recipes that are simple and delicious.

Recently, several families took recent trip to Utica, Illinois for a surprise birthday party for my sister-in-law. The two and half hour journey, to a town we never had heard of, was an exciting one. As we often do these types of get togethers throughout the year, this was the first we have taken, and [...]

Moving to Dallas, Texas was one of top ten experiences I had up until I was in my twenties. I know, I know, I mention it often on many of my posts, and I have to, because after all, it was a land where I experienced Tex-Mex, great dim sum, Vietnamese pho, and my first [...]

It was roughly twelve years ago or so, when I first came across this recipe. I remember it clearly. I was in town, visiting my parents, as well as when I first really began dating my wife. She was living in downtown Milwaukee at the time, and I wanted to make dinner for her, and [...]

Peppers are in abundance right now, and you will typically see people’s backyards full of them. Jalapeno and serrano peppers are probably my favorite peppers and I use them in a lot of my dishes. I actually used some serrano chilies on top of my pizza last night, that is how much I like them. [...]

Who does not love pico de gallo? In its simplest form it is often know as salsa fresca, or fresh salsa, meaning uncooked. It is this time of year in Wisconsin where we are harvesting our garden. We have an abundance of tomatoes, chilies, onion, and whatever else we through together back in early Spring. [...]

You know when you see people get excited about food, right? The facial expression, the down right excitement knowing that they are going to be eating something very good, very soon. That was my mom when I was growing up, and the excitement came from a large fried ball from an Italian deli and bakery [...]

Who doesn’t love a bowl of fresh fruit? As great as a simple bowl of fruit can be, there are times when you just need to do something unusual to it, and for, well, that was to make a syrup to go along with it. A handful of years ago, my wife and I decided [...]

I am a big fan of garbanzo beans. They could possibly be one of my favorite types of beans. One of my favorite dishes that uses garbanzo beans, or chickpeas, if you will, is hummus. There is something about the chickpea that once cooked, it brings out this real creaminess and texture that I really [...]

It’s barbecue and grilling season, and this always means a good ‘ol get together with family, friends, or neighbors. I consider them all the same, which would be friends. When we have a get together, my default reaction is ‘what can I make’ or better yet, depending on the audience, ‘what should I make’? These [...]

I love chicken wings, and I typically love them fried, baked, or grilled, and probably in that order. Links can be found (here, here, and here). I will also admit that I love hot wing sauce, and blue cheese. Something about the combination of a blue cheese and hot sauce really gets my flavor buds [...]

I have written about sopes in the past. When I was first introduced to sopes, I fell in love. Everything about the texture, the weight, and the simple ingredients. It screamed freshness to me. Granted the sope itself is fried, but the texture was something wonderful. Consider it a thick tortilla if you will, and [...]

You should probably know by now that I could live off of tacos, pizza, or for that matter bacon. Many of these favorites of mine have some pork product in them. I love pork, and pretty much every piece of the pork. As much as I try a lot of new things, I stick to [...]

I have been craving hot dogs for about a week now. I have mentioned this not only to my wife, but also my coworker, and it’s funny, as my coworker was saying he has been making them throughout the week and loading them up with vegetables, and wrapping them in tortillas. My schedule has been [...]

Being from Wisconsin, I love cheese. My kids love cheese, and pretty much everyone I have ever met loves cheese. Sure, I have met possibly one, or three people who do not like cheese, and I am certain I questioned that in my head, but I quickly got past that thought, and realized that cheese [...]

As many of you are aware, I recently purchased an ice cream maker. It is possibly the best thing I have purchased in years, and it is truly a device which everyone appreciates. So far, I have made four batches of ice cream, none of which has been your standard vanilla, or chocolate. I have [...]

There are several dishes that marry well together, much like my favorite one of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and corn. Another dish, in my opinion that is a home run in my book is pulled pork sandwiches with baked beans and coleslaw. This past Memorial Day weekend was one of those days where I made [...]

This past Memorial Day weekend was simply a blast. You could not ask for better weather in Milwaukee, and the food, family, and entertainment factor was just fantastic. If you are like me during this time of year, you consistently think of what to marinate to throw on the grill, or what to bring to [...]

There is something to be said about living in Wisconsin. It is a beautiful state, especially this time of year, where the grass is green, a beautiful blue sky, and the beginning of festival season. Sure, I was born in Indiana, but I really consider myself a Wisconsinite. While growing up, cheese was in abundance, [...]

I am coming out today and telling everyone that I have been on a taco kick for the last several weeks. I have yet to tell you what my favorite taco is, but I am steering towards al pastor, or carne asada, with simple diced onion, fresh cilantro, and a thin slice of tomato and [...]

Mexican refried beans. You either love them or hate them. I easily lean on the side on loving refried beans. I must admit that I probably was not a real fan of these until I moved to Dallas, Texas in my young adult life. It was apparent that in southwest, refried beans were a real [...]

This past weekend was Mother’s Day, a special day around our house. The kids are always reminded to make homemade cards, and to get their school projects ready to deliver to mom on that special morning. We take a bit of pride in our planning, making sure mom feels special on that day. Everything from [...]

I could live off of quesadillas. This appetizer or entree is yet another item that has endless possibilities. The quesadilla is a true delight and one of those things that if you have corn or flour tortillas laying around, or if you want to make your own, you are pretty much good to go with [...]

