Recipes I Love

Whenever I find myself stumped on what I should make for dinner, Mel's Kitchen Cafe has the perfect, fun, creative, easy idea. I've made her Garlic Tuna Pasta with Asparagus, her Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken, her Skillet Chili Mac, her Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake, her Chicken and Sausage Jambalaya, her Chicken and Rice with Coconut Milk and Pistachios, and most recently, her Hot Pizza Dip Bites. As soon as I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I just love miniature versions of things, packed with all the same great flavor. I made mine with a bunch of different toppings: turkey sausage and olive, chicken apple sausage, and turkey pepperoni.

Definitely the cutest recipe I've seen in a while. My family enjoyed them very much, too. Looking forward to trying another of Mel's fantastic recipes soon.

A Relaxing Tuesday Night

Every Tuesday night, my parents go out to attend their club meeting, so I make dinner for myself. Tonight, this is what I made...

Ramen with red cabbage and salmon

Every now and then, I just crave a nice big bowl of ramen... and it's particularly fun when I'm inspired by other ingredients I have on hand. I also added some chives and parsley from my garden for extra flavor. A winning combination :). Some tater tots on the side make it a simple, fun meal. Tell me, readers: what did you have for dinner tonight?

More June things...

1. I made Pasta alla Vodka from The Pioneer Woman. It was just as good as she said it would be. Creamy, rich, and you can't even taste the vodka but you can *feel* it. After one serving I felt like I'd had a drink, but in pasta form. Might just make another batch tonight :)

2. I also made some blackberry muffins using the wild berries that have been growing in my yard. Simple and delicious. :)

3. My best friend JoDee and I went and got cupcakes from KK's Gourmet Bundt Cakes at their Santa Maria, CA location.

I got the strawberry cheesecake and red velvet. 

They were so pretty I almost didn't want to eat them...

but I knew they would taste just as good as they looked.

Just look at that red! The chocolate chips on top were a nice touch, too.

Before July, I'm going to try to make some rosemary shortbread cookies. Not sure how they will turn out, but apparently they're a classic from the Victorian era, so I'm intrigued. :)

Favorites of This June

I'm going to adopt a feature I see on some of the other blogs I read and share about some of my favorite food-related memories of this month. A lot has happened and the month is only about half over, but here it is.

1. Making Mel from My Kitchen Cafe's Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese with my boyfriend in his on-campus apartment the night before his college graduation. We had to borrow some of his roommate's utensils, which was a humorous challenge as his roommate was also in the process of packing to move out, but we got it done :)

 The graduation was lovely, too.

2. We also made Michelle from Une-deux senses' Apple Pie Baked Oatmeal the previous weekend. Who knew oatmeal could have so many fantastic possibilites? Michelle did-- she features several kinds of delicious fruity/sweet baked oatmeal, of which this is only one, but quite a good one.

3. Getting three different varieties of cookies from my penpals from afar....

Gingerbread and custard creams from Christian in England...

 

And home made caramel apple cookies from Ashley in Virginia :)

4. Dinner in Santa Cruz after my sister's graduation at this fun little vegetarian space-themed cafe:

My Huevos y Papas burrito was excellent :)

That's all for now... more to come :)

In the spirit of Mardi Gras...

So, last week and this week are the fabulous Mardi Gras celebration in New Orleans, Louisiana. I have been lucky enough to visit New Orleans twice in my life, and maybe someday I'll go again.This post will highlight some of my favorite New Orleans food memories, as one of the most memorable things about New Orleans is their delicious food.

 

You know you're in New Orleans when you see
beautiful building like this in the French Quarter :)

A great New Orleans sampler from Duffy's Diner... 

beans and rice, jambalaya, and shrimp creole with some garlic bread.

 Refreshing bubblegum and watermelon sno cone from Riverwalk...
perfect for those hot, humid days.

 Pasta Opelousas from Coop's Place.. 

a delightful blend of linguine, green beans, ham and shrimp.

 Chicory coffee from Cafe Du Monde... one of my very best souvenirs.

 

Bye for now, New Orleans... and happy Mardi Gras!