foodiecrush | The blog that loves food, photography and recipes

How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

This deliciously easy and authentic Caesar salad dressing (made with or without anchovies) gets it’s signature creamy texture from good quality mayonnaise and sour cream with the tang of red wine vinegar.

Homemade salad dressings are some of the easiest recipes any home cook should master. And ironically, it’s just about as easy to whip one up as it is to stand in front of the grocery aisle trying to decide which salad dressing you’re going to like the best. Plus, with homemade dressings there’s no guessing what’s in them because you get to decide which ingredients to include.

When people see an ingredient list that calls for raw egg and anchovies, they can get a bit squeemish about traditional recipes for Caesar salad dressing.

However, this recipe omits the raw egg and calls for mayonnaise and sour cream to provide the creamy texture, and you can choose whether to add anchovies, or not. If you’re a garlic fan, you can always toss in another clove if you like.

The power of Caesar is in your hands, and with this salad dressing, you’ll always be the big winner.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday!

I’ve never been one to go half way, especially when I put on my Julie McCoy cruise director hat to share intel, tips, and info about things I love that I think will make your life better too. It’s why I started posting this list of Friday Faves 8 years ago.

It seems that each and every week when I sit down to write up this list of Friday Faves, I tell myself DON’T OVER DO IT! Keep it simple. People like simple. They don’t have that much time. They don’t want to be overwhelmed. And by “them”, I mean YOU.

But then I check out the links I’ve saved from the week, and find myself looking for more on the web to share. Why do I always have this feeling like it still isn’t enough? That we’re enough? Guess what? We are. I am.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

This classic potato salad recipe, handed down from my grandma to my mom and then to me, has their secret tips that makes it the very best every single time.

It may be a pretty bold to claim, but saying this potato salad recipe is the best is a statement I’ll totally stand behind.

I’ve shared several variations of potato salad recipes here on the blog including my German potato salad, a creamy dill potato salad, my no-mayo potato salad with herbs, a bacon and sour cream loaded baked potato salad, and even more. But this salad is the one that readers have made a top recipe here on the blog, and definitely ranks as my personal childhood favorite.continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Potato Salad

Pasta Pomodoro Sauce

A simple pasta topped with fresh tomato pomodoro sauce couldn’t be more authentically Italian, and like most things Italian, simplicity is key in this 5-ingredient recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes.

This recipe is brought to you by DeLallo

Pinch me for sure, because I am lucky indeed. I recently visited the homeland of authentic Italian pomodoro sauce, on the Amalfi Coast near Naples, Italy—the hub of authentic Italian pasta manufacturing and tomato farming. It was the trip of a lifetime, complete with amazing views of the dramatic coastal cliffs, white-knuckled winding roads I luckily didn’t have to chauffeur, so much amazing time with friends on the tour, and more real-deal authentic Italian food than I could dream of—so fresh and delicious I never wanted to leave.

But why would I expect anything less? I was there with DeLallo Foods, a brand I’ve worked with for many years and shared many recipes using their products here on the blog, and who imports only the best ingredients direct from Italy to the U.S. We were in Italy to visit their pasta factory and learn more about what makes pasta made in the small southern city of Gragnano in the Campania region of Italy, the best, certifiably authentic pasta in the world—and the only way DeLallo produces their delicious Italian pasta.

In addition to learning about how pasta is made, we took a cooking class and learned how to make this classic Pomodoro al Spaghetti from the chefs of the two-star Michelin awarded restaurant Don Alfonso, where among all of their highly regarded recipes, this is their most popular recipe. It may have been the simplest meal we had on the trip, and might be the reason it ended up being my favorite.

I couldn’t wait to get home and master this classic pomodoro sauce myself, and now, you’re about to as well. continue to the recipe… about Pasta Pomodoro Sauce

Friday Faves

Hey hey, and happy FriYAY!

First thing first, because you always ask where the recipes are…the souvlaki recipe, lemon rice, and grilled zucchini recipes shown in my dinner above can all be found on le blog.

This was the first summer in 10 years where I finally felt like I finally got it. I didn’t realize it while I was going through it, but now, looking back, I realize I really did have a great, enjoyable, eventful but relaxing summer. It might be the first one where I don’t feel regret at not completing my summer bucket list. I’m okay with that. Because what I did get to do and enjoy was fulfilling enough.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes

With a crispy flour and cornmeal crust, these easy-to-make, golden fried green tomatoes taste sweet and tender and totally addicting when dunked into my simple garlic aioli dipping sauce.

