Seasoned Potato Wedges

Hello, everyone!  Good morning!  I figured with college football season upon us, I'd do another post on a good tailgating food.
Potato wedges!  I love potatoes, in almost any form I can get them in (for some reason, I don't like mashed potatoes.  I wish I did, they're everywhere.), and this is one of my favorites!  These are fluffy on the inside while being crispy on the outside, it is perfection in potato form!

Waffle Iron Hashbrowns

Good morning!  Today's post is going to be more on a technique than an actual recipe, so it will be short and sweet!  Back at the end of the year last year, I posted about making crispy hashbrowns, and while those are lovely, easy and simple, these are nearly foolproof.

I say nearly, because fools are always inventing ways to make something that seems foolproof not work.  But I honestly can't see how someone could mess this up.

Microwave Corn on the Cob

Hello, everyone!  Happy, happy Tuesday!  There are few things that scream "summer" more to me, than fresh corn on the cob.  I always scoop fresh corn up when I'm at the store; when it's $.10 an ear, how do I not?

I always had corn boiled or grilled when I was growing up, however a few years ago, I discovered cooking corn on the cob in the microwave.

Yep, the microwave.  This is an appliance that rarely gets used in our house; we use it for holding things, and making popcorn.  That's about it.
Except in the summer.  Oh, no, in the summer, our microwave gets used a lot.

Crispy Home Fries

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday, I hope your week has started off well!  Growing up, my supper plate always had a veggie, a protein, and a starch.  I have carried this tradition over into my adulthood, but sometimes I get tired of the usual starches, so I turn to potatoes.
I kind of consider potatoes to be the chicken of the starch world.  You can do almost anything to them, and they're always delicious.

That being said, a soggy home fry just makes me sad.   There is a trick to getting crispy home fries that aren't burnt.  Curious as to what it is?  Let's get started to find out!

Smoked scallop macaroni and cheese

Hello, everyone!!  I'm so excited about doing this post today!  As excited as I am, I have been kind of putting it off, because it's going to make me want to make this again.  Like, right now, get up and get into the kitchen and make this again.

This has: scallops, mushrooms, spinach, pasta, and lots, and lots of cheese.  Ooohhhh yeah.  I'm going to make this again very, very soon.

Cucumber feta cheese bites

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  We're back from our amazing vacation to Alaska, and I'm trying, slowly, to get back into the swing of things.  

So I figured I'd start back with a really lovely little snack/side dish, that, as a bonus, doesn't require any heat (with the summer approaching/already here, anything that I don't need to turn on the stove with is appreciated).  

It has a cucumber, so I'm calling it healthy, even though it is almost 50/50% cucumber/feta cheese!  

Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese

Hello, everyone!  Happy Thursday!  I'm still on vacation, but the other night, I had a real craving for some mac and cheese.  I've been known to grab a box off of the shelf in the pantry, but, honestly, I'm not a huge fan of the boxed stuff.
I like being able to pronounce the ingredients in my food, call me crazy.  But that's a discussion for another day, and sometimes, all you have time for is the boxed stuff, and that's okay, too!

Arancine (fried risotto balls)

Hello, everyone!  Happy Thursday!  The weekend is well on its way, so why don't we celebrate with some fried stuff with cheese?  I don't know if you're familiar with arancine, but these little lovelies are just leftover risotto, surrounding a filling of choice (mine just happened to be little balls of mozzarella cheese), coated in panko bread crumbs, then fried until golden brown and delicious!

Tabbouleh

Hi, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  Today I'm going to make up one of my favorite side dishes, a lovely tabbouleh salad.  If you're not familiar with tabbouleh, it is a quinoa with vegetables and feta cheese!  What's not to like?!

Challah Bread

Hello, everyone!  I hope you're having a lovely Tuesday!  On the weekends, my daughter likes to have either pancakes or French toast, so I figured I would take an afternoon this past Saturday, and make some Challah bread for French toast on Sunday morning.  

This bread looks very impressive, but it really was very simple to put together.  The most difficult part of all of this, was waiting for the dough to rise!  That doesn't sound too hard, does it?

Brown Rice (Beef Consume Rice)

Hello, everyone!  Happy Tuesday!  I don't know about you, but I, for one, am very excited to be going through a new week!  I was horribly sick last week, and am very excited to say that I'm feeling much better!  I'm still pretty weak, so I figured I would put together a quick and easy recipe for today's post! 

