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Dulce de Leche The easiest way I know to make this to-die-for concoction! Who doesn't love dulce de leche? I always wanted to make this but I didn't want to boil cans for hours on the stovetop due to the cost of LP gas (bottled, which I must have here in the boonies). Didn't want to use my electric pressure cooker either even though I heard the cans won't explode--
Bacon Bombs OMG--when I saw these about a week ago, I was itching to do them....but my way. I was in love when I first saw what these were. I never knew such a concotion existed until a reader on my recipe page on Facebook asked for a recipe. If we don't have a recipe handy between all the admins, we go searching. I was the one who found them and learned so
Classic Cheddar Bacon Macaroni & Cheese Cheddar cheese. Bacon. Macaroni. Nothing more needs to be said. I am such a NUT for a GOOD mac & cheese. Even better if it has bacon in it. The other night, I received some requests via email from a couple of fans of Amazing Recipes which is my recipe page on Facebook (hint---you can like the
Creamy Chicken Rollups This only looks like an enchilada! Wonderful and creamy and BACON RULZ! I have so many tortillas left over from Cinco de Mayo. I've been known to eat them right out of the package, but we won't get into that LOL Truthfully, I'm not much of a fan of anything chili, taco, etc., because basically, I'm not a lover of cumin. &n
Pizza Quesadillas (spinach & mushroom option) Want a quick lunch or snack? You have it right here. One's a more gourmet "white" pizza and the other is the old classic. You've got your choice here--go gourmet with a white pizza that features some pretty great marinated mushrooms, or go classic with pepperoni. Maybe have both! I'm a huge fan of Schwan's spina
Cheesy Pretzel Bites Another copycat of a Schwan's favorite! Much cheaper and tastier. I admit. I'm a Schwan's freak. Love their food. However, their food is pricy and has gotten more expensive lately as well as them now charging a "surcharge" for their delivery costs. Unfortunately, it's gotten too rich for my blood. Always loved their chees
Slow Cooker Chicken Stroganoff What's in a name? Not much apparently. Making this dish was the May monthly activity for we AllRecipes Allstars. What we had to do was go to the Australian/New Zealand site, pick out a recipe that had no photo attached to it, make the dish and upload a photo of it. Since a lot of recipes on there call for ingredients not available in th
Peanut Butter Pie Cups Like peanut butter with a hint of chocolate? You'll love these and they are great for the summer because they are easy and require no baking either! Other day on Foodgawker, I saw the most delectable-looking peanut butter cream pie, that I wanted to dive right in. Having a huge pie is not practical for me being a widow, and not to mention I'd proba
Apple Flautas Warm and delicious...nothing beats a flauta! And they can also be made on a gas BBQ grill--great for an outdoor party dessert. Not bad calorie-wise either (if you can stop at one). I've always been intrigued by these ever since a neighbor gave me a bag of some from Schwan's a few years ago. I kept meaning to make them, but at that time, I rarely bo
Sausage and Quinoa Risotto This is OH SO GOOD!! And easy too. One-pot meal. I have to admit. This was one of those suppers I threw together because it was one of those days I'd forgotten to defrost something. Sausage defrosts quickly and cooks SO nicely in a rice cooker or pressure cooker. I cooked this entire meal in my 5 cup rice cooker. Of course,
Ramp Fest Hudson 2013 A great day was to be had by all at this year's Ramp Fest Hudson, held at the Basilica on Front Street in Hudson, NY. The day was gorgeous, and the attendance was large. I was going anyway so I said I would cover this event for The Daily Meal. I could not get over the amount of food. This was a foodie PARADIS
Banana Split Cheesecake Bars No need for the ice cream parlor--or even ice cream for that matter. Here it is in cheesecake form! What do you do when you end up with TOO many ripe bananas in your freezer? If you're tired of the banana breads and muffins and would like to use some of them up, this could be your answer. I bought a load of bananas a few weeks ago whe
Scallion Cream Cheese Poppers What a wonderful and tasty appetizer or snack. Super easy too! I've been making these for years now. They are easy peasy, and mix up in a jiffy. All you need are scallions (green/spring onions) softened cream cheese and egg roll skins. I tend to make them a little larger, with maybe a tablespoon or so of the filling rolled up egg
