Asian Lean Cuisine #FrozenFavorites

Alison:Today I headed out to Sam's to see if I could find some healthy, tasty and quick frozen meals.  Lately I haven't had much time to make sure I'm eating a healthy lunch.  When I get pressed for time I'm most likely to pick up a latte for lunch as opposed to finding time to make a healthy meal.

Susie: It's true.  She substitutes warmth for nutrition.

Alison:I know this isn't the best choice, but at least I'm getting protein and calcium in
my lunch as opposed to a meal of junk food.

Susie: At least you admit it!

Alison:At Sam's I got caught up in some of the holiday displays on my way back to check out the frozen meals.  Aren't these trifle bowls adorable?

Susie: It's hard to resist a penguin you can fill with sugar!

Alison:I also loved these holiday cookie jars!  So cute!

Susie: Except that the penguins have hats.  That's just wrong.  When have you ever seen a penguin with a hat?

Alison: I haven't?

Susie: Exactly!  Santa has a hat.  Snowmen have hats.  Penguins do not have hats!

Alison: But it's cute not a real penguin!

Susie: Think of the children!  We're teaching them that penguins wear hats.  When is that bit of knowledge ever going to be useful!

Alison:My Sam's didn't have a huge healthy selection of frozen meals, but they did have these Asian Lean Cuisines.

Susie: You can't expect them to have everything.

Alison:I love most Asian flavors so these were an easy choice!

Susie: I love easy choices.

Alison:Eleven dollars isn't too bad a price point for six healthy frozen meals.  I mean if I were buying tall lattes, I'd spend about $4 a piece.  Three of those a week would pay for these six meals!  That's a two for one savings right there!

Susie: If you were buying that many lattes, which you don't.  Because the coffee you make is better and cheaper.

Alison:You can check out my shopping trip on Google+.

Susie:It's great that we've got these in the freezer, ready to go whenever we need a quick lunch.

Alison:But I thought what healthy side dish could I make with them?  Baked Egg Rolls!  I love egg rolls, but always feel guilty when I eat the fried ones.  It's a conundrum because that's what makes them taste so yummy too.

Susie: I know, but sitting over a pot of oil isn't exactly my idea of a good time.

Alison: Baked egg rolls is the perfect compromise because you get the yummy egg roll taste without all of the fat.  The trick to a great baked egg roll is pre-cooking your filling and brushing oil on the outside before baking to get that crunch.

Susie: A little oil goes a long way for a crispy crunch.

Baked Egg Rolls

1/2 head of red cabbage, shredded
3 carrots, grated
1/2 onion, grated
1 cup bean sprouts
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 (8 oz.) package mushrooms, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (20 ct.) package egg roll wrappers
1 tablespoon flour + 1 tablespoon water (mixed to make a paste)

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Clean and shred the cabbage.  Place in a 9x13 inch pan and roast for 10 minutes.  Remove cabbage from oven, toss and top with grated carrots and onions.  Roast for 5 more minutes.  Remove from oven and let cool, 10-15 minutes.  When cool, blot with paper towels to remove moisture.

Meanwhile in a skillet, brown pork.  When mostly cooked through, add mushrooms and cook till lightly browned.  Set aside to cool.

Add pork mixture and roasted veggies to a large bowl.  Add soy sauce, ground ginger and garlic powder and toss well.  Lay egg roll wrappers out one at a time with a corner facing you.  Place 1/3 cup of filling in the center.  Fold corners in this order: right, bottom then place some paste on top, left, then place some paste on remaining corner and roll up to make an egg roll.  Repeat with remaining wrappers.

Place each egg roll on a greased cookie sheet.  Brush each egg roll with canola oil (if you don't use the oil, they won't brown).  Place in the oven and bake for 12 minutes, flipping them half way through.  If not brown enough, you can broil them for 1-2 minutes.

Susie Savors: This recipe of egg rolls is better than our last.  This time we knew to add more flavor.  The red cabbage and bean sprouts enhance the recipe instead of the filling being mushy there is texture with a crunch.  Plus instead of frying you can get that outside to crisp with much less oil.

“I am a member of the Collective Bias®  Social Fabric® Community.  This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and Nestle Lean Cuisine #CBias #SocialFabric. All opinions are my own."

