Shrimp and Guacmole GIVEAWAY

The awesome and generous folks at Skyhorse Publishing contacted me asking me if Id be interested in reviewing a cookbook or two and offered to sponsor a giveaway of not one, not two, not three but FIVE copies of the cookbook Seafood: Specatcular Recipes for Every Season by Par-Andrews Bergqvist and Andres Engvall.   I excitedly said yes, and within a few days my beautiful book arrived.

Every cookbook tries to come up with an interesting take on their idea or with a new twist, and this book did a few things that really appealed to me.  First, the entire book is based on seafood - shrimp, fish, shellfish - the entire ocean in a book.  In addition, the book has 52 recipes - one for each week of the year, organized by seasons.  (First week in January, you cook the first recipe, and so on and so forth.)  The prime season of the fish or seafood in question is paired with the correct week of the year, which means your dish most definitely will test better, especially if you go for fresh fish.

The other fun twist is that with each dish, they offer a music pairing - rock music to be exact.  These two gentlemen love music and want their readers and cooks to rock out while cooking an awesome meal.  The pictures are gorgeous with fun modern ways to present food and each recipe has a photograph to accompany the dish.  The cookbooks that provide all the pictures with the dishes are personally a big favorite with me.

Upon looking at the book, I was immediately both intrigued and cautious as there were fish I had never heard the names of and lush pictures of preparations I had never considered.  I looked through the book and came upon a recipe that seemed at the same time familiar yet different.  This dish paired shrimp with guacamole and tortilla chips and suddenly that sounded like the ultimate delicious appetizer.  I made the dish with a couple of twists of my own (didnt have time to fry my own tortilla chips, and made my version of guacamole) but the end result - crispy chips, lush and rich guacamole, and garlicy herby shrimp was a taste combo I had never ever considered.  The book is filled with 51 other unusual recipes (Including one where fish is paired with yellow pumpkin, another combo Id never considered.)

For your chance to own your own beautiful seafood book, enter using the widget below.  Make sure you leave your email so that I can let the publishers know where to send you your book!  Leave a comment for an additional entry and Im looking forward to others getting this fabulous book.

Good luck!

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In case you cant wait to win - buy one here.

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Pasta with Sausage Broccolini and Garlic A Year Supply of Pasta Giveaway!

The folks over at Golden Grain Pasta generously offered to send me 8 boxes of their new Hidden Veggie Pasta, and also offered to sponsor a giveaway of years supply of pasta (2 boxes of pasta a month -24 boxes total) for one lucky reader!  I couldnt turn down such an opportunity to try pasta, which is one of Familys absolute favorite meals, so I asked them to send me my sample!

Although the pasta does have some vegetables in it (carrots and squash), it isnt enough for me in terms of providing my family an adequate mix of protein, vegetables, and starch.  Time is always short in my house so I wanted to make a one pot pasta.  I decided to make one that used the vegetables that are dark green, broccolini, with some yummy Italian sausage and garlic.  The end result was a meal that everyone enjoyed and gobbled down.  The recipe has a dairy free option, which uses more chicken stock, and a dairy option which uses some heavy cream.  Both versions are very delicious.

Pasta with Sausage and Broccolini
Serves 6

Ingredients
1 box of Golden Grain Hidden Vegetable Pasta (or your choice of another pasta)
1 lb sweet Italian sausage, casing removed, roughly chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
8 cloves of garlic, minced or through a press
¼ chicken stock
1 lb broccolini, chopped into 1 inch pieces
¼ cup heavy cream or chicken stock (depends if you want it to be dairy free)
3 tablespoons of basil, finely chopped
¼  cup Parmesan cheese (for serving)

Method
Boil water for pasta. Prepare pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

In the same pot, over medium heat, add olive oil and sausages. After sausages are browned, add garlic. Cook for 1 minute until fragrant. Add chicken stock and broccolini. Cover and cook until broccolini is slightly tender and bright green about 5 minutes.

Toss in pasta, and toss together well.  Finish with cream or additional chicken stock.  Add basil and serve.  Pass Parmesan cheese to sprinkle on top.

Printable recipe

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Countdown End of school year preparations and Momento App Giveaway!

If youre like me, youre counting down the days until the end of the school year, not necessarily because youre looking forward to it (heh) but maybe because, like me, youre looking for a hot air balloon to whisk you away before things become too intense.

The countdown to the last day of school is typically so insane, filled with end of school year activities, parties, celebrations, and last minute scheduling of EVERYTHING before kids are fully yours for the summer.  Our countdown happens to be longer than 30 days, but were at a year round school, so Im guessing that most of you are at fewer than 30 days.  (In case any of you are wondering how I created that cool countdown above - I found a super fun app called "MOMENTO" and it allows you to create fun little countdowns.)

