House of Tsang-Review & Giveaway

A few weeks ago I was offered the opportunity to try and review 6 different sauces and oils from the House of Tsang product line.

 -          House of Tsang® Bangkok Padang Peanut Sauce

-          House of Tsang® General Tsao Sauce

-          House of Tsang® Ginger Flavored Soy Sauce

-          House of Tsang® Sesame Seed Oil

-          House of Tsang® Sweet & Sour Stir Fry Sauce

-          House of Tsang® Hibachi Grill Sauce Kobe Steak

I was happy to do so because we've been in a bit of a supper rut lately and I knew it would be the perfect way to jazz things up.  I'll show you how I used each product and then tell you what you could win at the end.  :)  Here's a bit of background info first, though:

Food is an important part of the Chinese Lunar New Year celebration and certain foods are included for their symbolic value: noodles are served for longevity, oranges for wealth and prosperity and a whole fish for abundance and togetherness. The Chinese New Year began on January 23, 2012 and ushers in the Water Dragon. The year promises to be full of excitement, exhilaration and also lots of celebration!  Whether you're looking for an Asian meal on the go or just want to give your favourite dishes a different twist,House of Tsang® products bring the flavors of Asia into your kitchen. With House of Tsang® sauces and oils you can mix and match to make memorable, flavorful dishes you’ll love—right in your own home.

First I used the General Tsao sauce to make a quick chicken stir fry with green bell pepper and basmati rice:

Can you believe I've never tried General Tsao sauce before?!  The spiciness was a nice surprise; I quite enjoyed it!  Our next meal included the Ginger Flavoured Soy Sauce, the Sweet & Sour Sauce and the Pure Sesame Oil.  I used the following ingredients to make a play on fried rice:

 The first step was to cook a 1/2 cup of quinoa in 1 cup of water for 15 mins then I quickly scrambled the egg and set it aside.  I chopped the onion and sautéed it with some garlic, added the quinoa to the pan along with the egg and 1 cup of peas.  Once everything was heated through I added a few good shakes of the ginger soy sauce and a little sesame oil.  While the quinoa was coming together I had another pan going with some chicken breasts.  When they were cooked through I added the Sweet & Sour sauce and dinner was served!

THIS was a delicious meal!  I used the Kobe Steak Sauce to make a nice stir fry the other night.  I simply combined some leftover roast beef, mushrooms and a tomato with about a 1/4 cup of the sauce.  I served it over pasta with a side of broccoli:

Here's Noah's plate, minus the broccoli, all mixed up:

This sauce had a nice tangy flavour, but by the end of my meal I found it a bit salty.  Keep in mind that this is probably more a marinade than a stir fry sauce, though!  :)  And last, but not least, the Peanut Sauce!  I had plans for this one right off the bat, but it took a few nights before I could actually get to it.  I made a chicken pizza!

I topped a (gluten free) crust with some tomato sauce then topped it with chicken breast strips and roasted red peppers that I tossed with the peanut sauce.  A bit of cheddar cheese sealed the deal.

Yum, Yum, Yum!!!  We all really enjoyed these products and I can't wait to cook with them again.  Certainly makes for a quick, easy and tasty meal that doesn't take forever to cook.

So friends, how would you like to win exactly what I've reviewed for you here?  Here's what is up for grabs:

This prize contains the 6 sauces, marinades and oil that I received as well as some beautiful chopsticks; a $25.00 value!  To enter, please complete the following (easy) steps:

1) You must "like" the House of Tsang Facebook page
2) Tell me which sauce you'd cook with first

That all, folks!  PLEASE BE SURE TO LEAVE 2 SEPARATE COMMENTS!!  That doubles your chances of winning!  You'll have until Sunday, February 19 to enter and I will randomly select a winner on Monday February 20.  Best of luck to all!


Bye for now!!

T'is The Season....

