A Foodie's Recipe Blog

What can I say?  I love cooking Italian food.  The last time I had stuffed shells was at Buca Di Beppo for my 29th birthday party.  I think that was a lesson learned not to ever plan a birthday party or have a birthday other than the big ones.  I think once you celebrate the big 21 there's no need to celebrate and go all out with friends until the big 30.  Maybe 25 can be an exception.  My 25th was an amazing party with friends and family. My dad volunteered to host it and there ended up being a kid's jumper, a cotton candy  machine, and karaoke.  The latter was inevitable.  My dad will come up with any excuse to whip out the good ole karaoke machine. These shells are topped with my basic meat sauce.  See the older post for the recipe.  I used whatever cheeses I had in the fridge and it came out perfect! Serves 4 - yields about 20 shells Ingredients 1 box of jumbo shells (you will only use half, but double the recipe if you w...

Courtesy of  girlversusdough on Tablespoon.com I wanted some doughnut holes similar to the ones I had in Chicago at Lou Mitchell's.  Anytime you are in Chicago, you HAVE to go to Lou Mitchell's for breakfast.  Although the line maybe long, it is totally worth the wait.  They also have a girl that has a fresh basket of homemade doughnut holes to give to people in line while you wait.  Amazing!  This recipe was the first one that popped up on my Google search.  Super easy to make and you probably have all the ingredients in your cupboard.   With this recipe I was able to make about 15 holes. The best thing about this recipe is the crunchiness of the outside and the fluffy goodness on the inside.  If you have kids, they will absolutely devour these.  Oh yeah, and husbands too.  So double the recipe. Ingredients 1 1/4  cups unbleached all-purpose flour 1/3  cup sugar 2  tsp baking powder 1/2...

I absolutely love this dish at Cheesecake Factory.  Unfortunately, now that I know how to make it, I rarely order it.  My go to order at CF is the Chicken Farfallle Pasta.  I have that recipe somewhere too.  I'll have to make it again so I can put down on paper the amount of seasoning and ingredients I use. The Crusted Chicken Romano recipe is so easy! Serves 4-6 Ingredients: 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts 1/2 stick of butter 1 cup of Romano Cheese 4 tablespoons of heavy cream Cooked spaghetti noodles 1 lemon 1 cup of bread crumbs (homemade in a food processor or store bought) 2 eggs Flour Salt and Pepper 1 16 oz can of tomato sauce Parmesan cheese to top pasta Directions Set up 2 shallow dishes with the following in each:  Scrabled eggs for dip, bread crumbs and Romano cheese mixed Slice the chicken breasts half wise to make it into two thin pieces.  Use a meat pounder (flat side) to flatten chicken to about 1/4 inch.  Sea...

I've never made potato salad prior to this first time at my mother in law's 65th birthday party.  I always just had to endure my family member's bland version, which I had no problem devouring after raining down a good amount of salt.  You see, I feel that the perfect potato salad is not too creamy, holds its shape, and does not run or seep into the rest of the food on your plate.  I am a picky eater in the sense that my food cannot touch.  I do not like my mashed potatoes or gravy making contact with my fried chicken.  It gives me some kind of anxiety like my food will be tainted if they mesh together, messing up the proportions of flavor.  My husband thinks I'm crazy sometimes.  I always have to proportion my bites, my meat to rice ratio, french fries to ketchup ratio, or how many bites I take to chew on something.  I always ask for my gravy on the side, or the dressing on the side.  Let me decide how much and to what degree I want to mix m...

My version of Empire Cafe's Focaccia and Eggs.  Totally the same thing! Feeds 4 Ingredients: Sliced Focaccia or Ciabiatta Bread (4) 6 Scrambled Eggs 8 slices of thick bacon, cut into pieces 6 fresh basil leaves chopped 2 tablespoons of tomato sauce 2 Roma tomatoes diced Shredded Mozzarella cheese for topping Directions: Toast the bread slices in the oven at 200F for about 5-7 min Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce over each slice of bread Mix the eggs and bacon pieces and top bread with it Top each slice with some tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella I wish I had a picture but I will make this soon and post it.  Trust me, I feel as I have uncovered Empire Cafe's recipe and it is exactly the same.  

So this weekend we were trapped within the confines of our apartment with nowhere to go because of the icy road conditions.  The 27 degree temperature mixed with rain and sleet caused a school closing on Friday.  I was unaware that I would be stuck at home for the entire weekend due to unfavorable and unsafe road conditions.  In addition to that, I would have to tend to a sick husband.  I attempted to swing by the grocery store late Friday morning but the entire meat section was almost obsolete.  I picked up a few items to get me through the long weekend which included: Nyquil, red nail polish for the holiday season, a bag of chips, a gallon of Blue Bell ice cream, and some staples for baking.  With the freezing temperatures outside, I wanted to cook something hot like chili or pho.  Although I would have loved to spend my entire morning prepping and cooking pho, I did not have the necessary ingredients.  Then it dawned on me:  Chicken and du...