In our house, clementines are like gold. I can't buy them fast enough. In fact, I buy two boxes or bags at a time. If my windows are open, my neighbors will occasionally hear me scream to my kids and husband, "Don't hog the clementines!" Well guess what? I made the problem worse. Those sweet […]
Grilled Balsamic Portobello & Provolone Cheese Sandwiches
This sandwich was the bomb! The other day I bought some Portobello mushrooms and thought what a perfect match they would be for some sliced provolone cheese I had in the fridge. I sauteed them in a little balsamic vinegar and olive oil. They were ready to be paired in a sandwich. I promise you […]
Seared Tuna With Artichoke Puttanesca Sauce
One of my New Year resolutions was to eat better and exercise more. In other words, I want to lose a few pounds especially since I have a high school reunion coming up this year. It is now the middle of January and I have been happily filling my belly with muffins, mini lasagnas, football […]
Potato Leek Soup with Crispy Kielbasa
In the winter, I crave comfort foods such as soup, stews and bread. It's hard to eat light when you want something hearty. Even though this soup isn't low calorie diet food, there are no heavy creams or butter involved. It contains "good for you" ingredients such as olive oil and leeks. I put my […]
Spicy Spinach Crab Cups
If you need a quick and easy New Year's party appetizer, you have come to the right place. A few weeks ago, I was sent a nice package from Nasoya. Nasoya makes various products including tofu, Asian style noodles and wraps, and a soy based sandwich spread. The first thing I decided to try was […]
Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee
Coconut Oil Chocolate Chip Cookies with Toffee are thick and chewy and taste just like bakery style chocolate chip cookies. This coconut oil cookie recipe will be your new favorite! I typically only make cookies around the holidays. But my son is coming home from college soon there is no better way to welcome him […]
Stuffed Iowa Pork Chops with Leek, Cremini Mushroom & Roasted Corn Risotto
Is your mouth watering, yet? Back in October, I went to Iowa for the Cornucopia tour. On our last day there, I was lucky enough to cook with six other bloggers in a professional kitchen. We cooked at Country Club Market where we were led by Chef Terrie Kohl. One of the dishes we made […]
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
There are so many good recipes in Tate's Bake Shop cookbook that I had a hard time picking which to make. Luckily the holidays are right around the corner so I will be making many more. I decided on the banana chocolate chip muffins and I have to say these were the best banana muffins […]
How to Make Homemade Butter
Yesterday, on Thanksgiving, my two kids made a little video on making butter. It was a fun family activity and I loved having fresh butter for our bread. As you can see, you can also get some exercise while doing it. Enjoy!
Part 2 of Iowa Corn Tour : Nutritional facts and Information
Last month I was lucky to participate in The Iowa CORNucopia Tour. You can read about my itinerary on the tour HERE. As I mentioned before, this trip was fully paid for and hosted by the Iowa Corn Growers Association. On day two of our trip, we had a nutritional question and answer session with […]
Oven Baked Sausage and Peppers with Potatoes
Sausage and peppers in the oven are simple to make yet full of flavor. This easy weeknight dinner requires almost no prep time and is ready in just 40 minutes. Easily double or triple the recipe to feed a crowd. You will love this sausage sheet pan dinner. Today I wanted to share an easy, […]
Smoky Lentil Florentine Soup
Once the weather gets colder, I get on a soup kick. Yes, it is that time of year! I could eat a hearty soup every night for dinner. It is a nice meal that can be made in advance and kept on the stove so that everyone gets a hot meal depending on their activity […]
Recipes Every Man Should Know
Recipes Every Man Should Know is an adorable little black book that is packed with easy recipes which will impress the ladies. This is the perfect gift for a husband, boyfriend, son or any male that you need a good gift for. Recipes Every Man Should Know is the perfect gift! Do you need the […]
My Journey into Iowa Corn Country, Part One!
Two weeks ago, I went to Iowa with six other bloggers (Allison, Vanessa ,Laurie, Susan, Shanda, and Tanya) to see what agriculture and Iowa corn farming is all about. This trip, including hotel, meals and airfare was paid for by The Iowa Corn Growers Association. They also gave us some corn based gifts. We […]
Food Fun on the Iowa Corn Tour!
I am back from a whirlwind 48 hours hearing and seeing as much as I could about Iowa farming and agriculture. It was a great hands on experience to talk to farmers and see where our food comes from. I have so many notes and so much to talk about. I thank the Iowa Corn […]
How to Make a Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese Sandwich
There is nothing better than a Pork Roll, Egg and Cheese breakfast sandwich.While you can order one at most diners or deli's, there is none better than making your own. Learn how to cook pork roll and put together this legendary sandwich. If NJ had an official breakfast sandwich it would be pork roll, egg […]
Favorite fall dinners!
I woke up this morning to chilly fall sleeping weather. Boy, was I surprised to hear it was going to hit 90 degrees. Today is the first day of fall and I had planned on doing some seasonal baking with pumpkin and apples. The hot weather deterred me and the baking will be put off […]
NYC good eats!
