Tis the Season

Colder weather, falling leaves, Christmas lights and Starbucks holiday specialty drink – oh what a great time of year this is. Every year right before Thanksgiving, Starbucks brings back their beloved holiday specialty drinks. Consumers flock to their local location, wait in long lines and carry around the signature red festive cup. Toating your cup on walks, to football games, to class, or wherever the Christmas season takes you seems to be an annual part of winter. From concoctions such as Pumpkin Spice latte, Gingerbread latte, Peppermint hot chocolate and more – Starbucks is a place that has a constant line during the winter season.

There is just one thing wrong – price. Maybe it is just me but I sure feel like the prices of Starbucks increase every year. I love Starbucks and the feeling of going into their coffee shop but this year I decided to try to learn how to make my own coffee holiday goodness with in the confines of my own home. Even though most Starbucks have a drive-thru, not having to get cold from the distance of my back door to the car is one advantage of staying at home for some brew.

Whether you enjoy hot coco or coffee more here are a few tips of how to change up your drink:

–      Add Coffee Mate’s Peppermint Creamer

–      Add Torani Hazelnut flavoring

–      Add Torani Vanilla flavoring

If these flavor additions are still not “Starbucks” enough for you then try out their new product the Starbucks Verisimo. Most comparable to a Kureig coffee machine, the Verisimo allows you to buy the specific flavors and produce them right in your own kitchen. Just because you can make your own holiday creations at home doesn’t mean you still can’t make the occasional treat to that local Starbucks location. But beware! Prices do coincide with the Starbucks label! Aside from that…

Bon Appetite!

Asia-Indi-Sea Food

Who needs a genre when it comes to food? Why not mix it up and make your own? Well that is exactly what I decided to do with my latest concoction with shrimp. 

I really was craving Asian and with my strict college budget, I didn't have time or money resources to go out and grab some local Asian cuisine. So my next step was taking a look at what I had in the pantry. Ah ha! I have plenty of soy sauce. As far as protein goes the only thing I had was shrimp. Well you can easily have shrimp in an Asian dish, but what else could go with this meal? Next I found some couscous. Couscous is technically an Indian form of rice but this package was the toasted pine nut flavor. 

So with a little Asian, seafood and Indian, I ended up creating a quite delicious meal. 

Interested in creating this for yourself? It's easy! 

If you purchase the Near East Couscous, it cooks in 5 minutes with 3 easy steps. First, add water and the contents of the spice pack in a pot. Next, bring to a boil then add in the rice. Finally, remove from heat and cover the pot. After a few minutes fork the rice so it doesn't stick to the edges of the pot. That is it for the couscous, now for the shrimp.

I tend to prefer to cook the shrimp with tails on but that is personal preference when it comes to cooking. First it is important to de-thaw the shrimp in warm water so you don't get a freezer burn taste with the shrimp. Add just a splash of olive oil so the shrimp don't stick to the pot then top off with enough soy sauce for the shrimp to sauté in. Dash a little salt and pepper on top and your done. 

So Asian, Indian and seafood really does go quite nice!

Bon Appetite!

Spice Anything Up

There is nothing that a little bit of Jalapeno Ranch dressing won't spice up! Coming from a slight addiction to the infamous Chuy's Mexican Restaurant, I decided I should learn how to make my own. It may not be as good or addicting but this recipe is about as close as I have found to the restaurant style dip.

Even though it sounds extensive, the recipe is actually quite simple and easily adaptable to specific taste buds. It is important to remember the spice levels of the audience or group of people you will be cooking and serving for. I tend to like mild to medium in terms of spice. 

Now as far as the recipe, it really only takes three ingredients: basic store brand ranch dressing (don't want a strong flavored ranch), dry ranch mix packet and one to two Jalapenos. Dice up the jalapeno into relatively decent sizes and put in a blender. Add both dry and regular ranch dressings to the blender and mix all together. 

Make sure you taste the blend together to taste the level of spice. If you want it spicier then you should dice the second jalapeno and add then blend. 

Now what can you use this dip for? Oh the options. My favorite use of the dip is on top of pulled pork, buffalo or beef. Slap some meet on a tortilla, shred a little lettuce then top with this dip and you have quite a tasty snack. 

Another way to use the dip is just that... as a dip. It goes great with any party chips just sitting on its own. 

There are so many other ways to utilize this recipe but those two are my favorite combinations. Try out this recipe if you are interested in adding a little spice to your normal dinner or dinner party. 

Bon Appetite! 

Wine A Little

Let's talk wine. It's Halloween so as adults we enjoy a different kind of treat.

Wine is a great accent to any types of food. As I've made very obvious already, Italian really goes well with wine but what is the cool thing about wine is you don't have to drink it to enjoy it when it comes to food and meals!

Have you ever considered just using wine as a decorative piece for your meals? Well here are a few ways to use wine as decorative pieces this Halloween. All you will need is orange, green and white acrylic paint, a sharpie and if you want to go detail crazy maybe a few basic colored paint pins.

           

                            Source: endlesslycreatingmyself.com via Heather on Pinterest    Source: womansday.com via Danielle on Pinterest

The color of wine bottles varies depending on what type of wine you are selecting. No worries. There is an idea for each colored bottle. If you have a green colored bottle, go for a pumpkin, witch, zombie, spider web, goblin, anything can really go on a green bottle. 

What is really depends on the bottle color is doing a ghost. I personally think that the ghosts and pumpkins are some of the cutest wine decorations because you can do so many different faces with each bottle. 

