I am a fan of all sorts of cheeses: hard, melted, fondue, spreadable-- you name it. But by far my favorite is the kind that oozes onto the pan when you're baking and gets super crispy in the process. You know what I'm talking about. 10 times out of 10 I am going to pick...
Italian Style Stuffing
Here in New Jersey, Italian-Americans make up almost 18% of the state's population-- surpassed in overall number only by our neighbor to the north, New York. This means that, despite the fact that I have not a drop of Italian blood in me, I'm surrounded by plenty of sources for a peek into Italian-American culture. Or...
Baked French Fries
"Oh no, I haven't had fries since 2008," my friend Justine said, waving her hand to block the golden-fried slice of spud that I offered her at a going away party over the summer. My brain exploded. Seven years without fries? Was this some sort of biblical curse? Maybe a kind of self-torture? The term "cruel...
Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dip
This year, Chick-Fil-A took the title of the fast food restaurant with the highest customer satisfaction, based off of a survey of just over 5,000 consumers. You might say it's due to their friendly staff, or perhaps their clean kitchens, but I say it's all about the chicken nuggets. Those crispy, salty, slightly-sweet Chick-Fil-A...
Crispy Tabasco Zucchini Chips
I'm a snacker. I could eat the most amazing meals all day long but still feel lost without something salty to munch on in-between. This, unfortunately, does not always make it easy to stay in the same pant size, if you know what I'm saying. I have a tendency to blissfully eat an entire bag...
Crispy Salami Chips with Warm Muffuletta Dip
You know how, on the best pizza slices, the pepperoni forms little cups that get super crunchy along the edges and it's the most delicious thing to ever happen to cured meat? Or when you get the entire strip of bacon (including the fatty streaks) to get crispy without burning it, and it's like a...
Classic Creamy Macaroni and Cheese
If anyone were ever to call me a recipe purist, they'd be wildly mistaken. I like my foods fusion-ified. I like them loaded with crazy amounts of fillings and toppings, and authenticity always follows far behind enjoyability when it comes to my meals. I do not have a Plain Jane appetite, to say the least....
Freezer-Friendly Everything Bagel Bombs
Raise your hand if you don't have time in the morning before work to make yourself a filling, healthy, and delicious breakfast. Hello, my fellow sad-excuse-for-breakfast buddies. I feel your pain. Not to worry, though. What I'm about to tell you will change your breakfast game forever. You can have ham, egg, and melted cheese stuffed...
Honey Dijon Chicken Cheesesteaks on Pretzel Rolls
My mom is not a big eater. She is perfectly content having salad for dinner most nights, and she sticks to small portion sizes when she eats anything else. I did not inherit my endless (and frighteningly insatiable) appetite from her. But sometimes she surprises me, like when I told her that she could have the first taste...
Crispy-Skinned Baked Chicken Wings + Honey Chipotle Garlic Sauce
IÂ am not what we'd call "proper" when it comes to table manners. Â I rest my elbows on the table. Â I devour my dinner in record time. Â If I chew on gristle or bone, I'll stick my hands right in my mouth and pick it out without a second thought. Â When I eat, I can guarantee...
Pretzel-Crusted Chicken Nuggets Stuffed with Beer Cheese
It was almost exactly three years ago that I was spending my Winter Break at Rutgers, hanging out with whichever of my sorority sisters were still around, wasting countless hours at James' fraternity house, and singing and dancing to Christmas songs with all of our friends who decided to stay in New Brunswick. James and I weren't...
Spicy Baked Jicama Fries
Fellow french fry fiends, fear not. Â I'm not about to ruin your diets with pictures of deep fried potatoes. No, really, I'm not. Â These "fries" aren't fried at all, and they're definitely not potatoes. Â Instead, these fries are made of a different tuber called Jicama (pronounced hee-ka-ma), which is most often found in Mexican...
Baked Sweet Chili Garlic Popcorn Chicken
Believe it or not, in between chowing down on all things cheesy or chocolaty that I put up here, I try to make healthy choices. Well, at least sometimes. And I know that a lot of you are right there with me, trying to keep your snacking down and your salad-consumption up. Â However, just because...
Smoky Sun-Dried Tomato Chicken Penne
This is one of those recipes that shows that I'm incapable of making tough decisions.  I had so many ingredients on hand that I was excited to use, but I kept telling myself not to overdo it.  Sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, ale, mustard, chicken, bacon, cream, pasta, parmesan, and smoked provolone?  No.  No, I couldn't... (Spoiler alert: Yes, I...
Chicken, Spinach, & Poblano Empanadas with Avocado-Jalapeno Dip
It's been an exciting week for me. My cousin Ashley, who I've mentioned a couple times since I started posting on this blog, got married on Saturday. I don't know if I'm more excited about that or absolutely freaked out that I'm now at the age where my friends are all getting married (I have...
Baked Chicken Chimichangas with Monterey Jack Cheese Sauce
Yesterday I cried at Starbucks. Not like a little whimper, I'm talking full on sob-crying with little pools of tears collecting on the lid of my coffee. Â It was not my finest moment, guys. Â Not my finest moment at all. I'm pretty sure James was contemplating running for the hills and never looking back.
