Mediterranean Mezze Platter

An all-star Mediterranean Mezze Platter filled with all the best middle eastern small dishes, dips, or fixings. It is easy to put together and can be adapted endlessly with different dips, fresh vegetables, cheeses, and meats. This is the ultimate finger foods platter to create for your next gathering! This board can be assembled in…

St. Patrick’s Day Drinks
St. Patrick’s Day Drinks Here are two St. Patrick’s Day Drinks, one for the adults and one for the kids. We always have green beer on St. Patrick’s Day usually with our corned beef and cabbage. Just add a few drops of green food coloring to your favorite beer and stir gently. Amber has had…

Nanaimo Bars
Nanaimo Bars Okay, I know these Nanaimo Bars didn’t originate in Ireland but from Canada, actually just south of Nanaimo in Ladysmith. A lady by the name of Mabel Jenkins submitted the recipe to a local cookbook back in the 1950s. They have remained a very popular treat since then. Nanaimo bars are real Canadian…

Corned Beef and Cabbage
Corned Beef and Cabbage Corned Beef and Cabbage is one of our absolutely favorite meals. We have it every St. Patrick’s Day with a green beer. Amber said it was one of the best things she has ever eaten and trust me that kid can eat!!! This is a must for anyone wanting to celebrate…

Friday Night Cooking Class/Coconut Shrimp
Friday Night Cooking Class/Coconut Shrimp Today’s Friday Night Cooking Class/Coconut Shrimp! Introducing Taiya, another good friend of Amber’s and she loves coconut shrimp. I also love that you can now get small cans of coconut milk at the grocery store when you don’t need a large amount. As you can clearly see the girls enjoyed…

Smoked Jalapeno Poppers
Smoked Jalapeno Poppers Ken’s is back at it again with these Smoked Jalapeno Poppers! They are so good!!! These poppers are super easy to prepare and take only a relatively short period of time to cook in the smoker! We created a stand using a tin foil pie plate. All you do is cut…

Roasted Beets
I love beets every which way but my family is not crazy about them unless they are Roasted Beets and how easy is that. There are new varieties popping up in our grocery store and farmer’s market. I think the beet is a little forgotten vegetable that when roasted turns out sweet and crisp. You…

Smoked Stuffed Tomatoes
Smoked Stuffed Tomatoes Ken is back at the smoker again with these Smoked Stuffed Tomatoes, and man these are so good!!!! We got the idea to do these from a recipe that we have made quite a few times in the oven although Ken changed it up quite a bit for the smoker. I…

Smoked Beef Brisket
Smoked Beef Brisket There is nothing like the taste of a wonderful piece of Smoked Beef Brisket! Well, actually we love pretty much anything that comes out of the smoker in this house from pork ribs to chicken to even our Thanksgiving Day Turkey! Ken invested in a little electric smoker and it has…

Banana Bread
Banana Bread I love making Banana Bread in fact the whole family loves banana bread! It’s so easy to whip up a loaf and who doesn’t love a warm slice of banana bread with a pat of melted butter? We almost always have banana’s in the house, and on occasion, when they may be getting a…

Homemade Pasta
Homemade Pasta Today I was graced with Homemade Pasta as Ken and Amber decided to make this pasta. We had a lot of egg yolks left from a recipe that only used egg whites. The pasta turned out fabulous. I thought we would share with you the process. They tried to stay to the traditional method…

Cranberry Pecan Scones
Cranberry Pecan Scones I have made these Cranberry Pecan Scones for years. You can add what you like to these but I like the sour cranberries with the sweet white chocolate and the pecans. They freeze well and don’t need much time to defrost, maybe 30 min. I love a nice toasted scone in the…

Steak Salad
Steak Salad This Steak Salad is a super fast and easy weekday meal where two steaks can go a long way. I love to be able to stretch my grocery dollars and this is a recipe that totally does that for me! Weekdays can be crazy busy with everyone running off to events or activities….