Grilled PB & J

One of my favorite small appliance is my panini maker. I am a strong believer that a cold sandwich is twice as good grilled!

I had a craving for pb & j the other day and when I started to make it the panini maker was right there so I thought...why not! I am so glad I did. It turned out awesome.

You do have to be careful not to put too much peanut butter on it though. Once it gets warm it becomes a lot more liquid and gets everywhere. It can also be a bit overwhelming and over power the sweetness of the jelly.

My favorite combination is peanut butter and blackberry preserves....mm, mm, mm!

The best part about this grilled gooey masterpiece is it makes a great warm breakfast. I have enjoyed pairing it with a cup of coffee so much that we have run out of peanut butter this week. Not being huge peanut butter fans- that never happens in this house.

I am anxious to try some other combinations like pb & honey...I may even add a banana here and there!

It may not look pretty...but we all know true beauty is on the inside!!

Sweet & Spicy Pie!

Even though I did not make this I couldn't help but share its YUMMINESS with everyone!

Sal's Pizza in Dallas makes an amazing pizza. They are located on Wycliff just off of the tollway. Their crust is always cooked perfect! It never too thin & crunchy, or think & heavy. It's thin enough to fold but substantial enough to hold its ingredients. On top of crust perfection their sauce is right there as well. Bottom line is anything you order is going to be brag worthy.

Well I decided to spice up (literally) one of my favorite types of pizzas. Hawaiian (Canadian bacon & pineapple). I added jalepenos...result...DELICIOUS!!! The spicy mixed with the salt of the ham and the sweet of the pineapple was magic in my mouth!

If you are up for it and love spicy as much as I do you will have to try this next time your pizza craving attacks. You won't be disappointed!!!

Contributor: NATALIE

Hi everyone, I'm Natalie! Also a 20-something Dallasite and I suppose I could very aptly be considered one of Jodi's "foodie friends". That word 'foodie' gets thrown around a lot, so out of curiosity I just looked it up and the definition is: a person having an avid interest in the latest food fads. Hmm... considering I currently have about 147 hours of food network tivo'd, I'm thinking I qualify.

Some of my culinary adventures include: a full on iron chef competition with my friend Trey (of which the winner is still debatable), setting a toaster on fire, daydreaming of becoming a food stylist, getting marinara sauce on my ceiling during one very tasty italian meal prep, stalking the food network building during a trip to NYC, and generally just loving life in the kitchen with a big glass of red wine in my hand.

I am a single girl about town and try to cook as often as possible, but it completely depends on my schedule for the week. My roommate Alex often reaps the benefits of my love of food. My personal adventures can be found on my normal blog, moose and lulu.

Favorite Cuisine: Toss-up between Mexican and Italian
Favorite Chef: Giada de Laurentiis
Favorite Utensil: my Global knives

Wife Training

A long running joke between Ray and Matt is that I need to go to Wife Training. They throw this around when they tease me about cooking dinner, my cleaning habits, etc...well tonight I hit the jack pot when it comes to the cheaters version of Wife Training...Hello Central Market!

I usually don't go into Central Market because it tends to be a little pricey. We do most of grocery shopping at the Tom Thumb (which is across the street from Central Market). Tonight I decided to go in and grab the few items I needed and I am SO GLAD I DID!!! First off it wasn't any more expensive than what it would have been across the street but the quality is 3x better...LOVE THAT!

I also love the "Meal Kits" they had....aka the cheaters version of Wife Training. Tonight I bought the pizza making kit. All of the ingredients were fresh (even the sauce...they make it there in the store), you don't have to buy more ingredients than you will use, and you don't have to slave away in the kitchen all night to prepare a meal (my favorite part)!

Here is the kit and recipe card:
Pizza Dough
Olive Oil
Fresh Basil
Pizza Sauce
Sun Dried Tomatoes
Roasted Garlic Cloves (whole fresh cloves!!!)
Freshly Shredded Cheese

Here is what it looked like right before it went into the oven!

And finally the final product! It was supper yummy!!!!

These Meal Kits are a LIFE SAVER! They are affordable, yummy, and it makes you feel like you made it from scratch - like the good wife you should be :-)
They have all sorts of meals to choose from...I can't wait to try them all! YUM YUM!!

Cheesy Tortellini

This is one of my favorite pasta dishes to make. It is so easy and quick but honestly taste like you have spent all day slaving over it. We have had to double the recipe in our home because we are always wanting more. Rachel Ray was the genius creator of this dish.

Ingredients
1 pound cheese tortellini
1 cup frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons butter
5 scallions, white and green parts thinly sliced separately
2 tablespoons flour
1 2/3 cups milk
Salt and pepper
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese, plus more for sprinkling

Directions

1. In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the tortellini until al dente; drain.

2. Meanwhile, add the peas, butter and scallion whites to another large saucepan and cook over medium heat for two minutes. Whisk in the flour and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Stir in the scallion greens and season with salt and pepper.

3. Stir the tortellini and 1/3 cup cheese into the sauce. Divide the pasta among 4 serving bowls and Easy does it sprinkle with more cheese.

Contributor: JODI

Jodi is a 20 something female who started this blog in hopes of collaborating with her foodie friends to generate a fabulous resource and story board for all other foodies out there. Wanting it not only to be stocked full of great recipes but also the adventures (and messes) that more times than not accompany food genius! She has invited family and friends that share her love of food and creation (and no professional training) to join her in publishing such stories.

Living in Dallas with her husband Matt and lovable mutt Kayla, Jodi cooks at least 4 times a week and bakes as much as possible. Baking was Jodi's first love. Pies were her poison back in college and have since opened the flood gates into the cooking world.

Favorite Dish: Mac & Cheese or Fajitas
Favorite Flavor: SPICY
Favorite Drink: GIN & TONIC or an Amber Beer