Recipe

Peach Melba Italian Soda

0 · Apr 27, 2016 · Leave a Comment

+ This Peach Melba Italian Soda post is brought to you by International Delight +

It’s SPRING and things are starting to warm-up which only means one thing…

Summer is almost HERE! Time to starting thinking about all of those lovely summer flavors.

One of my favorite flavor combinations which just screams summer to me is the classic Peach Melba pairing…

Peach, Raspberry & Vanilla Ice Cream

There is nothing better than a juicy summer sweet peach drizzled with raspberry sauce over a bowl of vanilla ice cream. My Mom first introduced this dream dessert to us one summer when I was a kid and I’ve been hooked every since.

I was thinking the other day about those magical flavors and I thought it would make an amazing Italian Soda!

What is Italian Soda you ask?

Well it’s basically sparkling water and some type of flavored simple syrup added with a splash of cream, YUM!!

It’s a fantastic summer dessert drink for sure. Here is what you’ll need to make a round of your own.

Peach Melba Italian Soda Recipe

2 cans Sparkling Water – I use berry flavored La Croix

2 tablespoons Peach Torani syrup

2 teaspoons Raspberry Torani syrup

4 tablespoons International Delight Cold Stone Creamery™ Sweet Cream

Raspberries for garnish

I like to start with a nice cold glass from the freezer…

Add some ice and a few raspberries…

Add 1 tablespoon of peach syrup & 1 teaspoon of raspberry syrup to each glass…

Pour in your sparkling water…

Top with roughly 2 tablespoons each of the yummy International Delight Cold Stone Creamery™ Sweet Cream for that little kick of sweet vanilla to take this treat over the top!

Garnish on top with a few more raspberries and you’re all set.

This recipe makes enough for two, but can be easily made for a crowd. You’ll be the hit of the summer block party with this little treat up your sleeve!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Dirty Diet Coke Gift Basket with Free Printable Gift Tag

9 · Mar 18, 2016 ·

+ This Dirty Diet Coke post brought to you by the lovely folks at International Delights +

I’m a simple girl and I love simple things.

Spring rain showers, snuggles with my kiddos, date night with my sweetheart, clean white sheets after a long hot shower, tulips, foggy mornings, fireworks, reading a good book, driving with the windows down, being silly with my teenagers, binge watching great TV shows AND DIRTY DIET COKES!!

jar, lid & leather cuff by + the mason bar company

Yep, just a simple girl… It’s amazing how the simple things can bring such joy.

I remember the first time I introduced the famous Dirty Diet Coke to some friends here in Nebraska, far away from the Swig universe. Their eyes just lit-up with pure joy the minute the first taste past their lips.

YEP, that scrumptious!

With something that good, I thought it would be a great gift to take to friends or family for all kinds of reasons; birthdays, feeling blue, get well soon, girls night out, new baby, just because I LOVE you!

Many, many fabulous reasons.

That’s why I worked up this Dirty Diet Coke gift Basket with some simple printables to help make your gift extra special.

No need for fancy tools. Just print and cut out the tags with your scissors. Tie them onto your basket with ribbon, twine or wire. I used copper wire that matches the basket I found at Michaels.

Now all you have to do is gather your Dirty Diet Coke supplies…

Dirty Diet Coke Supply List

Diet Coke

Coconut Syrup

Lime

International Delight Cold Stone Creamery™ Sweet Cream

Those are the basics… If you are putting together a gift basket you may want to include a bottle opener if you have traditional soda bottles, a small cutting board and knife if you’re going to be away from the kitchen and cups as well.

Make sure to include the recipe card so they know how to mix-up this sweet treat.

You can download the Dirty Diet Coke Printable HERE

To me the REAL MAGIC happens when you add the International Delight Cold Stone Creamery™ Sweet Cream…

That creamy twist on the Dirty Diet Coke is just divine! It’s like the best part of a float with all kinds of flavor goodness from the lime and coconut syrup working in harmony with the Diet Coke… It’s aaaamazing!

