Corned Beef Nachos with Swiss Cheese Queso and Pickled Cabbage

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

The perfect St. Patrick's Day appetizer is here with these Irish Corned Beef Nachos with Swiss Cheese Queso and Pickled Cabbage!

I can count on one hand the amount of times my family has celebrated St. Patrick's Day since I was a little kid. It just wasn't a big thing in our home, and even for the over-zealous celebratory adult I've become (i.e. I'm quick to celebrate pretty much everything and anything), St. Patrick's Day still is very low on the holiday totem pole.

Of course now that Olivia is at the age where she's learning about each and every holiday (and makes countless art projects that she enthusiastically decorates our house with... definitely my kid), we've become more apt to celebrate anything she's excited about. She's all about St. Patrick's Day, so this year we're going to a parade, ~~running~~ walking a family-friendly St. Patty's Day 5K, and going to her friend's house (they are all Irish) for a little play date - holiday edition.

Throughout the years I've tried cooking corned beef a few times, and each time I'm always highly underwhelmed. I didn't get it. And cooked cabbage... still don't get it. But then last night as I was trying to think about what Irish appetizer I could bring over to this St. Patrick's Day celebration, I had an epiphany. Let's combine my love for Mexican food with the traditional flavors that we have come to associate with March 17th... and this St. Patrick's Day appetizer for Irish Corned Beef Nachos with Swiss Cheese Queso and Pickled Cabbage was born.

Let's talk chips.

You can 100% use tortilla chips for these Corned Beef Nachos, but I decided to go with potato chips to help mimic the Irish Nacho feel. Some people argue that potato chips are more delicate and go soggy. They definitely do have a soggy factor if you let these nachos sit for awhile, but let's be honest. When's the last time you were at a party and there was a nacho board that wasn't devoured almost immediately?

Say Cheese.

To be honest I'm not a huge Swiss cheese fan, but I knew that if it's good enough for the reuben, it's gotta be the right choice for these Corned Beef Nachos. Holy crap it was. Swiss Cheese Queso for the win. It paired so well with the flavors of the corned beef.

Cabbage. Really?

You know what I've never seen a human being get excited for? Boiled cabbage. Gross. I knew that cabbage had to make an appearance on these St. Patrick's Day nachos, and remembered how epic of a flavor punch pickled cabbage had on these Mini Mediterranean Veggie Sliders Mini Greek Vegetarian Sliders a couple years back! The pickled cabbage helps cut right through the richness of the corned beef and cheese, and it provides a great crunch and freshness to the nachos!

How To Cook Your Corned Beef...

Really, it's up to you. Many people have their preferred tried and true recipe at this point. This year I decided to give my buddy Gerry's recipe a try. He's the super talented guy behind Foodness Gracious. I saw him post a recipe for Instant Pot Corned Beef the other day and knew I had to try it. The corned beef gets braised in Guinness and beef broth and is done in 90 minutes! I've never had corned beef as good as how his recipe came out. So good!

The End Result.

Not going to lie. I wasn't sure if these nachos were going to work. I mean, I knew that people who like corned beef and swiss cheese would like them, but I wanted to like them! I skeptically took a bite and my taste buds went into immediate party mode. The combination of salty potato chips, smooth queso, rich corned beef, and pickled crunchy cabbage makes for the perfect flavor combination!

I have a feeling we'll be celebrating St. Patrick's Day a whole lot more in our house moving forward. And these Irish Corned Beef Nachos with Swiss Cheese Queso and Pickled Cabbage will be front and center!

Corned Beef Nachos with Swiss Cheese Queso and Pickled Cabbage

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos are sponsored by CHI-CHI’s®. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

I'm not a fan of Taco Tuesday. It's too limiting.

In our house, every day has the potential to be a taco day. Olivia shares my taco obsession (#proudparent). You can pretty much put anything on a tortilla and she'll happily gobble it down for dinner. Her favorite part is putting on all the toppings. And let's not lie... that's every adult's favorite part as well.

Even better is that these Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos are just 3 ingredients and take 5 minutes to prep. That's a HUGE win when it comes to weeknight dinner. There's such a small window between when we get home from Olivia's after school activities (who knew a 3-year-old could have such a packed social calendar) and when bedtime rolls up on us, so quick and easy taco dinners are totally helping us win at this parenting thing.

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

My love for tacos isn't new. They are SO versatile. I've created a ton of taco recipes over the year (you'll see a bunch of them listed at the bottom of this post for some extra taco inspiration), and now these Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos. I'm so excited to welcome them to the family!

Just check out how easy it is to make the salsa chicken.

