How are you doing during the quarantine? Have you experience “cabin fever” yet? I have! Or are you using this time to catch up on things, or perhaps start a new hobby? My daughter is stuck at home too (she’s almost 23). She is so bored that she’s been buying a bunch of arts and crafts in hopes of picking up a new hobby to keep her occupied until life can return to normal. She even went so far as to purchase a Ukulele (don’t ask… LOL). She’s literally trying to learn how to play it.
My daughter also wants to take up baking and cooking. She keeps asking us what we’d like her to make for dinner. She’s anxious to try making lasagna. She’s also been going through my cookbooks and taking notes on other things she’d like to try making for our family.
I like that she’s using this time at home to learn a few things (cooking, baking) as well as take up some new hobbies (so far she’s been latch hooking, and she’s going to start crochet).
I really need to look into trying some new recipes too. It seems like I make the same things week after week.
Sometimes you don’t have to necessarily make all new recipes. Sometimes you can change how a meal tastes simply by adding herbs and spices.
A while back, I was sent an awesome assortment of spices, herbs and spreads from a band called Kitchen Crafted.
Spice up your love life with Kitchen Crafted! Kitchen Crafted creates globally-inspired spices (BLND) and spreads (SPRD) to fit the needs of all foodies alike. Dropping the “E” and “A” for “Everything Artificial” in their BLND® and SPRD®, Kitchen Crafted creates a new category of non-gmo, gluten-free, kosher-certified food flavors powered by their 8 signature herbs and spices. Using only the healthiest and most naturally sourced ingredients available today, mindful flavor seekers can rejoice when they use SPRD as a sandwich or burger topper, tasty dip or the secret ingredient in their sauce. The BLND adds a tasty touch to meals, dips, sauces, and marinades. Kitchen Crafted herb and spice combinations infuse your dishes with the natural power of spice so health-conscious foodies can add a kick of flavor to everything!
I was sent the following products to review.
Bayou Catch
Add a Cajun kick to your seafood, shellfish, soups, stews, and gumbos with this BLND. Try it on french fries, baked potatos, and veggies too!
This spice does have a “kick” to it. It’s not too hot, and it’s very flavorful.
We’ve tried this on vegetables (I love it on steamed string beans and broccoli), and we love it.
It’s not the type of spice I would consider using, but so far we have been enjoying it.
Love My Chai
Chai tea spice has been a beloved Indian tradition for centuries. Enjoy our family recipe in hot or cold drinks, on pies, or even on ice cream!
We tried the suggestion and sprinkled this on ice cream (vanilla) and it’s yummy. Would would have ever thought about sprinkling a spice on ice cream?
I’ve tried sprinkling this on my coffee, but I wasn’t fond of the taste. Then again, I’m a boring coffee drinker. I like plain coffee with just cream and a little sugar. I am not fan of flavored coffees, so that might be why.
I’m not sure what cold drink to try this with. I don’t think it would taste good with ice team. So I’d have to say I’m still learning about this one.
Fire N’ Lime
Spicy sriracha and cool lime combine in this BLND to give all your favorite foods an extra punch! Use it as a rub, or sprinkle it on popcorn and chips!
I tried this and it was too hot and spicy for me, personally. I am not a fan of sriracha in any form.
My son did sprinkle this on some salsa (medium) and said that it made it really spicy hot. So I guess if you like spicy hot stuff, this one is for you. I’m sorry that it just wasn’t my “cup of tea.”
Harissa Heat
Heat up everything from chickpeas to meat to couscous with this blend of traditional North African spices.
This is an interesting spice blend. I was a bit “iffy” on it because it’s new to me.
We’ve tried this on chicken (it was good), veggies (worked with the string beans and broccoli too), and rice.
It’s good. We like it, but I’m not sure if it’s something we would purchase once it runs out. We haven’t really used it that much, so this will last a while. It’s not one that I keep grabbing for when making dinner.
Ride ‘Em Gaucho
Infused with chimichurri, this Argentinian-inspired condiment is great on steak, burgers, chicken and even pizza.
This is good. We like this one. Chicken, steak, meatloaf, meatballs… it’s worked well on all of them. I especially like using it in my meatloaf and meatballs. It makes the meat very flavorful. Even my kids, who are not fans of my meatloaf, said my meatloaf didn’t taste that bad when I used this spice blend.
This is a “go to” spice. I enjoy playing around with this one. I can see a lot of use for this in my recipes.
Jumpin’ Java
Espresso beans blended masterfully with our signature herbs and spices to give your steak, meat, fish, and vegetables a little jolt of java.
We honestly haven’t use this one that much. I did use it in homemade barbecue sauce. Mmm… that worked out very good. But aside from the barbecue sauce, we haven’t really tried this one that much.
Kansas City Kicker
Bring real Kansas City flavor to your backyard by using this rub on ribs, brisket, sausage, chicken, and fish. Try adding it to dips, sauces, and chili too!
This is another blend that my family and I really like. It adds a kick to your recipes, without being too hot or spicy.
We’ve used this in some chicken recipes, as well as on steak meat. If you just have some plain chicken, sprinkle this one it when you are cooking it and sprinkle some more on when you’ve plated the chicken, to really jazz it up.
We buy plain pieces of steak meat, and this adds flavor to it. So much so that we don’t feel the need to use ketchup or AI Sauce on the meat. Meaning, the meat has enough flavor to it that you don’t have to use dips or condiments to add more flavor.
Creole Kicker
Creole Kicker® is a lively Non-GMO SPRD® containing Creole mustard and our 8 signature herbs and spices. Its uniquely vibrant flavor will have your taste buds celebrating – New Orleans style!
I like mustard, but it depends on what kind (some I like more than others). I tried this a few times, but I found it to be a wee bit too spicy for my taste buds. Sadly, no one else in my family likes mustard, so I am the only one who tried this.
I always put mustard on my Ham & Swiss sandwiches. I tried this. I just found it to be too much.
If you like a spread with a lot of flavor, this one is for you.
Marinara Mia
Marinara Mia® is our bold and tasty Non-GMO SPRD® that highlights our 8 signature herbs and spices. Its creamy, smooth texture and full flavor combine to create a richly authentic Italian taste.
We used this on top of french fries (yummy!) and my husband and I tried it on some pasta as a side dish. I didn’t use the whole jar for a pot of pasta because we already used some for fries for an earlier meal.
This is really good. It’s got a bold flavor. It’s not your traditional marinara sauce. This tastes home made, and not like it came from a jar. I can see me purchasing this again.
Overall I think that Kitchen Crafted offers a nice variety of products. The spices are great to play around with using your current recipes, or perhaps coming up with an entirely new recipe.
If you are “Foodie,” you’ll love playing around with these.
As for the spreads, they really take your sandwiches and other foods to a whole new level. They sure people plain old mayonnaise any day.
If you are interested in learning more about these and other Kitchen Crafted products, as well as check out some yummy sounding recipes, visit KitchenCrafted.com. The brand can also be found on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Those links are found on the bottom right of their website.
Kimberly
*I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own and not influenced in any way.