Cajun Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo

Thanks to Pinterest, I came across yet another delicious recipe! As I've mentioned before, I'm slightly addicted to pasta so I'm always on the lookout for a different recipe. This one caught my eye because Cajun pasta isn't something I've had before so I was intrigued and excited to cook it up.

This recipe makes A LOT of food - it can easily feed 6 or more (as the original blogger states), and I don't mean the kind of 'servings' you eat to avoid overeating. In fact, my hubby and I (a.k.a. pasta fiend), had quite the feed of it and had an entire casserole dish left over that we were then able to heat up the following night for supper with my mom and sister. So it's a great dish if you've got company coming over, or if you have a busy week (it's great as leftovers as well).

Anywho, down to the recipe:

Heirloom Tomatoes - check!

A couple of mornings ago, as I was chowing down on a delicious omelette made by the hubby, I was informed it included heirloom tomatoes. If you're wondering why that's significant, it's because it's one of the items on my Food List Challenge I've yet to cross off! As excited as I was to be crossing something off, I was also disappointed because having just woken up, and being the typical semi-vein/appearance-conscious female, I did not want to be photographed at that early hour (lol judge away!). 

With that said, I wanted to share the good news that I've progressed a little further on my Food List Challenge, and I just happened to pick up another heirloom tomato to taste and capture on camera... you know, when I'm not half zombie in the morning ;) Stay tuned!!

Roasted Marshmallows... in the oven!!

It's true my friends, you can roast Marshmallows at home. No fire pit? No beach? No problem! Pull up a chair to your toasty oven and prepare yourself one of your favourite treats! I'm a marshmallow purist and prefer to eat it sans chocolate and wafer; however, these would be perfect for S'mores as well.

5 Minute Chocolate Chip Cookies in a Mug!

If you follow me on Twitter or Pinterest - which you should ;) - you would know I've been up to a lot lately in the land of food. I've been eating (more than I should), Instagramming everything (from pineapple and custard sundaes down the Cape to baking bread with my nan), and pinning my little heart out. I seem to be getting a backlog of items to blog about so I figured I'd start off with something quick and yummy that you all would appreciate... Chocolate Chip Mug Cookies!

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By now you've probably taken 2 years off the life of your microwave on account of making so many 5 minute chocolate cakes... or maybe that's just me? Either way, there's a new 5 minute concoction in town and as an admitted chocolate-chip-cookie-a-holic, I couldn't be happier. I still have the original email for the cake recipe from 4 or 5 years ago, aptly entitled 'The most dangerous recipe you'll ever know'. However, after making and eating this cookie recipe, I can honestly say the 5 minute cake has been dethroned in my mind.

Now it doesn't taste the same as an oven baked cookie, but it get's the point across and can knock a craving on it's ass!

Mini Baked Brie Cups

Ooey-gooey, flaky and sweet!

I've said before that trying new and tasty things is relatively new to me, after all, it's only been approximately 2 years since my first taste of sushi! With that said, back in March, while out celebrating my sister's birthday, I had my first taste of Brie. It was baked in phyllo pastry, served warm, and paired with a berry coulis! Delicious!!

Ever since then, I've been in search of a good, baked, ooey-gooey-goodness recipe for Brie. Thanks to Pinterest (Follow me!), and the blog Big Red Kitchen, I found exactly what I was in search of - Mini Baked Brie Cups :)

Candied Bacon Chocolates!!

Homemade Candied Bacon Chocolates

I was going to hold off on posting about these as they're a birthday surprise for my husband; however, with father's day this weekend and many of you still searching for the perfect gift, I thought why not share my recipe, I mean what father wouldn't love a box of these?!

To be honest, a friend gave me the idea by melting chocolate bars and adding bacon, but I wanted to kick it up a notch and take the bacon to the next level! So to all of you out there battling your siblings for your father's attention, or vying for the status of 'the favourite', I give to you Candied Bacon Chocolates, your trump card, your secret weapon. Not only are they homemade (a.k.a. from the heart), they involve bacon... and not just any bacon, candied bacon... and not just ANY candied bacon... candied bacon suspended in a luxurious chocolate coating.... *sigh* that's right, these are the mother... *clears throat* I mean father! of all chocolates ;)

Homemade Oatmeal Fudge Bars!

If this doesn't make you drool I'm not sure what will!

As much as I strive to be a healthy eater, and as hard as I try to maintain it, I do have my binge moments. Lately, I've wanted nothing more than some ooey-gooey sweetness that my cupboard full of sour cream and onion crackers and chip-wannabes could never come close to satisfying. I'm talking soft and chewy, melt-in-your-mouth, chocolatey goodness.

Thanks to Pinterest (follow me) and a blog by the name of 'One More Moore', I found a recipe for what I consider to be homemade Starbucks Oatmeal Fudge Bars. So, on a pretty mellow Saturday night, my hubby and I brought Starbucks home - he prepped the skinny vanilla's and I prepped the fudge bars.