Orange Beef Ahhh..a favorite and even more tasty than orange chicken. Bold and beautiful. Basically, the same deal as orange chicken but no broccoli and uses beef. The authentic recipe calls for flank steak, but since that's rather pricy, you can substitute sirloin for it. Sirloin is often on sale. To get the creamy and tender texture in the meat that you get in t
Mint Chocolate Chip Mousse If you like mint chocolate chip ice cream, this is the mousse for you! I've been obsessed with desserts and dark food photography lately. Fancy desserts just seem to be made for this type of photography. I'm toying with it and really like the look! Now maybe I'll invest in some more permanent props instead of cheap foam board and make my
Black and White Pretzel Mix A bag of mini pretzels, some white chocolate, some dark chocolate and a microwave. What can be easier? This is a KINDA healthy snack mix. It doesn't overdo the chocolates, pretzels are really a better choice than chips and dark chocolate is pretty healthy so they say. OK, I'm a nut for white chocolate, and I think this tastes better with it.&n
Guacamole Holy Guacamole! Get ready for Cinco de Mayo with this classic Mexican dip. I love avocados. I inhale avocados. So, it stands to reason that I love guacamole. Since avocados contain such healthy fats and there's other really healthy ingredients in guacamole, indulging should be relatively guilt-free. If you'd like to go the
If you're looking for an assortment of great recipes, here's a couple of groups on Facebook I recommend: Amazing Recipes Incredible Recipes Please visit and "like" both!
Mexicali Chipolte Potato Salad What a great way to celebrate Cinco de Mayo. Great flavor combo of chipolte, lime and cilantro. The secret to this fabulous potato salad is the dressing. It uses the Traditional Chipolte flavor of Herdez® Mexican Cooking Sauces. You can do more with cooking sauce than just cook in it. I wanted to develop something for the Herdez
Celebrate the ramp on May 4, 2013! Serious fun for serious foodies! This year's Ramp Fest is local to me in Hudson, NY. For those that don't know, a ramp is this GLORIOUS allium in the garlic/onion family. It looks somewhat like a green onion but that's where the similarity ends. They are AWESOME! Yes, it does cost to get a ticket--they are $30 with a small service
All Free Casserole Recipes' New Free E-Cookbook The folks at AllFreeCasseroleRecipes have just put out a great cookbook featuring 25 easy peasy fruity summer desserts. The book is available through this link: Fresh, Fruity and Fabulous Fruit Recipes
The other day I got an email from one of my readers asking how he could print off a recipe he wanted. The only thing I could tell him that I knew would work was the browser print function. I knew other platforms had "plugins" to do this but I never saw one for the platform this blog is on. That is, until I went to my friend Krista's blog Everyday Mom's Meals. She is on
Dump Cake What can be easier than a dump cake? Not exactly a "cake" but a great and easy dessert. Pass the cream! I always thought the name for this dessert was weird because it's not exactly a cake, although it does use cake mix. The "dump" comes from that you just dump the ingredients in a baking dish and let 'er rip. There's many different combos to use here
Chicken and Garbanzo Enchiladas Why not try these spicy yet different enchiladas for Cinco de Mayo? This is another recipe I did for the Herdez® folks. These enchiladas combine Herdez® Roasted Pasilla Chile Sauce with the chicken breast and garbanzo filling and also in the cheesy topping. Since we don't like anything to wet and saucy, I tend to go easy on baking cas
Sausage & Pepper Primavera I'm out here to prove 10 can live as cheaply as one. OK, I'm joking, but you can reduce your food budget with some creative meals that use meat as a condiment. This is one of them and it's low cal too. Anyone following my blog knows I took the challenge shopping as if I were on a limited SNAP program budget. I was actually amaz
Peach Crisp Onward and upward on my budget series. Here I use the frozen peaches from the dollar store. My friends on Facebook were asking me what I was going to do with the other food I bought for the SNAP challenge I took for Food Bloggers Against Hunger for The Giving Table. Since a lack of freezer space forced me to remove the peaches to the fridge for a more ex