While I was taking a blogging break, I had the opportunity to go to New York City on a few different weekends. Both times, food was a central theme to my visit. The first time, my family and I ate at many family friendly places and we saw the Lion King on broadway. The second […]
The Silver Diner Menu
Recently I was invited to a bloggers tasting event at the Silver Diner in Cherry Hill, NJ. Living in Jersey all my life, I am very familiar with diner food. I have always loved diners but they don't have a reputation of having the most healthy choices. So when I received the invitation, I starting […]
My Favorite No Cook Dinner: Antipasto
Things are as hectic as they can be during dinnertime lately. One child is eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches at 4:30 after track practice but before karate. The other child is eating a quick bowl of reheated mac and cheese at 5:30 which is before soccer practice and cub scouts. The parents are too […]
Italian Pork Grinder
It's been busy, busy, busy so this post is long overdue. On New Year's Day I always make pork. This year I made it in the crockpot so my daughter and I could go shopping while the main course cooked itself. I made Crockpot Porchetta but changed around the herbs and seasoning to what I […]
Lightened Up Broccoli Cheese Soup
Here in NJ, we had the snow storm of the decade this past weekend. So what do you do when you're housebound for two days because of 2 feet of snow? You stay in your pajamas, cook, bake, eat, watch football and watch movies. Not so good for the behind though. But then you shovel […]
Margarita Pizza with Ricotta and Prosciutto
This is going to be a quick post as I am packing to go on a girls weekend. Have you ever made your own pizza? If not, you have to try it. I happened to be browsing through some of my food pictures and found these pizza ones. Now I am hungry. I couldn't resist […]
Marinated Cranberry Beans
The lazy blogger has returned! I did not mean to go this long without a post but I guess it just happened. But in the meantime I have been attending to another blog for the new job that I have. Take a peek here if you're into fashion. I also want to thank all my wonderful blog […]
Roasted Veggie Hoagie/ Sub/ Hero/Grinder
I love roasted veggies. They are the type of thing you can make once and then use through out the week for different recipes. This past week, I had a roasted veggie omelet, a roasted veggie wrap and my favorite which was this hot roasted veggie hoagie. That's what I call a sandwich that is stuffed […]
Garden State Italian Turkey Chili
I am so sad that the summer has come to an end. Not only our beach days are over and our swim club is closed, but all the wonderful fruits and vegetables will be disappearing from the farmers market. BOO HOO! One of my favorite parts of summer is all the fresh produce our garden state brings. […]
Polish Festival and Country Fair
Every year in September, we look forward to the Little Servant Sisters Polish Festival and Country Fair in Cherry Hill, NJ. Today was a beautiful day where the kids had a great time playing spin the wheel games, looking through the white elephant tables and listening to the Polish polka music. Of course my favorite […]
Meeting The Cake Boss!
Sorry for being a posting slacker. I am on vacation at the Jersey shore and have had limited computer time. This is a good thing as we have been having fun on the beach, crabbing, fishing and going to the zoo. And of course we all have had our share of good food. […]
Banana Cinnamon Waffles
I have been meaning to post this great waffle recipe which I adapted from Cooking Light. My son loves waffles and was begging me to make some. Of course he wants the white flour kind filled with chocolate chips and overloaded with syrup. Not exactly a healthy breakfast. So I went with a low fat […]
Cinnamon Sugar Donut Muffins
Mmmmmnnnn, cinnamon donuts! Who doesn't like them? I know I do and so does everyone else in this household. Last week when I happened to see this recipe on Mom's Cooking Club, I bookmarked it right away. They were as good as I expected them to be. They tasted just like the old fashion cinnamon […]
Blueberry Buckle
This is a little late but better than never. Blueberry buckle is my "go to" summer dessert when I have to bring something to a picnic. I received this recipe from a friend who passed away some years ago. Her husband gave me her recipe collection and in exchange, I bring over a blueberry buckle […]
Special Guest Blogger.................
Hi! This is not Lisa, its "THE HUBBY", and "THE HUBBY" loves to barbecue. Ribs are one of my favorite foods to cook, and eat. I'm in way over my head here, but I'm going to try to tell you why I love to BBQ while walking you through my process of making ribs. Let's […]
Salad for Lunch
I am not an Italian chain restaurant fan however I will go to the Olive Garden for lunch so I can order their salad and breadsticks. I decided I wanted to try making the dressing myself and I searched the internet for some copycat recipes. This is what I came up with. It didn't taste […]
New York, New York
I hope everyone had a great Easter and Passover! Our family took a trip to New York City. It was fun to act like tourists and I will give you some highlights of our trip. My kids had the time of their life. We were only there for 3 days but fit in a ton […]
Fun Fondue
At our house, we like to have family night at least once every few weeks. Sometimes we rent a movie and the best part is that the kids get to eat dinner in the living room. I usually throw a table cloth over the coffee table and here we have the perfect fondue set up. […]
Roasted Tomatillo Salsa
My husband loves homemade salsa. On Valentines Day, I decided to make this salsa for our movie. As usual, we didn't eat enough at dinner and had to have a snack. I can't say it went that well with the red wine we drank but no one seemed to mind. First thing you do is […]
Sunday Pot Roast in the Crock Pot
It's so easy to make Sunday Pot Roast in the Crock Pot using a lean bottom round roast. You'll get flavorful and tender meat and veggies in this simple one-pot meal every time. Bottom Round Roast is the Perfect Crock Pot Roast My favorite cut of beef to use for a slow cooker pot roast […]
Soup in Seconds
Okay, you might not be able to make soup in seconds but I thought it sounded kind of catchy. But you can make this soup in minutes. It has been so cold lately that I have been making soup at least twice a week. My husband thinks he doesn't like soup until he eats a […]
Breakfast for dinner
This is going to be a quick post because I have to go to an EAGLES pep rally at my children's school. But I also have some big news. My husband will now eat egg beaters. He finally tried a bite and likes them. In his forty three years, he has not eaten an egg […]
Happy Birthday to My Little Elf
Today my daughter turns eleven. Since she had a holiday party at school, Nicole and a few of her friends decided to dress up like elves. So here is my little elf on her birthday with her Friendly's orange vanilla ice cream roll. Her birthday request was clams and spaghetti with the ice cream […]