Where Am I?

You will be literally questioning whether you are in a 5-star restaurant or if the meal you are eating was made right in your own kitchen. Chicago Steaks has as a fresh line of retail products that you can purchase online some being Hispanic and Latin flavored, some traditional American favorites, all a hit in my house. The quality of meat that you will get from Chicago Steaks is the highest quality available in your meat case. Not only is the quality great but the work has been done for you—the ribs are pre-marinated with a delicious sauce complete in a special cooking sauce, the fajita diced beef is spiced and ready to go—everything they have is simple and delicious. I was able to cook a rack of ribs from Chicago Steaks right there in my oven. They came in a pouch that I was able to put on a pan and directly into the oven. The sauce was perfect with a bit of a kick but also a sweetness to it. I generally don’t cook ribs at home because of the mess, time and expense but I have found the perfect solution for the perfect at home rib dinner. I served them with some sautéed baby potatoes and side salads. Splitting the rack of ribs we were stuffed! One rack will easily feed two very hungry (and one pregnant) people! I also have the beef skirt steak, pork shoulder butt and diced pre-seasoned taco beef which just happens to be on the menu tonight. I am confident that any meat I get from Chicago Steak will be unsurpassed in quality since they have been serving restaurants, hotels and other institutions for over 40 years. They take pride in providing the best products at a reasonable price which we can all appreciate right now.

Unique Father’s Day Idea!

This weekend I got a great gift in the mail from Gourmet Station, “Fine Dining Delivered”. When they say “Fine” they mean it! In my pack created for two was 2 Certified Angus Beef Steaks with Baby New Potatoes AND Appetizer: Bruschetta & Tarts, Bread: Loaf Baguettes, Dessert: Crème Brulee Parfait and even a Beverage: St. Ives Coffee to pair perfectly with my luscious Crème Brulee Parfait! This particular dinner is called Wild West T-Bone Steak Dinner gift in case you want this same lineup but they have tons of others to choose from! While I was enjoying my Steak Dinner Gift I thought who would love this even more?! DAD!! Of course! I don’t know a Dad who would not enjoy and remember a Food Gift like this one or you can give him a Steak Dinner Dining Gift Certificate, Food of the Month, Soup Gift, Dessert of the Month or tons of other Gourmet Delivered Meals By Mail! The great thing about this dinner is that it was at a high restaurant quality and so easy to prepare. We put the T-Bones right on the grill and just heated up the rest, it turned out amazing.

Rando’s Bakery

When I was contemplating what I wanted for dinner last night I knew it had to be a homemade meatball sub! Using Butterballs turkey meatballs, my very own marinara sauce and Rando’s Italian bread it was hands down the perfect sandwich. The best part about these Rando Bakery Italian bread loaves is that they are par-baked meaning you have to finish the baking process leaving you with a fresh, hot, crispy on the outside- chewy on the inside piece of bread. Their HAND-MADE bread only needs to be heated in a 425 degree oven for 10 short minutes and you have a little slice of heaven. Not to mention the delicious smell that lingers in your kitchen. They have quite a few varieties like white (pictured), seeded and whole wheat. I am a huge fan of their unique 50% cooking process because the bread tasted fresh out of the oven and the homemade taste was stupendous. I have not had bakery bread that compared in a really long time.

Butterball

When I think of Butterball I think of Thanksgiving and giant tasty turkeys! You HAVE to have a Butterball turkey on Thanksgiving. Butterball is not just whole turkeys though—they have a full lineup of healthy, daily selections for everyones taste buds. Just check out my sandwich below featuring Butterball Extra Thin Sliced Lunchmeat. Just like you get shaved at the deli counter this oven roasted turkey makes the perfect sandwich. Another great thing is that unlike other deli meats turkey is actually great for you—7 whole slices of this deli meat contains just 60 calories and 8 grams of protein, a total calorie bargain! So check out my lunch today and drool, then run to your grocery store and pick up a container of turkey deli meat for your summer sandwiches. While you are there check out all the other items that Butterball has to offer like roasts, tenderloins, whole breasts, breast cuts, wings, drumsticks, ground turkey, meatballs, mignons, burgers, sausage and bacon. In the next few weeks you are going to see Butterball making a lot of appearances on my blog. I love their ground turkey for tacos, sloppy joe’s, chili etc… The turkey burgers are great on the grill and I am obsessed with the meatballs for a healthy twist on a meatball sub, spaghetti or in the crock pot. Really, the possibilities with Butterball’s lineup is totally endless.

