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Cream Cheese and Pepper Jelly Fillo Shells
So, how many social events have YOU been to this month? Weddings, showers, graduations, anniversary parties, end of school year parties – holy cow, it’s a busy time of year! We’ve hosted a few events at our home lately, and since we’ve been pulled a million different directions, it’s nice to have some quick and easy appetizer options at my fingertips. These little Fillo cups from my friends at Athens are amazing, and have saved me in an entertaining-pinch many, many times. Fillo (or Phyllo…
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Roasted Smashed Potatoes
Anyone who knows me well knows how much I love potatoes. Mashed, scalloped, baked, fried – I love them all. My guiltiest pleasure of all is a recipe my husband makes occasionally – simple, buttered potatoes – they’re just boiled potatoes smothered in butter and just barely mashed. They are SO indulgent and soooo good. I’d share that recipe with you, but I have a feeling I’d be kicked off the internet by the snark police. (They’d ♥ them too, if they’d just try them.…
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Hearts of Palm Street Tacos
So, guys. Gals. Friends. We need to talk. This taco is LIFE. CHANGING. I’m not one to be overly dramatic (haha…no, seriously) about food, but holy-fried-middle-of-a-palm-tree-leaf, this is a tasty, tasty taco. Uh, yeah. The guts of this taco are totally fried palm tree leaves. Wikipedia says so. Well, if we’re being technical, they’re actually the inner core of certain types of palm tree leaves, but either way, I had no idea that they were even a thing. Especially an edible thing. PS, they’re also called…
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Spinach Ravioli Lasagna
Figuring out the new normal around here has been a challenge. Over the last few years, I’ve become really good at cooking elaborate, time-consuming dinners for my family. Fresh bread at dinner was not uncommon, nor were comforting, simmer-all-day kind of meals. But then, I started working away from home again, and now I get home after 6pm, and even then I’m at the mercy of my girls’ schedules. Dinner has become somewhat of an afterthought, and as a food blogger, that’s a really, really…
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Easy Roasted Tomato Soup
One of the best things about the end of summer is that while most of our vegetable garden has come and gone, our tomatoes are still going strong. And while I have pretty much exhausted my cravings for tomato and cheese sandwiches, I’m definitely not ready to say goodbye to my favorite garden fruit. Er, veggie. Whatever. Today, I picked up a beautiful loaf of jalapeno cheese bread at one of my favorite bakeries, and it was just begging to be turned into a grilled…
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Restaurant Style Salsa
You know when you go to a Mexican restaurant and they give you one of those little bottles FULL of extra salsa? You know, so you can refill your own salsa dish? Those are my favorites. Because seriously, a little tiny bowl of salsa for a table full of people is just never going to be enough, it’s just not. And then, you know when you’re at a Mexican restaurant, and your food comes out and you immediately have to ask for a box because…
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Honey Mustard Salad Dressing
I feel like we are a couple of weeks behind everyone else, but it’s finally back-to-school week at my house. We’re getting back into the swing of things, painfully shedding our summertime schedules and trying to remember what it’s like to set alarm clocks and adhere to bedtime routines. Since I’m totally a creature of habit, I look forward to this time of year. I love having my daughter home with me all summer long, but I thrive on schedules and routines. Plus, do…
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Appetizers, Garden, Guilt Free, Main Courses, No Bake, Party Food, Quick, Side Dishes, Summer Favorites, Vegetarian, Weeknight
Tomato & Basil Bruschetta
Two quick things today. One is related to the picture above, and one is a story that you must endure to get to the yumminess. So, first of all, my four year old says the cutest-ever things right now. She’s right between that baby-talk and big-kid speak…and she makes up words and misuses words all of the time and it’s so stinkin’ adorable that I can’t even stand it. For instance, instead of “accident,” she says “ax-ca-dent.” Like, “Sorry, Mommy, but it was just an…
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Sweet Cherry Salsa
There are some things on this planet that were just meant to be together. Peanut butter and jelly. Wasabi and soy sauce. Mashed potatoes and gravy. Sweet cherry salsa and salty tortilla chips. Sweet. Cherry. Salsa. It’s sweet. It makes me happy. And with salty, crispy tortilla chips? Holy cow you guys. This recipe came my way via my lovely sister-in-law. She’s like, the queen of dips. And parties. She throws the best family parties and she makes the best dips. AND, she actually…
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Castello Moments: Potato Gratin
There’s just not much better than this. Warm, gooey potatoes, oozing with cheese? You guys, come on. This is the ultimate comfort food. My friends at Castello were kind enough to send me some generous wedges of two varieties of their cheese, Hirten and Classic. I have to admit that we’ve enjoyed cuts of the Hirten with crackers and a full-bodied red wine on a few occasions lately, but once I settled down to cook with it, I was glad I did. You can…
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Fried Pickles with Spicy Ranch
You know when you get a craving and it just won’t go away? Yep, you guessed it. I’ve been craving fried pickles for about six months now. I’m not really sure why. I don’t really crave fried foods, ever…but something about warm, battered pickles dipped in cool ranch dressing just does it for me, I guess. I’m just exuding classiness, aren’t I?
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Easy Marinara Sauce
So, if a magic genie in a lantern gave me three wishes, I think mine might be for 1) money (duh), 2) more wishes (also duh) and 3) that pasta would become a health food. As in, I could eat it all day every day and have the same results as if I lived on raw green veggies. I’m really not kidding. And don’t try to tell me that you wouldn’t wish for money or more wishes, because that’s what makes the game fun.
