Asian Inspired Rice Dish

Here is a rice dish I created a few weeks ago inspired by Asian cuisine.  I used 3 different colors of bell peppers, along with onion, peas, chicken, and seasonings including a hot sauce I have called "Asian Zing" sauce to flavor the rice.  I wish I had just had some chopsticks to eat it with!

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Last week, the weather was so nice, and we got home from school in an amazing mood.  Drew went out to fire up his dirt bikes for the first time since fall, and while he was out riding around, I got busy making his favorite cookies as a surprise....oatmeal chocolate chip.  And, I snapped this paparazzi-style photo of him: 

 

He loved the cookies, and was so happy I made them!  He ate 5 immediately.....and these were BIG cookies.....I'm talking like 3 or 4 inch wide cookies:

V-day Dinner at Home

This year, we decided to order take out and have Valentine's day at home.   No need to dress up, or look all fancy, no fighting crowds and waiting to be seated, and we ate in the comfort of our own kitchen.  However, to make it more special than a normal nightly dinner, while Drew went to pick up our order, I decorated the table, lit some candles, and made a yummy treat for dessert!  With some of the leftover cream from the quiche I had made, I made a little homemade whipped cream, and put it on top of some blueberries!  Easy, light, and delish!  And Drew was happy when he came home from picking up our dinner and saw the table, and the dessert!  We had a great time.  We will definitely be doing this type of Valentine's Day Dinner more in the future!

Valentine's Day Quiche

I woke up reallllllly early on Valentine's Day, and decided to surprise my boyfriend, Drew, with a little breakfast.  I snuck out and went to Kroger while he was still asleep, and bought the ingredients to make him a delicious quiche!  I was inspired by the absolutely amazing quiche I had eaten recently at the Tea Cozy Cottage in Mariemont, OH.  (A very adorable and delicious place, if you get a chance, visit there.)  I bought organic baby spinach, goat cheese, cream, garlic, and of course, eggs.  My recipe was inspired by the recipe from Food and Wine combined with a recipe from my vintage Better Homes and Gardens cookbook.  The goat cheese and the cream made the quiche so creamy, and the pie crust was so flaky and delicious! 

Drew was so excited when he woke up to find this quiche on his plate, along with some summer sausage that I had browned in a skillet and some yummy apple juice to drink! 

Happy Valentine's Day!

What better day to debut the heart shaped pizza I made for dinner last Wednesday than on Valentine's Day!  I used this awesome no-rise pizza dough recipe for the dough, it turned out great!  I greased the pan and sprinkled it with cornmeal to prevent the pizza from sticking, and to add a hint of flavor to the bottom of the dough.  25 minutes in the oven and the results were delish!  We loved it!  The toppings were simple and comprised  basically of Ragu sauce, ground beef, onion, garlic - finely chopped, and an entire pantry worth of Italian seasonings...and of course, salt and pepper.  I would have loved to have used fresh tomatoes or fresh herbs, but this dinner was so last minute I was not prepared for that, so, maybe next time, because I will be making this again, for sure!  Happy V-Day!

Welcome Friends!

This blog was just begging to be created....a melding of two of the loves of my life:  fashion, and food.  I crave a place to discuss with my fellow foodies and fashionistas my passion for these two of life's necessities. 

Fashion, as an all-time true love of mine, goes without saying.  I have been enamored with fashion for some time, even before I realized the true meaning of that love to the functioning of my day-to-day life.  Now, we are inseparable....my obsession with taking the trends of the world into my own hands and embarking down the runway of life controls my soul.  I also have a jewelry design blog where I showcase my designs and passion for trends, which is titled Frugalicious Style

But beyond fashion, the one deep, true love of my life is food.  Ever since I was a young child (known to my parents as a "Clean Plater")  I have always tried different foods and for the most part, loved them.   Just as I am obsessed with the creative aspect of fashion, I love the art of cooking and strive always to embellish any recipe I may attempt with my own flair.  I almost never 'just cook' something exactly how you are "supposed" to cook it...I need to put my own spin on everything, even if it is only in a small way.  This allows me to use my creativity to influence the foods I encounter each day.  Food is the epitome of a mood-maker....a delicious meal and the place where it was eaten can stick with you long after the meal has been digested.  When looking back on important celebrations and holidays in our lives, is it not the food that defines the experience?  Coming from a long line of "good down-home country cookin'," I have become obsessed with two things:  butter, and more butter.  If you do not like, or use, butter in your cooking, I am sorry, because nothing can ever taste as good as when you proceed to add butter to the dish...and usually, lots of it.  In no way is this blog for the "faint of diet".  If you are looking for a blog about counting calories and eating strictly salads each day, you have come to the wrong web address.  I by no means am against a healthy diet, and I do attempt to eat "healthily" but that does not mean that I am going to completely cut out all foods that I enjoy.

With that in mind, I intend to showcase foods that I create as well as unique restaurants I have attended, and other foods that I have eaten that may have been created by others (friends, family, etc).  If I eat it, and I enjoy it, it can end up here!  I also plan to debut outfits that I wear....I really have no where to share some outfits that I come up with, and it will be fun to have a place to show off some creative outfits I have made.

I look forward to sharing these things with you!