Crock Pot Cuban Black Beans and Rice

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Crock Pot Cuban Black Beans and Rice

Crock Pot Cuban Black Beans and Rice

I love Cuban food: sandwiches hot off the press, sweet fried plantains, black beans and rice, and cold, refreshing mojitos! I’m sure my appreciation of this cuisine will only continue to grow as I live in Miami this summer. Dreaming of Miami beaches and sunshine is helping me weather the endless, extreme winter here in Chicago. It’s snowed so much this winter that there is talk of a road salt shortage in the Chicago area. This Cuban black beans and rice recipe is amazing; not only does it taste fantastic, but it’s incredibly easy to make! read more

Homemade Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

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Homemade Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

Homemade Italian Spaghetti Sauce with Meatballs

It’s important to stop and enjoy the simple pleasures of life: a glass of good wine, a homemade meal with family, an evening cooking with friends, a romantic candlelit dinner, fresh herbs from the garden, a girl’s night out. Sometimes our busy lives distract us from what matters most. A home-cooked meal is a great way to bring people together, and this homemade Italian spaghetti sauce with meatballs will do just that.

Spaghetti and meatballs is a classic comfort dish–even more so when everything is made from scratch! This recipe takes a few hours, but yields a truly remarkable meal, with robust meatballs and a delicious tomato sauce replete with garlic and herbs. You won’t be going back to the pre-prepared stuff any time soon. read more

Butterfly Cupcakes

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Butterfly Cupcake

After being invited to my first baby shower, I decided to bring a striking, elegant dessert. I thought about making these fondant cherry cupcakes, but ultimately opted for something new. I discovered these beautiful butterfly cupcakes on Annie’s Eats and instantly fell in love.

The butterflies look quite realistic, and their outspread wings give them dimension and the illusion of flight. They’re gorgeous perched atop the colored buttercream icing. Even better, the butterflies are pure, delicious chocolate! read more

Spicy Pork and Mustard Green Soup

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Spicy Pork and Mustard Green Soup

Spicy Pork and Mustard Green Soup

With the recent arctic blast and below-zero temperatures here in Chicago, I wanted a comforting, nutritious soup. Bon Appétit’s most recent cover recipe fit the bill: Rice Noodle Soup with Spicy Pork and Mustard Greens.

When I’m trying out a new recipe I tend to follow it almost exactly, so that I can properly decide what, if anything, needs to change. The first time around, I did reduce the amount of crushed red pepper flakes from 3/4 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon, as I had a friend over who doesn’t care for spicy foods. read more

Chocolate Truffle Tart

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Chocolate Truffle Tart Slice

Chocolate Truffle Tart Dusted with Cocoa Powder

This Christmas, my in-laws gave my husband and I delicious Belgian chocolate truffles; they were rich, creamy, and sinfully delicious. Shortly after, I stumbled across a recipe for a chocolate truffle tart in a back issue of Gourmet magazine, and I knew I had to try it. Imagine: a chocolate truffle the size of a tart . . . the decadence. Pure indulgence at its finest!

This was the first dessert I cooked in the New Year, and I couldn’t be happier with it. I modified the crust in the original recipe and instead used the crust from this chocolate-raspberry tart. The sweetness of this crust pairs well with the tart’s dark-chocolate filling. read more