Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki

I love gyros. Love love love them. We used to have a great little Greek/Mediterranean food place that we would go to all the time when we lived down in Phoenix and they had the BEST food ever. Just thinking about it makes me salivate.
Needless to say I have been craving some gyros lately but I'm way to cheap to buy lamb (which is what we always ordered at that restaurant) so when making it myself  I always opt to use this chicken gyros recipe. It is so good. I have also included a fantastic Tzatziki sauce recipe that goes wonderfully with it.
 I like to add some fresh red onion, tomatoes and sumac and served them on homemade Pita bread.
I also like to pair this up with my favorite Lemon Butter Rice as a side.

Chicken Alfredo Pasta

My absolute favorite way to use my Homemade Alfredo Sauce is to combine it with grilled or roasted chicken and put it all on top of penne! I feel like I say this about every recipe, but, this really is one of my families favorite recipes!! It's also one of my favorite meals to make for people either when they come to visit my house, or if they need a meal brought to them. It's always a crowd pleaser for both adults and kids. I mean, it's full of cheese...so why wouldn't people like it?!
A few years ago, this recipe was one that my husband would ask for every single week. I generally ask him to think of one recipe that he would like to have the following week and this my friends was always his response, "oh I don't know, maybe some chicken...with some white sauce...and some penne?" EVERYTIME!!! It got so old that I kind of stopped asking him, which I think was his intention all along.

Buttermilk Syrup

Oh Buttermilk Syrup. I love this stuff. It makes such a great addition to the Buttermilk Pancake recipe I shared earlier. I first had this recipe at my sisters house and instantly fell in love with it. We make this every time we have extra buttermilk sitting in the fridge, and never regret it. The flavor of this syrup is way different then that of regular maple syrup. It almost has a bit of a caramel(ish) flavor, and is very rich...and heavenly.
If you are looking for something different to try on your waffles or pancakes, give this a try. You won't regret it.

Hunan Style Chicken with Honey Lemon Sauce

I found this recipe in one of my moms REALLY OLD Asian cookbooks. I don't know why I had decided to give it a try but I have always been glad that I did. I have been making this recipe for years now and it has become one of my families absolute favorite dinners to have! The batter on this chicken is absolutely amazing. I think the reason I like it so much is because the batter has soy sauce in it, which helps provide some flavor and add saltiness (anybody who knows me knows that I LOVE salt).
I do feel like I need to throw a disclaimer (or two) out there though about the sauce. DON'T JUDGE IT BEFORE YOU TRY IT!
I am well aware that some of the ingredients in the sauce are a bit...odd to pair together, but I promise you JUST TRY IT.
Second disclaimer...the sauce isn't that tasty just on the tip of your finger so again don't judge it before you try it with the chicken. :)

Gnocchi Alla Sorrentina

Don't be scared off by the fancy title. In our house it is known as the "yummy red sauce". This is my husbands favorite way to eat gnocchi hands down. This sauce is filled with two different types of cheese which makes it incredibly delicious. The flavors are simple, which is what I like best about it because you really get to taste each ingredient.
You can either use this sauce alone with some boxed gnocchi or you can try making your own homemade gnocchi. I shared a great gnocchi recipe yesterday on the blog and it can be found here.

Cheesy Broccoli Mac n Cheese

Growing up I always loved ripping open a box of mac n cheese and having that with some hot dogs for lunch.
As an adult I must admit I still really enjoy having mac n cheese and hot dogs but I don't like the taste of boxed mac n cheese any more. It tastes soooo processed and just flat out gross ro me.
I have been making homemade for many years now because not only is it just as easy, it tastes a million times better and is very versitle.
For example I use the cheese sauce recipe, add broccoli and serve it over baked potatoes as well, DELISH.

