So, last week I shared some of the exciting details about the All-Clad Foodie Truck tour of New York and now, here is the location:
On September 27th the All-Clad Foodie Truck will be parked will be parked at West 4th between Mercer and East Washington Square, on the South side of the street. Elizabeth Karmel of Hill Country Barbecue will be on the truck from 12:30-2:30pm. Please stop by and say Hi, I’ll be there having a blast!
This month I am teaming up with All-Clad to share the fun news about All-Clad Chefs Food Truck Tour that recently launched in New York City. This branded, mobile kitchen features All-Clad celebrity chef ambassadors, demonstrating how to cook with signature cookware and is stationed throughout New York City to “pop up” in front of your favorite retail stores, popular restaurants and city landmarks. These impromptu, food truck-style cooking demonstrations give you, New Yorkers, access to the city’s top chefs and gourmet cuisine. Us New Yorker’s always like to be the first in the know!
The reason for this awesome tour is to celebrate the launch of All-Clad’s newly launched stainless steel collection. I use All-Clad stainless steel pots exclusively (they were a wedding present, not something I was paid to say) and adore their versatility. In their new collection All-Clad designed more comfortable handles, added PFOA-free dishwasher safe non-stick coating and a whole host of other wonderful features.
I hope you’ll come join me at the All-Clad food truck in NYC next Tuesday, September 27th. Chef Elizabeth Karmel will be cooking up awesome food and the All-Clad truck will be open for business! Where and when will the truck be parked you ask? Stay tuned for a post on September 25th where I will reveal the date and time. I know it’s a tease, but you can handle it! 🙂 See you soon!
We are into the school year full throttle and my daughter couldn’t be more thrilled. Every day we pack her bags full of gear and good food and trot off to school excited for a fun day. When she eats lunch at school I take the time to make sure I pack a fun, healthy meal for her. It is so important that she has a strong, protein-rich meal mid-day to keep her energy levels up. Today I am thrilled to be partnering with Dr. Praeger’s to tell you about their Healthy Lunchbox Day.
This fall Dr. Praeger’s wants you to teach your children how to make smart food choices and provide them with healthy options for their lunchbox. Every Wednesday, all year long, they are encouraging parents to pack their children a veggie-rich lunch to help them develop healthy eating habits for life.
I am all about joining in the fun of this program and here are some of things I am planning to pack on Wednesdays:
What are some of the things you’ll be packing?
The great news is that Dr. Praeger’s has tons of great all-natural, delicious, nutrient-rich veggie products that are ideal for packing for school lunches. Just check out some of these awesome products!
I hope you’ll all join me and Dr. Praeger’s for Healthy Lunchbox Day this year. It is so important that we teach our children healthy eating habits for life and this is the perfect way to start!
Earlier this week I spent some time with members of The Blueberry Council, Sara Moulton and Adeena Sussman judging the finalists for the Blogger Blueberry Recipe contest. The three of us spent at fun two hours tasting three savory blueberry recipes and three sweet blueberry recipes. While I can’t reveal the order of the winners, I can tell you that all the recipes ROCKED! We all loved the variety of innovative dishes that showcased the little blue dynamos in such unique ways.
OMG, these were sooo good!
Stay tuned to learn more about the winners of the contest and prepare yourself by buying at least two pints of blueberries. You are totally going to want to make a few of these the minute you see how scrumptious they are!
I am so excited to be joining iVillage as a guest coach for one of their cool Mealtime Makeover Community Challenges. It is going to be so much fun! Here is a little more about it and why you should sign up to join me.
iVillage is partnering with Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars finalist, Antonia Lofaso, on a community challenge aimed at mobilizing millions of women around the country to cook healthier family meals. Launched on August 29, this Mealtime Makeover Community Challenge is the latest in a successful line of iVillage signature community challenges, which to-date have rallied over a million women around causes ranging from childhood literacy to reaching financial success. In addition, challenge participants can enter for a chance to win thousands of dollars’ worth of top-notch kitchen appliances to make cooking at home that much more fun, at http://www.ivillage.com/ivillage-kitchen-makeover-sweepstakes/8-z-374577.