Fried Wontons Easy to do and a great party food, appetizer or snack. Make a bunch! Fries up in a snap and these are the best appetizers for any party or just snacking. Make a bunch of them because you can freeze and reheat any time. This uses the same filling as my pot stickers (click HERE for filling recipe). Wonton skins are available in the produce section
Orange Chicken This one is the real deal. Many recipes floating around, but this one is authentic. Lately any recipe I see for this uses chicken breast. That's OK I guess but Chinese don't use it in this dish or most "red" stews or anything with soy sauce. Breast meat is reserved for lighter, "white" dishes that are quickly cooked. In stews or an
Meatball Subs Who doesn't love a meatball sub? The secret to these very tasty and creamy meatballs is the asiago cheese and soft breadcrumbs. I had shredded asiago left over from another meal, so I used it in here instead of my usual Romano cheese addition for Italian-style meatballs. For breadcrumbs, I just used a combo of white and whole wheat bread--all proce
Cheeseburger Taquitos You're guaranteed to fall in love with these if you like those super burgers in the fast-food joints...and these are much healthier too! Lately I've become obsessed with flour tortillas and what I can do with them. A few weeks ago, I made an Asian salad in edible shaped bowls I made with them. I've done breakfast wraps...be posting them soon
OK, I took the challenge. I went to the food store armed with a list and the strict budget of a SNAP recipient. The results were surprising. First of all, I read my local ads carefully to decide where to do the bulk of my shopping. Then I made a list and stuck to it. I was surprised that I was able to get a sufficient amount of food and foods that were relatively healthy
Banoffee Pie Dessert Do you love bananas? Do you love caramel or dulce de leche? What about whipped cream? Yes to all three? Then this is your dessert. This is a popular dessert in Britain. I used to think the name was hilarious...it's a contraction of the ingredients--BANanas and tOFFEE, hence "banoffee." Brits are fond of thei
Pot Stickers (Dim Sum) Your favorite Asian restaurant appetizer can be made at home. And guess what? It's EASY. Yes, these are easy, but a bit time consuming. However, it's well worth it and you can make enough to bag and freeze for when you need them again. I don't bother using wonton skins or eggroll wraps for this since the REAL dough is easy to
Club Sandwich One of America's all-time favorite diner sandwiches. Easy to make, too. This one has a special sauce. And this uses those Easter ham leftovers too! Who hasn't ever ordered one of these in a diner? They are filling and very tasty. My version has ham, because that's what I had on hand, but any sandwich filling will do--even a burger or
I've decided to take this challenge and participate. Right now I'm checking store ads to see where it's best to shop for my allotment dollars. Since the SNAP allotment is between $3 and $4 per day per person, my weekly "budget" can be no more than $28. I'm a careful shopper, but I don't know how this can be done. All I can say is I will try. More information about this program
Many great things planned for April! A dessert that's like banoffee pie in a cup--for those who don't know what banoffee pie is, it's a glorious combination of bananas, toffee and whipped cream. Like pizza rolls but don't like the price? Here's an easier and cheaper way. If you're also tired of spending big bucks at those fast-food joints for their "special" burgers, I have
Split Pea Soup with Ham Here's another great way to use some more of that leftover ham from Easter dinner. Nothing could be easier. Just put everything in the slow cooker and let 'er rip. I serve with buttered toasted croutons. All I do here is melt butter in a skillet and "toast" the bread that way then cut in cubes. Easy peasy. Soup does thicken when it'
Ham Alfredo Leftover Easter ham? Try this for a quick and easy weeknight meal. This is a quick and easy alfredo sauce. It uses cream cheese. I also changed up the usual parmesan cheese for asiago. You can always use parmesan or romano. I just happened to have a huge piece of asiago I had bought at Sam's a while ago. And as usual, lower-fat alternat
Copycat Entenmann's Crumb Cake Featured on the home page of AllFreeCasseroleRecipes! Check out their fantastic collection of recipes. Remember, casseroles are not only main dishes!
