FoodFash

FoodFash is a food and travel blog based in Austin, TX.

Scalloped Potatoes & Turnips With Gruyére

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Oh Thanksgiving! Or as I like to call it, casserole season!

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday for many reasons. It’s the first of the major family holidays I grew up celebrating. It’s paired with a long holiday weekend. And it’s filled with so many bites {and I love bites}.

I’ve never been a huge turkey eater. But I’m also extremely attached to the way my family did Thanksgiving, especially now that I don’t make the trip back to Florida anymore. So that means, I always cook a turkey. And it also means that I cook very similar sides that are made from real food ingredients. While not everyone in my family is on the healthy eating train, everyone is headstrong about cooking with real butter, real milk, real cheese, and fresh vegetables.

And because, all year long, I’m a fan of sneaking vegetables into ordinary dishes, I created a whole food, sneaky veggie casserole that’ll leave you feeling totally satisfied this casserole season: Scalloped Potatoes & Turnips with Gruyere {scroll down for recipe}.

If you’re new to cooking with turnips, there are a few things you should know. Most importantly, turnips are different than potatoes nutritionally. Turnips contain over three times as much Vitamin C, one third as many calories, and one third as many carbohydrates as white potatoes. Texturally, they aren’t as soft as potatoes, which can be great in certain recipes because they don’t fall apart. And flavor wise, they get a little sweetness when cooked. Ultimately, I don’t recommend completely swapping potatoes for turnips unless you’re a seasoned turnip lover. But I completely recommend swapping portions of potato recipes to increase the spectrum of vitamins you’re consuming as well as lower the calories and carbohydrates of your dish without sacrificing the use of real butter, real milk, and real cheese.

I was able to purchase all of the ingredients for this recipe at the new Whole Foods Market 365 store in Cedar Park, which is a huge plus especially during the busy holiday shopping season. I get super frustrated when I have to go to a separate store to find items and it was a huge relief to see that turnips and chives were both available in the Whole Foods Market 365 produce department.

The prices at Whole Foods Market 365 were also noticeably cheaper. I was able to purchase every ingredient for this recipe, and mostly organic products, for $20.80. Had there already been flour in my pantry and milk in my refrigerator, the I would have only spent $15.42, which is quite the steal for a casserole made with quality ingredients.

And lastly, I really loved the feel of the Whole Foods Market 365 store. It was clean and orderly beyond belief. The produce department was top notch. For almost every grocery item I purchased, there was a store brand available. And!! Oh, and this is the best part. The Whole Foods Market 365 store in Cedar Park collaborates with local companies like Juiceland {cold pressed juice to order}, Easy Tiger {freshly baked breads}, and Snap Kitchen {healthy eats to go}. Overall, shopping at this store was as pleasant as it gets. I’ll definitely be making the trip to the Whole Foods Market 365 Cedar Park store {20 minute drive} as often as I can to load up on 365 products.

Tyson Chicken Tenders with Homemade Sauces

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This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own.

Last May, when my boyfriend and I moved in together, I gained two new roommates: my boyfriend and his three year old daughter. And while not much has changed in our kitchen since the move {she’s less picky than we are!}, there have been a few noticeable differences.

The most obvious difference is the need to accommodate all three of our taste buds. Daily, I could eat salmon and broccoli, my boyfriend could eat tacos, and the little one could eat pea mac and cheese. And because it’s super easy to get burned out on each other’s preferences, we have our go-to meet-in-the-middle dishes: spaghetti, pizza, and chicken.

Now that I’m responsible for purchasing groceries for a tiny, growing human, I am extra concerned about what types of products I bring home. While grocery shopping at H-E-B, I shop mostly around the grocery store perimeter, buying largely from the produce department and butcher department. But, like everyone, I don’t always have time to cook a meal from scratch. And that is where freezer items come in extra handy.

Knowing that Tyson® crispy chicken strips and Tyson chicken nuggets are made from 100% natural* ingredients (*no artificial ingredients, minimally processed) and no antibiotics ever makes them a super easy choice for busy nights. When paired with a frozen green veggie and some homemade sauces, it’s a guaranteed agreed upon meal.

The people who make Tyson chicken products have had a strong heritage of raising chicken since 1935.  Check out this video to learn more!

It’s also worth noting how frequently I’ve seen “no added XYZ” on other product packaging lately. That type of messaging is confusing and leads me to believe the brand is trying to skirt around certain ingredients. With that said, I REALLY appreciate that Tyson chicken has clear “NO ANTIOBIOTICS EVER” messaging on specially marked product packaging. In addition to Tyson crispy chicken strips, Tyson also makes nuggets, Any’tizers® snacks, and drumsticks that are raised with no antibiotics ever and made with 100% all natural ingredients. Please check for specially marked packages indicating 100% all natural ingredients and no antibiotics ever.

