I can’t help myself, Cinco de Mayo is just days away and I’ve got sangria on the brain. Of all of the drinks I missed last summer, sangria was the one I missed most. To me, enjoying a big glass alongside a bowl of chips and guacamole on the back porch is the epitome of summer. I love the way a good sangria is just a tiny bit sweet and filled with the flavors of fresh fruit. In fact, in the summer I will take it over a glass of wine any day of the week. In celebration of the upcoming holiday I thought I would share one of my favorite sangria recipes. There will be more great Mexican dishes coming up this week. Also, if you need some recipes you don’t see I highly recommend these taco salad and nacho recipes from Kraft. We’ll likely have a whole fiesta planned by Friday!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Kraft. The opinions and recipes are wholly my own.

It is always nice to show your Mom a little appreciation on Mother’s Day. I am not saying that because I like to be showered with gifts on every Hallmark holiday that could possibly apply to me. I am just saying I don’t mind the idea of a little “thank you” now and then and I am sure your Mom doesn’t either. Here are a few nifty gifty ideas for the Mom on your list!

A pretty market list for making notes. (Vine.com)

Essential oils from for freshening up the kitchen or adding to her bath. (Whole Foods)

The coolest watermelon knife ever to get her ready for carving up fresh fruit all summer long. (Amazon.com)

A beautiful assortment of herb plants from you local nursery.

A raspberry bush to enjoy on the porch all summer long. (White Flower Farm)

Funny wine labels to give her the private label she deserves. (Pinhole Press)

This small carafe from Mud to hold a small bouquet flowers or milk for her morning coffee. (Goop)

A little jar of natural sea salt to add to her favorite dishes while she cooks! (Amagansett Sea Salt Co.)

I am having so much fun exploring the mushroom food trend for 2013 on behalf of Sargento this year. I love mushrooms and am finding the that more I learn about them the more curious I become. This week I decided it was time to explore the idea of using mushrooms to make a quick meal. I find that it is easy to fall into the trap of making large, involved meals featuring mushrooms. But, what about something easy and fast? My quickest meals usually come about during the day which is why I came up with this lunch pizza.

Part of the ease of this pizza is that I had a lot of the ingredients already prepared. I’d saved some cooked leeks from dinner the night before and I already had a ball of pizza dough in the fridge. All that was left was stewing some mushrooms, adding some cheese, and popping the whole thing in the oven!

The nice things about this quick lunch is that it was hearty and filling, for me at least, and beautifully featured the shitake mushrooms I used. I also had some dried porcini on hand, but I’ve decided to wait to use those for another recipe next month. The shitake were actually perfect for the pizza. The chewy texture stood up nicely to the crispy crust, and the leeks and cheese added a subtle savory touch. While mushrooms have long been a traditional pizza topping these really stood out! Now that I have such a hit on my hands I think I’ll make a larger version of these for family pizza night soon.

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sargento. All opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)

I am all about spring vegetables these days. But, I am not going to lie here, this post is really about the ranch dressing. We all know that this is the time of year to start enjoying the fresh vegetables of the season. There is no question that asparagus should be gracing your table just about every night of the week while the fresh, local stuff is available. However, what you might not realize is that all of your veggies deserve to be paired, at least once or twice, with this simple shake-together salad dressing.

I had to smile when I saw Aimee’s and Heidi’s recipes just the other week because I am on the same wavelength. Fresh salads deserve fresh dressings. Being that I am on the baby weight loss train (and probably will be until September), last week I wanted to re-make my favorite ranch dressing into a healthier refrigerator staple. To make it so I swapped out mayo for low-fat Greek yogurt, used low-fat sour cream, and drew the line on too much buttermilk. I also used it sparingly on our salad. After all, the purpose is to add flavor to the veggies, not coat the veggies so they can’t be tasted at all!

This simple dressing came out just as tangy and flavorful as I always enjoy, but with a nice lightness to it as well. In fact, we all enjoyed it so much I whipped up a second batch and have been keeping it in the fridge all week. So far, we have used it for everything from a salad dressing, to a dip for blanched asparagus, to a spread for homemade panini sandwiches. The possibilities seems to be endless when it comes to using it up. I can already see that we might be enjoying this well into the summer months too.

