cheese

Another taco-inspired meal for you all to enjoy: taco dip! Usually I use this as an appetizer, but occasionally we do make it into more of a salad-type meal and both ways are truly fantastic. In addition to its versatility, taco dip requires few ingredients and minimal prep time!  Let's get to it...

Growing up, my sister and I used to regularly go to a local bagel shop that made the best breakfast sandwiches. Walking in the door brought on the most amazing smells of freshly baking bagels mixed with hints of ham, bacon, and cheeses. Our favorite meal to order was the Ham and Cheese Eggwich. It was magical the way the egg would get fluffly and the cheese would melt. I didn't understand back then how they were able to form this favorite breakfast delight.

Mini food is apparently all the rage, so I decided to try my hand at arranging mini appetizers for the pleasure of my guests. My first stop was to Kohls where I picked up a set of white espresso cups with matching saucers.  They are absolutely adorable!

My green bell pepper plants have finally produced large enough peppers for eating, so I came up with some tasty meals that could incorporate my garden fresh peppers. The first one was the steak sandwich. Then, considering my husband's inexplicable love of "Mexican" food and all things wrapped in a tortilla, I decided to make Chicken Fajitas!

*Note: prepare the egg bake the night before you need it!

Growing up, I had never had egg bake. We made scrambled eggs, over easy eggs, deviled eggs, omelets, and used eggs for baking, but we never made egg bake. My mother-in-law, however, makes it on special occasions and it is probably one of my favorite breakfast foods!

My friend bought me a "Taste of Home Slow Cooker Recipe Cards" book after getting me an awesome slow cooker as a present. Having never used a slow cooker before (aka crock pot), I started sifting through the recipe book hoping to find something simple and tasty.