I admire anyone who can take something as simple as a piece of chicken, add some spices and herbs, and create something that will make your mouth water just looking at it.
I like cooking and I enjoy playing around with different recipes. I also enjoy taking some of the recipes that I use frequently and trying to jazz them up a bit with the addition of a different herb or spice. I personally feel that the use of herbs and spices can make or break a meal. When I can’t think of anything else to add I usually just sprinkle on some garlic pepper. I use garlic pepper the way others use salt and pepper.
I consider myself very lucky to be a member of Kraft’s Delicious Byte program. A while back they sent me a variety of Kraft Parmesan Seasoning Blends and the most AMAZING pan that has become my favorite pant to cook with and I use it several night a week for dinner. I received a Wolfgang Puck covered casserole pan from the Kraft Store. It is a MUST HAVE pan. I use it to cook just about everything. It’s large enough to use and make Pasta Fagioli in too!
Kraft Parmesan Season Blends are available in different varities: Cracked Black Pepper and Toasted Onion, Hearty Tuscan Herbs and Rosemary and Garlic. These new seasoning blends are so simple that even my ‘tween can create a gourmet meal as easy as 1-2-3.
Each package of the Kraft contains enough seasoning to create a meal for my family of four. Each package also has recipe suggestions. The Rosemary and Garlic blend has a recipe for Rosemary and Garlic Pasta Primavera on the package. The Hearty Tuscan Herbs features a recipe for Hearty Tuscan Roasted Chicken and the Cracked Black Pepper and Toasted Onion showcases are recipe for Cracked Black Pepper Pork Chops.
The Cracked Black Pepper and Toasted Onion blend is my favorite. I find that the blend goes great not only with pork chops but also with chicken.
To use the seasoning blend with pork chops all you to do is brush some Olive Oil on each side of the pork chop then sprinkle the seasoning on top and cook. I spooned the seasoning over the pork chops to make sure that they were all evenly coated.
My pork chops were unbelievable using the seasoning blend. My husband agreed. My kids never told me if they liked it or not. They just noticed that our pork chops tasted different then from what I usually made. Since they both ate all of their pork chops I’m assuming they enjoyed them.
What stood out to me most about this blend was the cracked black pepper. It added a really nice “kick” to my pork chops that they were otherwise lacking.
The Hearty Tuscan Herbs was used in the same fashion as the Cracked Black Pepper and Toasted Onion. I simply brushed some Olive Oil on some chicken breasts, coated them with the Parmesan Seasoning Blend and baked it in the oven. It’s amazing how just adding a few simple ingredients Parmesan Cheese and some herbs and spices can totally transform a meal.
You do not have to follow the recipes on the packages either. They are simply a suggestion. You can play around with the seasonings any way you see fit. For example I took the Rosemary and Garlic and mixed it in with some plain bread crumbs and used it to coat some chicken cutlets and I made chicken cutlet Parmesan out of them. I’m not kidding when I say it tasted like something I ordered from a restaurant. It really made a difference in the over all taste of the cutlet.
I have to say that I did take pictures of the pork chops that I made with the Kraft Cracked Pepper and Toasted Onion blend. For the life of me I cannot locate those photos. I take so many pictures on a regular basis and I must have neglected to change the file name to Kraft because when I do a search on my hard drive and externals I cannot find them. My apologies for that.
The best part about the Kraft Parmesan Seasoning Blends is that they are affordable and great to keep on hand, especially for those nights when you either don’t know what to make for dinner or you simply just don’t have the time or energy for dinner. All you need is defrosted chicken or pork (I haven’t tried them with beef yet), some Olive Oil. a package of the seasoning blends and you have the makings of a delicious meal.
I am thinking of using the Rosemary and and Garlic to season roasted potatoes. I bet that would taste really good!
Look for Kraft Parmesan Seasoning Blends on a store shelf near you.
For more information about the blends and for some great recipe ideas please visit http://www.kraftbrands.com/kraftparm/parmrecipes.aspx.
Kimberly
*I am a member of Kraft’s Delicious Byte program and I received free product samples in order to do this review. There was no compensation. The opinions expressed are my own.
