Author Archives: Laura Youngquist

Lettuce wraps are something I like to make when I want an easy meal, a delicious meal, a nutritious meal, and something light.  Life gets in the way, and you get busy, or you have a long day at work and don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen.  That’s where these lettuce wraps come in!  They are fast to make and taste great – and you only need about 15 minutes to prepare them.  The meat is a lovely combination of sweet and savory, the lettuce adds a nice crunch to each bite and the rice balances everything out.  From what I understand, Korean beef is typically a thin sliced steak, but I’m opting for ground beef (and ground chicken).  It’s cheaper and almost everyone knows how to prepare it so anyone can whip up this meal 😊 I do have 2 variations of the same recipe, one with beef and one with … Continue reading

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Chicken Meatballs with Homemade Spinach Alfredo Sauce is a hearty and rich meal your whole family will love!  The homemade sauce is deliciously creamy and is paired with crispy, salty bacon, tender, cooked spinach, and flavorful chicken meatballs.  The chicken absorbs some of the sauce and flavors while simmering making them super moist.  It’s a savory dish you won’t want to miss out on trying! The recipe can be found here. Start by making the meatballs.  Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the breadcrumbs and milk in a large bowl and set aside.  Add the onion, garlic, parsley, and sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl of a food processor.  Pulse until finely chopped then add to the bowl with the milk/breadcrumb mixture.  Also add the egg, ricotta cheese, parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt.  Mix to combine all ingredients. Add the chicken and mix until just combined – do … Continue reading

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Anyone else dreaming of warm weather and sunny days?  I have a case of the Winter Blues and am thinking back to a fun summer weekend where we made “bucket drinks” to enjoy on a pontoon ride.  If you aren’t familiar with “bucket drinks”, they are cocktails made in plastic buckets…. like a jumbo, fruity cocktail.  And they are delicious! We made Blue Hawaiian Tropical Bucket Cocktails.  As the name states, they are tropical… and full of booze and fruit juice and garnished with some fun fruit, candy, and glitter.  We actually made them multiple weekends in a row after finding the perfect combination of each ingredient, and let me tell you, I’m craving a pontoon ride, sunshine, and a jumbo bucket cocktail right about now 😊 The recipe can be found here. You will need 32 oz plastic beverage buckets.  You can find them on Amazon (click here) or perhaps a local party supply store.  Make sure to wash them before … Continue reading

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Valentine’s Day is fast approaching.  Do you plan to celebrate with your significant other, kids, or perhaps host a Galentine’s Day celebration?  We like to do something every year but it’s never the same thing.  Some years we go out, some years we stay in, and some years we postpone until we can figure out what we want to do.  Whatever you end up doing (or not doing), I hope you enjoy it! One tradition of mine is to ALWAYS make a beverage or 2 and a dessert or 2 to celebrate during the month of February.  I try to make simple recipes that don’t take a lot of time or ingredients and are something anyone could whip up at home.  Here’s what I have for you this year: Strawberry Pink Hot Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake Martini Love Letter Pastries Strawberry Puff Pastry Hearts   Now let’s walk through how to make each recipe: STRAWBERRY PINK HOT … Continue reading

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The Super Bowl is fast approaching.  Are you ready for it?  Do you plan to watch?  Personally, I’m not watching for the game.  I like to see the commercials and eat some good food with friends.  And every year I like to create some tasty new recipes for our gathering.  This year, my recipes are all appetizer/snack based, are easy to make, great finger foods for a crowd, something the kids will like, and make good leftovers.  Here is what I have for you: Bacon Wrapped Potato Wedges Mini Chicken Cordon Bleu Sliders Taco Seasoned Oyster Crackers Mini Cheeseburger Bites   Let’s walk through how to make each recipe: BACON WRAPPED POTATO WEDGES This is a simple recipe that combines popular ingredients to create a wonderful finger food.  The potatoes are soft and tender, the bacon is salty and crisp, and the dipping sauce brings it all together.  It’s like a baked potato you eat with your hands 😊 The nice … Continue reading

