Big family feasts and holiday meals are the best! That’s when all the best tasting food comes to the table (and the best leftovers)! However, after a few days, I tend to get a little bored of eating the same leftovers. So, instead of eating the same meal over and over again, I like to bake the leftovers into some puff pastry (or pie crust, whatever you have) and eat it as a hand pie.

Hand pies are exactly what they sound like, pies that you can hold in your hand and eat! There are some traditional hand pie recipes, but they can really be any combination of flavors or leftover that you have.

I always have leftover scallop potatoes and ham from Easter dinner, and they seemed like a perfect hand pie filling. I tucked my leftovers into some store bought puff pastry (found in the freezer section) with some Tillamook Swiss Cheese. Make sure your scallop potatoes (or whatever leftovers you are using) are cold when you load them into your shell, that way they aren’t too gooey when you seal the hand pie.

Layer your leftovers in the middle of your pastry dough (make sure to leave enough room around the edges to seal the hand pie). Brush the edges with an egg wash (mix together an egg yolk and a little water) and then seal the pie by pressing the two sides together; mark the edges with a fork.  Poke a few holes in the top to keep the pies from bursting while cooking and then brush the top with egg wash. Throw them in a 400 degree oven until they are gold brown (about 15-20 minutes).

We always seem to have a colony of chocolate bunnies around the house after Easter, so I cracked off a few pieces of chocolate and baked them into a cherry hand pie.

You will want to let them cool a little, but they are definitely best served warm out of the oven!

The options are truly endless; ham, swiss, and honey mustard or how about roast beef, horseradish cream, and provolone. What leftovers would you make a hand pie with?

By Candace

March is National Craft Month! So naturally, we’ve been spending time on Pinterest and have pulled together some of our favorite crafty pinners that we have been drawing inspiration from! Here are a few of our favorite Pinners!

Emily Morgenstern of 52 Mantels

Emily’s boards include everything from holiday inspiration to repurposing an old sweater for a lamp shade to making the perfect cake pops. Whatever inspiration you’re looking for, you can be sure Emily has already pinned it on her boards.

Marlynn Schotland of Urban Bliss

Marlynn’s boards are filled with eye catching pins of brightly colored cookies, unique gadgets, and iconic images. We plan on taking some crafty inspiration from her Organizing Bliss board when making these containers.

Lisa of Crazy Adventures in Parenting

We already have some chalkboard paint left over from this project, I think some wine glasses will be needed for our next wine and cheese pairing!

 Michael Wurm, Jr. of inspiredbycharm.com

We stumbled on Michael’s Pinterest boards while perusing Pinterest and man are we glad we did! This project would be the perfect way to put those extra Tillamook Yogurt containers to good use!

Vanessa of Tried & True

Vanessa’s Craft Nook board gave us all the inspiration and motivation we needed to get organized for National Craft month! Now we are ready to tackle all the fun projects she has pinned!

What will you create for National Craft Month?

By Candace

Birthdays, the Loaf Love Tour hitting the road, Wednesday afternoon – we’ll use any reason to celebrate, as long as cheese is involved! But of course, we need a plate to serve all that cheese on! I saw this DIY platter and thought it would be the perfect way to class up our daily cheese celebrations!

Instead of painting the whole plate with chalkboard paint, I decided to paint a thin strip along the bottom of the platter; I didn’t really like the idea of cheese sitting on chalkboard paint. There are some food safe paint options out there, so make sure to read the label before painting.

I already had the white plate and tape (I recommend painters tape because it peels off easily without leaving a sticky residue), so all I needed was some standard chalkboard paint, chalk, and a disposable paint brush.

Tape off the area you want to paint and apply two coats of chalkboard paint, allowing the first coat to dry before applying the second. Allow it to dry overnight and peel off the tape!

When you’re ready to party; grab a piece of chalk, cut up your favorite cheese varieties (as you can see, I used Colby Jack Cheese, Swiss Cheese Slices, and Medium Cheddar Cheese), and serve!

Share your cheese platters with us on Pinterest!

By Candace

Here are the top 5 Miss Muffet approved cheese curd recipes!

Bacon and Cheese Curd Grilled Cheese
This tasty find from Food & Wine is right up our alley!  Grilled cheese with bacon, sharp cheddar, and cheese curds!

Photo courtesy of © Fredrika Stjärne

Grilled Cheese Curd Panzanella
Tuscan bread salad, I would like to introduce you to Tillamook Cheese Curds! A match made in cheese heaven! Buon appetite!

Photo courtesy of Nick Kindelsperger

Fried Cheese Curds
We put our squeeky spin on this recipe from Simple Comfort Food. Fried + Cheese = delicious!

Poutine
There seems to be a little confusion as to where poutine was first invented. Regardless, whoever came up with this gravy smothered mound of deliciousness is a culinary genius in my eyes!

Cheese Curd Quesadilla
Quick, delicious, and squeeky!  A great combination!

Photo courtesy of AwakeAtTheWhisk.com

By Candace

Photo thanks to bengrey, flickr

I probably don’t need to tell you this, but Tillamook has some of the greatest fans ever! And every day we’re given the great joy of interacting with them personally!