It becomes the time of year that we begin thinking about how we honor our teachers, and believe me Im thinking the same thing.  Ive got a little plan in works with my friend over at Sillie Smile, and hopefully in a few days well have a fun and neat project for you to do for your teachers.  Im thinking some yummy cookies (if I could only perfect my popcorn cookie) as well as some movie tickets or coffee gift cards.  For me, the most important thing that teachers do (this includes me of course) is RELAX and not think of students and just rest their brains after a grueling school year. I like to give them things that will allow them to do this - hence this years idea of movie tickets and coffee.  (If only I could guarantee they arent going to run into students at the theater - because when I was teaching, I always ran into mine.)

 This was the first round of something I tried, and it is going in the direction I wanted, but isnt complete.  Ill come up with something a bit cuter I think in the coming week or so.

Giveaway details!
And for a little bit of fun - the creators behind Momento are allowing me to give away 4 free apps! In the essence of time, Im just going to give them to the first four people who leave a comment below.  Be advised, Momento is currently ONLY for iOS, so if youre not on an iphone, its not as useful.  In the comments, please let me know what is one thing youre counting down right now!  The first four commenters, Ill be emailing you a redemption code and instructions!

If you want to buy the app, after I have my first four winners, click here.

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Palcha Sauce Giveaway Quick Sauces when youre in a bind

The lovely folks over at Palcha Sauces sent me six of their sauces and dressings to try out. Being Korean and a cook to ravenous eaters, sauces and dressings are a staple of the kitchen and a must for much of my cooking.  Family likes things marinated, dressed, dipped, and drizzled before they eat food.  They also do not enjoy anything bland or plain, so it seemed like a really fun opportunity to try someone elses sauces on my cooking.

One day I used the sauces to marinate a bunch of chicken thighs I had around.  I used the Soycha and Chilicha sauces to marinated the chicken, and then I just cooked the chicken in the oven.

Children and Husband really enjoyed both flavors, and it was nice that the Chilicha sauce wasnt so spicy that Children couldnt eat it.  Husband, even with marinade, likes something to dip his chicken in, so he used the Boom sauce to dip the chicken and it was his absolute favorite combination.  The Boom dipping sauce is personally Husbands favorite, and he uses it almost every other night to drizzle over or dip in something that we are having.  The flavors are familiar to my palate, which makes using them really easy.

I also had a chance to try their dressings, which turned out to be a surprise favorite with Children.  I generally make a couple of large green salads weekly, and for some reason, this salad dressing made them consume a lot more salad.  Again, although the chili had some bite, Children could eat it and they didnt complain about it being too spicy.  (In particular, Daughter #1 tends to be the most sensitive to spice and she didnt complain at all.)  I found that the kids are far more willing to eat their salad with these dressings than anything I made on my own.  Im definitely going to keep these around for those days I want Family eating their greens.

I am definitely pleased with the quality of the sauces, their versatility, and their ease of use.

Now the generous folks at Palcha are offering two lucky readers a chance to try three of their sauces!  You can get extra entries by liking Week of Menus on Facbook, Palcha on Facebook, and leaving a comment about your favorite sauce (any sauce) in my comments section.  

If you dont win, or are desperate for your own sauces, Palcha has also offered a special Week of Menus discount of 10% on any of their products.  Check out their website, and if you want to order, the promotion code is WOM10.

Look forward to hearing about your favorite sauces in the comment section below (my favorite is the Chinese chili garlic sauce).  May my favorite blog reader win!  (Thats YOU!)


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A Little Christmas Cheer A Giveaway

I thought I might give some small little items for my loyal readers, some who have been reading about me from 2008.  Its been a wonderful journey and during the holidays, Im always very thankful that I have a core readership, I have still have an ability to impact others, and I still finding cooking food and interesting others to do the same still inspiring.

To celebrate, I thought Id give out a few fun kitchen gadgets - a Microplane zester, a Wustoff boning knife, and some really cute food packaging labels from Studio Oh! designs.  All of these will be helpful to you during the holiday season, so I hope to end the raffle and get the prizes out to my winners ASAP.

Use the Rafflecopter Widget below to enter and lets just all have a bit of fun with Christmas Cheer!

Please note that this giveaway is only open to those with a US mailing address.

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Bless This Food Book Giveaway On being thankful

Something about my birthday and Thanksgiving sandwiching the month of November always make this month a special time for me.  I start the month out with lots of well wishes, love, and appreciation from friends and family on my birthday and Im always very thankful for the people that are in my life.  As the month continues, I begin thinking about Thanksgiving and I find myself trying hard to appreciate all the little things in life.  The leaves change, the children grow (while whining a little) and we all begin, as a family, to anticipate the coming holidays.  Its a special time, the month of November, and its one of my favorite months of the year.

I had the opportunity to review the book Bless This Food: Ancient and Contemporary Graces From Around the World  and within it, I found the opportunity to really be appreciative and grateful for other things.  Although our family says a prayer before every meal, sometimes our mealtime thanks and blessings are routine and rote.  Sometimes I wonder if Im missing the words or the feelings to express myself.  Sometimes I wonder if Im just missing the gratitude that needs to be expressed.  It is truly a blessing to sit down with family, and eat food together, and its a blessing that I overlook, since most of the time, I find dinners to be hectic times of  "Hurry up and eat" and cooking and dishes and being slammed with too many questions from too many people too much of the time.  This book made me pause, made me wait, and made me wish for more quiet moments right before the meal to contemplate the thanks that must be given for our basic needs.

