Giuseppepaolo

The holidays are here and time is precious. We have shopping to do, parties to attend and families to feed. This is the best time of year to break out the trusty ole slow cook (aka crock pot if you wanna get all old school on me). This is where Stubb's BBQ can be your best friend. I know you're familiar with their bbq sauces, but did you know they also have Cooking Sauces?! This is just 3 of the varieties that they offer. Look how cute the packaging is!! The chili pack came with everything I needed, but the meat. Of course you can add extras, such as peppers, onions, whatever your favorite add-ins might be. I chose to keep it simple, although I did brown my stew meat before hand, and then added some onions. After that, it was all up to Stubb! Pour in the spice pack (it's really spicy, just so you know) and the sauce Can you see how rich those spices are?! And for those who need to know, it's gluten-free.  With only a minimal amount of prep time, and 2 additional ingred...

Just for the record here, let me tell you that I have never been a fan of meatloaf. Not even meatloaf sandwiches. Until now. And...just for another record, let me tell you that when it comes to ketchup, I can take it or leave it (most often I leave it). This is a Not Ketchup meatloaf. And when I say Not Ketchup....I literally mean Not Ketchup My friend and fellow blogger Erika from In Erika's Kitche n, has launched an amazing new product called Not Ketchup Dipping Sauce. There are currently 3 flavors: Cherry Chipotle, Blueberry White Pepper and Smokey Date, with the promise of 4 more flavors to come. You can see which two bottle Erika sent me...and I couldn't be more thrilled! Not only is Not Ketchup a great alternative to ketchup, but it's made with fresh ingredients (fruit, not tomatoes), natural sweeteners, no artificial flavors or colors, no processed sugar and no preservatives. And....its gluten free. Aaaaaaaaaaaaand, it's delicious! I haven't figured out wha...

Leave it to Julia Child to make ground beef sound special! Or maybe it's just the French language. But since my introduction to this dish was from Mastering the Art of French Cooking, I'll give Julia the credit. My trip to the Hollywood Farmers Market over the weekend was different than most. I was not zoned in on vegetables. My mission was to check out raw milk and grass fed beef. With all the scares and concerns out there, I really wanted to do some research and see what my doable options were. The opinions and concerns out there are all very real on various levels. I personally think its a crime shame that eating healthy (ie: organic, grass fed, free range, etc etc) is so expensive. I still don't understand how pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and such can be less expensive than growing the product the way it's meant to be....as is. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. I'll leave it at that. I found some wonderful pasture-grazed ground beef for about $5....

Yes, you heard right. Beef Tongue. It's in there. It's good. I swear. And you're talking to someone who went waaaaaaaaaay beyond hercomfort zone on this one. Before we go there, let me say a few things here. And I think you'll wanna hear them. First off, for the past 3 weeks, I've been participating in the  Muy Bueno  Cookbook  Spotlight & Cook-Off sponsored by  Hippocrene  and hosted at  girlichef    This cookbook is truly Muy Bueno. Here's a list of the recipes I've cooked during these wonderful three weeks: Mushroom, Jalapeno, and Cilantro Salsa Prickly Pear Margarita Capirotada - Mexican Bread Pudding You can go to   girlichef 's site and see what everyone else made. After all, I'm not the only one reviewing it. When the Muy Bueno Cookbook arrived, of course I instantly started browsing through the recipes. The first thing I thought was....wow, I've either made or eaten a lot of these recipes! Do you know why that is? No, not because...

  This is a partial recipe post. I didn't make the beef filling. Just warning you....but, whatever shredded beef recipe you like, use it. Let me back up here. Tamales have been on my I'd-really-love-to-learn-how-to-make-that list since forever. One of my childhood friends from school informed me recently that she makes them every year. (What?!) When she offered to show me how, I didn't care that it was the middle of the summer and was going to be 90 plus degrees outside. I wasn't going to pass this up for nothin. So, Bernie (that's what I've been calling her since we were pre-teens....having water fights in the puddles whenever it rained) gathered all the makings....and made the beef at home in her slow cooker (with chili powder and other seasonings) and even had the meat shredded when she showed up on my doorstep. All I had to get was lard. For some reason, the main stream markets around here don't carry it very often. But I knew I could find it in the Mexi...