I was reading something the other day that mentioned that September is Better Breakfast Month. This made me very happy because I love breakfast. If you look on the sidebar and see that we have a category for Breakfast, go ahead and click on it. You will find that there are many posts there about breakfast, otherwise known as the most important meal of the day.
Today, for Friday Faves, we are going to run with this breakfast topic. But, I decided I needed to clarify something with my girls. I asked them, do they mean better tasting breakfast, or better for you. They answered "Both"! So, today there will be two categories for Better Breakfasts: Just Delicious and Good For You + Delicious!
Let's start with Good For You + Delicious:
When it comes to healthy breakfasts, I really do like oatmeal during the winter months. But, I see a lot of recipes lately for overnight oats that you can just grab and eat in the morning. The idea of cold oatmeal, not cooked, just does not sound appetizing to me. I like it hot with brown sugar or honey.
Just Delicious:
If you get the chance to sit down and have breakfast with your family a few times this month, I hope our Breakfast Category will give you some fun ideas. I forgot to mention Root Beer Pancakes! That one is fun and easy! I have a lot of memories centered around breakfast with my family. I think it is a shame that in this fast paced world, hardly anyone sits around the table and eats breakfast together anymore. Most school children are eating at school instead of at home with their families. I am not sure that those are "Better Breakfasts." I think that what truly makes a better breakfast is the time around the table with family, eating something delicious yet still healthy, spending time connecting as the day begins and sending our children out for the day with an encouraging, loving word. I know that it is hard with jobs and busy lives, but maybe even just on a Saturday morning we can keep this tradition alive!
Here is how I like to cook breakfast!
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Alicia back again with a couple more Spanish recipes for you. One is actually Catalonian, so I'll say Iberian Peninsula recipes for you.
This time I decided to do tapas. Tapas is a small portion of food that is enough to accompany a drink (according to the official Spanish dictionary). You can think of them like appetizers or bar food in America. They got their start long ago when King Alfonso X forbade taverns from serving wine without food to accompany it (to prevent drunkenness).This is how the name tapas came along. Tapas literally translates into cover or coaster. Before the royal decree, coasters were commonly placed over the drinks in order to keep bugs from drowning in the drinks. The little plates with the required food went on top of the cup instead. So the tapas were free at first and just small things like sausages, olives, and meats. But now it has evolved and is a national meal in Spain. You can find it all over. Tapas![]()
I decided to stick to some basics and tried to get as much authentic Spanish food as possible, but I had to substitute in some Italian meats, Sorry Spain. I did get Spanish cheese though. I also don't own any small plates and didn't think of this until I was already home, so we just used our regular plates.
For our tapas meal we had:
Pa amb Tomàquet- Catalonian Tomato Bread
This bread was so simple to make, yet so delicious. I found out about it because my friend posted on facebook about tomato sandwiches. She has some Spanish friends who commented that this is a popular way to eat tomatoes and bread in Spain.
It is very simple to make.
I only used the top half of the french bread, and just toasted the bottom half for us to eat the cheese and meat with. Garlic Shrimp
I saw garlic shrimp on a lot of tapas lists. I didn't look up a recipe because I thought the name was the recipe. This is another one that is so simple, but delivers big time on flavor! I'm noticing that theme with Spanish food so far.
To make:
Overall, this meal was very fast to put together, especially if you're not trying to make it look nice for a picture (haha). And it's very filling. Of course it's not supposed to be a huge thing but be little meals to accompany your drink (we had ginger ale). But if you eat a lot of little meals, it makes a pretty big meal. This would be great to feed a crowd with. Try it and let me know what you think!
If you want to learn more about Spanish cooking and cuisine,Panna has a class that is 6 lessons for $59.99! It's called Modern Spanish Cuisine and is taught by Seamus Mullen of Tertulia. That's basically $10 a lesson. What a deal! It'd be a fun gift for your loved one who is a foodie.
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Alicia back with another American recipe! This year my family is picking a country from our ancestry and trying to make foods from that country once a week. Then I share the recipes here. This month we're doing American.
