Sponsored Product Review: Cascade Platinum Pacs

So if you've been to my house lately, you've probably heard me complain that although we have a dishwasher, we are pretty much hand washing all of our dishes and then running them through a rinse/dry cycle of our dishwasher.  I don't know if it's our water, the dishwasher, or operator error, but our dishes are just not coming out clean.  It's probably been close to 9 months that we've been doing this wash/rinse routine.  It's annoying. 

So when I was invited to join a campaign through Mom Central Consulting for Cascade Platinum pacs I was super excited.  They sent me the Cascade pacs to try for free. 

Previously when I ran my dirty dishes in the dishwasher they came out with a horribly disgusting film from the detergent, as well as had flecks of (what I assume is) calcium deposits or dried detergent on them.  It was disgusting and embarrassing. 

Today was the first time I tried these Cascade Platinum pacs and I had very low

expectations for how my dishes would come out.  For the first run through I rinsed my dishes of most of the food particles and then ran it through a regular cycle with the Cascade Platinum pacs inside.  I assumed that when my dishes were done I was going to have to rewash them all.  Shockingly, and very happily, I only had to rewash one spoon and one plate.  That was it.  Everything else not only came out clean but there was NO detergent residue on the dishes at all.  I'm still in shock it worked so well. Can I actually stop pre-washing my dishes?!  
Here's more info about the product.  Look at those cute little pacs above.  Who wouldn't love that color in your dishwasher?  :)

Cascade Platinum pacs feature an advance triple action recipe that is specifically designed to leave your dishes spot-free and helps prevent the hard water build-up on dishwasher walls.  It powers away tough, stuck on food and eliminates the need to pre-wash dishes.  (Bonus!)  The average price for a bag of 14 pacs is $4.29.  You can purchase these in packages of 14, 23 and 43. 

Stay tuned for more updates and more photos (next time!). 

Also...
Make sure to head on over to Cascade's Facebook page and check it out (don't forget to like them!)

And to make your life even easier, Cascade is having a #MyPlatinum Instagram Contest where you can win  a KitchenAid Kitchen Makeover and a 1-year supply of Cascade!  Oh my goodness, do I want this prize!!  (Who wouldn't!?)  All you have to do is post a picture to Instagram and tag your photos with #MyPlatinum to enter.  There are weekly prize winners as well!  Each week 2 people will win a new dishwasher from Whirlpool! 
 Disclosure: I participated in a campaign on behalf of Mom Central Consulting for Cascade. I received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item as a thank you for participating.
 

#986: Spiced Rubbed Grilled Flank Steak

Not a great picture...sorry

Happy Father's Day to all the dad's out there.  My husband, who has very little control over our dinner menu, only asks for one thing every once in a while...steak.  The kids and I are not big steak fans so in liu of father's day I decided to make something more man-ish. 

This was actually quite good.  I enjoyed the edges the best, which got a little crispy and really held onto the rub.  I think we definitely enjoyed it as we ate almost the entire steak.

2 large garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger, minced [see Kitchen Notes]
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons canola or vegetable oil
1-1/2 lb flank steak, trimmed

Mix first 8 ingredients in a small bowl to form paste. Pat steak dry, then rub paste all over and marinate steak, covered and chilled, at least 7 to 8 hours.
 

Prepare grill for cooking.  Bring steak to room temperature [do not leave out longer than 1/2 hour]. When fire is hot, grill steak on lightly oiled grill rack 5 minutes on first side, then turn and grill for 3 minutes on second side for medium-rare. Transfer steak to a cutting board and let rest for 10 minutes. You can cover it with foil or not, but it needs this time for the juices to resettle back into the steak, making the meat nice and juicy.  Holding knife at a 45-degree angle, cut steak across the grain into thin slices. Serve.

Summer Family Bucket List: Geocaching

 This is something I decided to put on our bucket list because there appears to be quite a few geocaches in our town, it would get us all exercise and take the kids on an "adventure," and it is geared towards Brian and things he would enjoy. 

Since it's Father's Day we decided to do something more guy-ish.  Something Brian would actually enjoy doing, not that he doesn't enjoy watching his kids play with sidewalk chalk paint, and going to Santa's Village. 