Beef & Sausage Chili

As I sit here impatiently waiting for some oh-so-yummy cookies to bake and cool, I thought hey! why not write a blog entry?! So, in honour of the authors of my absolute favourite cookbook (The Looneyspoons Collection), who just yesterday received the title of best cookbook at the 2012 New York Book Festival, I'd like to blog about one of their delicious recipes: Crock-a-Doodle-Do Beef & Sausage Chili :)

Now I'm aware my photos don't always do these dishes justice (I'm working on it!), but trust me when I say this was incredible! My husband said this was hands down the best chili he had ever eaten (and let me tell ya, he considers himself to be a bit of a chili connoisseur). In all honesty, and this is embarrassing to admit, this was actually the FIRST chili I'd ever eaten (I know right!?!). You see I've never enjoyed the texture of beans; however, based solely on their health benefits, I've decided to suck it up and work on our relationship! And I will admit, the few leftovers we had from this chili were devoured by yours truly!

The reason I'm telling you all of this, is because if you're anything like me and are trying to mend a broken relationship with beans, this is the recipe to do it with. I didn't even notice the beans amongst all of the other deliciousness happening in the bowl. I highly recommend - as does my hubby who can't stop talking about it ;)

Wingin' It with the friends!

Tonight was my friend Josh's birthday, to celebrate we took him to the restaurant of his choice: Wingin' It. He'd never been and wanted to try it out, and let's be honest, what better way to spend your birthday than eating wings and drinking beer?

Now I'd been there once before and the food was pretty good, so I was happy to go again. Not to mention, they have 93 flavours of wings so there's lots to try! 

See! 93 flavours!

Julie & Julia

I don't have much to say in this post other than I love this movie and have been in the mood to watch it lately. If you haven't seen it, or if it was on your list of movies to watch and you forgot it existed, here's your reminder, go watch it! You'll love it, I promise ;)

Obi Wonton Kenobi

This is yet another successful recipe from The Looneyspoons Collection. Surprise ...not! I've learned pretty much anything I cook from that book will taste phenomenal and have a super corny awesome name... like this one :)

But I'll be honest, when I read through the ingredients I was very skeptical as to whether I would I like it. However, I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. Just looking back through these photos makes me drool! This is pretty much the perfect soup to make for anyone you want to impress. The prep work is easy (just repetitive), and the cook time is less than 10 minutes. It's by far the tastiest wonton soup I've ever had!

Clean that Fruit!

So recently I re-pinned a fruit/veggie cleaning technique on Pinterest (follow me! Food Diva). It involved filling a sink with water, adding a cup of vinegar and allowing the fruit/veggies to soak for 10 minutes. After returning from the grocery store yesterday I decided to give it a whirl.

Guess what? It works!! And it works great! I used a large bowl and approximately a 1/4 cup of vinegar. I emptied the water/vinegar concoction after 10 or so minutes, gave the fruit another rinse under the tap, drained it again and presto! Ready to eat, delicious wax-free, dirt-free fruit with no effort.

You're welcome!

Grapes & Cherries Soaking

Chicken Tikka Masala - Check!

Scarfing down some Chicken Tikka Masala!

Yesterday you saw me check Tom Yum off my Food List Challenge - today, Chicken Tikka Masala! Now don't get too excited, I won't be able to keep this pace all summer, but at this rate I could easily clear the list no problem.

Basmati Rice, Chicken Tikka Masala, Pappadums & Naan

As opposed to yesterday, where I added water and microwaved, I actually cooked the dish in question today. It was a store bought paste, so I don't take all the credit but it still counts towards my checks!

Tom Yum - Check!

Slurpin back some Tom Yum

1 down, 9 to go baby! That's right my friends, tonight I'm 1 step closer to meeting my 10-new-foods-over-the-summer goal. First item to check off my Food List Challenge - Tom Yum.

Now you may be looking at the photo above thinking... that doesn't look like any Thai Resatuarant I've been to! Or maybe you're thinking ...I guess she grabbed some take-out? Sadly neither. This Tom Yum came to me courtesy of the international section of my local grocery store.

Now I understand if you're concerned that I might not have gotten the full effect of a 'proper Tom Yum'; however, since St. John's lacks a Thai restaurant these days, it was really my only option.

Pasta Portioning Made Easy!

You know that voice in the back of your head that says  'I dunno... that doesn't look like enough spaghetti for 2 people', that voice that convinces you to add another handful... that voice that convinces you to put on enough pasta for 4 or 5 when you're feeding 2? Yeah, well Pasta Portioning Failures rejoice - there's a tool for that!

1) Portion Control 3-in-1 Pasta Basket

If you've been searching for a pasta measure that measures piece-y pasta, this is it! It was actually the only version I found that wasn't meant for stick pastas.

Buy Here

My Food List Challenge Pledge

Have you seen this on FB? 'The Food List Challenge'? It's supposedly a list of foods that qualify you as a foodie. Seems like an odd mix of things to be honest - some of the things on here seem legit, but dishes like Frito Pie? Moon Pie? and Hostess Fruit Pie? leave me a little skeptical of its authenticity and makes me think someone thought 'oh man this needs to be a list of 100 not 86, quick think of some random foods...'. To be honest, I question the credibility of the list and would much rather see the 'must eat' list put together by the food network chefs instead... I have a funny feeling Pocky wouldn't make the cut!

My Food List Challenge results as of June 2, 2012