Product Review and Giveaway: Loeb's Onion Crunch

When I was contacted by Loeb's Onion Crunch to do a review, I'll admit that my first thought was "Oh oh, I hope I am going to like it or I won't be able to give a good review".  We're not a fried onion product kind of family.  I haven't bought or eaten it in probably 15 years.  When we eat fried onions, we do it ourselves.

The package came and smiled a bit at the very happy onion on the jar.  The jar is easy to open and shake out.  I cracked it open and shook some into my hand and into my mouth.  Um, yum.  I was fully expecting some greasy soggy onion bits.  These were light, crunchy and you could really taste the sweet onion flavor.  They weren't super salty either.

Since I'm being candid, I will admit that I put them aside for a while since I had no idea how to use them.   I mean, I could've done the classic green bean casserole that you think of fried onion product. I gave it a good faith effort and bought green beans, but in the rush of holiday and work and kids, I forgot and they went bad.  I was feeling a bit desperate to come up with some fancy dish to showcase these onions.  And I was having cooking-block.

Then finally, I thought I'd just sprinkle them on some eggs I had made.  And it was delicious.  It added a delightful crunch and flavor.  So then I tried it on my soy dog.  Yummmm.   I even tried it on a sandwich and again, it added a subtle onion fried goodness with a great crunch.  I convinced Jimi to try it on his eggs and after an initial "Really??", he was sold and enthusiastically nodded a yes when Abe asked if it was good.

I've sprinkled them on the frozen veggies I've made for dinners.  I'm going to try it on salads.  I bet they will add a yummy texture element (see, there's the foodie touch you've been looking for!).

They are simply onion, palm oil, wheat flour and salt. Crunchy yummy goodness.

Check them out to perk up a lot of your dishes!   http://www.onioncrunch.com

*I have received a sample of this product to review, but have not been compensated.  My opinion is my own.*

Now, time for a giveaway!!  Want to try Onion Crunch for yourself?  Enter to win!

The Best Meatloaf

Courtesy of myrecipes.com

I'll admit.... I'm not really a fan of meatloaf.  I mean, before becoming a veg-head, I'd eat it when my mom made it. I always covered in tons of ketchup to make it palatable and only ate it because the wrath of my mom wasn't worth risking.

As a wife and mom myself, I never really consider making it.  I tried it once a while ago and it was a disaster.  So, when I was, yet again, panicking at 3:00 about what to make for dinner, I surprised the heck out of myself by thinking "Hey, frozen ground beef.... MEATLOAF!"  Abe even had a pause of surprise in his voice when he called to ask what was for dinner.

I found a recipe that had a lot of great reviews and seemed to have a lot of flavor to it and wished for the best.

It was a huge hit!!  Abe's exact words were "Wow, this is.... great!"  Jimi gave me a thumbs up while munching away and went back for a second serving.  Adam told me it was yummy.  Ava played with her food, like usual, and then begged for a yogurt once the dishes were done.  That's another story for another setting....

I messed up slightly with the seasoning, so I'm going to write the recipe the way I made it.  Base recipe is from myrecipes.com.

The recipe calls for patting out a free-form loaf instead of using a loaf pan.  My limited experience with meatloaf seems to agree. I just put it on plastic to keep the bits together and smushed out the shape best I could (throwing away the plastic, of course).  I resisted the urge to add more binders, as I knew that would make the loaf more dense. 

Oh and don't be like me and forget that you need to defrost the meat before making the meatloaf.  I rarely make anything with ground beef and it's always tacos which can be defrosted as you cook.  Oops.  Thankfully the microwave did a good job of defrosting on the spot.

The Best Meatloaf

1 tablespoon butter
3 celery ribs, finely chopped 
1/2 large onion, finely chopped 
2 pounds lean ground beef 
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, divided
1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs (or any kind of breadcrumbs with some Italian herbs added)
1/3 cup ketchup 
2 teaspoons Creole seasoning (I used Cajun as that's all I had)
1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
2 large eggs, lightly beaten 
1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce (I used spaghetti sauce)
3 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon ketchup 



Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat; add celery and onion, and sauté 7 minutes or just until tender.

