Halloween Fun!

Going out on Halloween especially on a Saturday was just not happening. I deal with enough crazies walking home from work and with sirens already blaring at 5pm, I knew we were definitely staying in. Since we don't get any Trick-or-Treaters where we live, I thought it'd be fun to make some Halloween-themed food. First off, my hubby's favorite, Deviled Eggs! I made them orange with the addition of Mexican Chili Powder and Paprika. They were super cute and super delicious!

I also made some Meatball Eyeballs with precooked chicken meatballs. To make them look like eyeballs, I added some marinara sauce on top and half of a pimento-stuffed olive. Creepy right?

And for a sweet treat, I made some Funfetti Cookies with Halloween M&M's. My coworkers loved them!

More Taco Tuesday Goodies!

I"m a total sucker for anything taco-related that I haven't tried before so when I saw these Tortilla Boats, I couldn't resist! I filled them up with another new awesome find from Trader Joe's, Korean-Inspired Pork Shoulder. I'm always a lil skeptical about precooked meat but this stuff tastes like it's been marinated and slow-cooked all day. SUPER flavorful and tender! I also added some coleslaw from the deli on top and it was one of the best meals we've ever had! All done in less than 30 minutes too!

New Taco Tuesday Finds!

We love doing Taco Tuesdays at home. They're even cheaper than $2 AND the atmosphere is MUCH nicer! I'm always happy to try out new ingredients to make tacos so when I found these Fiesta Flats, I knew I had to test them out! I love the fact that they can stand on their own. One of the things I hate about tacos is that they fall over and all the yummy filling spills out onto the plate. These things were genius! They're a bit small which just means that we can eat more of them! I filled them up with ground beef and onions cooked in LOTS of Taco Seasoning. Then I topped them with Trader Joe's Fiesta Layer Dip, another new find that we're totally in love with!

5 Year Anniversary in Napa!

Happy Mexican Independence Day!

I bet you thought Mexican Independence Day was Cinco de Mayo right? WRONG! Mexican Independence Day or Grito de Dolores is actually on September 16th but of course there's no reason NOT to celebrate with some Margaritas on May 5th either! We celebrated tonight with some beefy and cheesy tacos. What made these even better were the Nacho Cheese Taco Shells, a new find that I'm definitely getting more of! When they said BOLD flavor, they weren't joking! These taste like Nacho Doritos which were always my favorite chips growing up. I stuffed the shells with ground beef, bell peppers, onions, LOTS of chili powder and topped them with even more cheese and sour cream. YUM YUM!

Sunday Eats!

Now that football season has officially kicked off, I can't WAIT to start making snacks again! I found this Lawry's Garlic Spread a while back and spread it onto some mini baguettes. All it took was 10 minutes in the oven and we were in garlic bread heaven! Of course, you can't have garlic bread without some warm marinara sauce for dipping!

And what could be better than grilled lamb on a Sunday night? I marinated these lamb loin chops in a mixture of olive oil, Dijon mustard, lemon juice and thyme then simply grilled a few minutes on each side in my grill pan. Served over some curried couscous and the best way to end the weekend!

Labor Day Weekend!

Labor Day might be the unofficial end of summer but the weather in SF made it feel like summer was just beginning! We FINALLY got some heat and totally took advantage of the gorgeous weather. Here we are getting ready for some fun in the sun and BBQ!

This is our friend's house in the Marina who was kind enough to host the BBQ. We had WAY too much to eat and drink as usual!

Now onto some actual food and no party is complete without a dip! I made a 5-Layer Mexican version that was super easy and pretty healthy too. The layers were Wholly Guacamole, TJ's Cowboy Cavier, Salsa, Light Sour Cream and finally Reduced Fat Mexican Shredded Cheese. YUM!

I found lamb loin chops on sale and of course, had to get some. I marinated the chops in a mixture of olive oil, lemon juice and Dijon mustard for a few hours. Then just grilled them about 5 minutes on each side in my grill pan. Served over couscous and it was the perfect summer meal!

Finally for the perfect Sunday dinner that didn't heat up the house, slow cooked short ribs! I just browned the meat for a few minutes and then tossed them into the slow cooker with a can of Guinness. The meat was falling off the bones after cooking for 10 hours and I served them over a new find, Potatoes Au Gratin. SO much easier than making those potatoes from scratch and tasted just as good!

