Listen to Lena

Perfecting the Art of Conversuasion

We’re Ready for Fright Night with Cardinal Ready

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NOTE: The following sampling opportunity is open to residents of Ontario, Canada only.

Spoiler Alert: The recipe for my Hawaiian Pork Tacos follows. You may want to stick around.
DSC_0966aFright Night. Think I’m taking about that b-rated film? Think again. I’m talking about those weekday nights when my husband works late, the kids have sports or swimming, I’ve got a Twitter Party and there’s NOTHING TO EAT.

Apparently, there’s more than one Fright Night chez Lena.

Our family’s dynamic has changed through the years. Whereas we used to enjoy casual, unhurried dinners (actually eaten at the dinner table), today our demanding jobs and activities pull us in different directions. My husband is in sales, so he’s often on the road or working late. My job has no set hours; I could be working at 5:30AM or 11:00PM, depending on the day. And often, I’m on Twitter at night (I know you know what I’m up to then). Ryder has soccer on Mondays and Reid has soccer on Wednesdays and they both have swimming on Thursdays. And yet somehow, the expectation is that I’ll produce a delicious, healthy meal that the entire family will love.

*Checking to make sure I signed up for this. Sigh, apparently it’s indeed part of being a mom.*

I try my hardest to avoid the lure of the “dial-a-dinner”. Take-out is easy! One phone call, a few bucks for a tip, et voila! The whole family is fed. The trouble is, the only takeout the whole family can agree on is pizza, and families cannot live on pizza alone. 

So, what if I told you that I’ve found nutritious and delicious, fully cooked menu items that are ready when I am? Introducing Cardinal Ready.

easy_as_123_enFriends, Ready products are the answer to Fright Night dinners! They allow me to create perfect meals that are ready in 10 minutes or less, which means that great meals can happen any night of the week. Simply start with a Ready selection, add some veggies and a simple side and you’re all set for a complete family meal in a fraction of the time. On practically any weeknight, the ability to serve up BIG taste in a little time is my kind of heaven.

Cardinal Ready, available at select Sobeys locations across Ontario, has something for everybody. Ready’s Pulled Pork in Chipotle Sauce is fully cooked and full of flavour. The chipotle in the BBQ sauce adds just the right kick! Or try Ready’s Butter Chicken; a creamy curry sauce surrounds tender chicken for an Indian taste and flavour that will tickle your taste buds. We also love Ready’s Slow Cooked Diced Beef. Tender and flavourful beef stew in minutes? YES!

This past Fright Night (Monday), Ready’s Pork Steak was the star of the show. Perfectly seasoned, juicy and fully cooked! Ready’s Pork Steaks are:

– Flame grilled and lightly seasoned
– Very high in protein and gluten free
– A good source of iron and contain no preservatives

Simply chop, slice or dice or enjoy directly from the pack, or add to your favourite meal, heat and serve! Ask your family to come up with a new combination of side dishes every time you make this quick and easy dinner. Coleslaw? Roasted potatoes? Rice pilaf? Applesauce? Whatever they pick, you know the pork will be ready in minutes.

Now I’m all about multitasking, so I like to combine my sides with my main. I created Hawaiian Pork Tacos, a well-balanced meal that can suit the tastes of the entire family – just pick and choose what you love to make it your own.

HAWAIIAN PORK TACOS (serves 4)

3 Cardinal Ready Pork Steaks (1/2 a package)
1 pineapple, sliced into 1-inch rounds
2 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup red onion, finely diced
1 japaleno pepper, seeded and finely diced
1/2 avocado, diced
1/2 prepared creamy coleslaw
1 lime, halved
small bunch cilantro, chopped
8 small corn tortillas

Prepare an indoor grill pan with cooking spray and heat on medium-high until hot. Place pork steaks and 2 rounds of pineapple on the pan, turning once or twice until heated through. Remove from pan and cool slightly.