.....to be BUSY!!  Hi folks!  How is everyone doing?  Are you all caught up in the craziness that is December just like me?  Between work, Christmas shopping, hockey, dance and the end of Sarah's volleyball season I've barely had time time sit at the computer, which I am sure is the case in general.  Instead of posting here I decided to use that time to continue reading all your blogs.  I haven't been commenting as much, but I have been keeping myself up to date with you guys!

On Sunday Noah's hockey team had a game in a border city.  Whenever we play there I plan a quick trip across the border for a little shopping.  This time we only hit Target because it had been raining pretty heavily all day and we were afraid it would freeze before long.  Getting stuck in the States wouldn't be such a bad thing; just extra money for us that could be used in other areas right now.  :)  We actually went to Panera first because, as is the case more often than not lately, Noah was starving.  That kid eats more than me these days and is still only weighs 59lbs at almost 10yrs old!  LOL  Because I'm pretty much gluten free, sandwiches were out for me.  I went with the Chopped Chicken BBQ Salad with a side of potato chips:

This was delicious!  I already used some of the ingredients in this as an idea for dinner.  More on that to follow...I pretty much found everything at Target that I wanted to.  I can't post everything, though, because some of the items are gifts!  Here are the edible goodies I bought:

Anyone know how to rotate photos in blogger?  I don't have WLW at work and can't figure out how to do it!  DOH!!  If you can help leave me a comment, please & thank you!  Jason LOVES the Archer Farms corn & black bean salsa!  I've had to hide those Mounds bars and Fage yogurts from my son...AKA...bottomless pit!

I also managed to stick to my meal plan last week.  Monday was pizza night.  While the fam had some oven ready pizza, I made a pizza for me using Udi's GF pizza crust.  I've never tried it before and really enjoyed it!  My toppings included a (leftover) GF hotdog, spinach and cheddar cheese.  I used salsa as my sauce:

Next time I will cut back on the baking time.  The crust got a little too crisp for me, but that was my fault, not the product. (*note: I bought these Udi's pizza crusts on my own).  Here's a picture I took of the leftovers that I enjoyed for lunch the next day:

Tuesday we had a FREE night!  I took the opportunity to roast a chicken with onions and garlic for dinner.  I also made steamed broccoli & quinoa to go along with it.

That's mango chutney on my plate beside the chicken.  ;)  On Wednesday we were out of town until 7pm.  Knowing this would be the case I made and baked off meatballs Tuesday for subs.  All I had to do when we got home was heat them with tomato sauce, toast the buns and melt the cheese.  The fam had sub buns while I ate mine on a GF burger bun:

Thursday was quick and simple; turkey sausage, brown rice & peas;

The plan was to have chicken stir fry on Friday, but we ended up at Boston Pizza after a bit of Christmas shopping.  I went with a personal Szechuan on GF crust.

I took one bite of this and realized that instead of the Szechuan sauce that's suppose to come with this pizza, it was plain old tomato.  Instead of sending it back and waiting for another pizza, I just had the server bring me a ramekin of the sauce and I put it on myself.  :/  Seeing as I already had the chicken out of the freezer, we enjoyed our stir fry Saturday night!

As you can see, there is some rice spiral pasta on the side there.  I also made sure I got more veg than chicken.  I'll leave the fam to the meat!  LOL  And that's that for my "meals of the week"!  I gotta admit, I can't wait to get some natural light again at dinner time!  All my pictures look so blah.  :(

I don't really have a set plan for this week.  From Sunday to Saturday Noah is on the ice every night but Thursday, so I'm kinda winging it.  I have a loose idea of what I'll be making each day, but don't want to commit to it.  I'll leave you all with a photo of the kids school pics!

Man, they are growing so FAST!!  One last little thing!  I tried to post this yesterday, but Blogger was behaving badly!!

Bye for now!!

Back in Action...