That's a wrap for our awesome long weekend!

In n Out AND Indian Sliders!

WE LOVE SLIDERS! Ok we love burgers but sliders are just so much cuter! I decided to satisfy our In N Out cravings but making some Animal Style sliders over the weekend and they were AMAZING! Almost like the real thing and will hold us over until the next time we can make it to In N Out.

Another recent creation were Indian Sliders inspired by Rachael Ray's lamb burger. I just turned them into sliders and used beef instead of lamb. YUM YUM!

Lots of Meaty Dinners!

We're definitely meat lovers at our house and we've been having some yummy meaty dinners! First off some pork chops braised in a sauce made with a combo of Mango Pineapple Salsa and broth. It's so simple yet perfect for summer. Don't you just think of mango and pineapples when the weather gets warm?

We received some Stonewall Kitchen gourmet jams and jellies as a gift and one of the jars was Hot Pepper Jelly which I found is perfect with lamb. So I made some grilled Lamb Loin Chops and served the jelly on top. AMAZING!

We also had some huge chicken legs braised in a Coconut Curry Sauce. The sauce was just curry powder, ginger, garlic and coconut milk with LOTS of red chili peppers! So simple yet so flavorful served over rice noodles, hubby favorite!

Next we have some pork chops simmered in a spicy pickled jalapeno sauce. Our favorite brand is Embasa and it comes in a can with pickled carrots as well. SO perfect to add a Mexican twist to anything!

I found a recipe for Greek Braised Chicken Thighs and thought I'd give it a try. I'm so glad I did! We don't eat a lot of Feta but we're definitely gonna start! I just love the texture and saltiness!

AND last but definitely not least, I made the most amazing Pepper-Stuffed Pork Chops! Yes the filling fell out a bit but who cares? :)

Yummy Appies!

We LOVE appies especially healthy ones so when I saw these Mini Salmon Cakes I knew I had to make them. I healthified them with Fat Free Mayo and omitted the butter. The mixture was a bit too wet so I freezed it for about 15 min before forming the cakes. Turned out perfect and how much do you LOVE my mini dishes?

I LOVE Athenos Hummus especially the Roasted Red Pepper flavor. I like using it for a dip and I also like making Mini Pita Bites out of them. I baked the pita in the oven for about 10 min and then topped them with the hummus, red onion, fat free feta and pepperoncini. Delicious!

More Deviled Eggs!

More deviled eggs from my D'Lish Deviled Eggs cookbook! These are Thai Shrimp. SO good!

Next up more Shrimpy goodness with Cocktail Shrimp. Not as good as the Thai but still tasty.

Finally our favorite so far, Boursin Garlic Cheese! Can't beat cheese in our deviled eggs!

4th of July Meal!

I hope everyone had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! The weather started out beautiful in San Francisco but then got foggy just in time for fireworks (of course)! We still have a wonderful time though and started our patriotic meal with a Red White and Blue Cocktail. It's just vodka and cranberry juice garnished with some blueberries.

Moving on to the main course, I made Ribeye for the first time in my life and it turned out awesome! I can't believe I've never made it before but it was super simple. I just dredged the meat in some flour, salt and pepper and browned it about 4 min on each side. DONE! Served over some couscous and dinner was served!

A Cookbook FULL of Deviled Eggs! (Review)

My hubby LOVES deviled eggs. In fact, it would've been a deal-breaker if I couldn't master his mom's recipe. (Ok...kidding...a lil...) So when I came across this D'Lish Deviled Eggs Collection cookbook, I just knew I had to get it! I swear EVERY single recipe looks amazing and I love how there are pictures for all of them! I had THE hardest time deciding which ones to make first but finally settled on the Southwest Salsa and Red Hot Buffalo. I used my mini food processor to make sure the filling is smooth enough for piping but some of them didn't turn out as pretty as I would've hoped. Oh well...practice makes perfect right? I cannot WAIT to try out some more recipes! I've got my heart set on the Indian Curry and Cocktail Shrimp...YUM!

Sandwich Meals and Favorite Fries!

After eating out for 3 days straight on our trip, I wanted to make us something comforting when we got home. Enter Stuffed French Toast! Ham and cheese stuffed inside 2 slices of bread then coated in egg wash and fried. What could be more comforting right?

