I’m definitely not a chef but I really love to cook. I wanted to learn to cook ever since I was little. I would love to watch and help my grandmother (we called her Nanny) in the kitchen. Most of her dishes were these really simple recipes. My favorites were her Pepper Steak and a dish she called Swiss Steak. Both had a very simple tomato sauce base. Her dishes weren’t fancy, but they were good. Early memories.. I can remember when I first wanted to learn to cook. It was watching the Graham Kerr cooking show every day with My grandfather after school. Graham would make all these beautiful…
-
-
Sweet roasted garlic, you need this in your next dish
As previously discussed in my 3 simple staples in your pantry now post, I mentioned how garlic can be used in so many different ways. One of my favorite ways to use garlic is to roast it. Roasted garlic is so sweet and full of depth and this super simple technique will be a game changer for your recipes. Start by but cutting off the top of the whole clove of garlic. Just cut enough to expose the cloves and discard the tops. After you have sliced the top off you can place the whole bulb into a square of tinfoil and drizzle olive oil over the exposed clove. Lightly…
-
A poor mans meal that is the ultimate comfort food
Sometimes I really miss my dad, ok, I always miss my dad. One of the things I miss the most is spending our Sundays with him at his house. My sister and I would go over and spend the day with him. He’d either order a pizza or make us dinner. It was the day that we all had free to just hang out and relax. Sometimes we’d order a pizza but a lot of times he would cook. His meals weren’t elaborate but always so delicious. One of our favorites were his budget friendly Spinach and Beans. This dish in particular was my favorite of his. Budget friendly Brothy…
-
Quick and easy Olive Tapenade in under 5 minutes
Olive Tapenade is the quick and easy app you need in your life. If you love olives like I do, then you’re gonna to want to try this. I love all types of olives. The salty and savory factor makes them the perfect little snack. They could be green, black, blue cheese stuffed, Sicilian you name it, they’re all so delicious. Olives are great for salads, snacking or simple tapenades like this one. I always have black and pimento stuff olives on hand in my pantry. Now if you want to take it a step further, and get a little fancy with your olive selection, then you need to head…
-
Stock these 3 simple staples in your pantry now!
What is flavor? By definition, it’s the quality of something that affects the sense of taste. It’s the difference between enjoyable and well, not so much. As long as you have the right ingredients and use them correctly, you can always produce good flavor. There are so many great ingredients out there and I have a wide variety that are always stocked in my pantry, but let’s start with the basics. You will never find my kitchen without Extra virgin olive oil, salt, and fresh garlic. These three ingredients should be first and foremost on your list too because this little power trio can really step up anyone’s cooking game…
-
No knead to stress – anyone can make homemade pasta
Some people are really intimidated by making pasta from scratch. But making fresh homemade pasta can really be such a therapeutic experience. It is for me and it’s even something my son loves doing. What’s also great about homemade pasta making is that it’s truly not that complicated and only requires a little bit of effort. Even an inexperienced cook can pull it off. Let’s make homemade pasta I work right on my counter top. If you don’t have a good enough work surface, you can do this in a bowl or even use a food processor. There are many different recipe variations out there, from whole egg versus yolk…
-
Bring on the fall recipes with a feel good one pot chicken chili
Yes, Fall is nice and all, especially the fall recipes. But I dread the end of Summer. It feels like it takes forever to get here so I like to hold onto it. And I’m pretty sure I’m headed to basic bitch hell for this, but I don’t like Pumpkin Spice. I said what I said. Maybe it’s because someone needs to pump the breaks on all the pumpkin spice madness in August. Believe me I like Fall, I do. I like the beautiful foliage, the really pretty fall colors. And at the END of September, I’m ready for it. I’ll take the pumpkin décor, and all the Fall things.…
-
Good vibrations – is the PMD Clean worth the buzz?
I had to see for myself about this little silicone brush device that is all the rage right now. I’ve been seeing the PMD Clean all over the internet and Instagram and on my friends stories. This little device which is available in so many assorted enticing colors promises over 7000 tiny vibrations per minute for a deep clean and to “lift, firm, and tone”. At the $99 + price tag it has to be amazing right?! During Amazon prime week, I was able to get my PMD Clean for $69. Super excited about this sale, I wasted no time and chose the Navy and Gold pictured above. The double…
-
Some of my best anti aging skincare product must haves
Anti Aging-what really works? The A word. The big “A”, ya know…Aging. Yes as a 40 something, you definitely know what I am referring to. I keep talking myself thru the “aging gracefully” process. So with all the anti aging products on the market there has to be a way to slow that process down, right?! And of course if all else fails there’s always Botox and fillers. Personally I’m not opposed to them but I’m not ready just yet. Step up the skin care game Turning 40 a few years ago I knew I had to step up my daily skincare game. Not having many regrets in life, I…
-
Childhood Nostalgia with the best Potato Pancakes
Potato pancakes are pretty nostalgic for me. My Nanny, who is my maternal grandmother, use to make these for us once in a while. And while a lot of her meals were super easy, I always remember this being a very daunting process. Although very few ingredients, the idea of grating 5 pounds of potatoes and the onions with a box grater is definitively a deterrent for me. But what’s not a deterrent is the fact that its really hard, near impossible for me to find potato pancakes like hers. Usually they are either latkes (which I’m not necessarily complaining about) or a cake-like patty made with mashed potatoes. While…