Kylie The Abbey Road Sessions

We received a copy of Kylie Minogue's new album, #Abbey Road Sessions .  She is celebrating her K25.  Her 25th anniversary in music this year.  She spent some time reworking some songs.  The orchestra is quite ephemeral.  It adds an extra boost of gravity and emotional resonance. There's nothing like a section of violins to add some weight to the melody.

This is a major change to her sound.  Kylie Minogue sounds vastly different stripped of pop.  The songs are much more focused on emotion and expression through the lyrics.  You may not like her new album if you prefer the polished sounds of pop.  Our favorite songs are the reworked versions of 'The Locomotion' and 'Can't Get You Out Of My Head'.  

The Abbey Road Sessions features sixteen tracks, all radically reworked, spanning Kylie's incredible twenty-five-year career.  It was recorded not surprisingly in London's legendary Abbey Road Studios with Kylie's band a full orchestra.  The album features many of her best-known hits and previously unreleased tracks.  

It includes her newest single "Flower" is a song she wrote several years ago following her battle with breast cancer, to the child she wishes she might one day still have.  This is definitely different from her usual range and is an interesting picture of her beyond her career in music.

I participated in this campaign for One2One Network. I received a free copy of the CD to facilitate my review. By posting, I am eligible for incentives. All opinions stated are my own.

NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband Hotspot Review

I have to say I like cool electronic gadgets as much as the next person, but I rarely have the newest toys.  I haven't yet made the jump to a smart phone or a tablet.

That said, I thought long and hard when asked if I'd like to review the NetZero 4G Mobile Broadband Hotspot.  For me it was a question of if I'd actually use it enough to justify having it.  I finally decided it was worth having because it will be an awesome blogging asset.  With the NetZero hot spot I'll be able to blog or use my bloggie virtually anywhere.  Since I don't have a smart phone, this will allow me to instantly post photos and video on my site and other social media networks.

I officially got to try it out this weekend.  I attended the Chicago Cooking Expo at Arlington Park.  While I was kinda disappointed (it was incredibly small!!), I did use my hot spot at the Google+ booth.  The local Google+ office was there asking people to review restaurants in exchange for swag.  But they were having issues with their wifi.  It just wasn't working fast enough for people to post reviews.  That wasn't a problem for me.  I got out my NetZero hot spot and instantly was able to connect quickly and easily.  I will say the Google+ girls were impressed and possibly envious that I had my own 4G hot spot.

Even if you're not a blogger, this is an incredibly helpful gadget that anyone tech savvy will love.  Not only is the hot spot incredibly fast, you can also connect up to 8 devices at a time.  You'll also love not needing a contract, so its ready to use right out of the box.

*I was sent this product and a year's worth of platinum service for review.  All opinions are my own.*

Chocolate Shop (Precept Wines) - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

I've got another Chicago Fine Chocolate Show preview for you!  This one is a little different as its not a chocolate candy, but a chocolate alcohol!  Chocolate Shop, produced by Precept Wines, has a variety of chocolate wine choices.  They were kind enough to send me a couple bottles to sip on before the show.

First I have to say I've only ever tasted one chocolate wine before and it wasn't that spectacular.  I'm also not a huge fan of red wines in particular as I prefer sweeter ones.  But these are incredibly sweet with just the right amount of chocolate.

The Chocolate Lover's Wine is a very sweet red that truly tastes like you're drinking chocolate!  It doesn't have that flat red wine taste at all.

The Chocolate Strawberry wine literally tastes like strawberries that were picked at their peak and then dipped in chocolate.  But its a wine, how incredible is that!

The Creme De Cocoa is wonderful treat.  The chocolate and mint are perfectly blended.  This wine is great poured over some ice.  It doesn't need anything else to make it special.

All of these wines were a delight to try.  If you're a wine and chocolate lover on the lookout for something new this holiday season, these are for you!  Definitely head down to the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend to give them a try.

*Precept Wines sent me these wines for review.  All opinions are my own.*

Flying Noir - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

Flying Noir is one of the amazing chocolatiers who is going to be at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend.  While they aren't local to the Chicago area, they're out in California, they did offer to send us a sampling of chocolate they'll have at the show.

