For the longest time, I had some major Trader Joe’s envy every time I saw someone mention or post a picture of their coveted Trader Joe’s finds. Our area finally got one a couple years ago and I finally get what they hype is about – it’s a cool store! I love the unique selection, the quality of the ingredients, the people that work there and the prices. My Trader Joe’s isn’t around the corner from me so I don’t shop there regularly, but I like to take little field trips there every now and then to pick up some favorites. (You can read about my first trip to Trader Joe’s right here!)

One of my favorite sections to check out at TJ’s is their spice section. I’m a bit of a spice junkie so I’m always bringing home something to try. I know not everyone has a Trader Joe’s nearby so I wanted to host a fun giveaway today to share some of my favorites with you!

Here are the details:

• There will be TWO winners.
• Each winner will receive 4 jars of spices – 1 Chile Lime Seasoning Blend, 1 Onion Salt, 1 Everything But The Bagel Sesame Seasoning Blend, 1 Lemon Pepper Grinder
• This giveaway is sponsored by me.
• Enter below! (Sorry, giveaway open to U.S. only)

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Since I’ve joined my gym’s 60 Day Come Back Challenge, I have noticed that I need quality, healthy go-to snacks waiting for me when I open that refrigerator door. I tend to grab a Greek yogurt if I need some protein, or a handful of grapes when I’m craving something sweet. I’ve basically trained myself to do this because if I didn’t I would start rummaging through the pantry for pretzels, crackers and then of course cheese to go with them. This doesn’t help matters when you are trying to reach goals you’ve set to lose weight and get fit for the past 10 months (and to try and win the challenge!).

Discipline and will power are always things to work on, and setting yourself up for success by prepping ahead and filling up your space with healthier choices is a good thing.

You all know how I feel about quinoa – I love the stuff. A couple of weeks ago, I found myself with some leftover quinoa and used it in this recipe for Frittata Muffins from the cookbook Simply Ancient Grains. These Frittata Muffins were exactly what I needed for quick after workout or late afternoon snack. In case you are wondering, you can even eat them cold!

How do you make frittata muffins?

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees F. Grease a standard 12-cup muffin pan, preferably nonstick, with olive oil or coat with cooking spray.
2. Add the quinoa, peas, shredded cheese, green onions, herbs, and chile to a medium bowl and combine well with a fork (if your grains are pre-cooked make sure to separate any clumps). Divide the grain mixture equally among the muffin cups, about 1/3 cup for each, filling until almost full.
3. Add eggs to a large bowl and season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper. (If using previously cooked salted grains and greens only use 1/4 teaspoon salt). Whisk well, until foamy, about 30 seconds. Divide egg mixture into the cups using about 1/4 cup for each. Sprinkle each muffin with about 1/ teaspoon of the finely grated cheese and gently press in 1 olive (if using).
4. Bake until the frittata muffins have puffed up and turn light golden on top and golden brown around the edges, about 20-25 minutes. Transfer pan to wire racke and let cool for about 5 minutes. Using a knife or thin rubber spatula, carefully go around edges of each muffin to gently release from pan. Eat warm or at room temperature.

These Frittata Muffins turned out delicious and I can only imagine the possibilities of future combinations (Broccoli and Cheddar is next up!). The recipe is super versatile as it calls for any leftover grain you may have, paired up with vegetables and cheese. I find that I usually am left with a container of extra quinoa, farro or brown rice in my refrigerator almost weekly, so these Frittata Muffins would be great to make later in the week when you are working your way through what’s left in the fridge before your next trip to the grocery store.

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January is over and most of us are back into our regular (post/non-holiday) routines. It always takes me a few weeks to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, but when I do it feels oh so good. My personal goals this month have been simple and straight-forward – move more, eat less and cook more at home.

Cooking at home comes naturally to me (obviously), but that doesn’t mean I don’t get bored. We all get into cooking ruts from time to time, but the worst time to get into a cooking rut is when you are trying to lose a few pounds and eat right. That’s where today’s giveaway comes in. I’m so excited to share with you these 4 healthy cookbooks that I’ve received recently. The authors and publishers of these books have generously given me a copy to review and a copy (of each) to share with one lucky reader as well! Yep, that’s right, someone is going to win 4 new cookbooks!

