Loblaws Holiday Giveaway 2010

You know what I love about the holidays? Traditions. And what are traditions but simple repetition?

With that inelegant introduction, I give you the President’s Choice Holiday Giveaway 2010. We did this last year, too. Remember the advent calendar of individually-wrapped PC products? And the nearly 200 people who made it one of the most commented-upon posts of the year? That was fun, let’s do it again!

Thanks to our friends and Loblaws and Hill and Knowlton, I am happy to share with you the opportunity to win a gift basket filled to bursting with $100 worth of holiday goodness.

Holiday basket

Doesn’t that look like fun? Here’s what you’ll find inside:

  • MUST TRY! PC The World’s Best Jumbo Cashews
  • MUST TRY! PC 100% Ground Coffee – Hawaiian
  • MUST TRY! PC Dark Chocolate with Cranberry and Almonds
  • MUST TRY! PC Gourmet Belgian Chocolate Collection
  • NEW! PC Premium Fruit and Nut Collection
  • NEW! PC Artichoke & Asiago Cheese Yogurt Dressing
  • NEW! PC Thick Cut Pizza Flavour Rippled Potato Chips
  • NEW! PC 100% Sparkling Fruit Juice – Kiwi Berry
  • NEW! PC White Chocolate Covered Sponge Toffee
  • NEW! PC Butter Tart Square
  • NEW! PC Cinnamon Buns Mix
  • NEW! PC Cracker Collection
  • NEW! PC Chocolate Fruit Fancies
  • PC Baking Square Mix – Belgian Chocolate
  • A $10 PC gift card to help stock your holiday survival kit with the MUST TRY! PC Puff Pastry Hors D’Oeuvre Collection or the NEW! PC Angus Sliders Mini Angus Beef Burgers
  • A copy of this year’s President’s Choice Holiday Insider’s Report to help entertain smarter, not harder this holiday season

And lookit how they packaged it all up in a reuseable PC Green Bin tote for you. Awesome, eh?

The contest is open from now through noon EST on Friday 19 November 2010. There are three ways you can earn a ballot to enter this giveaway:

  1. Leave a comment below and share an idea for a favourite family meal. We all need some inspiration this time of year when it comes to meal planning, and sometimes all we need is a new idea. Your comment can be as simple as a suggested menu plan (and by menu I mean everything from “peanut butter sandwiches, apple slices and milk all around” to “baby greens with aged chevre, followed by braised chicken with scallions and a balsamic reduction”) or, if you’re really keen, share an entire recipe for a tried and true family favourite.

  2. For another chance to win, write about the giveaway on your blog, linking to this post, and come back and leave me a comment with the URL to let me know about it. In fact, share your meal planning or recipe idea on your blog too and alleviate the meal-time planning burden of even MORE people! 😉

  3. For another chance to win, tweet the giveaway on Twitter using hashtag #PCHoliday and linking to this blog post, and leave me a comment with a link to your status update. (You can create a direct link to your Twitter update by clicking on the time of the update and saving that link.) You can use this tinyurl: http://tinyurl.com/2g6egnx

Edited to add: Sorry, I should have specified. Maximum number of entries is one per channel — one for commenting, one for blogging, one for tweeting. Multiple tweets are greatly appreciated, but will still only get you one entry into the giveaway! 😉

The fine print: this contest is open to Canadian residents only. One winner will be chosen by using the random number generator at random.org, selected from all eligible entries. The winner will be selected the afternoon or evening of November 20, 2010. You must be willing to share your mailing address with me, and I will share it with Hill and Knowlton Canada, who will ship the prize directly to the winner.

You can buy President’s Choice products at Loblaws, Independent, Extra Foods, No Frills, Superstore, Fortinos, ValuMart, Zehrs, Maxi, Provigo, SaveEasy and Dominion — here’s an online store locator!

Thanks to Loblaws and Hill and Knowlton for another fun giveaway. I’m looking forward to seeing your comments!

