Recipe: Mini Potato Corn Cakes with Cheddar & Sour Cream
I'm always on the lookout for recipes that double as appetizers and side items. And this one combines many of my favorite ingredients!! I'll admit that I haven't made it yet; the thought of pan frying all those little patties makes me a little tired; I may try baking them instead.
Yield: 6 dozen appetizers
Prep Time: 25 min | Cook Time: 30 min
Ingredients:
2 cups Hungry Jack® Mashed Potatoes
1/3 cup Martha White® Yellow Corn Meal
1 tablespoon garlic salt
1/4 teaspoon cayenne or chipotle chile powder or to taste
1/2 cup very thinly sliced green onions
2 cups milk
1 cup shredded sharp or smoked Cheddar cheese
1 (12 oz.) bag frozen super sweet corn (2 1/4 cups), defrosted
Crisco® Olive Oil No-Stick Cooking Spray
1/2 cup sour cream
Preparation Directions:
-MIX potato flakes, corn meal, garlic salt and cayenne in medium bowl. Reserve 2 tablespoons green onion for garnish. Blend in remaining onions, milk, cheese and corn.
-SCOOP into sixty 1-inch balls, gently flattening into 1 1/2-inch patties. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Spray with no-stick cooking spray. Pan fry patties until golden brown on both sides.
-SERVE warm with a tiny dollop of sour cream and a few slices of green onion on each, if desired.
Recipe: Pink Fluff Jell-O Salad
It’s Thanksgiving and I’ve timed the shell game of covered dishes in and out of the oven just about right. It’s finally time to spread the feast across the kitchen counters and call the family in. Nestled between the green bean casserole and the mashed potatoes, there is a bowl of bright pink fluff that always gets a few strange looks. Inevitably, my nephew wrinkles his nose and asks, “What is that?”
Jello-O salad comes in many colors and flavors. My mother-in-law serves lime, but the strawberry variety has become my own Thanksgiving tradition. Thankfully, pink fluff is more dessert than salad, so it’s never hard to convince the kids to take a scoop.
Pink Fluff Jell-O Salad
1 (16 ounce) package cottage cheese
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed
1 (15 ounce) can crushed pineapple, drained
1 (3 ounce) package strawberry flavored Jell-O
In a large bowl, stir together the cottage cheese, whipped topping, and pineapple. Pour the Jell-O over the mixture and blend well. Chill several hours or overnight. You can also add 1-2 cups of frozen berries.
Recipe: French's Green Bean Casserole
......................................................................................................................................................................
A staple of holiday meals in many households is green bean casserole. It’s an easy recipe that kids can help a parent prepare. French’s Fried Onions has established itself a key ingredient of this recipe and features the recipe prominently on its Website and for a while on its packaging. If you want to try a twist on the classic recipe below, consider using four cups of fresh, cut green beans instead of frozen and French’s Cheddar French Fried Onions.
Ingredients:
- 1 (10 3/4 oz.) can Campbell's Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1/8 tsp. black pepper
- 2 (9 oz. each) pkgs. frozen cut green beans, thawed
- 1 1/3 cups French’s Original French Fried Onions
Directions:
- Mix soup, milk and pepper in a 1 1/2 -qt. baking dish. Stir in beans and 2/3 cup French Fried Onions.
- Bake at 350°F for 30 min. or until hot.
- Stir. Top with remaining 2/3 cup onions. Bake 5 min. until onions are golden.
Bon Appetit!
Recipe: Mallow-Topped Sweet Potatoes
......................................................................................................................................................................
Kraft, the world's second largest food and beverage company is one of the world's most trusted food brands. For over fifty years, Kraft's Jet-Puffed Marshmallows have been a part of traditional American cooking as a key ingredient in seasonal sweet potato recipes. Add some sweetness to your Thanksgiving side dishes with this classic holiday food.
Prep Time: 10 min
Total Time: 30 min
Makes: 6 servings, about 1/2 cup each
Ingredients:
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter or margarine, melted
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
2 cans (15 oz. each) sweet potatoes, drained
15 Jet-Puffed Marshmallows (about 2 cups)
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix butter, orange juice and cinnamon in lightly greased 1-qt. baking dish until well blended.
Add sweet potatoes; mix lightly. Top with marshmallows.
Bake 15 to 20 min. or unitl sweet potatoes are heated through and marshmallows are lightly browned.
Enjoy!
Contributed by Ashley Popham
Recipe: Apple Cobbler
Apple cobbler is traditionally a dessert favorite, especially around the holiday season. For those of you who can relate to not being an expert chef, you may share my excitement in finding a quick, delicious recipe for apple cobbler on the back of a NillaWafer box.
I must point out that this recipe only makes one serving, so if you’re hoping to add it to the Thanksgiving buffet this year you may want to multiply the ingredients and add to the overall expected prep time. The Nabisco brand also paired with Kraft’s Cool Whip to co-promote this dessert. Below is the recipe, and if you have any nutritional questions check out more info here (http://www.nabiscoworld.com/recipes/recipe.aspx?recipe_id=75605). Feel free to try it, and let us know how it turns out.
Prep Time: 3 min
Total Time: 3 min
Makes 1 Serving
Ingredients:
6 NILLA wafers
¼ cup applesauce
1 Tbsp. thawed COOL WHIP Whipped Topping
Dash ground cinnamon
Preparation:
Place wafers in microwaveable bowl; top with applesauce
Microwave on high 15 sec. or until hot. Cool 1 min.
Top with COOL WHIP; sprinkle with cinnamon.
Contributed by: Ashley Hollingsworth
Candy Brands: Cadbury Daydream
Can you guess which company is the parent company for the following brands: Chiclets, Sour Patch Kids, Mentos, Trident, Swedish Fish and Halls cough drops?
