Tag: food

Tomato, Mozzarella and Basil Salad

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This weekend was an absolute blast. I spent all day Saturday surrounded by my favorite people. 

And we had some good food. 


Homemade ranch burgers and chicken sandwiches with a tomato mozzarella and basil salad, grilled yellow squash and zucchini and a fresh green salad. 


I want to focus on the tomato, mozzarella and basil salad for a minute. 

What an underrated creation. 

What you need: 

  • One pack of cherry tomatoes
  • Two packs of mini mozzarella balls
  • Fresh basil, to taste
  • Balsalmic vinegar 
  • Good quality olive oil 
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

Start by slicing the mozzarella and cherry tomatoes in half. Julienne the basil. I used about 10 smaller leaves of basil from my garden. 

Coat the mixture with Balsalmic vinegar and olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste. Refrigerate for at least three or four hours so the flavors can meld. 

This salad is one of my favorites. Cool and fresh. The mozzarella takes on the flavors of the basil, oil and vinegar. The tomatoes add a sweetness. 

Just pure perfection. 

You absolutely must add this to your summer salad list. 

The Full Food Experience

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I had dinner and drinks with my best girls last night. We’ve all been busy with life, but we still make a point to get together to catch up. 

When I’m out with people I care about (my family, boyfriend, friends, etc.) I try to unplug and just enjoy my time with them. 

But when you write about food, it’s important to share the whole experience. 

So far I’ve used this space to share my foodie creations. I’ve totally neglected food I enjoy eating elsewhere. 

My love of food runs deep. Ask my boyfriend. Entire conversations have revolved around food and hunger when he “forgets” to feed me in regular intervals. 

I think about food all the time. What’s for breakfast? I could make this or that for dinner. I read recipes and watch cooking videos. I work for a food company. 

Food is a huge part of my life. So I should share my entire experience with you. 

I don’t live in a New York City type food scene. But I do live in a place where where your food comes from is important. I do live in a city with an eclectic food scene. Where farm to table is taken seriously. Where seasonal eating is not a foreign concept. 

I love being creative in the kitchen. I love farmers market Saturday mornings. And locally brewed beer. And figuring out how to make healthy foods taste delicious. 

It’s the food experience that brings people together. Everybody eats. 

My goal is to share all the aspects of my foodie life in this space. To create a community around food and recipes and sharing. To organically grow conversation around a universal truth. 

Food is the heart of community. 

Crockpots Save Lives

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I love the ease of using a crockpot to prepare meals. Talk about a time saver.

Just set it and forget it.

Yesterday morning I put a roast in the crockpot with baby carrots and chunks of onion. When I got home last night, the roast was so tender it fell apart, and the carrots and onion were caramelized. 

So I whipped up a batch of mashed baby red potatoes with a little Kerrygold butter and a splash of heavy whipping cream. 

  
Too much goodness in this bowl. And so easy.

What you need:

  • Roast
  • Onion soup mix
  • Red wine
  • Beef consume 
  • Onion
  • Carrots
  • Baby red potatoes 
  • Heavy whipping cream
  • Kerrygold butter
  • Salt and pepper

Start by seasoning the roast with salt and pepper. Seer it in a hot pan until a crust forms on all the sides. Deglaze the pan with red wine. 

Put roast and all the wine from the pan in the crockpot. Add in the onion soup mix, carrots, onions and beef consume.

Turn crockpot on to low and cook for 8-10 hours. 

For the mashed potatoes, cut up the baby red potatoes into chunks. Leave the skin on. Boil for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. 

Drain off excess water. Return potatoes back to warm pan. Add in a generous pat of butter and a splash of whipping cream. Mash them up. Add salt and pepper to taste. I usually add a little more butter and cream to make the potatoes extra tasty. 

 Layer the potatoes with the roast, carrots and onion. Be sure to spoon over lots of the juice because it has all the flavor goodness.
So easy. Super delicious. Always a crowd pleaser. 

This is Supper

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I’ve been eating a ton of junk food. The more junk food I eat, the more I want junk food. They should call it funk food.

Let me just tell you about the past couple days. Chick-Fil-A. Chinese food. Tropical Smoothie…twice. 

This has been going on for at least three weeks. And I can totally tell. I’m lethargic. And cranky. And all I want to do is stuff my face full of Oreos. It’s stupid. 

In my defense, it’s been a really busy week. But that’s no excuse. I can do better. My priorities are out of whack.

So I tried to fix it with supper tonight. I channeled the mantra my mom preached to me while sitting at the dinner table when I was a little girl.

This. Is. Supper.   

She’d say this because I had a tendency to not eat whatever she cooked for supper, and then I’d ask for cereal or scrambled eggs or little green peas at 10’o clock at night. 

I made a turkey sandwich on a whole wheat English muffin. I topped it with cheese, greens and a bit of ranch dressing. There was also a side of baby carrots.   

And that is supper.

Not fast food. Not junk food. Just a light meal to help get me on the right track.