Easy Olive Tapenade

This is a super easy recipe. I threw together 5 ingredients I had on hand into a food processor and that was it! Can be eaten with crackers and cheese, or as a marinade (which I ended up doing for my cod)

Ingredients-

1/2 of small onion

1 roasted red bell pepper

1 cup of green olives

1 clove of garlic

handful of cherry tomatoes

Steps:

1. Finely chop onion, bell pepper, green olives, tomatoes and garlic and place in a mixing bowl

2. Mix all the ingredients

3. Add some of the liquids from the container of green olives (about 1 tablespoon)

4. Add mixture into a food processor and pulse for a few seconds. You do not want it completely blended.

5. Place mixture into bowl and serve cold or room temperature*

Enjoy!

XOXO

* the longer the mixture sits, the better it will taste, but you do not have to wait for a couple of hours….eat it whenever you feel like it!

Chicken Curry

I have no idea why, but the other night I was in the mood for chicken curry……and I have never had Indian food, or curry for that matter, in my life before. It was a random craving but I was determined to make it. This recipe is something I made up as I went along, so whether it is a true, authentic, Indian curry, you will have to be judge of that….but it tasted good to me!

[ If any of you have a recipe for any kind of Curry, please share! Would love to try it out 🙂 ]

Ingredients-

5 chicken breasts

3 carrots (peeled)

½ cup frozen peas

1 small yellow onion

3 garlic cloves

½ cup of cashews (chopped)

1 inch of fresh ginger (grated)

2 cups of chicken broth (plus a splash…1/3 cup)

1/3 cup of full fat coconut milk

1 tablespoon of cornstarch

1 ½ teaspoon of curry powder

1 teaspoon of fennel seed

¼ teaspoon of cardamom

Steps:

1. Using a separate cutting board, cut chicken breasts into 1 ½ inch pieces

2. Season the pieces of chicken with salt and curry powder

3. Finely chop onion and carrots, make them the same size and set aside

4. Finely chop garlic and set aside

5. Take the one inch piece of fresh ginger and use a hand grater, and grate the ginger and set aside

6. Once all vegetables are prepped, preheat a large sauce pan (or dutch oven) over medium heat. Add tablespoon of coconut oil

7. Once pan is heated, add pieces of chicken

8. Cook chicken for 6 to 7 minutes (you are not fully cooking the chicken right now, so don’t get scared if it is still raw!)

9. Take chicken out and place in a separate bowl and set aside

10. Discard any liquid in the pan

11. Bring the pan back to the heat, and add onions, carrots, garlic, and ginger to pan

12. Sprinkle 1 ½ teaspoons (or more depending on your mood) of curry powder and 1 teaspoon of fennel seeds to the mixture and cook for about 5 to 7 minutes on medium heat (if it looks dry, then you are doing it right)

13. Once the onions and carrots have softened, add in 2 cups of chicken broth. Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. About 5 minutes

14. Once the sauce is simmering, take out about ½ cup of liquid and place into a small bowl. Add 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to the ½ cup of liquid and stir until the cornstarch is dissolved (will get thicker…that’s OK)

15. Add the ½ cup of sauce thickened with cornstarch back into the large sauce pan and stir to incorporate

16. Once the sauce has overall thickened, add in 1/3 cup of full fat coconut milk. Stir

17. At this point, the sauce may be too thick for your liking, that’s when you can add in a splash or so more of the chicken broth (I ended up adding about 1/3 cup more)

18. Once the sauce is at its desired thickness, sprinkle in ¼ teaspoon of cardamom and cashews. Stir to incorporate

19. Add chicken back into the sauce and let it simmer for another 5 to 8 minutes, or until it is fully cooked (All depends on how long you cooked it for step 8)

20. Once the chicken is fully cooked, add in ½ cup of frozen peas and stir until they are warmed through (wont take long- 2 minutes tops)

21. Serve with white rice, or by it self

Enjoy!

XOXO

Mrs. McHugh’s Down Home Macaroni & Cheese

I have always been in love with food, so when I was in the middle school, it came as no surprise that I spent all my free time in the Home Economics room. Mrs. McHugh was the teacher for home economics and was the best teacher I have ever had. Now, many many years later, my younger neighbors who are now in middle school, have her as their teacher for home economics. But now, the name of the class is Top Chef and everyone wants to take it. She has one of the best macaroni and cheese recipes, and I have making it over and over again for my neighbor when I babysit.

The recipe I am about to post, includes Velveeta….which I and not a fan of…ever, but I love this recipe

Ingredients-

1/4 cup of butter or margarine

1/4 cup of flour

1 teaspoon of salt

2 cups of milk

1/4 lb of velveeta cheese, cut up

8 oz of shredded cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)

2 cups of cooked & drained elbow macaroni (about 8 ounces)

3 tablespoons of bread crumbs (panko or italian)

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit

2. In a large stockpot, bring water to a boil and add 1 tablespoon of salt

3. Add elbow macaroni to the boiling water and cook, stirring occasionally for about 8 minutes (read package if using different pasta for cooking time)

4. Once pasta is cooked and drained, start roux for the cheese sauce

5. In a separate large sauce pan, melt 3 tablespoons of butter over low heat

6. As the butter is melting, add in 1/4 cup of flour and stir constantly until flour is cooked (roughly a minute or two- do not want to over cook the flour, because it will have a burnt flavor)

7. To the flour and butter, add 2 cups of milk and stir with a whisk until it has thickened

8. Add in the velveeta and cheddar cheese to the sauce and stir with a wooden spoon until all the cheese is melted

9. Pour cooked macaroni into the cheese sauce and stir until all the noodles are covered in cheese

10. Pour the macaroni and cheese into a 1 1/2 quart baking dish and sprinkle the 3 tablespoons of bread crumbs mixed with 1 tablespoon of melted butter on top- this creates a nice crust on top

11. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the breadcrumbs are golden brown, and the cheese is bubbling

Enjoy!

XOXO

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BTW—Even though I have been MIA on the blog, I have been active on my instagram account. There you will see all my creations, food that I eat when I’m out, and food I repost from my followers! Use my hashtag #myfortheloveoffood to be featured!

(I have my Instagram linked to the blog, so you can see the pictures I post on the top right of my page)

XOXO

I am BACKKK!

Sorry for the long break! Life has been SUPER busy and I just never had the time to post my recipes! I have been writing and testing a lot of yummy treats for you guys, so I promise I will be on everyday, updating and adding new posts!

XOXO