What is it about the cool weather that makes you crave all the comfort foods? With the temperature dropping we have been eating a lot of risotto. Usually we have so much left over and I don’t know what to do with it. So I was thinking why not fry it?

I used our favorite classic parmesan risotto and made a light crispy crust. Serve with your favorite marinara and extra cheese!

Best part is stuffing them with fresh mozzarella. You end up with a yummy bite reminiscent of mozzarella sticks.

Even picky eaters with love these!

Ingredients–

2 cups of risotto chilled

1 ball of fresh mozzarella

1 cup of all purpose flour

1 cup of panko or bread crumbs

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp Italian seasoning

3 eggs beaten

2 cups of marinara sauce

Canola oil for frying

Fresh Parmesan and parsley for topping

Directions-

Roll risotto into even sized balls

Cut mozzarella into bite size pieces and place inside each risotto ball

Just make sure the cheese is covered

Heat oil to 350 degrees

Season flour with garlic and Italian seasoning

Roll each ball into the flour, dip into eggs and cover with panko

Fry until golden

They will start to float when they are heated through

Season with salt and pepper

Serve with marinara Parmesan and parsley

Enjoy!!!

My instapot is my favorite kitchen appliance when it starts getting cold out. I love being able to get big flavors in half the time. This soup is easy to make with minimal ingredients, but still delivers hearty bites!

I started by caramelizing two large yellow onions with butter and a spoonful of brown sugar.

This broth takes on the deep onion flavor. When the bread soaks the broth up it is so delicious!

Ingredients

1 pound chuck roast

3 large yellow onions chopped

2 cups of beef bone broth

1 tbsp brown sugar

3 tbsp of worcestershire

1/4 cup butter

1 tsp dried thyme or one bunch of fresh

1 tsp chopped garlic

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

French bread and smoked Gouda for topping

Directions

In the instapot heat a little oil on the sauté setting and sear each side of the beef

Switch to meat/stew setting

Add the onions, butter, brown sugar, herbs, garlic, and worcestershire

Cook for one hour then add the bone broth.

Stew for another hour until the beef is easy to pull apart

Season with salt and pepper

Top with toasted bread and cheese

I like to broil my cheese bread for a few seconds before topping

Top with fresh herbs and enjoy!

We always order Cajun shrimp. In our neighborhood there is always an amazing seafood boil a stone throw away. I wanted to branch out and try something a little different. The flavor of this sauce is unlike anything I’ve ever tried!

I made mountain bread in our cast iron skillet and could not wait to make something for dipping! The sauce is so rich and filled with garlic. I added sausage to add even more flavor.

The first time I made this sauce Patrick immediately came into the kitchen to figure out what I was making. The sautéed garlic and onion with the lemon butter is mouth watering.

Ingredients

1 pound of shrimp

Two links of bratwurst or sausage of your choice

1 tbsp of smoked paprika

1 tsp of garlic powder

3 cloves of chopped garlic

1 small chopped yellow onion

1/2 cup of butter

3 bay leaves

Zest from one lemon

Juice from two lemons

3 tbsp of Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp of olive oil

Directions

In a large sauté pan over medium heat warm the olive oil

Add the onion and chopped garlic

Sauté until onions are translucent

Add the sausage and butter

When the sausage is about half way cooked at the shrimp, paprika, garlic powder,worcestershire sauce, lemon zest and juice

You should have a good amount of sauce simmering at this point, if you need more feel free to add a little water or broth

Top with bay leaves and simmer until sausage is cooked

Shrimp will be pink and curled

Remove bay leaves and season with salt and lots of black pepper

Enjoy with super crusty bread!!!!

Last weekend we were at the mall and the kids wanted to stop for pretzels. Something about the warm buttery dough sprinkled with salt makes me think of summer. Long pool days and mall shopping with lots of pretzel bites.

I wanted to take our favorite treat up a notch with garlic butter, fresh herbs, and Parmesan cheese.

Paired with spicy honey mustard and smoked sausage you can have a perfect appetizer board.

You can use any fresh herbs you have available. Parsley, basil, oregano and rosemary would all be great.

Ingredients

2 cups of AP flour

1/4 cup salted butter

2 tbsp of sugar

1/4 cup of butter milk

1 cup of warm water

1 packet of active yeast

1 egg mixed with a tsp of water

1 tsp of baking soda

For the topping

2 tbsp of melted butter

1 tsp of chopped garlic

1 tsp of chopped herbs

1/4 cup of grated Parmesan

For the mustard

1/4 cup of honey

2 tbsp of hot sauce

2 tbsp of Dijon mustard

Pepper

Directions

Heat water to luke warm and pour into a large mixing bowl with the sugar and yeast

Add in the buttermilk, butter and flour

Using a dough hook to mix until everything is combined

Let rise for at least two hours

I like using plastic wrap to cover the bowl to keep air out

In a large pot boil water and sprinkle in the baking soda

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees

Roll dough into long strips and tie into knots or pretzel shapes

Brush the egg and water mix onto each pretzel

Bake until they start to brown

Mix the melted butter garlic and herbs

Drizzle over all the pretzels and cover in the Parmesan

Continue baking until brown and cooked through

For the sauce mix the mustard honey and hot sauce

Season with pepper

Enjoy!

