My Thoughts on the New Sauces

I am so pumped!! Tomorrow is Prep Night - yes!! I wasn't able to hold it last month and missed the fun times! I am so excited about the food that will be served tomorrow. I am making homemade chicken and tilapia nuggets. My guests will be able to dip their nuggets into the four new sauces that came out this month. I cannot wait!! I LOVE the new sauces. I'm a dipper by nature and was a bit leery of some of them. Here are my thoughts:

Sweet Chili Sauce - This is super spicy and so delish! It reminds me of Pei Wei's chili sauce that is served with crab wontons (family fav). This sauce was used to make party meatballs. Instead of the ketchup the recipe called for, this sauce was used. Plus, it was used to marinate the meatballs in the crockpot. This would be great with any type of meat, especially pork.

Brew House Malt Mustard - I am so not a mustard fan. I may partake of a few special honey mustard dressings at select places but I am mostly a Miracle Whip girl, much to the chagrin of my hubby. But this mustard was fantastic!! Good for a dipping sauce. It honestly made me want sausage on a stick! I also think it would be great at a glaze on top of meatloaf, especially our Bacon Cheeseburger Meatloaf. Can't wait to try that one out!

Pineapple Peppercorn Glaze - OMG!! So sweet with the zing of pepper!! This was used to make a pineapple salsa - killer!! This was great as a dip but would be fantastic with fish. I instantly thought of fish tacos while I ate this. Plus, it isn't too sweet which makes for a really balanced flavor.

Sesame Ginger Dressing - I must admit, this is the one that I was the most fearful of. I am not a fan of ginger (except in gingerbread!!). This was took me by total surprise! What came to mind while I was tasting this one was a spinach salad with crasins, blue cheese, and pecans - YUM! There was none of that funky ginger aftertaste I get. It was very smooth and light. This would be a great grilling sauce for chicken and seafood.

And the best part - the bottles are only $9!! So many uses and all high quality. I am going to ensure that each of these are regulars in my pantry - especially with grilling season approaching! Order yours today at www.homemadegourmet.com/sarah!

Chipotle Cheese Crackers

So, last night was supposed to be my Homemade Gourmet crockpot night. Well, it didn't happen for two very good reasons. 1) I was out of crockpot bags (I am now spoiled by them and hate the thought of crocking without them!!). 2) It was breakfast for dinner night at out church's Wednesday night supper (HELLO!! BACON!!).

So, I am posting about the Chipotle Cheese Crackers that I made Sunday. Hubby had signed up to bring snacks for his team at work. I had never made these and have been wanting to try them for a awhile.

First, you mix together a stick of softened butter, 2 cups of cheddar cheese and the seasoning mix. The instructions say to use either a pastry cutter or your hands. Note to self: get a pastry cutter. It was easy to use my hands but I feel like I could have gotten a more even mix with the cutter.

Once that was once, I rolled the dough into a log. It was supposed to be a one inch log but I stink at estimating. Oh well!

Look at that cheesy goodness!!

Then, I wrapped the log in saran wrap -big mistake!! The buttery goodness made it impossible for the saran wrap to seal. I ended up having to wrap it in aluminum foil.

Next, I placed it in the freezer for 30 minutes as per instructions. Next time, I will probably leave it in there longer since it really didn't harden like I needed it to.

Now came the fun part - making the straws!! I was so pumped! I got out my Pampered Chef cookie gun - love that thing!! But, to my disappointment, the dough was too solid to go through the shapes. Instead, I rolled out the dough and decided to make crackers. I got my tiny star cookie cutter and went to town. My son got into the action also. I gave him a small amount of dough and he had a blast playing with it! He loves helping me cook. I ended up with three batches of crackers (2 large cookie sheets and one small pan).

I baked them at 350 degrees for 8 minutes. They turned out so fantastic! The star shapes were really cute!

All of my family enjoyed them as did my co-workers who are my taste testers. Think Cheez-its with a smooth texture. They are not spicy but full of flavor. These are perfect for any occasion, especially since you can use different cookie cutters! I'm thinking these will be perfect for road trip snacks.

Next time, I will use a pastry cutter to blend the dough. Also, I think I might try shredded Pepper Jack or the Mexican cheese blend to see how that affects the already delish flavor. I will also leave the dough in the freezer longer or refrigerate overnight. I'm hoping that will firm up the dough so that I can make the straws. But, I am kinda fond of the crackers!

Also, at a Homemade Gourmet party that I am doing THIS Saturday, I am going to make a breakfast quiche using this mix as the crust. I cannot wait!! Also, this mix is on sale this month. Usually $10, it is on sale for $6.70!!

Click here for a link to the quiche recipe: http://recipes.homemadegourmet.com/recipe.asp?code=10475&fs=False&what=print&type=text

Prep Night March 11th @ 7 PM

Here is the menu for this Month's Prep Night.

Full menu (Serves 6-8+ people)
Italian Sausage and Peppers: $8 (1 1/2 lbs Italian sausage links)Barbecue Taco Shredded Pork Loin: $5 (2 1/2 lbs pork loin)
Cajun Pork Chops: $8 (3 lbs pork chops)
Sweet and Sour Chicken: $7 (3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins)
Cheesy Roasted Chicken : $8 (3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins)

Half Menu (Serves 3-4 people)
Cheesy Roasted Chicken : $4 ( 1/12 lbs boneless skinless chicken breasts or tenderloins)
Barbecue Taco Shredded Pork Loin: $3.50 (1 1/4 lbs pork loin)
Cajun Pork Chops: $4 (1 1/2 lbs pork chops)

Please comment for RSVP information. Need reservations by March 4th. Thanks!