This time of year is synonymous with sharing and giving, but our amazing fans are always blowing us away with their acts of kindness. Things like; dedicating their As You Wishlist contest entry to a loved one, requesting that we send their product replacement coupons to a family less fortunate “because they’re really going through a hard time right now and they could use them more than me,” multiple fans uniting to get an adorable little girl with cancer entered into the Picnic Pic contest so she could win a trip for her and her family.

We love engaging with you (our fans) because your simple acts of kindness warm our hearts, not only this time of year, but year round! So thank you, for joining us now, and year-round, in the spirit of giving.

By Candace

November is National Peanut Butter Lover’s Month! And OHHHH how I love peanut butter! In honor of my favorite Tillamook Ice Cream, Chocolate Peanut Butter, I wrote a little love note that I thought I would share with you!

Oh, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
You weave your way through my wildest dream
Your ribbons of thick creamy nuttiness
Make me want to run and jump with happiness

You touch my soul
As I admire you in my bowl
After I rob the container of the thick waves of peanut butter
I sit and listen to everyone else mutter

Oh, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
You do more than just fill my tummy
You make me positively beam!

By Candace

What better way to celebrate the season than with butternut squash and apple?

We LOVE soup at our house! It could be 90 degrees outside and soup still gets thrown out as a dinner option!  We typically rotate through our top three favorites (loaded baked potato, beer cheese, and chili). So when I announced that we were having butternut squash and apple soup for dinner, there was a less than enthusiastic response. It took some convincing (and the promise of bacon in the soup), but ultimately I won – and I am so glad I did, not only because I had a butternut squash to use, but because it was delicious!

I used the recipe here as a jumping off point, but then added a few of my own tasty touches. I promised bacon, so before I added the butter and veggies, I diced up some bacon and put it into the pot to crisp up. Once the bacon got a little crispy, I then added the veggies and followed the rest of the directions.

Without hesitation, I served it with a dollop of Tillamook Premium Sour Cream as suggested. And for good measure I also added some shavings of Tillamook 3 Year Vintage White Extra Sharp Cheddar Cheese on top (if you can’t find the 3 year old, any of our other Vintage White Cheddar varieties would be delicious!)

Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

Ingredients
1 medium butternut squash (3-4 lbs, cubed)
2 large Gala apples, peeled, cored and chopped into dice-sized pieces
1 tablespoon Tillamook Butter
1 small white onion, chopped
2 teaspoons minced garlic
4 ribs celery, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped
4 cups reduced-sodium vegetable broth (or homemade stock if you have on hand)
Sage (as a garnish)
Salt and pepper to taste

Jump over here for step by step directions.

Enjoy!

By Candace

Tillamook Yogurt is full of active cultures!

Tillamook Yogurt is the ultimate multi-tasker!  It’s convenient, a great on-the-go breakfast (it provides its own transportation vessel!), a possible dessert for those watching their waistline, an easy snack for your little ones after school, an ingredient for cooking, and if all that wasn’t enough, it also packs a healthy punch to your immune system!

Most yogurts contain active cultures needed to help fight off bad bacteria. Think of these little cultures acting as a “health army” fighting off bad bacteria trying to infiltrate your stomach and immune system.  Minus the fact that the names are incredibly hard to say (S. thermophilus, L. johnsonii, B. lactis, L. bulgaricus, and L. casei, huh?), these cultures are great partners when it comes to maintaining your health.

Adding active cultures to your diet has been said to help improve your immune system, aid in digestion, fight off a number of infections, help with the absorption of nutrients, and make it tolerable to enjoy yogurt for lactose intolerant folks, among other things!

Tillamook Yogurt is a delicious way to get some healthy active cultures into your diet.  If you aren’t a big fan of eating yogurt alone, try this yogurt-based smoothie recipe to sneak those active cultures in!

What Tillamook Yogurt flavor do you get your culture fix from?

By Candace

Photo: Flickr/wickenden

On warm summer nights, when it’s too hot to cook or you just don’t have the energy, there’s almost nothing easier than throwing together a sandwich (I said “almost nothing,” because standing over the kitchen sink with a carton of Tillamook Ice Cream is pretty easy too!). My go-to summer sandwich is the ever popular (and easy) BLT. I love BLTs because there are so many variations on the classic: avocado, sprouts, onion, Tillamook Cheese! Everyone can customize their sandwich to their liking with very little extra effort. Win!

Here are a few BLT variations (using Tillamook Cheese of course!). I whipped them up in very little time, with minimal fuss and maximum deliciousness!

The Classic BLT w/Cheese:
For this variation I, of course, had the token ingredients: bacon, lettuce, and tomato. But I also added avocado for a nice creamy texture, Tillamook Sliced Sharp Cheddar Cheese for a slight bite, and ranch spread.  I make my own ranch spread using Tillamook Premium Sour Cream, dill, parsley, lemon juice, grated garlic, salt, and pepper – but you could easily use the ranch dressing in your refrigerator to make assembly go even faster! I assemble my classic BLT on toasted white bread (nothing special, just keeping it simple).

