Finlandia Review and Free Cheese! (Closed)

A while back I was contacted by the people at Finlandia cheese. They sent me a few good looking recipes for their cheese and said they'd like for me to blog about them, the only problem was I didn't have any of their cheese! So they sent me a couple coupons for Finlandia cheese and they sent a couple for you too! Continue reading the rest of this post to find out how you can win some Finlandia cheese.

Before I tell you about this recipe, I wanted to tell you about Finlandia. They did not ask me to make any specific recipe, nor did they ask me glorify their product. But I do find it necessary to tell you a bit about their product, because I believe it is unique from other cheese makers. Finlandia cheese is the #1 imported cheese in the country. And because they care what goes into the cheese you consume, Finlandia's line of cheeses are also natural, lactose-free and hormone free. Read more here and here. Can you say that about your cheese?

To compliment the Finlandia Gouda cheese, I made a spicy chipotle chicken breast and topped it off with smoky bacon and a slice of Gouda. I got inspiration for the chicken from Maranda of Jolts & Jollies, but I changed things up a bit. It was the tiniest bit sweet, but smoky, spicy and delicious. It paired perfectly with the Gouda, which tasted like a cross between Swiss and Cheddar and the slightest bit sharp. I baked the chicken, but if you'd prefer to grill it or pan fry it or use bone-in chicken, just make the marinade and prepare it the way you wish. To win some Finlandia cheese, scroll down!

 Chipotle BBQ Chicken w/ Bacon and Gouda from Monica H inspired by Jolts & Jollies
Printer Friendly Version

• 1/8 cup fresh lemon juice
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons honey
• 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 small tomato, cut into quarters
• 1-2 Tablespoons chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
• 2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In the blender or a food processor, combine the lemon juice, soy sauce, honey, brown sugar, tomato and chipotle peppers and pulse til uniformly blended.

In a bowl or ziploc bag, add chicken and half of the marinade, coating the chicken thoroughly. Allow to stand at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Place marinated chicken in greased Pyrex pan; discarding used marinade.

Bake chicken at 375 degrees F for 35-40 minutes, basting with fresh marinade every 10-15 minutes. Bake til internal temperature reads 160 degrees on a meat thermometer.

The last 5 minutes of cooking, add cooked bacon slices and Finlandia Gouda or Cheddar cheese to the top of the chicken breasts. Bake til cheese is melted. Remove from oven.

Allow chicken to rest for about 5 minutes before serving.

I have two coupons for free cheese from Finlandia. If you're interested in trying out their natural, lactose and hormone-free cheese, then please visit their website and then leave me a comment on this post telling me what cheese you'd like to try and what you'd make using their cheese!

Open to US residents only. I will pick two winners later in the week so be sure to leave me your contact info or you can't win!

Thanks Finlandia!

Finger Lickin' Good

Yesterday was my first day back to work since Thanksgiving. The family I nanny for goes to visit familiy during the holidays every year so I had some time off. I was dreading going back to work but the boys have been great so far. Although we are only on day 2 :-) Yesterday, the older kiddo was napping and when I went to wake him he was wearing his birthday shirt and the first thing he said to me after 5 weeks of not seeing me was about his birthday cake! His mom said he talked about it to anyone and everyone that would listen. Today the first thing he said to me after waking him up was "You have cookies?" and I did! I was a hero for the day :-)

In fact after he woke up we went to the kitchen and opened up the box of Christmas cookies I had been saving for him. He went straight for the colorful ornament cookie covered in icing and the bacon and eggs. It took him almost an hour to eat in between putting puzzles together. Then it donned on me at almost 4 o' clock that I forgot to feed him lunch! He didn't seem to mind though that he got sweets instead of real food. Again- hero (or lousy nanny) for the day!