I am so excited to be one of the people working on this challenge. My assignment is to help you make healthier snacks for your family and it will be sent out on September 9th. It would be so much fun if all of you signed up to join in! Even if you don’t do my assignment, throughout the entire meal makeover series acclaimed chef and former contestant in season four and the All-Stars season of Bravo’s Top Chef series, Antonia Lofaso, will provide daily guidance, recipes and creative tips throughout the digital challenge as lead coach. In other words, if you don’t need to makeover your snack routine, but need to work on something else, stick with the challenge because your questions are bound to be answered! There are many impressive guest coaches joining in this challenge as well including who will also take part including contestant and finalist from Bravo’s Top Chef All-Stars, Mike Isabella; food expert and daughter of master chef, Jacques Pépin, Claudine Pépin; and celebrity television chef, Sara Moulton.
Mealtime Makeover participants will each receive personal daily emails detailing a new cooking assignment, with creative recipes and inspirational messages from the coaches as well as words of encouragement and around-the-clock support from fellow challenge participants. Each week’s assignments will revolve around an instructional theme, including: Thoughtful and Smart Kitchen Ideas, A Practical Guide to Food Shopping And Cooking, Meal-based Cooking Ideas and Feeding Friends & Family. Simple, yet mouthwatering recipes will include: Potato And Onion Frittata, Leftover Chicken Lettuce Cups and BBQ Pulled Pork. Sign-ups are live now, just CLICK HERE!
I hope you will sign up, and please let me know if you have any questions!
I adore a good S’mores dessert in the summer. There is something about the ooey, gooey chocolate treat that just takes me straight back to my days camping on Lake Otsego. We haven’t taken my daughter camping overnight yet since she is so little, but we do a lot of backyard camping these days. Sometimes in the evenings I set up a nice blanket on our lawn and bring out supper. We’ll have grilled chicken, chips and fruit washed down with special sparkling lemonade. It is sweet and fun. This year I decided to introduce her to the pleasure of S’mores along with our normal camping fare.
To make our S’mores I used the gas grill which was cooling down from our chicken dinner. I found the mellow heat perfect for roasting the marshmallows. Then, we sandwiched them with our chocolate and graham crackers and enjoyed all of their sweet deliciousness. I mean, is there any better way to cap of a summer camping picnic? (Even when the picnic is with a preschooler in your own backyard?) My daughter nearly fainted after she had her first bite. I swear I saw her light up from within. We are planning our next “camping” night next week and I am sure I know what will be on the dessert menu!
I am so pleased to be teaming up with Hershey’s this summer. Right now, the Hershey Company is encouraging families to create their own S’mores memories with the Say S’mores campaign. Starting June 16, families are invited to capture and share their favorite S’mores moments on the Hershey’s brand Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/
Why not upload some fun photos of your camping extravaganzas and enjoy!
This post is part of my participation in the Hershey’s “Say S’mores” Promotion. All opinions expressed are mine.
I am so excited to be teaming up with Lawry’s and The Motherhood on a cool contest with Lawry’s seasonings. I’ve always enjoyed using Lawry’s on meats when I cook and this time our team of six was challenged with thinking outside the box on ways to use Lawry’s products. Julie of Dinner with Julie, Denise of Wholesome Mommy, Tricia of Once a Month Mom, Debbie of Debbie Does Dinner Healthy, Jane of A Mom’s Take and myself put our heads together to come up a great everyday meal using Lawry’s seasonings and marinades.
Be sure to check out the awesome recipes for Strawberry Salad and Jack Chicken on my teammates blogs!
A Mom’s Take – Strawberries & Balsamic Herb Salad
Wholesome Mommy – Candied Pecans (for on top of Salad)
Once a Month Mom – Lawry’s Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Debbi Does Dinner Healthy – Lawry’s Cheese Stuffed Chicken
Dinner with Julie – Zucchini Fries
Julie and I worked on the zucchini fries recipe and had a blast developing it. We focused on flavoring our zucchini by mixing the panko with the Lawry’s salt, then baking it until everything was nice a crispy. It was a deceptively simple side dish that everyone loved.
To help you all join in the fun in cooking with Lawry’s here is a great giveaway for 1 bottle of Balsamic Herb Marinade, 1 bottle of Seasoned Salt Marinade and 1 jar of Seasoned Salt:
1) To enter leave a comment sharing your favorite dish to make with Lawry’s products.
