Category Archives: Recipe Experimentation

Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Baked Zucchini Chips with Green Goddess Dipping Sauce

April 11, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , Leave a comment

This week’s theme on American Idol is Songs From This Decade. Ummm yeah, for some reason this really stumped me. All I could think about was gluten free everything and Iron Chef. I was a little afraid (or lazy) to tackle gluten free and honestly the “modern” stuff they do on Iron Chef is light years beyond anything I can do.

So when I was coming up with tonight’s recipe for Yahoo! blogger Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog, I was thinking quick, simple, healthy, and fun! Fried zucchini sticks are one of my favorite snacks but since Weight Watchers is putting a serious damper on my fried foodie tendencies right now, I came up with an alternative.

Happy Eating!

Check out tonight’s recipe featured on Reality Rocks HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Lemony Pasta Salad

April 5, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , Leave a comment

Hair metal, parachute  pants…..and pasta salad? Yes pasta salad was huge in the 80’s. That fun colorful fusilli wrapped in herbs and whatever else mom had on hand that day. So for tonight’s Top 8 result’s show on American Idol I’m whipping up (literally) the quickest recipe I’ve done to date. And I get an excuse to use up some extra veggies sitting in the fridge.

I didn’t watch last night’s episode but from the recaps I’ve been reading the song list seemed a little weak. As my friend Lyndsey Parker said, how do you have an 80’s night without Depeche Mode or Duran Duran. Blasphemy.

Did you watch? Who was your favorite?

Give this recipe a try. It’s easy, flavorful and delicious. Don’t forget to check out tonight’s dish on Reality Rocks HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Wonton Pizza Bites

April 4, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , 2 Comments

Everything seems to make its way  back around, especially the 80’s. No matter how much I wanted the decade of acid washed jeans and New Kids on the Block to remain in my rear view mirror forever, alas, it’s back. But like most reincarnations the heart and soul is in tact, but with a little different look.

So in honor of tonight’s 80’s themed American Idol episode I’m doing a little recreating of my own. As an 80’s baby one of my favorite after school snacks was pizza bites. I had some extra wonton wrappers left over from my Lasagna Cups recipe so I thought I would make a healthier version of the old school classic.

Tonight’s recipe is featured on Lyndsey Parker’s Reality Rocks blog. Check it out HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Guacamole Salad

March 29, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

You know that moment when you see yourself about to do something that not only you’ll regret, but it’s like you see yourself in slow motion, doing it, yet you do nothing to stop it. It was like I was having an out of body experience when I decided to not just sprinkle, but DUMP chile powder and cumin all over my beautiful green guacamole. As soon as I did it my heart stopped as I watched it turn from a beautiful shade of green to putrid brown. FAIL!

Don’t worry, I didn’t make that mistake while writing this recipe. You can sprinkle in the small amount of spices into your guac with confidence that you will not defile it like I did. Of course I still ate it, and it was quite good, but it was like having a bite of guac with a pound of spices. I will definitely NOT be making that mistake again.

Moving on…

This week I’m cooking up recipes from my culinary inspirations in honor of the top 9 American Idol contestants singing songs from their idols. All year long I’ve been providing tasty (catastrophe aside you can eat this with confidence) treats for Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog. Last night i took some inspiration from Mario Batali with my Lasagna Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey. Tonight, I’m taking a cue from my ultimate culinary Idol, Bobby Flay.

Bobby Flay just speaks my language. Peppers – check! Spices – check! Southwest cuisine – my fuel! So for this recipe it was a no brainer. My favorite snack besides chips and salsa combined with some sauteed peppers and crispy romaine. Damn I’m hungry again.

Check out tonight’s feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

Happy Eating!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Lasagna Cups with Spicy Ground Turkey

March 28, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Alright it’s official…I’m completely obsessed with making things in my muffin tin. You can pretty much turn any dinner staple into a quick and easy snack by turning them into mini cakes, or cups, or whatever you want to call them. I’ve been seeing Lasagna Cups everywhere lately so of course I had to give them a try.

Since the premier of American Idol in January I’ve been serving up tasty snacks for Yahoo! Music reality blogstress Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog. This week on Idol the remaining 9 are singing songs from their Idols so I thought I would make some food inspired by a few of my favorite chefs.

Tonight’s inspiration is an Italian classic so of course I had one chef in mind, Mr. Mario Batali. Watching Batali on the Cooking Channel is like drinking a glass of warm milk…he just relaxes me. Okay weird comparisons aside I love this guy…him and his hideous orange crocs.

Give this recipe a try. Besides my muffin tin I think I’ve found a new obsession, Wonton Wrappers! You can stuff them with anything you want and they’re healthy. I will definitely be coming up with some more recipes using them again soon!