It has officially been a month since we got married! Today is actually my birthday. Patrick took the day off so we could spent some time together. We have both been working crazy hours to catch up from our wedding time off.

The entire past month has honestly been a blur. We got back our amazing wedding pictures and have been working on framing/hanging them throughout the house. Today we finished putting together some furniture that we desperately needed for our bedroom. Hopefully now I can stop tossing the clean laundry on our folding table 😬.

One thing that has definitely changed is our eating! We were eating straight junk food the first two weeks after we got back. Now that the weather is perfect we have been grilling almost every day.

These adobo bowls are so fresh and delicious! If you are going lower carb like me just skip the rice and beans here.

I love these because if you have anything left over it is so easy to toss into a wrap with some egg and have the best breakfast burrito. PS did you know mission tortilla has mini low carb wraps now? They are the perfect serving size and only 4 net carbs!

Ingredients

Boneless skinless chicken thighs

Chipotle chilis in adobo sauce

Garlic powder

2 limes

1 cup of prepared basmati rice

1 cup chopped peppers and onions

1 handful of asparagus

1 cup of pico or 1 cup of chopped tomatoes, onions, and jalapeños

1 can of low fat refried beans

2 ears of sweet corn

Optional toppings: avocado, cheese, sour cream

Directions

Prepare a grill or grill pan

Marinade chicken thighs with 1 chopped chipotle chili and 2 tbsp of sauce, 1 tsp garlic powder, salt /pepper, half of a lime juiced, 1 tablespoon of olive oil

Grilled until cooked through

Cook off your peppers and onions until fork tender ( I cook mine on the grill with a grill pan)

Grill the asparagus with a little olive oil and salt

Grill the corn with a little olive oil and salt (smoked paprika is good here too!)

Slice off the cobb and set to the side

Heat refried beans through

Toss the rice with the rest of the limes juiced, one lime zested, lots of pepper, salt to taste

Assemble the bowls! I like to put my veggies down and top with chicken, Patrick likes the rice and beans down and top with everything else

These are especially good with the chipotle Tabasco sauce drizzled on top!

Enjoy!!!! These are one of our favorite meals! Super easy for meal prep!

When I think breakfast I think savory, fluffy, toasty buttered breads. One of our favorite breakfast sandwiches is an everything bagel with eggs and bacon. The garlic onion crunchy topping is perfect.

Sometimes I am in the mood for something quick and we usually don’t have bread in the house so I experimented with some of my favor flavors!

Grits are definitely a southern thing. I actually can’t believe most of the people I meet either don’t like grits or like them with sugar. Anytime I have a grits recipe I usually enlist Patrick’s son to be my official taster. He loves his grits really creamy with lots of hot sauce.

These are soooo easy, but have a lot of flavor. We love the Trader Joe’s everything but the bagel seasoning, but you can definitely make your own. All you need is dehydrated chopped onion, garlic powder, sea salt, and black sesame seeds.

Ingredients

1 cup of fast cooking grits cooked to package instructions

2 tsp of everything bagel seasoning

1/2 tsp garlic powder

5 tbsp of butter

1/4 cup of cream cheese

1/2 cup of smoked Gouda

Directions

Cook grits to package instructions

Add cream cheese and 3 tbsp of butter

whip with a fork until creamy

Add in Gouda and garlic powder

Pour into two serving bowls

Top with butter and everything bagel seasoning

Enjoy!!

This past weekend was our wedding shower! Only 21 days until I am a Mrs!

I cannot wait! As much fun as the planning has been the past year, I am definitely ready to wrap it up!

So let’s talk about these sandwiches. One of my guilty pleasures is a sausage egg and cheese McMuffin. Obviously, that is not on my wedding approved food list. I decided to try and make a lightened up version.

These homemade English muffins are so airy and light. Once you toast them they are nearly identical to the popular fast food version. The sausage I made from scratch because I wanted to know exactly what was in them. Lots of fennel seeds and crushed red pepper make them soooo good.

Ingredients

1 pound of ground pork

1 tbsp of garlic

1 tsp of crushed red pepper

1 tsp of fennel

Salt and pepper

3 cups of bread flour

1 cup warm water

1 tbsp of sugar

1 packet of active yeast

1/2 tsp of salt

1 egg

2 tbsp butter

American cheese

Scrambled or steamed egg

Directions

In a mixer attach the dough hook

In the bowl add warm water, sugar and yeast until the yeast bubbles

Add in the butter and egg

Slowly add the flour and salt

Let rise for 1 hour

Roll into 6 even balls of dough

Heat a non stick skillet with oil or butter to medium low

Press down the dough balls

Cook each side for about 5 minutes

Mix the sausage with garlic, salt, pepper, crushed pepper, and fennel

Brown patty shapes in a skillet until cooked through

Toast the muffin and add the sausage, egg and cheese

Still a treat, but slightly less calories!

Enjoy!