Edited to add: Congratulations to Leanne of Momcast, winner of the 2010 PC Holiday giveaway! Yay! I’ll send you an e-mail to get your contact deets. Thanks to everyone for your excellent comments and meal ideas. 🙂

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Author: DaniGirl

Canadian. storyteller, photographer, mom to 3. Professional dilettante.

82 thoughts on “Loblaws Holiday Giveaway 2010”

  1. I’m going to be trying unrolled cabbage rolls with a big salad tomorrow, I love trying new recipes!

  2. Our current favorite family dinner is black bean & sweet potato burritos. Super easy as you can prep the whole thing ahead of time and just put it in the oven for 20 minutes.

  3. A nice relaxing family dinner for us as we move into the busy holiday season is a pot of nice thick chili cooked in the slow cooker throughout the day served with fresh bread from the bread maker and a piece of homemade fudge for dessert. The majority of which I prepare in the morning then run my errands for the day.

  4. One of our favourite meals is chili. I make a super easy (tho probably high in bpa) version and I have a secret to extending it slightly:

    1 lb ground beef (lean if conventional, regular if from the farm)
    1 large onion
    2-4 cloves of minced garlic (Ontario!)
    1 green or red pepper (or both, if you have ’em)
    1 can of diced tomatoes (No Name/yellow label – the big fat tins)
    2 cans of Campbell’s Tomato Soup (don’t do No Name or Heinz – you can taste the difference!)
    2 cans red kidney beans, don’t rinse (No Name!)
    1 can mixed beans (No Name!)
    2-4 TBSP chili powder
    1-2 TBSP Worcestershire sauce (No Name – can you figure out where we shop for our packaged foods?)
    1 TBSP sea salt
    1 tsp black pepper
    *optional – other seasonings – give it a shake of this or that if you want to bump up the flavour
    *optional 1 cup of frozen corn (add near end of cooking)

    Secret Nutritional Meat Extender (I buy chicken hearts and livers at the farmer’s market, they are nutritional powerhouses, but ridiculously cheap, usually $1-$2 per 2 lb bag, grind them in the food processor, freeze portions in my metal muffin tin – which is only used for meat, incidentally, as I make individual meatloafs affectionately known as meat muffins – remove to a zip bag and add one to two into every pound of ground beef you prep for casseroles, stews, loafs…

    Brown up the meat with the veg, add in your canned stuff, mix in your seasonings, let cook at a light, simmering boil for 20 or 30 mins and serve.

    We serve with corn bread or buttered toast (LOTS of buttered toast!) on warm nights and it rocks and usually results in at least one extra meal for the freezer. To further extend for bigger families, add another tin of diced tomatoes.

  6. A quick and tasty dinner idea- Coke chicken! In a large pan, combine a can of coke and a cup of ketchup. Throw in 4 or 5 chicken breast, and simmer until chicken is cooked, and sauce has thickened! We often serve with mashed potatoes, or make a pulled bbq chicken sandwich,with melted cheese. YUM!

  7. A dinner we really like is to slice up a couple of zucchinis length-wise, and then layer them in a oven-safe dish with tomato sauce and chevre and bake them. It’s kind of like a lasagna, but not exactly.

  8. A quick week night dinner that the kids love is olivieri meat tortellinis, boil first then mix in some jarred pasta sauce and top with cheddar cheese and bake for 20 minutes.

  10. My children love simple, unadorned foods. This evening’s dinner consisted of tiny, separate bowls of plain brown rice, black beans, corn, and raw broccoli.

    The grown-ups mixed there’s together and added some soya sauce. Very plain, very simple, very healthy and very tasty.

  11. I love my ‘faster then cooking the noodles’ sauces. It’s either carbonara (well kind of: cream, onions and bacon, add parmesan on the table – easier to clean the pan), tuna (tomatoes, olive oil, tuna in olive oil, worchetershire sauce, beef broth and a LOT of onions) or dried tomatoes (olive oil, herbs, onions, garlic, rehydrated sun dried tomatoes – cheese, grilled pine nuts and fresh tomatoes on top).

