Tag Archives: Recipes

On April 19 Festival Foods was honored to receive the “Minnesota Grown Retailer of the Year” award! Pictured is Minnesota Grown spokesperson Carrie Tollefson, Rod Borden Director of Produce and Jason Herfel Vice President of Fresh Foods at Festival Foods. As a small local business we understand perhaps better than the chain stores that our local farmers are an important part of their communities just as our stores and associates play an important role each community they are located.     While Whole Foods & other chains define local as “only products that have traveled less than a day (7 or fewer hours by car or truck)” our definition at Festival Foods is a lot closer to home. Here are some of the wonderful families and farms  that have provided our local produce for many years. Axdahl’s Garden Farm-Brian and Leslie, Stillwater MN Pahl Farm- Gary and Brian Pahl, Apple Valley MN … Continue reading

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  One item always on our shopping list at this time of year is Asparagus, we had it for dinner three times last week! Steaming and roasting the asparagus are my favorite methods to cook the Asparagus. Roasting is so simple just wash and trim the Asparagus toss to coat with olive oil and a tiny squeeze of lemon and sprinkle of kosher salt. Lay flat on a baking sheet and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes. Another simply delicious recipe is Grilled Asparagus Salad with Fried Eggs. Asparagus would be a wonderful side dish to many of our recipes included in our menu for the week. We thought we should highlight some foods around the store that you may not have tried yet: Piacci Fior‑di‑Latte, or “flower of milk,” offers delicate flavor, reminiscent of handmade fresh Italian Mozzarella. Perfect to toss with tomatoes and fresh basil for … Continue reading

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Our glorious spring weather disappeared quickly with a dusting of snow so we turned to some heartier dishes for this week’s menu. One of the dishes this week is Speedy Baked Ziti. I was a fan of the Sopranos on HBO and all of the characters loved Carmella’s Ziti and a dish that brought the family together for Sunday dinner so when I ran across this recipe in Food and Wine, I had to give it a try! Another recipe this week is our Southwestern Pot Roast, a very simple recipe for the slow cooker that we serve with  provides another great meal with leftover pot roast used for Shredded Beef Quesadillas, here is our video for the quesadillas. The perfect accompaniment to either of these meal is our recipe for Cilantro Lime Rice: Cilantro Lime Rice Ingredients: 1 Cup Basmati Rice – Rinse lightly in cold water, then cook … Continue reading

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One of our favorite dinners growing up was “Dad’s Pancakes” made from scratch and unbelievably fluffy. The pancakes were always served with what is now referred to as simple syrup, we referred to it all those years ago as sugar syrup. While I would like to tell you that I continue to make Dad’s recipe, my time does not allow that to be the case, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying pancakes for dinner! There are many good pancake mixes, I like a complete mix where all you have to do is add water, a quick and easy way to feed the family for dinner, add some “little sizzlers” or bacon with a giant glass of milk and your family will be very happy. That glass of milk can also help save BIG money at the gas pump as well. Save 10 cents per gallon of gas for EACH … Continue reading

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One of my favorite holiday traditions as a child was coloring the Easter eggs, as an adult one of my least favorite traditions was hard-boiling the eggs so the eggs could be dyed! Many years ago I discovered the secret of perfect hard-boiled eggs – I purchase them from the Deli at Festival. I prefer to purchase the eggs and dye them at home but the Deli team also prepares dyed eggs if that is your choice. Our Premium Quality Double Smoked Bone-In Ham is a holiday tradition for many families. Our ham is fully cooked; twice smoked over hard wood you may simply bake covered with foil or lid at 325 degrees for approximately 15 minutes per pound to an internal temperature of 140 degrees. This video featuring Festival team members Ray and Jason explains the advantages of purchasing and serving a premium quality ham. Leftover ham from your dinner may be … Continue reading

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Our Minnesota weather is at least living up to it’s name as we complete this week’s menu!  We often times comment about how the weather can change so quickly and how it affects how we move about or what sounds good for dinner. With our warm streak, a cool dip and now a return to warm weather soon(tomorrow!) our menu for this week has many options, check out the menu here. We start off with some news this week that is worthy of reviewing and sharing. Recently in the media, there have been some reports on ground beef that have raised some questions with our customers. We appreciate all of your questions and know if we have heard from some of you, there may be others that want to know about our ground beef. We want you to know and be confident when purchasing our ground beef, it is 100% … Continue reading

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Perhaps you were out walking through the neighborhood during the recent beautiful weather, the neighborhood kids outside en masse, the smell of barbecue wafting through the air. As the weather winter turns to spring lighter meals are on the menu, and Festival Foods has everything you need to make this week’s dinner plan tasty, healthy, and easy! Check out this week’s suggest menu here. Nothing says spring on the table quite like fresh asparagus, and Festival Foods has wonderful fresh asparagus available right now in our produce departments! Speaking of barbecue, Festival Foods has what is likely the best barbecue sauce you will ever taste: Big Rick’s! This is the real deal, direct from Kansas City, and once you’ve tried it you’ll be hooked. It’s perfect on the grill with your favorite meats! And like their amazing barbecue sauce, Big Rick’s now has an equally amazing salsa. Beware! It’s not … Continue reading

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What a wonderful time of year!  Time to explore wonderful foods of St. Patrick’s Day that help us usher out the long winter and celebrate the return of spring!  For the suggested menu this week we hope you find some fun items to share with your family and friends that even complement the leftover corned beef! Irish Soda Bread and Pumpernickel Bread – Made from scratch favorites fresh out of the ovens at Taste of Scandinavia!  For a limited time we are baking loaves of Irish Soda Bread.  If you have not tried it, it is definitely worth the try!  A heavier bread with currants that can be served at room temperature or toasted with butter.  Just a heavenly bread eating experience  most would not expect. If you are planning a party, you can order a loaf to reserve yours online by clicking here. Irish Cheeses are some of the … Continue reading

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We have some beautiful salmon filets in our store this week and a recipe that is sure to please is Bacon Wrapped Salmon. This recipe uses Tom Douglas Rub with Love – Salmon rub as well as a Savu smoker bag. The salmon rub is brown sugar based  and this rub flavors “the best salmon in Seattle” at Etta’s restaurant, according to Northwest Palate Magazine. If you love easy clean up with the bonus of great taste you will love the Savu smoker bag.   Our weekly menu also has another salmon recipe for Maple Glazed Salmon, another delicious option! As if we needed an excuse to eat salmon, here is an interesting article A Diet Rich in Fish May Help the Brain. The new Tide “pods” have just arrived in our stores, great pre-measured detergent so no messy cups to measure and spill. Another new item in our innovative bakery … Continue reading

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You don’t have to go to the French Quarter of New Orleans to celebrate Mardi Gras. Have your own celebration enjoying  creole or cajun cuisine and other food traditions of Mardi Gras. We have King Cakes and Paczkis on Monday and Fat Tuesday and some festive cupcakes to celebrate the event. One staple in our family cupboard has always been Zatarain’s Dirty Rice mix, all you have to do is add water and browned ground beef, a one pot meal to have any time of year. Po’ boys are another Louisiana food that we enjoy. Po’boys are a sandwich that consists of meat or seafood (usually fried) served on a baguette. One of our favorite po’ boy recipes is made with ground pork from a recipe I found years ago in Food and Wine magazine Spicy Pork Po’Boys is included in our Menu this week. How about trying Jambalaya with … Continue reading

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