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weekly specialsAuthor Archives: Laura Youngquist
January 28, 2024
Gridiron Grub
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
January 23, 2024
Frito Pie!
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
January 17, 2024
Guinness Beef Stew
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
January 15, 2024
Simple Bruschetta Recipes
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
January 11, 2024
Garlic Butter Steak Bites
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
January 7, 2024
Fettuccine Bolognese
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
January 3, 2024
Open Faced Sloppy Joes
I’ve recently been into open faced sandwiches. I like that you can use any kind of bread and jazz it up with toppings of your choice. I decided to make Sloppy Joes one night and made 2 different versions, one beef and one chicken. Andrew ate the beef version and thought it was incredible and I ate the chicken version and thought it was also incredible. The meat soaked up the sauce making it very flavorful and tender, the cheese on top was perfectly melted and help hold the sandwiches together, and the garlic Texas Toast made for a delightful, crusty base. It’s a hearty meal that will satisfy any craving. The recipes can be found here: Open Faced Sloppy Joe Open Faced Chicken Sloppy Joe Both recipes are identical, and you use either ground beef or ground chicken. You can also use ground turkey if you prefer. Let’s walk through how to make them. Preheat … Continue reading
December 30, 2023
Starburst Infused Vodka
Occasionally during the winter, I start craving warmer weather, fruity cocktails, and a beach somewhere tropical. Who doesn’t? But we live in MN and that’s not a reality this time of year. To curb the winter blues, I sometimes make fruity cocktails at home to feel a little more cheerful about the amount of snow outside 😊 I’m going to share with you 2 new cocktail recipes using Starburst Infused Vodka. You read that right…I infused vodka with Starburst candy. It was super simple and didn’t take any effort to make but patience is required to allow the vodka to sit for a few days. The cocktail recipes can be found here: Cherry Limeade with Starburst Infused Vodka Strawberry Lemonade with Starburst Infused Vodka You want to start by infusing the vodka. Use a fairly nice vodka because it’s literally 2 ingredients: vodka and Starbursts. And you want to enjoy the cocktail, not feel like you ordered some … Continue reading
December 27, 2023
Soft & Chewy Cookies – Part 2
Cookies are something I always enjoy baking and sharing with others. They tend to make enough to bring to work, have throughout the week at home, or freeze for later (although I don’t know why you would have any to freeze and not eat them right away). And the recipes are often simple or less complicated that you can quickly whip up a batch. Today I have 4 different cookie varieties to share. All are incredibly soft and chewy (hence the blog name), large (like large enough to share), and contain great flavor combinations. Here’s what I have for you: Soft & Chewy Carrot Cake Cookies Soft & Chewy Dulce de Leche Cookies Soft & Chewy Cookies & Cream Cookies Soft & Chewy Peanut Butter Cup Cookies Now let’s walk through how to make them. Each recipe makes 7-8 cookies (one actually makes 12 but who’s counting), but they are decent sized cookies and can be shared … Continue reading
December 23, 2023
Classic Cowboy Casserole
Classic Cowboy Casserole is the ultimate comfort food this time of year. If you’re from the Midwest, you know casserole season is upon us. Temps are dropping, there is a chill in the air, and you want something hearty and filling for dinner. That’s where my Classic Cowboy Casserole comes in 😊 It’s hearty, cheesy, has a little bit of spice, and is packed with different flavors and textures. It’s a wonderful Tex-Mex recipe. The recipe can be found here. Start by preparing the ingredients; thaw the corn, chop the onion, mince the garlic, drain, and rinse the black beans, and slice the green onion. All ingredients can be set aside until ready to use. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and spray a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the ground beef and season with salt and pepper. Cook until completely cooked through, crumbing as you cook, for about … Continue reading
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