The “Some Like It Hot” BLT:
(Disclaimer: Warning! Hot!  This one will sneak up on you and kick you in the back of the throat!)

I am not typically fond of super spicy food, but this BLT rendition pleasantly surprised me! I gathered my B, L, and T and piled them high on an everything bagel. I also grabbed Tillamook Sliced Hot Habanero Jack Cheese and whipped up a spicy spread using Tillamook Sour Cream and sriracha hot sauce. I fully expected my eyes to start watering the second I took a bite, but the heat was subtle and slowly kept building, and the cool veggies helped keep the heat under control. Like I said, I was pleasantly surprised! If you want to knock out some of the heat you can exclude the spread or take a step down to Tillamook Pepper Jack Cheese, which still has a nice kick without all the commitment! 

The Veggie BLT (aka: The Beach Body BLT):
I like to have light meals in the arsenal for those super-hot days, and this veggie BLT is perfect for keeping it light!

I load up a wrap (a spinach wrap would be delicious!) with all the veggies I can find: sliced cucumber, avocado, red onion, lettuce, tomato, and veggie bacon. You could also add sprouts, sliced bell pepper, mushrooms, radish… the options are endless!  While veggies on their own are delicious, sometimes they lack that “bite” I am looking for, so I add Tillamook Sliced Smoked Black Pepper White Cheddar for a nice peppery bite.  Top it with a little salt, pepper, oil, and vinegar and enjoy!

What’s your twist on the classic (and easy) BLT?

By Candace

The gorgeous Oregon Coast

I grew up in Oregon, so making frequent trips to the Oregon Coast throughout the year wasn’t uncommon for my family. Every summer we would spend a week at Rockaway Beach (right outside of Tillamook, hint hint!). We spent hours playing in the sand, building forts and convincing our parents that we should be allowed to sleep outside, combing the beach for treasure, traversing the jetty, taunting sea anemones, and building bonfires.

Some of my best childhood memories were spent on the Oregon Coast! I’ve grown out of taunting sea anemones, but still enjoy spending time out on the Oregon Coast. If you’re new to Oregon, just visiting, or if you’ve lived in Oregon your whole life but happened to live under a rock during your childhood, here are some of my recommendations for your trip to the Oregon Coast!

Tillamook Cheese Factory
This is a no-brainer. I would be crazy to not include it.  Like I said, Rockaway Beach is right down the road, so every summer on our way to the beach we would stop at the Tillamook Cheese Factory! We never had to be told we were stopping or even ask to stop, it was a given! Just like every other kid at the factory, we would press our noses against the viewing area window and watch as the cheese was being made and packaged. I appreciate the history and other attractions that are scattered around the factory now, but back then it was all about the viewing area, the cheese tasting line and the ice cream counter! My favorite Tillamook Ice Cream flavor as a kid was Udderly Chocolate (formally known as Brown Cow), but there’s a Tillamook Ice Cream flavor for everyone!

Ecola State Park
Ecola State Park is a beautiful spot for those looking for a great view; make sure to bring your camera! Just a short drive from Cannon Beach and sitting above the ocean, it’s a great place to stop for a picnic and watch as the waves roll in. There’s a $5 daily day-use fee, so make sure to stop by the guard station on your way in. After you’ve taken in the sights, make your way down to the beach for a little beachcombing or mussel harvesting (but make sure you get a shell fish license first!).

Pacific City
About 35 minutes south of the Cheese Factory you will find the quaint town of Pacific City. Don’t let it fool you; it’s known for some of the most epic sand dunes around. A 4-wheeler’s paradise! If you have some extra energy to spend, the sand dunes have a great leg workout for you. You will find other beach goers climbing the massive dunes and sliding or sandboarding their way down. After you’re done conquering the sand dunes, make sure to stop in at Pelican Pub & Brewery for a bite to eat and a hand-crafted draft brew (for those over 21!).

Rockaway Beach
Rockaway is a great destination if you don’t want to venture too far from Tillamook. About 20 minutes north, through Bay City and Garibaldi, you will find Rockaway Beach. It’s a small town with much to offer, but if you’re short on time, I would recommend making your way out to the jetty first. Traversing the jagged rocks to get to the edge of the jetty is something you won’t want to miss.

Seaside
In my opinion (and experience) Seaside is the best beach for kids. There’s plenty of sand to run free, play football, and build sand castles. After you have had enough sun and sand, you can make your way to the arcade. Seaside is also home to Phillip’s Candy Kitchen, which has the best butter taffy around. If you have never had butter taffy, you might be thinking “gross, butter taffy.” But trust me, it’s delicious! If you’re in Seaside and ready to move on, jump north to Fort Stevens…

Fort Stevens State Park
Fort Stevens State Park is a short drive from Seaside (and on your way to Astoria, where The Goonies was filmed!). It’s a great place to get a glimpse of history and let your little ones get out and explore. While you’re there, don’t pass up a trip down to the beach to see the remains of an old ship wreck.

Learn more about the Oregon Coast for more fun ideas and must-see stops for your Oregon Coast vacation.

What are your must-see destinations and stops along the Coast?

By Candace