I was walking through the grocery store the other day and found Spicy Sweet Potato Fries by Alexia. We LOVE sweet potato fries so of course I had to try them out. They were amazing and the nutritional stats aren't bad either since they're baked, not fried. They've got just a hint of spice, nothing too overpowering and you still taste the sweetness of the potatoes.

Of course you can't have fries without burgers so I made some quick cheese-stuffed sliders with them. No special recipe. Just ground beef stuffed with a piece of pepperjack cheese inside a mini bun!

A Few Mexican Goodies

We were in the mood for some Mexican favorites recently. (OK we're ALWAYS in the mood for Mexican!) I made some Chicken-Stuffed Pasta Shells with some chicken mixed with Ricotta Cheese and Salsa. SO yummy topped with Mexican cheese and sour cream!

I feel like I haven't made Enchiladas in a while so I decided to whip up some Enchiladas with some Carnitas I picked up from TJ's mixed with refried beans (of course!). We have lots of leftovers which I'm totally looking forward to! More sour cream and cheese!

Meaty Dinners

My hubby is definitely a meat and potatoes kinda guy so most of our dinners tend to center around some type of animal. We had these lamb loin chops on a Sunday night and I could not have been happier! I marinated the lamb in a mixture of Greek yogurt, oregano, garlic and rosemary for a couple of hours. Then I grilled them in my grill pan for about 5 minutes on each side and served them over couscous. Simple and quick!

Another meaty dinner we had were pork chops and peppers served over stuffing. I braised the chops in my Dutch oven and added bell peppers and onions along with canned tomatoes. YUM YUM!

Mini Vacation in Santa Monica!

We're back from a mini vacation in beautiful Santa Monica. It was a really quick 3-day trip and I did NOT wanna come back! Here we are getting ready for our trip. All smiles and sunshine!

Brunch at our hotel roof-top restaurant. I didn't get to snap any food pictures on this trip but you can bet we ate well!

Here we are getting ready for the wedding! Hotel selfies are the best!

And here we are at the actual wedding ceremony with the most gorgeous backdrop!

Muffins Galore!

Boy have I been on a muffin kick lately! These Mocha Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins were the perfect bite-size breakfast treats! I used mini chocolate chips cuz I felt like I could add more since they're smaller. :)

For a slightly healthier breakfast, I made these Oatmeal Muffins with Dates, Cranberries and Pecans. I also added some coconut flakes which made them taste a bit exotic.

Since I had some bananas that needed to be used up, I made these incredibly healthy Whole Wheat Banana Raisin Muffins. I figured these will balance out all the Mini Chocolate Chip Muffins I've been eating!

Go Warriors! Representing for the Yah...

A Few Easy Dinners

I don't get crazy with weeknight meals and have a lot of easy recipes saved up. These Cheesy Baked Pork Chops were incredible! The garlic and brown sugar rub was just perfect and it doesn't get any faster than couscous. I think I'm missing some green garnish though...oh well!

Next up, some Buffalo Chicken Sliders with Blue Cheese. I made them even quicker by using precooked chicken and adding the Frank's Buffalo Sauce. My hubby thought the blue cheese was a bit over-powering but what does he know right? I love me some stinky cheese!

Lastly a big bowl of Sausage and Pepper Pasta. I chose Bowtie pasta because they're just so cute! Lots of chili flakes and finally got some garnish!

It's My Birthday and I Want Stuffed French Toast!

My birthday technically isn't until Tuesday but I tend to celebrate it early especially if it falls on a weekday. So for my birthday brunch, I wanted nothing more than Stuffed French Toast! I'm a huge lover of sweet and savory dishes so these were right up my alley. I even bought the ham and cheese straight from our local deli so they feel more gourmet than just the grocery-store stuff. AND of course I had to add some fried eggs on top because why not? It's my birthday!

Nutty Baked Goodies!

I've been feeling nutty lately and decided to bake! First off, some Walnut Cream Cheese Shortbread Cookies. I'm all for any drop cookies that don't require chilling the dough and these did NOT disappoint!

Next up, Toffee Pecan Oatmeal Bars. Toffee AND pecan? I'm in heaven! Super easy using the Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookie Mix too, which I always keep on hand!