foodiecrush

Friday Faves

February 15, 2019

Hello and happy Friday friends, lovers, and life mates!

Who is reeling from their Valentine love hangover? Did cupid find you with his pointy arrow to deliver his love bite? If not, don’t fret. He probably had germs anyway.

As we just about always do, my lover and I laid low with our romancing as the king and queen of hearts. I made him a healthy breakfast (above) knowing our Valentine’s meal of king crab legs and artichokes would be buttery delicious. Just like on New Years Eve, we leave the going out to the amateurs and novices. We always find the food, atmosphere, and the company so much better when we celebrate with dinner at home minus all the hype.

I’m really looking forward to a cloudy, cocooning weekend of cooking for fun, organizing, and a general haze of laze. Because while I love the sun and fun, sometimes this girl just craves some gloom to make the brightness of spring days all that more special when the calendar pages flip again. Am I the only one who feels this way?

But enough about me. Let’s get into the goods of why you’re here and dig into this week’s Friday Faves. continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Crunchy Slaw

February 14, 2019

If you’re feeding a crowd, there’s not many recipes easier or more beloved than slow cooker pulled pork sandwiches topped with a simple, crunchy, vinegar-dressed slaw.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Sandwiches

Whether it’s summer get togethers or a laid back game day gathered ’round the TV, there’s no better option for easy eats like pulled pork sandwiches. They’re simple to make, easily customizable, and it’s rare I don’t hear enthusiastic, “Oh, that sounds so good” from those I’m making them for.

These sandwiches start with my slow cooker pulled pork that seriously tastes even better the longer it sits in the fridge, making it perfect for make-ahead menus and weekly meal planning.

And in the world of recipe making, how many can claim that distinction?!

continue to the recipe… about Pulled Pork Sandwiches with Crunchy Slaw

Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

February 11, 2019

When your main dish recipe needs a decadent side dish side kick, there’s nothing like a creamy, thyme-infused cheesy au gratin potatoes recipe to do the job, and to do it easily too.

Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe

There are few side dishes that are more comforting than those made with potatoes. Creamy mashed potatoes. Buttery parsley potatoes. The best potato salad ever. Smashed, twice baked, and roasted potatoes, and so many more.

But au gratin potatoes hold a special place in my food loving heart. They’re creamy, cheesy, and no matter how you slice, spoon, or stack them, they fit in just right alongside both special occasion main dishes or simple weekend burgers.

Creamy on the inside with crisped bites along the edges, these au gratin potatoes don’t call for a floured roux or canned soup, instead letting the potatoes, cream and broth combine to do their creamy thing they do so well.

And here’s the final fact of this potato act…whether you make au gratin potatoes for a crowd of one or a crowd of many, they’re going to be a crowd pleaser every which way.continue to the recipe… about Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

Friday Faves

February 8, 2019

Hello, hello, and happy Friday!

It’s been a funk of a week. The brew ha ha of the holidays came to an end, then the new year was full of promise, and then I spent my birthday on a fabulous vacation with my favorite guy, which meant I came home with new inspiration and enthusiasm, and…then…the brakes hit the skids, and, whaaa whaaaa whaaaaaaaaaaa.

I hit a major funk. It happens, and it happens to all of us and believe me, I know I’m not the only one.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

February 7, 2019

Slow cooker pulled pork is one of the easiest, foolproof recipes to make in the crock pot, and since it makes plenty of leftovers, it should be a staple for every home cook’s meal prep plans.

Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Whether serving for a crowd to cheer for on game day, or adding to your weekly meal prep plans, slow cooker pulled pork is one of those meals that keeps the masses happy. And since it’s so easy to make, it’s a natural favorite of the cook in the kitchen, too.

Next to classic baked chicken breasts, pulled pork is pretty much the gold standard for batch cooking. It’s plentiful in portions yet still leaves enough for leftovers to be turned into loads of different recipes stemming from just one base.

With just a few basic rules to follow, the method for making Crock Pot pulled pork is a cinch to master:

Choose the right cut of meat
Layer your flavor builders
Low and slow is the way to go
And finally, shred it like you mean it

Let’s do this.

continue to the recipe… about Easy Slow Cooker Pulled Pork

Just Like Taco Bell Tacos Recipe

February 4, 2019

Forget the drive thru, this is how to make a beef tacos recipe that tastes just like Taco Bell tacos for an easy Taco Tuesday dinner at home any night of the week.

You Quiero Taco Bell Tacos

“So, where did you have lunch today?”

It’s pretty much the same question I ask my husband every day. I mean, there’s only so much stimulating conversation to be had when documenting our day to day after all these years of marriage. And pretty much every day for the past 20 years he has the same answer. “Taco Bell.” If he was a guy who was into tattoos, it’s likely he’d have, “Yo quiero Taco Bell” emblazoned somewhere on his body.