(If you are a cookbook lover and collector like me then I am hoping you are excited too 🙂 )

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I don’t know about you, but I like to be ahead of the game when it comes to staying healthy and feeling good over the holidays. I don’t like to use “it’s the holidays!” as an excuse to eat out every night, eat cookies every day and not exercise – for two whole months. Of course, there will be days (possibly several days in a row) that all those things may happen, but if I can focus on eating well and exercising on all the other days then I think it will all balance out and I won’t feel too frantic about losing all that excess holiday weight come January 1.

Anyone with me here? I may very well be on my own little island with these feelings. 🙂 Maybe…maybe not.

(and stay with me…you’ll see how this will all tie in together.)

Today, I’m hosting a fun giveaway along with 14 other bloggers – a Favorite Things Giveaway! For me, right now, my favorite thing in the world is AMAZON. Guys, for the last year, I have been ordering everything I can on Amazon – from diapers to vitamins, books, oatmeal, toilet paper…you name it. My brother introduced us to Subscribe and Save last year and once we got ourselves set up with an “essentials” ordering schedule we have not looked back. We get a discount, it comes to my front door and ultimately I do believe I am saving even more money because of my decrease in amount of trips to Target for “stuff”. There is nothing like delivery day and a big Amazon box (or two!) at my front door! Amazon Prime has also been completely worth the investment as well. I can’t tell you how many times it has saved me for quick purchases of things that I needed but did not have time to run around to get (i.e. Halloween costumes, office supplies, etc).

Amazon is my BFF.

So, for MY Favorite Things Giveaway, I decided to give away a gift card to Amazon and mention a few of my favorite things you can purchase with it…all with health in mind.

Of course, when it’s all said and done – it’s your gift card and you buy whatever your little heart desires!

Some of my favorite things available on Amazon:

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Pear and Plum Pastry Tart from Foodiecrush

Find Recipe Here – Pin It Here

Cinnamon Pear Green Smoothie

Find Recipe Here – Pin It Here

Roasted Honey Pear Crostini from Reluctant Entertainer

Find Recipe Here – Pin It Here

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I’ve always been a big iced tea drinker. Back in the day, when I worked in restaurants, I would find myself drinking fresh brewed iced tea with lots of lemon by the gallon (slight exaggeration? maybe, maybe not…depending on the length of my shift). 😉

I’ll admit that since I’m not brewing iced tea as my side work like I did in my restaurant days, I’m not drinking as much at home. When Honest Tea asked me if I wanted to try their new Just Black Tea and Just Green Tea K-Cups I was excited to add a little variety to my day since I mostly drink only water (or coffee). I love having their tea available in K-Cup form, it’s just so convenient to be able to brew up a glass at a time in just a few seconds.

I have to say, I really enjoyed sipping on my Iced Green Tea with a little honey and lime while enjoying a little fresh air with my dog and my baby boy in the front yard.

Want to try some for yourself? Read below to find out how to enter into the giveaway.

You can find Honest Tea’s brand new K-Cups online here.

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We’ve entered the time of year where I am seeing requests for recipes using zucchini everywhere I turn. Zucchini seems to take over gardens, farmer’s markets and produce sections for a good part of summer and I love finding new ways to incorporate it into everyday recipes to keep things interesting.

When my kids were little, I always sliced a zucchini and sprinkled it with salt to give them as a snack on the counter while I cooked dinner. They never questioned what they were eating, and they finished up their healthy raw zucchini snack without complaining every single time (this made me so happy!!). I started eating it this way with them too and over the years started adding raw zucchini (and yellow squash) into salads more regularly. I think it makes a great healthy addition to a salad, especially when you add in some crunch from nuts and sweetness from raisins like in this Zucchini and Walnut Arugula Salad.

Walnuts are one of my favorite nuts to throw into salads. They have a ton of flavor when roasted (or quickly toasted up in a skillet) but I find myself eating them raw more often due to a bit of laziness but more importantly for added health benefits. Whether they are roasted or raw, they are an absolute must in almost every salad I make, especially in the summer time!