If you want to be even more detailed specific, then try one of these type of wine bottle decorations. 

                                                                              Source: amazon.com via Leonel on Pinterest

For those of you out there who enjoy a good graphic creativity, slap a new label on each wine bottle. Again the type of wine should influence your creative names on this type of decoration. Maybe in your mind a bottle of Pino Grigo as rat's blood makes sense but I tend to stay a little closer to the belt. 

If it helps your creativity, why not enjoy a little glass while creating these fun decorations. 

Bon Appetite!

                                                          

The Classic Mix Up

The Classic. Everyone’s childhood favorite meal, or at least for those of us who are normal, was the grilled cheese. Whether you got this child delicacy at home or at your favorite lunch spot, grilled cheese is something that brings everyone back to the good ole’ days.

Slap a buttered piece of bread on a skillet, add plenty of cheese and finish by topping the sandwich off the other piece of buttered bread and let the goodness melt and warm as it all comes together and the buttery warm smells and feelings fill the kitchen air.

Here is the problem: as we grow older and into adults our taste buds change. The good thing is that they hardly change from our love of butter and cheese. Here is the kicker… and adult grilled cheese! There are so many different combinations that we as adults can add to boost those new taste buds into overdrive with The Classic.

I’ve come up with three unique and yet tasteful additions to the epic grilled cheese sandwich. I’ve got one for spice, one for flavor and one for meat lovers.

Spice it up. Secret ingredient in this mix up is green chilies. If you really want to branch out and spice up the entire sandwich change the cheese. If you stray away from the classic yellow American cheese, to a more sophisticated type cheese such as Monterey Jack, the spice level with the green chilies really wakes up your senses.

One for flavor? Adding fresh avocado slices are the key. If you really want to be bold add some bacon and tomatoes to make a grilled BLT. You can also change the cheese on this sandwich to make it swiss or provolone.

Source: aturtleslifeforme.com via Elizabeth on Pinterest

For the people who are meat lovers you can pretty much add any type of meats you prefer to make this a protein filled grilled cheese. I’ve been known to make one grilled cheese with turkey, pastrami and bacon.

                                                                           Source: google.ca via Kelly on Pinterest

There are a lot of different combinations you can make with grilled cheese sandwiches. You just have to be creative and bold enough to try out new flavors!

Bon Appetite!

For the Love of Pasta

I feel like it has become pretty obvious that I like Italian food, especially because it involves pasta in almost every dish. I have always grown up eating pasta, so naturally I crave it. Not only do I crave Italian food, but experimenting with all of the different cooking possibilities is a chef's paradise. There are so many spices, types of noodles and sauce combinations that you can create. 

One of my favorite combinations I have ever created is spinach fettucini alfredo with Monterey grilled chicken. This is an easy, affordable and still delicious recipe anyone could whip up in your kitchen. 

The key to making this recipe is in the alfredo sauce and in the seasoning for the chicken.

While the water is boiling for the spinach noodles, it is time to prepare the chicken. When you buy boneless and skinless breasts at the grocery store, it is still important to clean up the chicken. In order to do this simply cut off any excess fat. Next you want to butterfly the breast. By doing this it is going to thin out the meat that helps it not only cook faster but more evenly. When cutting up chicken for a pasta butterflying is a good idea because it makes each slice thiner and allows for more slices all together. 

Here comes the seasoning. Cover the chicken in olive oil. Next salt and pepper both sides of the breast thoroughly. Finally cover both sides of the breast with Monterey Grilled Seasoning (my suggestions is McCormick's seasonings). Put the breasts on the grill on medium heat. 

After the pasta has been cooked completely, strain noodles to remove water. While the noodles start to cool off, we can start the best part, the sauce. Pour all of the sauce in a medium sized pan. Add a dash of salt and pepper. The part that makes this sauce so amazing is when you add red pepper flakes. Now in my personal opinion, I love spice so I added a significant amount of flakes to the sauce. Stir until warm.

Mix all of this together and your ready to go. 

Bon Appetite! 

Fried Fair

One of my favorite things about October is how the Texas State Fair is finally open for the year.  From the fried food, fun games and ridiculous rides, the fair is an annual must. Being from Dallas, Texas, the State Fair is just simply a must during the Fall season. Since I have lived in Norman, I always make sure I get to go to the fair at some point. 

One more thing that makes October so great is the annual Red River Rivalry between Oklahoma and Texas football teams. What makes this rivalry even better is the fact it takes place in Dallas's very own Cotton Bowl located smack dab in the middle of the Texas State Fair grounds! So this crazy weekend in Dallas combines my love for football with all of the fun classics of the fair. 

This past Saturday I finally got to experience this wonderful combination. Even though there were many highlights from this weekend, something this fair is known for across the nation is and always will be the bazar, fried foods it creates year after year.  

The most important treat and one that I always make sure I get before leaving is the classic Fletcher's corny dog. The line at this stand is a constant flow of people, both children and adults flock to this stand just so they can taste the epic corn dog. I'm not sure if they put something in the batter that makes the meal so addictive but you often find people who go back for seconds throughout their time at the fair.  

Aside from the classic corny dog, the fair also tends to stretch the imagination of those willing to taste the bazar. This year a new addition to the fried family was fried bacon. Unfortunately I missed the stand that was selling these or else I would have taken one for the "Add A Little Spice" team and tried this strange and unhealthy concoction. 

If ever in Dallas during the state fair, I really suggest that everyone stop by and get the full experience of the fair by tasting all of the wonderful Texas sized and Texas style foods.

Bon Appetite!