**Free Salsa**

This week and weekend I'll be making LOTS and LOTS of salsa for orders and while I'm at it I'd love to make FREE salsa for anyone who places an order.  Order anytime between now and Monday and you'll also get a free order of your salsa choice .. Cucumber Tomato or Smoky Tomato.   Which one is your favorite?
Choose from Freezer Meal Packages, anything from the Extras page, Boxed Lunches or Make A Meal dinner options.

Freezer Meals OPEN :: Delivery June 2nd

It's order time for June Freezer Meals.  Pick a package, choose your items and have them delivered to you on Sunday June 2nd.  Order dates are now through May 29th.  Get more information about freezer meals here.

Interested in smaller amounts?  Think about sharing a meal package with a friend.  Leave me a note at checkout or send me an email letting me know you're sharing and I'll package each entree in half portions for delivery.

Items from the Extras Page are available for order anytime.  Get more information here.

Interested in ordering but have questions?  Email me at theplayfultable@yahoo.com.

What We're Eating + Spreading the Word

Just because the freezer is full of BBQ doesn't mean we have to eat BBQ sandwiches every night.  In fact, our family has lots of yummy options that we love to eat just as much as a delicious pork sandwich.  One of my favorites is BBQ Pizza.  I like to make a basic pizza for each of us and then we add our own toppings.  Mine usually looks like this:

 

Pizza dough (from the grocery store)
BBQ sauce
BBQ pork or chicken
Cilantro
Red Onion
Banana Peppers
Mozzarella Cheese

Form your individual pizzas from the dough.  Spread on some bbq sauce.  Top with the shredded bbq and any toppings you like.  Add cheese and bake in a preheated (425-450 degrees) until browned and bubbly.  Top with fresh cilantro ... Delicious.

Grandview friends ... I've added a great little "share" bar to the bottom of each blog post.  Could you take a minute to share with your friends?  Choose to share by email, facebook and twitter.

Summer Stock Up - Round Two

Now that the freezer has plenty of BBQ and Mac N Cheese it's time to start working on the next few items. This weekend and all of next week I'll be stocking up on:

 Parmesan Chicken Nuggets - Chicken breast cut into nugget portions and breaded with delicious and crunchy parmesan bread crumbs.  No need to thaw overnight, these nuggets go straight from the freezer to your oven.

Enchiladas - Choose from Beef or Chicken.  Seasoned Beef or Chicken rolled up in flour tortillas and covered with enchilada red sauce and cheese.  Add a side of yellow rice and black beans for a quick and easy dinner.

I'll also continue making lots and lots of Granola Bars and Salsa.

For easier ordering:
These items are all available for individual ordering on the Extras page .. click here.

:: Make A Meal::
When you know you have a busy night coming up, this is a great way to make sure dinner is taken care of.  Place you order at least 3 days ahead of time and I'll make arrangements with you for a drop off time.  
Click here for more information.

Pre-Summer Stock Up

The weather is getting warmer, baseball practices have begun and summer will be here before we know it.  That means it's time to stock up the freezer.  With all the outside time we'll be enjoying, not having to stress about dinner is more important than ever.
While we're stocking up there are a couple of must haves for the fridge and freezer and I'm excited to offer them to you as well.

*SALSA*  Chips and Salsa are a go-to snack in our house so it's important to have LOTS of this at all times.
Available in 16oz ($5) and 32oz ($10) sizes.
Spicy Cucumber/Tomato Salsa - This is a chunky salsa with lots of flavor and nice kick.
Smoky Tomato Salsa - This is more of a tradional restaurant style salsa with a smooth, blended texture.

*Shredded BBQ*  I make this in large batches several times a year and it's definitely that time again.  Click here for serving suggestions.
Choose from pork or chicken.  $22 for a large container.  Feeds 4-6ppl.

