Salad of spinach and avocado

I had a bag of baby spinach to use up and two ripe avocados so I decided to make a tossed salad with a few of my favorite ingredients.  It was a simple salad to make and tasted fantastic! I love the creamy avocado, sweet craisins, crunchy croutons, salty Parmesan, and the tangy vinaigrette - it was a delicious and flavorful salad and was a huge hit with my entire family. I served this salad with the Penne with Mixed Vegetables, Parmesan Cheese, and Pine Nuts.

Delicious pizza with chicken

  pizza-chicken

Exotic food - sushi

Japanese sushi is a type of vinegar rice topped with fish, meats and vegetables. Nowadays, sushi is prepared creatively for a more inviting appearance. It possesses many nutritional benefits.
Sushi comes from an archaic grammatical form of word which means sour. Rice and fish is being combined for a more likable meal. Most restaurants today serve sushi in different ways. Here is some additional information about one of the most popular food not only in Japan but in many countries across the globe.
Sushi did not actually originate in Japan. It was introduced into Japan from China during the 17th century. People made sushi from fermented fish. This is since there were no refrigerators back then.

sushi

Amazing from nature - vegetables and fruit

What is a natural organic product? These days the answer to that question has become a bit confusing. Although an organic product is "literally" natural, according to regulations on how the food is grown, processed and labeled, the terms, "all-natural" "natural," and "organic" mean three different things. Organic food is obviously the healthiest and purest food for you to eat, but unfortunately many food companies try to fool you by labeling their products with the word(s)natural or all-natural so you think it is as healthy as organic food, when in fact it is not. This images are products of organic nature.

 amazing-vegetables-10

Babies are made with marzipan, believe it or not

These babies  are made with marzipan, an almond paste consisting primarily of sugar and ground almonds. Often with egg whites or yolks, used as a layer in cakes or molded into ornamental shapes.
Babies are made with marzipan, believe it or not

How to Make Incredible Edible Fruit ornaments

Keep your serving of food to be art.  You can amaze your friends and family with your fruit sculpture skills. They are a healthy and inexpensive way to add something fun and different to your holiday table this year.

fruit sculpture

Food inspiration or art

To fully enjoy the food, it should be and art that is seen. I will give you a few suggestions, and can also perform the work. Of the ordinary and usual food you can get the right specialties. Start with the candy because it is my favorite dish, appetizer and salad. Enjoy!!!

 Chocolate cake for enjoyment

Mediterranean Salad

I saw this recipe in a Sunset magazine a few months ago and thought it looked delicious. I had all the ingredients on hand so I decided to make it for lunch. I adapted it a bit by adding red onion, grape tomatoes, and low fat feta cheese. It was a quick and simple recipe that was hearty and tasty. My son loved it too (except the red onions). Simple ingredients make the best recipes.

Scalloped Potatoes with Caramelized Onions

We were having steak for dinner and I thought some creamy potatoes would be a delicious side dish. I found this recipe on The Food Network for Scalloped Potatoes. I adapted it to work with what ingredients I had on hand. This dish was simple to make and so delicious. I loved the sharp flavor of the Asiago cheese with the soft potatoes and creamy caramelized onions. It paired beautifully with the steak and house salad. My husband and I loved these potatoes but my children requested that I make mashed potatoes and gravy next time.

Pizza and Dough

I can't take all the credit. Or any of it, really. This is my friend Lisa's recipe. But I use it for everything--pocket sandwiches (like Hot Pockets, only not gross), breakfast pocket sandwiches, pizza crust, pizza pockets, whatever. I actually have this recipe printed out, laminated, and hung on the inside of one of my cupboard doors. One major advantage is that this dough is very, very forgiving, so a it's great yeast dough to start with if you're a yeast dough virgin.