So I researched some of the easier, more kid-friendly geocache spots in our town and we decided to start with 3 places.  Our first place was a bust.  We could not find it anywhere. 

Then we went to our second destination and the girls were super excited to find it and trade a toy/item from the box.  We had to take a pit stop back home for lunch and naps, but then we headed back out to location #3. 

We went the wrong way for location #3 so we got a good walk in, but once we went the right way we found it pretty easily.  Okay let's be honest...daddy finds it easily and we need clues to find it too.  :)

Treasures found/traded for today: a jingle bell, Minney Mouse stickers, a yo-yo and a gold coin.

#985: Mexican Hash Bake

The original recipe for this dish was a Mexican Hash EGG bake.  But I'm not that in love with eggs to want them atop my sweet potato and sausage.  This is good...it's not great, but it is good.  Without the eggs it's missing something, I'm just not sure what.  Although it would probably taste even better with some cheese and sandwiched between a toasted English muffin. 

1lb chorizo (I used bulk pork Italian sausage)

1 (14 oz) can diced fire roasted tomatoes (I used petite diced)

1 sweet potato, diced

1 yellow onion, diced

6-8 eggs

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 tablespoon fat of choice

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

½ teaspoon chili powder

½ teaspoon dried oregano

salt and pepper, to taste

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Heat up a large skillet or cast iron skillet under medium heat.  Add your fat and minced garlic.

 

When the garlic becomes fragrant, toss in your onions, sweet potatoes and chorizo to begin to cook down.  Use a wooden spoon or whatever you have on hand to break up the chorizo and mix around to incorporate everything. Cover to help steam the sweet potatoes.  Let cook for about 6-8 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender.

 

Add your tomatoes and spices and mix together.  If you are not using a cast iron skillet, pour your hash into a baking dish.  Use a spoon to press into the hash where you want your eggs to go.  Crack your eggs directly on top of hash.  Bake for 5-8 minutes depending how runny you want your eggs.

#984: Asparagus and Mushrooms

I love asparagus picking.  It's super easy and there is nothing like fresh asparagus.  This recipe looked easy and summer-y.  :)  This is really, really good.  Especially with fresh ingredients like asparagus.  I will definitely be making this again.

2 cups asparagus (cleaned and cut in quarts)

1 cup mushrooms (cleaned, trimmed and cut in quarts)

2 springs fresh rosemary (minced)

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 teaspoon sea salt to taste

1 teaspoon black pepper to taste

dash cayenne pepper to taste

In frying pan place olive oil and bring to high heat.   Sautee asparagus and mushrooms until tender. Add seasoning to taste.    

#983: Avocado Spinach Salad

After crossing off another activity on our Family Summer Bucket List (going to Santa's Village), we spent the night at my brother and sister-in-law's house.  We were going to be there for dinner and I didn't want to come empty handed so I brought along all the ingredients to make this simple, healthy salad. 

I found this recipe on pinterest and it doesn't have any amounts listed for the ingredients so just put whatever you like into this recipe.  :)

This is literally the recipe:
Baby spinach
avocado
tomato
lemon
salt and pepper

I also added some olive oil because I thought it needed it.  This was very good.  I definitely enjoyed it immensely and will make it again.  The only down fall is that this doesn't keep if you have leftovers so only make what you can eat at a sitting. 

Summer Family Bucket List: Monkey Joe's

Monkey Joe's (inflatable bounce house play place if you aren't familiar) is a place we've only gone to once and the kids want to go back.  So I stuck in on our bucket list and we made a pit stop/detour on the way home from my brother's house.  Once again (this should not be a surprise) Matthew didn't like the inflatables, so he played in the play area.  The girls however, had a ton of fun!

Monkey Joe’s

Summer Family Bucket List: Swimming in D and C's Pool

Okay this is obviously NOT a picture of my kids swimming in someone's pool.  Matthew was not a fan of the pool so I was dealing with his crabby self while the kids were swimming and I just never got a picture taken.  This is the girls with their cousin Dominic (his house, his pool).  Look at these chuckle heads.  This was the best picture I could get of those silly kids. 

They loved going to their house and spending the night with him and his baby sister, Sophia.  Thanks guys for having us....we had fun!!  And thanks for letting us put you on our bucket list!