Chicago is RED HOT

Not because of their great city life, beautiful beaches, amazing shopping (I am a little biased being from Chicago myself) but because of their hot dogs. I have great memories of being little and going for a REAL Chicago hot dog – meaning all beef, poppy seed bun and all the fixings! I got my hands on some Red Hot Chicago jumbo beef franks, beef polish sausage and of course the legendary poppy seed buns. The Red Hot Chicago folks sell the real deal, just like I remembered. I fired up a jumbo beef frank just last night and topped with everything as you can see and was in pure heaven. The dog had a little snap to the casing and the inside was juicy and filled with great flavor. The oversized dogs fit perfectly in their soft bakery style buns. I am back to being a hot dog snob—only Red Hot Chicago dogs will do for me!

Jonesing for some great breakfast?

Add some Jones Dairy Farm Maple Pork Sausages to your lineup and you will be totally satisfied. I picked up some of the All Natural Golden Brown Maple Pork Sausage links and paired them with my homemade pancakes this weekend for a better than going out breakfast in my jammies! For all you gluten free eaters—this product is gluten free! The ingredient list is short and the flavor is tall—just pork, water, maple sugar, salt, spices and maple flavor (really makes the link). I loved these sausages and will be making them a regular on the weekend breakfast menu. I would also like to say that even though you see Jones Dairy Farm products in every single grocery store it is just because they are THAT good—they are still a family run and owned operation who still makes their own family recipes. Yum!

That is one Smart Chicken!

What makes Smart Chicken so unique? Their mission is to give you the purest fresh chicken on the market while keeping it the safest and best in quality. The taste showed. I am not sure if it was the simple matter of how fresh the meat was or if it is their own method of using air chill technology instead of water immersion. Another great thing is that they handle their chickens with care, raise them without antibiotics, animal by-products or hormones and meet the standards to be Certified Organic and Certified Humane. Whatever made the chicken so good it came down to the fact that it was juicy, plump and just plain tasty. I was able to try the Smart Chicken Frankfurters as well as a Smart Chicken Whole Chicken. I am going to focus on the whole chicken (both are amazing) since it made me smarter in the process. I had never in my life cooked a whole chicken and decided now was the time. After thawing my 3 pound bird I read that I would have to remove the neck and giblets but lucky for me these were already moved making it more cost efficient since this is not added to the weight (and I didn’t have to do it). So the chicken was totally ready for baking. Surprisingly, the roast chicken was super simple to make. Gather your other ingredients and utensils—spices (I used salt, pepper, paprika, hint of garlic powder), high quality olive oil and some onion to stuff the bird with. Preheat your oven to 350F and place your bird breast side up on the roasting pan or rack. Rub olive oil on the bird then sprinkle spices as desired. Stuff bird with onions and stick in your pre-heated oven. You will need a meat thermometer to get your bird to a safe temperature. My cooked for 50 minutes. You then remove from the oven and put tin foil over the pan and let the roasted chicken set for 15 minutes or so. Then cut and serve. Very tender and delicious! Get yourself Smart Chicken for the best outcome possible—it was amazing and easy.

I feel like Chicken Tonight!

Last night chicken was calling my name. Sadly, it was pouring outside so no grilled chicken for me. Instead, I made some baked chicken drumsticks in the oven. The chicken by Just Bare Chicken is special because it is just natural, healthy chicken all with “a straightforward, honest commitment to respecting our people, animals and planet.” I love that and I love how juicy and fresh this chicken is. I loved biting into the drumstick knowing I was not consuming any strange additives and the taste was so good because it was chicken that is well Just Chicken! The folks at Just Bare Chicken take extra precautions to make sure that the product that you receive is thoroughly inspected, properly stored, safe and fresh. I also love their commitment to their animals—they are certified cage-free and their animals have the freedom to roam, eat/drink on their schedule, interact and stay safe all at the same time.