A perfect treat for any occasion!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

Pomegranate Chia Pudding Recipe // DAIRY-FREE

3 · Mar 8, 2016 ·

+ This Pomegranate Chia Pudding Recipe is brought to you by the lovely folks at SILK +

Have you discovered a great Chia Pudding Recipe yet?

It is seriously one of our family’s favorite breakfasts these days. The crazy thing is, I thought for sure my kiddos would want nothing to do with those “alien” chia seeds (they’re kind of picky) but they love this stuff!

The fun thing is that the Chia Pudding is like a blank canvas that you can top with all kinds of fun toppers. We’ve tried a number of concoctions since we first discovered this treat. We started with a standard Chia Pudding topped with berries and granola with drizzle of honey… super yummy!

Now we’ve stepped it up a notch and we are making Chia Pudding layered with pomegranate seeds, an ancient grains mixture and pumpkin seeds… simply LOVELY!

The beauty of Chia Pudding is, typically it is made with dairy, milk & regular yogurt which is fabulous, BUT… Thanks to the folks at SILK, you can also make a dairy-free version with any of the tasty Silk Milks (Soy, Almond, Cashew, Coconut, Nutshell + more) AND their scrumptious Vanilla Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative. For this recipe, I’ve used the Silk Unsweetened Almond Milk that is only 30 calories per serving (score!) AND Silk Vanilla Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative. You can now get the Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative in a large size which is perfect for this recipe. Click HERE for more info on all of the Silk Products.

Pomegranate Chia Pudding Recipe Ingredients

Pair all of that with some Chia Seeds and you’re golden. If you haven’t heard, Chia Seeds are one of natures super foods. They are low in calories but pack a good health punch with tons of antioxidants, Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamins, protein, fiber and more. You can check out their health benefits HERE. That combined with the plant based, non-GMO, low fat Silk products you are starting your day off right!!

The other AWSOME thing is… Chia Pudding is sooooo easy to make! Here’s a quick little video to show you how.

Chia Pudding Recipe Video

Silk Dairy-Free Yogurt Chia Pudding from Heather Thoming on Vimeo.See, isn’t that simple. Now all you have to do is let it sit over night so the magic can happen.The next morning, all you have to do is top with your favorite toppings. Today we are going to layer our pudding with pomegranate seeds, an ancient grain mixture that I just love with a few pumpkin seeds. You can pick what ever goodie you want!So think about that… You’re adding even more nutrition with your toppings as well. This is a power house house breakfast in the super food category. The funny thing is that it really is a treat. We tend to make if for dessert too, it really does feel that decadent.

Pomegranate Chia Pudding Recipe

Pomegranate Ancient Grain Chia Pudding Recipe // DAIRY-FREE

Save Print

Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

24 hours

Total time

24 hours 5 mins

Author: Heather // WhipperBerry

Cuisine: Breakfast or Dessert

Serves: 3-4 servings

Ingredients

2 cup Silk® Unsweetened Almond Milk
2 cup Silk® Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative - Any flavor you like, I used vanilla
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tablespoon honey
½ cup chia seeds
a pinch of salt
Pomegranate seeds
Ancient Grains or granola
pumpkin seeds

Instructions

In a small mixing bowl or jar, add Silk® Almond Milk, Silk® Dairy-Free Yogurt Alternative, vanilla, honey, chia seeds and salt. Mix well.
Cover pudding and place in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours or overnight.
Layer with pomegranate seeds, ancient grains, pumpkin seeds or granola.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Silk. The opinions and text are all mine.

Balsamic Chicken Bites Recipe

7 · Jan 21, 2016 · 1 Comment

+ This Balsamic Chicken Bites Recipe is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Tyson Foods, Inc. All opinions are entirely my own. +

It’s getting EXCITING!!

THE BIG GAME is almost here!

No matter who you are rooting for, the Super Bowl is always a fantastic time to gather with friends and family to enjoy some crazy excitement together and to enjoy some fantastic food!