Pork Chops with Lemon Basil Cream Sauce

Okay who needs to go out when you can make stuff at home that looks this beautiful and elegant?! And as an added bonus it tastes as amazing as it looks.
Let's be honest, going out to restaurants is expensive. Especially if you were to order something like this. But making it at home costs half the price and you can stay in your pajamas. Don't get me wrong, I love going out, but, making this quality of food at home wow's everybody more then ordering it from a menu.
This recipe will not let you down as far as flavor goes. The pork chop alone being breaded and bakes is super juicy but then you add this amazing cream sauce and you get smacked in the face with flavor!

Alfredo Sauce

I have had this recipe for a long time, written on a napkin in my recipe box. I have made it many times and can't believe that I haven't posted about it. Homemade sauce is a million, no...A BILLION times better then that store bought kind. (Although maybe I have just never had a good store bought kind). It really doesn't take that much longer to make because you throw the ingredients in a blender and then heat them up and add cheese. NOT DIFFICULT and so much better!
I am a lover of everything smothered in Alfredo sauce! My husband loves it as well. In fact, every week while I am planning out my menu for the following week I ask him one meal that he would like to have that week and every time it is "oh I don't know, maybe some chicken with some penne and some alfredo sauce?" LOL. (Does anybody else's spouse offer the same opinion every time on food when asking what they want each week?! I have begun wondering if they do this on purpose so you will stop asking or if they really just like the same thing to eat??)
*BTW sauce is REALLY hard to photograph**

Spaghetti Meat Sauce

On my way to church yesterday for some reason I started thinking about spaghetti. Kinda strange since it was 9:00 AM, but I couldn't get spaghetti out of my head all day. I just happened to have some ground turkey sitting in my fridge that I WAS going to make some stuffed peppers with but instead decided to whip up a homemade meat sauce instead. It turned out great! It involved ingredients that I had in my pantry and fridge, throw it all on the stove and let it simmer together to make a fantastic flavorful sauce!
Enjoy!

Thai Peanut Dressing

Over the weekend we had a big get together with a bunch of friends from the ward. We decided to have a Thai themed potluck. I'll tell you what...I have some amazing cooks as friends. I could learn a lot from them!
We realized that we were going to end up with a lot of main course items so I hurried and bought some lettuce to throw a quick salad together and realized I had no idea what kind of dressing to serve on top of it. I searched high and low and came across a whole bunch of different peanut dressings and this is the one I chose to make because I trust the site it came from. This dressing had rave reviews from all my friends, so here I am sharing it with all of you! Enjoy!

Tomatillo Dressing

This dressing is out of this world. It is somewhat similar to the El Pollo Loco Dressing recipe I have on here but wow. I do believe this will be my go to dressing from now on. This was absolutely amazing on top of the Shredded Beef Tacos that I made yesterday! Give them both a try, and honestly I think the tacos were so good because this sauce is so amazing!

Shredded Beef Tacos

Oh....my.....goodness!!!!!
Between the amazing beef in this recipe and the tomatillo dressing recipe (recipe to come tomorrow) that goes with it I think I died and went to heaven! This I must say has got to be one of the best recipe finds I have ever found. The beef is slow cooked all day in a fantastic combination of flavors and then shredded to put in tacos! Then there is a tomatillo dressing recipe that is OUT OF THIS WORLD!
If you have ever been to Cafe Rio, this is a copycat version of their Shredded Beef Tacos and their Tomatillo dressing. So if you like it there then you will love this recipe!

Dad's Texas BBQ

Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm. I love BBQ season! And now that I live in the great state of Arizona, its ALWAYS BBQ season! This makes my tummy very happy :)
This BBQ sauce recipe is one that I grew up on. It's one that my dad always used whenever he would do up some ribs. In my opinion I think it would be good on any kind of meat, but you can never go wrong with it when its on some fantastic ribs...
(Yes I did just have to wipe a little drool off my chin...)
If you don't use all of the sauce it can save in the fridge for at least a week, depending on how you store it.
For me, this recipe just brings back fond memories of dad at the grill, mom making some macaroni salad, and me bringing the dishes outside to eat with the family on the deck!