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The post Zucchini and Walnut Arugula Salad with Basil Vinaigrette {and $100 Food Network Store Giveaway} appeared first on Aggie's Kitchen.

If there is one meal my kids get excited about, it’s kebabs. I’m not sure what it is about kebabs, but when I say that’s what we are having for dinner I always get a big “HURRAY!” from everyone. It makes me wonder why I don’t make them more often.

This simple and flavorful kebab recipe comes from the newest cookbook from the people at America’s Test Kitchen. It’s named 6 Ingredient Solution and when I was asked if I wanted to check out a copy for review, I couldn’t resist after reading it’s name. 6 ingredients?? Right before the busy school year is about to start? Yes, please. Talk about perfect timing.

As with all of their other cookbooks, America’s Test Kitchen 6 Ingredient Solution is chock full of recipes and tips that are tried and true. I always learn something new from the side notes that are included with each recipe – sometimes it’s a favorite ingredient that they prefer to use, most of the time it’s a technique with an unfamiliar (or familiar!) ingredient.

This Aloha Kebabs with Sesame Rice recipe is a busy weeknight dinner’s dream come true. The ingredient list is what drew me in, I always have cooked chicken sausage in the freezer and they defrost super quick (for someone who always forgets to defrost, that is a good thing). The rest of the straight-forward ingredients can be easily found already in your pantry (hoisin, sesame oil, rice) or picked up at the grocery store (peppers and pineapple). Cooking up the kebabs under the broiler with minimal effort on my part – as opposed to grilling them – was also something that intrigued me. This dinner literally came together in just about 30 minutes (give or take – with prep), and I can see it being even faster if you take a few minutes to put the kebabs together earlier in the day before dinnertime.

I even got my daughter involved with dinner prep, which is something I admit I don’t often do. Brushing on the hoisin sauce was a perfect job for her!

A few (several, actually) recipes from the cookbook I think my family will love:

Chicken Pizzaiola with Pasta

Polenta Casserole with Sausage and Peppers

Roasted Tomato and Corn Tostadas

Meatloaf Florentine

Egg, Ham and Hashbrown Pie

Mushroom-Miso Soup with Shrimp and Udon

Roasted Cod Fillets with Crispy Potatoes and Lemon

Dinner is served – enjoy!

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Taco night returned last night. Yay! My son mentioned over the weekend that we should make chicken tacos at home this week, just like Chipotles. Sounds great to me son! I love that my kids are starting to embrace Mexican food more than a simple cheese quesadilla – it makes me happy to see them grabbing for fixings to add to their tacos on their plates.

For this week’s taco night I wanted to add a simple side that I’ve made a couple times before using my beloved rice cooker. There are a few small appliances I have picked up over the years that have become lifesavers in the kitchen for me – this rice cooker being one of them (which is why I’m giving one away today!). I have to admit, when I first got my rice cooker, I was a little intimidated by it. I haven’t always cooked a ton of rice, and the water to rice ratio always threw me off for some reason, it just never turned out right. I am happy to report I’ve finally gotten over the intimidation and use my rice cooker almost weekly.

The best thing about this recipe for Mexican Rice that I’m sharing with you today is that I made it all in the rice cooker – at the same time. It is the easiest dish to put together ever! Pair it up with the chicken I cooked in the slow cooker for the tacos and I almost feel guilty about all the compliments I got at dinner last night – it was seriously one of the easiest dinners I’ve made in a while. All I had to really do when it came to dinner time is shred up the chicken and warm up the tortillas. Good stuff.

You can play with this rice a bit. I’ve added pinto beans to the mix before, but this time I tried corn. I always start with the rice and water at the bottom, then put the extras right up on top – without stirring. Once the cooker does it’s magic I fluff it up real good with a fork, drizzle some olive oil over it and season it well with salt and pepper. It’s a perfect side dish for taco night! Enjoy!

