The Stocked Fridge on the Radio!

Click here to listen to Chris Kachmar, owner of The Stocked Fridge, on the radio!!!

Ready to Go Green For St. Patrick's Day?

Holidays are associated with family, friends, traditions and food and St. Patrick’s Day is no different.  Whether you come from Irish heritage or not, St. Patrick’s Day is a day to celebrate with food and drink!

How about dying your food and drinks green to show some Irish spirit? Why green? The color represents the shamrock, the symbol of the holiday.

Customary corned beef and cabbage are a must – even though this dish is more Irish-American than Irish. The holiday dinner was originally made with bacon instead of corned beef. When Irish immigrants moved to the United Sates, they switched to the more economical option of corned beef.  Corned beef is salt-cured, tasty beef flavored with subtle spices. The leftovers are great for corned beef sandwiches on rye!  

The traditional one pot dish also includes potatoes and carrots which pick up a savory flavor from simmering in the pickling spices.  Add some Irish cheese and a pint of beer and you’ve got a St. Patrick’s Day celebration!

For dessert, you can go with a conventional Irish dessert, like an apple tart, served war m with sweet custard. Or dye your favorite white cake or sugar cookies green. Either way, it's sure to be the perfect ending to a hearty Irish feast.

The Stocked Fridge can make your St. Patrick’s Day even easier! Simply click here to order our Crockpot Corned Beef and Cabbage!  Sláinte!

25 Ways to Spruce up a Meal with The Stocked Fridge’s Chicken or Vegetable Stock

There are endless ways to use Chicken Stock or Vegetable Stock . . .

here are some of The Stocked Fridge’s favorite uses:

• Cooking rice or couscous
• Adding to leftovers when reheating
• When cooking pasta for salads
• Basting chicken, beef or pork while it’s roasting
• With Arborio rice to make risotto
• As a base for a tasty soup or stew
• With tomatoes and herbs to make a light pasta sauce
• In a sauce for grilled chicken or fish
• Instead of milk/butter when mashing potatoes for a lower fat option
• Adding to stuffing
• When steaming vegetables
• To lighten cream sauces or soups by replacing half the milk/cream
• When making gravy
• Instead of oil in a hot wok for a lighter stir fry
• When making pesto
• To deglaze a pan for a flavorful sauce
• In a purée
• When roasting garlic
• When soaking dried mushrooms or sun-dried tomatoes
• Instead of milk when baking corn muffins
• Instead of milk in meatballs or meatloaf
• In your favorite chili recipe
• In salad dressings
• When braising or poaching foods
• In savory casserole dishes

Enjoy!

Staying Home For Valentine's Dinner

Why You SHOULD NOT Go to a Restaurant for Valentine’s Dinner

It’s the busiest night of the year for restaurants.  You’ll be seated in a full house that can be noisy and crowded. Plus, restaurants are more expensive on Valentine’s Day. Many restaurants offer a fixed menu to make it easier to efficiently prepare dishes.  These fixed menus are often overpriced for a holiday meal.  Not only do you spend more money, but you have less selection.

Why you SHOULD Cook at Home for Valentine’s Dinner

Cooking at home is much more personal than eating a restaurant.  And, it’s fun – couples spend quality time cooking together and then enjoy a romantic, delicious meal!

The Stocked Fridge offers a great way to cook at home  . . . we assemble and package the food, and all you have to do is follow the simple cooking instructions for that perfect, romantic dinner! 

Check out our menu and order today!  881-9635

Super Bowl Food Facts

The Super Bowl is the top at-home party event of the year, ahead of New Year’s Eve.  There are 7.5 million parties on Super Bowl Sunday with an average number of 17 attendees!

Planning a special menu for the Super Bowl?  Here are some interesting Super Bowl food facts:

• Super Bowl Sunday is the second largest day of food consumption behind Thanksgiving.
• The average Super Bowl watcher will consume 1,200 calories while snacking.
• Super Bowl fans spend more than $50 million on food during the 4 days prior to the Super Bowl.
• The week of Super Bowl, consumers will spend $9.2 million in light beer and $8.7 million in regular beer. 
• It is estimated that Americans will eat 90 million pounds of chicken wings, which breaks down to 450 million individual wings! 

• There is a 20% increase in the sale of antacids on the day after Super Bowl.

Having a party for the big football game? Don’t miss a single touchdown while you’re in the kitchen! Enjoy the game . . . let us prepare food for your party and score big with your friends! 

 

 

Click here for our Super Bowl Menu!

New Year's Resolutions

Did you make any New Year’s Resolutions for 2012? As the most common resolutions are about health, and especially about diet, we’re providing some top food tips to keep you and your family healthy in the upcoming year. They are obvious suggestions – but worth repeating to keep you on track:

·         Provide foods from several food groups at each meal

·         Eat more wholegrains

·         Eat more produce (the more colorful, the better!)

·         Add more protein and fiber to your meals

·         Decrease the amount of processed foods in your diet (especially processed sugar)

·         Include more fish in your diet

·         Eat more leafy greens

·         Raid your food panty and remove foods that don’t fit in a healthy eating plan and replace them with healthy options

·         Significantly decrease fast food and junk food

These small steps can make BIG changes for your health!

p.s. Got leftover champagne? 

While champagne cocktails are always an option on New Year’s Day, a more healthful choice is to use leftover champagne in cooking.  Enhance the flavor of savory meals, seafood, salads and fruity desserts – use it in your recipes as you would when cooking with wine.

So raise a glass of champagne to toast your health and then get cooking!

15 Ways to Use Pomegranate Seeds this Holiday Season

Pomegranate seeds are not only high in antioxidants and vitamins, they are also high in flavor! Their bright ruby-red color make any dish festive for the holidays!  

Here are our favorite ways to use pomegranate seeds this holiday season:

Add to your cheese plate appetizer

Use as a garnish with mint leaves for turkey or chicken

Add to stuffing

Stir in your favorite muffin recipe

Add to rice pilaf

Serve over vanilla ice cream

Sprinkle over your favorite cereal, oatmeal or yogurt

Add to couscous

Make a syrup to drizzle over desserts (blend 2 cups seeds, strain, bring juice and ½ cup sugar to a boil; boil for 1 minute.)

Make Chocolate Pomegranate Melts (melt chocolate; fold in seeds; spoon onto waxed or muffin cups. Cool and serve.)

Add crushed seeds to marinades

Add to salads

Make Christmas bruschetta (spread goat cheese on toasted baguette slices and top with minced red onion, minced parsley, and pomegranate seeds.)

Make Pomegranate Salsa (mix 1¾ cups pomegranate seeds, ¼ cup pomegranate juice, juice of 1 lime, ¼ c minced red onion, ¼ c chopped cilantro, 1 cored/diced pear, and 1 tablespoon sugar). Serve with tortilla chips, fish or chicken.

Add to cocktails – cheers!