Summer Grilling with Kikkoman

Summer is synonymous with grilling. A good time to get outside and cook while enjoying fun activities with family and friends. And even better when you experiment with new flavors. Flavors with Asian influence - such as Kikkoman! 

*Disclaimer: I was sent promotional products to share with my party friends from Kikkoman, via House Party. Everything said here is my own opinion and was not otherwise endorsed or scripted by my sponsors.*

This summer has been hot. And maybe grilling isn't as much fun unless you are getting together with family and friends. But it is the perfect time to begin trying something new. I had never tried grilling with Kikkoman until we had this party. But since I love the flavors that Kikkoman brings, I was excited to be chosen as a host and give it a try.  Kikkoman sauces have always added a burst of flavor that makes my mouth water just thinking about it.

 (I'm smiling, can you see it?)

I just love shopping!

First thing on the list is to check out their products. Our local stores keep them in what they call the Asian section. I always keep soy and teriyaki sauces on hand. One of my favorite recipes is Korean beef. My husband and oldest son also love to share in this flavorful meal. 

My party pack had an amazing pair of grilling tongs to use. They made cooking our burgers super easy. I was happy to share all these great recipe books and coupons with my guests as well as friends and family. Still have a bunch of the shirts....

We made them slider size. The soy sauce and brown sugar made them irresistible. 

My Mother-in-law said she enjoyed the extra depth from the Kikkoman soy sauce in the burgers. My husband loved the perfect match they made to our cookout. My sister-in-law said they took the burgers up a notch. It was the perfect way to spice up the grill. My boys actually told me they were "perfect" while my toddler chowed down an entire patty by herself. She only likes beef if I have cooked it Asian style, which means I have to make it with soy or teriyaki sauce. 

Overall, I think we all love Kikkoman sauces. They are a household name here! 

Our end thought was that it would be perfect for a themed luau party! We can't wait to try it again. Have you ever used their products? Notice the smoothness? The extra kick in flavor they add? What is your favorite recipe?

M&M's Were Made For Summer Parties!

I love M&M's, don't you? The perfect little treat. Either by themselves or with things. They go great in trail mixes. You can bake them into cookies and brownies. There are so many flavors to choose from. I remember growing up with only 2 - regular or peanuts. In addition to the multiple flavors, however, they also have themes. Right now, you should be noticing that M&M's, Skittles and Snickers bags are sporting red, white and blue. These can be used for fun events like your Independence Day parties! (4th of July for you millenials) 

*Disclaimer: I was sent products and promotional materials as well as a gift card to purchase M&M's from Walmart via my association with House Party. I was not otherwise endorsed or told what to say. All opinions are my own.*

During the summer, the kids are out of school. You probably have vacations or parties planned. Time to spend with family and friends. For us, we are visiting my in-laws. Grilling out and enjoying the time we have with them. What better way to accentuate good foods than to add a marvelous, yet fun, dessert? 

We decided to do just that. We made a patriotic themed rice crispy treat with the Red, White and Blue M&M's! This dish did not last long at all. And it showed off how well M&M's go with summer!

I love using and sharing M&M's. We keep them stocked in my Star Wars dispenser. Priceless gadget for keeping the kids limited and teaching just how unfair life can be with portions...

Are you an M&M's fan??

While planning this party, I found this cute game idea that I think would be fun later. What do you think? How else do you use these delightful treats?

Putting it All Together!

My Party Pack arrived from House Party! Super happy to finally have all the fun gear together for the Sweetest Game Day party.

Tying that in with my sons parties. Time to get it all together and ready. They sent me a Snickers football, a mini Foosball table game and some bottle cozies!

I decorated the cozies and picked up some cream soda...I also got some Skittles and made little Rainbow Seed packs to send home with the kids.

It turned into so much fun! 

I also had fun piecing together my table decoration - the Pea Shooter. What do you think of it? 

I had to add beans inside the bottom of the cup as it would fall over otherwise. 

And then I made little candy goodie bags for him to take to class and give away, using mini Snickers, Milky Way and Musketeers bars. I think he will have a great birthday this year. There is more than one way to celebrate with such great snacks as Snickers, Skittles and M&M's! 
I also used some on his cake. Had trouble getting it out the pans. Lesson learned - white chocolate chips in a strawberry cake taste great, but stick to non-stick, greased pans like white on rice... So I went from this: 

To this:

Then this:

And finished with this!