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Hard to believe, but this week marks Aggie’s Kitchen’s 5 year anniversary! Yep, it’s true, I’ve been posting recipes to this little space on the internet since June 3, 2008. It all started with hitting “Create Blog” on blogspot, then writing Snoop Bloggy Blog, proclaiming my favorite cookbook, then sharing my first and second recipe posts – all in the same day. Yes, I guess you could say I was a little bit excited about this whole blogging thing. 🙂

Blogging has changed SO much in 5 years. It’s hard to keep up with at times, but it’s even harder to imagine my life without it. It’s fun to go back and read old posts, see how much my kids have grown up (crazy – my daughter was just barely over the age of 1 when I started, and my son was 3! They were total babies!!), and see all the food that I’ve cooked up in the meantime. Every time I go back and read older posts, I get hit with the feeling of exactly why I started this blog and what has kept me writing it – the food. I love food, the healthier the better! And I love even more the connection with others that love good food just as much. 🙂

(Hard to imagine these two ever this little … photo taken in Sanibel Island, Summer 2008 – Gina had just learned how to walk that summer!)

In celebration of the blog turning 5, and to thank everyone that has been reading over the years – as well as new readers – I wanted to have fun and host some special giveaways throughout the month. I’ll be giving away some items that I love and use frequently in my kitchen – starting with my beloved Blendtec blender.

I first got my Blendtec back in August, 2011 and have used the heck out of it since then.

My Blendtec sits on my counter and gets used almost every day. We make mostly smoothies and whole juices in it, as well as pesto, hummus (using the Twister jar) and lots of salsa.

The other night, my friend Liz mentioned she was craving and about to make herself a Chocolate Malt. As soon as she mentioned it, I started craving the same and thinking about a “faux” Frosty I used to make back in the day when I was on the South Beach diet. It had been so long since I’ve made it, and after hearing about Liz’s version with Ovaltine Chocolate Malt powder, I knew I had to try it – immediately.

This fake out Chocolate Malted Frosty did not disappoint. It hit the spot, and will be making an appearance many a night this summer when I’m craving something sweet, I can guarantee you that.

Skinny Malted Frosty Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
• 1/2 cup lowfat cottage cheese
• 2 heaping tablespoons Chocolate Malt Ovaltine
• 1 teaspoon cocoa powder (optional, for extra chocolatey flavor)
• 2 handful of ice (or a cup of crushed ice)

Directions:

1. Add all ingredients to your blender and blend until smooth.

Notes

Using My Fitness Pal I calculated this to be 175 calories, 2.8 g fat, 14 g protein

A high protein, somewhat low calorie dessert you can feel good about. Inspired by The Lemon Bowl's Chocolate Malt and adapted from this South Beach Style Frosty Recipe

Now for the giveaway!

Giveaway Details:

Blendtec Total Wildside Blender (value $454.95) plus an additional Twister jar (Black, White or Red – your choice!)

(Blender is factory reconditioned, as the one I received is)

Starts today, Wednesday June 4 and ends Wednesday, June 12 at 12 noon (EST)

Sorry, giveaway open to US readers only. Winner will be chosen randomly using Pick Giveaway Winner plugin application. Winner will be notified by email and has 48 hours to respond before another winner will be chosen.

To enter into the giveaway:

Leave a comment on this post saying hello and telling me how long you’ve been reading Aggie’s Kitchen!

Additional Entries can be earned by:

(leave a separate comment after you complete each item, each individual comment will count as an entry)

1. “Like” Aggie’s Kitchen on Facebook. (if you already a fan, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

2.  “Like”  Blendtec on Facebook.

3. Follow @AggiesKitchen on Twitter (if you already follow, let me know, that counts as an entry!)

4. Follow @Blendtec on Twitter

5.  Share about giveaway on Twitter: “I want to win a Blendtec from @aggieskitchen and #Blendtec! http://su.pr/1hmU0M ”

6. Share about giveaway on Facebook with link to this post.

7. Subscribe to Aggie’s Kitchen posts to come to your inbox or in your reader.

8. Follow Aggie’s Kitchen on Pinterest

(note: if you are commenting on Aggie’s Kitchen for the first time, it may take some time to see your comment appear. Thanks for your patience!)

Disclosure: Blendtec is providing the blender for this giveaway.

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