Stir together celery mixture, ground beef, 2 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl. Shape into a 10- x 5-inch loaf; place on a lightly greased broiler rack.

Place rack in an aluminum foil-lined broiler pan.

Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Stir together remaining 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and 1 tablespoon ketchup until blended; pour evenly over meatloaf, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until no longer pink in center. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Asian-Glazed Chicken Thighs

What was just a throw-together "Oh my god, dinner is coming up and I have no recipe!" moment turned into what Abe titled as One Of My Best Chicken Recipes, Ever.     Top 3, he said.  Sweet and slightly spicy and yum.

Hey, I'll let him think I carefully perused the recipes to find just the perfect one for him.  Sometimes, the best results come from accidents.

He had to stop himself from eating all 8 chicken thighs.  I had to pack them away for lunch, actually..lol.

I had to modify the recipe for what I had at home, so I'm going to post that recipe since it was the winner.

Base recipe found on www.allrecipes.com.

Asian-Glazed Chicken Thighs
Serves 4

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
5 tablespoons brown sugar
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup sesame oil

3 tablespoons Asian chili garlic sauce

3 tablespoons minced garlic

Salt to taste

8 skinless chicken thighs

Whisk the vinegar, brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic, and salt in a bowl until smooth. Pour half the marinade into a large plastic zipper bag; retain the other half of the sauce. Place the chicken thighs into the bag containing marinade, squeeze all the air out of the bag, and seal. Shake a few times to coat chicken; refrigerate for 1 hour, turning bag once or twice.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).

Pour the other half of the marinade into a saucepan over medium heat, bring to a boil, and cook for 3 to 5 minutes, stirring often, to thicken sauce. Remove the chicken from the bag; discard used marinade. Place chicken thighs into a 9x13-inch baking dish, and brush with 1/3 of the thickened marinade from the saucepan.

Bake 40 minutes, basting one more time after 10 minutes; an instant-read thermometer inserted into a chicken thigh should read 165 degrees F (75 degrees C).

 

Giveaway Time!

Giveaways are everywhere lately, it seems.  I've come across one that I thought some of you guys might be interested in, so I had to share it!  It's not food related, but it's a great one!

Anyone with a baby nursery or a child's room has seen the beautiful wooden wall letters that spell out the child's name or an inspirational word.   They add a lovely and personal touch to the room.

Pink Taffy Designs, a baby boutique, is hosting a giveaway where you can have a chance of winning a set of wall letters, valued at $23.99 per letter!  I know I'd love a set of these in my kids' rooms (hint, hint). :)

Entry is simple and I'm adding a link to the contest right below.  Just click and you're all set! The contest runs for the next couple of weeks.

Hope you win!  Come back and make sure to tell me if you did.

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

Garlic Hummus

Abe is the breakfast cook in this house.  I cook the vast majority of dinners, but if there's a weekend breakfast being whipped up, you're likely to find my man at the stove.  It's a girls' dream. :)

One of his famous breakfasts is his garlic hummus.  It was taught to him by his mother, who was taught by her mother and so on.  Middle Eastern cooking at its finest.  When I first saw him make it, I was surprised to see him boiling the chickpeas right in the can on the stove.  While I convinced him to start doing it in a pot, he still makes it sometimes like that.

The recipe is in Abe's words.  It will be some of the yummiest hummus you'll ever have (those are my words).  Make it for breakfast, a quick dinner or anytime!


Garlic Hummus

1-3 cloves fresh garlic
Dash of cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons tahini
3 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 can of chickpeas  (or equivalent dry chick peas, soaked over night in water)
1 tablespoon plain yogurt

Bring can of chickpeas to a boil.

