Ok, so on top of being awesome, Mary is brave. She has decided to try to host a virtual Pampered Chef party, and you are invited! On top of sharing a few new recipes this week, a few time-saving kitchen tips, and maybe a little too much information on the inner workings of my busy kitchen, we will have a daily giveaway too!!
I found that doing all of my peeling and chopping first makes things go so much more smoothly. So peeling carrots, onion and gingerroot first works great, then I rinse my chickpeas, and quarter the onion and ginger.
This is where I start my pile of scraps for the composter (including the onion I found with the 12 inch sprout coming out of the top. Thanks, Mary, for not flinching when I pulled that little gem out of the pantry).
I pull out my favorite pot, throw in the olive oil, and while it is heating, I throw the onion then the ginger into the manual food processor. I LOVE this thing, it takes 30 seconds to chop things really well. And if I have little "helping" hands, it keeps them busy for a while!
If you don't feel like pulling out the garlic press, then feel free to throw those in the processor too, it works great! (I pulled out the garlic press, because I can throw in the cloves without peeling them, and time is a precious commodity around here!!) I toss those things in the hot oil with the spices and saute it for a little bit. Add more olive oil if you want to, I felt like it needed a little more to keep things from burning.
While this happens, quarter and slice your carrots and zucchini, and get everything else ready.
Toss in your flour, and whisk the mixture a bit, then put in your broth, whisking again to make sure there are no flour clumps. Then go ahead and add the veggies, tomatoes, and beans, and simmer.
While it simmers, heat up your couscous water, and go ahead and toast your almonds.
Serve this one hot, over couscous if you want, and enjoy! It reheats great for lunch the next day. Total prep time -if you are uninterrupted- is about 30 minutes. And if you are like me, there are days I really need to be able to get dinner on the table quickly, so a recipe like that is a keeper around here!
Okay, so now that you have a new recipe to work with, let's have some giveaway fun! I have a few extra Quickut paring knives I would love to give away! These are amazing (and sharp!!). I always have one of these nearby with a flexible cutting mat so I can quickly cut up fruit for the kids during the day. All you need to do to enter the giveaway is leave a comment telling us what you would buy from the Pampered Chef website if you could order anything you wanted! You need to comment by midnight tonight and we will draw a winner tomorrow! Then come back again for more giveaways!
Now, if you decide you want to order new kitchen things, there is definitely a perk for you to ordering through Mary's Party. Every one of Mary's "guests" gets a free egg slicer when you have an order totaling $60.00 or more. This egg slicer is also amazing for strawberries, kiwi, mushrooms, or anything else with a similar consistency. Talk about saving time!!! Also, if you live nearby and are able to pick it up from Mary's house, you can save a bit on shipping.
So to order through this party, go to the party's website and start shopping! If you have any questions, you can visit my website at www.pamperedchef.biz/mariagehl and you can email or call me with any questions you may have. I am here for you! And keep coming back to Better Than Eden this week for more giveaways, another recipe or two, and just general kitchen talk! Have a wonderful blessed day!!
So, she's great, right? Now go over, help a sister out and get yourself some great kitchen supplies (don't forget Mother's Day is fast approaching!). And don't forget to comment with your favorite Pampered Chef item to be entered in the first giveaway!
I've been contemplating a stuff-from-pampered chef that love post. If I do one soon can I link back to here??? I'd love to support Maria if I can!
You betcha Theresa!! I'll get in touch with you!
The Knife Block Set would be awesome but realistically would like to have the DRAINER so I stop losing half my veggies down the drain when dumping the water off of them!
I want the manual food processor thing. I got one at my bridal shower 11 years ago, but back then it was just a knob you pushed down on and had to use it on top of a cutting board. This newer version looks so much better!
I would buy a pizza stone. We eat a lot of pizza in our house, and I don't see that changing any time soon!
I've been wanting stoneware baking sheets so I would definitely choose the round stone so I could bake cookies and use for pizza. That recipe looks so good! Will have to try!
oh I just saw that bamboo tool turnabout- that is nice! I'm all about organization these days!