Tryazon & Casa M Spice Co.

Happy post-Labor Day Peeps!!

I have another great party post today compliments of Tryazon and a Texas company Casa M Spice Co.

We hosted several friends on Labor Day afternoon for a smorgasbord of delicious dishes prepared with the party box contents.

I made a video of the unboxing but totally forgot to just get a photo so here are a few screenshots of what items were sent.  It was an impressive box! 

Our box had 6 Casa M Spice coozies and 8 spice blend mixes along with silicone lids for each of the metal containers.  

Let's get to the fun things we had to eat AND there was a lot!!   Hey, a party isn't a party unless you have too much food! Most of the party day recipes came from the Casa M Spice website so I will include a link where I can, otherwise, it's just used as you would any other seasoning. 

Pre-party we tried out these sweet potato fries with the girls were in town.

Just cut up the sweet potatoes, seasoned them with the Cattle Drive & Chain Reaction seasonings, and popped them in the air fryer until crispy.   They were really good! 

One other night prior to the party we tested out the Cattle Drive seasoning again on some steak on the grill.

I topped the steak with a chili lime butter while it was resting then sliced it up and served it over a nice Southwestern Salad.  Nothing fancy but an easy and delicious dinner. 

Now it's Party Time!!

These were probably the easy favorites of the party and the biggest surprise of all.  This will be something that I will make often.  Jerked Roasted Mixed Nuts

Hubster grilled these on the grill but they were quite good!

Free Range Wings

These were gone!  I'm not a Bratwurst fan but everyone else was.  We served these up with some stone ground mustard for dipping.  The Whole Hog and Chain Reaction seasonings were used to make these fun appetizers.   Beer Bratwurst Bacon Bites

A Labor Day staple got seasoned up with some Kickstart seasoning. 

Notice the rubber cap on the seasoning can?  Those were included in my box and I think that is such an amazing addition to this line of spices.  How many times do you knock a shaker jar over in the pantry and have to clean up some kind of small seasonings?  The seasoning cans are metal and can be reused and then you have this nice little silicone cap to pop over the top to make sure you don't make a mess. 

Little Prime Rib sliders were seasoned up with Cattle Drive and Kickstart.   I went too light with the seasonings on this one, next time I'll go heavier. 

Next up was some vegetables.  These were supposed to be skewered and grilled but we had lots going on the grill so I roasted them in the oven.  Roasted vegetables

This was probably the most disappointing of the spices.  Our veggies had virtually no flavor, maybe I didn't use enough.  I'll try the seasoning again but use more and maybe on some fish next time. 

Also, this was the only seasoning in a glass jar and once again, the packaging is on point with this company!

Lastly, we have the second favorite of the day using the Pecking Order blend.  Pulled Chicken

We had buns out and this was so easy and so delicious.  I will tell you this will be made many times over in this house.   So many different ways you could serve this! 

Here's the information from the website on the Pecking Order blend:

• Gluten Free
• Keto-Friendly
• MSG Free
• Very Low Sodium
• No Fillers
• Dairy and Nut Free
• Animal Product Free
• Made in Texas

Ingredients:  spices, sugar, turmeric, salt, garlic, paprika, capsicums, onion, & silicon dioxide (anti-caking agent)

You can feel good about using these spices generously!

We had a fabulous time relaxing and laughing with our friends and can't thank Tryazon and Casa M. Spice Co. enough for the generous package

To close things out, we have the obligatory group photo (minus me, someone has to corral this group!) 

Peace, Love & Spice!!

Samma 

Tryazon & Taste Republic Gluten Free Pasta

Hey Peeps!!

I'm back again with another product I was recently asked to try.  This time it came through the company TRYAZON.

Tryazon & Taste Republic kindly sent me 2 coupons to try out their new pasta flavor Tomato & Feta Tortelloni w/ Hot Honey and one other flavor of my choosing.  I choose the Spinach & Cheese Tortelloni.   

The biggest challenge was finding the product....I had to look at several store locators to find the product and then when I got to the store it was tucked away on a bottom shelf out of view unless you opened the freezer door.   If you go looking, make sure to use the locator on the site and when you arrive at Target, just keep looking and you'll eventually find them.

(this is what the package looks like, this would have helped me tremendously!)

Now that we've located them, let's get those home and get to cooking.   I had some frozen homemade meat sauce that I unthawed and warmed up to serve alongside the pasta.  We also had some frozen cheese toast and a side salad.   The toast was going to take the longest so I got that going then I got the pasta water boiling.  The pasta's cook in only 3 minutes so I cooked each of the flavors separately.   While they were cooking I pulled the salad together.