 *Homemade Mac N Cheese*
It's impossible to have enough in the freezer.  Cook it for dinner and save the leftovers (if there are any) for a snack or lunch the next day.  Available for order on the freezer meal page .. just scroll down to the "side items" section.  $15 per container .. feeds 4-6ppl.

For Easier Ordering:
Click here to order Salsa and BBQ
Click here to order Mac N Cheese **Scroll down the page until you see "Sides"

Let's Review

Since we moved, I've really been on the fence about whether or not I wanted to try and continue with The Playful Table in a new city.  It can be a lot of work to try and market yourself in a new area and I've had a tough time trying to decide if I could start from scratch again.  But, the one thing I know for sure is that I've missed all the cooking.  I just can't help it .. it's the southern girl in me.
So, I've decided to put out a few feelers here in Columbus.  I'll test the waters to gauge the amount of interest and take it from there.
That said, I thought it would be a good idea to make a quick post with a few easy click links and explanations for what The Playful Table is all about.

The Main Idea ... Freezer Meals.  These are meals that come prepared and ready to be cooked.  Great for busy families, parents who both work or moms who prefer not to cook.  You take it out of your freezer the night before and it's ready to cook for dinner the next day.  There are also side items that can be purchased separately to add to any meal.

The Extras.  These are customer favorites that can be purchased on their own without the purchase of a freezer meal option.  You can choose to have them frozen or fresh.







Make A Meal.  This started as a service for people wanting to take a meal to friends/family at special or needed times in their lives (ie. new baby, sick family member etc).  It's still great for that but quickly became an option for planning ahead when you know a busy night or week is coming.  Orders for Make A Meal need to be placed at least 3 days ahead of time.  Pick up times are arranged and you have a hot, fresh meal ready for you when you need it.




Boxed Lunches.  One of my favorites!  Boxed lunches came about from my catering jobs.  Sometimes you don't have time for a hot catered meal at a meeting and a boxed lunch works great.  Perfect for offices, teachers and anyone planning for lunch.  It's easy to order online and orders should be placed at least 3 days ahead of time.

Sweets.  It doesn't all have to be savory.  Orders should be placed as ahead of time as possible.

Catering and Appetizers.  Last but certainly not least.  Catering is where it all started for me.  From cooking in your home for dinner parties to prepping a few appetizers for you to pick up, the sky is the limit here.

Have questions?  Email me at theplayfultable@yahoo.com

Quick Cheesy Salsa Chicken

Most of you know but for those of you that don't .. my husband is allergic to CHICKEN.  This definitely narrows the meal selection in our home but when he's away it's always a chicken day.   Usually the boys and I plan out what kind of yummy chicken meals we're going to have when he's not home but sometimes the day just gets away from us and when they're starving, the only requirement for our chicken is that it's ready QUICK.  Enter Cheesy Salsa Chicken.  It's not fancy but it's quick and delicious~

What you'll need:
4 Boneless Chicken Breast (cut into cubes)
Seasoning (salt, pepper, garlic to taste or Silly Salt if you have it)
1 cup chicken stock (or water in a pinch)
1-2 cups salsa (start with 1 and add more if necessary)
1/2 cup sour cream

Cut your chicken into bite size pieces

 

Season as you like.  A sweet friend gave us a bottle of this silly salt and I love it!

Throw the chicken into a hot pan and cook until nice and brown and cooked through.  Add a bit of oil before if you like but it cooks just fine without it!

Remove the chicken to a plate and add your stock or water to the pan.  Let it bubble until it reduces by about half and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all the yummy bits in the pan.

 

 

 

Mix together the salsa and sour cream.

 

 

 Add the chicken back to the pan then add the salsa mixture.

 Add a little shredded cheese if you like :)

 

 Stir it really good and serve over a bed of lettuce.  For your super hungry kids I'd suggest adding some yellow rice and black beans .. yum!

 And for your Alabama fans, serve on their favorite Bama plate.

 And then annoy them by taking pictures while they eat!

 And snap a few pics of the little bit of Halloween decorations you have out.

Happy Halloween friends!