Over the holidays, I allow a bit more lenient indulgence in my diet. Caprese bean dip happened to be that perfect blend of indulgent creamy warmth and healthful ingredient additions for an appetizer that’s fit for any gathering or game day! My awesome neighbor friend …
Delicata satay as a title is a bit misleading since satay technically refers to “meat on a skewer” if you go with the Indonesian roots to this dish. So, now I’m a rebel and breaking all the satay rules by a) using delicata squash and …
Something very exciting just happened. By that, I mean something more exciting than making homemade tater tots, which I know, is also very exciting so I’ll get to that in a minute. You guys! I just made the list of Top 100 Clean Eating Blogs! Thank you for being supportive followers and readers. I really appreciate all of you coming here to read my ramblings and creating my recipes to grace your table too. This is an honor for a simple small blog like mine particularly because most of the other blogs mentioned have literally THOUSANDS if not a million regular followers. So THANK YOU for making me feel special!
To celebrate, let’s make some tots! Homemade tater tots are relatively simple but they obviously do take more time that just pulling some out of the freezer. The great thing about homemade tots, however, is that you can season them any way that you wish or even make them super cheesy! You can freeze them as well so the next time you need some tots to top your very Minnesotan tater tot hotdish, for example, you can just pull them out for a fast healthy topping.
These lovely little tots are paired with the same sweet smoky aioli I put over some venison steaks recently. A local restaurant makes homemade cheesy tots and pairs theirs with a similar style of saucy goodness and it’s truly to die for.
These tots start with par-boiled potatoes. The potatoes get just soft enough to shred but not soft enough that they crumble. Then you simply stir in the other ingredients, form them into a tot shape or whatever shape you prefer, and bake or fry to golden pillowy goodness. Mix up a little sweet smoky aioli to dip them in which is just an combination of mayonnaise, honey, mustard and barbeque sauce. Serve these hot with the sassy sauce and you have a mouth-pleasingly poppable little appetizer!
Who can resist grilled food on a stick?!? (If you just raised your hand, I don’t think we can be friends anymore… j/k!). Indonesian in its roots, this version of satay is the slightly spicier Thai version that is popular around all of Southeast Asia. Marinating …
Holy cow! I never knew plantains could be so darn good. I’ve used plantains in crepes before but never as a chip. I ended up making these twice, once with plantain chips that I found at the market which only contained plantains and salt and …
My darling sister makes these amazing Korean meatballs and I finally had to re-create them to post for all of you looking for a delicious appetizer. I mean, who doesn’t need another tasty finger food for all of these winter game gatherings?? Or for family movie night. Or maybe just because having finger food instead of real food for dinner is more fun tonight!
Korean meatballs combine the flavors of soy, ginger, garlic and sesame with a hit of heat from a Korean condiment called gochujang which is a medium intensity hot pepper paste. The sauce ingredients are combined with a little starch to bring it to a barbeque sauce consistency which works well to coat these little balls of meaty goodness. Use the sauce as a dipper or you can place these little fellas in a crockpot already sauced for easy crowd-pleasing poppables.
Please note this post contains affiliate links
I have a confession to make. I’m having an affair. An ooey-gooey, steamy, dirty and delicious love affair with this ricotta spinach artichoke dip. It’s bordering on inappropriate with how often I’ve courted and indulged my taste buds with this dip in the past few weeks. No …
Please note this post contains affiliate linksIt has been a whirlwind this past week experimenting with fun recipes like this baked pumpkin and apple wontons and spending the last four days back on my mom’s farm for a little archery hunting and fun with my …
This past weekend we met up with some of my extended family for a camping adventure in southwest Minnesota. You guys, there was a GIANT jumping pillow at the playground that was a good 10 yards long and we adults may have taken the opportunity to nearly break our ankles jumping in the rain after dark. It was more hilarious than an episode of Wipe Out. Good times! Good times with family also means an assortment of good food. I mean, what family gathering doesn’t center around awesome simple foods? Take these perfectly poised bacon wrapped water chestnuts for example. They’re super simple and oh-so-scrumptious!!
Despite their name, a water chestnut is not a nut but is actually an aquatic vegetable with an edible tuber at the base of the plant (like a potato). Nutritionally speaking, water chestnuts are similar to other tubers and provide potassium as well as vitamin B-6. Soak ’em in soy sauce, roll in sugar and wrap these little crunchy guys in bacon and you can’t go wrong. And there you have it, a simple party pleaser in the form of bacon wrapped water chestnuts!!
I can’t wait to go camping this weekend!!! I am normally excited for camping adventures but this weekend is bound to be full of shenanigans as we’re meeting up with some extended family that we haven’t seen in quite some time. My apologies to the …
