How do you really make a Special Occasion “special”? Delicious food and fun touches are a great start. Whether celebrating a loved one’s birthday or enjoying the big game with family and friends—we have easy-to-follow tips and recipes for any occasion.
- Back to School Lunch Ideas
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It’s back to school, and along with new clothes, books and backpacks, parents are looking for healthy lunches to pack for their kids. Hormel® Natural Choice® products are a nutritious pick for a child’s lunchbox, because they are:
- 100% natural
- Low in fat
- Contain no preservatives
- Gluten free
Joan Hanson, the test kitchen director for Hormel Foods, is an expert in new recipe development. She says a nutritious and flavorful lunch is easy to pack even on those busy school mornings. Here are a few of her suggestions:
- Kids love roll-ups and they’re quick to make. Just spread a whole-wheat tortilla with garden vegetable cream cheese, layer it with Hormel® Natural Choice® oven roasted deli turkey and apples, roll up and you’re good to go. To guarantee they’ll eat their lunch and not trade with a friend, let the kids pick their own fillings, and pair the roll-up with their favorite healthy snack such as string cheese or low-fat chocolate milk.
- Another tip: to keep lunch interesting, substitute fresh, crunchy sugar snap peas for the standard baby carrots or celery. For more recipes and to learn how Hormel® Natural Choice® products can fit into a healthy lifestyle, visit their website at hormelnatural.com.
- 4th of July Party Invitations
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Materials needed:
Blue cardstock
Red cardstock
White cardstock
Yellow cardstock
Scissors
Glue
Hair band with stars
Instructions:
Cut a star out of the blue cardstock, red cardstock and white cardstock. Cut a smaller star out of the yellow cardstock. Glue the red, white and blue stars together down the middle of the stars. Glue the hair band to the top of the stars. Write the party information on the yellow star. Glue the yellow star to the hair band.
- Summer Party Etiquette
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Summer has officially arrived. There’s no better way to enjoy the warm weather and extended hours of sunshine than to attend an outdoor BBQ or get-together. Inevitably, these parties often include messy food fare and new faces that can make for tricky social etiquette.
Joan Hanson, test kitchen director at Hormel Foods, offers helpful hints to guide readers through the ins and outs of party etiquette as they navigate the outdoor entertainment season- including messy eating, awkward introductions and suggested hostess gifts so your readers don’t show up empty handed.
Avoid Messes:
- Take control: When hosting an outdoor party, forgo paper plates in favor of sturdy stoneware. Assorted tea towels make great lap mats. Strategically place rolls of paper towels/towelettes for the inevitable drips and spills
- Dress smartly: Avoid light colored clothing and instead wear patterns to disguise spills
Break the Ice:
- Come to the rescue: Carry a stain stick, and offer to help a stranger who’s had a run in with a messy food or drink
- Get involved: Encourage guests to help prepare their food – top pizzas, thread kabobs or smash up S'mores – these activities encourage interaction and are downright fun!
Give an Outdoor Gift:
- Accessorize: Grill tongs or a colorful serving tray are both functional and fun
- Show good taste: Potted fresh herbs and homemade seasoning blends add flavor and can be used at future get-togethers
- Tips for Mother’s Day
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Mother’s Day is just around the corner and, let’s be honest, kids aren’t always the best when it comes to indulging mom on this special day. To help, Hormel Foods has come up with some pampering tips and easy meal ideas that even kids can handle – perhaps with a little help from dad...
For the perfect start to Mother’s Day – offer breakfast, or – let her sleep in and offer lunch, in bed. Surprising mom can be as easy as 1-2-3 with the meal ideas below from Joan Hanson, test kitchen director of Hormel Foods:
- Top toasted frozen waffles with Hormel® Cure 81® ham, strawberries and maple syrup.
- Spread toast with cream cheese. Make a heart in the center of the toast with blueberries. Spoon strawberry jam in the middle of the heart.
- Sprinkle shredded cheese on a tortilla. Spell out "M O M" with Hormel® pepperoni slices. Heat in microwave oven 60 seconds to melt the cheese.