Making this Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

The longest part is literally taking the slow cooker out of the cabinet!

A neat trick I learned along the way is to always spray the inside of your slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray before cooking in it. This makes washing it after a BREEZE! Then just add in the chicken, salsa, and taco seasoning, give it a good stir, and let it do its thing!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

I'm not using just any salsa for these Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos. These tacos call for CHI-CHI’s® Fiesta Style Smoky Chipotle Salsa! It’s the perfect blend of jalapeño peppers, chipotle chiles, roasted onion, garlic and tomatoes.

We're no stranger to the CHI-CHI’s® Brand in our house! They are just as passionate about taco dinner time as we are! They’re all about creating fun and festive occasions with its delicious Mexican foods, including crowd-pleasing salsas, tortillas, and chips. The perfect celebration doesn’t require a lot of time or money to plan with CHI-CHI's® —just their tasty food, some lively entertainment and, of course, your friends and family. And you better believe CHI-CHI’s® Brand products make it easy and convenient to add festive flavor to any dish with quality ingredients, including real tomatoes, vegetables and flavorful seasonings.

You can find CHI-CHI’s® Fiesta Style Smoky Chipotle Salsa at your local grocers throughout the North East such as Price Chopper, Topps Markets, Hannaford, Acme Markets, Redner's Market and Giant Eagle!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

When it comes time to top your Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos, don't be shy. We went with a classic combo of sliced avocado, chopped cilantro, and crumbled queso fresco for ours. With the smoky and slightly spicy chicken, the avocado adds creaminess, the cheese a salty kick, and cilantro that fresh bite.

But there's PLENTY of other topping options to get creative with. Hot sauce, sour cream, guacamole, corn, black/pinto/refried beans, lettuce, cheddar cheese... the list goes on and on!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

One of my favorite TIPS for next level tacos? Take the time to heat your tortillas properly. Sure, you could just wrap a stack of tortillas in a dampened paper towel and pop 'em in the microwave for a bit to get the warm (or wrap in aluminum foil and heat in the oven), but you're missing out on that little something extra to elevate your taco game. Heat up a dry skillet over medium/medium high heat. Once it's nice and hot, add your tortillas, one at a time, for a few seconds per side. Your goal is to get the toasty brown spots that you see on the tortillas in these images. It really makes a huge difference!

Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

Picking up ready to eat these Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

You love tacos as much as me? Here are some taco creations to keep your tastebuds dancing over the next few weeks!

I even love tacos for dessert with these Caramel Apple Pie Tacos and 4 Ingredient Nutella Choco Tacos!

Chi Chi's Chipotle Salsa for Slow Cooker Salsa Chicken Tacos | sharedappetite.com

SLOW COOKER SALSA CHICKEN TACOS

Breakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls

By Chris Cockren 7 Comments

These Breakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls is sponsored by FAGE. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Valentine's Day just passed us by... and it's officially the month of love.

Our daughter Olivia is now at the age where she understands and gets excited for holidays, birthdays, and pretty much any reason to decorate the house for a celebration. When she started seeing heart decorations appear at every store and in the windows of several neighbors' houses, Olivia immediately became curious. I explained that Valentine's Day was a day that we got to tell all the special people in our lives how much we love and appreciate them.

Although I'm right with Olivia in my love of decorating the house and having a reason to celebrate pretty much anything, I try to make it a point to make my family feel important and appreciated on a daily basis. Being the fan of food that I am, that love is usually shown through the food I serve.

We are big fans of yogurt in this house. It's our go-to weekday breakfast routine. When we want to feel extra fancy, we dress it up like these Breakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls. It contains our favorite rich and creamy variety... FAGE Total 5% plain Greek yogurt along with some especially nutritious and tasty toppings!

When I think luxury in the yogurt aisle of our local grocery story, my eyes (and stomach) always goes to FAGE. The all-natural Greek yogurt is unmatched in its rich and creamy texture and delicious taste. Made with only milk and live active yogurt cultures, FAGE Total 5% plain Greek yogurt is full of protein, contains no added sugar, is a good source of calcium, and is Non-GMO Project Verified!

Best of all, it pairs perfectly with your favorite toppings!

The topping options are pretty much endless when it comes to yogurt bowls, but we have our tried and trusted favorites around our house. Hands down Olivia's favorite topping is sprinkles (i.e. chia seeds). That's right. In quite possibly our greatest feat as parents to date, Olivia thinks that superfood-tastic chia seeds are indeed sprinkles.

With Olivia's peanut allergy, we've been digging almond butter around here lately. It's a flavorful and healthy addition to theseBreakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls!