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If you aren’t familiar with Frito Pie, it’s a popular dish in the Midwest and southern states and consists of chili, cheese, and corn chip (aka Fritos).  However, it’s not actually pie but rather a pile of Fritos with chili and other toppings on top.  It’s sometimes served directly from the bag of Fritos (think walking tacos) where the chili and toppings are added to the bag.  Alternatively, you can pour the Fritos in a bowl or on a plate and add your chili and toppings.  It’s comfort food at its finest and is packed with Tex-Mex flavors.  I’ve made both a chicken and beef version and want to share the recipes with you today. Beef Frito Pie Chicken Frito Pie Both recipes are made the exact same way, but you choose if you want to use ground beef or ground chicken.  Let’s walk through how to make it: Start by preparing your ingredients – chop … Continue reading

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It seems like the entire country has been battling freezing temperatures and horrible winter weather lately and MN has been no exception.  On a cold day (freezing, subzero, arctic, or however you want to describe the weather we’ve had recently) something warm and cozy is all I want.  Call it “winter warmer” food if you will.  A hearty and flavorful Guinness Beef Stew is what I ultimately ended up making.  Let me warn you, this recipe is not hard to make at all, but it does take a long time to make (aka it simmers for 2 hours) so you will need to plan ahead when making this stew. It’s great for a “meat and potatoes” type of person because that’s exactly what it is.  Plenty of beef chuck, potatoes, and carrots that are simmered in a Guinness infused broth.  The meat and broth are perfectly seasoned, the meat is tender and falls apart in your … Continue reading

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I’ve been craving something light and refreshing lately and made a few bruschetta recipes this weekend to snack on.  And by snack on I mean we made it into a meal 😊 If you follow my blog, you’ve probably read my other posts about bruschetta – Simple Summer Bruschetta Recipes (May 2023) and Easy Bruschetta Recipes (June 2023).  It’s such a diverse food.  You can have sweet, savory, spicy, citrus, vegetarian, meat-based, or any combination.  And it’s a bite-sized food so you can serve it as an appetizer or side dish or do what we did and make it a meal.  I have 3 recipes to share with you today.  One is sweet and refreshing, one is savory, and one is citrusy and refreshing. Strawberry Peach Bruschetta Bacon & Ricotta Bruschetta Lemon, Basil & Ricotta Bruschetta   STRAWBERRY PEACH BRUSCHETTA (aka sweet and refreshing) Strawberry Peach Bruschetta is bursting with fresh flavors and has a hint of sweetness … Continue reading

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Garlic Butter Steak Bites are thick cuts of New York Strip that are cooked in a rich garlic butter sauce.  The steak is juicy and tender, buttery, and slightly pink in the center.  It’s a lot of flavor pack into such a small bite!  The steak is cooked in the butter and the garlic is added later, for the flavor to infuse into each bite.  There is a good amount of garlic in my opinion but it’s not overpowering.  These can be served as an appetizer or main course with a side dish or two. The recipe can be found here. Start by mincing the garlic, chop the parsley, and cut the steak into 1-inch bites.  You can trim some of the fat off the steak but don’t take too much as it helps the steak stay flavorful, tender, and juicy. Melt 1 stick of butter in a large skillet … Continue reading

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Fettuccine Bolognese is a wonderful winter recipe when you are looking for something hearty and with lots of flavor.  If you aren’t familiar, a Bolognese is a slow cooked sauce that typically contains beef or pork.  In this case, I used beef.  This dish is similar to spaghetti and meatballs in flavor and is great for picky eaters.  I truly think it’s something everyone will like.  It does take about 2 hours to make (including prep time) because you must simmer the sauce (remember, this is a slow cooked sauce), but it’s worth the wait and your house will smell incredible.  It’s also not a spicy dish, very mild flavors, but we can talk about spicing it up later. The recipe can be found here.  Now let’s walk through how to make it! Start by doing all your prep work.  This makes cooking and assembly MUCH easier.  Chop the onion and celery, mince the garlic, open the canned goods, … Continue reading

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