Giuseppepaolo

Some dinners just hit the spot. In more ways than one. Whether it's just what your taste buds were craving, or it's exactly what your crazy, unpredictable life needed. Taco salads have always been a quick and tasty solution for crazy day dinners. Toss together some taco-like veggies and cook up some ground beef.... Oh wait..ground beef....that takes a bit more time to prepare. And what if you're like me and rarely have ground beef on hand, let alone defrosted? Although just about any kind of leftover meat works wonderfully in a taco salad. If you have any leftover. I received a wonderful cooler full of Del Real Foods that saved the day more than once this week. Actually more than twice. The past 2 weeks have been challenging on many levels. Least of all, I had taken the October Unprocessed challenge , which I'm totally loving. But sometimes, something has to give and so often it's our food. We tend to cave into the fast, convenient foods. Well, let me tell you a l...

The holidays are approaching fast and if you're budget is anything like mine, things get tight. Or should I say....tighter. Sales, coupons, making meals stretch, all become more focused for the next couple of months. If a meal can be made by only spending a few bucks....and makes enough for lots of leftovers...I'm one happy camper. When said meal tastes wonderfully delicious and is comforting and filling....I'm doing the happy dance. (probably something you don't really want to witness) A while back I won Erin Chase's cookbook, The $5 Dinner Mom. It's a great cookbook in many ways. The recipes are good, quick and easy to prepare. I don't know if this meal is actually a $5 dinner as prices have gone up since it was published back in 2009. But the key is to purchase on sale, use your coupons and make things from scratch whenever possible. Foods that have been prepared and processed for convenience are pricey, but they lure us in because we all know how busy o...

Welcome to Sunday Supper's Slow Cooker edition. The days are getting shorter but our schedules sure aren't, which is the perfect reason to use your slow cooker and why I'm going to keep this short and sweet! We have a fantastic line up ranging from breakfast to dessert and everything in between, all made in that fantastic little counter top cooker that we all love and know as a slow cooker (or crock pot if you're old school like me). If your days are as busy as mine (and maybe even more so) there's no reason you still can't enjoy a good home cooked meal with your family. So let's get started. Slow Cooker Lime Garlic Chicken Printable Version 1 1/2 lbs bone-in, skinless chicken thighs 1/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes) 1 1/2 cups chicken broth 2 garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon summer savory or thyme 1/4 teaspoon ground pepper 2 tablespoons butter 1 cup uncooked brown rice Place the chicken in a 3-4 quart slow cooker. Add the remaining ingredients exc...

There are a lot of recipes out there that call for cream of chicken soup. I mean.... a lot! But I'd cringe whenever I used it. I mean....from the can. It's loaded with all sorts of ingredients that I don't recognize. Plus several that I do recognize as totally not.....food. They certainly aren't ingredients I have in my pantry. Guess what.....cream of chicken soup in a can is sooooo not necessary. It's incredibly easy ....as in SIMPLE.....to make. What do you think our great-great-grandmothers use to do? They made it! If you want to get real here...it starts out as a simple rue and then you add a bit of cream and stock. Basically, that's it. Hardly any time at all to make and it's totally cheap! And.....no junk added. No preservatives. No chemicals. Just wholesome ingredients found in just about any kitchen. I have some seasonings listed and of course they can be adjusted based on personal taste. Whether you change the quantity or the seasoning all together...

When it comes to the term "unprocessed", people have various ideas of what that means. I'm not here to tell you what's right or what's wrong. All that matters is what's right for you. Do you take the term literally? 'unaltered from an original or natural state'. Or do you look at it from a food standard point of view by judging the food as being unprocessed or not, based on the ingredients? To process means to perform a series of mechanical or chemical operations in order to change or preserve something. Technically, we do this in our kitchens at some level, every time we cook or bake. My view of "unprocessed" when it comes to food, is all about the ingredients. Bottom line. For example....flour. It goes through a process from it's original state as a grain in order to become the fine powder we bake with. Because I can, and do, buy flour from the store that is unbleached and NOT enriched, even though the grain has gone through a 'proc...

Today is the 1st of October. For me, it's a meaningful day this year. I'm taking a challenge by participating in October Unprocessed 2014 I am going to try to stay on track and not eat processed foods for the whole month. This is a challenge that's been going on every October since 2010. Andrew Wilder is the brains behind this wonderful madness. You too can participate in October Unprocessed 2014. Just visit Eating Rules and join in....the experience. I have a feeling your body will thank you. What does unprocessed mean? I think people have a wide range of how far unprocessed can and cannot go. I personally like Andrew's definition.... " Unprocessed food is any food that could be made by a person with reasonable skill in a home kitchen with whole-food ingredients" A lot of foods undergo some level of processing. It's just a matter of whether or not it can be done without all of the added junk. Not that you have to do it yourself (unless you want to) but y...