Swim in Dominic and Sophia’s Pool

Summer Family Bucket List: Santa's Village

Brian and I both remember going to Santa's Village A VERY LONG TIME AGO.  We have very few memories of it, but we both remembered it being a huge park.  Comparable to Six Flags.  My sister's family and my brother's family have both gone there and their kids had fun.  So when a groupon came out for it we knew we would want to take the kids. 

First, NEVER go a few days before the groupon expires.  It was CROWDED.  Second, it is NOTHING like we remembered it as kids.  Funny how it seems so much bigger when you are little.  Okay with that out of the way, the girls had a lot of fun.  Matthew, not so much.  He's kind of a wuss.  Granted he's only 15 months, but he didn't even like the carousel.  So the girls probably would have stayed longer if baby brother wasn't holding them back.  Regardless, the girls had fun and we will definitely take them back, but maybe on a cooler day when it isn't so crowded.

Look at those crazies on the ship!  I tried convincing them not to go on it but they loved it.  They went on it twice!  These must not be my kids.

Santa’s Village

Summer Bucket List: Complete a Sewing Project with the Girls

 I am an extremely novice beginning sewer.  Let's be honest, I'm terrible at it.  It's something I want to get better at, but I don't have the patience or desire to be precise.  I don't measure, I don't hem, I just eyeball it all and hope for the best.  Needless to say all of my projects are duds.  That's okay. 

So this summer the girls wanted to work on the sewing machine so I was in search of a super easy project for us to make.  I saw an idea for a tote to make which I figured would be perfect for our walks to the Bookmobile.  It wasn't successful and I couldn't figure out the beginning sewer directions.  :)

Then I found a link to make totes from old t-shirts.  Bingo!  I ran up to the girls closet and found one that they no longer needed. 

Within 5 minutes Allison and I had this bag all sewn up and done.  She was thrilled, I was thrilled...and another item crossed off our Family Summer Bucket List. 

I made one with Chloe too and used a sleeveless t-shirt (size 4T) and it is SO small.  So I strongly suggest using at least a size 6 shirt.  Maybe even a little bigger.  She likes it as a "diaper bag" for her babies but it isn't going to hold very many books especially if they are bigger. 

I did like the sleeveless shirts though because it gives the bag a more finished edge.  It makes the handles smaller though so it all depends on your preferences. 

Complete a Sewing Project with the Girls

#982: Country Apple Slaw

You may notice in my picture that the recipe below says to thinly slice the fruit and veggies.  I diced it up.  I don't like big chunks in my salad otherwise I'll just eat it and then have cabbage left in the bowl.

This salad was delicious.  It is a perfect side dish (or meal!) for summer.  Next time I might add some grilled chicken breasts to it and make it a full meal.  This is a keeper for me!  

2 Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced

4 cups shredded green cabbage (about 1/2 head) (I used the pre-shredded bagged cabbage)                              

4 cups shredded red cabbage (about 1/2 head) (I omitted) 

1 cucumber, seeded and sliced

3/4 cup dried cherries (I used raisins and cranberries)                              

1/2 cup cider vinegar

1/3 cup honey

1/3 cup olive oil

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 cup roasted, salted pepitos (shelled pumpkin seeds)

 

 Combine apples and next 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk together vinegar and next 4 ingredients in a medium bowl. Toss vinaigrette with apple mixture; cover and chill up to 4 hours. Sprinkle with pepitos.          

Update: To add some protein to this dish I decided to add some flaked tuna.  I wasn't sure I was going to enjoy it but I may or may not have eaten it all and licked the bowl clean.  :)   

#981: Buttered Snap Peas

This recipe has been sitting on my pinterest board for almost a year now.  I've been trying to make sure I try recipes that have been bookmarked a long time, mainly just to get them off my boards!  The only change I made to this recipe was not to use the chopped tarragon.  I've never used it and therefore didn't feel like buying it just for this recipe. 

This recipe was really easy to throw together and it was very good, although it was totally missing something.  Let's see if you can guess what ingredient I'm going to say......

That's right, it was missing BACON.  It needs about 3 slices cooked and crumbled into it.  Then it would be perfect. 