There was a simple prayer in there, by Mother Theresa, which really moved me.  Its so short and simple, but the message is both challenging and loving.

"Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially family.  Be holy - let us pray." - Mother Teresa of Calcutta (1910-1997) 

Excerpted from the book Bless this Food: Ancient & Contemporary Graces from Around the World © 2013 Adrian Butash. Printed with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA. www.newworldlibrary.com

Im challenged by the words of the prayer to be joyful and to share the joy with all, especially family.  I found myself wondering how Mother Theresa KNEW I needed to be reminded of the joy I needed to share with my family?  My family often has to bear the brunt of all my emotional ups and downs, and here these simple words remind me that my family also needs access to the joy in my heart.

I think this book is a great way for me to encourage my children to also find the words of gratitude that they may need to practice expressing.  When they dont have the words to pray, Im thinking of asking them to find a prayer in there that might come close to expressing what theyd like to say.  

There are many beautiful prayers in this book, from different cultures, different beliefs, but all celebrating the gratitute for life that we should try and remember daily.  The fabulous folks at New World Library are giving away a copy of this book, just in time for the holidays.  Please enter by leaving a comment about something youre thankful for this season and putting your name in the Rafflecopter widget.  The contest will end quickly (one week) so dont delay.  

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Bulgogi Marinade sweetened with Carazuc GIVEAWAY!!

The very very generous folks over at Stephen James Organics  have graciously agreed to sponsor my next giveaway and its a super fabulous package of 2 bags of carazuc, pink Himalayan salt, and a can each of cocoa and regular pili nuts.  Not only are they sponsoring one winner but they want to give away TWO!  Im so lucky that these folks are super generous.

I came to know about Stephen James through a friend of mine who lives in HK and told me about a contest that they were having.  I ended up entering the rice pudding and by some crazy twist of fate, I ended up winning second prize.  With that win, I politely asked if they might be willing to sponsor a giveaway and they completely have been generous and amazing to work with.  Their products are organic, unusual, and unfortunately not available in stores in the US (they are in Hong Kong!)  but you can find them on amazon.com.

The product I really enjoy using is their carazuc, which is a sweetener but it doesnt spike your blood sugar levels.  Ive used it as a one to one substitute in a lot of my baking with great success, but I wanted to experiment with it in my savory cooking, and so I decided to marinate some Korean bulgogi (thinly sliced ribeye) and the results were really wonderful.  The carazuc adds sweetness and an depth of flavor to the meat and made for a delicious meal that my kids really loved.  It dissolves in liquid similarly to sugar (probably a bit faster) and has a slightly smoky hint but tastes great with the meat.

Im a traditionalist when it comes to marinating my bulgogi, so aside from the carazuc, I marinated the way that my mom taught me and the way that my family loves best.  I always makes sure my marinade is fully mixed, carazuc/sugar fully dissolved before dipping each individual slice of meet into the marinade and then adding it to a separate bowl.  My mom told me that this is the REAL way of making bulgogi and I have to say its the only way I do it.  Im not tempted to try and dump everything all together in a bowl - it just doesnt make sense to do it that way.  Your chances of getting a nice even marinade on each slice is drastically reduced.

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Now that youve entered the contest, definitely think about trying out this delicious marinade on your bulgogi.  If you dont have carazuc (because you havent won the contest yet) go ahead and substitute sugar, and then when you do WIN the contest, substitute the carazuc.

Bulgogi Marinade Sweetened with Carazuc
Serves 4 to 6 people

Ingredients
¼  cup soy
¼  cup carazuc or white sugar
¼ cup  water
2 tablespoons sesame oil
2 tablespoons sake
2 T minced garlic (or more if you like it more garlicky)
¼ cup green onions finely chopped
1 tablespoons ground sesame seeds
2 teaspoons black pepper

1 to 1.5 lbs thinly sliced ribeye (bulgogi cut, available at your local Korean market)

Method
Mix all the marinade ingredients together making sure that the carazuc/sugar is completely dissolved.

Have a clean storage container ready and dip each slice of bulgogi into the marinade and place into your storage container. Continue until you are done with all the beef.

There are two fry pan methods of cooking the beef - one that gives you lots of extra liquid (which husband LOVES) and one that gives you no liquid and just a really flavorful beef (which is what I love.) The liquid saucy version means that you have to cook the beef in a cold fry pan. Put the beef in a fry pan and then turn on the heat and cook it over medium heat until done.

The non-saucy, more caramelized version means that you start the beef in a HOT fry pan. Heat up your fry pan and then place the slices in there and cook over medium high heat, quickly until it is all cooked through.

Printable recipe

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