Did you know Kernel’s Seasons has 3 new savory flavors?  Pizza, Bacon Cheddar, and Buffalo Wing.

Let me give you the run-down:

1) Pizza

If you like pizza, you’ll like this flavor.  It kind of reminded me of  Pizza Pringles, only better because you can control the amount you use.  I made crackers with this flavor and it added a subtle taste of pizza.  The crackers were so good (I’ll have the recipe up soon), and I give credit to the flavoring.  Taste (on a scale of 1-10): 8.

2) Bacon Cheddar

I’m kind of obsessed with this one.  Every time I make eggs now, I put this flavoring on them.  It tastes like bacon and cheddar and for all you calorie counters, you can get the taste for 90% less calories.  If you don’t care about calories, it’s still good. Taste: 9.

3) Buffalo Wing

Wellllll… I liked this one when I tried it plain.  But, for some reason, when I put it on popcorn and ate the popcorn it gave me (and everyone else who tried it) a burning sensation in my nose.  Not pleasant.  I’m sure it would be good on chicken, but I wouldn’t suggest putting it on popcorn.  Taste: 6. 

Kernel Season’s sent me three sample bottles of their new seasonings in order to write this post. The opinions expressed are all my own.

My friend’s uncle drives a cereal truck, so anytime he gets cereal, everyone I live with gets it, too.

This time, we got Rice Krispies, so I wanted to do something creative with them.  (Don’t worry, I’ve also made rice krispie treats twice now.)

I found a recipe for Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookies, used it, and took it to another level.  They turned out really good.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they tasted like brownies covered with crunchy chocolate chip cookies.  Weird, huh?  My brains not doing so well with descriptions right now, I think it’s because I just finished FINALS!! Yay!!!

What’s your favorite recipe for Rice Krispies?

Rice Krispie Chocolate Chip Cookie Brownies

Adapted from: Rice Krispies and  All Recipes

Ingredients:

Cookies:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 egg
• 1 cup rice krispies
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Brownies:

• ½ cup oil
• ¾ cup sugar
• 3 eggs
• ½ cup flour
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp baking powder

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. First, make the cookie dough.  In large electric mixer bowl, beat together margarine and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well.
3. Mix  flour, baking soda and salt into butter mixture  until combined. Stir in rice krispies and chocolate chips. Set aside.
4. Then, make brownies.  In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, and sugar. Beat in eggs.
5. Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt; gradually stir into the egg mixture until well blended.
6. Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.  Drop cookie mixture evenly over the top of the brownie batter.
7. Bake in preheated oven for 35-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

• 4 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 1/2 cups white sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flour

Frosting:

• 1/4 cup butter, softened (you can use margarine but the flavor will not be the same)
• 1 1/3 cups confectioners’ sugar , sifted
• 1/8 cup half-and-half cream (can use unwhipped whipping cream in place of half and half) or 1/3 cup milk (can use unwhipped whipping cream in place of half and half)
• 1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder , sifted
• 1/2 tsp almond extract

Chocolate coating:

• 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup heavy cream

You may know Ingrid Hoffmann as the bubbly host of her Food Network show Simply Delicioso and Delicioso on Galavisión. But if you ask Ingrid what she does, her answer is a bit different. “My official title on my bio is ‘professional eater’,” she says. “I never set out to become a cook. I just set out to make my loved ones and myself delicious meals.”

With Cinco de Mayo just around the corner, the Latin cook shared some festive and authentic recipes with us. Her mouth-watering menu is not only delicious, but also pays homage to the Battle of Puebla (when the Mexican army defeated French forces on May 5, 1862).

Before we get to her recipes, we sat down with Ingrid to chat about her early days in the kitchen and how she celebrates the holiday in her own home. Feliz Cinco de Mayo!

___________________________________________________________________

When did you first start cooking?
Ingrid Hoffman: I started at a very early age in my mom’s kitchen, where she started a catering company from our little house. She had just come back from studying at Cordon Bleu in France, so I was always coming home to crazy quantities of food being prepared in our kitchen. I was a curious child, and they were always trying to shoo me out, but somehow they couldn’t. And here I am.

Has your background influenced your cooking?
IH: Living in different countries expands your palette.  I grew up in a house where we ate everything—Colombian, Mexican, Peruvian, Bolivian, Argentinian, Caribbean and Basque food. I make food from 22 Latin countries, including Spain. I do a little bit of it all.

What are some of your favorite ingredients to work with?
IH: I would say cilantro, avocado, quinoa and chiles.

How will you celebrate Cinco de Mayo?
IH: With lots of food and drinks! To me, it’s a day to make a one-pot meal. I don’t want to fuss.