My husband and I like to eat adventurously, even on weeknights. Sometimes I like to change it up by buying a new-to-us piece of seafood or cut of meat on a whim and trying new dishes. Other times, I just buy the freshest things I can find and go with it. The other day I happened to pick up a bag of super-fresh mussels. We adore pasta with mussels and I knew I could easily make this favorite meal on a weeknight using the Garlic and Herb Sauté Express^® Sauté Starters from Land O’Lakes.

Today marks the final week of The Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter Blogger Challenge. During April, four other food bloggers and I have been sharing our weeknight go-to recipes with you. On busy weeknights, getting a wholesome dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less is something many families face. This challenge should give us all some great, delicious meal ideas to whip together in a hurry.

Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter is a cool, new first-of-its-kind sauté starter made with seasoned butter and olive oil that can be used to cook and flavor any protein, such as chicken, fish or pork in one easy step. It is perfect for making mussels since they taste great in melted butter and oils with a touch of added flavor.

This week’s challenge is to Express Yourself, a chance for me to come up with something new and unexpected for a weeknight meal!

Our favorite part about the meal we came up with is that it is a riff on a classic seafood dish. With the Garlic Herb Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter, I simply cooked the mussels, tossed them with fresh pasta and a perfectly seasoned dish was on our table in less than half an hour!

Now, it’s your turn to participate in Weeknight Wins. This is your last chance to win awesome Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter prize pack.

This week’s Prize Pack Includes:

• Four coupons for Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter
• Le Creuset Cast Iron Skillet
• Three hand towels
• Set of kitchen utensils by Joseph Joseph
• Set of mixing bowls by Joseph Joseph

Tell me how you express yourself in the kitchen using Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. Each week, in addition to your chance to win Land O’Lakes will pick a few favorites to be featured on Land O’Lakes Weeknight Meals Pinterest Board. *When you enter, Land O’Lakes may select your comment to feature for promotion, social media and/or other related marketing materials.

Here’s how to enter–> Simply leave a comment below answering one of the following questions:

How do you express yourself in the kitchen?

OR

What would you make with Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter?

Enter The Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter Sweepstakes

Details
Open to legal U.S. residents 18 years and older. No purchase necessary to enter or win. One entry per person (that includes email address & IP address) per day. First & last name and valid email address are required. Entries obtained by mechanical or spamming mechanisms will be disqualified. One winner will be chosen at random from all of the qualified entries submitted. Sweepstakes ends on Friday, April 26, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be contacted via email supplied in the entry & will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Approximate retail value of prize: $200. Sweepstakes is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. The Naptime Chef and the sponsor reserve the right to cancel the sweepstakes at any time. Contact The Naptime Chef for winner list or with any questions. By participating in this Sweepstakes, you agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, which shall be final. All federal, state, and local laws apply; void where prohibited.

 Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of 
Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. All opinions are my own.

Spring break greetings from Cooperstown! While it is barely spring in central New York (it snowed on Sunday!), it is still break. We didn’t plan any major trip this year since we weren’t sure what the arrival of our little guy would bring. Thankfully he is happy and healthy and we all are well. Being that as it may, I kind of regret not planning a bigger trip. It was a loooong gray winter and I could really use some sun and a tropical beach! Instead of jetting off we did the next best thing and drove up to Cooperstown to visit my parents. It has been a blast. I hope you are having a fun vacation if your kids are off school. See you next Tuesday!

Also, here is a picture of the menu at the amazing Naptime Chef dinner thrown by Metro Bis restaurant last week. They used all of my recipes and paired them with wines. It was such an honor to be asked to participate in the dinner and meet Chris and Courtney. Now that I’ve experienced how well some of my food pairs with great wine I think I’ll have to start doing more of it!

When time is of the essence, I am all about a wholesome meal that can be made in one skillet. That is, something healthy I can make on the stovetop in a jiffy that will fill us up after a busy day. I also like one-pan meals because they help me avoid having a messy kitchen! One of our favorite things to make in one pan is a quick vegetable and fish sauté. It sounds complicated but it is really quite easy. In fact, I made this meal of Lemon Pepper Fish with Haricots Verts just the other night with my new Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter from Land O’Lakes.

