Author Archives: Lauri Youngquist

Time to break out our favorite summer recipes and begin shopping for Memorial Day weekend groceries for the unofficial beginning of summer. Most likely the weather won’t feel like summer but we won’t care because we will have some great food to enjoy. And there must be guacamole, right? One meal of the weekend will be a slow roasted beef brisket, simple to prepare and provides a great atmosphere to relax with some beer and wine while it’s roasting. To roast it slow and low heat you want to order an untrimmed whole beef brisket from our meat counter, trimming the fat would cause you to lose the moist and tender texture of the beef. A simple dry rub of equal portions of Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper and a small amount of paprika over the entire brisket. We’re going to roast in a roasting box but the … Continue reading

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Spring has finally arrived and with the good weather comes lots of outdoor weekend activities and not as much time to cook on the weekends, opening cabins for the summer and yard work leave little time to spend in the kitchen. Burgers are delicious and a simple solution, my favorite is our 1/3 lb. ground beef 85% lean patties, cooked on the grill with a slice of melted cheddar cheese and served on the cheddar onion buns from our bakery. Bubbies bread and butter pickle chips are a staple in our house and add a sweet and crunchy contrast to the burgers. Lucky’s mustards are another condiment that will add extra special touch to your burgers and brats! Our Homestyle Potato Salad is so delicious I don’t waste my time making it, and you can conveniently order ahead on line in a 1 gallon bowl (26-30 servings) for gatherings, parties, … Continue reading

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One of our favorite meals to order at a restaurant is Lemon Chicken and we thought we were up to the challenge to make our own for Sunday dinner. On Sundays Andrew, Laura, and I tend to cook more time-consuming recipes that time doesn’t allow with busy weekday schedules, we enjoy a little wine or beer while we cook and just enjoy hanging out together. No one part of this Lemon Chicken recipe is difficult, you must marinate the chicken for 30 minutes in the frig before you begin battering process and it takes some time to fry the chicken in small batches so that it cooks perfectly. We made a big batch because we love leftovers! This also allows time for beverages and good conversation. We use an electric deep fryer to fry the chicken but you may easily use a heavy pan on the stove top, we heat … Continue reading

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  We wanted a simple meal for our Friday night dinner that we knew would run late with everyone traveling to the cabin after work and decided that we would do a grilled cheese sandwich celebrating the flavors of summer. The luscious Minnesota grown tomatoes caught our eye and we settled on Caprese Grilled Cheese Sandwiches on sourdough bread. Rather than toasting the bread slices we buttered the outside of the sandwich and placed on a griddle to make them golden brown and layered sliced fresh tomatoes, fresh basil leaves and thick slices of a Mozzarella ball sprinkled with some Kosher salt. We were feeding a crowd so to speed things up we placed the assemble sandwiches on a baking sheet and covered with heavy foil and placed in the oven at 350 degrees to melt the cheese. We sliced avocados to have them available for those that chose to … Continue reading

Posted in Holidays, Labor Day Weekend | Tagged , , , , , | Comments Off on Weekend Nosh and Feasts

If Frank’s Red Hot sauce is one of your favorite pantry items, this recipe for Spicy Chicken Meatballs will instantly become a favorite meal! Although very simple to put together, the sauce has such depth of flavor your family may believe it took you hours to make such a delicious meal. When I suggest this for dinner, no one turns these meatballs down as an option for dinner when I suggest them. A side dish of Cilantro Lime Rice complements these meatballs well and a simple recipe to make as a side dish. This recipe is delicious as a main course but you can also use this recipe to make what we would call a Banh Meatball sandwich using a baguette, sliced in half and spread with mayo and mustard, a little carrot sliced matchstick size, sliced jalapeno,and cilantro leaves. One of my favorite foods is spinach artichoke dip so … Continue reading