2) Like The Naptime Chef on Facebook.
3) Sign up for The Naptime Chef newsletter on the upper left hand corner.
4) Contest runs from August 12th at 7:00am to Monday August 22nd at 11:59am.
| 1 | cup panko bread crumbs |
| 3 | teaspoons Lawry’s seasoning salt |
| 1 | cup all purpose flour |
| 2 | eggs, beaten |
| 2 | medium zucchini, cut into french fry strips |
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Stir together the panko with the Lawry’s salt and place the mixture on a shallow plate. Place the flour on a separate shallow plate. Pour the beaten eggs into a bowl.
3. Dip the zucchini sticks in the flour, followed by the eggs mixture and, finally, the panko bread crumb mixture. The bread crumbs should completely coat the zucchini.
3. Place the coated zucchini on a baking sheet and bake for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown and crispy.
* I was compensated for my time for writing this post. The opinions expressed and recipe are entirely my own.
I have had so much fun reading all of your awesome summer vegetable recipes made with six ingredients are less. You all have so many great ideas! Today I am pleased to announce that Wendy Thompson is the winner of the Dinner @6 contest and her winning recipe is showcased below. It was very tough to choose which one to go with, but I really liked this because it truly showcased the flavor of one of my favorite summer vegetables. In Wendy’s recipe the corn is soaked and grilled in the husk. Then it is slathered with spicy jalapeno butter for a great kick. I don’t know why, but I’d never thought of jalapeno butter and now I am totally in love with it! Also, rest assured I read through all the entries, even the ones that came in late yesterday!
Don’t forget to check out the American Express Blue Cash cards!
| 4 | ears of corn |
| 2 | jalapenos, seeded and diced |
| 8 | tablespoons unsalted butter |
1. Soak the corn in a large tub of water, weighing it down with a heavy object to make sure it is totally submerged. Heat the grill to medium flame and grill the corn on all sides until cooked through.
2. Meanwhile, stir the soft butter and jalapenos together. When the corn is cool, peel back the husks and slather each ear with the spicy butter. Serve!
As I told you last week, gnocchi is one of our favorite weeknight meals. Homemade gnocchi — both ricotta and potato — can easily be made during naptime and is so easy to cook up right before dinner. Sometimes I simply buy frozen potato gnocchi and combine it with a really great sauce. With a leafy salad on the side it is a complete meal and even fits nicely into my commitment to meatless Mondays (even if it is not Monday, we eat meat-free at least one day per week)!
This week I am teaming up with Bertolli to talk homemade gnocchi and sauces. They recently sent me this amazing homemade pasta kit and a gorgeous Creuset dish for making gnocchi. When it came in the mail I got right to work on their fabulous recipe for Gnocchi with Two Cheeses and Walnuts. We loved it! I’ve made homemade gnocchi before, but this little machine made it so much easier than the old method I used. I whipped up the dumplings during naptime and for dinner all I had to do was toss them with an easy Bertolli sauce to make the perfect weeknight meal. I promise you, dear readers, I will always be honest with you about products and this Bertolli sauce really was terrific. I often make sauces from scratch myself, but this one had tremendous flavor from the olive oil and garlic, without being overly sweetened and artificially flavored. Bertolli is well known for their commitment to sourcing amazing Italian ingredients and it shows here. I don’t know of another company that could properly produce a jarred olive oil sauce.
As you may remember from last week, this is my second post for the American Express Dinner @6 Giveaway! Today I am talking about my favorite way to prepare snow peas. I like to cook them for a very short time and blanche them almost immediately. Then I toss them with some salt, olive oil and toasted sesame seeds for a perfectly light and tasty summer vegetable side dish.
This post is officially my last call for recipe entries, see the guidelines below! Stay tuned for next Monday when I announce the winner and give you one final summer recipe!
Here are the guidelines for entering to win your very own $600 American Express Giftcard:
1. Leave a comment sharing your favorite summer vegetable side dish recipe that contains 6 ingredients or less. It does not have to be a formal recipe format, just tell me casually how the recipe works and what is in it.