Whether the game is a wild ride or a blowout, you want to make sure your game time snacks are ON POINT!

The Super Bowl just isn’t the Super Bowl without a scrumptious, tempting spread of all kinds of snackable treats. Just like any event or holiday, you want to make sure you have some great recipes that are tried and true so that you can look like a kitchen ROCKSTAR!

You can find all kinds of fantastic ideas at Talk About Delicious or the Talk About Delicious Game Pinterest Board. It’s packed full of great ideas. Today, I have a tasty recipe for you as well. Our family’s favorite Balsamic Chicken Bites…

What I LOVE about this little bite sized treat is that it’s on the healthier end of the typical game time snack spectrum and it’s packed full of flavor. It’s also super easy to make, you can even make it a head of time which is fabulous, since you don’t want to be bogged down with food prep when you’re with your friends and the game is on.

I typically head to Walmart to gather all of my supplies. I love using the fresh Tyson® Chicken found in the refrigerated meat section of the store. Then I grab the rest of the ingredients for my marinade, one of the stars of the show.

For the chicken marinade you’ll need–

1/4 cup olive oil

1/4 cup honey

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon dried oregano

1/4 teaspoon salt & pepper

1 tablespoon minced garlic

Cut two Tyson® Chicken Breasts into bite-sized pieces and add your dry ingredients.

Then add your wet ingredients and mix well. Store in an air tight container or Ziploc bag for at least one hour or up to 4 hours. This is a strong marinade and you don’t want to over do it with those bite sized pieces of chicken.

Now, this marinade is one of my go-to recipes when it comes to making scrumptious chicken meals for the family throughout the year. When I am using it with whole Tyson® Chicken Breasts, I can marinate it overnight and it will be just fine. I normally serve it with a lovely salad and some French bread and you’re good to go.

Once the chicken is full of that balsamic flavor, you’re ready to cook your chicken. Typically if I am cooking whole breasts, we grill them BUT, since these little gems won’t really work on the grill AND it’s February… I cook them inside either on a cast iron grill pan or a cast iron pan. I LOVE my cast iron cookware, I’ve grabbed most of my pans at Walmart. They are fantastic and you can’t beat the price. I purchased the pan I’m using in the photo below for less than $15!

Now these little gems cook pretty quick. I heat-up my pan until it’s screaming hot and then I turn down the temperature to medium. I add a little olive oil to the pan and then place the chicken into the pan making sure not to over crowd them or add too much liquid to the pan. You want to sear them, NOT boil or steam them. I typically cook them in batches. Turn them after 1-2 minutes and continue to do so until you have a good sear on them. Make sure to keep a close watch on them. Because of the high sugar content, they can burn quickly.

These little balsamic chicken gems cook pretty fast, usually 4-5 minutes but you’ll want to check the temperature to make sure they are fully cooked and are safe at 165˚. Remove from pan and set aside until you have finished cooking all of your chicken.

Tyson® Balsamic Chicken Bites

Next, all you need to do is assemble your Balsamic Chicken Bites. You’ll need…

cherry or grape tomatoes

balsamic chicken gems

buffalo mozzarella pearls

Now, the key to making this appetizer sing is to pair the Balsamic Chicken gems with some scrumptious bite-sized tomatoes like these cherry tomatoes still on the vine or some lovely grape tomatoes. Either one will work really well.

I use a large toothpick and feed a tomato onto the toothpick followed by a balsamic chicken gem and then cap it with a buffalo mozzarella pearl.

It’s super slick. You can either serve the chicken warm or cold. They taste great either way. I like to lay out a few basil leaves to set the Balsamic Chicken Bites on…

… I love how it adds some lovely color and some fresh vibrant flavors to your Super Bowl spread!

Looking for more GAME DAY ideas? Don’t forget to visit Talk About Delicious for more fantastic ideas and then visit your local Walmart to stock-up on all your game day goodies!