Spicy Mexican Pinto Beans

Usually, I’m pushing for refried beans, be it my Easy Refried Pinto Beans or Frijoles Negros. Refried beans with just about any Mexican Favorite is awesome, right? Yet every now and again, I like to serve up a side of whole spicy beans.

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Pollo Asado Loco is a Work in Progress

Have you ever eaten at an El Pollo Loco? Good stuff, right? Ever since my first bite of their chicken, I have been searching for the real recipe. Believe you me, I’ve tried plenty and none has hit the mark. Guess what? Neither did this one.

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Lemon Garlic Skillet Chicken and Dining with a Friend

On my desk is a calendar of National Dates, Church Feast Days and other Holidays. Whenever I am stumped as to what to share, I look at the calendar in hopes of inspiration. Sometimes it works really well for the blog as well as meal planning. Other times I just stare at it and scratch my head.

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Quick and Easy Ham Omelette Perfection

This is one of those been there, done that tales. With a fresh cup of coffee in hand, I stood in front of the open refrigerator. I was hungry, but I didn’t know what I was hungry for. Pulled open drawers, moved things around on shelves. Hum, something light and warm and easy. The light began to flicker.

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Holiday Candy Gift Platters made with Love

Do you give out tins of home-baked cookies for Christmas? Me, too. I can remember one year in particular, when Kiddo and I spend an entire weekend hand painting sugar cookie cutouts. Wow, I just looked at the pictures of Kiddo’s cookie artwork – that was seven years ago! Where did the time go?

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Philly Chicken Pitas with Spicy Sriracha Mayo

Lately I’ve been cooking up meals that are super easy and super quick. Too many other projects going to like making Christmas Decorations to be bothered with long hours in the kitchen. Still, my guys are spoiled and they expect flavor.

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White Chocolate Cashew Drop Cookies

Today is both National Cashew Day and National Espresso Day. That got me to thinking, why not have cashew cookies to go with my double shot of espresso? Okay, so a nice Biscotti with Chocolate and Pistachios might be better, but hey this isn’t Biscotti Day or Pistachio Day. So let’s work with what we’ve got here.

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Skillet Oven-Barbecued Pork Chops

Imagine my guys surprise when I served up oven barbecued pork chops, corn bread with honey butter and some Ranch Beans. They could not believe their eyes – as Kiddo put it – normal food.

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Sweet Cornbread with Honey Butter

Having a genuine Okie from Oklahoma as a dad, we grew up on cornbread. During the winter, when times were lean, big pots of beans and pans of cornbread were the norm. To this day, I love cornbread. I love it even more slathered with sweet honey butter.

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Lickity-Split Quick Marinated Mushrooms

Today is National Cranberry Relish Day. So what does Cranberry Relish have to do with Marinated Mushrooms? Absolutely nothing. Well, one thing – I don’t like Cranberry Relish, so I haven’t a recipe to share.

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Panchetta Fettuccine Bolognese

Italian cooking has to be my all time favorite. So many flavors, textures and aromas. Italian pastas are a great way to stretch the food budget, too. Pasta is fillings. Whenever I make up a batch of Fettuccine anything, we are bound to have several meals out of it.

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Feast of the Presentation of Mary

It’s been a little while since I’ve shared any of my Catholic traditions with you. If you are uncomfortable with the subject, that’s fine. Please skip this as I’ve never wanted to offend anyone. If you’d like to hear more and get some delicious recipes, stick around!

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A Salad – How Utterly Absurd!

Today is National Absurdity Day. Seems fitting, given the insanity in America today. This is the day when oddness and weirdness reins supreme. In searching for something absurd to share, I had to agree with the National Day Calendar’s retelling of events that took place in America between 1913 and 1920.

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An Extraordinary Thanksgiving

There are traditions around the holidays. Each family has their own traditional brand while still conforming to the “norms” set long ago. Cooking a turkey for Thanksgiving is the norm. How we cook our turkey, that’s another subject all together. Roasting, deep frying, cooking it on a rotisserie. All these are great.

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National Macchiato Day

Today is National Macchiato Day. So the first question is what the heck is Macchiato and how does it differ from Cappuccino? Both drinks are made with shots of espresso and steamed milk. The differences are the espresso to milk ratio and the type of milk. One utilizes both steamed and foam milk, while the other uses only the foam itself.
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