who else is completely obsessed with Mediterranean food?? falafel, hummus, tzatziki, tabouleh and mmmmm the babaganoush.. when the flavors of garlic, lemon and eggplant all come together to form this rich, creamy dip, the result is magical!

i put my own little spin on this version and decided to make it with roasted garlic.. because.. roasted garlic.. YUM! i could eat roasted garlic on in its own, it's so good, but i digress. . .

these carrots are absolutely divine!  they're sweet, savory, slightly salt and tangy and so delicious!  to be honest, they're even great raw!  this sauce makes a great glaze for roasted carrots or even a great dipping sauce for raw carrot sticks.  i could munch on these ALL dayyyy long! 

i used a chili infused maple syrup in this recipe and added a dash of cayenne to add just a hint of spice to these.  they aren't overwhelming spicy at all, but just have a really nice kick at the end.  but if spice isn't your thing . . .

if you're doing a holiday meal for a small group, or even just yourself, a great way to save yourself lots of time and energy is to order a pre-made loaf or frozen meal like this Veestro Turk'y Scaloppini dinner and dress it up with some of your own favorite sides and sauces.  this meal came with some green beans and sweet potato mash on the side, but thanksgiving meals, in my opinion, are all about the sides . . .

This is my signature quinoa.  I made it for the first time a couple of years ago, and ever since, I’ve been making it regularly for dinner, lunch, as a side at parties, etc.  If you haven’t noticed yet, I love cumin.  I think it’s such a great spice that goes so well with so many different flavors.  I just love the flavor of the cumin along with the black beans in this dish.  And what’s especially great about this dish, aside from the flavor and all the protein from the quinoa and the beans, is . . .

So my honey went to Vegas a couple weeks ago for a business trip and he came back with a packet of ketchup from In-and-Out Burger.  I guess when the cat’s 🐈 away, the mice 🐁 will play… and eat fast food!  

Well lucky for me, seeing the ketchup reminded me of some once swooned over “Animal Style Fries” 🍟 that I tried a few years back when we were on our ”babymoon” in California while I was pregnant with Zoey.  I had never eaten at In-and-Out Burger before that trip and being a Miami native, I hadn’t yet felt the effect of the In-and-Out craze that has swept the West Coast.   

So naturally, I knew nothing of their secret menu until a California native friend told me that I had to try their “Animal Style Fries.”  🍟 I had no idea what he was talking about and told him I hadn’t seen that on their menu (yes, we went multiple times during that trip), but he insisted that I go up to the counter and order “Animal Style Fries” and they’d oblige.  So I did.  And at that very moment . . .

Unfortunately for sweet potatoes, they aren’t the most attractive looking spuds to begin with… and featuring them in this recipe doesn’t make them much more appealing to the eye, or so I’ve been told.  I sent a picture of this dish to one of my friends and he told me he thought he was looking at a hornet’s nest.  I’m not exactly sure what a hornet’s nest looks like, but I am pretty sure that he didn’t mean it as a compliment.  So let’s go ahead and refer to these loaded sweet potatoes as rustic, so as not to be insulting.  And in all fairness . . . 

Fall is finally here and with the season comes warm, earthy flavors and lots and lots of gourds! Fall is by far my favorite time of year--we've got a bunch of October birthdays in my family (mine included) and Halloween and Thanksgiving (hands down my favorite holidays--I mean, it's gotta be pretty obvious that I'd favor holidays that are all about food, right?).  

Then there's the pumpkin... Can we talk about pumpkin for a minute? Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Pumpkin Beer . . . 

This week’s mid-week inspiration is a fresh tasting side dish that’s quick and so easy to put together for a BBQ, party or last minute dinner.  And I don't even need to tell you that it's delicious... How could it not be when the three main ingredients are corn, avocado, and black beans?  Those three go together like . . . 

I absolutely LOVE both mangoes and avocados, I mean, who doesn't?  Actually, I tend to meet a lot of people who say they don't like mangoes and I just don't understand.  Really, what's not to like?  I guess cutting mangoes is never too much fun because they're pretty messy and I always fight with them to get every last bit off of the seed and skin, but . . .

This is a rich, creamy and raw spin on an Italian classic. 

I recently got to thinking about eggplant rollatini and decided I wanted to try putting a healthy spin on the classic Italian dish.  Since I couldn’t really imagine eating raw eggplant because . . .

These pretzels bites are the perfect handheld snack for a football party!

We’re extra excited about this week’s recipes over here in the Minnie Chef’s Kitchen!  We always enjoy doing some themed cooking, and this week, the theme is football parties!  An old classmate of mine has a collaborative beer tasting show, called Beer Undercover, that he broadcasts live every Sunday morning at 10 a.m. on Periscope.  If you’re a beer drinker, you should definitely tune in . . .