What are some successful recipes to use with a Pampered Chef starter kit?

[sunnygirl in nd]

I haven't even received my kit yet but I have a quick question. What would you consider to be the most successful recipes to use with the starter kit? I do have some other pieces myself too. Maybe this is addressed in the kit. I have been to the consultant's corner. I guess I'm just thinking maybe there are some great starter recipes that have worked well for you. I'm very interested in the doing the power cooking so maybe I'll just start with that. Any other tips for someone who is new? I have 5 shows lined up so I'm excited about that.

 

[janetupnorth]

I did the Jerk Chicken Nachos a lot.Any recipe is a great "starter" one if it:1. Uses the tools you have.
2. Can involve your guests.
3. YOU ARE COMFORTABLE WITH IT.#3 is key. If you are comfortable and excited your guests will be too!

 

[babywings76]

The warm, nutty, caramel brownies are a huge hit, so if they want a dessert, I'd go with that. I love the 3 cheese garden pizza that comes with the kit, but that means you have to demo the mandoline (kind of hard when you are brand new). So with that, make sure you practice a lot before doing it at your show.

 

[peachey]

For me, I did the Creamy One Pot Pasta a lot at the beginning. People love to hear how simple it is to make, and how cheap it can be. It feeds a lot!

 

[sunnygirl in nd]

I can't find the recipe on the consultant's corner. Do I need to purchase a Season's Best to get it?

 

[sunnygirl in nd]

Are these recipes included at the consultant's corner?

 

[sunnygirl in nd]

I found the recipe but I don't have the rub. I'm assuming I'll have to wait until I place an order to order some?

 

[babywings76]

Your kit will come with a Season's Best. I love how it's all available on CC also. You don't need a rub for Creamy One-Pot Pasta, if that's the dish you were referring to.The Pampered Chef ®
Creamy One-Pot Pasta
Recipe 4 large garlic cloves, peeled
1 jar (7 oz) sun-dried tomatoes in oil, undrained
3 cans (14.5 oz each) chicken broth (5 1/4 cups)
1 lb uncooked penne pasta
1 head broccoli (2 cups small florets)
2 medium carrots, peeled
4 oz reduced-fat cream cheese (Neufchâtel)
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp coarsely ground black pepper
Grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil (optional) Thinly slice garlic using Paring Knife. Place garlic and 1 tbsp oil from sun-dried tomatoes into (8-qt.) Stockpot. Cook garlic over medium heat 2-3 minutes or until garlic is golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat; add broth. Return to burner; increase heat to high. Cover and bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; cover and simmer vigorously 8-10 minutes or until pasta is almost cooked but still firm, stirring occasionally using Mega Scraper.Meanwhile, cut broccoli into small florets; place into Classic Batter Bowl. Cut carrots in half lengthwise; thinly slice crosswise on a bias using Santoku Knife. Drain sun-dried tomatoes; pat dry with a paper towel. Slice tomatoes into thin strips. Add carrots and tomatoes to batter bowl.Cut cream cheese into cubes. Add vegetables, cream cheese, salt and black pepper to Stockpot. Stir until cream cheese is melted and fully incorporated. Reduce heat to medium; cover and cook an additional 2-4 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Serve immediately in Simple Additions® Dots Large Round Bowl. If desired, top with grated fresh Parmesan cheese and snipped fresh basil.

 

[kam]

I believe you will get the current Season's Best with your kit.

In glancing at the recipes, it looks like the following could be done with the kit:
Spinach Carbonara Pizza
Taffy Apple Tartlets
Warm Nutty Caramel Brownies

Some older recipes I think can be done with the kit (someone correct me if I am wrong):
Truffle Brownie Cups
Mini Pesto Pizzas
Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares
Quiche Lorraine Tartlets

You can go on CC and look under Products & Recipes, then Recipes, then Season's Best and the current Season's Best and older one are there.

I did the Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares for my first few shows. It was a big hit.

The only thing with the Beef Power Cooking is that you would have to have the Ground Beef cooked prior since I am assuming you don't have the 12" Skillet since it is not in the kit. And you need to finish/heat the recipe that will be served and I don't think the 8" saute that came with the kit will be big enough. I haven't looked that closely at the Chicken recipes yet, so maybe some of those are do-able..?


Oh, and as soon as you place a supply order, you may want to pick up some of the spices. You will use them a lot!

 

[babywings76]

Oh, and I like to use regular cream cheese and use the whole 8 oz. pkg. (But that's just me, I know that means it's not as healthy )

 

[Intrepid_Chef]

You can use any seasoning on the nachos ... just explain that we have a seasoning that gives these a really unique flavor. I make these with Southwest seasoning a lot, which is like taco seasoning without the salt.

I would go with the brownies, or the pizza recipie in your starter kit. I made that because I was not familiar with the other options they gave me ...

 

[chefann]

When you get a hard-copy Season's Best in your hands, look for the last 2 recipes in each section. They're designed to be done using only kit products. Your Director and/or recruiter should be able to help you select some recipes, too.

 

[babywings76]

:blushing:OH, she was referring to the Nachos....got it....sorry.:blushing:

 

[ChefLisa]

Your starter kit will come with cards for three recipes. I highly recommend sticking with one of them for your first few shows. They explain everything. One of them is for Three Cheese Garden Pizza. It is an easy recipe, uses a good supply or your products and smells and tastes great!

 

[peachey]

I doubled the cream cheese for the Creamy One Pot Pasta too.

 

[kam]

When you get a hard-copy Season's Best in your hands, look for the last 2 recipes in each section. They're designed to be done using only kit products. Your Director and/or recruiter should be able to help you select some recipes, too.

Thanks for posting that. I know you have posted that before - but for the life of me I couldn't remember it!

 

[pampchefsarah]

It was already mentioned, but I highly recommend the Ham & Cheese Brunch Squares. Very yummy, and you can set up stations. I actually made these at our Women's retreat in September, and had one person mixing the cream cheese and eggs, another chopping the ham, another cutting up the tomatoes, and another slicing the shallots.

By the way, I never did find the 'toaster potatoes' so I use either frozen (such as Ore Ida) hash browns or country-style potatoes (these are really good!!).

If you use this recipe, be sure to tell your guests the squares are even better the next day!

 

[Alexandra]

I would suggest the Three Cheese Garden Pizza; it's one of the recipes in the kit. I'm a newbie (just qualified last week, my 30 days ended last Thursday) and that's the recipe I picked. I practiced it a couple of times at home - husband loved it and asked that it be put on the weekly menu. It's always a hit at my shows, with everybody asking for the recipe.

I found the Ultimate Mandoline pretty easy to demonstrate. There's a great set of videos on Consultant's Corner in the Online Training Center - click on Products, then scroll all the way down to the Ultimate Mandoline. Actually, the whole section on products is great; every item in your kit is there with lots of information, audio, and quite a few also have video to demonstrate important features. Really cool.