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Ingrid shared three easy-to-follow recipes with us. It’s easy to fill up on the bacon guacamole and guava-jalapeño margaritas before making it to the main course: Tinga Poblana (Mexican pulled pork), but we promise it’s worth saving a little room!

“To me, entertaining is about smart menus and recipes. Place guacamole and tortilla chips next to the pulled pork and set up a great self-serve station.”

“Have all the garnishes ready for the margaritas. You can pre-make the mix and pour it into ice cube trays and freeze it, so you have a bucket of flavored ice cubes that won’t water down your margaritas. The guava-jalapeño margarita is a fun twist on your typical margarita—you’re really making homage to this incredible country with foods that represent it.”

“Tinga Poblana is a lot of bang for your buck and little effort,” says Ingrid. “You set it to boil, shred it, mix it with a few things and you’ve got your main meal done.”

___________________________________________________________________

Bacon Guacamole
Serves 6

What You’ll Need:
8 to 10 bacon slices (about 1/2 pound)
3 medium Haas avocados, halved, seeded and peeled
1 tomato, halved, cored, seeded and chopped
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 serrano chiles, finely chopped (seeded and ribbed for less heat)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
3 tablespoons fresh lime juice (from about 1 1/2 limes)
Salt

What You’ll Do:

1. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook until each side is brown and crisp, about 7 to 10 minutes total. Transfer the bacon to a paper towel-lined plate and let it cool completely. Chop the bacon into small bits and set aside.

2. Mash the avocados in a medium bowl until the texture is semi-smooth. Stir in the crumbled bacon.

3. Pat tomatoes dry with a paper towel and add to the avocado mixture. Gently stir in the onion, chiles, cilantro and lime juice. Taste and add salt if necessary; the bacon may add enough saltiness on its own.

___________________________________________________________________

Guava-Jalapeño Margaritas
Serves 4

What You’ll Need:
3 jalapeño chiles
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons tequila
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 5 limes), plus extra lime wedges for the glass rims (optional)
1/4 cup Cointreau or Grand Marnier
3 tablespoons guava juice
Coarse salt or margarita salt (optional)

What You’ll Do:
1. Place 2 whole jalapeños and the tequila in a small bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside for a day.

2. Pour the tequila into a pitcher or large punch bowl and add the lime juice, Cointreau, and guava juice. Stir to combine and chill in the refrigerator.

3. If you would like to have a salted rim for your margaritas, place the salt on a flat plate. Rub a lime wedge around the rim of each glass, turn it upside down on to the salt, and then twist the glass in the salt to coat the rim.

4. Thinly slice the remaining jalapeño. Serve the margarita straight up in a martini glass with some jalapeños floating in the glass or slit one side of the jalapeño ring and hang on the side of the glass.

___________________________________________________________________

Mexican Pulled Pork (Tinga Poblana)
Serves 8

What You’ll Need:
1 pound (about 3 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1 (2 to 3-pound) pork loin
1 yellow onion, chopped, plus 1/2 yellow onion left whole
2 garlic cloves, smashed
2 bay leaves
12 ounces raw chorizo, casing removed
5 small tomatoes, peeled, cored and chopped
2 canned chipotle chiles en adobo, finely chopped (seeded and ribbed for less heat)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
Salt

For serving
16 corn or flour tortillas
4 medium Haas avocados, halved, pitted, peeled and sliced
1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
Lime wedges

What You’ll Do:

1. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender, about 20 minutes. Drain the potatoes and set aside.

2. Place the pork in a large pot of water. Add the onion, garlic, and bay leaves and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently until the pork is cooked through, about 45 minutes. Remove the pork from the water and set it aside until it is cool enough to handle (discard the cooking liquid). Using your fingers or two forks, shred the meat into small pieces and set aside.

3. Break the chorizo into small pieces and fry it over medium-high heat in a large skillet or pot, stirring often, 8 to 10 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the chorizo to a paper towel-lined plate. Add the chopped onion to the same skillet and cook, stirring often, until soft, about 3 to 5 minutes. Add the shredded pork, potatoes, tomatoes, and chipotle chiles and cook until the tomatoes break down and release their juices, about 15 minutes. Return the cooked chorizo to the pan and stir in the vinegar, thyme, marjoram and some salt. Continue to cook over medium heat until some of the liquid has evaporated, about 5 minutes.

4. While the pork cooks, heat a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add a tortilla and warm for 10 to 15 seconds. Flip the tortilla over and continue to warm until the tortilla is pliable and heated through, about another for 10 to 20 seconds. Place on a plate, cover with a kitchen towel, and set aside; repeat with the remaining tortillas (or simply warm the tortillas in the microwave).