This is a very easy recipe that is always a crowd pleaser - for some reason, we usually had it on holidays growing up; I still don't make it that often, and every time I make it, I always question why I don't!  

Honey Loaf Bread

Hello, everyone!  Lately, we've been getting a little stir crazy around my house; it's too cold to go outside and play, and even if we wanted to, there's not even any snow to play in.  It's just cold, and grey, leaving us stuck inside, trying to figure out how to keep a 3 year old entertained.  

However, as we all know by now, my daughter loves to play in the kitchen, so, in an effort to keep all of us on good terms with one another, I decided to have her help me make a honey loaf bread!

Homemade Pita bread

Hello, everyone!  I am so excited about the posts for this week!  Today,  I'm going to go over making some homemade pita bread, and then Thursday, I'm going to make up the rest of these amazing gyros, with homemade Greek chicken, tzatziki sauce and olive topping.  This has a few steps involved, but they can be done ahead of time, and the end result really is so worth it!

Southern Cheese Straws

There are two things that I think of when I think of Holidays in the South.  First, my mom's stuffed dates (SO GOOD!), and secondly, cheese straws.  Cheese straws are all over the South.  They are baked little bites of cheese with just the slightest hint of spice.  Think of it as a bumped up Cheez-It.  I swear, I could eat an entire batch of these without giving it a second thought.  

Sinful Potato Gratin

Happy Thursday, everyone!  I don't know if you're aware or not, but the Holidays are coming.  Fast.  I don't know about you, but I am a huge planner.  The second I get an idea, I grab a pen and paper and start planning everything, down the the last detail.  You don't even want to know the amount of lists, and thoughts, and ideas I had while I was thinking of starting this blog!  My goodness!  It's funny, though, you would think that as much as I love to plan, that my house would be uber organized.  Nothing could be further from the truth, but I digress.  

Homemade mac and cheese

I have professed my love of all things cheesy, like in my cheesy chicken quesadillas post, from mac and cheese, to my super cheesy husband.  I joke, I joke...sort of.  Anyway, in tune with all things cheesy, we go through a lot of mac and cheese in my house!  Sadly, I don't always go with homemade, being in a rush most nights, I'm guilty of grabbing a box of mac and cheese and just going on with supper.  However, this is a recipe that my family has been making for years, and it is so easy!  It just takes a little bit of time in the slow cooker, and makes enough to feed a hungry family!

Lemon garlic green beans

I am a firm believer in a standard dinner plate: A protein, a starch and a veggie (usually green).  This makes for pretty standard side dishes in our house, but one of our favorite veggies is garlic lemon green beans.  These beans are gently boiled, then sauteed off in garlic with lemon juice and zest, creating a zippy sauce while the beans maintain a slight crunch.  These beans are great to entertain with, and require very minimal effort.  

Fancy potatoes

Welcome back everyone!  On my last post, I showed how to make an amazing Ribeye steak, and for me, when I eat a steak, I want a potato to go with it!  I love potatoes.  There are a million different ways to cook a potato (okay...maybe not a million, but it has to be close!), but I was a little tired of home fries, and baked potatoes.  So, I figured I would shake things up a little bit!

Spatzle with jager sauce

I love cooking foods from different areas in the world.  As much as I love to travel, I don't often get a chance to do so; however, I can travel through food.  And I do that way more often!  As I said in my pork schnitzel, my husband gets to travel to Germany about once per year, and he comes home raving about the food.
The first time he came back, he told me about the schnitzel, and the spatzle.  I had no problems whipping up the schnitzel, but I had no idea how to go about making spatzle.  I asked him to help me find a recipe, but nothing ever came of that.  I could find recipes, but I wasn't sure how things were supposed to look, taste, or cook.  Not helpful.  Thankfully, after a few trial and errors, I have it figured out, and am excited to share a few tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way!  

Fresh bread!

When you think of a comforting smell, what comes to mind?  I mean, something that you'd love for your house to smell like 24/7?  Vanilla?  Cookies?  Flowers?  All good answers, but for me, I'd say my favorite smell is fresh out of the oven bread.  Smear some butter on it, and forget about it...I'm in heaven!