Roughly dice pork steaks and pineapple. That’s it! Assemble the tacos, finishing with a hit of fresh lime juice. The flavours are vibrant and I love the combination of spicy-sweet-sour. Add tomatoes, yellow pepper or shredded cheese – the possibilities are endless. The best part? 10 minutes from start to finish!
DSC_0967aLove what you see? We want YOU to try Cardinal Ready Products! I’ll randomly select ten (10) Ontario readers to receive a $25 Sobeys Gift Card to prepare a quick and simple meal featuring Ready’s delicious menu items. Then, in exchange for providing your honest feedback about the product, you’ll have a chance to win a $100 Sobeys Gift Card!

To enter, simply leave a comment below telling us which Cardinal Ready menu item you’d love to try, and why. I’ll draw for winners at the end of the month – good luck!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Joy

    I have seen these at Sobeys – anything that makes meals easier, makes me happy! I would like to try: Butter Chicken!

  2. Corry Lehmann

    Ready’s Pulled Pork in Chipotle Sauce served on a toasted bun with my homemade coleslaw and barbecued corn-on-the-cob!

  3. Jennpup (@jennpup)

    I need to check out the Cardinal Ready Butter Chicken – I love the serving suggestion of “Butter Chicken Toast”! Must try. And your Hawaiian Pork Tacos look amazing! Inspired me to want to create a hawaiian pork grilled version – I love a flour tortilla made hot and crispy. :-)

  4. Georgina

    Dear listen to Lena: How do I do this to enter to try a product? I have never seen these at Sobeys but will definitely look for them now. I do not cook ribs so my choices would be the Pork Back Ribs in BBQ Sauce or the Chicken and Ribs….both are calling my name.

  5. bethann Dekoker

    I would love to try the Cardinal Ready Fully Cooked Ground Beef. It would be handy to have just a small amount of ground beef prepared instead of a large package, to give my meals some variation.

  6. Crystal Hannula

    They all look really good!! I really love pulled pork so I am going to say I would love to try the Ready’s Pulled Pork in Chipotle sauce! I love the idea of throwing it into a taco too! Going to try this out because pulled pork usually takes a while to make from scratch!

  8. Lisa Neutel

    id love to try the Cardinal Ready’s Slow Cooked Diced Beef. makes making my beef stew easier and quicker im all for it

  9. Cathy O

    That’s a tough choice…probably the butter chicken or the pulled pork…but really, if they are as good as they sound and as quick as you say, any of them would be perfect for our hectic household!

  10. Jane Reid

    Ready’s Pork Steak sounds just the ticket for me. It sounds great to add to my Stir Fry as it is fully cooked meaning dinner would go from pack to plate in under 10 minutes simply perfect!

  11. Cheryl P

    I love the sounds of those pork tacos! What a convenience this would be for grabbing something quick or on the go!

  14. Jenna D

    Super tempted by the Butter Chicken! Usually reserved for a special night out’s dinner, it’d be so nice to have it at home, and without a ton of work! Pulled pork would be my second choice :)

  15. diane welburn

    Pulled Pork Tacos! But there are several other recipes like Butter chicken and meatloaf pita pockets! Yum

    • mrdisco

      as for the why – it would be a nice change of pace to have some ethnic kick for dinner. Add some fresh, warm naan bread, white wine, follwed by kulfi for dessert and you’ve got yourself masala masterpiece.

  17. Lori Shmuir

    I would love to try the Chicken and Ribs – we love both in our house and it would be great to be able to have them ready so quick on a weeknight! Thanks for the chance to win!

  19. Melinda L.

    Pulled Pork in Chipotle Sauce because we love pulled pork and are always on the hunt for delicious pulled pork, especially when we are short on time to make it ourselves

  20. Valerie Mallette

    I would love to try Ready’s Pork Steak because it looks delicious, I think my family would really enjoy it and I could create a great meal with it as the star of the meal.

  21. Terri Baker

    I’d really like to try the butter chicken. Butter chicken is one of my family’s favourite dishes, so if my son likes it, we have a winner.

  22. Laurie Burns

    I need to make those Hawaiian Pork Tacos!!!!!!!! I like pineapple and tacos, yay yay!

  26. CL Chin

    wow, these look great, thanks for bringing these to our attention. I want to try the meatloaf!