1 1/4 lbs sugar snap peas
1 shallot, minced
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp tarragon, chopped (I omitted)
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Cook snap peas in boiling water until bright green, about 3 minutes; drain. Cook minced shallot in a skillet with butter until soft, about 3 minutes. Whisk in a splash of water, then add the peas and cook 2 to 3 minutes. Add chopped tarragon and parsley, and salt and pepper.

Summer Family Bucket List: Sidewalk Chalk Paint

One of the arts and craft activities we put on our Summer Family Bucket List was to make Sidewalk Chalk Paint.  For those that don't know, I have a chalk-phobia.  Okay, it's more of an aversion but I cannot stand to even look at chalk.  Blech.  Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl.  This activity though looked to be right up my alley!  It is super easy to make.  You just need cornstarch, water and food coloring. 

I mixed about 2 parts cornstarch to 1 part water and then added about 6-8 drops of food coloring into each bowl.  Your colors come out a beautiful pastel color.  We did this activity while Matthew was napping because I knew he'd be covered in this paint and would probably try to eat it....and I figured we'd have Matthew sized paint mark foot prints all over the driveway. 

Sidewalk Chalk Paint

#980: Chocolate Almond Coconut Water Smoothie

At my recent (practically daily) trip to the grocery store this week, I picked up some coconut water.  I tried giving some to the girls but they didn't like it...fine with me, I don't mind not sharing.  I decided to try making a smoothie with the coconut water and starting throwing things into the blender.  :)  Good plan right!?  So I made this smoothie, which I thought turned out pretty good.  I don't know if I'd make it on a regular basis with coconut water (I prefer unsweetened almond milk instead) but it was a nice change of pace for my smoothies. 

8 oz coconut water
1 tsp cocoa powder
1 frozen banana
1 tsp almond butter

Combine all ingredients into a blender and pulse until smooth.  Serve immediately.

#979: Sugar Snap Peas with Onions and Bacon

I have a on again, off again relationship with sugar snap peas.  Sometimes they are wonderful and sometimes I could care less about them.  But when I saw this recipe with BACON in it, I decided it was time to fall in love with sugar snap peas again.  Hell I'd fall in love with just about anything that had bacon on/in it.  Except salmon.  Blech...not a fan. 
This recipe was quite delicious.  I let my turkey bacon cook in a pan until it got super crispy and then I had to stop myself from eating it all before the snap peas were done cooking.  Personally, I think this could have used just a little bit of balsamic vinegar to give it a little tang, but it was still good. 

3 slices bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1 small yellow skinned onion, peeled and chopped

1 pound sugar snap peas

1/2 cup water

Salt and pepper

 
In a medium skillet over medium high heat, brown chopped bacon. Using a slotted spoon, remove bacon to a paper towel lined plate. Add onion to the pan. Saute chopped onions 3 minutes or so, until they are just tender. Add peas and water to the pan. Cover and cook peas 5 minutes. Uncover and allow the liquid to cook almost out of the pan. Add bacon back to the skillet and remove pan from heat. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!

#978: Egg Cupcakes

I love cupcakes.  I love breaking them in half and then putting the bottom over the top and eating it like a sandwich.  Weird but delicious.  This recipe called out to me because it's healthy AND a cupcake. 

Yeah it's not the same.  Not that I expected it to be by any means, but a girl can still hope right?  :)  I had to change up this recipe a little because it called for putting all of the ingredients into the food processor.  I had visions of pureed veggies floating in my eggs.  No thanks.  So I diced it all up and sautéed the veggies and filled the muffin cups as directed.  These are good.  They are a hearty, healthy, low-carb breakfast.  There's no cheese in them though so they aren't fabulous.  lol   Cheese would have made them better.  And some breakfast sausage. 

I'd make these again but they are okay.  Add cheese and ground sausage.  Then they'd probably be great.

10 – 12 Eggs  (or egg whites)
1 green onion (I omitted)
2 zucchini (I used 1 zucchini)
8 slices of bacon 
1 cup of roasted red and yellow peppers (I used an orange bell pepper)
4 cups of spinach (I used about 1 cup)
Black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin pans with coconut oil or spray with olive oil.
Whisk all the eggs together in a bowl.  Add black pepper also.

Put green onions, zuchini, bacon and peppers into a food processor and process into finely chopped mixture.  Add the mixture into the eggs.

