The Candid Appetite

Where Cooking Meets Photography

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Easy Dinner Recipes

Instant Pot Kalua Pork

The first time I ate Kalua Pork in Hawaii last year was a life-changing moment for me. Sure, the great weather and the beaches and cocktails by the pool were amazing but my most lasting impression was the slow roasted pork that gets smoked underground covered in banana leaves. It's served with traditional Hawaiian macaroni salad and white rice. It's basically everything that would consist of my last meal. I can't live without rice and I'm always 100% up for carbs on carbs so pasta salad served ...

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French Lentil Stew with Sausage

It's the New Year, which means we're all watching what we're eating or at least trying very hard to make the right decisions when it comes to food. This doesn't mean that we have to give up on taste though. Let's not call it a diet, because diets aren't a very good mindset to have. What's more I don't even think we should even call them resolutions. Let's focus less on what we won't be doing this year and focus more on what we will be doing. I'm all about the un-resolution. This year we should ...

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The Classics: Turkey Club Sandwiches

If there's a club sandwich on the menu, I will never not order it...or at the very least, never not consider ordering it. I'll usually try to convince myself that getting the club is the best option. There's just something so amazing about a sandwich with three slices of bread, just loaded with bacon, roasted turkey, ham, mayo and of course finished with lettuce and tomato because we do make healthy choices in life. Turkey clubs remind me of being a child and going to the local diner and feeling ...

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Bacon Cheeseburger Spaghetti

A while back, I traveled to New Orleans, as I do every month, and shot some recipes with Joy. Again, as we do, but this particular time was special because she thought up of an out-of-this-world cheeseburger fried rice that changed my life completely. It's hard to say that about a singular dish, but if you've been following my blog for a while now, then you know I have an undying love for all things bacon cheeseburger. Maybe these pierogis, wellington, or soup will help prove my case? That fried ...

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Breakfasts To Start Your Day

Slow-Roasted Poblanos with Sweet Potatoes

Slow-Roasted Poblanos with Sweet Potatoes + GIVEAWAY

Today I’m sharing a simple and yet, super delicious recipe from Ashley Rodriguez’s (Not Without Salt) new cookbook “Let’s Stay In.” As I flipped through the pages of this beautiful book, many of the recipes called out to me, but one in particular just kept staring me right in the face, wanting me to make…

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Kimchi Chilaquiles

I grew up eating chilaquiles all the time! It was one of my favorite things my mom made us on the weekends. I still go to her house and request them. She’d serve them with chorizo scrambled eggs and black beans and some breakfast potatoes. Talk about heaven on earth. They always remind me of…

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Cheers to the Weekend: Blackberry Lemon Coffee Cake

It’s not like I need an excuse to eat cake in the morning, because I’m an adult and I can do what I want, but I just feel so much better when I have a legitimate reason to eat sweets for breakfast. Does that make sense? I feel like this Blackberry Lemon Coffee Cake is…

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Shakshuka Bread Bowls

I just recently got into making (and eating) shakshuka. I’ve been seeing it all over the internets and social medias for a while now, and definitely all of last year, and yet I never tried it because I’m the type of person that goes against the things that seem like they’re being pushed down my…

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The Classics: Sour Cream Coffee Cake

My thought is that you can never have too many coffee cake recipes. It’s that ultimate breakfast cake that you can get away with eating first thing in the morning. It always reminds me of elementary school. Getting a giant square slice of crumb cake with a carton of milk. It’s what dreams are made…

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Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Squares

Cinnamon Toast Crunch Squares

Sometimes you’re in dire need of something sweet, but you’re feeling somewhat lazy and all you really want to do is open a package of cookies and devour them on the couch while watching TV. Is that just so wrong? Can’t we all just live? We deserve it, but before you rush over to the…

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Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

When I was a little kid I’d go to the grocery store with my mother and when we’d go down the cereal aisle, I’d BEG and PLEAD her for that mini chocolate chip cookie cereal. You know the one. Every kid’s dream come true. I’d grab the box and say, “please please please please please,…

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Churro Madeleines

Churro Madeleines

If you were to offer me a choice between another helping of dinner, such as a second order of fries, or a dessert after the meal, I would always choose the fries. I tend to lean more towards savory rather than sweets—I get that from my mom. With that being said though, whenever I do…

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Pecan Sticky Bun Cookies

Pecan Sticky Bun Cookies

I’m bringing you the last cookie of the holiday season, and while it’s a sad occasion that it’s come to an end, what a delicious journey it has been this year! I’ve taken you everywhere from a savory option, all the way to these decadent Pecan Sticky Bun Cookies! I figured I might as well…

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Baklava Thumbprint Cookies

Baklava Thumbprint Cookies

The cookie craze continues on the blog this week because you can never have enough cookie recipes, especially during this time of year. I’m hosting my 2nd annual cookie exchange party with my family this coming weekend, and so I’m trying to keep my options open for which cookies I’ll be making this year. I’ve…

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No-Bake Chocolate-Dipped Fluffernutter

I’ve mentioned a few times on here that my mamma, bless her heart, is not much of a baker. Like, she can’t bake to save her life and she’s perfectly fine with that. As she would tell you, that’s why I’m here. When I was a child though, she tried to bake a couple times…

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Let’s Cheers to the Weekend!

Cheers to the Weekend: Roasted Sheet Pan Lomo Saltado

It’s time for another installment of my favorite ongoing series on the blog, Cheers to the Weekend! A) because it’s the weekend (finally) and B) because it’s been a while since the last one went up and that just won’t do. It’s also time for another much needed sheet pan dinner recipe. If you recall,…

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Cheers to the Weekend: Chocolate Walnut Tart

Everyone is always going on and on about pecans and chocolate or peanuts and chocolate or almonds and chocolate, but I think it’s high time we give walnuts their time to shine in the spotlight with chocolate. I’ve always been a fan of that combination, and I’ll admit it’s because my all-time favorite thing at…

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Cheers to the Weekend: Black Forest Fudge

It’s been a hot minute since I’ve made and shared a fudge recipe on here, and quite honestly I think this is my biggest regret in life. I figured the only respectable thing I can do to remedy this tragic situation is to share another decadent and delicious fudge recipe ASAP. If you recall, the…

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Cheers to the Weekend: One Skillet Cuban Chicken and Rice

Do you know how sometimes you just really don’t feel like washing dishes? Mostly because you’ve been working all day, but also because you’ve just slaved away for hours cooking dinner, and so the last thing you want to do is stand in front of the sink scrubbing away at the mess you just made….

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Cheers to the Weekend: Caramel Apple Slab Pie

The last slab pie I made on the blog, S’mores Slab Pie, was such a big hit that I decided I needed to try my hand on another variation. It just had to be done (but I’m most definitely not complaining about it). If there’s one thing I’ve learned through the years of blogging, it’s…

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Cheers to the Weekend: Cinnamon Roll Coffee Cake

I’m always so adamant and a firm believer that we all need a weekend cooking and/or baking project that’s a bit more labor intensive. Something that we wouldn’t really try during the week because we don’t have the time or patience after a long day’s work. The weekend is for trying out those new recipes…

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