  27. margo beredjiklian

    they all look good, especially the chicken and ribs, thanks 4 the chance to win :)

  28. Branka Stefanovic

    I would love to try the Pulled Pork in Chipotle. Anything to make my life easier on a week night would be appreciated.

  30. Caroline B.

    They all look delicious, but if I had to choose, I’d say the chicken. We eat a lot of chicken in my house so this would be really convenient.

  33. Rick F

    I’d definitely try the pork tacos. Love pork in any shape or form and I definitely love Mexican. I’d like to know where you found fresh Corn Tortillas? All I’ve ever been able to find are flour. Tacos need Corn Tortillas and fresh sure beats what you get in those kits. Not brave enough to make my own. Even have press.

  36. Tricha F.

    I would love to try Pork Back Ribs in Barbeque Sauce. Anything to make getting dinner on the table easy.

  38. Debby Kulchar

    Ready’s Pulled Pork in Chipotle Sauce – this sounds yummy – love me some pulled pork – would love to try and see if it tastes as good as my homemade

  39. Brandee H

    Definitely the pulled pork in chipotle sauce. The picture of the tacos with pulled pork on their page looks delicious!! But that butter chicken is also calling my name!!! I just stopped at Sobeys to grab some things for an impromptu picnic, I will have to keep an eye out for these!

  41. Paula Bonacci

    Since I will be starting my diet on Monday I will have to choose the Chicken Breast. I am thinking it would be great in a salad or with a side of veggies. Also you could use in stirfry

    • Francine

      Our favourite Indian takeout spot is moving…further away. It would be nice to be able to make it at home quickly!

  44. Deborah Peever

    I would love to try the Cardinal Chicken and Ribs I can almost hear the applause from my dearly beloved. His all time favorite meal which I often do not have the time to prepare. #CardinalReadyProducts

  48. Paula Goodman

    Cardinal Ready’s Slow Cooked Diced Beef or the Butter Chicken, both look so good!!

  49. jaimeem

    Id choose Cardinal Ready’s Pulled Pork in Chipotle Sauce. Sounds good, and pulled pork is always welcomed in this home

  50. Debbie W

    I would pick up the chicken breasts. There are so many things I could do with that. From salads, to stir fries, to wraps.

  54. Anu Chopra

    I would love to try the Ready’s Butter Chicken because I think it would be a big hit with our family!

  55. Alayne Langford

    Lena, I would definitely try the butter chicken! Why you ask? Because peeps will think Alayne has created an Indian cuisine and I will be the talk of the neighborhood, not that I already am, but this time it will be for a good reason! Winner Winner Cardinal Ready Dinner!! :) Look who’s talking now, eh? ;)

  59. Suzi

    I’d like to try the Butter Chicken with Naan and parathas (can’t spell them but I can eat them!) and some mixed veggies. I’m always looking for the best Indian flavours and they seem to elude me so I’m hoping this would be it! :)

  62. Rosanne Robinson

    I’d love to try the Slow Cooked Diced Beef because my hubby and grandson LOVE tender beef and it sounds scrumptious!

  63. Amber Y

    Oh these are right up my alley! The Cardinal Ready Butter Chicken is the product I’m the most excited to try. I’d use it in a poutine and to make a pizza as those are two of my favourite ways to eat butter chicken.

  65. Marina Bird

    Hawaiian Pork Tacos. they have a lot of veggies and I am trying to eat more healthy meals.

  66. sarah sar

    I’d love to try the Butter Chicken! That is a household favourite…even the kids beg me to make it every week!

  67. Marla

    I would love to try the yummy butter chicken or chicken breasts. I know hubby would flip for these Hawaiian pork tacos too

  68. Josie Tusa

    I would love to try the Cardinal Ready Fully Cooked Ground Beef. It would save me a lot of time and work in the kitchen!

  69. Peter Tusa

    I would love to try the Pork Back Ribs in bbq sauce, simply because they look mouth wateringly delicious!

  72. Debbie White Beattie

    I’ve never seen this section or selection but what a great idea for quick meals