easy recipes

Arayes

Arayes

We all know there are smells and sounds that take us back to a certain place or time. The minute a particular song makes it through your shuffle lineup, you’re transported back to a place, a person, an event. It’s either a good memory, or one you want to pretend never happened [in which case you next that song like it’s nobody’s business]. Or you’re walking through the mall, or outside and all of a sudden you catch the scent of perfume, or cigarette smoke, or even home cooking and someone, something, some place pops right into your mind. (more…)

Ground Beef Skillet Hash

Ground Beef Hash_2

I’ve been on a short hiatus from blogging. Not intentionally. Every once in a while I get caught up with other things in my life—namely, my day job, and other life events.

For those who follow me on Instagram and Snapchat, you know I’ve been busy on travel to Turkey and counting down to my birthday! Another year older and hopefully a little bit wiser. (more…)

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs

Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs_2

I love those mornings when I wake up to a text from my brother containing a photo and the words “make this.” Which is exactly what happened a couple days ago. We live in the same house, about two doors apart and yet I haven’t seen him in days – probably because we’re each on a different schedule. But not seeing me regularly doesn’t mean he’s forgotten that I can cook up some good dishes. Enter the random text Monday night at 11:07pm. Where do you suppose he found this photo? From the Food Porn Twitter account, where else? And of course, he expects me to drop everything and have it ready to eat at a moment’s notice.

I let him drool for a couple days before I got to experimenting and then promptly surprising him on a random Wednesday afternoon. (more…)

Shrimp Fried Rice

 

Shrimp Fried Rice_2

I’m not a huge fan of Asian foods [and by Asian, I mean far-east Asian]. I’m extremely picky. Not because I’m not adventurous with food, but everyone has different tastes and mine just happens to not be extremely fond of the sauces. I usually have one or two go-to items when I’m stuck in a situation where I have to have Chinese, or Thai, or Japanese food – usually because I’m the minority. And usually, my go-to items are sauce-free or are pretty bland in flavor. Everyone’s entitled to their prerogative and this is mine. (more…)

Rueben Sandwich

Reuben

When I was in grad school, up at Syracuse University, my mom came to visit a handful of times. She helped me move in, she cheered me on at graduation and she helped me move out. Each one of her visits were not complete without a lunch trip to Faegan’s, a family owned Irish pub at the corner of the University’s Marshall Square. Why? Because the first time we went there, mom ordered the Reuben and fell in love with the sandwich. To this day—6 years later—she’s still talking about the Reuben at Feagan’s. For anyone who’s visiting Syracuse and wants to try it out, yes, it’s still on the menu. (more…)

Chicken Pot Pie Topped with Biscuits

Chicken Pot Pie

It’s that time, when the mornings and evenings get cooler, when we can’t figure out whether to wear a bulky sweater or a light jacket, when pumpkins are everywhere and people are happy because it’s early fall. Lucky me, I wake up for my day job before the sun comes up, which means I’m constantly debating whether or not I should be wearing a wool coat to work; only to realize that when I leave around 3:30pm that it’s a lovely 75 degrees and I’m overdressed for the heat. (more…)