I'm developing a passion for cooking with bourbon. My husband hates it when I cook with alcohol for whatever twisted reason, but then when he eats the food, he can't stop mumbling how good it is. So I don't listen to him when he complains because I know later on he'll be thanking me in his own way. I got this idea from a show I watched with Paula Deen in which she made a sort of bourbon rub she brushed on p ...

My latest favorite weekend breakfast is a breakfast pizza. I was a bit skeptical at first, you know, eggs on a pizza, that's got to be strange, right? Not so, it is actually quite nice. Also it's very quick to make, especially if you have the pizza dough already made. I've been making my own pizza dough now for about a couple years and I've never looked back since. It's easy to make and a pizza dough will a ...

So it's April, it's almost Easter, it is officially spring. Not in Calgary. It is snowing heavy out there as I am typing this post and I am not happy about it. It looks like December out there, but thankfully I am off for the rest of the week and I don't have to go out there. Even Mia (my beagle) would not want to step out there. She'd rather stay inside and watch TV. With me. :) I've probably mentioned thi ...

Mac and Cheese truly is the ultimate comfort food. I have to admit that since I wasn't born here, I didn't really grow up with this kind of mac and cheese. We do have our own mac and cheese and sometimes I honestly prefer that one. The Romanian version that I grew up with is macaroni with crumbled feta cheese, and if that's not weird enough for you, sometimes we put sugar over it, mix everything together an ...

Let's face it! Is there a better sandwich out there than a BLT? OK, maybe there is, but for those of you who have never had a BLT, it stands for bacon, lettuce and tomato. 3 simple ingredients that when paired together in a sandwich make for an incredible marriage. There could be many variations of the BLT, as I chose to do so here, I made an avocado BLT, but the main ingredients for a BLT sandwich are baco ...

If you've ever been to a Chinese bakery you have seen this type of meat buns among many other delicious goodies. These buns are also called pork buns, or Char Siu Bao which basically is a barbecued pork filled bun. They can be either steamed or baked as I chose to make mine. I have never tried the steamed ones, only baked, but I'm sure they are just as good. Char Siu refers to the pork filling and bao means ...

Italian pasta dishes are the best and most classic comfort foods. This baked penne with Italian sausage is sure to get everyone to the table as soon as it comes out of the oven. My husband and I don't make a lot of pasta, but every once in a while we do enjoy a good lasagna or a good Italian pasta dish. This is one of those favorites that we make every once in a while. For this penne dish I decided to use m ...

Zucchini has many health benefits. Some of these benefits include lowering cholesterol, lowering blood pressure, cancer prevention, heart attack and stroke prevention and it's also very low in calories. Now besides all those benefits, I simply just like zucchini, I like them added to salads, added to soups or here's one of my favorite ways to eat zucchini and that is to stuff them. These stuffed zucchinis a ...

One of my favorite things to get at a restaurant is nachos. Great cheesy nachos with a big strawberry margarita is my idea of a good time. It's perfect if you're out with a couple girlfriends, or your significant other. It's a great food to share while enjoying great conversation. However, I'm not always in the mood to go out to a restaurant so sometimes I make them at home. It couldn't be easier. I know th ...

This is such a delicious soup I just have to share it with you.  It's a very traditional soup, and it's one of my favorite soups. This soup is a staple at our house and we make it often.  "Ciorba" in romanian usually refers to sour soups with vegetables and some form of meat.  They are made sour by adding either lemon juice, "bors" which is fermented wheat bran, sauerkraut juice, or sometimes even vinegar. ...

Here's a nice and easy frittata that you can pretty much make any day of the week. I have to say I love frittata, and I think they especially great for a brunch on the weekend. Frittatas are also versatile, you can pretty much put whatever you have in the fridge in them, so this particular one I made with mushrooms, sausage and mozzarella cheese. It was very tasty and scrumptious. Turn the oven on to broil. ...

Here's my tried and true cabbage rolls recipe that is a must have for every Christmas. First of all, the big difference between Romanian cabbage rolls and others are that we make them with sour cabbage.  You can find sour cabbage at pretty much all grocery stores, here in Calgary, we always find them at Safeway or any Polish store.  With sour cabbage you have to be careful because it is pretty salty, so wha ...

I've been posting lots of cookie recipes lately, so I though it was time for something savory. And what better way to this than with this lasagna in a bowl. If you've never had lasagna soup, this is something you must try. It is literally like eating lasagna, except it's a lot easier to make. It's really good. My husband was mumbling and grumbling as usual as I was making it, then when he tried it he got al ...

Here in Calgary it's winter already, we've had snow and it already feels like the holidays are here. I love this time of the year, I love all the decorations and this is the only time of the year I don't mind snow.  Now what better way to make it feel like the holidays are here than roast pork. I have to admit I don't make roast pork that often, but if I do it has to be for a Sunday dinner and last weekend ...

If you love meatballs, you're going to love this dish. How can you not love this dish, especially if you're a man, meatballs and beer. Beat that!! Now I made my own meatballs here but you can certainly make your life easier, and just buy some already made meatballs. The dish is kid friendly, don't worry the beer cooks down, so there won't be any alcohol left. Now if you're going to make the meatballs, you c ...