The day doesn’t stop there...surprise Mom with some special pampering. Here are a few traditional and non-traditional tips to make her day special:
- Give the gift of time. Print out coupons for her to redeem. Include items like laundry, dish washing, foot rubs and cleaning.
- Use craft glue to decorate a picture frame. Use items like buttons, silk flowers and shells. Include your favorite picture or write a poem for the frame.
- Burn a CD with Mom’s favorite songs. Decorate the CD case and cover.
- Serve mom a special cup of coffee. Dip colored plastic spoons in melted chocolate and top with sprinkles. Wrap in cellophane and tie with ribbon. Add a picture attached to cardboard as the name tag.
- Halloween Hero
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Make Halloween special this year with our collection of easy, creative and tasty recipe ideas.
- Hassle-Free Holidays
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The holidays don't bring "visions of sugarplums" for everyone; for some they prompt visions of huge crowds, frenzied shopping, endless parties and the stress of planning for this busy season - leaving no time to sit back, relax and enjoy the holidays.
Fortunately, it doesn't have to be that way. Joan Hanson, test kitchen director for Hormel Foods, shares these tips to help you stay grounded this holiday season.
- Plan Ahead. Shop early, so there's more time to enjoy the season with your family and friends. If you do delay, avoid crowds by shopping online and using express delivery services.
- Tradition! Schedule festive family activities, such as making holiday cookies. Whether you're using an old family recipe or pre-made cookie batter, this a great activity for the kids to use their creativity.
- Delegate. Don't over-do it. Make a list of what must get done and keep expectations realistic about everything else. Ask for help and assign tasks to other family members.
- Hurry-Up Meals. For easy, on-the-go meals during the holidays, spend a day filling your freezer with easy-to-prepare foods. Make a list of the foods your family enjoys and see which ones can be frozen ahead of time. Divide them down into small servings for easy re-heats.
- Natural Decorations. Take the kids out and pick up tree or shrub branches, leaves and pinecones. Arrange them on cake stands, in baskets or bowls.
Hanson also suggests taking advantage of versatile recipes that are easy to make and take the hassle out of planning meals around the holidays. These suggestions should make your holiday season more enjoyable than ever.
- Holiday Helpers
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Creative cost-efficient suggestions to prepare an elegant holiday dinner:
- Ivy holders. Wrap ivy around napkins as napkin holders
- Seasonal centerpiece. Fill a beautiful bowl or vase with pinecones, evergreens or ornaments for a colorful holiday centerpiece
- Candles and berries. Place different heights of pillar candles on a large platter. Spill cranberries on platter around candles to create a festive holiday decoration
Time-saving tips for typical holiday tasks:
- Pre-made starters. Hormel® Party Trays make a quick and easy appetizer
- Get help with sides. Purchase side dishes from your deli and breads and pastries from the bakery
- Save cook time. Use fully cooked Hormel® Cure 81® Oven Ready™ spiral ham and Jennie-O Turkey Store® Oven Ready™ turkey and spend the extra time with family and friends
Tips to add zest and originality to traditional holiday menus:
- Sprig of spice. Add a sprig of fresh rosemary or large cinnamon stick to hot apple cider for an extra kick
- Cocktail Ruebens. Top rye cocktail bread with Thousand Island dressing, Swiss cheese, and Hormel® Mary Kitchen® hash for a tasty treat
- Casserole crumble. Sprinkle Hormel® Real Bacon Bits over green bean casserole as a savory and authentic topping
- Football Party Tips
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Gather your friends, grab the remote and get ready to watch the big game. With a few suggestions and recipes, you will soon be known as the super party host.
• Make an invitation to resemble a scoreboard, and decorate it with sports stickers found at party and gift stores.
• Use team colors for napkins, plastic utensils and plates.
• Create team pennants from colored card stock and attach to wooden sticks. Place a bundle in a spray-painted foam ball for centerpiece, and scatter sports cards around the centerpiece.