We have the Spinach & Cheese Tortelloni on the left and the Tomato & Feta with Hot Honey on the right.

My main assignment was to taste and review the Tomato & Feta so that's the one we'll start with.  There were three of us eating dinner and two of us picked this one as our favorite.  If you think the Feta is going to be strong, don't worry, it was a very nice subtle flavor.  I'm a big Feta fan so I could have taken it a bit stronger but it was delicious.  Also, don't let the Hot Honey throw you either, we actually forgot there was hot honey in there so it's not a factor to worry about.  In case you wondered, this was my favorite!

Next up is the Spinach & Cheese.   This is the one Hubster liked best.  It's a really good, all-around pasta.  I'd feel comfortable serving this with straight marinara to my vegetarian girls and know that it would be well received by everyone.  Like I said, sometimes Feta is a harder sell and this one is nice to have for the less adventurous eaters in your family.  

We did try all the pasta's plain before adding the sauce so we could judge them fairly.  I also didn't mention the fact that these are gluten-free until after we finished eating.  No one knew!  

I think the most impressive statement I can make about that is that these did not "gummy" when you cooked them which can sometimes happen with GF pasta.  

I like to keep extra marinara and/or meat sauce frozen for nights when I need a quick dinner and I'm happy to say that I would not hesitate to purchase these again.

I would like to thank Tryazon and Taste Republic for the coupons and the opportunity to try the pasta.

With the 100+degree temps in Texas, we're always thankful for the quick and easy dinners!

#TasteRepublic #GlutenFree #HotHoney #QuickDinner #Tryazon #EasyHealthyMeals

Peace, Love, & Pasta!

Samma

Tasty Bite- Review w/ She Speaks

Good Day my lovely Peeps!!!

Today, I'm coming to you with a review of Tasty Bite Indian foods.  If you know me very well, I love some Indian food so I was especially excited to try this quick meal at home.   You know, for when you want Indian food but don't want to drive to the restaurant to get it!   

Here are some things for you to know about Tasty Bite:

• Tasty Bite was born in India over 25 years ago and is bursting with authentically awesome, bold flavors & ingredients. Spice up your daily routine by taking your tastebuds on a journey to India with a fast, tasty & nutritious meal.
• All products are ready to eat in 90 seconds or less!
• The products I'm reviewing are free from Artificial Ingredients, Vegetarian, Kosher, Gluten-Free, Non-GMO, and 100% Organic.
• Chickpea Tikka Masala and Madras Lentils can be enjoyed as hearty dishes on their own or with naan or roti. The Basmati Rice is also a perfect accompaniment for these entrees!
• Get 15% off your first order with code: SheSpeaks15

Let's see what was in the box and how it tastes!

My box contained the Chickpea Tikka Masala, Basmati Rice, and Madras Lentils.

Let's make some lunch in under 5 minutes!!

First up, popped some Naan break in the toaster oven so it could warm while the rest of the lunch was being made.

According to Tasty Bite the Madras Lentils are Vegan, Kosher, 100% Organic, Vegetarian, and Non-GMO.

Their description reads:

"This dish is a chunky, organic version of our best-selling Madras Lentils. It is full of plant proteins. Savor black lentils coupled with garbanzo, kidney, and black-eyed beans, slow-simmered with tomato and spices. It’s a great stand-alone meal or pair with any of our Tasty Bite® rices."

Cut to vent the package and microwave for 60 seconds.  I actually thought this one needed about 10-15 seconds longer to heat.  I'm not sure why but it was the perfect temp at 75 seconds. 

Next up was my favorite, the Chickpea Tikka Masala.  Tasty Bite indicates this dish is 100% Organic, Vegan, Vegetarian, Kosher, Gluten-Free, and Non-GMO.

"We slow-simmer chickpeas in a delicious blend of corn and carrots in a creamy tomato sauce and flavor it with fenugreek leaves. Enjoy as a hearty dish on its own or accompany with naan, roti, or your favorite rice."

Once again, cut to vent the bag, and after 60 seconds in the microwave, you're done and ready to eat.

Don't forget your Naan bread in the toaster!

Now we all know, you can't have a good Indian meal without some rice so the nice folks at Tasty Bite included some Basmati Rice in the package.  

The Rice is Vegan, Kosher, Vegetarian, 100% Organic, and Non-GMO.

This one gets vented and cooks for 90 seconds.  After removing it from the microwave, just fluff it with a fork and get ready to serve because lunch is ready!

You can see my plate here along with a couple of the packages after cooking. 

There was more than enough for Hubster and me to have lunch.

3 packets fed 2 of us nicely for lunch with some added Naan bread.

