get a little more creative - think of some fabulous fold-ins such as pineapple or olives - the #GuacSquad12's creations will make your mouth water.

Want to see what the other bloggers have created?  Check out all the great guacamoles here.

Here's are the GuacSquad Bloggers...

listed alphabetically by blog name

A Day in the Life on the Farm

A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Angels Home Sweet Homestead

Café Terra Blog

Cheese Curd In Paradise

Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Cookaholic Wife

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Famished Fish, Finicky Shark

Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Making Miracles

The Heritage Cook

Things I Make (for Dinner)

Here's the blog tour schedule...

Here are Our Sponsors*...

and how you can find them around the internet

Casabella

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest

Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram, on Google+

Melissa's Produce

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram

Here are Our Prizes...
We are giving away a dozen - yes, twelve! - Guac-Lock™s from Casabella.

And we have an amazing prize package from Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices that includes their entire collection of stir in pastes and their lightly dried herbs.

The Giveaway...

Our generous sponsors have contributed prizes for this event. The giveaway runs from July 8th through July 25th when we will select thirteen winners who will be notified by email. The first twelve winners will receive the Guac-Lock™ by Casabella; the thirteenth winner will receive a generous prize package from Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices. No purchase necessary. Winners will have 48 hours to reply with contact information or new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: Bloggers received complimentary products from sponsors for the creation of this event. This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.

Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are our own.*

#GuacSquad12: The Scoop

So.
I signed up for another blogging event.
Call me crazy, but it's summer, and that means I have time for this sort of thing...right?  I should hope so.
This time, it's all about something I've never made before, and don't eat much of:  guacamole.  The green dip has always been okay, but not something that I've raved about.  However, when the call went out for bloggers to try a new product by Casabella, and to make guacamole, I was in.
Here's what you need to know:

It's summertime! And that means ripe avocados and lots and lots of guacamole. Do you adore guacamole? If so, then #GuacSquad12 - a multi-day, multi-blogger event - is for you. Follow the conversation on social media with our event hashtag and visit the participating bloggers for some amazing twists on guac.

A dozen bloggers have come together to share fourteen different guacamole recipes during the month of July. Whether you're a guacamole purist - think avocado, cilantro and lime - or you get a little more creative - think of some fabulous fold-ins such as pineapple or olives - the #GuacSquad12's creations will make your mouth water.

Here's are the GuacSquad Bloggers...

listed alphabetically by blog name

A Day in the Life on the Farm

A Kitchen Hoor's Adventures

Angels Home Sweet Homestead

Café Terra Blog

Cheese Curd In Paradise

Cindy's Recipes and Writings

Cookaholic Wife

Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Famished Fish, Finicky Shark

Jane's Adventures in Dinner

Making Miracles

The Heritage Cook

Things I Make (for Dinner)

Here's the blog tour schedule...

Join Us On Twitter...

Join us for a live Twitter chat on Saturday, July 16th at 7am Pacific/10am Eastern. We'll be talking guac for an hour!

Here are Our Sponsors*...

and how you can find them around the internet

Casabella

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Instagram, on Pinterest

Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram, on Google+

Melissa's Produce

on the web, on Twitter, on Facebook, on Pinterest, on Instagram

Here are Our Prizes...
We are giving away a dozen - yes, twelve! - Guac-Lock™s from Casabella.

And we have an amazing prize package from Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices that includes their entire collection of stir in pastes and their lightly dried herbs.

The Giveaway...

Our generous sponsors have contributed prizes for this event. The giveaway runs from July 8th through July 25th when we will select thirteen winners who will be notified by email. The first twelve winners will receive the Guac-Lock™ by Casabella; the thirteenth winner will receive a generous prize package from Gourmet Garden Herbs & Spices. No purchase necessary. Winners will have 48 hours to reply with contact information or new winner will be chosen. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Disclosure: Bloggers received complimentary products from sponsors for the creation of this event. This is a sponsored post that contains affiliate links.

Although this post is sponsored, all opinions are our own.*

#FreshTastyValentines: Individual Tarte Tatin

So.

It's the last day of #FreshTastyValentines. I'm shocked at how much I've posted for this event.  Really, I think it's more a case that I've actually sat down and written up my posts.  There's lots on the camera to come in the coming months.
First things first, we need to recognize all the amazing sponsors who have helped to make the event such a success!

(Have you entered the Giveaway yet?  You totally should.)

Today, the recipe includes a sponsor item, Envy Apples.

You know how those little cooking hack videos keep showing up on Facebook, demonstrating in 90 seconds how to make something totally drool-worthy and gorgeous?

J has taken to sending them to me.  I watch them and think, "I could do that."  and then I don't.  

But when I saw this video, and I knew that I was going to have some Envy Apples to play with, I thought that it would be worth a shot:

When I lived in France, I learned from my host mother to make a tarte tatin in a 9" cake pan.  This is just on a smaller scale.  My recipe also makes 2 - 1 for you, and one for your loved one.  Or 2 for you.
I present to you now Individual Tartes Tatin:

#FreshTastyValentines: Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal

So.