    Three recipes, do I get three entries 😉

  12. It’s the time of year for Irish Stew in sourdough bread bowls (I’ve been proofing my sourdough for months!) and Beef Goulash over egg noodles! Mmmm.

    😀

  13. I’m with Lee-Ann and Leanne: Chili. I made a big pot yesterday afternoon, and I’ll freeze two or three dinners worth for busy nights in future weeks.

    And to fit the Loblaw’s theme, one of our favorite quick lunches is President’s Choice Blue Menu Pasta and Bean Soup with added turkey hotdogs. (I like to simmer the hotdogs in water first to wash out some of the salt, I hope, then cut them up and add the soup and heat.)

  14. Quick, easy dinner for us with enough for lunches the next day. One package of pre-cooked, cut up chicken breast (for fast, feel free to cook and cut chicken). Heat in a little olive oil and garlic. Add on package of california vegetables and tablespoon water, cover and simmer 10 minutes. Meanwhile boil pasta. Add alfredo or sun dried tomato & alfredo sauce to chicken and veg. Mix in pasta to chicken & veg. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and black pepper. Quick and easy pasta dish!

  15. I only wish I had a favourite, quick dinner these days! We have been so busy that it’s been tough to get to the grocery store, so we’ve been doing a lot of boring pasta/desperately-try-to-find-something-in-the-cupboards-or-freezer type of meals. I will say though (and this is not just sucking up!) that I recently tried a pre-cooked turkey breast from President’s Choice (Superstore here on the West coast). I usually really dislike those premade meals…my husband buys them whenever he’s in the store, and they’re usually so salty and tasteless. But this was really delicious! It’s the Blue Menu one, and it was really cheap (I think $8 for a big turkey breast, enough for the 4 of us). The gravy was really yummy over the mashed potatoes I threw together, and it was really low in calories and fat and had a reasonable sodium level. I will definitely be watching for it to go on sale and picking up some more for quick dinners!

  16. I just adore roasted broccoli these days. I chop off the florets, break them up and throw them in a bowl. Then I cut off the tough outer layer of the stem and slice that up too. After it’s been roasted in olive oil and sea salt, I can’t decide if I prefer the smoky, oil-infused florets, or the crunchy-sweet stems. Yum! Usually I also throw in a red pepper or carrots to add colour (and extra nutrients!)

    Barbequed pork tenderloin (and don’t tell me it’s too cold out! We barbeque all winter long here in the Yukon!) and rice from the rice cooker round out the meal.

  18. My current favourite quick, easy, delicious AND healthy dinner is bean burritos:

    1 can of refried beans
    whole wheat tortillas
    shredded low fat cheddar cheese
    fat free sour cream
    salsa
    diced tomatoes
    chopped green onions
    guacamole
    lettuce
    whatever

    Open can of refried beans and transfer to microwavable bowl. Heat for 2 minutes, stirring occasionally. Layer each of the above ingredients on a tortilla. Roll and eat. You’re eating in 6 minutes.

  19. You know, I enjoy simple food. Really simple food. I made this awesome guiness beef stew (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=10000001963989). We’d be all over having that with potatoes or crusty bread. The crusty bread would allow us to have bread and peanut butter or bread, butter and molasses for dessert. Because we’re irish people, and we like potatoes, bread, and other starchy goodness. I’m just sayin.

    I *really* want this basket. Hill and Knowlton, show me some love!

  20. slow-cooker roasted chicken (365 days of slow cooking has a good seasoning that makes it take a lot like the ones from the grocery store, but not as salty), with mashed potatoes and a salad
    tacos (I found a good seasoning spice recipe on the internet that isn’t loaded with salt and chemicals like the ones that come in the taco kit)
    and my new easy favourite — pork tenderloin cooked in the oven in rib sauce. Serve with rice from the rice cooker, green beans and frozen corn.

  21. Thanks for the giveway! We are going to have swedish meatballs over broccoli for supper tonight!

  24. What a great giveaway for the holidays.

    In our house, we’ve taken a recent liking to biscuit topped beef pot pie. Simpler than it sounds – basically beef stew with homemade biscuits baked on top – and perfect for hibernation worthy days!

