I don’t know who to credit the brilliance of the jack-o-lantern carved bell pepper to (seeing as it’s here, here, here, and here, just to name a few), but I hate missing the boat on fun trends! I’m always late to jump on the fun fad bandwagon because I’m always worried I’ll be the one …
Dinner
Halloween is all about the sweets. It just is. Candy apples are about as healthy as it gets in the midst of the bags of Snickers, Kit Kats, and 3 Musketeers bars. I’m not complaining, mind you. I love sweets. I still get jealous when kids talk about all the Halloween candy they accumulate in …
These individual meatloaves use ground turkey and spinach for an easy, healthy, and delicious dinner to throw together on a busy weeknight! I met this couple at the dog park a few months ago – Maren & Jake. They’re about my age, our dogs get along well, and over the past couple of months, …
I was not one of the cool kids growing up. I had curly bangs that stuck out in every direction. And I brushed them, so I had an out-of-control mini ‘fro goin’ on pretty much all the time. I wasn’t a jock, I wasn’t a partier, I didn’t wear the cool brands of clothes. I …
Seven years ago, I flew out to San Diego to visit my sister, who was living there at the time. I know we went to the beach and I’m sure we went swimming at their community pool because I have photographic proof, but most of the details of that particular trip are a little fuzzy. …
Arizona is currently in the middle of a heat wave. Now, I consider all of May through August a heat wave here every year, but this year it’s even worse. This is the first year ever that the highs here have not been under 100 degrees for any day in June. They’ve actually issued an …
I have been asked to make carne asada for months now. It’s a really big deal here in Tucson. We have a bunch of drive thru Mexican food places and you can pretty much bet on them having carne asada tacos, burritos, tortas, fries, nachos, etc. When I was planning Meat Week, I kept trying …
It’s the last day of Meat Week! *sniff* I miss the burgers already. Today’s recipe is inspired by the local cuisine here. Sonoran hotdogs are kind of a big thing here, and pretty much only here. They even featured them on the Tucson edition of Man vs. Food! A Sonoran hotdog is a bacon-wrapped hotdog …
My current favorite restaurant is Applebee’s. We usually try to find small, quirky, mom and pop places to eat when we’re not grabbing fast food, but Applebee’s has a few things that I just love. #1 – Red Apple Sangria. I love the stuff. They put a cute little toothpick with little balls of apple …
These delicious teriyaki turkey burgers make a wonderful weeknight dinner or addition to your summer barbecue, complete with a grilled pineapple ring! It’s day 3 of Meat Week! Today, I’m mixing it up a bit and using ground turkey instead of ground beef, making these burgers lighter and healthier than the rest of the week. …
It’s day 2 of Meat Week! Day 1 – Jalapeno Popper Burgers Day 2 – Rodeo Cheeseburgers Have you ever had Burger King’s Rodeo Cheeseburgers? I was introduced to them years ago by an old boyfriend. He was all kinds of excited to introduce me to one of his favorite burgers ever, but when we …
Welcome to Meat Week! Like I said yesterday, the inspiration for this week came from a Destination America rep asking me to participate in their Meat Week, but I loved the idea so much that I decided to make it Meat Week here on So Very Blessed, too! My coworker and I were talking the …
My mom did 99.9% of the cooking in our house as I was growing up, but there are three things my dad is the master of in the kitchen – frying the corn tortillas for our family’s traditional stacked enchiladas, melting cheese on Saltines in the toaster oven, and making Green Chile Casserole. This is …
The great stomach bug of 2013 is officially gone and I’m excitedly back in the kitchen! There’s meat marinating in the fridge and a cake in the oven…I’m a happy girl! For most of my adult life, I’ve been making cheater’s garlic bread – sandwich bread, butter, and spices thrown in the toaster oven. That …
Most of the time, I really like store bought bread. There are so many different varieties out there that I never get bored. But sometimes, homemade bread just ups the ante from a normal meal to a special one. It would be the perfect addition to a brunch. The fresh herbs in this quick bread …
I took Boots to Petsmart yesterday. I was looking for rawhide twists, so that I could give him his nightly treats at bedtime. Have you been down a dog treat aisle recently? It sounds way more like human food than dog food to me! They still have the weird ones like liver, but they also …
This recipe is super easy, but it has, what I like to call “fancification.”You could easily just call these turkey meatball sliders, but it just lacks that certain flare. But, add “Asiago” to the title and it transforms the name it something that’s, well, fancified. Turkey meatball sliders. Asiago Turkey Meatball Sliders. See what I’m …
This Veggie Pizza is a crescent roll crust topped with cream cheese and a variety of vegetables, making it a healthy appetizer and perfect party food! When I was first learning to cook, I needed very specific recipes and I would follow them to. the. letter. I was starting from scratch and would always have …
This Roasted Rosemary Sweet Potatoes & Chicken Sausage is a one pan healthy dinner recipe that is easy to prepare and both nutritious and delicious! I’ve avoided sweet potatoes like the plague for my entire life. I was convinced potatoes were meant to be white, not orange, and they most certainly were not meant to …
A hearty, comfort food meal made with rice and ground beef, then festively baked right in a pumpkin! A few posts ago, I told you all that I didn’t like pumpkin until recently. That was very, very true. But, whenever my mom would make this for us growing up, I would always ask her to …
I love Greek food. There’s this restaurant here in Tucson called My Big Fat Greek Restaurant – it’s one of our favorites. Their menu offers plenty of delicious options, but our favorite meal is called “The Meat Lover’s Platter – Symposium of Ecstasy”. This massive platter of meat, vegetables, moussaka, lemon potatoes, rice, and pita …
In honor of my German heritage, here is my favourite krautburgers recipe. Delicious buns stuffed with ground beef and cabbage. Did you know Oktoberfest started last weekend? I had no clue. I had the silly notion that Oktoberfest started in October. Crazy, I know. Anyways…in honor of my German heritage (note my big German schnoz!), …
It dropped below 90 degrees here in Tucson this week, which obviously means that Fall is on its way – cacti will start turning orange and losing their needles, the temperature will drop, and it’s time to break out the comfort food…right? Okay, so cacti don’t actually turn orange and lose their needles and the …
These soft and delicious bread machine hamburger buns are quick and easy to make and freeze well too! I’m really into making bread these days – whether it’s pizza crust, sandwich bread, krautburger dough, or hamburger buns, I’m in love. The smell of fresh bread dough is just heavenly, as is the smell of my …