This past weekend I was in one of my closest friend’s weddings–you’ll have heard me mention it over the past few months, like when I did a dinner review of Kona Grill, where we had her bachelorette dinner. So since I didn’t have much time this weekend, I thought, why not go simple! If you want a simple side, this is it! These roasted potatoes are a snap to prep, and the only downside to them is they do need a bit of time to roast in the oven. But if you’re dealing with the rest of your meal, then it’s a…
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Continue ReadingThe simplest appetizer that’s oh-so-cheesy and oh-so-garlicky. Cheesy garlic pull-apart bread is a finger-licking appetizer, perfect for parties…or a Tuesday!
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Another of my Pinterest finds perfect for a party! (Check out the original recipe from Real Housemoms, or follow me on pinterest!) This is a great make ahead recipe, full of flavor and a little more hearty than some of the snackage that goes on for a party. This was on the menu along with my pull apart bread (look for a post on wednesday) for my 25th birthday bash! I will definitely say this is on my “to-make-again” list. Fairly simple to make, and easy to make ahead and cover up before the party, then pop into the oven!…
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Happy birthday to me! That’s right, September 8th is my birthday! And keeping in the tradition of making goodies for people’s birthdays…I couldn’t well leave myself hanging! But since it was raining yesterday and I was too lazy to get some mint extract for mint chocolate chip cookies, I decided to go with what I had on hand and make some funfetti fudge! I actually really like the funfetti cake mix in this because I like the sprinkles that come in it. They’re crunchy and hold up well without being too hard or distracting from the cake-batter flavor! This…
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Happy post-labor day weekend! This past weekend was filled with so much stuff, I’ll be writing about it for weeks! Here’s a taste: brewery, wine tasting, jazz festival, escape room, hot pot restaurant, renaissance fair, and a ton of board games! Plus my birthday is coming up this week, so you’d better keep checking back for posts if you wanna hear all the details. This recipe I made for my sister’s boyfriend R since he just about loooooooves peanut butter. Also chocolate + peanut butter, but I don’t think he’s discriminatory. So I always pin all these peanut butter recipes…
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Happy Labor Day! Did you think I was gonna leave you hanging? Nope, this time I’m posting a down and dirty meal that you can enjoy when you’re crunched for time, and kids are sure to love because there are tater tots! This recipe I learned from one of my coworkers–from Minnesota! We were really confused at lunch one day as to what he was eating, and apparently this is a pretty common staple up there where as I (being a Yankee originally) had never in my life heard of it. So that prompted a discussion of what is tater…
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This weekend we had another game night: read D&D session, because we’re cool. =D It’s been a couple months since our last one, because summer always seems to get crazy busy for everyone and we have to find a weekend where all 5 of us are in town and not busy. But at least for you that means–more recipes! We’ve started doing a pot luck so everyone contributes, but since I like cooking I’ll usually make one or two things that I’ve been meaning to try out. Other recipes I’ve made before include mediterranean dip, or caramelized bacon onion dip ,…
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Bonus post: here’s another gourmet burger to add to your repertoire! Keep this one in mind alongside jalapeno cheddar stuffed burgers, or the juicy lucy burger. With these three burgers on your menu, you’re sure to impress! This is definitely a different twist on a classic burger, but really the main difference is the ground lamb. Everything else I typically have in my pantry. Make sure that you don’t over-mix the lamb, because you won’t want it to be tough. We served this with garlic butter roasted carrots and actually used what was left of the garlic butter in the…
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Your one-stop-shop for yummy cookies with that splash of gourmet! Check out pudding sprinkle cookies and cake batter chocolate chip cookies for some other gourmet takes! These maple sugar cookies came out fabulous, with no more than a hint of maple, though you could definitely taste it, which is perfect for me. Sometimes if not done properly, I find maple syrup cloyingly sweet. Do make sure you’re using that real stuff instead of the stuff that is basically corn syrup with some brown tint. Because it is used as the flavoring in this recipe, you won’t really get that maple flavor unless you use good…
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Let me just start this off answering the question on everyone’s mind–yes, this recipe is everything you want it to be! Another adventure stemming from my coworkers, though this time from a birthday rather than fresh-from-the-garden produce like baked jalapeño poppers. Since I like cooking and baking (whaaaat), a coworker’s birthday is always the perfect excuse to try out a new recipe! I do ask for a category or a few examples of what they like so that I have a starting place. How bad would everyone feel if I made something the birthday guy/gal didn’t like? That’s awkward for everyone. So…
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Look familiar? I’ll give you a hint: I reviewed a dish quite like this last week from Kona Grill! Here’s my homemade take! The one bite I stole from one of my fellow bridesmaids K at the bachelorette dinner last weekend was so good I was still craving it two days later! So I tried to kinda make something up as I went. This was still quite tasty, and delicious, though of course not exactly the same. Definitely a keeper though! Pesto cream sauce with sausage medallions tossed with some spaghetti or linguine. Hope you enjoy! You’ll notice in this photo…
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From the lady that made jalapeno popper stuffed bread before she made traditional jalapeno poppers, I give you baked jalapeno poppers! As I’ve said, you can thank my lack of spice tolerance for this delay. Somehow a dip that’s made much more of cream cheese and cheese and other goodies seemed less intense than jumping in full to jalapeno poppers. Plus the last batch I had were made by a lady who thought we all loved spice, and were a looooot too intense for me. Delicious, but mouth-on-fire delicious, and hence I had somewhat avoided these. Which is silly really, because when you’re…