#FreshTastyValentines has been way fun, and I have recipes all weekend to get everything in!  Here's a delicious idea for a quick breakfast that uses a heart-healthy product that I'd never tried before.
Hulled Hemp Seeds are packed with protein and omega -3 and -6 fatty acids.  When I opened my bag from Bob's Red Mill I thought they looked a lot like ground nuts.  The little bit I tried tasted a lot like nuts.  Yum.
I wasn't sure what I was going to do with a bag of hemp seeds until I got my Janet and Greta newsletter for January.  The recipe included either chia seeds, ground flax seed or hemp seeds.  Decision made.  Then I doubled the recipe so J could have a bowl.
On a cold damp Sunday morning, this was welcome and delicious.
I present to you now from Janet and Greta Cinnamon Bun Oatmeal:

#FreshTastyValentines: UnCommon Goods

So.

While I don't have a recipe today, I've had so much fun going through this sponsor's website.  Today, we talk about barware.  Specifically, my life and relationships through glasses.  You'd think the people I know and I were lushes or something:

#FreshTastyValentines: Tex-Mex Stuffed Butternut Squash

So.

One of the promises that I made to J with his new healthy eating outlook was that I would cook 1 meatless dinner a week.  This was probably one of my less popular promises, seeing as my husband is big on meat.  Big.  As in if I cooked it 3 times a day he'd be all good.
But I went looking for some dishes that contained more beans and less animal protein on my favourite source for such things - Pinterest.  I even created a new board so that I could find things more easily.  This is one of the first things I pinned, knowing full well how much my husband wouldn't be in favour.
While J likes way more vegetables than I do, he's not a fan of squash - except as pumpkin in baked good form.  I like it, but never cook it as a result.  However, I had high hopes for this as really the squash was a vehicle for the Tex-Mex flavours that J is a fan of.  I was wrong.  It's too bad, really; seeing as this is delicious.  I made the stuffing for 4 (I didn't want to use half a can of black beans and have half a can leftover) and took it to work for lunch for a few days afterwards.  It's filling, and so, so good.
I scraped my squash half clean.  J?  Well, he ate the filling and said it was good.  I personally would recommend both.  I present to you now from Life Tastes Good, Tex-Mex Stuffed Butternut Squash:

#HotSummerEats: Grilled Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin

So.

It's the end of #HotSummerEats.  Huge thanks to Camilla of Culinary Adventures with Camilla for putting together another spectacular event!  I have been so happy to participate, even though this time around I haven't been as active as I'd like (thank you very much, school that doesn't end until the end of June).  It's been great to think about summer foods and try out new-to-me products.  If you'd like to try them too, make sure you've entered the Giveaway!!
As a parting shot, I decided to grill again.  J isn't big on pork, but will tolerate pork tenderloin.  His favourite grilling method for it is the garlic-balsamic marinade I've made in the past, so he was a little disappointed when I informed him that I would be making a new and different marinade for the tenderloin that I was defrosting.
I continued in this recipe with the tubes of herb paste from Gourmet Gardens.  I've already finished the garlic and the ginger.  They're fantastic for cooking in general.  I'm now spoiled. But back to this marinade.
This is different than what I've made in the past, but the leftovers make spectacular pork fried rice, which is my go to with leftover pork tenderloin.  The ginger is a nice addition, and garlic never hurts.  I don't think J was disappointed with the finished product, even if it wasn't what he was expecting.
I present to you now an adaptation from the November 2003 issue of Gourmet, Grilled Ginger-Marinated Pork Tenderloin:

#HotSummerEats: Panko-Crusted Tilapia Sticks with Dipping Sauce

So.

I don't think fish sticks are something that we often think of when it comes to summer food.  But here's where I'm coming from:  on the Victoria Day weekend, J and I went to visit Toledo and see friends.  On the Sunday night of said weekend, we had no plans; and so were left to our own devices. It was a gorgeous afternoon, and we went and played mini golf.  Then J asked what I wanted for dinner.
It was hot, and I was tired, and I told him that I would love to go somewhere and sit on a patio for dinner with a couple of nice drinks and scenery.  He suggested Webber's, a restaurant that his parents had loved, that was on the banks of the Maumee River, not far from the shores of Lake Erie.  So that is where we ended up.
The patio was lovely - we looked out over the water, I had some delicious berry sangria, and J was thrilled that the Lake Erie yellow perch was as good as he remembered.  He just wished that he'd ordered the shrimp cocktail as well - we could smell the cocktail sauce as they went by.
Fast forward to opening my box from the Sauceology Group:  one of the items included was Caribeque's Island Thyme spice mix.  One smell, and I knew what I wanted to make - fish sticks!
So, for those of us who can't sit on a deck overlooking the Maumee and eat perch, might I suggest these little beauties?
I present to you now from the May 2007 issue of Everyday Food, I present to you now Panko-Crusted Tilapia sticks with Dipping Sauce:

#HotSummerEats: Honey-Lime Chili Grilled Chicken

So.

If you follow me on Twitter, you know that the lovely folks at Gourmet Garden sent me a fantastic box of goodies for participating in #HotSummerEats.  Little Bowls of lightly dried herbs and tubes of herbs currently grace my fridge and my food. I have to admit, Gourmet Garden may have somewhat spoiled me for preparing my own herbs.  It's so quick to squeeze and stir for a marinade or sprinkle over a pizza.
When I opened my April newsletter from the Looneyspoons gals, I found this recipe for grilled chicken.  With my brand new bag of tricks from Gourmet Garden, I was inspired to adapt the recipe for two and for the herbs that I had.  Grilled chicken.  It's perfect for summer.  And this marinade was delicious and fresh.  It's even Looneyspoons, so it's healthy!  What else can I say?
From the Looneyspoons April 2015 newsletter, I present to you now Honey-Lime Chili Grilled Chicken: