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This Was My Father’s Favorite Dish – Yum!

My mother never had a crock pot but that doesn’t mean she didn’t know how to slow cook food to perfection. My Dad was crazy about her sausage stew; Mom would make a huge batch of it, letting it simmer slowly for half a day. By the time we gathered around the dinner table the whole house smelled amazing and our tummies were growling. She didn’t have to call for us twice, that’s for sure!

Now, I really don’t have the time to stand by the stove all day (neither did my mother so I have no idea how she made it happen). That’s why I love my slow cooker – I can let it do all the work for me and then I just happily enjoy the results!

This hearty sausage stew is one of my favorite crock pot recipes. Probably because the flavor is almost identical to the one my mother used to make. Making dinner doesn’t get any easier than this! I make this stew year ’round but I think it’s perfect for the chilly fall and winter nights.

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Quick Tip: This recipe makes 6 servings.

Your family will go crazy for these!

When my husband and I first bought our house and started having babies, many years ago, we went out to eat way more than what I would like to admit.

It was just about every other night, we were grabbing something from a drive-thru, having a pizza delivered, or going up to the local family restaurant to let them cook for us. It wasn’t my proudest moment I can tell you that much. However, life was too busy, and by the time it was time to eat, the last thing that I wanted to do was go stand in the kitchen for an hour making dinner. It just wasn’t in me at the end of the day.

My husband often requested Mexican food when we went out to eat, and I could tell that it was his favorite. When I was able to cook, he also loved my cooking, so I wanted to see if I could recreate any of his favorite dishes at home. That would be a real treat!

I couldn’t wait to surprise him with these homemade chicken burritos. They were super simple to make, and I thought they smelled amazing. The only thing that we had to wait for was the hubby coming home from work to be the official taste tester of the night.

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Quick Tip: Serve with salsa and sour cream or even guacamole if you prefer!

Once every two weeks or so I get a request from my little one to “please mommy make the cabin dinner again”

The first time she said that, I had no idea what she was talking about. I mean, sure – the meals I make are not exactly Michelin star restaurant-style, if you know what I mean, but I wouldn’t actually call them cabin meals, either. To me it sounded like something that comes out of a box when you’re on a flight to a tropical destination. And NOT in first class.

After a couple of questions I was able to find out it was cottage pie she so desperately wanted me to make! It really has become her favorite meal, and whenever we are having mashed potatoes it goes without saying that there will be cottage pie the next day.

Sometimes I even have to make mashed potatoes just for this dish – I don’t mind, because I see how much she loves it. I’ve tried several recipes and this one never fails. I would highly recommend making a double batch – you’re going to want to have some leftovers for lunch the next day!

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Quick Tip: Use ground turkey, for a leaner option.

I love Italian food. Ahh, how I love a good pasta dish, full of sauce, hearty with meat and with loads of cheese over the top. It is just the epitome of a comfort dish. Any pasta dish can really be transformed into something amazing. Some of my favorites are ravioli and tortellini. I so easily take these and elevate them to become a better, fuller versions of what they are. Say, add a combination of two sauces, add some different spices, or try out a different cheese.

The options are endless when it comes to pasta and you can get as creative as you would like without ruining anything! Recently, I decided to make lasagna in the crock pot. I had found a recipe and though it was the coolest thing so I gave it a go. Well, when it was time to make it, I realized I did not buy the right noodles.

Actually, I forgot to buy them altogether. I was a bit disappointed, but then realized I could probably still make a great dish with these ingredients and some of the other pasta in my pantry. I searched for a good recipe with those ingredients and found this lasagna soup.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Shugary Sweets.

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Quick Tip: Serve this with toasty garlic bread.

If you have been reading my recipes for any while now, you probably already know I am Cuban. Well, I was born in Canton, Ohio but my parents are Cuban. We eat loads of Cuban food, listen to lots of Cuban music and well, live a traditional Cuban life. It is fun and exciting and there are so many new adventures daily because our lives are just like that. There is so much to look forward to and with 4 other siblings, there is just always something going on!

Now, a few years have passed since I lived in that crazy Cuban household and I am married now, living with my husband. My husband’s father is Cuban, mother is Venezuelan and step-mother is Puerto Rican. Talk about diversity! Now, they all cook amazingly, but my step-mother in law makes some amazing food every single time we are over to visit. Whether it is Christmas or any other holiday, or just a night we go over to hang out, my step-mother in law is cooking traditional rice and beans with meat and tamales. There is just one other thing that she makes that she saves for special occasions and it is just amazing!

Photo and recipe courtesy of SavvyMujer.

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Quick Tip: Sprinkle a bit of hot sauce over it if you like some heat.

Is This The Easiest Enchilada Recipe Ever?

I’ve probably mentioned this before but I really love traveling. Whenever I get back home from a vacation, I get into this mood that I call “post vacation blues”.

I feel sad, sorry and frustrated, and I know there is no other cure than to start planning for another trip again. Well, in an ideal world we would all have plenty of money and free time to travel anywhere, anytime. Unfortunately I still live in a reality where I need to work for a living, and I’m only able to take a trip about once in two years. So what can I do in the meantime, to make the post vacation blues go away?

Food is the answer to so many problems, this one as well! I have started to cook a special dinner once a week – I pick some of the countries I’d love to visit, and choose a recipe that is common to their cuisine. This way I can pretend for at least one night that I am on vacation, in an exotic place, and it makes it much easier to wait for my next trip again!

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Quick Tip: You can use your leftover chicken for this dish!

Sweet potatoes have become my new best friend. I have always stayed away from them due to this one experience where I absolutely hated it. I had always been a huge potato fan. But I mean, regular potatoes. However, after a long time of eating those, I wanted to branch out and try something new. So one day, I was at Outback and ordered a baked potato. The waiter came back to my table a few minutes later to inform me that they were out of baked potatoes, but they could give me a sweet potato instead. I figured I would give it a try.

What he brought was a burnt sweet potato covered in butter and brown sugar. Like, it was swimming in butter. Now imagine taking a bite of something burnt dunked in brown sugar. It is definitely not all that appetizing. Well, I thought all baked sweet potatoes were like that, so I never ordered it again… that is until I found out how to make them myself. I figured I would give them a try and absolutely loved them. It is from that great experience that I experimented more and then eventually came up with this sweet potato chowder!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Six Sister’s Stuff.

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Quick Tip: Sprinkle a bit of brown sugar before serving.