Asheley is a fan of crunchy granola and those powerhouse flaxseeds, which contain a whole bunch of fiber, omega-3 fatty acids, B vitamins, and antioxidants.

Me? I'm a fruit topping kind of guy. Give me all the superfood power that strawberries, blueberries, tangerines, and bananas have to offer. Of course I swap out fruit depending on what looks good at the supermarket, but these are definitely some of my favorites!

When it comes time to create aBreakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls that the whole family will enjoy, we make sure to include it all on top of our favorite FAGE Total 5% plain Greek yogurt! It's such a luxuriously nutritious way to start our day and keeps us going strong all morning long!

Check out how versatile FAGE Total 5% Plain Greek Yogurt is with all of these recipes!

Breakfast Superfood Yogurt Bowls

Loaded Yogurt Bowl

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Loaded Yogurt Bowls are sponsored by Post® Great Grains®. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Ah, the holidays. Such a magical time. Except when it comes to my waist line.

It seems like we have this talk around this time of year every single year.

There’s just so much amazing food this time of year. Every time I turn around, there’s another party to go to, extra snacks in the faculty room at school, and a perhaps misguided personal mentality that it’s the time of year for extra indulgence (oh, why yes, cookies for a mid-morning snack is perfectly acceptable).

Now that we are approaching another new year, it’s time to get my daily routine back on track. I find that I eat way better when I follow my tried-and-true weekday eating regiment. The way I start each day during the work week? A yogurt. There’s just one problem. That gets a little boring after a while, and I find myself wanting to cheat. Stop staring at me, bagels.

Thankfully, there’s a new player on the block and it’s helping get my mornings off right. I still eat my yogurt, but my taste buds get some extra attention with these Loaded Yogurt Bowls made with the Post® Great Grains® Raisins, Dates & Pecans™ cereal featuring 20% More Fruit for a limited time!

Yogurt is great. Loaded Yogurt Bowls are way better, especially with Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans. It tastes great, adds so much textural variety, and makes me feel good about eating it. With 31g of whole grains per serving and being a good source of fiber, this heart-healthy cereal helps keep me feeling full and gives me the energy I need to teach these high school kids all morning long.

You can buy the Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans at your local Walmart, Kroger, Publix, Albertson’s/Safeway, and Ahold stores! Bonus… you can save now with the ibotta offer available!

Side note. Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans tastes great all on its own! Asheley loves it straight up with her morning coffee! She really loves that extra 20% fruit! The sweet raisins and delicious dates add the perfect amount of sweet chewiness to the crunchy whole grains!

What I love about these Loaded Yogurt Bowls? The customizations are endless. Use whatever fresh fruit is in season or looking good at the grocery store. Drizzle with honey. Add shaved coconut. Grab a spoonful of nut butter.

And listen, I get that mornings can be busy. Now that I’m teaching at the high school, I have to get myself and our two little ones out the door at (gasp) 6 a.m. every morning. But these Loaded Yogurt Bowls come together in under 5 minutes! Bonus if you have a mini fridge at work like me and can assemble these bowls once you get to work!

Let’s review:

The holidays are great, but it’s time to reset those eating habits.
Routines are great but can get boring.
Post Great Grains Raisins, Dates & Pecans is a great way to jazz up your weekday yogurt!
Add your favorite fresh fruit and other creative toppings, and it’s an instant crave-able breakfast!

Loaded Yogurt Bowls

BBQ Meatball Subs with Dr. Pepper BBQ Sauce

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

This post has been sponsored by Dr Pepper®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

A lot has changed since I first met Asheley 8 years ago. New jobs. Marriage. New home. Two kids. One thing though that has not changed? Asheley's love for college sports. And although our current season of life doesn't allow her to watch every game all Saturday long, she still is able to catch bits and pieces. I'm a fan of watching, too, but my motives are driven by something other than those two teams battling it out on the television.

Game day eats. I love them. There's something so comforting and satisfying about a good game day spread, and I'm always excited to expand my repertoire of game day recipes!

And of course along with food, everyone's got their favorite beverage when it comes to watching the game. The fresh and delicious taste of Dr Pepper® pairs perfectly with all the standard tailgate appetizers, but I wanted to take it a step further and put Dr Pepper IN my recipe!These BBQ Meatball Subs with Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce. They are everything to me right now. Best of all, the whole family loves them, including my three year old!

Side note before I forget: you can find a bunch of game day inspiration over at the Tailgating with Dr Pepper Content Hub!

When it comes to good game day eats, there are a few rules I live by:

The food shouldn't require utensils. Napkins, sure. Forks and knives, heck no. I want to hold, grab, dip, and scoop my tailgating grub!

