Making Yummy Meals With Kikkoman!

Meals are always so stressful for me. Really. I don't think it should be this way. But between working nights, and two picky boys (and an even pickier husband!), and grocery costs being higher than they have ever been, it seems like mealtime is just about one of the biggest stressors for me! It seems that no matter how well I plan, we always come back to pizza, tacos, or spaghetti. I was ready for a change! 

Enter the lovely folks at Kikkoman. They sent me a wonderful package filled with enough great products to keep me and my boys happy and well fed for a long time! Here is what they sent us: 

• 2 boxes of Kikkoman Panko
• 2 boxes of Kikkoman’s new item – Kara-age
• 2 bottles of Kikkoman Lime Ponzu
• Kikkoman Soy Sauce
• Kikkoman Rice Vinegar
• Kikkoman Teriyaki Sauce
• Kikkoman brush for basting
• A Kikkoman apron
• A Kikko Duckie

I was so happy with this wonderful package! I was totally inspired when I opened it up and saw all the goodies! Now, what to cook?? Even though I had some of the ingredients, I had no idea how to put them all together to make something yummy. So, I turned to Kikkoman's website for some recipes and tips! 

The first product we decided to use was the Panko. If you have never heard of Panko, it is kind of like bread crumbs, but better! Now, we have used Panko breading in the past for simple things like onion rings and homemade chicken nuggets (SO yummy!),  but I was reading online that Panko can be used for sweet recipes as well.  Being a mommy with one hell of  a sweet tooth, I thought I should check this out! So, I decided to try a recipe called Apple-Cranberry Crisp. It was super easy to make. Apples, cranberries, sugar, flour, panko, cinnamon and butter. Combine and bake. It turned out so great! The boys even ate it up, which is saying a lot for a dish that contains fruit! ;) Here is a photo of the crisp from the site (you guys know I am still suffering from camera withdrawal..don't worry, it's almost tax time and mommy is getting a new camera!)

Okay.. so now I covered a sweet recipe, what in the world was I going to make with all this other stuff? I was really intrigued by the Kara-Age, so it was my next stop. 

The Kara-Age coating mix is a new one for Kikkoman! It's a soy-ginger seasoned coating mix. We decided to go with our old standby of homemade chicken nuggets with this one. When I was using the coating mix, I was really surprised with the ginger smell. It was really strong, even tickling my nose a few times! I was a little wary with this coating mix. How would the boys eat something that tasted like soy and ginger if it was even tickling my nose? But not to worry! Once the chicken was fried, the ginger taste was not prevalent anymore! The chicken nuggets we made were so good, and the boys ate them right up (dipped in ketchup, of course!). 

I have really been having a great time with all of these Kikkoman products! We made some yummy grilled shrimp with the Ponzu Lime sauce, some Teriyaki wings to eat on football nights, and of course, some chicken fried rice with our soy sauce! I was so glad to get these wonderful products to try! I have found a new love for cooking with these products, and using new products in the kitchen has really motivated me to try new recipes that I usually wouldn't try !

I totally recommend stepping out of your comfort zone and trying some of these Kikkoman products that you wouldn't normally try! If you feel like doing just that, the fine folks at Kikkoman are offering a coupon for you guys available here at their site!

So, what are you waiting for?? Get off of this blog and get to cooking! 

I received a sample product in order to conduct this review. Although a sample product was received, all opinions are my own and no monetary compensation was received.