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Weelicious Cookbook Review & Giveaway

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Weelicious Cookbook Review & Giveaway

**** This giveaway is now closed****

I don”t do many reviews and giveaways on here but when I do, you can guarantee that I”m ecstatic about whatever it is I”m sharing with you. If I don”t love it, I won”t share it.

I became a tad bit obsessed with the Weelicious cookbook (by Catherine McCord) the moment I got it. It”s so beautifully photographed and designed, it pulls you in the moment you open it. As I normally do, once I browsed through the cookbook I started writing down the name and page number of the recipes that intrigue me the most. I quickly gave up on that idea when I realized I was writing down every page number. I seriously want to make 90% of this book.

Just from reading the recipes I could tell that our family was going to love them. So far we”ve tried four recipes from the book and they have all been perfectly delicious and so simple to make. We made Turkey Pesto Meatballs, Vegetable Frittata, Baked Ziti and Coconut Pineapple Pops. Two of those recipes I made when I was running out of food in the house and instead of going to the store, I flipped open the book. That is a great cookbook to me – one that can produce recipes out of the last remnants of your kitchen and have the results be delicious.

The beauty of it all is that the recipes are simple, appeal to little people and big people alike and are created with nutrition in mind. I”m a huge fan, and I know my kids and I will be referencing this book often over the coming years.

Photos from Weelicious: (clockwise from top left) Apple-Cinnamon Sticks, Chocolate Velvet Beet Cupcakes, Blueberry-Lemon Whole Wheat Pancakes & Cheesy Chicken Taquitos.

The other thing I love about this book is that the first section of the book is all about nurturing good eaters. I love her stance on not hiding veggies for kids – of letting them know what they”re eating. I found this section to be inspiring and informative, with lot”s of helpful tips.

If you”re a fan of easy family recipes that are tasty enough to make over and over again, I think this is a great cookbook to have in your arsenal.

And, if you want to know a little bit more about the book, straight from the author herself, here”s the beautifully shot trailer. The feelings it evokes are bang on with how this book will make you feel.

To Enter the Giveaway:

**** This giveaway is now closed****

Simply leave a comment on this post (one entry per person). I”d love to hear of any cookbook recommends you have for easy family dinners!

One winner will be chosen at random. The winner will be announced on Saturday, so be sure to check back here to see if you”ve won!

And the Winner is:

Robin who said:

“This cookbook looks great, as I am always excited about new family-friendly recipies. I”m crossing my fingers. My favorite cookbook is the 3-ring binder I”ve put together over the years that has my family and my kid/husband-tested, can get it on the table after a busy work day (or not, depending on the day), flavorful, nutricious meals, with several this-was-Mommy”s-favorite-when-she-was-your-age recipies as well.”

Congratulations Robin! And, thank you all for sharing your fave cookbooks! I loved reading all the recommends and can”t wait to check them out!

Full disclosure: I received a free copy of the Weelicious Cookbook to review. All opinions are my own.

The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Review and Giveaway

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The Pioneer Woman Cookbook Review and Giveaway

****This giveaway is now closed****

Pssst. I got to meet Ree Drummond last week. I was just about to crawl into my pj”s after the kids went to bed and I happened to see Eliana of A Chica Bakes mentioning on Twitter that she was at the book signing here in New York (lucky me because I”m never on Twitter). P.S. Eliana is super sweet and helpful.

I was out the door in a flash and ended up being third last in line. I was trying to play it cool and didn”t plan what I was going to say. By the time I got to the front, I was so tired (10:00 is past my bedtime – lame I know) that I just kind of stood there blankly having no idea what to say. Ree was so sweet and tried to start a conversation with me but my mind just froze up and no words came out of my mouth. She looked at me sympathetically and said “ok, well thanks for coming” and I said “thank you for coming” and then sheepishly turned around and left. Obviously, I”m great under pressure.

She was every bit as sweet as you would imagine. And, even though her night was ten billion times more tiring than mine, talking to and signing everyone”s books, she was very gracious. Even to the weirdo”s like me.

Isn”t the bookstore lighting beautiful? (Insert sarcasm font.)

I purchased a book at the bookstore when I went to the signing and a few days later I received my review copy. I was super pumped because I had fallen in love with the book and was so excited to be able to share it with you.

So far we”ve made these Grilled Chicken & Pineapple Quesadillas and these Fluffy New Potatoes (called Twice Baked New Potatoes in the book). Both were super yummy! Not every recipe from the book can be found on the website and many of them are tweaked to be the best they can be or to have more specific instructions. I think it”s definitely worth it to get the book. I love flipping through books – so much less strenuous on the eyes and brain.

This cookbook has quickly shot up the list as one of my favourites. I know over the next weeks (months?) the recipes from this cookbook will make it into my meal planning a couple times a week. Seriously, I want to make every recipe. They all sound so delicious.

I”m so happy to be able to give one of these books away to one of you wonderful people. Since I”ll be mailing my review copy, and I know how much it sucks not to be able to enter giveaways, this giveaway is open world-wide. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment. If you like you can tell me what your favourite spring produce is. Mine is definitely strawberries or rhubarb – don”t make me pick! Only one entry per person please. The winner will be announced in Tuesday”s post. Good luck!

