The Candid Appetite

Where Cooking Meets Photography

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Easy Dinner Recipes

Chicken Spinach Artichoke Skillet Lasagna

I love me some lasagna but the truth is that I hate going through the entire process of actually making it at home. You have to make the meat filling, then the ricotta filling, then the sauce and then shred a bunch of cheese and then boil the noodles and THEN go about layering the thing and it's not even cooked yet. Then it finally goes into the oven and you still have to wait for it to cool down after it's cooked, before you slice and serve it. It's a whole ordeal, and I'm tired just typing and ...

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Shrimp Po’boy Salad

I've been traveling to New Orleans for over three years now every month to work with my friend Joy, and I can't even begin to describe the first time I visited. It's a magical place with warm people and delicious food. The first time I ate a po'boy was with Julian, down at the French Quarter. We each ordered one and then ate them as we walked to a museum and it was magical experience. I always say that po'boys are the world's simplest sandwich, they're made with soft white bread loaves, iceberg ...

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Reuben Sandwich Hot Dogs

The one good thing about summer is that it means grilling season is upon us and we get to take our cooking outdoors for a change. Now, I don't know about you, but I love grilling on warm summer evenings. Whenever I think about grilling, I think about hot dogs, which also makes me think about going to the beach, which makes me think about sandwiches on the sand by the water. I'm taking you on this long twisted path of visualization so that you understand where these Reuben Sandwich Hot Dogs are ...

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Shrimp Scampi Gnocchi

I'm a big fan of shrimp scampi, but often times angel hair pasta is just a bit too tedious for me. You have to be careful to not overcook it or else it'll turn to mush, very quickly. I feel like it's too thin of a pasta for the heartiness of the shrimp and butter sauce. It's because of this that I tend to not make it for dinner or order it when at a restaurant. If you're like me and face the same dilemma, then you're going to love this Shrimp Scampi Gnocchi. It takes all of the flavors we know ...

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Breakfasts To Start Your Day

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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BLT Eggs Benedict

BLT Eggs Benedict is what you get when you want brunch but also lunch, which is basically what brunch is I guess, but still, you know what I mean. It’s when you want a sandwich, but an open-faced sandwich. When you can’t decide between a Breakfast BLT or eggs benedict first thing in the morning….

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Sausage Egg and Cheese English Muffins

When I was a kid, I would BEG my mother for a sausage egg mcmuffin (from you know where) because they were, and I’m sure still are if we’re honest with ourselves, very delicious. Every now and then she’d give in and let me have one and I swear I never wanted it to end….

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Satisfy Your Sweet Tooth

Peanut Butter S’mores Hand Pies

It is way too hot these days to be dreaming about making s’mores outside on an open fire. The whole outside is like an open fire! LA is complaining about the heat every chance we get (myself included), and so I wanted to bring a classic summer dessert indoors. Away from the sun. Away from…

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Strawberry Shortcake Ice Cream Bars

When I was a kid, I would beg mom for money every time I heard the ice cream truck going around the neighborhood. I can’t tell you how many times I would run down the block so I could catch up with him. It was a constant game of trying to get out the door…

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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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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

I’m creeping out from my spot under the air conditioning, where I’ve been camping out for the good part of the past couple of weeks. It’s been extremely hot in Los Angeles, and I’m sure it’s hot everywhere else, but for us Angelenos we are melting away into nothing. The only way I think we…

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Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie S’mores

Homemade chewy oatmeal cookies—sans raisins and with chocolate chips instead because I’m no monster—are one hundred times better when they’re sandwiched together with a heaping amount of Nutella and toasted marshmallows. I couldn’t let another 4th of July go by without making sure I got you covered in the dessert department. These Chocolate Oatmeal Cookie…

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Cheers to the Weekend: Toasted Meringue Banana Pudding

Banana pudding is one of those desserts that I will never tire of. It’s nostalgic, incredibly easy to make and yet it still manages to be a show-stopping dessert that takes people’s breath away (or at least mine). Over the years, I’ve shared a few banana pudding inspired recipes on the blog, and I hold…

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Let’s Cheers to the Weekend!

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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Cheers to the Weekend: No-Bake Orange Creamsicle Bars

One of my mamma’s all time favorite treats has been, and will always be a fifty-fifty bar, or as some of you might know it as an orange creamsicle. It’s basically a vanilla ice cream popsicle center with an orange ice cream covering it. Hence a 50/50 popsicle. My sisters and I had them a…

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