With a short growing season here in Utah, it feels like we just barely get our tomato harvest in full swing when it suddenly stops short.

Before you know it, those plump and juicy red tomatoes we’ve been carefully cultivating for summertime BLT’s and the best balsamic-drizzled caprese salads, are facing the frost of fall.

Why Jack Frost? WHYYY? #shakesfistatsky

Not to go to waste, now you’re left wondering what can you do with the bounty of green tomatoes from your garden?

Oh baby, fry those tomatoes up!

And if you’re like me, this easy southern classic just might have you plucking your green tomatoes well before the late summer harvest, too.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes

Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe With Ground Beef

Classic stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef, and a rainbow of sweet red, yellow and orange bell peppers makes the best easy dinner idea any night of the week.

Ever since I was a starry eyed pre-teen, I’ve been a fan of drawing rainbows. Now I eat them.

But as a kid, I wrinkled my nose at the sight those orbed vegetables, and when they showed up on my dinner plate, I plotted how to ditch every single bite in a napkin that was slipped slyly to the dog anxiously waiting under the table.

But just like spending Sunday afternoons lazily visiting with family or friends, or relishing the time to simply sit and read a novel, eating the food you hated as a kid suddenly becomes not. that. bad. as an adult. And sometimes really, really good.

Plus, whenever I can serve a meal in it’s own vessel, it’s bonus time. Enter, stuffed bell peppers.continue to the recipe… about Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe With Ground Beef

30 Easy Healthy Chicken Dinners Ideas

It’s the weeknight riddle that becomes less and less funny: What to make for dinner tonight? This list of 30 easy healthy chicken dinner recipes is the answer.

This time of year is ultra-busy for everyone – getting back in the swing of back-to-school, treasuring the memories of the last long weekend for a while, and soaking up those warm sunshiny days before Fall’s chill hits – so quick, easy dinner options are a must.

This list of 30 easy chicken dinner recipes makes cooking good healthy meals at home just as easy as picking up or ordering in. From whole roasted chickens better than any you’ll find at the grocery store check out, to the easiest ways to cook chicken breasts, this list of 30 dinner recipe ideas will satisfy every member of your family no matter how picky they may seem to be.

So break out your love of chicken and visit these chicken dinner ideas for tonight, starting now and lasting all year long. continue to the recipe… about 30 Easy Healthy Chicken Dinners Ideas

Friday Faves

Hello and happy Friday before the 3-day weekend.

Did you know that this year’s Labor Day weekend is setting travel records, with today being the busiest day to fly? Looks like everyone wants to get out of Dodge. That’s why it’s even more important to remember to take a deep breath, have patience, and prepare to wait. Kinda sounds like Christmas doesn’t it?

We beat the crowds and did our traveling last weekend, camping and tenting and campfire-ing and hobo-dinner-eating (my foil packet dinner making ins shown above and the recipe link is here) a whole 1 1/2 hour drive from our front door.

That’s the beauty of living in Utah baby! The great outdoors are just steps away.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese

This easy pasta dish comes together in less than 15 minutes with a fresh tomato sauce made even healthier with whole wheat pasta and spinach that’s topped with ricotta cheese. This is where healthy meets happy!

I’ve grown tomatoes in my garden for years. But the past few seasons have seen a steady downward spiral of yield thanks to my neighbor’s growing trees and some dastardly devilish varmints who snatch up the lessening fruit they finally yield. My tomato crop at the end of summer has turned into a total bummer crop instead of my oh-so-wishful bumper crop.

But I’m not going to let my less-than-stellar farmer skills get in the way of eating fresh tomatoes however I can. Between farmers markets and the farmer down the street, I’m keeping flush with my tomato loving ways.

This warm pasta dish is one of my favorite simple lunch or dinner recipes, and one reason I’m bound to this end-of-summer crop. It’s a bit like a caprese pasta but uses ricotta cheese instead of mozzarella.

The “sauce” is made with fresh tomatoes steeped in olive oil and garlic then added to the warm pasta so there’s hardly any cooking to do at all. It’s the perfect recipe for when you’re short on time but still want real good, real food on the table.

continue to the recipe… about Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese