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My niece wants to be a princess. She wants to dress up in a pink gown with glass slippers and dance with the prince of her dreams. Every time she tells me this, I tell her that I would rather dress up in a long black dress and walk in the gloomy forest. That makes her cry and I always get blamed by my brother and my sister-in-law. Is it my fault that I’m not the girly type whose dream is to become a princess? Plus, Cinderella’s gown is not pink; it’s bluish white.

I do believe in fairytales, I am a writer after all. But I just love teasing her because her face gets all scrunched up and she looks really cute. I never meant to make her cry all the time. I just wasn’t aware how serious she was about her dreams. I promise I am trying to stop teasing her all the time now. I am a really wonderful aunt after all who will support her regardless of how impossible her dreams are (for now). But really, I’d rather just munch on these zebra stacks that look like they came straight from a fairytale book than to dress in a pink gown! Go check out this recipe!

Photo and recipe courtesy of Mr. Food.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Serve with a cup of coffee or a cup of your favorite tea.

There is always that moment when you’re just talking to someone and then suddenly you see something and voila—you’re brought back to an incident that happened years ago. This happened to me a few days ago when I was having dinner at a friend’s house. A memory was triggered by food (of all things, food!) and it made me melancholic for the rest of the night. I was enjoying my plate of baked ziti and garlic bread when one of my friends joined me on the couch. She was eating a sort of muffin that looked quite familiar yet I couldn’t seem to be able to place it. It was only when she allowed me to take a bite that I remembered something.

When I was a kid, there was this weird boy in class who was so quiet everyone thought he didn’t speak. He was new in school that year so he didn’t have any friends and no one wanted to talk to him. One of my friends finally approached him. She came back with a muffin in hand and told us the boy didn’t want to be bothered. The boy gave the muffin to her thinking she just wanted his lunch. It tasted like salmon. The boy could have been our friend, but we never had a chance to make him one. He left school a month later and we never heard from him again. We’ve been wondering about him ever since.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Betty Crocker.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: You can modify the ingredients based on your preferences.

One of my friends, Emily, has a strange meal routine with her kids. When you eat meals with them, you can see a jar at the center of the table. It’s empty every morning, but filled to the brim in the evening with pieces of white paper that are hastily rolled. When I first experienced it, I was there for a job. Emily needed help with a company project and she hired me for it. I arrived during breakfast and was promptly invited to join her, her husband, and her five kids. I didn’t want to ask about it at first. Until I saw one of the kids drop something on the jar while Emily was flipping pancakes.

The strange thing was, she didn’t even seem to look surprised upon seeing the jar with a note. When everyone left, I just had to ask what it was about. Emily said it was for food requests and food compliments. Anyone was required to give constructive comments about the food. Anyone whose comments about the food seemed sincere, he or she will get her request for breakfast the next day. I thought it was quite cool. It’s a way of learning things and at the same time gave the kids a sense of responsibility. We had cheese grits the next day. From the look on her husband’s face, it seemed he had won.

Photo and recipe courtesy of Southern Bite.

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: You can make it the night before and just place it in the oven the next day.

Just The Way My Mom Always Made This!

Many, many years ago (I had to be honest there, even though it seems like yesterday) my Mom used to cook this lovely dish that was one of my absolute favorites.

My parents had a small farm, where we grew a lot of our own vegetables, including potatoes. Needless to say, we ate a lot of potatoes throughout the year! But I never grew tired of them – I guess it’s because my Mom is such a great cook. She always turned the simplest of ingredients into these dinner masterpieces that I am now desperately trying to copy.

This dish was something that certainly didn’t last long, and there was no hope of having leftovers the next day! Some people call this moussaka but we didn’t – to me moussaka has always been the Greek dish with eggplants and white sauce.

This one we just simply called potato casserole, and that’s what it is. A simple, layered potato casserole – so delicious that you wish you could lick the casserole dish clean when it’s empty!

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Quick Tip: You could sprinkle a little bit of grated cheese on top, for the last few minutes of baking.

If It’s This Delicious, It Can’t Be Healthy… Right?

My younger brother was the pickiest eater on the face of the Earth when he was young. Seriously!

He had about 5 to 10 dishes he liked (very carefully chosen, of course) and everything else was just inedible to him. My Mom would stress over his health because he sure wasn’t going to eat his veggies, no matter what she tried to serve him. That’s why we were stunned when we found out there was this one vegetable dish he really liked.

I remember my Mom telling me it was a pure accident she discovered that veggie dish. She happened to have potatoes, tomatoes and onions and decided to make a veggie casserole as a side dish for the salmon she was cooking. My brother didn’t even touch the salmon but for some reason I can’t understand, he wanted to have a taste of the veggie casserole. He loved it!

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Oven timings may vary. Note the browning on top to know when to stop.

So Easy, Your Kids Could Do It

Hey everyone! Are y’all getting used to life after the holiday meals?

I know I’m having a hard time adjusting to my everyday routines when it comes to eating, but this recipe right here is going to help me out a lot. You know how bacon just makes everything better? It’s true – and that’s why these incredible bacon cheddar muffins are, well, incredible!

While you don’t really need a reason to eat one of these, they will make a great breakfast or brunch. I love these as a quick lunch with a cup of strong coffee! They are easy to bring with you to work, and even easier to freeze for later. Which is why I would highly recommend making a double batch! This recipe, as is, will make six large muffins. But you could always bake them in regular or mini muffin pans instead.

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Quick Tip: Whisk the batter well until there are no lumps.

Breakfast Or Dessert? It’s Up To You!

I love all-in-one stuff. To me it’s all about saving time and money.

Whether it’s haircare products or clothing – if it works for more than one purpose, you can count me in. I’m the same way when it comes to food. I love anything that can be made in one pot only, and I also love recipes that are great for more than one meal of the day.

Take this blueberry muffin bread, for example. It makes the most delicious breakfast ever, and you can serve the rest of it for dessert that night (that is, if there’s any of it left…) Heck, I’ll even have this for lunch and dinner, it’s so delicious! I would call this a breeze to make, with only five minutes of prep time. And just look at how beautiful it is! Almost too pretty to eat… no, wait, I’ll eat it for sure!

USE THE RED NEXT PAGE LINK BELOW FOR THE RECIPE AND INGREDIENTS.

Quick Tip: Try this muffin bread toasted and topped with cream cheese!