Giuseppepaolo

These gems are bursting with flavor....tender, juicy and a bit spicy. We have here some Blackened Chicken, a Cajun Salsa, some delicious Cajun Dip drizzled all over it....all wrapped up in a pita. Pure yum factor going on here. The inspiration for such a diverse concoction comes from the tahini I used in the dip. Sesame King Cajun Tahini to be more specific. I had no idea there were flavored tahini's out there....so cool! They currently have Garlic, Honey, Cajun and Olive Oil flavors. All of which would be great in so many recipes. Hummus of course (how fun to have various flavor themes), dressings, sauces, dips. Before  Sunshine International Foods sent me some of their tahini, I had only used it in hummus. They have unknowingly guided me to expand my ways. Cajun Dip 6 tablespoons Greek yogurt 1 tablespoon Sesame King Cajun Tahini 1 1/2 teaspoons cilantro, finely chopped 1 teaspoon cajun seasoning Salt and pepper to taste (about a pinch) Combine all of the ingredients in a bowl,...

April is National Grilled Cheese Month! Sunday Supper and Gallo Family Vineyards are helping us celebrate such an awesome month by providing you with 20....yes, I said  TWENTY,  recipes for grilled cheese sandwiches. Can you say (in your best soprano falsetto voice) ... heeeaven ! When it comes to comfort food, I think grilled cheese sandwiches are right up there with mac and cheese. I have this sneaky suspicion that melted cheese is the main culprit. Do you remember your first encounter with a warm, gooey grilled cheese? The first time you bit into that toasty, buttery bread and experience the melty goodness inside? I wonder how many of you are thinking about your lunch break at school and unwrapping a foiled sandwich, with the bread partly slid to the side. Those cafeteria assembly-line messes that somehow became a school lunch favorite, despite the fact that oftentimes part of the sandwich was hard, the cheese wasn't real, and they were barely warm. My point is, it's pretty...

If you love peanut butter and banana sandwiches, you will love this breakfast. If you love cheese, you will especially love this breakfast. If you love natural, non GMO, whole grain products, you will REALLY love this breakfast. If gluten-free is something you need or desire....got you covered in that option as well. Let's talk about Van's Natural Foods for a minute here. Van's Foods are no stranger to this household. My daughters have been enjoying their gluten-free waffles for quite some time now (blueberry is a favorite). I love that I can pronounce every ingredient. Plus....they're kosher, all natural, egg free, dairy free, corn free. Getting samples and coupons for Van's Foods was so much fun! They have a whole line of gluten free snack bars and gluten-free crackers and chips (totally yummy!) and so much more. Here's a reminder of what I did with the their snack bars... I Heart Chocolate Are you pumped to possibly win coupons to help you discover the wond...

Well, as of yesterday, it's been 5 years since my first blog post. Boy have things progressed. I started blogging without a purpose but over the years it has become a tool. Not only for recipes, but for edging me forward in my cooking ventures. Encouraging me to step outside of my comfort zone and spread my wings a bit. I have tried many new things and have written about my journeys. I write about it, not because I have become an expert but because I want to encourage you to do the same. If you dream of making donuts or ice cream or....whatever, then do it. Follow a recipe and try it. I'm not a chef. Beyond home economics in junior high school, I have never taken a cooking course what so ever. There is nothing special about my abilities. I want to show  encourage you....if I can do it, so can you. Before blogging, I had dreams of baking beautiful loaves of bread (without the use of a bread machine) but I just couldn't do it. I tried several times, with less than adequate re...

It works. Blueberries with your Thanksgiving feast. I swear! If you're not much of a cranberry fan, then go for the little blue dynamos! If you LOVE blueberries, then just do it! You get that slight tartness with a little sweet, of course, but blueberries also work in savory dishes. I promise! Until yesterday, I had no idea that blueberries were so versatile. I attended A Very Blueberry Thanksgiving luncheon with Food Bloggers of Los Angeles, hosted by Erika of In Erika's Kitchen , sponsored by Blueberry Council and Rioja Wines . Every dish had blueberries in it, from the appetizers to the main course and last but not least, the dessert. The courses were magnificently paired with 6 different Rioja Wine varieties. One thing that stuck in my head, as I listened to the Little Blue Dynamos guys talk about blueberries, was the quality of produce that comes from Chile. For some reason I have always thought that imported produce wasn't as regulated as domestic. Well, Chile is an ...

I looooove me a good sandwich. They're versatile. They're portable. Often, they contain a portion from each of the food groups....meat, grains, dairy (ie: mayo), vegetables and in this case...fruit. Yes...there is some fruit in this sandwich as part of the tropical coleslaw. Which I will share about at the end of this post. Right now....I want to talk about butts. Pork butt. Aka: Boston butt. Aka: pork shoulder. All the same cut...known by a different name. More often due to where you live. Confusing, non the less. So I understand why the meat industry is changing the names of the cuts of meat. They want to be consumer friendly, less confusing and more appealing. Appealing...is there something unappealing about the names we have: loin? breast? thigh? butt? rump roast? (giggles) My concern? When I'm looking for a cut of me listed in a recipe that I got from an old cookbook.....how will I know what it's called at the store? The meat industry seems to do this often. I have...