Even The Picky Eaters Will Be Fighting Over The Last One!

When I was growing up, we never used to have hot and spicy food at home. I guess my parents were used to milder, traditional dishes and they weren’t big fans of spicy flavors. I never really thought I would like spicy food, either – my cousin made me try plain hot sauce when I was about 8 years old and I thought, that was it. I didn’t want to have anything to do with spicy flavors after that!

It wasn’t until I was about 20 when my boyfriend, now husband, lured me into having some spicy food. He was smart enough not to scare me with a bunch of extra hot chili – he just made me a dish he thought had a little bit of heat in it but not too much to make me cough.

Things have changed a lot since then! These days whenever we get takeout, I choose the spiciest option there is – and probably still drizzle some Sriracha on top of my serving at home. I’m always trying to find new dishes I could try; like these super delicious stuffed jalapenos from Hilah Cooking. These are amazing!

Recipe and image courtesy of Hilah Cooking.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: Serve with sour cream or your favorite dip.

I Never Thought Adding This One Ingredient Could Make This Salad So Amazing!

A good friend of mine thought it was weird that I was going to serve potato salad for Thanksgiving. In her opinion, potato salads were for summer parties and BBQ’s, not for Thanksgiving or Christmas. It’s funny; sometimes we are so used to doing things the way we’ve always done them, that we don’t even think about other options.

When I was young, potato salad was definitely a barbecue dish for us, too. But pretty soon after I got married and started a holiday tradition of my own, it became a Thanksgiving and Christmas side dish. I think it goes together perfectly with all the other holiday foods. Besides, everyone seems to love potato salad!

I haven’t always made the same exact recipe, though. But this one, from Melanie Cooks, has quickly become my favorite. There is one special ingredient I had never thought of adding – it made such a big difference!

Recipe and image courtesy of Melanie Cooks.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: Use potatoes with thin skin.

You Won’t Be Able To Put Your Fork Down!

The in-laws called my husband and told him that they were going to be coming up for a visit over the weekend. You know what that means, don’t you? Time for me to start cleaning. Not that they could care less about how tidy the house looks, but I do! I also had to make sure that the guest room was all set up, and we had plenty of groceries. My mother-in-law refuses to go out to eat most of the time. She will do the cooking at my house before she lets us go and get something from somewhere else. I knew that there was one dish that I was going to make on the Saturday morning that they were at our place.

I had seen a recipe for a brunch pie on Mennonite Girls Can Cook earlier in the week, and I had already planned on making it before I even knew that they were coming. It was the perfect homemade dish that my mother-in-law would go crazy for. What was nice is she even helped me make it.

It’s always fun to bond with her in the kitchen. She has so many tips and tricks when it comes to cooking, I’ve learned a lot from her. The pie turned out amazing, and even with the veggies in there, the husbands and kids still ate it. Surprising to me, but it happened!

Recipe and image courtesy of Mennonite Girls Can Cook.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS

Quick Tip: You can easily double the ingredients and make in a large oven pan, if you’re serving this for a larger crowd.

Oh, my, gosh. This stuff is amazing!!

The other day I was having a conversation with my friend about food. We discussed the difference between “kids’ food” and “adults’ food”.

Now, you may say that food is food, no matter what your age, but there are certain meals that kids in general don’t like. For example, my kids don’t like anything too hot and spicy, or a medium-rare steak. But then my friend suggested that there are meals that are meant for kids alone, and they are not “a real dinner” you can serve to adults.

I gave her a weird look and asked her to give me an example. You know what she said? Mac and cheese! I was so surprised that I didn’t know what to say for a moment! Mac and cheese is one of my favorites and I certainly make it for dinner all the time. But she seemed to think the dish is a bit childish – which made me want to prove her wrong.

Right then and there I started making this incredibly yummy mac and cheese that is not at all like the box stuff you get from the store.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Do not use pre-shredded cheese for this – the flavor is much better if you shred the cheese yourself.

I am a huge fan of fusion meals. Not only fusion as in two countries’ flavors fused into one dish, but just opposites in one meal. For example, salty and sweet. That is such a cool combination to me and I really cannot get enough of it. I love to chow down a good dish of salty and sweet pretzels for example. There is nothing better than a pretzel dipped in some milk chocolate. Yum, yum!

Now, since I love this so much, I really enjoy playing with different flavors to achieve it. We have something like this in our Cuban culture with fried ripe plantains. They are basically sweet bananas fried to golden perfection and eaten along with our normally savory meal. It adds a touch of sweetness to our meals that is so cool! So, I decided I had to get something similar but with more of an American style meal which is how I came up with this cranberry turkey salad. It is cold and has the mix of the salty turkey with the sweet cranberry. Together, it is the perfect topping for a green salad or filling for a hearty sandwich. There are so many yummy things to be made with this one!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Six Sister’s Stuff.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Add any veggies you’d like.

I thought these types of things only happen in books and movies, but it also happens in real life. A couple of weeks ago, my boyfriend and I both finally had a free weekend together so we wanted to spend it spoiling each other by relaxing together or doing favors for each other. One thing I always appreciated was when he cooked something special, something different that I hadn’t tasted before. He made this dish that he discovered over at Southern Bite. It was a version of what his mom used to cook before, but it has a different twist to it.

He used cauliflower, something that I wasn’t a fan of, but I always trusted him to make a special meal for me. He’s a much better cook than me! He grew up cooking while I just learned to cook in college. The wonderful aroma started infusing the air that I couldn’t wait to eat what he just cooked. When he called me to the kitchen, I was already excited. But even before I reached the kitchen, the doorbell rang and I answered it. It was one of our neighbors. She told us she has a mini impromptu party in her house and that we’re invited. I couldn’t say No. The dinner the boyfriend cooked for me ended up being shared by twenty people that night. I managed to get a taste though. And I wasn’t wrong when I said he’s one super home chef.

Photo and recipe courtesy of the Southern Lady Cooks.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Serve with a plate of salad.

Perfect for picnics, backyard BBQs, summer birthday parties and the ladies book club meetings. This salad is so simple to make and will be the perfect companion to BBQ chicken, ribs or burgers. You can even use it on fresh bruschetta.

My mother often had lady friends over who played cards and drank iced tea. She would also serve various salads such as tossed, macaroni and pasta. She also made a cucumber salad that was similar to this one. Us kids always got the leftovers, if there were any. But if there were not, she would always whip up a small batch for us to have with dinner. It was so good and so refreshing on hot summer evenings.

Recipe and photo courtesy of Ceara @ Cearas Kitchen

PLEASE CONTINUE TO THE NEXT PAGE FOR A LIST OF INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Be sure this is served well chilled for the freshest taste.