5. Place pork in a serving bowl or bring it to the table in the cooking pot. Arrange the tortillas, avocado, and cilantro on a platter so guests can fill a tortilla with some of the meat and accompaniments. Pass a bowl of lime wedges around the table to squeeze over each serving.

I’m so glad everyone loved Rach’s post as much as I did.

To keep it savory, I’m giving you a delicccious creamy corn soup recipe.  Creamed corn is delicious.  Probably because it’s the bad-for-you form of regular corn.  I’m okay with that.

If I can make an excuse to turn it into soup and make it into an acceptable meal, I will…and I did.

This is so good, especially with sweet cornbread (if you click on this link, please excuse the terrible pictures.) If you’re looking for a quick, but yummy meal, this is the one for you.

Creamy Corn Soup
All Recipes

Ingredients

• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoon garlic salt
• 1 tablespoon margarine
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup chicken broth
• 2 (12 ounce) cans whole kernel corn
• 2 1/2 tablespoons cream cheese
• 1 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• ground cayenne pepper to taste

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Hiya! I’m so excited to be guest posting for Katie today! She is just the sweetest and her recipes always look amazing. Plus, can I just say how adorable she is? Check out that profile picture! Cute-ness! So, when Katie asked if I would be willing to do a guest post for her, I immediately agreed.

Maybe I’m the only one who feels like this when guest posting, but I feel as if I must share the absolute most perfect recipe. I racked my brain and searched through all my favorite recipes trying to come up with just the perfect one to share. My absolutely two favorite foods are Spaghetti and Pizza so I thought I should probably share a recipe featuring one of those. But I couldn’t pick. It was like choosing between your children – you love them the same! Not that I have children or anything, but you get the idea.

So, instead I decided on my favorite appetizer! Toasted Ravioli. Let’s just take a moment to consider the deliciousness that is toasted ravioli…

Gooey cheese inside a crispy shell dunked in your favorite marinara sauce. Delightful.

Okay, moment done because it is so time to share this recipe! I hope you guys love this as much as my husband and I do!

Toasted Ravioli

Ingredients:

6 eggs
3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups mozzarella cheese, cubed or grated
1 cup olive oil
1 cup parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

1. Clean a large space on a table or countertop and mound the flour onto the surface. Make a well in the center of the flour and crack your eggs directly into it. I know that sounds crazy, but just trust me. If you absolutely must use a bowl, pick a large one so you have plenty of space to work. Then, (this is where it gets a little messy) slowly mix the flour and eggs together with your hands or a wooden spoon until it all comes together.

2. Flour your surface (or a new one if your area got too messy) and knead the dough until it is smooth and pliable (you are likely to need to add more flour). If you had a Kitchenaid mixer with a dough hook, this would be a great time to pull it out. It is kind of cheating, but kind of not since the end result will be the same: delicious, crunchy, gooey ravioli… but I’m getting ahead of myself.

3. Allow dough to rest for 5-10 minutes then begin to roll it out. If you have a pasta maker then you are in luck, my friend! Rolling it out is quick and painless. If you don’t have one then you can do what my husband and I did the first couple of years before we owned a pasta maker – roll it out by hand.  The trick to this, is to roll it out as thinly as possible with your rolling pin because the pasta will plump up significantly after it goes in the water.

4. Slice dough into 3” x 6” strips. Take one dough strip and fold in half. Seal two edges (third edge should just be a fold in the dough). Open the pocket and put approximately 1 tsp of mozzarella cheese in the center. Seal the forth side with a fork or wooden spoon. Place each ravioli on a platter/cookie sheet/large surface until you can finish the rest. Repeat with next dough strip until all are complete.

5. Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add a little olive oil and then 7-9 raviolis. After 2-3 minutes, the raviolis should rise to the surface and are ready to be pulled out with a slotted spoon. Place boiled raviolis in a bowl and coat with olive oil and parmesan. Repeat with the rest of the ravioli until all have been boiled and coated.

6. Heat a generous amount of olive oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Lay a single layer of raviolis on the pan and fry until they are brown on both sides (3-6 minutes per side). Serve hot with marinara sauce and prepare yourself for a moment of bliss as you take your first bite.

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I know this recipe looks crazy long, but trust me, it’s not so bad. And really, how many of your friends can say they’ve made their own pasta from scratch? Cheers!

Congratulations to Mary Myers for winning the honey!!

Check back within the next few weeks for some recipes and a review of the honey from me.

It’s going to be a hectic next couple of weeks because my classes are just now winding down. Which means I have millions of projects to complete and tests to study for, so I’ll be having guest posts.  They’re going to be good ones!

