Loaded Potato Dip

Dip is kind of my thing. I don't discriminate, I absolutely love all dips and dip anything and everything that I can...including eggs in ketchup.

I need to hit the pause button here because this is something my husband has tried to ban numerous times in our household. Hot sauce is okay in his opinion but the second I reach into the refrigerator and come out with the bright red bottle the alarms go off in his head and the comments start to roll...

Slow Cooker Chili

Have you noticed I've been slightly MIA again? I hang my head in shame because already I haven't been able to keep up enough with my blog, editing it A LOT of work. More than even writing a book perhaps and to top it off, I decided to start another blog for my writing to keep my hopefully soon to be readers up to date on me. There's not much going on over there yet, but feel free to check it out here and please feel free to drop me a line saying so. I love hearing from all of you.

But let's get back to the important stuff...like food or better yet like that delicious bowl of chili I have pictured above. Truth be told a few years ago chili was not my thing, but it gradually grew on me. I was ultimately sold on chili when the husband and I had chili at Robinson's Tea Room, this unbelievable quaint and cute tea house in my area. I even got to do a restaurant review for them through Patch, a company I occasionally freelance for. It was a great experience and the owners there are just lovely, wonderful people. (See drinking tea brings out a new side of me using words like lovely and quaint!). Anyway, there chili is top notch, they have huge (tender) chunks of flank steak mixed in with chopped meat, jalapenos and beans making for an amazing bowl of chili. I wanted to replicate it and though mine was nowhere close to theirs, it was pretty darn good and we had leftovers for days!

Ultimate Mac n' Cheese

You didn't think I'd leave you hanging and not give the mac and cheese recipe I paired with my chicken fried steak did you?

Let me start by saying who doesn't love macaroni and cheese? For kids it's a sure thing kind of meal that pretty much any kid will eat and for adults this childhood favorite has somehow transformed into an elegant version that can be made with truffle oil, lobster or exotic cheeses. It's a fun, versatile kind of meal that really allows for creativity. Plus it's like an ultimate comfort food.

Chicken Fried Steak

Remember my Pioneer Woman kicks a few weeks ago? Yea, it's back. This time I wanted to try out making chicken fried steak with a side of macaroni and cheese with some tomato salad. For the record, this was my  first time eating and making chicken fried steak ever. It was really good, I'm not a hundred percent sure it was authentic but it was delicious, it was approved by the hubby too. 

The mac and cheese recipe is my own, even though PW has an amazing recipe on her blog as well and the tomato salad was inspired by her because that is what she served her chicken fried steak with too. It was a nice refreshing balance paired with the heavier steak. You can pretty much make this meal with any steak you prefer. I used a bottom round sandwich steak that I tenderized beforehand. 

Homemade Cheez-Its

I have recently found and fell in love with the FoodBuzz website, for those not familiar it's a great resource for recipes from bloggers all over the world. A few days ago I came across a recipe for homemade Cheez-Its by Katrina from In Katrina's Kitchen (her original recipe can be found here). I was immediately smitten and knew I just had to try them.

I didn't have the pastry wheel like she did so mine didn't look as pretty, but I am willing to bet they tasted just as good. Her recipe is genius, the crackers are delicious and flaky with just the right amount of crunch. Kudos to her for introducing me to making them from scratch, my husband and the rest of my family love me for making them and I know they are something I will be incorporating into my repertoire from here on.