The Chickpea Tikka Masala on the Left was my favorite of the dishes.  It was bursting with Indian flavor and I love that.   The Basmati Rice was the perfect side dish to mix with each of the main dishes.   The Madras Lentils are on the right and were the favorite of Hubster.  I think a bowl with the rice and the lentils would be delicious and you wouldn't even have to share.   The lentil dish had a more subtle Indian flavor and would be the one I would recommend folks who are new to Indian food try first.

Tasty Bite has many choices and I'm personally going to be on the lookout for the Hot & Spicy Vindaloo!  

Thanks so much to Tasty Bite and She Speaks for allowing me the opportunity to try these delicious dishes.     I received this product free from SheSpeaks, and this is my own opinion.” 

#TryTastyBite @SheSpeaksUp

Peace & Love!

Pennington Rejuvenate Plant Food

Hey Peeps!!

I'm back for another quick post on a recent product I was gifted to try in exchange for my honest opinion.

If you are new around here (well, welcome!) but you should know, my opinions cannot be bought.  If I like it, I'll tell ya....If I don't like it, then I'll tell ya.  There's no marshmallow coating the world around here.

So I received the following product to test and try in exchange for my opinion.

Pennington Rejuvenate

This is the Pennington Rejuvenate Rose & Flower plant food.

As you can see I have it next to a gorgeous potted plant that I picked up.

Now the bad news.....2 weeks later and several of my plants have died.  The plant is getting appropriate sun and water so I figure a couple of things happened.  1) I used too much of the product and they burned up 2) Maybe those flowers didn't need it just yet

Sad, but not enough to discount the worth of the product.

This is a geranium on my front porch and sadly, I forgot to take a before pic so this is the after.

The geranium doesn't seem to want to bloom any longer and it could be because frankly it gets really warm in Texas and they do fizzle out.  It was also losing a lot of leaves and generally just looking sad.  I started using the food and 2 weeks later I do see some leaves returning and the plant filling back out so I'm going to continue using the plant food in hopes that we will keep some of the flowers going stronger this year.   Texas gets so hot and so much sun that we have to water almost everyday so I'm hoping by adding some good food back into the mix that we can coax a few extra blooms out. 

This is what the website indicates:

This blend of organic and natural ingredients combines earthworm castings, beneficial microorganisms such as microbes and mycorrhizae, and humic acids to improve the soil environment and nourish plants from the inside out.

I love to plant flowers and garden but I never use any type of pesticides on those items.  I'm planting flowers for the pollinators: birds, hummingbirds, bees, and such.   So I don't want any pesticides on those things for sure.  In the garden, I'm often found grabbing things off the vine, giving them a quick wipe with my shirt and popping in my mouth.  That's especially true for cherry tomatoes.   Our fur boy, Reggie, especially loves the asparagus straight out of the garden!  It's a tasty treat for him and you can see why we don't use pesticides in the garden.   In the event, I choose to wage war on the grasshoppers....I will occasionally spray things with Neem Oil.      The fact that this is an organic, natural product gives me the confidence to use in my plants and know that I'm not harming my little pollinators.

You can pick some up at your local Lowe's or Home Depot and I can tell you that I'm going to searching out a product for my many houseplants.  They need some love too! 

Thanks to Pennington and BzzAgent for the opportunity to try the product in exchange for my honest opinions.  

Ever Root Calming tablets

Hey Peeps!!

As you all know by now we have our lovable, vocal Reggie boy creating chaos in our house.  In case you need a reminder, here's the little bugger!  Those gorgeous eyes get him into lots of mischief!!

I was recently given the opportunity from Fur Buddies to try out a product from Ever Root, a calming chew tablet.  We were tasked with giving the product a try and posting a few reviews on social media sites.   Since Reggie is especially vocal when the doorbell camera announces a package at the front door we decided to give the chews a try when we knew a package was coming.     I gave Reggie the recommended dosage of 4 tablets based on his weight.   He was still required to sit, shake and down to get the "treats" but he happily ate them.  He is sometimes a bit picky about taking supplements so I was happy that he gobbled these down with no protest.   

It took a few minutes for me to notice that he was a bit calmer but when the door camera announced the arrival of the package, it came without the usual barking and carrying on like usual.   He did walk over to the door and take a peek out the window for a minute.   We don't always want him to not alert us to visitors but when we have company or someone is resting then it's nice to know we have the option to keep him a bit quieter.

Ever Root can be ordered online or found at many retail outlets.   They make supplements for digestion, calming, immunity, skin & coat, hip & joint, heart, and brain health & cognitive.   

A special thanks to Fur Buddies and Ever Root for allowing Reggie to sample these supplements and for giving me an afternoon delivery in quietness!  

Peace, Love & Fur!