Oh my goodness friends, it's been a while!  When I posted last Noah was home sick with the flu.  That stuck with the poor kid for 2 days.  Then Sarah got it, then I got it.  UGH.....fun times were NOT had!  We all seem to be back on track now, though.  Needless to say, my meal plan pretty much went out the window last week. So did hockey games, dance class and Zumba.  Eeek!  Looking through the photos on my camera I seem to have some from last week and all from the week before so this will be a bit of a hodge podge post.  So 2 weeks past the plan looked like this:

Turkey sausage, sautéed red peppers, green beans and millet.....

Roasted turkey breast, peas, polenta ans some smoky peach chipotle dipping sauce......

Lasagna, for the fam.  I had eggs on toast with mortadella.....

Thursday was pork chops, corn and basmati rice.....

And Friday was baked salmon fillets with broccoli and quinoa...

Pretty good week!  I've got to admit, I don't eat pork chops much and Thursday's dinner reminded me why.  I just don't like them!!  Guess I thought I'd give them another shot, but I won't be eating them again any time soon.

I don't even remember what last week was suppose to look like!  Here's what I got pictures of:

Noah had an out of town hockey game on Tuesday and I always try to get some sort of pasta into him before a game.  This is brown rice pasta which is always what I prepare for myself.

Whoa....dark photo!  This was Wednesday's dinner, which we ate late.  Well, 7pm is late for us!  We were out for this again...

 ....but over my lunch hour I put chicken thighs, sliced mushrooms, 2 chopped red bell peppers and a can of tomato sauce in the crock pot on low.  When we got back the kids ate theirs over leftover pasta while Jason and I had ours over quinoa.  It tasted SO much better than it looks!  I'm certain we had turkey sausage again on Thursday, but there doesn't seem to be any photo evidence!  Friday we decided to go out to dinner, but my camera was sitting pretty on the dining room table.  DOH!

I got some cool mail last week, too!  First up we have some Method dish and hand soap:

I haven't tried either yet, but I can't wait to get them started.  Method is one of my favourite brands of hand soap and I'm eager to try the dish soap.  These have seasonal scents, too!  Frosted Fir and Candy Cane!   Thank You, Method!!!  I also received my FREE Gevalia coffee for our Tassimo.

Somehow I managed to get to their Facebook Page before supplies were out! Too bad I'm blogging from Blogger right now and can't figure out how to rotate this picture!!!  Anyhow, this coffee is STRONG, but good.  I'll definitely buy more when I run out.

So, I think that's all I've got for now.  As always, you can check my meal plan out on my Facebook Page.....What's your favourite meal been this past month?  Or is it something that you will be eating over Thanksgiving?

Bye for now!!

Four Meals In, One Out

Hi everybody!  How did your week go?  I see that some of you have snow already!  YUCK!  I sure feel for you.  I haven’t seen any white flakes yet, but I’m sure it won’t be long now.  Did anyone attend a Halloween party this weekend?  My kids are excited for the “big” day tomorrow.  I’ll be spending part of this evening getting their costumes ready for school tomorrow.  Noah’s class is having a little party and Sarah (being in grade 7) will be going to an afternoon dance at the school. 
I wanted to make sure I popped by to post last week’s meals.  Can I just day that I’m SO glad I got back into planning dinner for the week?  It’s one less thing to worry about each night when I get home.  Two thumbs up, for sure!  So Monday was soup & grilled cheese night.  I made the broth in my crock pot using the chicken bones that I have from our beer butt/roasted chickens so all I had to do when I came home from work was strain it into a pot, add a can of diced tomatoes (with the juice) and chicken from the bones.  Instead of grilled cheese I toasted a slice of rice bread for dipping.
On Tuesday I had the time to roast a chicken which is a rarity through the week at this house!  I also made peas and quinoa to go with it: Can I just say that it’s getting dark so much sooner lately?  Good thing next Saturday we change the clocks!  On Wednesday I grilled turkey sausage with bell peppers and onions.  I also sautéed mushrooms, garlic and Mache as another side.  Quinoa made another appearance on my plate while the fam ate mac n cheese with theirs. Thursday was another busy night so I dug into the freezer for some pulled pork that I had made in the crock pot previously and froze without sauce.  I just warmed it in a pan with a bit of broth and hickory flavoured BBQ sauce.  It was delicious served over a toasted rice bun smeared with avocado hummus: We went out with friends for dinner on Friday, but no pictures.  It was a real informal meal of burgers and salad.  Perfect for the end of a busy week!  Some of the leftovers were eaten as is within the next few days while some were transformed a bit.  I used some of the roasted chicken to make an awesome sandwich with vegetable antipasto, Mache and cassata cheese…. Some of the (sauce less)  pulled pork went back into a sandwich with roasted red pepper, basil pesto and mozzarella cheese: Delicious!!  On Saturday we went to Subway for lunch.  It’s the first time I’ve been since going (mostly) gluten free.  I went with a turkey sub in salad form which ended up being fabulous!
And lastly, tonight’s dinner.  I baked salmon fillets and served them with brown rice and mixed veggies:
A lovely Sunday dinner, even though it’s not pot roast!  HAHA!  Check out next weeks plan over on my facebook page……
Have a great week, everyone….
Bye for now!!