Woo! I feel quite accomplished.

Kikkoman House Party!

*I was sent the party pack from House Party on the behalf of Kikkoman for the sole purpose of sharing the word on brining, breading and using Kikkoman products for the upcoming holidays. I was not paid for my comments. They are my honest opinions. The items sent were shared with family and friends.* 

Thanksgiving is around the corner. And that means it is time to consider your menu. House Party is working with Kikkoman to get the word out on some yummy options you might want to consider adding to your spread. 

Have you considered a turkey brine instead of roasting it? When done right (and not like I did last year in a hurry), it brings out the moist, juicy flavors you and your guests crave. Or how about adding some crunch? There are recipes around the world that include Panko to coat a dish and add the munchiness (making up words here) to your table. 

I absolutely love the Kikkoman brand. They have so much more than just Panko or Soy Sauce.

I've been using the soy sauce to make my favorite dish, Korean Beef. But I have been eying other recipes that use their products. Like the Teriyaki sauce to make Teriyaki Meatballs. Mmm I don't always stick with traditional Thanksgiving dishes. I like to branch out and make other things. This year, Thanksgiving will be a little different. We are having it the weekend before the actual Thanksgiving Day. For starters, my three oldest kids will be with their dad for this years celebration week. In addition to that, my mother and sister in laws are flying to have Thanksgiving Day with my brother-in-law in California since he is a Marine and won't make it home this year. So instead of having a huge party, we had a dinner night with my mom and sister in law.

I made Koren Beef. We made mini egg rolls, mini cream cheese rangoons, postickers and rice. It was fun to be cooking together and then to dive in. 
After coming back home, I made some of the meatballs I mentioned.

The recipe had come with my party pack.

It was a huge hit! 2/3 kids fell in love with them. They actually begged me to make them again the next night.

They had tried it with fried rice, now they wanted them with spaghetti. Unfortunately, I had steaks cooking in the crock pot for the next nights dinner so they would have to wait another night. Who knew that teriyaki would be such a hit?! 
Here is the recipe I used:
Teriyaki Meatballs 
I handed out the party favors to friends and family. We LOVED the cute bottles of soy sauce with Hello Kitty pink designs on them.

I think that was definitely a big attraction. They pour so easy too! I went to the store for the Panko breadcrumbs. Normally, our store brand is cheaper. However, I found that Kikkoman was cheaper by a good .20!

On top of that, they come in resealable bags. This is great when you want the freshness to last a while longer. 

Overall, I love the Kikkoman products. They are easy to use, taste great, are a great price and found locally, and they know how to throw a great party! What would be your favorite part? What product would you like to try? Or have you tried?

I'm ready to go for a drive!

I could totally go on a long road trip with no particular destination in mind. Wedding plans are driving me up the wall about now....
But let's check into reality now! I was sent something from Chatterbox (a division of House Party) to try out and talk about. I love being a part of Chatterbox! I get some pretty cool stuff every once in a while. This time it was a Kleenex go-anywhere pack.

As a mom, having tissues on hand everywhere I go is a must. Between random colds, allergies or when the waterworks start because someone isn't happy, I often have to reach for a tissue fast. Sadly, I  was always having to carry a box of them around. I have a mini van.

That box tended to roll from front to under seats, and sometimes went to the back. It was always a hassle trying to find it.
Enter the go-anywhere pack. It has 30 3-play tissues in it. They are also ultra soft. There are a couple things I love about these. They have a snap strap that can clip anywhere. Around the headrest rod is where I have mine.

They dispense easily from the pack. Just one hand gets what I needed. And finally, it protects my tissues. Keeps them from getting wet or dirty. Not like something dripping or falling into the box. They are slim, so they stay out of the way. 
Now I'm ready for anything the kiddos bring my way. What about you? Summer time is here. Time for those long trips and drives.Walmart has them here. Amazon has them in stock here.

Kikkoman House Party review coming soon!