  25. One of my favourite meals has always been a collection of things – like a picnic on the dining room table: hummus, baba ganoush, taboule, spicy sausage, whatever cheese you might have in the house, some granny smith apple slices or grapes, pita bread and a nice crusty baguette. Delicious.

  26. We’re also into pretty plain food at the moment – a favorite is salmon or rainbow trout with just a bit of kosher salt done for 15 minutes at 425 or 450; roasted potatoes and carrots, and steamed broccoli.

    Great give away – we’d love this – thanks!

  28. My favourite easy meal is porc tenderloin. I just mix equal parts dijon mustard (the old fashioned, grainy kind) and maple syrup and coat the meat before baking. It has a total prep time of about 36 seconds. Serve with your favorite potatoes and veggies or salad. Tadaa! To appease the kids I cut up their meat and drown it in unsweetened apple sauce.

  29. sqwee!! i love this contest and hope i win this year! (like all of the other commentors don’t!)

    tuna cups is the family favorite. it has to do with pilsbury cresent rolls, tuna and cheese. not the healthiest thing on the planet, but the jellybean eats two easily. I will take your advice and post this on a meal planning post tonight. I’ll come back and give you the url once up.

  31. Oh please oh please oh please! I am such a PC junkie, winning this would be awesome.

    We rotate a lot of regular dishes in & out because the kids get bored of the same things over & over. One of our current favs for the weekend, because it involves a bit of prep time, is Deb @ Smitten Kitchen’s honey hoisin riblets (http://smittenkitchen.com/2006/11/party-of-five/). I make ’em with asian coleslaw (see miso dressing recipe in same link) and fried rice from Julie @ dinner with Julie (http://dinnerwithjulie.com/2010/04/22/vietnamese-bun-pho-anh-huyen/). All yummy.

  33. DH and I like a lot of spices and interesting flavours in our meals, but our kids have less adventurous tastes. We often ended up making things that allow us to give part of the meal to the kids, but then we add more interesting stuff to ours.

    For instance, the kids love soba noodles with soya sauce. We serve them the noodles with maybe some cucumbers and carrots on the side. DH and I end up adding stir-fried shrimp and veggies to our noodles. The plus to this is that sometimes the kids will at least try a bit of what we’re having, which is helping us to expand their tastes.

  34. Chicken with broccoli and penne. This is one of my faves, and with a few tweaks, everyone will eat some of it.

    Cut up a couple or three chicken breasts into bite-sized pieces and saute (in a deep skillet that has a lid) in a couple of teaspoons of olive oil until golden. (at this point I take some of the chicken out for Leah, who doesn’t like garlic) Add two cloves of garlic (chopped or put through a garlic press) and a cup or so of chicken broth. Heat to barely boiling so that the chicken absorbs some of the broth and the broth cooks down. Keep adding broth (about another half cup or cup, so that there’s always some broth in the pan) and keep at a simmer.

    Meanwhile, boil some water and cook penne to al dente, adding broccoli florets to the water when there’s about a minute or two left in the cooking time. When penne is done, and broccoli is tender crisp, drain. (I take out some penne and broccoli out of the pot at this point for the girls: Rachel will eat them plain, Leah will have her penne and broccoli with the sauteed chicken I took out earlier). Then add the penne and broccoli to the pan with the chicken and broth in it and stir to coat with the sort-of-sauce made from the cooked down broth, and put the lid on the pan for a minute or so to finish cooking the penne and broccoli (but not too long, or the broccoli will be overcooked).

    Then I feast on the garlicky chickeny goodness while the girls are happy with their plainer dinners. One dinner cooked, three variations, three happy people. Sorry there are no measurements, but I just make it up as I go along.

  35. Tonight we are having roasted chicken. Its my go to recipe as it is quick and yummy.

    Preheat oven to 450F (yes 450F, the whole chicken cooks in an hour!)