We all have a very precious amount of stomach space, so let's not waste it with fluff or filler. I want every bite to be big on taste and bold in flavor. These BBQ Meatball Subs have it all, from tangy to sweet, to crunchy and creamy!

No one wants to spend the whole game in the kitchen. Game day recipes need to be FAST and hands off. Bonus points if guests can assemble their food themselves. These BBQ Meatball Subs only require about 10 minutes of hands-on time! The rest is just letting the meatballs and Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce cook away on the stove!

Did I mention these Dr Pepper BBQ Meatballs are made in ONE pot? (Fewer dishes to wash for the win!)

Speaking of this Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce. It's SO good and only requires ingredients you most likely already have hanging out in your pantry! Ketchup, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, the ever impossible to pronounce (and spell) Worcestershire sauce, and onion + garlic powder! And yes, it's literally as simple as dumping all those ingredients in a pot along with a can of Dr Pepper and letting it simmer away!

To make these BBQ Meatball Subs extra easy to prep, I grabbed some of my favorite frozen meatballs and sub rolls at my local Stop & Shop along with the Dr Pepper and ripe avocados (they always have ripe avocados at my Stop & Shop, which is SO appreciated!!!).

And for all my frugal friends out there, thanks to Stop & Shop's great prices, this entire game day recipe cost less than $2 per sub! BOOM!

Once you get all those Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce ingredients boiling away, I just drop in my frozen meatballs and let the sauce reduce to a glaze-like consistency. All in all, it takes about 20 minutes... just don't forget to stir once in a while to prevent scorching at the bottom of the pot.

Halve those rolls, stuff them with 4 meatballs each, and sprinkle with cheddar cheese. The next step is CRUCIAL: I broil the subs in the oven to get that cheese nice and melted while at the same time toasting the subs a bit so you get some crunch along with the chew of the roll!

I love topping these BBQ Meatball Subs with chopped avocado (hello creamy goodness) and my Easy Pickled Onions, which immediately add a flavor punch to anything they touch! Pro tip: keep a batch of those pickled onions in the fridge at all times. I add them to sandwiches, nachos, tacos, and salads! They keep for WEEKS in the fridge!

Let's review:

head to Stop & Shop and stock up on all your tailgating needs
spend less time in the kitchen and more time watching the game (and eating)
focus on recipes that don't require utensils but deliver BIG on flavor
make these BBQ Meatball Subs with Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce!

psst... remember to check out the Tailgating with Dr Pepper Content Hub for more game day inspiration!

BBQ Meatball Subs with Dr Pepper BBQ Sauce

Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

This Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza was created in partnership with Del Monte Foods, Inc. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Thanksgiving. Side note: I can't believe we are talking about Thanksgiving already. Anyone feel like they were just planning what they wanted to do over the summer?! Not just me... okay good.

I digress. Thanksgiving is rapidly approaching, and I'm pretty darn excited. I mean, it's literally a food holiday. I was born to celebrate this holiday.

I have my go-to recipes for Turkey Day (and some new ones that I always like to experiment with and try out from year to year) and love to entertain family on Thanksgiving. There's something pretty magical about the house buzzing with family you only get to see every few months. But to me, the main event is actually the day after Thanksgiving. That's right. Black Friday National Leftovers Day.

You've seen my Leftover Thanskgiving Hand Pies. And my Stuffing Waffles and Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey and Hash Sandwiches with Cranberry Aioli. But this Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza. It's my all-time new favorite day after Thanksgiving recipe!

Full disclosure. I don't love leftovers. Reheating a meal I already cooked isn't something I get excited about. But repurposing an old meal into something completely different?! Yeah, I'm so down with that.

Thanksgiving is chaotic. There's a TON of food to prep, family to entertain and catch up with, and lots of little kids running around screaming with excitement. The day after? Sweet, sweet quiet. Just me and my leftovers. And what do I crave the day after Thanksgiving? COMFORT.

There are few things in this life more satisfying than a good slice of pizza (and living here in New York, a great slice is pretty much on every corner). It's comfort food to the max, and I knew that my Thanksgiving weekend menu needed this pizza on it this year.

Two staples that are always on my Thanksgiving table (which, of course, then made their way into this Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza) are Del Monte® Cream Style Golden Sweet Corn and green bean casserole using Del Monte® Blue Lake® Cut Green Beans. It's not Thanksgiving without them!

There are a few reasons why I love delicious and convenient Del Monte vegetables and always reach for them on the shelves at my local supermarket. Del Monte® Blue Lake® Cut Green Beans and Del Monte® Cream Style Golden Sweet Corn are picked at the peak of freshness, which locks in tremendous flavor. I love that the ingredient list is short and straightforward: vegetable, water, and a dash of sea salt. Nothing else!