Parties, Dinners and Waffles

Hello!  How was everyone’s week?  Mine turned out to be pretty busy; both at work and home.  It’s all good, though.  I prefer a busy work week because busy = FAST and who doesn’t appreciate a quick work week?  The weekend has been really fun!  Friday we partied the night away at Noah’s hockey team’s fundraiser dinner/dance.  What a GREAT night!  Dinner, dancing, drinks socializing, ticket selling; the evening was a HUGE success.  The early numbers are in and it’s looking like we raised almost $12,000 for the team’s budget.  This money is used for tournament fees, extra (specialized) training for the boys and team building events off the ice.   Noah took a picture of us before we left;
 
Saturday the boys had their first win of the season!  They’re doing pretty good this year compared to others….1 win, 3 ties and 2 losses.  Today Noah was back on the (indoor) soccer field for practice.  This will be a weekly thing now.  It was nice to catch up with the soccer parents!  I miss them after spending so much time together this summer. 
I once again stuck to my menu plan for the week.  The only night I didn’t was pasta night (Thursday) because the kids wanted hotdogs instead so Jason and I ate turkey sausage.   Here’s a recap of the weeks eats;

Monday night we did a chicken on the BBQ rotisserie.  I also sliced 3 potatoes and a red onion and placed them in foil with some butter, S&P.  The package joined the chicken on the BBQ.  Veggies brought up the side.  Tuesday night the fam had pizza.  I went with a sandwich filled with brie, avocado, tomato and lettuce on GF bread: Wednesday was pork chop night.  I just did up a pan of fast fry chops, made a pot of quinoa that I jazzed up with freshly grated parm and salsa and sautéed spinach and mushrooms for some greens: Enter turkey sausage night!  The sides were kept super simple; corn and basmati rice. Friday was party night so the kidlets enjoyed Subway.  There was lots of food at the party….carved pork & beef, 2 pasta dishes, salads, bread cheese & fruits trays…I had a bit of beef, salad and cheese, but wasn't too hungry.  Usually, when I’m in a situation where there are lots of people and activity around me, I tend to forget about the food and focus on the excitement.  Anyone else like this?
Monday was Thanksgiving in Canada, but we celebrated on Sunday at my parents place.  The weather was SO gorgeous that we ate outside!  We’ve NEVER been able to eat Thanksgiving dinner outside!  Mom made a turkey with all the fixings.  My plate looked like this; Everything was SO delicious!  
This morning I made two batches of waffles; sweet & savoury.  They’re a gluten free recipe that I found at this site.  The original recipe was done first, as is:
I topped 2 with raspberry syrup and agave for a delicious breakfast!
To the second batch I added salt, pepper and chilli flakes and omitted the cinnamon.  Once the batter came together I stirred in 2 cups of grated sharp cheddar cheese: These will be used in tomorrow night’s dinner.  Speaking of tomorrow, you can check out next week’s menu plan on my facebook page. 
What was your favourite meal last week??
Bye for now!