Hormel Chicken Taco Salad

This is an Influenster sponsored review.

I was given the Hormel Chicken Taco Meat free to try, but every opinion is 100% my own.

When I received my most recent VoxBox from Influenster,

I think I was most excited to try out the Hormel Chicken Taco Meat.

I instantly knew that I wasn't going to make typical tacos,

but instead was going to use the meat for a giant taco salad!

I posted this picture on Instagram the night I made the salad.

And now I crave the salad anytime I see this picture!

Now that I've told you how amazing it is,

let me show you how simple it was to make!

The Goods:

Hormel Chicken Taco Meat

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Avocado

Monterey Jack Cheese

Pickled Jalapenos

Black Beans

Rice*

Cilantro*

Limes*

Sour Cream

Salsa

Ranch Dressing

*I used the Rice, Cilantro and Limes to make an easy,

knockoff version of Chipotle's Cilantro Lime Rice.

Once you have all your ingredients prepped, 

you're pretty much already done with the hard stuff.

Just throw everything in a bowl and toss to combine.

And because I like my food to not only taste good, but look good too,

I put my salad into a nicer bowl and topped it with a little more cheese.

Even though this salad has quite a few ingredients,

it was one of the easiest salads I've ever made!

Hormel made it super simple for you,

because the chicken is already cooked and seasoned perfectly!

I'm really picky about the quality of meat I eat,

especially when it comes to precooked meat,

but I was pleasantly surprised and really enjoyed this!

Robyn Recreates Olive Garden Favorites

Yup, you read that right!!
I have recreated not one, but TWO Olive Garden dishes that are favorites to many!

While I haven't had Olive Garden in years, I still remember what their signature salad tastes like. I used to go there just because of their amazing salad and breadsticks.

The salad was all about the dressing and I think I got pretty darn close to the real thing. I was reassured when a girlfriend I had over that night agreed that it was pretty spot on! 

Sadly, their breadsticks wasn't something I made - I haven't taken that on yet!
(Who knows, maybe soon?)

The second Olive Garden knock off I made is something I made twice in one week and just couldn't get enough. I made Zuppa Toscana Monday night and again on Friday, which was perfect for the cold evenings we've been having.

And the finished product...

So, so, SO good!!!

Since I didn't make breadsticks, I did the next best thing and made savory monkey bread muffins. They were amazing and not a single one was leftover!!!

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 32

I was originally planning to make Roasted Squash for dinner, but turns out I'd had my squash too long. :( Oh well, I wasn't too disappointed and was happy to replace the squash with a grilled cheese sandwich. Mmm mmm mmm!!!

I'm sure roasted squash would have been very tasty, but I'm not sad I had to have the grilled cheese instead... 

I was already planning on making a salad tonight, but once the squash was out I opted to roast some brussels sprouts to have with the salad and grilled cheese. 

While things didn't go as I'd originally planned, tonight's dinner was absolutely a success. 

Pork Wellington

A few weeks ago I was watching The Food Network with a few good friends and we happened to run across an episode where Alton Brown was making Pork Wellington. We all agreed that it looked amazing and that we should try it soon. Soon didn't take too long to come around either, because we actually made it just recently! 

Check out the original recipe here and take a look at Elina and I making it!

Trim the Pork Tenderloin.

Lay the Prosciutto out on Plastic Wrap.

And the Puff Pasty on Flour.

Sprinkle Salt, Pepper and Fresh Thyme on the Prosciutto.

And put the trimmed Pork Tenderloin on top - about halfway in the middle. 

Stuff the Pork Tenderloin with the Apple Pieces. 

And make sure everything is nice and secure inside.

Now start to roll the Prosciutto over the Pork, tucking it in so everything stays in place.

Wrap it in the plastic wrap until you get the Puff Pastry ready.

Spread Whole Grain Dijon over half the Puff Pastry 

And then start to wrap up the filled Pork Tenderloin.

Keep rolling until you're almost at the end. 

Then brush the edge with egg wash to seal it all up!

Almost all done!

Pinch the ends closed to keep all the goodness inside. 

Transfer  it to a foil lined baking sheet. 

And bake according to the recipe. 

Check the internal temperature to make sure it's done.

And let it rest for a few minutes. 

Then slice right in and be amazed! 

Slice it up for your guests. 

Add a nice green salad.

And dig in!!!

This recipe was amazing and I cannot wait to make it for more people to enjoy in the future! It seems like it'd be pretty heavy, but in reality it wasn't. I didn't have it for leftovers, but from what I'm told, it was great even the next day!!!

Oscar Food

I know The Oscars were a week ago, but I'm finally getting around to posting about all the yummy goodies I enjoyed that night! I don't usually watch The Oscars from start to finish, but this year I did. And I enjoyed some amazing food with a great friend!

We started out enjoying some Greek Yogurt Ranch Dip with Celery and Baby Carrots

Then moved on to some bubbly when the awards got started!

And finished the night with an amazing dinner: 

Roasted Butternut Squash with a GIANT Green Salad and Buttermilk Biscuits! 

YUM!!!

While I enjoyed watching the awards, I think I may have enjoyed the food a little more... :) 

Sunday Night Dinner: Take 20

Another Sunday Night, another Sunday Night Dinner post! Tonight I enjoyed the company of good friends, two different kinds of delicious Grilled Pizza (I'll blog about this soon - I promise!) and Caesar Salad with homemade croutons! Mmm mmm mmm!

Fresh Fruit Salad

I love when the warmer temperatures start to be a regular thing because that means yummy fresh seasonal fruit is or will soon be available.

I love all the seasonal pitted fruits - plums, peaches, nectarines, apricots, and cherries. I love the juicy citrus in Spring - honey tangerines and HUGE navel oranges. And of course - I love ALL the fresh melon - watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew to name a few.

I loveeee fruit in general, but I love it even more this time of year. And one of my FAVORITE ways to eat it, is to make a giant fruit salad with everything chopped pretty small. It so good and can be stored to eat easily for a day or so.

The recipe is all up to you, and can be modified however you like. Take a look at one I made recently.

Grab a BIG bowl...

Throw in some Fresh Pineapple

And some Kiwi

And some Mango too!

Now a bunch of Strawberries

And how about some Honey Tangerine too?

Mix it all up...

and ENJOY!

Celebrating 4th of July With Food!

HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend celebrating the Independence of our Nation! I had a great weekend and food was not forgotten... I had multiple friends over to enjoy all the goodies below throughout the four day holiday weekend.

Since I LOVE to cook and bake, I went CRAZY doing both those thing this weekend. 

On Friday night I made a few things to enjoy over the next few day, and then continued to make things each day until Monday night! :) I'll be eating great for the next week - that's for sure.

Here's all the goodies made over the course of four days and eaten by many!

Old-Fashioned Potato Salad

Broccoli and Snap Pea Pasta Salad

Cole Slaw with a Kick

Chex Mix My Way

Chicken Apple Sausages

Chicken Apple Sausages With 

Whole Grain Mustard and Cole Slaw with a Kick

Fresh Strawberry Muffins

Fresh Squeezed Lemonade Popsicles

Bacon Wrapped Jalapeno Poppers

Fried Chicken Strips

And Finallllllllllly...

Corn on the Cob from the Farm.

So sweeeeeeeeeet and tasty.

Now I'm off to try to see some fireworks to complete the wonderful weekend I've had.