I am a big fan of casseroles, especially the really easy ones. You know the type. Perform a bit of layering, a bit of sauce, and pop it in the oven for a while, and you have yourself a great casserole. So this past weekend, I smoked some baby back ribs, and finished them off [...]

I love the weekend. Who doesn’t? It is a time to chill, to hang out, and to enjoy good food and a drink. This is also a time where I do most of my cooking, and thinking. My life is busy, like yours, I am sure. Meetings upon meeting, decisions upon decisions, and the busy [...]

I have had Texas comfort food on my mind for some time now. A word or two triggered the thoughts some time ago, and the term ‘greasy spoon’ has since been on my mind. I moved a friend down to Texas back in 1996, I believe, and with a resume in hand, bumped into their [...]

I was ready for something light and fresh. Our family recently got back from taking a cruise vacation in the eastern Caribbean. It was our first cruise, and I was a bit intimidated as I was bringing the children. Big boat, on water for seven days, with kids. You see where I am going with [...]

Larb Nuea? Right, larb nuea, or sometimes known as laab nuea. That’s correct folks, I am teaching you new words, and allowing you to explore new dishes. As I often do, I poll my friends on what they are eating for dinner, or holiday, and I really get back some great responses. One recent response [...]

Goulash? Sounds like a funny word, but what it really means to me, is a great stew, if you will, with noodles. Growing up, goulash was one of those dishes that were commonly served throughout the work week, and now I know why. As I say on this site so many times, I reflect a [...]

Fish frys are a big deal in Wisconsin, and finding a good one is always a topic of conversation at work. Sure, I make my own fish fry about three times a month, and it is a major hit with the family, plus I save a ton of money. There are times however, that as [...]

It was not too long ago when I was talking about a deal I encountered at my local grocery store. It was one of those deals that was just hard to pass up. Basically, pay for a ham, and get a bunch of other stuff for free. This included a decent sized turkey breast. When [...]

My colleague goes on an annual fishing trip to Alaska, typically in the early Summer months. He comes back with an abundance of great fish, and often brings them in to work and tells us to grab what we want. Salmon and halibut are typically available for the taking. There is something about fresh fish [...]

I reflect a lot on the things that I ate while growing up, and there are plenty of great recipes that stand out. Some of the items that stand out were of the frozen nature. Things like soft pretzels, or twice baked potatoes. You remember the type of twice baked potatoes, the frozen kind, and [...]

My wife loves pasta salads, and I think she likes everything about them. And who does not love pasta salad? I mean, you can get as creative as you want when it comes to these sorts of dishes. Meat or no meat, different types of pasta, cheeses, and vegetables. So recently I wanted to …

I had a real craving for pickles not too long ago, and as we normally have them in the refrigerator, we were all out. I typically never have a craving for pickles, but for some odd reason, I had the idea of making burgers in the cast iron skillet, topping it with a bit of [...]

As ironic as this might sound, and I am certain most parents have a child like this, but, I have one picky eater in my house. You all know the type. Chicken tenders and french fries could make this guy a happy camper for the rest of his life. He never gets tired of it. [...]

Not too long ago, a friend and old colleague of mine sent a picture on Facebook of a simple picture of salsa. That is all it was. A picture of a small ramekin of dark and delicious looking salsa. The foodie that I am, I responded immediately with a comment, and that built some small [...]

A couple of weeks ago I was at the store (go figure), and I was there to pick up some eggs for the kids. My kids, well, two of the good eaters, really love eggs. However you cook them, be it scrambled, or fried, but they are big fans of hard boiled eggs. When cruising [...]

Every now and then you need to step away from a traditional meatball and do something interesting to another type of ball. In this case, the spinach meatball. I recall these spinach balls while growing up and my parents would serve them at parties that they would host, whether they were company parties, or a [...]

I found it pretty humorous when I was wrapping egg rolls at the table and my wife looked at them with excitement. “Are you making egg rolls?”, she said. Without sounding like a smartalec, I said, “yes, but I am making Mexican egg rolls”. She got even more excited and said “Oh my gosh, my [...]

Often times I come home from shopping at my local grocery store with two of one item. Sure, most of those times are large quantities of frozen waffles for the kids, but I am a real sucker when it comes down to thing like buy one get one free on mushrooms, or as this last [...]

This month I was fortunate to give a presentation during Health and Wellness Week at Marquette University Law School. The focus of the day long event was to inform students, faculty, and staff on the benefits of living a healthy life. The day included screenings for blood pressure, massages, information on acupuncture, and my favorite, [...]

I have a lot of favorite sandwiches, however Bánh Mi has got to be up near the top of the list. If you have never had a Bánh Mi sandwich, you must seek one out. I will admit that while living in Dallas, Texas for a handful of years, I was blessed with great Vietnamese [...]

Taco night is a weekly occurrence at my house. I love the thought that my kids love taco night as it allows me to be creative in the kitchen, while at the same time, allows my kids to sample a different combination of ingredients. Now I will admit, I can probably call out their tacos [...]

I could probably classify these pigs in a blanket in a few different ways, as they are commonly known as sausages wrapped in some sort of dough, and baked. I have seen them as breakfast sausages wrapped in pancakes, as well as a hot dog, either wrapped in the standard crescent roll, or bagel dough. [...]

So like many of you, I was faced with what to prepare for last week’s Super Bowl game. I had plenty to choose from, however I wanted to do something a bit different for the party that our cousins were hosting. For some odd reason my first reaction was thinking about all of the great [...]