A Foodie's Recipe Blog

I love having a food processor and I love experimenting with new flavors I can add to my protein.  I found myself getting bored with the same old recipes involving chicken.  I wanted to branch out and experiment with a lot of different flavors by creating my own glazes, sauces, and rubs.  When I threw this dish together, it came out surprisingly delicious.  I hope you enjoy it!  Love having Kyle as my guinea pig.  I know not all of my recipes have pictures but I promise to upload them when I cook them again, which will be soon! There are some grocery items that you must always have on hand in your fridge and in your pantry. Here is a list of what I always have in my kitchen on top of staples such as sugar and flour: Milk Bread Plain bread crumbs rice butter EVOO heavy cream Green onions White or yellow onions Garlic Tomato Sauces, Diced tomatoes, Tomato paste Chicken Broth, Beef Broth Chicken Stock Corn Starch Rice Wine Vinegar Ingredien...

When I think of meatloaf, I think of Kyle's mom.  She makes the best meatloaf there is.  I have made some of my own adjustments to the recipe, but it still has that taste which reminds me of home.  This is NOT the healthy version.  I have made a healthy version using either the leanest ground beef or ground turkey.  Either way, its up to you!  This recipe can feed about 4-6 people Ingredients 2 pounds of ground beef or ground chuck (80/20) 2 teaspoons of black pepper (season to taste) 3 teaspoons of salt (season to taste) 2 eggs 1/2 cup of milk 5 slices of bread 3 tablespoon Ketchup 3 tablespoon worcestershire sauce 1 can of tomato sauce (if you can find the tomato sauce specific to meatloaf, get it!  Hunt's seasoned tomato sauce for Meatloaf is excellent) 1 small onion diced (about 1/2 cup) 1 green bell pepper diced (about 1/2 cup) 1 tablespoon of dark brown sugar Loaf pan Preheat your oven to 350 Make your breadcrumbs by placing...

Salmon is something that is easy to cook especially baked.  You can play around with flavors, try wrapping in foil, or just bake a simple salt and peppered filet in the oven for 15-20 minutes. Ingredients: 2 salmon filets 3 slices of bread 2 teaspoons of oregano 1 teaspoon thyme 1/2 teaspoon of dried parsley or 5 sprigs of fresh parsley 2 tablespoons of Dijon Mustard 2 tablespoons of melted butter 1 tablespoon of butter Large stove to oven skillet Make the bread crumbs: Preheat oven to 400 degrees In a food processor put in the bread and spices.  Pulse until all mixed.  Add in half of the melted butter and pulse.  Keep adding butter until you get a good consistency like wet sand.   Spread out the bread crumbs on a foil lined aluminum pan and toast in oven for about 3-5 minutes Take the bread crumbs out of the oven.  Salt and Pepper the filets and lightly brush each salmon filet with mustard.  Don't forget the sides too!   ...

This is my great recipe for hosting a group of about 10 people.  So yummy!  I made it for a work pot luck and got the stamp of approval from a native Louisiannan!  One thing I find hard to communicate in writing down my recipes is the amount of spices to put in.  Like most people, I just season to taste.  I will try my best to estimate the amount of spices but I will do it on the low end to be safe.  Nothing will ruin a dish like over spicing.  You can modify this dish with whatever protein you want.  If you can't get the crawfish skip it.  I'm lucky enough to have a mom that buys crawfish by the pounds, peels, and freezes them.  Whenever I come home, she always fills up one of those styrofoam coolers for me full of shrimp, crawfish, meats, and soups.  Again, customize this based on what you like.  The most important thing you get right is the roux.  For one party, I made a separate pot of étouffée with just sausage for th...

I had a dish similar to this in Rome and it inspired me to make it at home.  I actually saved the restaurant's location on my iPhone maps.  I am hoping that when I go back to Rome, I will be able to find it again.  I know for sure it is on a small side street behind the Louis Vuitton store; and you know I will be stopping by there on the way!  I have to say it was the most beautiful LV store I've ever been in. They even served us expresso in Louis Vuitton shot glasses.  By the way, designer handbags are definitely cheaper there than in the U.S.  If you are planning on spending more than $500 it is worth the extra effort and paperwork.  At the store, you tell the cashier that you need to get the paperwork for the VAT.  You get a refund on a portion of the tax once you are the airport on your way home.  When we were departing from Rome, there was a booth inside after security where you get your  money back in cash.  Before you get in ...

Meat Sauce This is my go to meat sauce recipe for lasagna, baked ziti, and spaghetti.  I used to enjoy baked ziti at that little plae in the mall food cort, Sbarro's.  It was a meatless sauce and I remember getting it all of the time during my lunch breaks.  I actually had two jobs at the mall - both retail.  My first retail job was at Paul Harris, a women's clothing store managed by one of my high school friend's mom.  I hated it.  I hated it because I had some pretty snooty managers; one of them being a girl I went to high school with.  Don't even get me started on high school mean girls...The second mall job was at Abercrombie and Fitch.  Oh yes.  I was 22 years old and rather enjoyed spending all of my paychecks on new clothes.  It was a vicious cycle.  The great thing was I was a tiny little thing.  I actually fit into  a size 0.  In A&F sizes that was probably really a size 00.  It's been 10 years si...

Bruschetta with Fresh Mozzarella This dish is so simple and reminds me so much of our honeymoon in Italy.  Everything is so fresh and flavorful there.  The only downside about going in the summer or anytime it's hot is the lack of A/C you will find.  I did not find that bit of information in any of the Rick Steves travel guides.  Plus the lack of ice cold water and the fact that you have to pay for water at restaurants.  It wasn't that big of a problem because you could get an ice cold beer or a glass of wine for less than a glass of water.  Another neat fact about Rome:  All of the over 2,500 public fountains run cool filtered water.  I kept a water bottle in my bag and anytime I saw a fountain, I'd just fill up right there.  Anyways, back to the dish... If you are a fan of Caprese Salad then you can skip the carbs and just prepare it without the baguette and serve it cold. This is a great baseline for any type of ...

Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork  So I wanted to try planning out our dinners one week at at time, only going to the grocery store on Sundays.  I have tried this before and it works out great.  No more trying to decide where to eat, what we are going to eat, etc.  So for my first day of cooking I decided to go with pulled pork tacos.  Luckily the pork shoulder/butt was on sale at the local grocery store.  I think I read somewhere that they are not going to call them butts anymore.  Nothing like a good ole pork butt in my belly.  I got a decent sized 4.5lb pork shoulder for a little over 10 dollars.  The prep time only took me less than 20 minutes and then I waited... the result was a juicy, succulent, melt in your mouth flavor.  I am definitely going to make this again for a larger crowd.  I love hosting people and cooking but it gets a little cramped in our 2 bedroom apartment.  The hubby approved and could not stop picking at ...