Category Archives: Uncategorized

Who doesn’t love a good chocolate chip cookie?  I consider myself somewhat of a cookie connoisseur.  I will eat *almost* any flavor and typically have a container of cookies on the counter at the ready……and maybe a backup in the freezer.  I just love cookies! I kept seeing fun posts on social media of people eating tiny cookies as cereal and thought 1) what a neat idea, and 2) why haven’t I tried this?  I had to get in on the craze and participate in the new tiny cookie cereal trend.  The result is Mini Homemade Chocolate Chip Cereal that led me to one delicious meal! The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F and lining 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients; almond flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the vanilla extract, maple syrup, … Continue reading

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Do you ever struggle to find a weeknight meal option that’s not only quick and easy to make but also something your whole family will enjoy?  I think that’s something we all go through but even more so now with spending more time at home.  How do you keep the meals exciting?  How do you add variety to your weekly menu?  It’s easy to get stuck in a rut and eat the same old meals week after week, and COVID hasn’t helped! The occasional takeout meal is fine, but I’ve definitely been getting good use out of my kitchen appliances.  Some of which I rarely use, but it’s been fun to find recipes to make in them and familiarize myself with the appliance so I can use it more often. My most recent recipe is for Simple Instant Pot Mac & Cheese.  Like the recipe name says, it’s simple 🙂 … Continue reading

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We’re kicking off the new year with a brand new burger blog! Burgers can be quite versatile so we decided to test out a handful of recipes for you to up your burger game in the new year. For this blog we included both beef and chicken options to give you even more variety. Here are the recipes we made: • Breakfast Burger • Mac and Cheese Burger • French Onion Burger • Taco Burger • Bloody Mary Burger Follow links above to skip right to the recipe page. Without further ado, let’s get started!  Let’s start in the morning with our breakfast burger. Breakfast Burger For our breakfast burger, we used store bought beef patties from the Chef’s Counter at Festival, both seasoned and unseasoned options are available in-store. For the chicken version of this burger, we used chicken breasts. We topped our burgers with a slice of cheddar … Continue reading

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Normally by mid-December we would have a plan for Christmas Eve dinner, Christmas Day brunch, and Christmas Day dinner…. it’s a busy 2 days to say the least!  But we have zero plans scheduled at the moment.  It’s an odd feeling and we know we are not along.  Do you spend time with family and friends over the holidays or opt for a quiet day at home?  Do you take the simple route and order a meal to go from your favorite restaurant or perhaps a heat-and-serve meal from the grocery store?  Whatever you end up doing, it will be a year to remember! We will still have a lovely meal to commemorate the holidays and spend the day cooking together.  I have a few recipes I want to share with you that not only make the perfect Christmas meal but are great options when cooking for a small group … Continue reading

Posted in Christmas, Dessert, Holidays, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Christmas Dinner

Christmas is a time for baking, enjoying good food, and spending time with family and friends.  The holidays may look a little different this year but that doesn’t mean you can’t participate it some of your usual traditions.  Take a cookie exchange party for example, you can still bake the cookies but instead of getting together with friends to exchange, you can deliver to their doorstep or ship them.  It’s a nice way to say you’re thinking about them and still want to be connected this holiday season.  Plus, you can’t have a happy holiday without desserts and plenty of sweets 🙂 Whether you are making breads, cookies, pies, candy, or other goodies, I suggest you still follow through with your traditions.  It will get you in the holiday spirit and bring some comfort to these trying times.  I personally like to eat Christmas cookies all month long and even … Continue reading

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Have you ever had an Empanada?  They are common in Southern Europe, Latin America, and the Philippines but I’m sure you’ve noticed them as a menu item from time to time.  Empanadas are essentially pockets of dough with some kind of filling; typically, meat, cheese, and vegetables, or any combination of those. I think they are pretty easy to make and tend to feed a crowd because the recipe makes so many.  And they are often freezer friendly so you can have leftovers for another day.  You do want to be careful with what kind of vegetable you use in empanadas because some vegetables hold up better when being used as filling.  For instance, bell peppers, onions, broccoli, carrots, spinach, etc. all work very well.  Squash, tomatoes, or other watery vegetables will need to be drained before using, otherwise you will be left with some soggy dough!  So, feel free … Continue reading

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Lettuce wraps are a quick and easy meal option!  They also have the potential to be incredibly healthy because you can customize your ingredients to create a diet-friendly meal or you can simply enjoy them because they are delicious 🙂  Swapping out a carb-heavy tortilla or slice of bread and replacing it with a low carb / low calorie option is always a win in my book! Today I want to share with you my 2 favorite recipes to make as lettuce wraps.  You can always create these recipes and substitute the lettuce wrap with a tortilla or perhaps rice to create a bowl style meal if you prefer. First up is Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps.  These are bursting with flavor and taste just like a dish you would get at a local Chinese restaurant! The recipe can be found here. In a small bowl, add the hoisin sauce, soy … Continue reading

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Not too long ago, I wrote a blog called Creative Cauliflower Meals about various ways to use cauliflower in Chinese inspired recipes.  We’ve been talking about those recipes ever since and thought, why not try a few more? There are SO MANY ways to utilize cauliflower in recipes.  My most preferred way is to substitute chicken with cauliflower.  Once it’s cooked/baked, it has a very similar texture so you can hardly tell you aren’t eating meat.  This is a great way to expand your pallet if you are vegetarian or exploring a vegan diet. First up is Baked BBQ Cauliflower Wings.  These are just like boneless BBQ chicken wings but a lot healthier and you aren’t sacrificing the taste.  These are full of flavor and easy to make! The recipe can be found here. ***This is a vegan recipe*** Start by preheating the oven to 425 degrees F.  Line a … Continue reading

Posted in Uncategorized, Vegan | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Comments Off on Creative Cauliflower Meals – Part 2

Tex-Mex Chicken & Zucchini Skillet is a yummy, low-carb, one-pan dinner that’s ready in about 30 minutes, which makes it a great option for a quick weeknight meal.  It’s packed with a variety of vegetables, tender chicken, and lots of flavor! The recipe can be found here. This is how you make it: start by doing all your prep work.  Chop the onion, bell peppers, zucchini, green onion, and cilantro.  Mince the garlic.  Drain and rinse the black beans.  Slice the chicken breasts.  Set everything aside.  This will help you move along a lot faster while cooking because all ingredients are ready to go.  You can even portion out your seasonings ahead of time! Add avocado oil to a large, deep skillet and heat over medium heat.  You need to use a large skillet, or you will run out of room for all the ingredients 🙂  You can also use … Continue reading

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Okay, hear me out!  We’ve been seeing this one pop up on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter for a few years now and decided we need to finally check this out for ourselves: Flamin’ Hot Cheeto® Oven Roasted Turkey Dinner (click this link to go directly to the recipe page).   A more unique spin on your traditional Thanksgiving dinner!  Is this just some crazy gimmick or is this a recipe worth trying?  Continue on to find out! (Spoiler alert: it was great!) The ingredient list isn’t very big, here’s what you need: 12- 15 lbs Whole Turkey, thawed 3 lbs Klondike Goldust Potatoes 32 oz Cheddar Cheese Block 1 8.5 oz Bag Flaming Hot Cheetos 1 Stick Butter, melted Salt and Pepper, to taste Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Remove the neck and package found inside the turkey.  Rinse the turkey, … Continue reading

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