After that, I’ll be posting more frequently. Bear with me.

Photo from: Amazon

As a food blogger, it is very important to know how to take a good food photograph.

I remember when I first started this blog… my photography skills were terrible and I still couldn’t figure out why I didn’t have any followers.  Knowing the ins and outs of food photography is that important: the difference between having followers and not having followers.   Once I figured this out, I signed up for a photography class and saved up to by a nice camera, and it was so worth it.

Two years later and I’m still learning new things every day about photography.  When I received the book Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, I was extremely excited.  There are so many things about food photography that you don’t even think about; it’s different from any other kind of photography because you have to make someone want to eat what you’re shooting and style the food correctly.  There’s so much behind it and Nicole Young, the author of the book, captures every single aspect of it perfectly.  You’ll learn so much by reading it, whether you’re a beginner or an expert.  For only 15 dollars, you can learn everything you need to know about food photography.  It’s highly recommended by me. 

You know that moment when your food arrives at the table, and it looks
so good you want to take a picture of it? Or do you have a food blog
that you’d like to enhance with better visuals? Do you want to create
photos that conjure up the flavors of your favorite foods but lack the
photographic technique to make it happen? Then you want to read this
book.
In Food Photography: From Snapshots to Great Shots, photographer
Nicole Young dishes up the basics on getting the right camera equipment
- lights, lenses, reflectors, etc. – and takes you through the key
photographic principles of aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. She then
discusses lighting and composition and shoes how to style food using
props, fabrics, and tabletops. Finally, she explains how to improve your
photos through sharpening, color enhancement, and other editing
techniques. 
Follow along with your friendly and knowledgeable guide, photographer
and author Nicole S. Young, and you will:
.    Use your camera’s settings to gain full control over the look and
 feel of your images
.    Master the photographic basics of composition, focus, depth of
field, and much more
.    Learn to enhance your food photographs using professional food
styling techniques
.    Get tips on different types of lighting, including strobes,
flashes, and natural light
.    Improve the look of your photos using Adobe Photoshop
And once you’ve got the shot, show it off! Join the book’s Flickr
group to share your photos, recipes, and food photography tips at
flickr.com/groups/foodphotographyfromsnapshotstogreatshots.
(From: Newman Communications)

Just to let you know how terrible my food photography used to be, here’s a few pictures from “before”:

Peach Bread Pudding

Sunday Morning Sticky Buns

Pumpkin Muffins

Okay, that’s enough.  I think you guys get the point… embarrassing!  If I can improve, anyone can.

Where did you learn your food photography tips?

I’m so sad that they’re shutting down on Thursday.  Looks like I’m going to have to find a new editing program.

What photo editing software do you guys use?

Anyway, back to business…these breakfast burritos are awesome!  And they’re healthy.  If I could eat them every day, I would.  Sadly, I live in the dorms and I have a meal plan so I have to eat in the university cafeteria for meals.

If you don’t have a meal plan at a dorm, then you should eat these every day for breakfast.

Homemade Egg Sausage Breakfast Tortillas
I made mine with Morningstar Farms Vegetable Crumbles, but you can make yours with sausage if you want.

Ingredients:

1 whole wheat tortilla
1/2 cup Vegetable Crumbles or sausage
1 egg
1/2 cup spinach
1 weight watchers white cheddar wedge 

Directions:

1. Cook the sausage until browned.
2. Add in the egg.
3. Use a spatula to mix the egg and sausage until the egg is cooked.
4. Microwave tortilla for 10 seconds.
5. Spread the cheddar wedge on the tortilla, layer spinach, and egg & sausage mixture on top.
6. Fold and eat!

Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for Tropical Traditions Organic Raw Honey!!!

Hey guys!

Tropical Traditions is hosting another giveaway for me.  Aren’t they awesome?  This time it’s Organic Raw Honey.

I’ve never tried raw honey before, but as soon as I receive a sample, I’ll come up with a recipe for you all.

Until then, here are some delicious recipes from the Tropical Traditions blog.  My two favorites are the Grain-Free Honey Graham Cracker Pie Crust and Honey Caramels with Chocolate, Almond and Coconut.

If you’ve never heard of Tropical Traditions before, it’s the best place to get Virgin Coconut Oil. And if you don’t know what Virgin Coconut Oil is, Tropical Traditions does a good job of explaining it.

The only requirement to enter is to:

Subscribe to Tropical Traditions newsletter and leave a comment saying you did so.

And don’t forget to leave your e-mail address so I can reach you if you win.

The giveaway will end on Monday, April 23 at 12 pm.

GOOD LUCK!