Just letting my readers who look for my regular Friday and Sunday entries know that I am changing things a bit for just this week. I will be posting Saturday, 30 March instead of Friday, in observance of Good Friday and will be taking Easter Sunday off. Back on Monday with another post, and will resume the blog's regular schedule immediately after Easter. Happy Easter and Happy Pass
Asian BBQ Beef Strips Sweet with a hint of tartness. Another quick one-pot meal where the sauce makes itself. Recipe is for 2 servings, but can easily be doubled. Healthy meal that's easy on calories too. I take advantage of my rice cooker whenever I can. Not only does it produce wonderful and tasty meals, it's very economical too because you can literally coo
Starting this Friday, March 29 through until the middle of next week, I'll be featuring dishes that will help use up those Easter dinner leftovers. Some may even be better than the ham's premier performance. Be sure to check them out!
Kicked-Up Coleslaw If you have any raw cabbage left over from St. Patty's day, here's a way to use it up. This cole slaw is marvelous. Don't be fooled by the amount of garlic powder--it's not a typo. It uses a lot, but the taste is divine. Ordinarily, I don't use shredded carrot. Genuine cole slaw doesn't contain carrot. I know many restau
Sweet-n-Sticky Boneless BBQ Ribs Oooey and gooey sweet sauce with a hint of tangy. There's several surprises here. How they're made and a secret ingredient. It's also easy: made in one-pot and you set it and forget it until it's done. Last week my grocery store had boneless country-style ribs on sale buy one get one. Couldn't pass that up since I l
Sopapilla Rolls A new twist on a timeless and dessert sweet. Easy too. I hadn't thought of this dessert for ages. Then a friend posted about it on her Facebook page saying how much she enjoyed it and whenever a co-worker made it, how it would vanish into thin air immediately. Another mutual friend saw the recipe and made it up, but didn't think much of it as it was wri
Caramel Graham Cracker Parfait Anyone who lives in upstate New York is familiar with a family-owned convenience store called Stewart's Shops and their famous ice cream. They own and maintain their own dairies and have a stellar reputation in the area. One thing they are known for is their ice cream, and it's many proprietary flavors. One such flavor is "Cru
Chicken Soup with Matzoh Balls This Passover staple is so easy--especially with a pressure cooker for the stock. Surprise! It's low calorie too! I don't profess to be kosher or even Jewish, but I have long loved this soup. I've taken to making all my stocks in my electric pressure cooker. Nothing could be easier. You just set it and forg
Butterscotch Zebras So, what do you do with an open package of graham crackers where you used part for something else? You make Butterscotch "Zebras", of course. And surprise--they're diet friendly too. I had a pack of graham crackers I'd opened to make "bits" for another dish, and I knew there was nothing I could really do with them. I had tons of graham cra
Asian Chicken Salad and Sesame Soy Dressing Why go to those fast-food joints when you can make this at home and in a edible bowl too! Delicious and low calorie too. Combines shredded leaf lettuce of any kind, assorted greens, a dressing that will knock your socks off and, of course, teryaki glazed chicken breast slices. The edible bowl is a shaped flour tor
Stop over to Lillian's blog for a chance to win these GREAT chocolate apples. They are HUGE!!! Here's what's up for grabs~~ My Recipe Journey Giveaway Just visit her blog for details----> My Recipe Journey