Sugar Cookies

Sugar Cookies
Print text only
1 C real butter (no substitutions!)
1 C sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 t almond extract (or other flavor of your choice, like vanilla)
3 C flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt

Cheese and Tomato Tart

Cheese and Tomato Tart

1 recipe for pie crust (or just use a pre-made pie crust if you're short on time)

3/4 c. light sour cream

1/3 c. light mayonnaise (NOT Miracle Whip)

1 Tbsp. coarse grain or Dijon mustard (I'm using Emeril's horseradish coarse-grain mustard)

1/2 tsp. Kosher salt

1/4 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

1 small onion, minced

4-5 cloves garlic, minced or pressed

2-3 Tbsp. butter

8 oz. pepper jack cheese, shredded

3-4 fresh, ripe Roma tomatoes

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Basket full of snakes

Recently I found a great web site with easy and fun recipes. This recipe for bread sticks not only provided a great dough, it also inspired me to make the shape of the bread sticks more whimsical. I made coiled snakes and filled up a basket with them.

Chicken and Roasted Garlic Lasagna

We had friends coming for dinner and my dear friend Kyle was running in a race the following day so I wanted to make something healthy yet filled with carbohydrates to give her a boost for the race. I had leftover roasted chicken to use up so I decided to make a lasagna with chicken and roasted garlic. I also used the remaining Roasted Garlic and Basil Marinara I had in the freezer. It was really easy to make and very delicious. I loved the flavor of the chicken with the creamy ricotta cheese. It was a big hit with everyone.

Hasselback Potatoes

I've always wanted to try these potatoes and decided to finally give them a try after seeing then on What Do I Want To Cook Today. They were extremely easy to make with very little clean up. My entire family enjoyed these delicious potatoes. I look forward to trying them again with different herbs and seasonings. Thanks for the inspiration Jan.

Creamy Roasted ,Chicken Noodle Soup

I found this soup recipe in a Cooking Light Magazine called "The Best Chicken Recipes". I wanted to make a healthy but comforting dinner because it was a rainy and cold outside. This soup was quick and easy to make and tasted really delicious. I used leftover roasted chicken and vegetables I had in the refrigerator as well as whole wheat egg noodles. I loved the big chunks of chicken, potato and carrots in the creamy soup, it reminded me of a chicken pot pie. It was filling and very tasty - my whole family gobbled it up. My husband and daughter took the leftovers for lunch today and said it was excellent.

Peanut Butter, Oatmeal and Chocolate Chip Cookies

My dear friend Currié gave me this recipe and my kids and I were so excited to make these cookies together. They were extremely easy to make and tasted so delicious. I loved the peanut butter flavor with the chocolate chips. They were gobbled up quickly in my house and both my kids as well as my husband really, really liked them. Thanks for the great recipe Currié!

Spicy Peanut Asian Noodle Salad

I really enjoyed the spicy peanut vinaigrette I recently picked up from Trader Joe's. I had a bit of the dressing leftover to use up so I decided to make my Asian Noodle Salad with the spicy peanut vinaigrette instead of my usual dressing. It turned out excellent! It was spicy and so delicious with the crunchy nuts, veggies and the soft noodles. My entire family really, really loved this salad.

Extra Mushroom, Garlic and Fresh Tomato Pizza

We are huge pizza fans in our house and we make homemade pizza often. I try to change the flavors so we won't get bored plus it's a great way to use up extra ingredients we have in the refrigerator. I love the Trader Joe's whole wheat pizza dough as well as their pizza sauce, so they have become staples in our home. I had a huge container of mushrooms and a bunch of fresh tomatoes to use up so I decided to make a pizza using those ingredients. I added fresh minced garlic to the top of the mushrooms before baking. This pizza turned out terrific - we all LOVED it. Make sure you slice the mushrooms very thin so they don't make the pizza soggy.

Banana, Blueberry and Raspberry Muffins

While our family was in town we decided to head to Cannon Beach for the day. We stopped by a great little farmer's market while we were there and I found some plump and juicy raspberries and blueberries that I couldn't resist. I decided to make muffins with the last of the berries and a very ripe banana that needed to be used up. I used whole wheat flour and added low fat yogurt instead of butter. My husband and children LOVED these muffins. They were moist, flavorful and so delicious - they gobbled up the whole batch for breakfast.