And since Tyson crispy chicken trips are made with 100% natural* ingredients and no antibiotics ever, it only makes sense to pair them with sauces that are also free from artificial ingredients. The little one loves barbeque, my boyfriend loves sweet and sour, and I love honey mustard. I already have a go-to homemade cherry barbeque sauce and honey mustard sauce recipes, but I wanted to develop a sweet and sour sauce that was made with real fruit {not juice} and had a super small ingredient list. We were all incredibly pleased with the sweet and sour sauce recipe below and I can’t wait to add it to our regular line up of Tyson chicken strip sauces!

Easy, Complete Side Dishes

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This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Alexia.

I can’t seem to find the time for intricate side dishes lately. Whenever we cook at home, it is pretty much guaranteed that we’ll serve a protein with a sautéed green veggie. Sometimes I’ll go above and beyond with mashed sweet potatoes or butternut squash. But I seriously can’t imagine preparing a protein and TWO lovely veggie sides {especially on a weeknight}. Which is why I was so excited to try Alexia’s complete side dishes.

Alexia used to be my go-to brand for dinner rolls {bring them back, please!}. And they’re the only brand of sweet potato fries on my radar. So when I saw they started making complete side dishes that are VERY similar to what I’d make at home, I couldn’t wait to try them!

Other than the flavor profiles being very similar to what I would cook, I appreciate that Alexia products are non-GMO, gluten free, and contain organic dairy ingredients. And, since we try to steer clear of the microwave, I liked that a handful of the complete side dishes have reasonable stovetop cook times. But for those who depend on the microwave, all of the side dishes cook in less than 10 minutes.

The two side dishes that we sampled were the cauliflower risotto with parmesan and sea salt and mashed butternut squash with butter and brown sugar. And, served along side homemade pork tenderloin, they made for quite a special Sunday supper. So special, that we brought everything outside and dined al fresco to celebrate the slow-approaching Texas fall weather.

The mashed butternut squash was the family favorite. I let Haven sample a spoonful before I plated our meal and she couldn’t stop asking “when is it going to be time for squash?”. Even while we were taking pictures, she couldn’t keep her hands off that squash! And I really enjoyed the cauliflower risotto because it’s so creative. There are plenty of frozen cauliflower rice options available, but then you’re left to find and make a recipe on your own. Alexia complete side dishes are just that – complete. And because they’re complete, you can put all your focus into a delicious main dish.

And that brings me to our pork tenderloin! I used this FoodFash recipe for the brined and seared pork tenderloin within this post. And then I sliced the pork and served it on a bed of sautéed onions and mushrooms. And together, with the cauliflower risotto and mashed butternut squash, it made for a delicious veggie-filled meal!

Alexia complete side dishes can be found at Giant Eagle, Kroger, Meijer and other fine grocers. In Austin, I’ve purchased Alexia products at Whole Foods and Central Market.

This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Alexia.

 

Layer Dip @popchips For The Big Game

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Other than watching the Florida vs. Florida State game growing up, football wasn’t a deal in my house. It wasn’t until college that I remember celebrating any big games. And even then, I certainly didn’t get excited about who was playing who. But what I did get excited about was all the yummy food. If tolerating football meant I would be granted access to dozens of dips and bite-sized snacks, then I was all about tolerating football.

And while I loved eating the snacks that other people had dreamt up, I’ve always taken it upon myself to make a lighter version of something – a safe dish, one that I know with certainty didn’t include a super secret jar of mayonnaise.
So when popchips gave me the opportunity to create a big game recipe using popchips ridges, I was all over it! popchips ridges are gluten-free and have zero grams of trans fat, no artificial flavors, and no added preservatives. These chips aren’t baked or fried, but popped!  They also come in flavors that make the perfect as-is snack, like cheddar & sour cream, tangy bbq, and chili cheese. The perfectly salty version is also delish on its own, but makes a wonderful foundation for a variety of big game snacks as well.

Combining my loves of layer dips and bite-sized snacks, I topped the perfectly salted popchips ridges with a simplified version of “seven layer dip”. The chips are topped with a layer of melted cheese that adds flavor and acts as a moisture barrier between the chip and bean dip, keeping the chip crispy for longer.  And then I added layers of spiced bean dip, green chiles, and tomatoes for tang {and color}.

Shop popchips online and get 20% off on your order by clicking http://popchi.ps/shopridges and using offer code “BIGGAME20”!

This post is sponsored by Single Edition Media on behalf of popchips.