Spices, Snowsuits and Spirits

Scott’s Food Products…

Full disclosure: my cousins own Scott’s Food Products, but that’s not the reason I’ve been using them for years to flavor my food. I just got a refresher of Garlic Oil, Santa Maria Seasoning, and Mediterranean Grill Marinade, and they are delicious as ever.

The thing I love about Scott’s is that they can easily dress up a steak, plain chicken breast, or bowl of pasta. Be creative, or check out some of the recipes on their website. I was looking for something quick and comforting yesterday and I threw this together. It was delicious.

Easy Crockpot Chicken Pot Pie

1 10 oz bag Frozen Mixed Vegetables

3 Cups Cooked Chicken, chopped

1 Can Low Sodium Cream of Chicken Soup

¼ Stick Butter

Scott’s Santa Maria Style Seasoning

1 Can Refrigerator Biscuits

Mix Vegetables, chicken, soup, one half can of water (add more if you want it soupy), and butter in crockpot.

Sprinkle with Santa Maria Seasoning.

Cook on low for two hours. Stir.

Unwrap biscuits and spread out evenly over chicken and vegetable mixture.

Cook on low one and a half more hours. Serves four as a main course

Get Outfitted
I just returned from an amazing ski trip to Boyne Mountain Resort. One of the things that made the trip so great was the winter wardrobe that I had delivered right to me, thanks to Get Outfitted. The company let me try out their service and I love it!

Get Outfitted lets you rent out ski clothes and equipment. They can be delivered right to your hotel and picked up – all in postage paid bags. As it happened, our group was all around the same size so we got to spend four days mixing and matching outfits. They even gave us goggles and gloves to go with them. I highly recommend you check them out.

Marlee’s Green Tea Whiskey

When I first heard about this whiskey with green tea and agave nectar I thought it sounded great, but Marlee’s Green Tea Whiskey tastes even better than it sounds. It’s a bit “Firefly Vodka meets Jim Beam.” It’s so filled with flavor that I enjoyed it just over ice.

Marlee’s is made from American Rye Whiskey, Chinese Gunpowder Green Tea, and Organic Mexican Green Agave for a tiny bit of sweetness. The ingredients are all natural and you definitely can taste that.

Van Gogh Acai Blueberry Vodka

I have always been a fan of the very flavorful Van Gogh Vodkas. Whenever someone tells me about one I haven’t tried, I track it down.

I mentioned to the Van Gogh marketing team that I hadn’t tried to Acai Blueberry and they sent me a bottle. The flavor is as bold as their others, standing up to soda water if you want to keep it simple, and low calorie. We also discovered during the ski trip that it’s excellent in hot chocolate.

If you want to get more creative, here’s a recipe from the company:

The Panther

1 oz. Van Gogh Acai-Blueberry Vodka

1/2 oz. Blue Curacao

5 oz. Lemonade

1/2 oz. Triple Sec

Shake all ingredients with ice and strain into an ice filled highball glass rimmed with silver sugar. 

Garnish with floating blueberries.

And, Don’t Forget the Doggie Bags

There doesn’t seem to be any way to easily transition into this subject, but I wanted to end with another find. The Neater Bag Dispenser from Neater Pets is a terrific product for those traveling with pets. The doggy bags come out of a small opening in the portable pack, in the same way you take tissues out of a tissue back.

The Neater Bag Dispenser can also be attached to a leash or carried in your bag. It’s a great deal at $7.99 and refills are available .