Today, I’m thrilled to be participating in my third week of Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter Blogger Challenge. During April, four other awesome food bloggers and I are sharing our weeknight go-to recipes with you. On busy weeknights, many families are trying to get a wholesome dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less. This challenge should give us all some great, delicious meal ideas to whip together in a hurry. Go to our Pinterest Board to see all Weeknight Wins ideas, and repin your favorites.

Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter is a cool, new first-of-its-kind sauté starter made with seasoned butter and olive oil that can be used to cook and season chicken, fish or pork in one easy step. They are perfect for making quick skillet meals because they flavor everything perfectly and take the guesswork out of measuring.

This week’s challenge is to make a One-Pan Wonder, something that many moms and dads will identify with! For this dish I decided to make one of our favorites and cook fresh fish with vegetables in one skillet for a no-mess quick, healthy meal.

Our favorite part about this meal is that it is wholesome and nutritious, while still a cinch to make. It takes very little time to pull together, which is just the thing we need at the end of a busy week. I simply add the fish to the skillet along with the Lemon Pepper Sauté^® Express Sauté Starter followed by some freshly trimmed haricots verts (skinny French green beans). Then I let them steam to perfection, and a delicious meal is ready!

Now, it’s your turn to participate in Weeknight Wins. Each week I’ll be sharing a new recipe featuring Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter and hosting an awesome prize pack for you!

This week’s Prize Pack Includes:

• Four coupons for Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter
• Le Creuset Cast Iron Skillet
• Three hand towels
• Le Creuset Serving platter

Tell me what one-pan dinner you would make using Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. Each week, in addition to your chance to win Land O’Lakes will pick a few favorites to be featured on Land O’Lakes Weeknight Meals Pinterest Board. *When you enter, Land O’Lakes may select your comment to feature for promotion, social media and/or other related marketing materials.

Here’s how to enter–> Simply leave a comment below answering one of the following questions:

What is your favorite one-pan recipe?

OR

What would you make with Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter?

Enter The Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter Sweepstakes

Details
Open to legal U.S. residents 18 years and older. No purchase necessary to enter or win. One entry per person (that includes email address & IP address) per day. First & last name and valid email address are required. Entries obtained by mechanical or spamming mechanisms will be disqualified. One winner will be chosen at random from all of the qualified entries submitted. Sweepstakes ends on Friday, April 19, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be contacted via email supplied in the entry & will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Approximate retail value of prize: $150. Sweepstakes is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. The Naptime Chef and the sponsor reserve the right to cancel the sweepstakes at any time. Contact The Naptime Chef for winner list or with any questions. By participating in this Sweepstakes, you agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, which shall be final. All federal, state, and local laws apply; void where prohibited.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of
Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. All opinions are my own.

If you even hint to me that there is a fresh lobster roll in my immediate vicinity I am there. Seriously, a good roll is one of my all-time favorite foods. Especially in the summer. So, when my husband came home last month and told me that the new LobsterCraft food truck was in the area for the afternoon I threw the kids the car put the pedal to the metal. No matter that it was the last snowstorm of the year (I hope!), I wanted me some fresh lobsta!

As part of my ongoing role as flavor correspondent for Sargento, this year I am investigating the new role of food trucks as everyday eating establishments. This trend shows no signs of stopping and is seizing the interest of people in hundreds of urban areas around the country. The cool thing about a great food truck is that it typically focuses on mastering one single cuisine. For example, the crepe truck in our town serves up the best sweet and savory crepes this side of the Atlantic. That is all they serve and they do it beautifully. As you might expect, LobsterCraft has chosen lobster as it’s primary, in fact only, focus.

So, what happens when a Chef devotes himself to making only lobster rolls? They are AMAZING! In fact, these are probably one of the top three lobster rolls I’ve ever had in my life. First off, the Chef uses very little, if any, mayonnaise. Instead he uses a minimal amount of smooth melted butter to bind the meat. He also commits to buying only the absolute freshest lobster he can find. Then, he serves it up in toasted buttered split top rolls with sweet or spicy sauces or, in my case, a strip of crispy bacon, some fresh lettuce, and ripe tomatoes. Alongside you get a small tub of fresh cole slaw – perfection – and about a dozen salty ridged potato chips. It is essentially the perfect lobster meal package.