    Rince and towel dry a 5lb (approx) frier chicken (thank you Costco) and place it in your roasting pan. Juice one fresh lemon. Add 1/2 tsp thyme, 1/2 tsp pepper, 1 tsp salt and 2 or 3 cloves of crushed garlic to the lemon juice. Quarter another lemon and place the quarters inside the cavity of the chicken. Brush the chicken with half to 3/4 of the lemon juice/spice/garlic mix. Flip the chicken over so it is upside down, brush the bottom of the chicken with the balance of the juice.

    If you wish you can cook this uncovered, it comes out beautifully but makes a royal mess of the oven. I cover it with foil. The skin still cooks nicely and clean up is easier.

    Cook chicken while its upside down for 20, turn it over so it is right side up and continue to cook for another 40 minutes. Delicious, juicy and fast!

  36. Our “go to” meal is soft tacos. Generally we have the ingredients on hand, it’s fast to make and everybody in my family likes it. Even better, the leftovers make for great taco salad lunches the next day. Weeknight dinner perfection.

  37. At this time of year, we really love hearty warming meals like chicken and dumplings, beef stew, or linguine cooked with butternut squash and goat cheese. Yum!

  38. A quick meal here is dahl made with red lentils served over rice. Boil up the lentils with chicken broth, onion, ginger, cumin, garam masala, salt, garlic, and presto…..cooks super fast, in about 10 min.

  39. My favorite meal is baked potato with “stuff” on top. You take baked potatoes, and then pile them high with toppings like onion, bacon, ham, chives, tomato, sour cream and grated cheese. I like cheddar.

  40. tonight we had chicken stew with dumplings (cooked biscuits on top, like Marisa). Lots of curry in it tonight for my cold – yum!

  42. With a toddler in the house, our favorite family dinner these days is spaghetti. I like to add lots of chopped up veggies (carrots, zucchini, peppers,) to the sauce to make sure we’re all getting some extra veggie goodness!

  44. My kids love love love grilled cheeses – and I sneak avocado, peppers, mushrooms, everything and anything I can!

  46. Love slow cookers this time of year! This is tasty and easy! Cooked when you get home!

    4-5 boneless chicken breasts
    1 (15 1/2 ounce) can black beans
    1 (15 ounce) can corn
    1 (15 ounce) jar salsa, any kind
    1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese
    Take 4-5 frozen, yes, frozen, boneless chicken breasts put into crock pot.
    add 1 can of black beans, drained, 1 jar of salsa, 1 can of corn drained
    Keep in crock pot on high for about 4-5 hours or until chicken is cooked.
    Add 1 package of cream cheese (just throw it on top!) and let sit for about 1/2 hour.

  48. Tater Tot Casserole (my kids love it)

    You need:

    1 package of tater tots (frozen)
    1 container of herb and garlic cream cheese
    1-2 green peppers (or any other veggies you’d like)
    small cooked ham (you’ll use maybe half)
    package of tex mex cheese (I used Sargentino)

    In a large casserole dish, put chopped veggies, chopped ham and tater tots. Soften the cream cheese (I used the microwave for about 30 sec) and put on top. Mix up so everything is covered in the cream cheese. Put some tex mex cheese on top.

    Bake in hot 425-450 oven for 20-25 minutes or until everything is heated through. Take out, stir and add some more cheese on top and bake for 2-4 minutes more.

  53. Do you save recipes from magazines? How do you organize them? This is what I do with mine:
    http://www.cussot.com/recipes/recipes.html

    Currently my favourite food in the world is roasted butternut squash soup because it’s just so darn easy.

    i) Peel the butternut squash, cut it up into 1″ cubes or so, peel and quarter 2 apples, coarsely chop 2 onions, peel a couple of garlic cloves.
    ii) Put on a shallow rimmed baking sheet, pour some melted butter over, stir around, season with salt and pepper, then roast at 425 degrees until soft. Some of the onion will probably get dark brown. Don’t sweat it.
    iii) Puree in a food processor with a bit of vegetable broth or water. Return to stove to warm up again, adding more broth or water until you like the consistency.
    iv) Serve with a dollop of yogurt on top.

