Summers and mangoes go hand in hand. I love ripe juicy mangoes, making desserts with them but the same time, it is impossible not to let go off raw mangoes. We make quite a lot of Andhra special pickles based on raw mangoes and they last us an entire year. I also love a good Mamidikaya Pulihora and Mamidikaya Pappu. Every year I also make Manga Sambar – Raw Mango sambar atleast 2 or 3 times, just that the recipe never got updated here....

Making exotic starters/appetizers at home is easy and simple, if we have the right ingredients and a little patience. Today’s recipe of Tandoori Paneer Tikka is an amazing appetizer made using Indian cottage cheese with minimal effort, but tastes just like your favorite restaurant. I used my Homemade Tandoori Masala Spice Blend to marinate my paneer and it added the much-needed oomph to the dish. A few years ago, I had shared the recipe to Tawa Paneer Tikka without having to use oven....

I like to serve a variety of dips when I have people over, I often make queso dip, chicken Alfredo dip, and this irresistible Reuben dip. It’s super creamy and full of savory flavors. Reuben Dip Ingredients To make Reuben dip you will need cream cheese, corned beef, Swiss cheese, sour cream, sauerkraut, Thousand Island dressing and parsley. Serve this dip with some of my favorite appetizer recipes like baked chicken wings, spinach artichoke dip and cowboy caviar....

When it comes to Thanksgiving ours is never the same. Growing up we did Thanksgiving in Pennsylvania with my mom’s side of the family. It was your classic, more formal Thanksgiving full of relatives. Many extended relatives knew you, but as a kid, sometimes you had no idea who you were talking to. My brothers and I didn’t hate it though. We’d do Thanksgiving dinner around 3 pm if I recall correctly....

When the fall season rolls around, I make a variety of pumpkin dishes including pumpkin chocolate chip muffins and pumpkin cheesecake. I always keep the seeds when I’m cooking with pumpkin to make a big batch of roasted pumpkin seeds to enjoy later on. Roasted Pumpkin Seeds Ingredients When you are ready to make this roasted pumpkin seeds recipe you will need clean, raw, whole pumpkin seeds, melted butter, salt, pepper and garlic powder....

Happy day before Christmas Eve!! This is one of the most exciting days of the year. The days leading up to Christmas Eve and Christmas Day always feel so special. Everyone is getting every last thing in order and getting ready to slow down and spend time with family and friends come Christmas Eve. This year it’s just our immediate family and we’re minus a brother and a wife (Bren & Lyns, you guys are really going to be missed)....

I maybe, kind of sort of, got a little carried away with this Salted Caramel Apple Snickers Cake. But sometimes I really just cannot help myself. Getting carried away in chocolate is always a fun thing. And this cake? It’s my favorite fall recipe to date. I freaking love this cake! I kind of have a lot to say about this cake (how could I not!). Please bear with me as I ramble (and ramble) and try to convince you that you need to make this cake....

They’re sweet, salty, and crunchy, the perfect snacky combo for days of sitting inside by the fire, watching Christmas movies, and hangin with the fam. The only thing that could make a chocolate pretzel even better? CARAMEL, I mean, obviously. I feel as though these salted caramel chocolate covered pretzels are a no brainer. I don’t know why I only thought of them a week or so ago, once the idea came to mind they sounded SO GOOD....

I made chestnuts… roasted over and open fire. Of course. Ok well, I didn’t really roast them over an open fire, more like the oven, but hey, close enough. I wasn’t about to go stand outside in the blowing snow (seriously – blizzard conditions here right now) to roast some chestnuts over the open fire, unfortunately, roasting inside was not and option either. So oven it was, it did the trick!...

I almost made it another taco Tuesday, but I thought we’d venture slightly off and enjoy a Mexican-inspired chicken tinga bowl today. I’ve been holding onto this recipe for what feels like the longest time, and now, with Cinco de Mayo just over a week away, it feels like the perfect easy recipe to share! I love this time of year when we’re approaching Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day, and summer is on the horizon....