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Our rule of thumb for feeding a crowd is to keep it simple and ask for help (and provide refreshments)! Whether holidays or just a weekend at the lake with friends and family, food is at the center of all of the festivities, cooking and preparing the meals together makes it all more special. Our welcome for guests is a hot pot of coffee,  fresh fruit, sweet rolls, muffins, or donuts, perfect grab and go food so everyone can enjoy the outdoors with no fuss. During the summer watermelon and blueberries are our favorite fruits to serve. Our fourth of July weekend celebrations also included a gotcha party for grand puppy Bear, so we used some new colorful kibble bowls as some of our serving dishes. Lunch was a fun smorgasbord with pulled chicken sliders using Festival’s Shredded Chicken sold in party pails and Beer Cheese Sauce (recipe) or Honey Mustard … Continue reading

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Knowlan’s Super Markets Wins Minnesota Grown Retailer of the Year Award Fifth Year in a Row April 26, 2016 – Vadnais Heights, MN –  The Minnesota Grown Program, in conjunction with the Minnesota Grocers Association, has named Knowlan’s Super Markets a 2016 Retailer of the Year. This marks the fifth consecutive year the Minnesota grocer has been chosen for the award, announced today at a special luncheon sponsored by the Minnesota Grocers Association. Knowlan’s operates six Festival Foods stores and two Knowlan’s Fresh Foods Stores in the Twin Cities metro area. The organization is unique in its industry for being family-owned and operated by Minnesota native Lauri Youngquist, its President and CEO.  Knowlan’s has been dedicated to supporting local farmers and other food producers since it started selling locally grown food products in 1905. “To be given this kind of recognition five years running is a reflection of our mission … Continue reading

Posted in Press Release | Comments Off on Knowlan’s Super Markets Wins Minnesota Grown Retailer of the Year Award Fifth Year in a Row

March 28, 2016 – Vadnais Heights, MN – Representatives from Knowlan’s Super Markets, Inc. have announced a new addition to the executive management team by naming Debra Brei to the role of Chief Financial Officer. In her new position Brei will be responsible for leading financial operations and activities for Knowlan’s as well as establishing and monitoring financial plans and budgets for the organization. Knowlan’s operates seven Festival Foods stores and two Knowlan’s Fresh Foods Stores in the Twin Cities metro area. “Debra Brei is an experienced financial professional with an impressive history of more than fifteen years public accounting experience combined with hands-on private accounting work,” said Lauri Youngquist, President and CEO of Knowlan’s Super Markets. “She has a successful track record of leadership and technical expertise, as well as a commitment to excellence. We are fortunate to have such an accomplished individual join our team.” Brei is a … Continue reading

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  It’s time to break out the recipes and figure out some food for the weekend and the weather is looking good for a little grilling and a Kansas City Strip Steak will do just fine. To cozy up with that, a recipe of warm potatoes, Cambozola, and salad greens with a lovely dressing. You’ll notice by clicking on that recipe link that we have updated our recipe site with some great time-saving features such as adding the recipe ingredients to the shopping list and setting your weekly menu while you’re choosing your recipes. Warm Potatoes and Spring Salad Greens Both your salad and side wrapped into one delicious dish to serve next to that steak that of course will be cooked to perfection. If your family and friends aren’t crazy about blue cheese, Brie or Camembert could be substituted in the recipe.  We love using The Little Potato Company … Continue reading

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This is a crazy busy time of year with cookie exchanges, parties, potlucks, holiday celebrations and family gatherings and food is at the center of it all. There is no need to panic but planning is essential to keep stress to a dull roar so you can enjoy the festivities. A Christmas cookie exchange party is a great way to spend time with friends and family and the bonus is leaving the party with a wonderful selection of cookies! If you’re hosting you need some easy appetizer recipes or to make it super easy, serve a cheese board. We pinned some beautiful cheese boards to inspire you, even more inspiring is that our The Big Cheese event has begun with a perfect selection of products and cheeses to have available in the frig and pantry for cheese boards or easy last minute entertaining. A fabulous finger food appetizer is our Blue … Continue reading

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