When I was doing some research about LobsterCraft I found that I am not the only one who enjoys it so much she can’t wait to get back. It is ranked in the top ten food trucks in the state of Connecticut. I loved seeing these rankings because some of my favorite food trucks are, it seems, loved by many (more on those soon). Plus, there are a couple new ones on the list I can’t wait to try! In fact, as an example of just how popular food trucks continue to become, my husband’s colleague has hired the local grilled cheese food truck, Melt Mobile, to serve up late night eats at his wedding reception this summer. I think I might have to go sample those sandwiches this month just so, you know, I can be sure they made the right decision for their wedding. (Wink, wink.)

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Sargento. All the opinions expressed are wholly my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)

I am chipping away at my baby weight loss goal and so far so good. The weight is slowly coming off and I can feeling my body getting back to normal. I have no big secret as to how I am getting myself back in shape, it is plain old diet and exercise. Like most people I wish there was some magic bullet to help me shed the unwanted pounds – but there isn’t! Instead I am pulling back on the sweets and treating myself to the occasional wholesome treat like a slice of this carrot bread or brownie made with yogurt.

One of the things I love about this bread is that it still tastes amazingly warm and comforting, like all great quick breads, so you really don’t notice the missing calories. The sweet carrot flavor and tangy glaze makes it perfect for spring. It is so much lighter than the heavy chocolate desserts I was enjoying last fall! I made this spring carrot treat more wholesome with two simple changes: substituting yogurt for butter and cutting the amount of sugar in half. I even used Non-Fat Philadelphia Cream Cheese for the glaze. I am thrilled to report that even with these recipe changes the loaf was still moist and fragrant like a carrot cake! I did note, however, that if I ever want it slightly richer I’ll use this recipe for cream cheese frosting (yum!)

Of course, once this particular loaf out of the oven and ready to eat I had to exercise the third important part of weight loss – portion control! Luckily, I was able to pass off several pieces to my daughter for her outdoor class picnic and my husband took some to work. With just a few slices left for me I was in good shape. I satisfied my sweets craving without blowing my diet. I plan to make some next week for a brunch I am hosting. It will be the perfect treat for my friends. Here are some more delicious brunch recipes if you need ideas! Happy Spring!

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Kraft. The opinions expressed here are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the sponsors that make The Naptime Chef possible.)

Over the next few months I am going to stop in from time to time with some questions for my next book. Since this book is all about curating the best go-to recipes for parents for all occasions throughout the calendar year I want your voices to be included! One of the chapters is going to cover road trip snacks, spring break travel treats, and generally portable food for kids. My editor and I thought it would be fun to include a pole of everyone’s favorite travel candy. So, here is my question for you all:

What is your favorite candy to eat when you travel by land, air, or sea? I’d love to know the name of that special sweet nibble you can’t live without when you are on the go. Is there a certain thing you only pick up in the airport? Or, maybe before a road trip you go hog wild at the candy shop and treat yourself to something especially unusual and fun? I’ll tell you my favorite car snack: Twizzlers. It is practically the only time I eat them and I LOVE them. I think this love is a holdover from my childhood. When we were little my mother used to bring them to Mexico when we visited our cousins because they, worryingly, never melted despite the intense heat. Since we were usually down there for Easter it was often the only candy the bunny would bring us!

Remember, there is no wrong answer and I won’t tell anyone your little candy secret. Promise!

We’re on the second week of The Weeknight Wins Blogger Challenge by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starters! In case you missed my post last week, here’s a quick recap. During April, along with four other food bloggers, I will be sharing my weeknight go-to recipes with you. On busy weeknights, getting a wholesome dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less is tough for many families. This challenge should give us all some great, delicious meal ideas to whip up in a hurry. Together, we can score little wins in the kitchen!

Along with the recipes I’ll be sharing, you can follow the challenge on Pinterest and pin your favorite recipes from the challenge. Check it out over at the Weeknight Wins Pinterest Board. I promise these are recipes from Pinterest you can actually make!

This week’s Weeknight Wins Challenge is “A New Twist on an Old Favorite.” I think we all have some tried and true recipes that can be refreshed from time to time. Since I am currently concentrating on losing the baby weight, I am all about lightening up my favorite meals.