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Crispy Prosciutto Chicken Burgers & An Online Cooking School Giveaway

By in Main Dish, Meat, Poultry, Rouxbe Videos 30 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Crispy Prosciutto Chicken Burgers & An Online Cooking School Giveaway

I am seriously so excited to be sharing this with all of you. Last spring when searching for online cooking schools I ran across a site called Rouxbe. I can”t gush enough about how much it has changed the quality of my cooking. It”s taught me how to cook without a cookbook, which ends up saving me money because I”m better able to throw things together and have them turn out. That”s because they teach you how to understand the process of cooking so that you get great results every time. Once you practice, the lessons become second nature, and the chances of a dish not turning out become almost non-existent.

I could go on but I might as well just show you. Here”s a great video from Rouxbe that really sums up what they”re about.

Watch more video tours of Rouxbe.

I didn”t want to keep this jewel to myself any longer so I”ve become an affiliate partner with Rouxbe and will occasionally be sharing some of their tips, tricks and videos on this site.

But, that”s not all. Today Rouxbe is being so generous as to give away a three-month membership to two Kitchen Simplicity readers. I”m giddy over the fact that I get to give two of my fabulous readers three months of free cooking school curriculum (see bottom of post on how to enter).

And, there”s still even a little bit more. Every reader of Kitchen Simplicity can sign up for a free 14 day trial, which is only available by following my affiliate links. There”s no obligation to become a paying student once your trial period”s ended so there”s no need to fear giving it a go. Although, I can”t promise you won”t get hooked! ;)

I used to hate eating plain chicken with just salt and pepper. It always tasted meaty, dry and bland. I never thought I would be the type of person that would be able to eat a plate of plain chicken, rice and vegetables and be happy with it. But, that has all changed over the last couple of months, and I am so glad. My family is eating so much healthier because I”m learning how to cook the basics and do them right so that they”re mouth-wateringly good.

Pan frying chicken breasts is a great and healthy way to make a burger during the cold winter months. These Crispy Prosciutto Chicken Burgers have become a favourite at our house. When following the proper techniques of pan frying, the chicken stays moist while the prosciutto becomes nice and crisp. We love the tropical flavours of pineapple on our burgers and the french fried onions add so much flavour. I definitely don”t miss the grill when these are on the menu.

Sign up for your 14 day free trial to view the whole cooking school lesson.

One Year Ago: Home Sweet Holidays

Crispy Prosciutto Chicken Burgers

  • 2 chicken breasts

  • 4 slices prosciutto, cut in half

  • salt and pepper, to taste

  • 4 hamburger buns, split

  • butter, for buns

  • 4 slices cheese (monterey jack and swiss are our favourites)

  • 4 pineapple rings

  • french fried onions

  • mayo, mustard and barbecue sauce, for serving

  1. Cut the chicken in half width-wise to create 4 thin chicken breasts. If necessary, cover with plastic wrap and lightly pound with the heel of your hand until evenly flattened. Cut each piece in half creating 8 thin medallions. Season each piece of chicken with salt and pepper. Place a slice of prosciutto on each piece and press down lightly so that it adheres. Preheat a pan over medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil and cook chicken, prosciutto side down, until the prosciutto is crisp and the chicken is white along the edges. Flip and cook until no longer pink in the centre.

  2. Spread buns with butter and toast under a broiler until top is browned.

  3. Assemble burgers with two chicken medallions, one slice cheese, one pineapple ring, a sprinkling of french fried onions and the condiments of your choice.

Makes: 4 burgers

Print Recipe

4 Ways to Win:

For a chance to win a free three-month membership to Rouxbe.com do one, any or all of the following.

  1. Leave a comment and tell me what you”d like to learn at a cooking school.

  2. Sign up for your 14 day free trial by following any of the links from my site to Rouxbe.

  3. Follow me on twitter, follow Rouxbe on twitter or mention the giveaway (with link) on twitter.

  4. Like my facebook page or mention the giveaway on facebook (with link).

* IMPORTANT: Please leave a separate comment for every entry letting me know which entry you have done. That way I won”t miss it!

The contest will end on Sunday at 8:00 am CET. Make sure to check back to this post on Sunday (January 9th) to see if you”ve won!

P.S. This contest is open world-wide!

**** This Giveaway is Now Closed ****

And the Winners Are:

1) Sheri: “I’ve been a pretty lazy cook for most of my life, but have recently been finding the joy in process as much as the results. I’d love to improve my basic cooking skills and then challenge myself to move beyond recipes. Working full time (and then some) I wouldn’t have time for traditional classes but the rouxbe online classes sound perfect!”

2) Stephanie Sonksen: “I also would like to be able to ad lib in the kitchen. I love following recipes, but I wish I had better cooking instincts.”

Congratulations ladies! I”m so excited for you! I”ll be e-mailing you your redeem codes shortly.

Thanks to everyone who entered! As always, I wish you could all win! Don”t forget, you can still learn from Rouxbe by signing up for your 14 day trial, so all hope is not lost. ;)

All the best in your cooking adventures!