-
Cream of Chicken Rice Soup
For me, cream soups are some of my favorites. This one in particular takes me back to high school. We used to go to this mom and pop restaurant in town whenever we had early days or days off and get cream of chicken rice soup. It was so perfect and comforting. What makes this soup so silky? I use evaporated milk in this recipe versus heavy cream. I have made it and had it with heavy cream and it is still cream and delicious. Yet, the evaporated milk adds a certain silkiness that you cannot mimic. It also has a super clean mouth feel. How can you speed this up for a…
-
Homemade Chicken Stock
Here is a super simple and flavorful homemade chicken stock recipe that you can make and have on hand. I like to make a big stock pot and then use what I need and freeze the rest. I always take all of my scraps that I have from cutting or peeling vegetables and put them in a ziploc bag and throw them in the freezer. Then when it is time to make stock, I have a bunch of veggie on hand and I also have not just thrown them in the garbage. This is how we make stock in our restaurants and we use it for so many things from sauces to soups…
-
Chocolate Banana Bread
There are a million and one banana bread recipes out there. Yet, I cannot help adding one more… especially when it has this much chocolaty goodness in it. In this recipe I wanted to make a banana bread that was a little healthier, but still super indulgent. This definitely fits the bill for both. I made this for a part of gift basket for my bestie when she had her first baby. In the basket I put pasta, homemade pasta sauce, cookies, fresh berries and this amazing banana bread. It packed up so cute and fit perfectly into the basket. They loved this loaf as well. Perfect food basket gift ideas I love…
-
Homemade Pumkpin Spice
This has been the craze for the past few years thanks to the Starbuck’s Pumpkin Spiced latte. Now, I am not a big pumpkin fan, but I am a big pumpkin spice fan. As there is actually no pumpkin in it at all! It is just the spices that you would find in say pumpkin pie or pumpkin muffins. It is a great blend of spices and super simple to make. What can you put Pumpkin Spice in besides lattes? Pumpkin spice is great for making all of the following desserts and even drinks. It is not just for lattes, however, it is pretty good in them too! Lattes or into your coffee…
-
Classic Italian Soups
In the Fall especially I cannot get enough of some great Homemade soups. I have some other amazing soups on the blog, but these are all classic Italian soups. Three of them are similar in flavor profiles, but don’t let that fool you. They are similar in ingredients, but all very different in end result. The last one is completely different in flavor profile and ingredients. It is the only lusciously, creamy of the four and it finishes with a beautiful white truffle oil. Special Ingredients So, in three of these four recipes I use an ingredient that really sets these soups a part. It will add depth of flavor and a salty,…
-
Crispy Fried Calamari
I truly love fried calamari. Probably I could eat it every day. Just pop it like popcorn for a snack! Yet, I don’t make it that often. Most people do not make it at home at all. It is one of those things you get as an appetizer at a restaurant. Well, here at home, I like to pair it with some crunchy fried shrimp and homemade fries and BOOM… it’s dinner. Here is the amazing crunchy fried shrimp recipe. These are the easiest, most flavorful fried shrimp you will ever make. They can also be made ahead and frozen in a large batch. That way you can pull out as many as…
-
Mint Oreo Fudge Brownies
This is one of those recipes that you are going to make again and again. These fudgy, ooey-gooey, minty, Oreo brownies will very quickly become a family favorite. The other thing I like about these brownies is that you can use this base recipe and make other versions very simply. I absolutely love recipes like this. Where you can make they many different ways by using one base recipe. I will give you a few examples of other options as well as I would love to hear what you all come up with to change it up. How do you Brownie? Are you a fudge packed brownie lover or a cake-like brownie lover?…
-
Loaded Breakfast Biscuits
I absolutely love breakfast sandwiches. This recipe I created a few years back when I was working on a new menu for the catering division I was running. I was looking to make a “new” kind of breakfast sandwich that not only had eggs, cheese and toppings. One that was bursting with flavor and could literally stand on its own or become a sandwich. I then created three different types of bread essentially. These bread would be good enough to eat all on their own. Yet, they could also become killer breakfast sandwiches. I knew I needed one with sausage, one with bacon and a vegetarian option. The Deconstruction of the Breakfast sandwich I…
-
Summer Crostata
This recipe is simple and diverse. It can come together with many different combinations of fruits. Here are two of my favorite combos. I did them both with fresh peaches and plums. Then to one of them I added blueberries as well. This is a super simple recipe that can be made with many different fruits. These are my favorites for Summer. You can also semi-home make this with a store bought pie crust. Chef’s Tips- I like to melt my butter when I make the crumb topping. Some recipes call for you to cut in the butter, but I like the crumb that you get from the melted butter. I also…
-
Homemade Pretzel Buns
These are way easier than I ever thought they would be. Pretzel buns are one of our favorites. I buy them all the time and the one day my oldest daughter wanted to bake something. I was not in the mode for anything sweet and I was planning pulled pork for dinner. So, I thought, hmmm… we should make our own homemade pretzel buns. I looked through some different recipes and found out the basic technique. I put together a few different recipes to come up with this one. It came out perfectly and was super simple. I really love the added chew that you get from the pretzel bun versus a totally…
