McCormick's Garlic Mates - Garlic, Herb & Wine Marinade

I rate this product a 10!

Someone gave me a package of McCormic's Grill Mates Garlic, Herb & Wine Marinade and it sat in the cabinet until I finally noticed it some time later.  It's a marinade that is normally used for fish, chicken or pork but I had a small beef roast that I decided to use it on.  Well... that was a good decision but, I needed the roast for dinner and didn't have time to do much marinading.

I mixed the 1/4 cup of oil, 1/4 cup water and 2 Tbsp. of vinegar, poured it into my slow cooker and added my roast, let it cook on med. heat for about 4 hours and turned it about every hour.  The last hour I added 3 large baking potatoes that I cut into thirds, an onion I cut into chunks and a few carrots.  This cooked for about another hour with me turning the potatoes about half way through.

This is the 1st time I've ever cooked a roast with potatoes that required no salt, no pepper, no steak sauce on the roast and no butter on the potatoes.  Everything! was seasoned perfectly.  This product worked perfectly.  Wonder how it will taste on fish, chicken or pork as it was made for?

Reser's Red Skin Potato Salad

I give this product a 10+

I NEVER buy pre-made potato salad!  NEVER!  I don't even order it at the restaurants.  I like MY potato salad and only mine.  Everyone else loves my potato salad too and I'm usually asked to bring it to events.  Well.... my dearly beloved John picked up a carton of Reser's Red Skin Potato Salad at the Bi-Lo (Harvey's now).  He said he wanted some potato salad but didn't want to put me out by having to make it.  It does take a little time to peel and chop the potatoes, cook them just right, cut up the onion and pickles, etc.  Well, he put some his plate that night.  I stayed away from it.  I don't like store bought potato salad!.  He took a bite and insisted I just taste it.  I did.  If I hadn't pulled the plastic film off the carton myself I would have sworn that it was MY potato salad!  It's so good!  Just creamy enough, just the right amount of onions and pickles.  Perfect!

So, that little 1 lb. container didn't last long.  When I went to one of my local grocery stores I thought maybe I had been wrong all along about per-packaged potato salad.  They didn't have the Reser's brand so I bought another.  NO WAY!  It was just as I remembered.  Dry, sweet and just not creamy enough.  When I went back to Bi-Lo I found the store had changed names (Harvey's) and crossed my fingers that they would still carry this little jewel.  They do and I picked up a 3 lb. container.  That was a mistake.  I picked up regular potato salad.  Creamy but too sweet and no onions.  See, the Red Skin Potato Salad has just a bit of 'dill' pickles in it and that along with the onions are what make it the best!

Since I've discovered this delicious dish I have made it a staple in my refrigerator.  I've actually slipped into refrigerator, taken out a nice spoonful and savored every morsel.  Unless I have to make a large amount of potato salad to take somewhere, I'll be serving Reser's Red Skin.

Bear Creek Cheddar Potato Soup Mix

I rate this soup mix a 10+

I've tried this soup mix before and liked it but it has now become one I love.  I used it as a base for my Creamy Chicken Soup which became a hit not only with myself but my food testers as well.  This is a soup mix that you should try with or without additions.  I have and will keep a package handy at all times, especially during the cold months.

For my Creamy Chicken Potato Soup recipe go to my site Think With Your Taste Buds - Chicken.  If you like soup, potatoes and chicken, you'll love this one.

Sabra's Spinach Parmesan Green Yogurt Dip

2 Tbsp. 40 Calories!!!  I rate this a 10+

I'm not sure I would have tried this product had it not been for a cardholder's special price at my Harris Teeter grocery store.  They listed it for $1.97 I decided to give it a try.  I bought the Spinach Parmesan because I had planned to make a new dish called San Francisco Scramble which has spinach as a main ingredient and thought the Sabra might make a good topping for the dish.  Boy was I right.  But not only is it good as a topping, it's delicious as a dip using veggies, chips, crackers, and get this - hamburgers!  I cooked a hamburger patty and topped it with the Sabra dip and didn't need anything else.  This stuff is wonderful!  Can't wait to try the other flavor - Farmer's Ranch.

Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Chicken Sausage

On a scale of 1 - 10 I give this product a 10.

I've never really cared for sausage made with anything but pork and now and then just maybe beef but... while at the grocery store they were giving away samples of Aidells Chicken & Apple Smoked Sausage.  It's gluten free and has no nitrates as well as being all natural.  After buying it I wasn't sure I made a good purchase so it stayed in the freezer for about a month.  I finally decided to give it a try and see just how good it might be but didn't want to make a dish that I put a lot of money nor time into.  That's when I decided to cook it with cabbage like I do other sausages.

I melted about 1/4 stick of salt free butter in a pot, added about 1/2 head of a medium cabbage (cut into chunks), 1 small onion (sliced) and 1/2 cup of water.  I brought it to a boil and turned it down to simmer, cooking for about 15 minutes.  Then I added the Aidells, cooking on med. high heat for about 10 minutes.

I wasn't sure how the apple taste would fit my taste buds so I was still reluctant about this dish.  Well I can now tell you that the apple and all the other tastes in this sausage was wonderful!  The cabbage with the onion was also a great addition.  If someone had made this dish and served it to me I would never have guessed that it was chicken.  This is a must try dish for anyone who wants a quick, delicious dish.  You can bet I'll be making this again.

McCormick Sesame Chicken Stir-Fry Skillet Sauce

I rate this product a 10!

This is a new product with Natural spices.  All you add is chicken and vegetables.  Well, I've tried seasoning packets before and never liked them but gave in to give this one a try.  I had some chicken that I had cooked the night before that needed to be used and hopefully this would be just what it needed.

Here is what you do.  You saute your chicken and veggies in oil and then add the sauce.  Simple!  Well since I already had my chicken cooked I eliminated that step.  The product doesn't tell you what 'vegetables' to use so I decided to use bell peppers, scallions and broccoli.  I sauted them until they were crispy done (about 5 minutes depending on how large your pieces are cut).  Then the chicken was added and sauce.  I  did add a few sesame seeds because I like a lot of them in my dish but nothing else - no salt, no pepper, etc.  To go with this I cooked a wild rice blend and served my chicken dish on top.

So how was the taste?  WONDERFUL!  I give this product a 10+!  It was simple, seasoned perfectly and quick.  I think I'll try a few other flavors of this product.

Margaret Holmes - Simple Suppers Dirty Rice Fixins’

On a scale of 1 - 10 I give this product an 8, and a 10 after I made an addition to the ingredients.

This is a simple dish to make.  You simply brown sausage, add a can of Margaret Holmes' Simple Suppers Dirty Rice Fixins' and cook until bubbly hot.  When I bought this I didn't read the meat that was to be added - the sausage - and when I decided to cook I found I didn't have any thawed but did have a package of Polska Kielbasa.  I cut it thin, fried and added the can of Rice Fixins'.  First taste didn't quite get me.  It had just a slight can flavor but since I had invested a full package of the Kielbasa I had to make it right.  What I really didn't like was the liquid.  I prefer a drier Dirty Rice.  Looking around the pantry I spotted a package of instant Loaded Potatoes.  Why not.  I sprinkled about 1/4 cup into my mixture and guess what - it was perfect.  And delicious!

Now that I've tried this with Kielbasa I now want to give it a try with the sausage.  So, give this one a try and simply 'Think With Your Taste Buds' if you don't like the original product.