Check out my feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

Happy Eating!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Olive Shooters in Vodka Sauce with Rosemary Flatbread

March 22, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , , 2 Comments

This week it’s Billy Joel week on American Idol and I’m making some inspired recipes for Yahoo! Music Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog. Last night i was in a “New York State of Mind” when I made sausage rolls inspired by street vendors and the brisk lifestyle of the city.

For tonight’s results’ show I’m taking a cue  from the “Piano Man” with my piano bar inspired appetizer. Bare with me here….when I think of dueling pianos I want a martini, so I’ve combined the two most important ingredients in tonight’s snack, olives and vodka.

I didn’t see all of the performances last night but I will say…thank you Colton for getting back to what you do best. I was talking with Lyndsey last week on The Day After about how I wanted to see Colton back on the piano, lights dimmed, doing his thing. I have no doubt he’ll be making it to the top 9.

Check out tonight’s feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Sausage Pinwheels

March 21, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Last week on American Idol we saw the ousting of Jermaine Jones for his criminal pastimes, and said goodbye to youngster Shannon Magrane. I wasn’t surprised by the Idol antics or the fact that America voted off Miss Magrane. She is definitely a talented girl but I felt like she was always a little over her head and not quite ready for the Idol stage. What did surprise me was the fact that soul songstress, and my favorite contestant by far, Elise Testone was in the bottom three. What the hell America…there is more to music then cute guys with guitars and teeny bobber pop singers. Boring!

Anywho…enough ranting and on to the food. Tonight I’m cooking up another snack for Yahoo! Music blogger Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog. I was in Austin last weekend for the SXSW music festival where I had the pleasure of co-hosting with Lyndsey on her internet series, The Day After. Once I get caught up from the craziness of the last few days I’ll definitely be posting some pics of my favorite SXSW acts!

For tonight’s Billy Joel themed episode I took a cue from his hit, “New York State of Mind” and combined the fast paced lifestyle and food vendor fair of NYC. This quick and easy recipe is a homage to the catchy cliche “in a New York minute”. So try it out, it will be hard to eat just one!

Check out my feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Cinnamon Toast Bites with Raspberry Dipping Sauce

March 15, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

First things first…what the hell was up on American Idol last night?? Jermaine Jones getting kicked off the show had to be the most set up thing ever. Excuse my boldness but I’ve been through the Idol process. I didn’t make it nearly as far as Jermaine but let me guarantee you they check out their contestants…extensively. Now I could be completely wrong here but I find it hard to believe they completely missed not one, but FOUR warrants against him.

Anywho…moving on. I thought last night’s performances were good, some boring, but not bad. My favorite by far was Joshua Ledet. His rendition of “When a Man Loves a Woman” took me straight to church, right there in my living room. Amazing. Amazing.

On to the food…

Every week I’ve been cooking up snacks for Yahoo! Music Blogger, Lyndsey Parker, and her Reality Rocks blog. For this week’s Songs from the Year You Were Born theme I decided to take a stroll down memory lane and cook up some flavors from my childhood. Last night I made my favorite family recipe, Squash Cakes, so tonight I thought I’d satisfy my sweet tooth with a breakfast/turned dessert favorite.

This recipe makes a ton of raspberry sauce. Feel free to half it or just keep it and dump it over everything…it’s that tasty!

Check out my feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

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Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Squash Cakes

March 14, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , Leave a comment

I can’t believe we’re already down to 12 on American Idol. The finale will be here before you know it, but in the meantime I’m still cooking up snacks for Yahoo!’s Lyndsey Parker and her Reality Rocks blog.

The theme this week is Songs From the Year You Were Born. So I decided to make some snacks from back in the day. Tonight’s recipe is one of my all time favorite family dishes. I thought I would try something totally different and turn it into a snack. There are two VERY important things to remember when making this dish:

  1. Make sure the consistency of the cornbread stuffing mix is sticky enough to form cups.
  2. Make sure you form the cups up the sides completely or else they won’t be cups but a pile of squash when you pull them out.

If you don’t want to bother with the cups at least make the casserole…it’s to die for.

Check out tonight’s feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

Snackin’ with Sarah Sellers: Spinach Mash Martinis

March 8, 2012 By in Recipe Experimentation, Snackin' with Sarah Sellers Tags: , , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

Since we’re on the theme of food to my soul, or pretty much the best comfort food ever, I thought I’d throw one more classic (with a twist) out there for tonight’s results show on American Idol.

All throughout this season of Idol I’ve been guest blogging (or cooking to be exact) for Yahoo! Music’s Lyndsey Parker and her all things reality blog, Reality Rocks. This week’s theme, songs from Whitney Houston and Stevie Wonder, inspired me to cook up some of my very own classic comfort food…food for the soul!

By the way…holy hell Jessica Sanchez…did you really just dominate I will Always Love You last night?? An amazing job and stellar tribute to the late grate Whitney Houston. She blew my mind.

On to the food…

Check out my feature on Reality Rocks HERE!

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