Note: I was sent a Breakfast kit from Krusteaz in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
For the last couple of years, I have had the opportunity to work with Krusteaz to bring attention to a fun way to switch up your dinner routine in February.
February is National Hot Breakfast Month, so to celebrate, Krusteaz encourages you to have breakfast for dinner once a week. As someone who never gets a hot breakfast on weekdays, I’m all for this idea, and have made a couple of yummy breakfast-for-dinner recipes in the past, including Cheesy Corn Pancakes and Frog in a Hole.
To help you celebrate National Hot Breakfast Month, Krusteaz is giving away a Breakfast Night Kit to one reader!
The kit includes:
two boxes of the following breakfast mixes: Buttermilk Pancake Mix, Belgian Waffle Mix, Blueberry Pancake Mix, Wild Blueberry Muffin Mix, and Cinnamon Swirl Crumb Cake and Muffin Mix
Kitchen items including a whisk, a tote bag, and pancake batter pen
A selfie stick, to help capture the fun!
Further details will be after the recipe.
This year, I decided to have a sweeter breakfast for dinner option, in honor of upcoming Valentine’s Day: Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes with Strawberry Maple Syrup.
This recipe uses Krusteaz Buttermilk Pancake mix with a few additions to make Peanut Butter Banana Pancakes. I served them with a simple Strawberry Maple Syrup to top them off!
I have been in full on grilling mode recently. I can’t seem to get enough of recipes made on the grill! So as the end of summer continues to creep closer, I am trying to get in all of the grilling I can. As much as I would love to grill in the colder months, I’m a wimp and know I just won’t stand out in the cold.
I’ve used indoor counter top grills in the past and really wasn’t thrilled with the cooking results — it didn’t seem to heat up enough to get proper grill marks, all of the juices would flow out of the grill making for a very dry protein, and I’d always under or overcook the meat.
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
So when I was contacted to test out the T-fal OptiGrill as part of T-fal’s OptiGrill Blogger Bash, I had some reservations about if this grill would really live up to expectations. Well, I was really pleasantly surprised! What sets the OptiGrill apart is its Precision Grilling Technology that adjusts the cooking time and temperature depending on the type of protein and the thickness of whatever you’re cooking.
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
The T-fal OptiGrill has a cooking level indicator with a color changing display that notifies you when your protein has reached rare, medium, or well-done. It also beeps when your food reaches each of the cooking stages. (Keep in mind that if you want your meat to rest before slicing, it continues to cook. So if you wanted a steak at medium rare and planned to let it rest for 5 minutes, you should probably take it out when the OptiGrill hits the “rare” notification.)
Source: https://optigrill.t-falusa.com/
The grill comes pre-programmed with 6 settings that adapt cooking temperature and times for different types of food: burger, poultry, sandwich, pork/sausage, red meat, and fish/seafood. There is also a frozen food function button so that you can cook your protein even when frozen; just push the snowflake button and then one of the 6 pre-programmed buttons. The grill will defrost and cook the protein in one easy step! When cooking fruits and veggies, just use the manual mode, which allows you to determine when the food is done cooking. The OptiGrill also takes into account the thickness of your food using an integrated thickness sensor so that the protein is fully cooked correctly.
The grill is made of brushed stainless steel with die-cast aluminum plates with a non-stick coating. The plates are removable for easy cleaning and are even dishwasher safe. The plates are angled so that drippings can flow into the removable drip tray, which surprisingly doesn’t leave the meat tough, dry, or chewy.
Want to see the grill in action? I decided to test it out with a yummy recipe from Cooking Light that uses both chicken thighs and chicken breasts. Chicken is so easy to overcook leaving a dry meal so I thought it would be a perfect way to test what this grill can really handle. This recipe also includes grilled pineapple so I was able to test out the manual setting as well. I made the marinade from this recipe for Jerk-style Chicken and the salsa from this recipe for Jerk Chicken with Grilled Pineapple Salsa.
I also am giving away one T-fal OptiGrill to one lucky reader, courtesy of T-fal OptiGrill! Details below the recipe.
Note: I was sent a T-fal OptiGrill to test for this review. T-fal is also offering one I Can Cook That reader the chance to win their own T-Fal OptiGrill. All opinions are my own.
Ingredients:
1 teaspoon grated lime rind
1/4 cup fresh lime juice plus 1 tablespoon, divided (about 3 limes)
1 tablespoon ground allspice
1 tablespoon brown sugar (substitute 1 tablespoon molasses to make paleo)
Contest Details: Contests open to US only. Limit one winner per household/per family from the 50 blogs participating in the promotion. Individuals winning more than one giveaway will receive 1 set of cookware and the other winning entries will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be chosen.
Today is the last day to enter my giveaway! Be sure to enter, the prize is pretty fantastic! As a friendly reminder, I am giving away a 12 Piece T Fal Cookware Set sponsored by Cooking Planit!
My goodness I have some exciting news for you! Through my work with Cooking Planit, a great website/app that helps plan meals from food shopping to getting it all on the table at the same time, I and 49 other bloggers will be hosting an amazing giveaway!
For 25 days straight starting Monday, August 19, two bloggers at a time will give readers the chance to win a 12-piece T-Fal Cookware set. That’s right, you can win a set of nonstick pans and stainless steel pots courtesy of Cooking Planit, T-Fal, and 50 pretty fantastic bloggers!
You are welcome (and encouraged!) to enter all of them, which gives you 50 chances to win this cookware set! I received one in preparation for this giveaway and will have a review of the set on I Can Cook That on August 26, so be sure to pop in here to enter!
Contest Details: Contests open to US only. Limit one winner per household/per family from the 50 blogs participating in the promotion. Individuals winning more than one giveaway will receive 1 set of cookware and the other winning entries will be disqualified and an alternate winner will be chosen.
Have you ever heard of Meatless Monday? It’s a campaign that began in 2003 encouraging people to cut out meat from their Monday meals. Monday was chosen as a way to start your week off more healthy. I am a big fan of Meatless Monday in general but I find it difficult to reserve one day a week specifically to go meatless. I prefer a much more flexible approach, where I try to cut meat out of three meals within my week.
The point of Meatless Monday is to eat a healthy meal as a substitute, adding a little more vegetables or whole grains to your diet instead of always making protein the star of the meal. I am by no means a vegetarian, and honestly never will be. But Americans in general tend to consume way too much protein. According to meatlessmonday.com, “going meatless once a week may reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions like cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.”
It’s honestly pretty darn easy to do once you make a mental note to try it out. I have plenty of meatless options on my blog to help get you started. Some of my favorites include (in no particular order):
If you are in need of more inspiration, one of my favorite vegetarian cookbooks is Herbivoracious. (Michael Natkin, the author, also has a pretty snazzy blog. Check it out here.) Michael’s recipes are truly wonderful (the black bean soup above is one of his) so be sure to pop over to see them.
Do you already participate in Meatless Monday? What is your favorite meatless meal to prepare?
