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If you have not had the pleasure of eating a sweet potato & black bean burrito, the time is now folks! I love making freezer burritos just for the fact that you can spend one session of time quickly preparing them, then store them in the fridge or freezer and they are ready to grab when you are rushing through the week.

The spices I have included to add to the bean mixture are just a guide. Whatever sounds good to you, use it! I would just recommend that you taste the two components of the sweet potatoes and the bean mixture to check for any needed seasonings before you assemble the wrap. Ready for the recipe?



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Okay folks today I have a very special treat for you. This Orange and Balsamic Chicken was dinner last night and let me just say, I have not enjoyed a chicken recipe this much in a long time. It was divine.

This recipe has only a handful of ingredients which is always a plus in my book. You start by cooking chicken thighs skin side down in a pan. The reason this is important is it lets the skin get really crispy. If you have ever cooked chicken in the oven and the skin is still fatty and gross, this is the solution!

Once the skin is crispy, transfer the chicken to a roasting dish and throw it in the oven to finish cooking. While it bakes, you make a super fast sauce and you are done. Amazingly tasty and easy. Here we go!

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Happy Wednesday folks! Today I have a delicious treat for you to help you get through the rest of the week. Delicious and moist Strawberry Bread topped off with a sweet Strawberry Butter. I have to say, the strawberry butter is what took this recipe from great to pretty damn amazing.  If you can, please make both and try them together. The recipe for the yummy Strawberry Bread comes from Closet Cooking. Many thanks to Kevin for allowing me to post the recipe from his website!


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Okay folks. Today we are making a very sweet, very delicious Pineapple Upside-Down Cake. There are many a recipe for Upside-Down Cakes that call for cake mixes but we are gonna go with the from scratch route today. Having tried many alternate recipes over the years for this particular cake, I have to go with making it from scratch. It just tastes so good!

If you have never tried it before, it is a delicious yellow cake that is saturated with a caramel sauce (thank you butter and brown sugar!) and studded with pineapple and cherry pieces. This particular recipe has a nice addition of pecan halves which add a bit of crunch and flavor to the cake.

The one nit picky point about this recipe is that a cast-iron skillet is used instead of a cake pan. You can use whatever pan you'd like, but you will have to wing it when it comes to altering the temperature and cooking time.

If you'd like, you can serve it with a bit of lightly sweetened whipped cream, or for the more indulgent folks, a scoop of vanilla ice cream.


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This recipe comes from my mom. It utilizes some shortcuts, like a rotisserie chicken and frozen broccoli spears.  It is ultra comforting and a delicious meal I loved growing up.

Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
Makes 6 servings

• 2 boxes broccoli spears
• 1 rotisserie chicken, chicken pieces removed
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 can mayo (use empty cream of chicken soup can)
• 1 tsp. paprika
• 2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1 c. dried breadcrumbs

1. Spray a 9" x 13" baking dish.

2. Thaw and drain broccoli spears in a colander. Place in bottom of baking dish.

3. Tear apart roaster chicken. Add chicken pieces on top of broccoli.

4. Mix cream of chicken soup with mayo and paprika. Spread on chicken. Top with cheese.

5. Melt butter in skillet and add dried breadcrumbs. Mix. Toast in pan  until butter is melted and incorporated.

6. Add breadcrumb mixture to top of cheese.

7. Bake at 350-f degrees for 30 minutes.

Recipe from my mom.

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If you are a salmon lover and are looking for a new way to serve it to your family, I have an amazing recipe for you today. Are you familiar with American Spoon Foods? It is sort of a foodie lovers dream. They have all sorts of jams, preservers and grilling sauces available. The only downside is the price. Our favorite item to buy was the Apple Cider Grilling Sauce, but at almost $10 a jar, the price was just not reasonable.

My mom has been perfecting her own Apple Cider Grilling Sauce copycat recipe for some time now and she has finally done it. Compared to the packaged sauce that we had bought in the past, we think our version has much more flavor and tastes amazing.

The main flavors we have are apple, spices and onions.  You may wonder why we didn't use an actual apple cider in the recipe. This is because the concentrate and the old bay seasoning provide the spices you would normally have in an apple cider, plus a little bit extra like celery seed.

One ingredient that some cooks may not have on hand is the Fox Point Seasoning made by Penzeys. If you are wondering what to sub for this, it is a mixture of freeze dried shallots, chives and scallions.


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Orange Vinaigrette over Romaine lettuce with orange slices and fresh mozzarella

It is time for my favorite foodie event, the Secret Recipe Club! The idea of it is you are assigned a fellow food blogger each month, it is kept a secret of course, and you go to their food blog and pick a recipe (or more) to make. On the assigned date, everyone posts their creations and you go and visit and see all the goodies that were made. Sort of like a secret Santa, right?

My host who is organizing my group is Tina from Moms Crazy Cooking. Thank you Tina for hosting!



My assignment for this month was The Tasty Cheapskate where Jeanie blogs about frugal food recipes. While I was sorely tempted to make her recipe for Chocolate Chip Brownies, I decided to go with a delicious citrus vinaigrette instead. (I'm still making the brownies, though!)


 Here is Jeanie's recipe:

Orange Vinaigrette
Makes several servings

1/2 C sugar
1/3 C orange juice
1/2 C rice wine vinegar
1 C canola oil (olive would work too, but will add a distinct taste to your dressing; I liked the canola because it didn't get in the way of the orange)
2 Tbsp dry Italian dressing

1. Shake it up in a glass jar and let it stand for 30 minutes.

While I would have liked to add a few more veggies to my salad, I was out of stock so I kept it simple. The flavors in the vinaigrette are delicious and refreshing. Thank you Jeanie for a great recipe and a great alternative to the same ol' ranch dressing for this salad eater!

Source: Recipe from The Tasty Cheapskate