This simple coconut mango chicken and broccoli curry is everything. It’s easy, healthy, packed with some of everyone’s favorite summer veggies (hello zucchini and summer squash, I’m talking about you!) and finished with fresh mango (which if you guys could not tell I am pretty much obsessed with this summer). All served over rice with a giant piece of fresh naan for scooping. YUMMMMMM. Let me just say that I don’t think curries are the prettiest food ever, but they are delicious....

I love to use my slow cooker to cook meats such as slow cooker beef bourguignon, slow cooker pulled pork, slow cooker carnitas and this super flavorful brisket. This dish is great for busy weeknights, yet impressive enough to serve to guests. This slow cooker brisket is my go-to recipe when I want a unique and unexpected dinner option. The brisket is meltingly tender from the long cooking time, and pairs so well with a variety of side dishes....

Smoked whole chicken is the latest in my smoking recipe series. I’ve brought you some of the basics like smoked chicken thighs and smoked chicken wings, now it’s time to try our hand with a whole bird! Smoked Chicken Ingredients To make this smoked chicken recipe you will need chicken brine, a whole chicken, BBQ spice rub and parsley to garnish your dish. This smoked chicken is one of my favorite dinner recipes....

Wait, what?? I know, it is a miracle that I actually baked a dessert. Like in the oven, HOT temps people. Not the below freezing ones I have been hiking in lately. Trust me, it was hard to actually get my brain to think outside the ice cream box, but when it started snowing again on Wednesday it got a little easier. Especially since I have been freezing my butt off since the sun set on late Tuesday night……and the sun has been gone ever since, taking all the warmth with it…… Really it is typical....

Why is it that potatoes are SO DELICIOUS? Like, have you ever met a potato dish you didn’t love? Coming from the Midwest, I may love potatoes more than the rest. Growing up, homemade oven fries were one of my favorite things my dad would make. He’d roast them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and maybe a few other spices too. But he did them simply, and they were always so delicious....

Spinach and Artichokes Melts! Yes! So you know your favorite party dip, spinach and artichoke? Yeah, I totally slathered that ALL over some bread and grilled it up grilled cheese style. It’s pretty much the best thing your face is gonna meet today. I mean it’s Monday, let’s be honest we don’t encounter a whole lot of amazingness on a Monday. No offense to your boss, husband, your kids or that boring turkey sandwich you would have eaten....

Because as I type this there is way too much snow falling outside my window, and you know…I am totally over it! It’s almost April and all I want is sunshine, and lots of it! Ugh, Oh well, I guess the good news is that it’s still very much soup weather, which is why I decided to share this quick and easy spring pho style soup! Is anyone else feeling the need for a little springtime comfort food or what?...

I could have done doughnuts, things laden with butter, sugar and milk chocolate galore. But I somehow managed to pull out a no-sugar added, vegan and gluten-free (if you use gluten-free cornflakes) treat out of no where. Really, I do not even know how I did it and to be honest I am amazed they actually tasted good, but they are even brother approved. Even with the dark chocolate. Kai did say the chocolate tasted a little different....

That throughout this entire month of January I was able to stick with my goal of showing you all healthy, colorful recipes, AND that these healthy recipes have also been some of my FAVORITE recipes to date. I guess this isn’t actually all that surprising, since I truly love healthy foods. But since I cook for the people around me, I also end up cooking a lot of meats, grains and um CHEESE…but I really don’t mind, especially the grains and cheese, and duh, obviously the chocolate too!...

I’m going to be honest here, I don’t cook a lot of steak, but when I do, I sure do try to make it GOOD. Good…like it is here in this salad. Oh, how I love this salad. It’s a fork and knife kind of salad, and most definitely not boring. The inspiration here is simple. This is the salad my mom and I would order on summer nights when out to dinner at a place called the Moosehead Saloon in Westlake, Ohio....