Grind the garlic in a food processor.  1 clove minimum.   3 cloves gives a fairly strong garlic flavor (more than that can be certified Garlic Flavor). Add tahini, salt, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil.

Using a straining spoon, add the chickpeas.  Save the liquid from the chick peas.

Add the contents of the pot to the food processor.  After initial grind, add tablespoon plain yogurt.
Continue food processing, slowly adding liquid from the chick pea boil until you get your desired consistency.    Be careful, once you get too liquidy, it is tough to go back...

During final processing, one could add flavors....fresh parsley or fresh cilantro, or even roasted peppers.

Serve on plate, adding a dash of paprika if desired, but most definitely a table spoon or two of olive oil.

Crock Pot Beef Dip Sandwich

Courtesy of Google Images

Abe went to Boston to visit a life-long friend.  We was gone for 5 days, so long enough for me to really miss him (you know the first few days are known as Oh Good, I Can Watch Real Housewives Without Ridicule Days).  So, I wanted him to come home to a special treat.

This recipe is crazy easy.  Like, I was a bit embarrassed at how much praise I got because all I did, really, was dump some stuff in a crock pot and walk away.  But, hey, I'll take it.

Can also be made in a covered dutch oven in the oven at 275 degrees for 5-6 hours.

I adapted this recipe from The Pioneer Woman. 

Crock Pot Beef Dip Sandwich


1 whole beef chuck roast, 2.5 To 4 pounds
1 can beef consomme Or beef broth
3 Tablespoons Italian seasoning (I used a packet of Italian salad dressing)
1 teaspoon salt (don't add if you are using salad dressing)
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup water
1/2 jar (16 Oz) pepperoncini peppers, with juice
 
Buttered, toasted deli rolls
Cheese of your choice 

Combine all ingredients in  crock pot.  Cook on high for 5-6 hours or low for 9-10 hours or until fork tender.

Remove from crock pot. With two forks, completely shred all meat, leaving no large chunks behind.

Serve on buttered, toasted rolls with some of the peppers, if desired. Top with cheese and melt under the broiler if desired. Serve with juices from the pot.

Pumpkin Spice Latte

Autumn.  My favorite season.  The days get cooler.  The trees change colors.  Halloween.  Tank tops and flip-flops are packed away, replaced by sweaters and boots. 

For many, me included, Starbucks' pumpkin spice latte is tasty and addictive tradition of the season.  Only here for a while, millions flock to get their fix. 

As yummy as it is, the cost starts to add up at $3.50+ a pop.  Not to mention, sometimes I just want one and I'm just to dang lazy to leave the house.

So, I decided to look up how to make one at home.  And, wow, it's a damn good and freakishly easy.

And it's all natural, no weird syrups and you can control the sugar content and what level of spice you want. 

Store extra pumpkin puree in the refrigerator for your next pumpkin spice latte fix or even yummy pumpkin pancakes or muffins. 

Brew coffee with double of grounds that you normally do.  For an extra kick, add a teaspoon of instant espresso.   And, of course, if you have an espresso machine, use the real stuff in place of the coffee.

Full milk makes it nice and creamy, but it's just as delicious with reduced fat milk. 

Pumpkin spice can be made at home, by the way.  Equal portions of cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice and ground ginger can be stored in an old spice jar.

Recipe adapted from recipegirl.com.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Makes 1 drink

1/2 cup whole milk

2 tablespoon unsweetened canned pumpkin puree
1 teaspoon packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (add a bit more if you like it spicier)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup hot brewed, strong coffee
2 tablespoons half & half cream
1 teaspoon granulated white sugar, or more to taste
whipped cream, optional
ground nutmeg

1. In a glass measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl, whisk together milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, spice and vanilla. Microwave for 1 to 2 minutes until it's hot and frothy.

2. Pour the pumpkin milk into a tall mug or glass. Add hot coffee. Pour in the cream. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Stir, and taste. Add more sugar, if desired.

3.Add optional whipped cream and nutmeg and enjoy hot!

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