It’s Cadbury. Yes, that Cadbury – the Cadbury that makes the crème eggs which fly off the shelves around Easter each year. Cadbury’s vast portfolio includes chocolate, gum and candy, and approximately 200 brands.
Day dream: I wonder if a visit to the Cadbury factory would involve a milk chocolate river with Swedish Fish swimming along as well as Sour Patch Kids playing pranks on visitors then making amends. That would be funny. Note to self – don’t sample any Chiclets that might taste like blueberry pie and ice cream. Do you think the four dentists that always pick Trident get to visit the factory any time they want. That’s what you get fifth dentist. Wait, what was I doing?
So as you can see, it’s no wonder that Cadbury is a beloved brand worldwide.
Candy Brands: Wonka
As you can probably guess, the Willy Wonka Candy Company began as a tie-in to the release of the film, Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory. Breaker Confections licensed the name “Willy Wonka” in 1971 to capitalize on the film’s merchandising potential then changed its name to Willy Wonka Brands in 1980. Nestlé then bought the company in 1988 and has owned it ever since. It is now known simply as Wonka.
The official WWW (Willy Wonka website) is wonka.com, but, much like the elusive Candy Man himself, there’s not a lot of information to be gleaned regarding the company. You can, however, learn what candy’s out now and what’s coming up next, or you can paint pictures using Nerds in their NERDoodler studio.
Wonka has perhaps some of the most recognizable non-chocolate candy varieties: Everlasting Gobstoppers®, Fruit Runts®, SweeTarts®, PixyStix®, LIK-M-AID® Fun Dip, Laffy Taffy®, Spree® and BottleCaps®. You can also find Wonka® Bars in Europe mostly but sadly no Scrumpdiddlyumptious Bar.
Ah, Willy Wonka. Bless him and his sweet, sweet candy. The company’s slogan captures our thoughts exactly: What will he think of next?
Candy Brands: Brach's
......................................................................................................................................................................
What would Halloween be without candy corn? It has been enjoyed for over 100 years. According to Brach's, the top branded maker of candy corn, each year Americans buy enough Brach's candy corn that if the kernels were laid end to end, they would circle around the Earth 4.5 times. Brach's candy pumpkin, known by the trademark name "Mellow Cream" is the most popular candy pumpkin. They are popular both for their unique texture and for being fat free. Candy pumpkins are made using the same process used to make candy corn. The ingredients include corn syrup, real honey, and sugar.
Amusingly, candy pumpkins played a role in the U.S. Implementation of Daylight Saving Time. Since the 1960s, candy makers had wanted to get the trick-or-treat period covered by Daylight Saving. They believed if children had an extra hour of daylight, they would have more time to collect candy, which would boost candy sales. During the 1985 U.S. Congressional hearings on Daylight Saving, the candy industry went so far as to put candy pumpkins on the seat of every senator, hoping to win a little favor. Soon, Daylight Saving Time was extended through the first Sunday in November.
By: Ashley Popham
Candy Brands: Ferrara Pan
Friends and family will likely remember "Paula's Red Hot Marathon of 2006." No, it wasn't a fiery run; it was my shamless order of three cases of Red Hots direct from the manufacturer to be shipped to my door, and the consumption that ensued. I'm blaming the new baby hormones.
Red Hots have always been my candy of choice. There's something about that hot flavor getting stuck in my teeth that epitomizes how a candy should behave. And let me clarify: Red Hots are the BRAND; the generics are called cinnamon imperials. I've had the knock-offs, and believe me, there is only one Red Hot.
Ferrara Pan is the creator of the Red Hot, and the company brand has an interesting history. Created as a namesake for the founder, Salvatore Ferrara, Ferrara Pan was founded in 1908 in Chicago, Illinois. The word "pan" in the company name indicates that some of the candy they make is "panned". This process involves building candy pieces from single units, such as grains of sugar, nuts or candy centers, tossing them in revolving pans while adding the flavor, color and other candy ingredients. This process continues until the pieces become the desired size. Finally, the candy gets a high polish with an edible vegetable wax, which gives it an attractive appearance.
In terms of branding, the company has retained a functional, yet personality-infused continuity with its line of products: Red Hots, LemonHead, Atomic FireBall, Jaw Busters, Boston Baked Beans, Black Forest Gummies, and Ferrara Chocolates. With the exception of the Boston Baked Beans, I can look at their candy lineup and know exactly what I'm getting.
Check out the company's virtual tours of "How Panned Candy Is Made." And if you see a box (or bag) of Red Hots at the convenience store, pick one up for me.
Will the real Burger King please stand up?
......................................................................................................................................................................
This week, Burger King unveiled its new futuristic 20/20 store concept. Wow. The only thing missing from this concept is George Jetson and his boy Elroy.
This announcement follows another recent fast food makeover from McDonald’s that has designed a comfortable, café-like atmosphere. These makeovers are designed to increase dine-in traffic and compete head-to-head with fast causal restaurants like Panera and Atlanta Bread Company.
For many brands, creating a branded experience is a great way to bring the brand to life. For example, the Starbucks brand was built around the delivery of the “third place” experience. Other brands like Charmin and even Tide have thought out of the box (or package) to find ways to better connect with consumers and create a true experience around the brand.
But, what type of brand experience is Burger King trying to deliver? Will people remember their BK experience? Probably. Does the design reinforce its unique flamebroiled burgers? Well, the red flame chandeliers make me think so. Will it drive sales and increase brand loyalty? Only time will tell.
Let’s just hope its signature fragrance isn’t part of the welcome at the new stores.