When asking my friends they're favorite American foods my husband replied that he thinks "barbecue is the most American flavor." Then a whole bunch of people agreed with him. There's so many different, and delicious, styles of barbecue across the United States, it's impossible (for me) to choose my favorite. Slow cooking the meat makes it fall off the bone tender without drying it out. Unfortunately, we don't have a barbecue that can slow cook our meat, so we have to use our crockpot. But it still results in a very delicious and tasty rack of ribs. Today's meal is ribs, baked beans, cornbread, and potato salad. A meal suggested to me by my friend Shirley, who lived in Texas for awhile, so I trust her barbecue opinions. I made everything from scratch and it wasn't that intense or difficult despite being a full plate. The sides were delicious and a perfect compliment, especially the potato salad, a recipe which I'll share with you today as well. Slow Cooker Ribs
These ribs...THESE RIBS! They're so good! Oft requested by friends for gatherings, these ribs do not last long. Leftovers are unheard of. They're so delicious.
The rub for the ribs can be made in advance and kept in a container, ready for every time you want to make some delicious ribs. We always have some made up and sitting in our spice cabinet. Ideally we would smoke them or cook them on indirect heat on the grill, but since we don't have that option right now, we just do it in the CrockPot. (I love my crockpot!) And lining the crockpot with parchment paper makes clean-up a breeze! Make these, you will not regret it. Best Ever Potato Salad
When I knew we were going to make potato salad, I called my mom. She has always made the best potato salad and I was amazed she hadn't posted it yet. So here it is in all it's glory. The great thing about it is you can customize it to your tastes. I used red and golden potatoes because that's what I had on hand, but russet potatoes work just as well. Sweet or dill pickles, either one is great. I used a dressing that was slightly creamy instead of the regular Italian dressing. I was still so good! Play around according to your tastes and it's always sure to be amazing. I honestly love this stuff.
Although, if you don't like pickles, this may not be the potato salad for you. Otherwise, you can't go wrong.
I didn't want to overwhelm you with recipes so I'll post the baked beans and cornbread another day. Until then, dazzle your family and friends with these recipes.
This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking them, we will be compensated, but there is no additional cost to you. All opinions expressed are our own. Thank you for your support.
Alicia here with my last Italian recipe for you all. I'm kind of sad Italy is over because I love the food so much. But I have had a good time making these foods and sharing the recipes with you. I am a bit bummed I didn't get to make pizza, but I probably still will and share it with you. My Basil plant is begging for it.
But for today I have a seriously good recipe, especially if you like a little heat. Amatriciana can poorly be described as spicy spaghetti, but it's much more. Wow your friends and family with this delicious dish. Amatriciana
Amatriciana is a sauce with cured pork (like pancetta), pecorino, tomatoes, onions, and peppers. Not bell peppers but chili and black pepper.
This sauce has more depth than your regular marinara because of the addition of the pork and more bite because of the pepper. But the flavors marry so well together, each bite is divine. Slightly creamy because of the addition of cheese, the sauce sticks well to the noodles. Most recipes I found used bucatini, but spaghetti can be substituted. My brother hates bucatini because it is not easy to slurp (it is hollow in the center, like a really long macaroni noodle). I admit that I didn't have Pecorino, so I used my fresh Parmesan. Sorry Italy. I also didn't have pancetta so I used unsmoked bacon (it is the same cut of meat). But despite all these substitutions, it was still very delicious. My son and husband loved it! I did too! And I thought it was even better the next day as left-overs. (I think it's important to know what makes good leftovers.)
Try this delicious recipe out please. It's a great alternative to your boring old spaghetti and marinara (which I actually also love). Oh and the spice is barely there, it will not cause you to breath flames. It's not more spicy than a breakfast sausage. So don't let that deter you from trying it out!
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Creators of Hot Cocoa Bombs! (copyrighted)
Author
Helen Reynolds: Mother of six children , grandmother to eleven! I love to cook, craft and create things and I especially love doing that with my family, So, when my lawyer daughter, Lindsey, my artist daughter, Madalynn, and I came up with the idea of Hot Cocoa Bombs, this blog was born. Then, one more daughter, with her technical and science skills, plus creativity has joined in to round us out! Read more about us here! Archives
June 2024
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