I was recently chosen by House Party to sponsor a Kikkoman review, giveaway and party! As such, they sent my party pack today. I received a bunch of shirts, an oven mitt, recipe books, and coupons for Kikkoman products. I'm quite thrilled to test this product out when making Thanksgiving dinner this year. Providing my baby is born early enough to allow me to do so...

I will say that I'm disappointed in the shirt sizes. All I have to offer my guests will be Large and Extra Large.

Aside from being pregnant, that's not even my size.
The recipe books have a variety of entrée and side dishes that I'm dying to try out. I just have to go get a turkey... So who else is hungry?! And who thinks a brined turkey in Kikkoman sauce sounds yummy?

Miles from Tomorrowland toy review

I love being a House Party blogger. I get to review some fun stuff at times, for free! My most recent one is the Miles from Tomorrowland Tomy toys.

I was going to have a party, but some of the children invited got sick.

So instead I sent them toys to cheer them up in their recovery. I also made them Blodger Blop cupcakes. 

He's a friend of Miles Calisto, the main character in the Disney TV show. 

They had the following to say about the toys: "Eric... age 17 has the galactic miles and says he likes the style of it. The futuristic style drew him to it even though he's a big kid, he wants to play with it.

Qwentin, age 9 has the super stellar miles and likes it because of the colors of the character and the style of the bike.

Ma'Leah, age 8 has Pipp and says he looks like a cool character. It's cool that he can fly.

Za'Riah, age 4 has Loretta. She likes her board and she likes that her arms move and you can play with her."

Tomorrowland is the futuristic place where space exploration takes humans out into our galaxy and provides homes on rocketships or other planets. It promotes the desire for kids to study space and those who travel in it. While learning about the earth is important, I like having my kids learn about why lies beyond our planet. What better way than to have a cartoon family that goes out exploring together? 

I made, or tried to make, fruit rocket kabobs. 

I also made hot dog rockets and space rock meatballs.  

Just something fun for them to chow down on while we had a good time playing with the toys. 

I built a cardboard box rocket

and used old juice bottles to make them a jet pack. 

The toy pack was such a joy to open! So many wonderful things that I got to share. Freely give as you are freely given, right?! 

Before I could even get them out of the packages, my kids were enjoying them... 

Once they came out of the packages, the true fun could begin. These toys are strong, light up, make sounds and add a higher level to their imagination while pretending they are the Calisto family blasting off on a new journey. The Stellosphere (their spaceship, otherwise known as Stella) does have issues opening some compartments and doors. It gets stuck sometimes. But everything else is blastastic! 

So, let's rocket! And explore something new. 

My Gevalia House Party

Three families came together last night to share in the enjoyment of friendship while sipping the delectable Gevalia Kaffe blends.

I prepared a simple party get-together where the adults could relax and sip on the coffees while the kids ran around playing together.

They are made from real milk and come in 2 easy steps. First, you open the froth packets and pour it into your coffee cup.

Simply place your cup under your single-serve machine and put the K-cup into the top.

Select the 8 ounce size, press and watch the froth swirl to the top! Give it a quick stir when its ready and be prepared for a mini break from all you are striving to accomplish. Its a two-step process that makes something complex, become easy.

I even made a chocolate cake to share.

Being a part of House Party, they sent me a party kit that had the coffee packs, coupons to give out, and some cool stencils to play with while decorating the foam!

The Caramel Macchiato was, out of the three flavors I tried, my favorite! The scent of caramel draws you in and the taste was excellent! Its not heavy on the coffee flavor, which is what I really liked. And its only slightly sweet. I also found that my younger sister was consistently stealing sips when I turned away... I think though, part of my favorite experience with this one was having the froth already added in.

The next flavor that seemed to be enjoyed, was the Mocha Latte.

I asked my dad about his opinions.

He's the family connoisseur of coffees:

Dad: (he was drinking the Mocha Latte) Smells great. My mouth felt a little dry after drinking it. I'm not used to flavored coffee.

I tried the Cappuccino flavor. I don't think I like cappuccino at all now. It was strong and bitter to me. But then, I'm not big on coffee.

Overall, we had a great night with lots of fun memories! Our kids were worn out and promptly ready for bed too. Can't get much better than that!

If you use Cartwheel, you can currently get 30% off a box of Gevalia. Just in time for the holiday parties! This offer ends November 30th though.