This chili is perfect for Meatless Monday, especially when you make it on Sunday! Chili, like pasta sauce, just gets better with time. The flavors have time to meld together and get real friendly with each other. When dinner time rolls around Monday evening, whip up some cornbread muffins while the chili is reheating, toss together a salad and dinner is on the table before your gang of starving whippersnappers can ask “What’s for dinner?” Continue reading
Hooray for Hollywood! Whether it’s the cavalcade of movie award shows or family night at the movies, snacks are always a winner! The year starts off with the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes in January, the Academy Awards – Hello Oscar! in February and the MTV Awards in April with the “Golden Popcorn Award”. The nominees are decided by producers and executives at MTV. Winners are decided online by the general public. Now you need to do your homework and watch all of these movies first! What better way to have the full movie experience than a big bowl of popcorn and sweet treats? Continue reading
Today is the anniversary of our 1st date! I told my husband, “We’re celebrating with ice cream!” He said, “Ice cream! I’m all about ice cream!” What a surprise! My husband and my Dad are crazy about ice cream, Rocky Road in particular. But today I go back to one of my favorite childhood sweet treats; one my Mom and I used to make at Christmas. English Toffee! Continue reading
I don’t know if it’s a California thing or not. But having lived my whole life, thus far, in California I expect to find and eat most fruits and vegetables year round. Brussels sprout recipes tend to pop up in the Fall but they don’t seem like a one season food to me. In fact, I think they look like little baby spring cabbages. I love them raw, shaved thin with lemon and parmesan cheese but I also adore them when they are crispy and caramelized. And I never miss an opportunity to add a spicy element to food any chance I get! Continue reading
Passionate kisses are wonderful but a girls gotta eat. Give me cheesy kisses! And a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread and thee. All the right ingredients for the start to a very Happy Valentine’s Evening! I love recipes that look like you went to a lot of trouble but are a snap to make. These kisses will get you kisses in return! Continue reading
Doin’ a little dance in the kitchen. Polenta for dinner! The only thing better than creamy, buttery, luscious polenta is polenta with smoked Gouda added to it! The smokey, rich, cheesy flavor is a decadent treat! Polenta has to be my all time favorite starchy side dishes. I know it’s not a potato, which I adore…..but it is so fast, so easy, which means I get to eat even sooner and that makes me a happy girl! This fact alone could give it it’s elevated status, but don’t stop there. Polenta loves to bring more friends to the party. Toss in your favorite melting cheese, some fresh herbs, a little bacon or pancetta and you have a million different varieties of a very satisfying, filling side dish. Creativity reigns supreme when it comes to polenta’s possibilities! What could be better than that? Continue reading
Oh, oh, oh it’s magic! One of my favorite things about fine dining in a restaurant is getting a meal that I would not usually tackle at home. Tackle is the operative word. The complexity and labor intensiveness of the recipe, special ingredients and the multitude of components involved in the plating of a beautiful dish can make it a daunting task. A little of this, a drizzle of that is just what the dish calls for but the recipe is for a much larger amount than a few plates need. The home cook typically is not running a restaurant or catering business out of their kitchen and the little touches that make a delicious meal amazing go to waste in our kitchens. When I can create a meal that looks and tastes like a restaurant chef was in my kitchen but it was just little ol’ me, I feel like a super star! The satisfied sounds and compliments coming from my husband and friends are the best part. That’s the kind of recipe I have for you today. Make a super star reputation for yourself without being dragged through the flaming knothole just to get it on the table! Continue reading
Thyme Out! It’s thyme (pun intended) for a martini! Put a little sunshine into your weekend with a lemon martini. Not just any lemon, but a Meyer lemon. They taste like a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. They have a sweeter and more floral taste than other lemons and have an slightly orange tint. If you aren’t lucky enough to have a Meyer lemon tree in your front yard like I do, then try your local market. If they don’t have any, then you can use a regular lemon ‘cuz it will still make a bright and cheery martini. What kind of vodka to use in your martini you ask? Well here’s a fun story to help you decide! Continue reading
It was a beautiful day in so many ways. One of those 80 degree weather days in January in San Diego. Perfectly warm and sunny, not a cloud in the sky and I was going to spend it with a great friend of mine! What could be better? Well, I was about to find out.
This is my kind of chicken soup to soothe the soul. It’s bright, cheerful and warming. I’ve never been much of a traditional chicken noodle soup fan and I really don’t know why. All I know is from the first time I tasted Avgolemono in a Greek restaurant, it became my idea of the perfect chicken soup! And it is the best get-me-something-to-eat-fast soup you will ever make! There is no other soup quite like it! Continue reading
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Life of the Party Always (LOTPA) is about socializing and making every occasion with friends and family a festive one .
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