Next, add the spinach into the food precessor, finely chop.  Add this to the egg mixture.
Mix the egg mixture well.  Using a 1/4 cup fill each spot in the muffin pan (makes 18-20).

Bake the egg cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until the eggs are set in the middle.

#977: Sweet and Spicy Bacon Chicken

 

My sister has been telling me to try this chicken.  She says we'll love it and that it's important to use the brown sugar as directed.  I wanted to keep this a little healthier so I used turkey bacon and omitted MOST of the brown sugar (don't tell her!). 

I am very liberal chili powder user so that my family will eat it.  I think I could have used more next time because I couldn't taste it at all.  The girls loved this.  They loved it so much that they asked me to make it again tomorrow.  Brian and I both thought it was good but it probably would have been better with regular, full fat bacon that gets nice and crispy.  I didn't roll my chicken in brown sugar as directed but I did sprinkle just a little bit on top when it was almost done cooking.  Maybe next time I'll actually roll it in brown sugar.  Or maybe I'll sprinkle it on top BEFORE baking.  Either way, we will make this again.

4 chicken breasts cut in thirds (12 pieces)

Bacon slices

salt and pepper to taste

garlic powder

chili powder

brown sugar

 

Cut each breast into 3 pieces, season all the chicken with the spices, then wrap a bacon slice around each piece, roll in brown sugar and place into an oven proof dish....make sure you have some olive oil in the dish too, like 2 or 3 tablespoons is fine.

Bake at 400 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until chicken is cooked through and bacon is nice and brown and crispy.

 

#976: Zucchini Spaghetti Sauce

Since I made some homemade meatballs, I needed some spaghetti sauce to go with it.  So I went to my pantry in search of crushed tomatoes...I was all out.  But I did have a can of stewed tomatoes so I improvised and came up with my own spaghetti sauce recipe. 

Here's the bad part of this recipe...I don't measure.  I eyeball things.  So measurements below are in "shakes" not tsp or such.  Just make yours with whatever you like.

I was a little skeptical, but this is delicious.  It's a little chunkier than I like, so next time I think I'll just puree it with my immersion blender a little bit more.  This is good stuff, if I do say so myself!

1/2 zucchini, chopped fine
1-2 tbsp. olive oil
14 oz stewed tomatoes
2-3 shakes of onion powder
2 shakes of dried basil
2 shakes of dried Italian seasoning
1 tsp minced garlic (or more depending on your preference)

Sautee the zucchini in olive oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes to begin to soften.  Add remaining ingredients plus 1/3 c of water.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes.  Use an immersion blender to puree all of the ingredients.  Be careful not to puree too much of you will have a very smooth sauce (unless you like it that way).  Continue to simmer until desired consistency. 

#975: Paleo Meatballs

I'm trying to eat more low-carb meals right now, so I decided to make some meatballs (which I love anyways).  These meatballs are made with almond flour instead of breadcrumbs.  At first I thought these were just okay and a little chewy.  Then I realized I couldn't stop eating them.  I seriously had to put them in the fridge so I would stop snacking on them.  These are really good.  I used ground beef this time, but next time I'll try ground turkey.  Yum. 

1 lb lean ground turkey or extra lean ground beef
1 egg
1/4 cup almond flour
1-2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
fresh basil (sadly, I didn’t have fresh basil so I used dried)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  Meanwhile in a mixing bowl combine your egg, almond flour, basil, pepper flakes, and meat together mixing well.

Roll into meatballs and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 45 minutes to an hour until done.

#974: Monkey Smoothie

Here's another quick, healthy breakfast smoothie that you can pretty much put together the night before and just whip up in the morning.  I threw everything except the frozen bananas into the blender last night and then just added the bananas this morning.  This is quite delicious.  I don't know how it couldn't be though with almond butter in it.  This is a keeper in my book!

8 oz of unsweetened coconut/or almond milk
2 tbsp Almond/or some other nut butter
1 tsp of raw honey
1 1/2 tbsp of cocoa powder
1 (frozen) bananas
1 tsp of vanilla

Place all the ingredients in a blender and blend. If using frozen bananas then you may not need any ice cubes. If you are using unfrozen bananas, then throw in 5-8 ice cubes.