  54. Oooh. We’d certainly love the PC basket.

    We’re starting to get crazy busy right now…our favorite go-to meal is pancakes for supper – plain pancakes served with yogurt and berries or potato pancakes served with applesauce or yogurt. Will sometimes add a couple of Bearbrook Farms sausages for the meat-eaters.

  55. I love jambalaya and stew this time of year. Warm and hearty 🙂 (I didn’t need to write the actual recipes did I? 😉

  57. oooh. i’d LOVE to win that! THe insider report at Xmas is my geeky favorite.

    Around here, a big hit is “opposite dinner” which is a fancy way of saying “we’re lazy and make breakfast again. :p Eggs, bacon and toast arranged to look like a pirate on a plate.

    Weird. But tasty. 😀

  58. A favourite around here is a recipe I got from a Kraft magazine a few years ago for Bruschetta Chicken Bake http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/bruschetta-chicken-bake-65546.aspx

    It’s delicious and both fast and easy to make. And if you cut up the chicken really small, toddlers and children who aren’t fans of meat will, unbeknownst to them, eat the chicken. I usually add some oregano as well as the basil to give it a bit more flavour, and you can add more/less diced tomatoes and more/less cheese to your family’s taste. Serve with a side salad or veggies and dip to round out the nutrition.

    Best part? It’s as good or better re-heated later if someone comes home late from a meeting, or for lunch the next day. And if you prefer to stay away from pre-packaged foods, you could probably figure out how to make it with your own stuffing.

  60. I love, love, love slow cooker chicken! My favs, and super easy – Curry Chicken with Chick Peas.

    Chicken Breasts 5-6
    Can of Chick Peas
    1 Jar 500ml Salsa
    1 Tablespoon Curry
    Cook in slow cooker for 6 hours, add 1 can coconut milk and simmer a bit longer. Serve over rice. Delish

  62. A favorite family meal is a quick recipe I came up with the other year. I call it Creamy Garlic Bacon Penne. It is a homemade white sauce with onions, garlic, bacon and fresh basil in it. It goes great over Penne or any kind of pasta really. It is one of my favorite dishes to prepare.

  65. So as a Canadian “resident” with a Canadian address can I enter? With a PO Box? If so, could me in! (I’m really regretting not thinking ahead to Christmas and doing a better job of anticipating all the little food things that make the holidays special, ie, nuts, chocolate, crackers, treats. Not sure what we’ll do this year!)

    A meal idea? Eggs. Eggs are quick and easy and versatile. Scrambled eggs, quiche, eggs and bacon, “egg in a hole”… so many quick options.

  66. One of our favorite family meals is taco night. It’s one of my go to meals that I know everyone will eat.

  67. One of our favorite family meals are pizza I buy the dough from Loblaws and toss all kind of fresh veggies and cheese takes few minutes to make and few minutes to eat.

  68. We love to make pizza on the BBQ. It’s so much fun and everyone can pick their own toppings. A ball of frozen pizza dough from La Bottega can feed a large crowd!

  69. here is wat I do when it is busy I buy a pre made ceasar salad toss in some chciken strips I also cook pasta and alfredo sauce 15 minutes pasta and salasd

  70. Does the chicken tenders meals from Loblaws/YIG count as a meal idea? It’s a treat we occasional get for ourselves. The chicken tenders are huge and all white meat. Delicious.

  71. Pingback: So DaniGirl, what was in the box?

  72. One of our favourite family meals during the holidays is fondue. We use a broth fondue and have a big selection of fresh vegetables, thinly sliced beef, and shrimp. The kids have fun put their forks into the pot and watching them cook. They end up eating lots of vegetables while waiting for the meat. We serve up with a variety of dipping sauces (often the “PC Memories of…”). Dinner takes a long time and we enjoy lots of talking and laughing.

  74. WE love a good soup at this time of year – either plain old tomato with grilled cheese sammiches, potato leek, or veggie chili are the current favs!

  77. Pulled Pork. Must try – check all recipes.com and search for the pulled pork using Root Beer and a slow cooker – OH MY so good.

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