• Set up a super Hormel® chili bar with a variety of available toppings. Include crackers in fun shapes, taco chips, CHI-CHI’S® salsa, shredded cheeses, sour cream, pesto, sliced green onions, Búfalo® jalapeño sauce and chopped cilantro.
• Build a super-size sub if you’re feeding a crowd. Start by cutting a large loaf of Italian bread in half lengthwise, then spread the cut sides with mayonnaise. Layer the bottom half of the bread with your favorite Di Lusso® deli meats and cheeses and other sandwich toppings; cover with the top half of bread. Cut the sandwich into slices and watch it disappear.
• Football helmets make fun serving trays. Turn over a football helmet and line with foil and napkins. Place a smaller bowl of cheesy salsa vegetable dip (see recipe) inside.
Cheesy salsa vegetable dip
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 cup Herdez® salsa casera, drained
- 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese, shredded
- 1 (2.25-ounce) can sliced ripe olives, drained
- 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
- 1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
- Tortilla chips
- Assorted fresh vegetables
In small mixer bowl, beat cream cheese and sour cream until well blended. Stir in salsa, cheese, olives, green onions and cilantro. Serve with tortilla chips and fresh vegetables. Makes 2 cups.
- Great Game Day Tips
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Feed the hungry sports fan’s appetite and save time in the kitchen with these quick and hearty ideas from Joan Hanson, test kitchen director for Hormel Foods.
Liven up the main event with quick, filling and flavorful appetizers:
- Cheesy Bacon Dip: Combine sour cream, Hormel® Real Bacon Bits, shredded Cheddar cheese, softened cream cheese and chopped green onions. Bake until heated through. Serve with fresh vegetables or chips.
Warm and Cheesy Bacon Dip
- Pepperoni Sizzle Sticks: Top refrigerated breadsticks with Hormel® pepperoni and shredded mozzarella cheese. Bake and serve with warm pizza sauce for dipping.
Pepperoni Sizzle Sticks
- Buffalo Chicken Dip: Microwave cream cheese until soft. Stir in Hormel® premium chunk breast of chicken, pepper sauce and ranch dressing. Sprinkle with Cheddar cheese. Microwave until hot and bubbly. Serve with crackers, chips, carrots and celery sticks.
Buffalo Chicken Dip
Power through pre-game by upping the ante:
- Sweet Treats: To balance the salty and sweet treats, decorate with candies that represent the competing teams’ colors- i.e., gummy bears, licorice, suckers etc. See which team gets the vote for best sweet treats.
- Tasty Fan Favorites: Hormel® party trays are great for pleasing a crowd. Choose from many varieties that include Hormel® meats, cheeses and crackers, along with versions of appetizer classics such as meatballs, smokies and wings.
- Commercial Craze: Have party goers vote for the best commercials with peanut or pretzel votes. At halftime, have guests act out the commercial that received the most votes.
- Valentine’s Day Tips
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Valentine’s Day can induce its own kind of stress as we try to create a very special event for that special someone. But, it can be easy to create a wonderful celebration and become a celebrity chef in that special someone’s eye all in one fell swoop. Nothing shows your Valentine that you care like a home-cooked meal, so here is some help to increase your confidence in the kitchen. These tips will help you add some flavor to your Valentine’s Day meal and win the heart – and stomach – of your date this February 14.
Preparing to Please...
- Plan ahead. First thing’s first; make dinner arrangements ahead of time by planning out your menu. After all, it’s the thought that counts. A home-cooked meal is more personal than going out to dinner. Do some subtle research well in advance to assure that your meal choices will have a warm reception. Friends and family can be very helpful in steering you in the right direction.
- Find a recipe. Try recipes such as the ones listed below to woo your loved one this Valentine’s Day. More recipes are available at www.hormelfoodsrecipes.com.
- Don’t forget dessert. When planning your menu, make sure to account for the most romantic part of the meal: dessert. Chocolate is always a safe bet, so find your partner’s favorite type and drizzle it over fresh fruit.
Making the Meal...