Speaking of hero, I had to pat myself on the back when I made this meal. It was so good! I wouldn't lie to you. Not everything I make it worthy of a pat on the back but Mr. H and I kept mmm-ing through our bites and finger licking. I made this and with my first bite all I kept asking myself was "Did I really make this?" followed by "I really made this!" Make this, you'll be a hero too. For those of you who appreciate my tasting notes, this chicken was wonderful. It was like a satisfying take out meal. The sauce was garlicky, and sweet, but tangy and only the slightest bit hot. The chicken was moist and sticky and a great compliment to white rice and mixed veggies. It was complex in flavor but oh so simple to make. Let the sauce puddle in the bottom of a bowl and stir it into the rice. oooh!

Garlic-Chile Chicken Legs from Everyday Food

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 chicken legs (2 1/2 pounds total), drumsticks and thighs separated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 3/4 cup white vinegar
• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon red-pepper flakes
• 1/4 cup sugar

In a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-high. Add chicken, skin side down, and cook until skin is golden and crisp, about 5 minutes. Flip and cook 2 minutes more. Transfer chicken to a plate.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from pan. Add garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, 30 seconds. Stir in vinegar, soy sauce, red-pepper flakes, and sugar. Return chicken to pan, skin side up. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low; cook 15 minutes (liquid should be gently simmering; adjust heat if necessary). Uncover, raise heat to medium, and cook until sauce is reduced by half, 10 minutes.

Serves 4

NOTE: I cut the recipe in half and used only chicken legs instead of whicken quarters. Leftovers were not that great the next day so only make what you plan on eating that night.

Oink! Oink!

This recipe for pork tenderloin should definitely be on my favorite's list. The only reason it's not is because I hadn't blogged about it yet. I would make it #31, but it really deserves a spot in the top 10. It really is that good, granted you don't over cook it.

I used to think that I didn't like pork tenderloin because the only kind I ever had was the pre-marinated, overly salty stuff from the supermarket. And even then, the only time I had it it was dry and tough. My mother in law (bless her heart!) made it this way. Rather than putting the whole loin in the oven or searing it, then roasting it, she'd cut it into medallions and pan saute it with onions and apples. I think her thought was good, but the execution was not. She ruined pork tenderloin for me.

Then one day while strolling through Costco (I love Costco!) I spotted pork tenderloin. There were 2 loins in a pack and they came bundled in 2 packs, so there were a total of 4 loins for around $12-$14. Not a bad price if you ask me. I wasn't sure how I wanted to flavor it, but I read the cooking directions on the package and planned to follow them. I looked in my pantry and in the refrigerator for ideas, I whisked a bunch of stuff in a bowl, poured it over the tenderloins and 45 minutes later, I swooned.

I wrote down the "recipe" from memory and have been making it this way ever since. Make it, you won't be disappointed. And the best part is, you don't have to marinate it, so you can make this when you get home from work or marinate it over night if you wish and pop it in the oven when you get home. Just don't forget to invite me over because I never get tired of this!

My Favorite Pork Tenderloin from Monica H

• 1 pkg. pork tenderloins (2 tenderloins, about 2-2.5 lbs.)
• 4 garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 T. country dijon mustard (whole grain mustard)
• 4 T. honey
• 2 T. fresh orange juice
• 1 T. finely chopped fresh rosemary OR herbs de provence
• freshly ground pepper to taste
• 3 T. olive oil

Yield: 1 cup of marinade.

Preheat oven to 350 F.

Take tenderloins out of package. Rinse and pat dry. Place in a 9x13-inch Pyrex sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.

Take a paring knife and poke holes in the tenderloins (on the top side only) about an inch deep. Peel garlic cloves and quarter each clove of garlic-lengthwise. If they're really big, cut them a bit smaller- about the size of slivered almonds. Place the garlic slivers in each pocket. Set aside while making marinade.

In a measuring cup or in a medium bowl, whisk together all the ingredients except for the olive oil. Then slowly drizzle the olive oil while still whisking.

Pour the mixture over the tenderloins and put into preheated oven. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes, basting once halfway through the baking process.

Once removed from the oven, allow the tenderloins to rest on a cutting board for about 10 minutes before slicing. Spoon the pan sauce over the tenderloin medallions and enjoy!

Stay tuned for a recipe using the pork tenderloin leftovers!