And I have to say, I can’t blame the man for loving his tacos, because say what you will about fast food—I’m not much of a fan—but Taco Bell tacos are pretty much the cat’s meow when it comes to drive thru Mexican food.

I blame my mother in law for creating my man’s Taco Bell taco obsession. Because my MIL makes the best homemade beef tacos ever, and while it took me a while to realize it, one of the reasons they are so good is because they taste eerily similar to the beloved Taco ala Bell.

Years ago I ditched my own taco recipe in favor of hers, and today I’m finally sharing the secrets to these homemade tacos that make them taste so good they could very well curb your drive thru habit too.

continue to the recipe… about Just Like Taco Bell Tacos Recipe

Friday Faves

February 1, 2019

Hello hello and Happy first Friday of February!

Re-entry into real life has not been easy. For 10 days my husband and I were beyond fortunate to spend some much needed one on one time thanks to Viking Cruises. We languished, explored, ate ourselves silly, and met some wonderful people while ocean sailing through the Caribbean and West Indies.

Our trip ended on Monday when we tried to fly home from Puerto Rico, but the airline had a hiccup due to a fight on board our inbound plane that had to be turned around and sent back to Orlando, causing us to miss our connection, so our one travel day turned into two.

No big deal, until…continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Friday Faves

January 25, 2019

Hello, and happy Friday!

It’s been a great week. A really great week. And I don’t know how to tell you how wonderful it’s been because I know so many of you are in the cold and snow while I’m soaking up the sun in the sand. And to those of you who’ve been affected by the government shutdown, I’m rooting for you!

This week we’ve been on a Viking Cruise through the Caribbean and it has been such a good break for me. As a solopreneur, this blogging thing is a hard job to leave at the office, because the job is always with me, and always at my fingertips. There’s always something I feel I should be doing, even when the day is done.

But I must admit, I’m surprised at how easily I’ve been able to disconnect from work. I’ll be going home on Monday and when I do, I’ll be refreshed and ready to dig back into work.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Gwyneth’s Blueberry Muffins Recipe

January 23, 2019

These blueberry muffins are moist, loaded with berries, and so easy to make from scratch I’ll never make the boxed kind again.

There are several recipes for my favorite baked goods that I am perennially trying to find the PERFECT recipe for. My top three recipe-seeking baking obsessions are: the best chocolate chip cookies—CHECK! and with chocolate chip with oatmeal—CHECK!, the best brownies—CHECK!, and the best blueberry muffins—now it’s CHECK CHECK CHECK!

I made these blueberry muffins as I always do for Christmas morning, and then I made them again a week later, and then I made them again just a few days ago. After referring to this post that many times I wanted to give it a refresh. So here we are, all shiny and new.

A few years ago when I purchased my copy of the multi-faceted-actress-singer-Goop-creator-now media mogul Gwyneth Paltrow’s My Father’s Daughter cookbook, and discovered her mother’s recipe for blueberry muffins, my heart skipped a beat.

The photography plus my girl crush on Gwyneth back then made me pick up the book. But it was that blueberry recipe that sold it. And why I’m sharing it again today.continue to the recipe… about Gwyneth’s Blueberry Muffins Recipe

Ina Garten’s Easy Cioppino Recipe

January 21, 2019

You don’t have to be a chef to make this recipe for the Barefoot Contessa’s authentic cioppino, a tomato-based seafood stew loaded with shrimp, cod, mussels, and clams for a healthy soup and surprisingly easy dinner that goes from fridge to table in just about an hour.

Fun fact. Back in the day I worked as a server (we called ourselves waitresses then) in the best seafood restaurant is Salt Lake City. It was the summer after graduating college and I was saving money for a trip to Europe. It was the most fun I’ve ever had at a job, and even better, it’s where I met my husband.

I was a good waitress. Most of the time. But there was that one time I definitely was not, that dinner service I was carrying a tray loaded with three iron serving skillets atop china plates filled with hot-as-hell cioppino to be served to my table that was up the stairs and around that always tough-to-navigate corner.

As I rounded the corner, I felt it happening. The heavy platters saddled with those steamy pots of Italian fisherman’s stew slowly began to slide. I braced myself and tried to rebalance. It didn’t work. The platters of cioppino slid off the china plates. And then off the tray. And then directly into the lap of my hungry customer. It was a waterfall of tomato stew. My customer had been totally cioppinoed.

That poor guy was not one bit happy about it. But then who would be? And yes, his dry cleaning bill came out of my check.

Luckily that whole nightmare of an experience didn’t tarnish my love for cioppino. In fact, it inspired me to learn to make it at home. Safely at home.continue to the recipe… about Ina Garten’s Easy Cioppino Recipe