Cattle Boyz Gourmet BBQ Sauce Review And #GIVEAWAY! 9/01

I admit it: I am a total foodie. I love nothing more than creating new dishes for my family, and I often take existing recipes and totally change them around, adding my own personal twists. That's right. You will never see me poring over a cookbook and trying to get my measurements right. (Unless I am baking...Then it's a whole different story!) I usually consult recipe websites just to get an idea, and then I set the laptop down and just run with adding, adding or eliminating ingredients as I see fit. To me, cooking is an adventure. The sky is the limit when preparing food, and one way to ensure successful dishes is to always have high quality ingredients on hand. I am VERY picky about what I will use in my food. Ground beef? Never! Get me some Ground Chuck! Iceburg Lettuce? You can let that sink with the Titanic! Hand me some Romaine, Endive, or butter greens! American Cheese? Well, it does have its place, but I would MUCH prefer some smoked Provolone, some buttery Havarti, some nutty Meunster or some zippy Pepper-Jack! So as you can see, I am very conscious of what ingredients I use while cooking. I make almost everything from scratch, even my sauces. The exception to the rule is mashed potatoes. My family actually prefers instant potatoes, as odd as it sounds. But I even doctor those up and transform plain into fabulous!

Obviously, in my household quality matters. Does everything HAVE to be homemade? Not at all! I am just very selective about what prepacked, prepared foods and sauces I will incorporate into my cooking. That's why I was so eager to try Cattle Boyz Gourmet BBQ Sauces and Seasonings. I have read rave reviews of their line of products, and knew I just had to try them for myself! I generally make my own BBQ sauce, but this can be a time consuming process, and I don't always have all the staple ingredients like molasses on hand. So finding a great, pre-made BBQ sauce sounded like a lifesaver to me for those busy weeknights where I don't necessarily have hours to spend slaving away in the kitchen.

The nice folks at Cattle Boyz, a Canadian company straight out of the rustic country-side of Alberta, were nice enough to send me an assortment of their products to try in my kitchen. I received 2 varieties of their Gourmet BBQ Sauce, the Original and the Sweet Chili Sauce. The GREAT thing about these products is that they are gluten and fat free, and contain absolutely no additives or preservatives whatsoever. What does that mean? It means that there is no concern about what you're feeding your family. All of the ingredients are right there, and you can actually pronounce them all! This also means that you'll be experiencing flavor at its finest. The fact that the ingredients are from natural sources and are not artificial in nature allows all of the wonderful flavors to play off of each other and blend together perfectly, with no "fake" or over-processed flavor.

I tried the Original BBQ Sauce First, paired with the Smoky Southwest Seasoning and Rub. I decided to keep things very simple so I could showcase the flavors of these products. I even completely resisted the urge to "doctor" the dish, as hard as it was for me. I decided to make a simple, BBQ Chicken and Roasted Potato dish. (Photos and recipe to follow.) I almost felt wrong making something that required so little effort, but the results were fabulous. The Original BBQ Sauce had a pefect balance of sweetness and smokiness, and even had a hint of heat to it. For this recipe, I also used the Southwest Rub, which has a wonderful smoky, spicy flavor to it. Who knew that only 4 ingredients could make such a delicious, flavorful dish?!

In addition to these awesome sauces, I also received 3 of Cattle Boyz awesome seasonings, their versatile Gourmet Seasoning, which is suitable for meats, veggies, and even seafood, their Smoky Southwest Seasoning and Rub (mentioned above) which can liven up any protein and even be added to soups and stews, and their Big Country Garlic Seasoning which I literally use on EVERYTHING. These seasoning blends are nothing short of phenomenal! I routinely use the Gourmet Seasoning on veggies and baked potatoes, as it lends a perfectly balanced savory sensation that brings out the natural flavors of the foods beautifully. I also love the Smoky Southwest Seasoning, and use that on meats, chicken, and in stews. As the name indicates, this is a spicier seasoning blend, but it's not too spicy for kids. It's just right! Now my favorite of the three would have to be the Big Country Garlic Seasoning. Oh. My. Goodness. This is probably THE single best garlic seasoning I have ever had the pleasure of trying. It showcases the expected pungent flavor of the garlic, but then comes an unexpected sweetness that complements the garlicky goodness perfectly. Add a slight bit of heat (and I do mean slight) and you have a complex yet simple seasoning that is perfect on literally everything. I use it on toast, in pretty much every dish I make, and it's even good in grilled cheese sandwiches! It is absolutely delicious!

Overall, I would definitely recommend Cattle Boyz Gourmet BBQ Sauces and Seasonings to anyone who wants to add something extra special to their meals. You can save SO much time in the kitchen when using these products, and your family will think you've slaved away all day. The flavors are big, bold, and unlike any other commercially prepared sauces and rubs I've ever tried. And the fact that they are gluten and fat free, and don't contain any preservatives makes these the natural choice for families!

EASY PEASY CATTLE BOYZ BBQ CHICKEN AND POTATOES RECIPE:

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Ingredients:

• 2-4 Boneless skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of any goop.
• 4 potatoes of any variety, scrubbed and cut into 1.5" chunks. I used Idaho Russets for this recipe.
• 2 tsp Cattle Boyz Smoky Southwest Seasoning and Rub (or more!)
  
• 1/2 bottle of Cattle Boyz Original BBQ Sauce

Yes, really. 4 ingredients. That's it!

Directions:

• Pre-heat oven to 350 F.
• Line casserole dish with diced potatoes.
  
• Sprinkle potatoes generously with Cattle Boyz Southwest Seasoning and Rub.
• Place chicken breasts between 2 sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4-1/2" thickness.
• Season chicken breasts with Cattle Boyz Smoky Southwest Seasoning and Rub.
• Place chicken in casserole dish on top of potatoes.
• Pour 1/2 bottle of Cattle Boyz Original BBQ Sauce over chicken.
• Cover with foil.
• Bake for 50-60  minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
• Let your family think you cooked all day!

Here are some photos of the preparation of this super-simple recipe:

Seasoned potatoes go in the casserole dish first.

Season your tenderized chicken breasts generously.

Place chicken on top of potatoes and cover in sauce.

Voila! A super easy, tasty dinner! I served mine with some cheesy rice!

BUY IT:

You can purchase Cattle Boyz products on their website.

You can also follow them on Facebook and on twitter to stay on top of their latest products and promotions!

WIN IT:

One very lucky follower will be receiving the Cattle Boyz Starter Pack, which includes all of the wonderful items I received for review!

Please use this handy Rafflecopter form to enter!

This giveaway is open to US  and Canadian Residents 18+ and will be open until 12:01AM EST on 9/01/2011. Winners will be chosen at random and will be announced here, tweeted, shared on Facebook, and contacted via e-mail. The winners will have 48 hours to reply and claim their prize. If I receive no response, I will be forced to draw a new winner.

***Disclosure: I received a complimentary product to facilitate my review. No other compensation was provided, and all opinions are 100% honest and have not been influenced in any way.***