Popcorn Chicken Fried Steak

I'm a sucker for popcorn chicken. I could have a bucket filled with it and never get tired. Popcorn shrimp, let's not even go there because I could go on and on about that snack for days and weeks and months and years. I could have two buckets of popcorn shrimp and still want more. The dilemma I face when it comes to either of those is that I just don't know when to stop, and maybe I don't want to stop. Is that a crime? There's just something so addicting about bite-sized pieces of meat breaded and fried until crispy with lots of dipping sauce on the side for dunking that I find irresistible. Well, if I'm being realistic there's something about all things breaded and fried, no matter … [Read More...]

Main Dishes

Dinner for Two: Braised Meatballs, Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes & Roasted Kale

Let's be honest, not every night is fancy dinner night. We're not always in the mood to spend hours in the kitchen making a complicated meal, no matter how hard we try. The honest truth about it all is that even though we wish we could be Martha Stewart every single day of our lives, it's unrealistic and not always doable. Things come up. We're only human. Don't be too hard on yourself. There are certain nights when tuna sandwiches, simple tacos or even a quick bowl of cereal make an appearance … [Read More...]

Mediterranean Taquitos

It doesn't take a lot for me to be impressed with food. I love food so much that I try not to discriminate against anything—except for my hatred of coconut and mango but that's a story for another time—so I'll essentially eat everything that is presented to me and I'll thoroughly enjoy it too. I tend to get really excited over the simplest of dishes. They don't necessarily have to be super fancy with a million ingredients, half of which I can't even pronounce, in order for me to like it. Where's … [Read More...]

Idaho Potato Spanish Mac and Cheese

I'm the biggest fan of mixing my starches and carbs together to create one satisfyingly delicious dish. If you ask me, potatoes, cheese and pasta are meant to be together forever. Maybe that's because I don't think of potatoes as a starch or a carb, that's crazy, especially when we all know it's a vegetable. So therefore it's perfectly acceptable to have potatoes with a side of rice or pasta or bread, or perhaps even all three of them at the same time in the same meal. Have I totally lost my … [Read More...]

Irish Colcannon Mac and Cheese

I recently partnered up with Wisconsin Cheese to celebrate National Cheese Lover's Day. This might come as a shock to many of you, but I Jonathan Melendez, am a cheese lover. There I said it. I'm a cheese lover from way back, and I'm not afraid to admit it. I have to be honest though, I actually had no idea a day celebrating people like me existed. Cheese lovers. Finally there's a holiday where my non-stop eating of cheese all day long is perfectly acceptable. That's cheese for breakfast, cheese … [Read More...]

Idaho Potato Chicken Pot Pie

Idaho Potato Chicken Pot Pie is the third installment in my quest for total potato domination. Believe it or not, that's my number one mission in life. There's actually a double dose of tater action in this recipe with the crust stealing the entire show, in my humble opinion. What do I know, though? I only run this blog. Don't take my word for it. Try it for yourself and then decide. I'll be here waiting to say, "I told you so," but in a totally nice way I promise. Anyhow, I'm calling it a Baked … [Read More...]

Idaho Potato Carne Asada Fries

In case you weren't well aware of it already, I'm addicted to potatoes. I think I've mentioned it a few times here and there (okay, so maybe more than just a few times) how deep my love affair with potatoes goes. It's pretty deep. As deep as any love. I'd climb the highest mountain for them. I'd swim the deepest ocean for them. But not in a weird creepy kind of way. It's been this way ever since I was a young kid, though. I'm pretty sure that when I was born, my mamma didn't give me that puréed … [Read More...]

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Desserts

The Classics: Apple Pie

It's not autumn, so why am I posting an apple pie recipe in the middle of February you ask? This is more of a cozy comfort fall recipe, I know, but apples are always in season here in California. … [Read More...]

Chocolate Strawberry Filled Cupcakes

When I was a little boy I was crazy about those chocolate Hostess cupcakes. The ones with the white swirl on top. Do you remember those? I'm sure you do, they're pretty popular, or at least they were … [Read More...]

Chocolate Butterscotch Hazelnut Cake

Okay, so I know it's January and this whole New Year thing literally that just happened, and we've made resolutions and promises to ourselves to eat healthier and make better choices from now on. I'm … [Read More...]

Holiday Danish Butter Cookies

I have very few store bought guilty pleasures that I not so secretly love, and have loved ever since I was a kid. Zebra cakes, frosted circus animal cookies, powdered sugar tiny doughnuts and those … [Read More...]

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Breakfast

Steak and Avocado Breakfast Burritos

I'm going to be completely and totally honest with you and confess, right here right now, that I'm not really much of a breakfast eater. Don't get me wrong, I happen to love breakfast...for dinner or … [Read More...]

The Classics: Cinnamon Rolls

I want to start this off by thanking everyone who participated in the giveaway last week! The response was overwhelming and totally humbling. Thank you for taking time out of your day to leave a … [Read More...]

Pumpkin Cinnamon Sugar Doughnuts

I think I might've mentioned once or twice on here (more like a billions times, really) how much I happen to love doughnuts. Just in case you didn't already know this about me, I love them more than … [Read More...]

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Vegetarian

Watermelon Basil Lime Iced Tea

I've always had this fantasy of living in a large home, maybe somewhere in the South—one of the Carolinas for sure, I'm thinking North—with a big patio or wrap around porch. In my fantasy, I'm … [Read More...]

Baked Vegetable Samosa Handpies

Have I ever told you how much I love Indian food? It's my all time favorite type of food to eat, in case you didn't already know that. I'm obsessed with it. I can't get enough. Sometimes I even … [Read More...]

Kale and Artichoke Dip

So long spinach. Goodbye. It was nice knowing you. Until next time. You're out of the picture. You've been replaced by a new green. Something much more marketable and hip and tasty, and do you want to … [Read More...]

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Gluten-Free

Creamy Cinnamon Horchata Popsicles

My biggest regret in life is not eating more popsicles in these twenty five years of living. When I stop to think of all the frozen pops I could've been eating all these years, I get sad. It saddens … [Read More...]

Watermelon Basil Lime Iced Tea

I've always had this fantasy of living in a large home, maybe somewhere in the South—one of the Carolinas for sure, I'm thinking North—with a big patio or wrap around porch. In my fantasy, I'm … [Read More...]

Cranberry Raspberry Pavlovas

Now that the holidays are long gone, I have no excuse but to jump back into work and start making (aka eating) a bunch of new recipes. All for you, of course, because that's the type of person that I … [Read More...]

Potato and Caramelized Onion Gratin

This is for all the last minute Thanksgivingers out there. You know who you are. The ones that are just barely planning things out. Maybe even the ones who haven't thought about it at all, not for a … [Read More...]

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