My first trip to New Orleans was in the mid 1990’s. I was just out of college and about $1 north of broke. The flight was terrible, the weather was terrible, the cheap hotel was worse than terrible but the food was amazing. I came home with an appreciation for hotels that didn’t have cigarette burns in the sheets and a lasting love of Cajun … Continue reading Naw’lins Style Red Beans & Rice in the Instant Pot
Stacey and the girls really love soft pretzels. The giant ones at the fair, little pretzel nuggets, you name it. Like so many other things that I have just always bought from a store I never really thought about trying to make them at home. I assumed it would be some long, multi-step process that took hours. I was wrong. The whole process only takes … Continue reading Soft Pretzels
When you find an old typed recipe for red sauce in the family collection you have to give it some real consideration. When I saw this requires 6 hours of simmer time I knew I had the real deal. I’ve discussed red sauce with more than a few Italians over the years. Every good family has there own recipe for making it “right”, but the good ones have a few things in common.
Continue reading “Italian Red Sauce”
I love caramelized onions – as a topping for sandwiches, in soup, even in sauces (I puree them and it adds a special little something to gravies and sauces). They are great for making French onion soup – add broth and croutons and top with a little cheese. Unfortunately it takes time to cook them down properly, and I always seem to want them when … Continue reading Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions
Sometimes to find an on-trend recipe you have to go way back in history (ironic, right?). Agriculture began in the Levant, so it makes sense they have had a lot of time to come up with delicious plant based recipes. Hummus (or Hoomus) has been around a good long time. It is simple, clean and delicious. It goes with almost anything from pita chips to … Continue reading Tita’s Hummus (Hoomus) Recipe
A friend at work recently requested a peanut butter pie for his birthday (We both work at the company that just happens to make Jif peanut butter). I borrowed inspiration from the original Jif recipe, and added some premium upgrades. The original recipe calls for a pre-made chocolate pie crust and frozen whipped topping. I made a crust with chocolate graham crackers and made real … Continue reading Peanut Butter Pie
You never know exactly what the outcome will be when you grab an old recipe card and just go with it. I have mentioned in previous posts that older recipes often leave out many specific details. This is usually for one of two reasons: a) they were just jotting down notes for themselves and they only captured enough details to remember key ingredients/steps because they … Continue reading Grandma’s Orange Cake with Orange Buttercream Frosting
This is a fun and festive way to dress up deviled eggs for Easter or any special occasion. In addition to the recipe for these cute and delicious eggs I’ll share some tips on how to make easy to peel hard boiled eggs.
Continue reading “Deviled Easter Eggs”
I find it interesting how food trends seem to move in circles over decades, centuries or even millennia. As I write this in 2019 plant based diets are on the rise, and whole grains are once again in the spotlight (unless you are following one of the low carb/keto dietary guides). Eggs and butter have gone from good, to bad to good again all in … Continue reading Tabbouleh
Sometimes you want fresh bread but you just don’t want to wait on all that kneading and rising and then kneading and rising again. Sure, you could just buy a loaf of bread, but where is the fun in that? You could buy one of those canned or frozen quick loaves, but who knows what all is in there. The solution? Quick bread.
Continue reading “3 Ingredient Beer Bread”