One of the ways I do this is by cutting out extra calories that come from things like breading chicken or adding heavy cream to soup. The other day I was craving chicken Parmesan but didn’t want the heavy fried breadcrumb coating and mounds of gooey cheese. So, to keep all of the Italian flavors in my favorite dish, while skipping the extra calories, I used the Italian Herb Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter from Land O’Lakes.

 One of my favorite things about Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter is its bright, fresh herb flavor. The whole kitchen smelled like an Italian restaurant the second it started melting! I used it to sauté some lean chicken breasts until they were golden and cooked through.

Then, instead of serving them over mounds of heavy pasta, I slid them on top of homemade marinara sauce and sprinkled them with Parmesan cheese.

Thanks to the Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter, I had a fresh, lightened up chicken Parmesan dinner ready in under half an hour! Our meal was full of the same Italian flavors as the more traditional chicken Parmesan preparation with fewer calories.

Now, you can participate in Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. Each week I’ll be sharing a new recipe and hosting an awesome sweepstakes!

Share your idea for a new twist on an old favorite for a chance to win the Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter New Twist Prize Pack.

Bonus: Tell me what you would make using Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter for a new twist on an old favorite. Each week, Land O’Lakes will pick a favorite to be featured on Land O’Lakes Weeknight Wins Pinterest Board. *When you enter, Land O’Lakes may select your comment to feature for promotion, social media and/or other related marketing materials.

Here’s how to enter–> Simply leave a comment below answering one of the following questions:

What is your idea for a new twist on a go-to recipe?
OR
What would you make with Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter?

Enter The Weeknight Wins by Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter Sweepstakes

Details
Open to legal U.S. residents 18 years and older. No purchase necessary to enter or win. One entry per person (that includes email address & IP address) per day. Required information is first & last name and valid email address. Entries obtained by mechanical or spamming mechanisms will be disqualified. One winner will be chosen at random from all of the qualified entries submitted. Sweepstakes ends on Friday, April 12, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST. Winner will be contacted via email supplied in the entry & will have 48 hours to respond or another winner will be chosen. Approximate retail value of prize: $150 Sweepstakes is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. The Naptime Chef and the sponsor reserve the right to cancel the sweepstakes at any time. Contact The Naptime Chef for winner list or with any questions. By participating in this Sweepstakes, you agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of the Sponsors, which shall be final. All federal, state, and local laws apply; void where prohibited.

Disclosure: I’ve partnered with Land O’Lakes for an exclusive endorsement of Sauté Express^® Sauté Starter. This blog post is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. All opinions are my own.

Sloppy Joe’s are a favorite meal from my childhood. I remember my mother making them every once in a long while and my brother and I jumping with excitement when they hit the table. I still make them from time to time and recently I decided to give them a new twist. Instead of serving a good ole’ Manwich sloppy joe on a roll, I used a biscuit. Then I added cubes of spicy cheddar cheese and a slice of bacon! The whole sandwich was inspired by some of my favorite southern cuisine and a desperate need to turn our everyday Monday meal into something special.

I am excited to be working with Manwich on their campaign to turn a case of the Monday meal-blahs into A Case of the Mandays. As I’ve said before, I am not stranger to a good shortcut now and then. Manwich sauce is a tried and true favorite and my family always loves it. It always comes through a pinch and there are SO many great dishes you can make with it. I’ll admit, this biscuit is on the decadent side but I am not worried. It made for an fun, delicious meal for the whole family on a Monday evening and that is the best way to start off the week!

To help you turn Monday into A Case of the Manday’s I am excited to be giving away one Manday Manwich Survival Kit. It includes:

• 1 Calphalon skillet ($80 value)
• 1 wooden spoon
• 4 Manwich bibs
• 1 canister of handwipes
• $50 grocery gift card
• Manwich product

To Enter to Win:

1) Leave a comment sharing what you might make with your Manwich!

2) Subscribe to Kelsey Banfield on Facebook.

3) Subscribe to The Naptime Chef newsletter in the upper right hand corner.

4) Contest runs from Monday April 8th at 7:00am through Monday April 15th at 7:00am. The contest winner will be announced in the Friday April 19th newsletter.

(Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Manwich but the opinions expressed are entirely my own. Thank you for supporting the posts that make The Naptime Chef possible.)