2. Sign up for The Naptime Chef newsletter (upper left hand corner of this screen)
3. Like The Naptime Chef on Facebook.
4. Read the below information about the new American Express Blue Cash Cards
5. Entries can be submitted from July 18th at 6:59am ET through Sunday July 24th at 11:59pm. The winner will be chosen and posted on Monday July 25th at 12noon ET.
6. Yes, salt and pepper count as ingredients.
7. Contestants may submit multiple recipes!
| 2 | cups snow peas |
| 1 | tablespoons sesame seeds |
| ¼ | cup olive oil |
| 1 | pinch kosher salt |
1. Cook the snow peas for 2 minutes in boiling water and plunge them into an ice cold water bath to blanche them and stop the cooking.
2. In a small skillet toast the sesame seeds until lightly golden then add them to the snow peas. Toss in the olive oil and a pinch of salt and serve!
When American Express contacted me about joining them to celebrate the launch of their American Express Blue Cash Preferred and Everyday Cards I couldn’t quite fathom why. That was, until I learned about their interest in conveying to consumers the potential of using money to make simple, delicious meals with six ingredients are less. I love sending the message that meals do not have to be complicated to be delicious so I jumped on board.
For this program I’ll be posting every Monday for the next three weeks and sharing some of my favorite recipes for summer vegetable side dishes made with six ingredients or less. In return, I’d like you to share your favorite summer vegetable side dishes that are made with six ingredients or less for your chance to win a $600 gift card from American Express! (Yes, that is right, six hundred bucks for your grocery shopping! woo-hoo!)
To kick things off I am sharing my fun riff on caprese salad, a classic summer vegetable side dish. In my version I like to infuse the olive oil with fresh pepper and use small balls of mozzarella and grape tomatoes in lieu of big tomato slices. I prefer the smaller sized tomatoes and cheese and find them much, much easier to eat. I also love that this whole salad takes minutes to throw together. Sometimes I make it during naptime and keep it in the fridge, but it is just as easy to make it in a snap dinner time! I usually served it alongside grilled fish or chicken to round out our meal.
So, here is what is going to happen now. My delicious Peppery Caprese Salad recipe is below. Next week, on July 18th, I am going to return with another FABULOUS summer vegetable recipes using six ingredients or less and issue a last call for recipe submissions. The winner will be announced on Monday July 25th, along with a final recipe from me!
Here are the guidelines for entering to win your very own $600 American Express Giftcard:
1. Leave a comment sharing your favorite summer vegetable side dish recipe that contains 6 ingredients or less. It does not have to be a formal recipe format, just tell me casually how the recipe works and what is in it.
2. Sign up for The Naptime Chef newsletter (upper left hand corner of this screen)
3. Like The Naptime Chef on Facebook.
4. Read the below information about the new American Express Blue Cash Cards
About the New Blue Cash Preferred and Everyday Cards
| 1 cup grape tomatoes | |
| ½ | cup small mozzarella balls |
| 3 to 4 | fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped |
| ¼ | cup olive oil |
| 1 | teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper |
| 1 | pinch kosher salt |
1. In a small bowl mix the olive oil, pepper and salt.
2. Arrange the basil, tomatoes, and mozzarella on a plate and drizzle the olive oil dressing over the top. Serve!
As with all the posts on this ad-free Products Review page, I was compensated to participate in this program and provide the above information to all of you. The opinions and recipe expressed in this article, however, are completely my own. As is the food photography.
I LOVE S’Mores, as if you didn’t know that already, and I am excited to announce that this summer, the Hershey Company is encouraging families to create their own S’mores memories with the Say S’mores campaign. Starting June 15, families are invited to capture and share their favorite S’mores moments on the Hershey’s brand Facebook page for a chance to win S’mores-themed prizes. The grand-prize is a Canon Rebel Camera, slate marble outdoor firebowl, $250 SnapFish gift card, roasting skewers set and all of the ingredients needed to make S’mores, including Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bars. Families who visit the Hershey’s brand Facebook page on or after June 15 can download the Say S’mores application to participate in monthly photo contests and receive a $1 coupon good toward the purchase of any two Hershey’s Milk Chocolate bar 6-packs.
In addition to all this great prizes I am participating in a secret campaign and will be posting about a secret S’More theme later this summer. Stay tuned!! 🙂
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