Karen sent us two packages of drinking chocolate passionata and kerala d.c..  Both were quite different.  The passionata has a fruity flavor due to the banana, mango and guava.  While the kerala d.c. is a more classic hot chocolate with bite.  Either flavor is a definite treat for chocolate lovers.

Karen also included a gorgeous box of her handmade, hand-painted chocolates.  I absolutely loved that they sparkled!  But it made them a little difficult to photograph.  My fave was the roo, with its creamy rooibus white chocolate ganache center.  I also loved the details used to make the boxes special.  From the printed rubber band to the black tissue paper inside they were a visual delight.

A lot of the chocolates had an interesting bite to them.  I'd definitely recommend these to anyone who loves spicy food.  That added bite isn't something I've encountered often in chocolates.  It was definitely a change of pace.

*Flying Noir sent me these chocolates for review.  All opinions are my own.*

ChocoPerfection - Chicago Fine Chocolate Show

ChocoPerfection is another of the wonderful chocolates you'll encounter this weekend at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show.  They're a little different from the rest as their entire line of chocolates are sugar free!  ChocoPerfection bars also contain prebiotic fiber in every bar which helps to keep you feeling full.  So not only are these chocolate bars healthy, they'll also help you stick to your diet!  I can't think of another chocolate that can make that claim.

When I think of sugar-free chocolate it just makes me shudder.  It almost always makes me think of something fake and chalky tasting.  ChocoPerfection bars are nothing like that.  They taste like a regular high quality chocolate bar.

ChocoPerfection was kind enough to send us a selection of bars to try.  I have to say the dark chocolate mint was definitely a huge fave.  It actually reminded me of a frango mint.  They were that good!

If you're on the lookout for a great high quality sugar-free chocolate bar, definitely check out the ChocoPerfection booth at the Chicago Fine Chocolate Show this weekend!

*ChocoPerfection supplied me with the product for this review.  All opinions are my own.*

Wholesome Wednesday: Individual S'more Cheesecakes

I love s'mores!  But its hard to have them all year around as it gets pretty cold here in Chicago.  It's currently pretty cold here now, brr!

That made me think what if I could have a s'more any time of the year.  Also what if it could be healthy too?

Well this recipe combines all those things.  You get a decadently rich tasting s'more in the form of a healthy mini cheesecake!  That's right, I said healthy cheesecake.  No, it's not a trick.  You can easily have a healthy cheesecake if you use greek yogurt to replace some of the cream cheese.  Greek yogurt is awesome in this regard because it bakes the same as cream cheese would.

The s'mores flavors in this recipe come from Capella Flavor Drops.  With Capella flavor drops you get intense flavor with none of the extra calories.  I also added food coloring to the layers to highlight the flavors.

Individual S'mores Cheesecakes

Crust
1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling
1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, room temperature
1 1/2 cup  chobani greek yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons flour
2 eggs
1/2 cup sugar
14 Double Chocolate Capella Flavor Drops
12 Marshmallow Capella Flavor Drops
18 Graham Cracker Capella Flavor Drops

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line a 12 cup muffin tin with paper liners.

In a mixing bowl, combine together crust ingredients.  Using a tablespoon sized scoop, measure a heaping tablespoon into the bottom of each muffin cup.  Press crust down and slightly up the sides of the cup.  Set aside.

In another mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, chobani yogurt and sugar until smooth.  Add vanilla and flour.  Mix well.  Beat in eggs one at a time.

Split cheesecake filling into 3 separate bowls.  Make one bowl for each flavor, one chocolate, one marshmallow and one graham cracker, mix well.  If you want use food coloring on the layers so they stand out.  I did this to show that there were layers.  Layer the flavors starting with chocolate, then marshmallow and ending with graham cracker on top.

Bake for 20 minutes or until centers are set.  Cool to room temperature.  Either refrigerate or serve warm.

Susie Savors:  These mini cheesecakes are the perfect size.  Just enough of a treat to satisfy your cravings, yet as a dessert they are not going straight to your hips.  Using flavor drops allows you to have the same flavors without all the same calories.  The best part is that you can have a s'more without a campfire.

*Capella Flavor Drops provided me with their product for this recipe.  All opinions are my own.*