- Breakfast in bed. A great start to the day, surprise your significant other with breakfast in bed, using quick meal ideas like topping off toasted frozen waffles with CURE 81® ham, strawberries and maple syrup. Or, spread toast with cream cheese, make a heart in the center of the toast with blueberries and spoon strawberry jam in the middle of the heart.
- Sweet and spicy. The more flavor the better. Try whipping up something spicy and finishing it off with a sweet treat to please the palate. Spices and seasonings such as cayenne pepper, cloves and vanilla can add a lot of flavor and may be readily available in your kitchen cupboard. Spices can also go a long way in improving the visual appeal of your meal. Use them to add color and texture, giving your dish that gourmet look.
- Favorites. Embrace what you know and show your significant other that you actually do listen by throwing in a couple of their favorite dishes, or including some favorite spices.
- Test the unexpected. Try making something you know neither of you have never had; impress with your creativity in the kitchen.
Setting the Mood...
- Thoughtful gifts. Consider sending a gift or card to your Valentine a few days early to get them excited about the upcoming feast.
- Ambiance counts. Set the tone by creating a romantic atmosphere with wine, candles and music. Take it a step further and research a wine pairing that will complement your meal.
Recipes
Asian Lettuce Wraps
Bacon Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms
Thai Pork Loin & Pasta
- Ease into Easter
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Easter is right around the corner and as you are gearing up for egg hunts, sweet treats and big family dinners, Hormel Foods would like to offer some entertaining and ham preparation tips that will make Easter party-throwing less stressful and more enjoyable for everyone.
Breeze through Easter entertaining with tips from Joan Hanson, test kitchen director of Hormel Foods:
- Color-code your eggs. Before the big Easter egg hunt, assign specific colors to different age groups. This way, the older kids won’t scoop up all the eggs from the younger ones.
- Make an Easter egg tree. Hang colored eggs with ribbon from a small tree branch to decorate.
- Make an Easter basket centerpiece. Line an Easter basket or heavy woven basket with heavy plastic and fill with potting soil. Plant your favorite spring flowers in the basket. Or, plant spring flowers in tiny terra cotta pots for your holiday centerpiece.
Now for the main attraction – the ham: Whether basting, glazing or baking, below are some easy preparation tips for selecting and cooking your perfect Easter ham:
- Freshen your flavor. When choosing between water-added versus natural juice ham, purchase the premium, natural juice ham. Natural juice hams have less added ingredients so you are getting more meat and flavor and fewer extra ingredients such as water.
- Don’t dry out. For those concerned with drying out the ham, choose a ready-made ham, such as Hormel® Cure 81® Oven Ready™ spiral ham. Your guests will enjoy a moist and juicy ham every time with Fool-Proof® cook-in-the-bag technology.
- Glaze it up. Once you choose your Easter ham, spruce it up by basting with a simple glaze like Pineapple Marmalade, Honey Mustard, Raisin or Cherry. Recipes can be found at www.HormelFoodsRecipes.com.
- Chinese New Years Celebration Tips
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In honor of the Chinese New Year, Joan Hanson, Hormel Foods’ culinary expert, offers the following Chinese sauce pairings to complete your festivities.
Perfect Pairings: Beef and….
Perfect Pairings: Chicken and…
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House of Tsang® General Tsao sauce: This sauce brings the Year of the Lion justice with its classic sweet and spicy flavoring, perfect with chicken or pork and as a dipping sauce for egg rolls, wontons or potstickers.
Perfect Pairings: Pork and…
Perfect Pairings: Seafood and…
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House of Tsang® classic stir-fry sauce: Select this if you’re in search of serious culinary chemistry. This Cantonese style stir-fry sauce is made from soy sauce, ginger, garlic, wine and spices. Use to create a distinct, Chinese stir-fry seafood dish. It also complements pork, beef, chicken or vegetable dishes.
Perfect Pairings: Vegetables and…
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Bangkok Padang® peanut sauce: For an exotic meal to remember, don’t forget this peanut sauce on your shopping list. It contains striking Thai herbs and spices that, when tossed with vegetables and noodles, creates the perfect side dish for your meal.