FROM OUR CHEFS TO-GO DISHES MAKE DINNER SUPER EASY

If you’re like me some days are just WAY too bananas to even think about what to make for dinner let alone go through the prep work to actually make something. Recently I caught up with Chef Mark Russell for an exclusive tour of the From Our Chefs to-go items available at the Superstore. Chef Mark helped me put together the perfect mid-week dinner, and since I had a jam packed day followed by an evening dance class it couldn’t have come at a better time. From his and her’s mains to a selection of salads, here’s what we put together.

The From Our Chefs to-go items are completely customizable so it’s great because everyone gets what they want, and you’re not spending hours in the kitchen preparing a thousand different options to make every happy. The premade salads are SUPER concentrated in flavor, so you’re really getting a good bang for your buck.

Any of these salads could easily be tossed with extra greens or grains to realllly stretch your dollar, and also to make it your own, and bonus no dressing needed.

The beet salad (with walnuts) would be sooooo good added to greens, and topped with goat cheese! And the beets are already salad ready so you don’t need to add anything to remove their sourness.

Many of the From Our Chefs products have won the International Taste and Quality Institute’s Superior Taste Award. The award is a unique international recognition from iTQi that is based upon the blind judgment of Chefs and Sommeliers who are opinion leaders and experts in taste. Pretty cool right?

Also available in the From Our Chefs line are ready-made soups and desserts. We loved the chocolate mousse, and aren’t these little mason jars the cutest? Super cute (and delicious I might add) keep reading to see how one simple addition made them even more table-ready below. The From Our Chefs Chocolate Mousse is so light and had a slight layer of cake at the bottom making it a great dessert when you want something sweet, but don’t want to overdo it.

The Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Soup was one of my favorite dishes we tried especially paired with the Arancini Parmesan Minis to dunk (see image above).

The soups are so versatile, and you could easily use these soups for a base for a pasta sauce, a casserole, or even to bake fish or chicken.

I would absolutely buy the Roasted Red Pepper soup again! What’s neat about these ready-made soups, is that they are actually lower in sodium than the Canadain food guide standards. Being the health nut that I am I hardly add any salt to the foods I prepare so this is very important to me. At 26% of your overall daily allowance, I still think we could take the salt down slightly in these soups, OR you could just add a low sodium broth or frozen veg to any of these soups yourself to thin it out yourself.

Huge shout out to Chef Mark Rusell for helping me put together this meal and educating me about the From the Chefs items! He was so sweet and so knowledgeable it’s clear he’s very passionate about making these to-go items interesting and accessible for everyone. Want to see how I tossed these items together for the perfect mid-week dinner?

Truth be told we rarely eat at our kitchen table (busted), so we won’t talk about how long it took me to clear my table to make it dinner ready. Needless to say, I did not have any type of centrepiece ready, so I also tossed together a quick little centrepiece by covering a tray with burlap, and a candle and I used my Oh Dina silk flower crown to add a floral touch and added some dried leaves to help camouflage the ribbon.

Of course, I tossed in a little cider action. I was just in the valley last weekend, and toured the Annapolis Cider Co, and figured it was as good a time as any to bust out this bad boy. If you haven’t made your way to the Annapolis Cider Company you’re missing out. The folks behind it have got to be the most interested, and talented group that there’s no surprise their product is perfection.

His, I’m not a big red meat eater, but the boy loves himself some ribs, and boy do they take FOREVER to make. To be honest, I would have no idea how to even go about making ribs let a lone make them taste good so having the option to purchase a single-serving is brilliant. To accompany the beef ribs, I added cauliflower rice (how cool right?), and the kale and roasted veggie salad, creamy spinach, roasted red pepper and gouda soup, and a Arancini mini to dip into the soup.

Hers, as I mentioned I’m not a red meat lover, so I wasn’t feeling the ribs. I opted for chicken parm instead accompanied with all of the things on the plate shown above with the addition of the beet salad. And since I’m alone in my beet-loving salads in our household I love that I get what I want and he gets what he wants. Gotta love a win/win.

Again the soup was so SO good, and the chicken as well. If you like your salads zippy definitely consume as is, but if you’re not into dressings so much simply add more greens or serve over a non-seasoned grain to make it your own.

Here are some more detailed descriptions of some of the From Our Chefs dishes featured above.

Chicken Parmesan – Hand breaded with parmesan panko, topped and baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella cheese.

Cauliflower Rice – A healthy side of finely chopped cauliflower with a touch of garlic.

Creamy Spinach – Fresh baby spinach with onions and parmesan cheese in a creamy wine sauce.

Roasted Vegetable and Kale Salad – Fresh kale and radicchio, zucchini and cauliflower, tossed in a sweet and tangy vinaigrette and topped with walnuts and cranberries.

BBQ Beef Back Ribs – From Our Chefs beef ribs are cooked long and slow creating the best eating experience! Glazed with a classic signature bbq sauce they are ready to eat and enjoy hassle free. Don’t forget to pick up the napkins.

Roasted Red Pepper and Gouda Soup – A delicious blend of tomatoes, roasted red peppers and gouda cheese. Perfect for the fall weather.

Chocolate Mousse – A light, but rich chocolate mousse on a chocolate cookie crumb base.*Winner of the Superior Taste Award from the International Taste and Quality Institute (iTQi).

In total, we spent under $60 for everything which is pretty great considering all the different options we had, and it took zero effort to reheat for dinner. We also had SO much left afterward (we couldn’t eat it all), so yay to leftovers for lunch the next day 🙂 It really is the gift that keeps on giving.

For the desserts, I simply removed the lids on the chocolate mousse, and added a little ribbon to both, and fixed a little lavender spring, and a dried leaf. How adorable are these jars? Which are reusable of course. I think they would make the perfect little hostess gift, and they are so easy to spruce up.  You could also add toppings like whip cream, chocolate chips, and shredded coconut to make it even more decadent.

Huge thanks to Chef Mark Russell, and the Atlantic Superstore for introducing me to all these great products From Our Chefs. It’s great to know that we all have something to fall back on when our schedules get tight. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been rushing around like a nut trying to pull something together for dinner or a potluck, and had I known about these items it would have been a lot less stressful. I should mention that this post was in no way sponsored 🙂 while the food was gifted to me to try and review, all opinions expressed are my own.

Hope you found today’s post helpful blog reader! If you try some of these yummy items let me know what you think, and comment below, or reach out to me on social media @shortpresents

xx

Kayla