Morning Star Farms Garden Veggie Patties Review

I was given the opportunity to review a Morning Star Farm product as a member of BzzAgent.  I chose to try the Morning Star Farms Garden Veggie Patties.  I was pleasantly surprised at how well they tasted.  I expected them to be hard to chew and flavorless.  While they were just the opposite...tender and full of flavor.  You could taste and see the carrots, bell peppers, onions and water chestnuts.  I chose to make a double cheese veggie patty on sourdough bread with mayo, honey mustard, pickle and tomato.  It was just what the doctor ordered for lunch on a cold day.  My only issue was the water chestnut could have been chopped a little smaller.  I had about two bites that seemed to be only water chestnut.  I will definitely buy this product again and try a few other varieties as well.

I was provided a free manufacturer's coupon from BzzAgent as well as coupons to giveaway.  I was not compensated for this review and all opinions expressed here are my own.

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Strawberry Muffins

My son, my mother and I went to a local farm last weekend to pick strawberries.  We had such a great time and ended up picking 20.5 pounds of strawberries.  My mother and I split the strawberries so I ended up with 10 pounds of strawberries.  We ate about 2 pounds, froze 7 pounds and made strawberry preserves and muffins with the remaining pound.  I have never had or made strawberry muffins...they turned out great!  I will make these again. 

In a bowl, mix:

1 1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp baking powder

 Stir that with a fork.

Now- in a 1cup measuring cup:

1/3 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla

1 egg

Add milk to the 1cup mark

Add 3/4 cup honey (if you don't like or have honey use 3/4 cup sugar)

Whisk all the ingredients together

Add 1/3 cup coarsely chopped strawberries, and combine the wet and dry ingredients. 

Fill 1 12 count muffin tin.

Bake at 375°F for 17-20 min.

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Sneak In Your Vegetables: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes

Meatloaf and mashed potatoes are always a hit in our home as well as a great way to sneak in vegetables.  The kids get a well rounded meal and don't complain about all the vegetables they have to eat.  We add spinach and carrots to our meatloaf and cauliflower to our mashed potatoes.  This time we made our potatoes with chicken stock rather than milk and they turned out extremely creamy. 

Meatloaf
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion diced
3 eggs
2/3 cups ketchup
1/3 can spinach pureed
Handful of baby carrots minced
1/4 cup shredded cheese
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 cup breadcrumbs
Oatmeal

Mix all the ingredients together, using the oatmeal to create the consistency you desire.  Shape the meat into mini meatloafs and bake at 350 degrees until done (about 30 minutes).

Mashed Potatoes and Cauliflower
8 Red Potatoes diced
1/3 Head of Cauliflower
3/4 cup Chicken Stock
1/3 cup Sour Cream
1/4 cup Butter

Boil the potatoes and cauliflower and drain.  Add the chicken stock, sour cream and butter.  Mash with a potato masher to your desired consistency.  Adjust the chicken stock, sour cream and butter to achieve the consistency of mashed potatoes that fits your families needs.

Bake Your Own Birthday Cake

This past week we celebrated two of my children's birthdays.  I decided to order my children a cake and set of cupcakes per their request, but changed my mind once I saw the prices.  The prices were out of this world!  So, I decided to bake my children their cakes as I have in the past.  Baking these items only cost a fraction of the price of store bought cakes and was extremely easy.  

You can personalize the cakes easily as well.  My daughter's theme was Tinker Bell and my son's theme was Star Wars.  To decorate the cupcakes I found a FREE clipart, transferred it to a word document and printed them.  I then cut out each one and taped a toothpick to the back of each one.  To decorate the cake I placed a single layer cake on top of a sheet cake.  I cut the Jedi symbol out of wax paper, placed it on the single layer and filled it in with cocoa powder.  I then piped Happy Birthday!

These were inexpensive to make and fun!  Next time you have to make a birthday cake I hope you consider making your own.