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This lemon loaf will put a little pep in your step!

Last week, I got a call from my neighbor, Anne. She was so frazzled and out of control, I could not understand her. I knew it was not a real emergency because Anne always speaks like that, but it sounded like she was having trouble with something. I really could not make out what she was saying, so I told her to come right on over and we would chat about whatever was going on. Within minutes, Anne was at my door, recipe book in tow, along with a new notebook and pen. I knew this was nothing too urgent.

As she made her way into my house, she settled down on one of the bar stools around my kitchen island. There she started talking fast again, and I told her to slow down and tell me what was going on. Well, as it turns out, she hosts Easter Brunch after church for her whole family every year, but she usually begins planning the menu since before Christmas.

She totally forgot and now here we were, running weeks late and she had nothing. I told her not to fret, we would find her many great recipes she could serve at her Easter Brunch.

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Quick Tip: Serve this with a side of ice cream for a wonderful dessert.

The other day, my aunt invited us to her house for a BBQ.

We were just planning to hang out, eat some good burgers, and then maybe watch a movie. There was no real occasion for this outing, just spending time with family that we had not seen in a while. We all thought it would be a great idea to hang out a bit, and what better way than around food, right?

Well, I remembered that my aunt is a master appetizer maker. She has so many cool recipes that she has made at so many occasions over the years. And she barely repeats recipes! We always remember her appetizers as “the brie from Christmas of 2015” or “the spinach artichoke dip from Easter of 2012.”

She just has so many different ones up her sleeve that we always give them a name and a year to remember them by. I knew she would likely be making something totally different this year, but I remembered one recipe that I absolutely loved and would want to have again, so I asked her to please make “the buffalo chicken roll-ups of Independence day 2014.” They were so worth it.

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Quick Tip: Use turkey or beef if you’d like.

My cousin makes one of the best no-bake chocolate cheesecakes I’ve EVER eaten.

It is so unfair that she always gets the perfect cheesecake and voted dessert of the year every. Single. Year.  No matter how hard I try, I never win and it is so frustrating.  But I am determined not to let that stall me.  I will continue pressing on until I become the Thanksgiving and Christmas dessert champion.

Now, in order to achieve that, I need to be searching for recipes left and right on the internet.  I will go through cookbooks and Barnes and Noble, I will spend hours on Pinterest, I will go to my neighbor Anne’s house and look at her recipe books.  All of this effort to achieve the dessert champion of the year.

Now, I will admit something to you…I think I have found the one.  It is a variation of Alexis’ dessert.  It’s a chocolate cheesecake and it’s no bake (which makes it even better if you ask me!).  It’s creamy and perfectly fluffy.  I think this is could be a winner.  I will take it this year to my mom’s side of the family’s Christmas Eve dinner and then again to my father in law’s Christmas day lunch and see if I win.  I think I really have a chance with this one.

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Quick Tip: Make some homemade whipped cream and add a dollop on each slice!

Growing up, at least two or three nights a week my mom would prepare us mac and cheese.

What I am talking about is the Kraft kind with the powder cheese.  We absolutely loved it and devoured it.  We would eat the family size box between two or three of us.  We would slice bananas over the top and were good to go (it is a Cuban thing, really).

After a long time of enjoying boxed mac and cheese, my sisters and I knew we wanted to try something new.  We wanted to actually cook the pasta and grate the cheese ourselves.  Not necessarily because we wanted it to be natural, but because we wanted it to be ooey and gooey like all homemade mac and cheese dishes look.

We found a basic recipe for it that we enjoy and now what we do is tweak it every time we make it to accommodate new and more exciting ingredients.  This recipe, for example, adds bacon and broccoli and boy is it good.  Knowing my husband, he would add corn too, but shhh, let’s pretend we do not have any left in the pantry.  This dish is simply perfect just as it is!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Made In A Day.

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Quick Tip: Use frozen or fresh broccoli interchangeably.

Every year, my mom makes one thing during Christmas and Thanksgiving season: Brie and Apricot appetizers.

She buys the puff pastry, once it is thaw, opens it up, then fills it with a block of brie and a whole jar of apricot and then lastly, seals it all up by joining the edges and then baking it.  It is a bit of a hassle to make, and honestly even more of a hassle to eat since it needs to be cut to enjoy it on your plate and it is a constant game of tug of war: you against the appetizer.  It is so delicious, it is worth it, but definitely tough.

Well, I have been on the lookout for a new way to make the appetizer so I can enjoy it more often than just the holidays.  Well, after searching for a while, I found a way to make it in dip form, but after trying it a couple of times, I realized it was still pretty tough to enjoy.

I got back online and searched and ended up with this recipe which is the solution to all my brie problems! They are little cups filled with a bit of everything so there is no mess, no pulling, and easy to enjoy!

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Quick Tip: Serve with chunks of gouda cheese.

I have a hobby of giving food as gifts for any special occasion.

For birthdays, I usually try to bake cakes or pastries. When I know that there will be a main cake for the celebration, I will just make a simple cake. If a friend tells me that it’s okay to bring something more elaborate, then I will push my cake-decorating skills to come up with a presentable cake. For holidays, I make cookies and truffles. My friends and my relatives really appreciate food as  gifts. They love it because they can share the food with their family.

Sometimes, I make ham as a gift. Glazed hams look perfect on special occasions and not just the holidays; so I think they will be perfect as gifts. My relatives appreciate them the most because we’re a family of meat lovers y’all!

I try a lot of glazed ham recipes that I can call my own. Since I came from a family of really good cooks, they already have their own versions of ham. One of my favorites is my Mom’s maple glazed ham and Aunt Susan’s cranberry glazed ham.

This ham recipe that I am about to share with you is a bit simple- it uses brown sugar for its glaze. However, I can guarantee you that you will not be disappointed with the taste. It’s pretty much perfect in its simplicity.

Photo and recipe courtesy of The Black Peppercorn.

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Quick Tip: You can try another glaze for another version of this recipe if you like.

My pastor’s wife is an excellent cook.

She can throw together any ingredients and make a delicious symphony of flavors in one dish that is incomparable to any other.  The way she cooks is really not to be compared with anyone else’s.  She loves to take new and original recipes to church potlucks.  And by new and original, I mean I have never seen her take the same dish twice.

She always looks for a new recipe and brings that.  It is fun and everyone looks forward to seeing what she brings. Now, that does not mean she does not have a signature dish.

Her signature dish is an amazing bowl of chili.  She makes it unlike any other I have ever tried in my life.  It beats Wendy’s and my momma’s.

This one is the best!  It was so good, it got served at a wedding rehearsal dinner just last week.  So untraditional, yet people love it so much, they are willing to do it.

Now, the only thing missing from her chili is some more meat.  I love a hearty bowl and with all the extra pork I had leftover from Christmas, I decided to make my own dish.

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Quick Tip: Use any meat you’d like in this dish.