Even better, Del Monte is a network of family farms—many of which have been with them for generations! Every vegetable is grown in the United States and is packed within 75 miles of the farm! And probably most important is that Del Monte® is all about quality. With over 130 years of farming experiences, these guys know vegetables!

You can check out this store locator to see where you can get your hands on Del Monte vegetables!

Check out Del Monte's collection of holiday recipes for lots of cooking inspiration!

Listen, I get it. The day after Thanksgiving is not the day to cook. You are slowly awakening from your Thanksgiving dinner slumber and are nursing a major food coma. That's why this Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza is so ridiculously great. It just takes 10 minutes of prep!

You can find pizza dough at most supermarkets or you can do like me and grab dough at your local pizzeria. They are usually just a few bucks and the quality is GREAT. If your dough is refrigerated, you'll want to let your pizza dough sit out for about 30 minutes before stretching it out. I've found that it's way harder to work with cold dough... it likes to shrink back on me! Let the pizza dough come to room temperature and you'll see it rolls out nicely.

Once you have that dough stretched and ready to go... it's pizza-making time.

Make sure to put down a thin layer of mashed potatoes before anything else. That's going to act as a barrier so none of the leftovers (I'm looking at you creamed corn) seep through to the crust. After the mashed potatoes, it doesn't really matter what order you add your toppings, but obviously just make sure the cheese is on top!

The amount of each leftovers you use will be dependent on how big your pizza dough is and also how hefty of a pizza you want! There really are no rules though, so get creative! Feel free to add other leftover toppings to your pizza as well! If you want to make it a family event, you can even divide a few doughs up and let each member of your family create their own mini pizza!

Once you bake off this Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza until the crust is golden brown, you'll want to top it with some dollops of cranberry sauce and drizzle it with gravy! I like to add a little chopped parsley for a garnish, but that's 100% optional!

My advice? You may want to grab extra dough because after one bite, you're going to want to make this Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza every day until those leftovers run out!

You can check out this store locator to see where you can get your hands on Del Monte vegetables!

Check out Del Monte's collection of holiday recipes!

Leftover Thanksgiving Pizza

Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

These Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries were created in partnership with the American Lamb Board. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Before we go any further, stop what you are doing and enter the American Lamb Sunday Funday contest! It takes less than 1 minute to enter and you can win some serious swag like a lamb sampler pack and a $500 gift card!

Speaking of Sundays... what gets you excited each Sunday? Are you a hardcore brunch advocate? Or maybe that's your day to take it easy around the house and get something cooking up in your slow cooker while you Netflix binge? For a lot of you I know Sunday means ~~one thing~~ two things this time of year: sports + food.

Personally I'm pretty indifferent when it comes to watching sports over the weekend (except my 3 year old daughter's soccer practice... that's 30 minutes of pure joy as we watch the coach try to wrangle in all the little ones into some sort of organized blob that resembles a team). And hey, if watching sports gives me a reason to get my hands on some legit game day eats, I'm all in.

You all know by now that I'm a fan of big, bold flavors, and tailgate recipes always gets me excited. It's comfort food to the max, and with legit eats like these Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries, there's a dance party going on my tastebuds all game long!

It's pretty hard not to love anything with the word FRIES in the title, but these Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries are ridiculously epic!

Ground lamb gets the royal treatment with spices and flavors similar to what you'd find in Lamb Kefta: onion, garlic, lemon, mint, coriander, cumin, and oregano are all mixed in for a serious trip to flavor-town.

You can't call these Mediterranean Lamb Fries LOADED without piling on the toppings! A super fresh Israeli salad (think a Mediterranean version of pico de gallo) adds brightness. Crumbled feta cheese adds that classic salty cheesy kick. Olives add that briny goodness. And of course... bring on the TZATZIKI!

I've had a lot of tzatziki in my day and usually I find them too dull. Mine is aggressive in the best way possible. The garlic gives it the kick it needs, just the right amount of cucumber to keep it cool and refreshing, and a lot of lemon to bring on the bright zing of acidity.

Let's take a step back and talk about this ground lamb for a second. Whenever I look for lamb these days, I always make sure to source AMERICAN Lamb.

I was shocked to learn a couple years back that the majority of lamb sold in the United States is actually from Australia and New Zealand.

Some people think that sourcing something from the opposite side of the world is exotic and enticing.

But here's the problem I have.... we are literally buying meat from the opposite side of the world. American lamb is up to 10,000 miles fresher and is available daily in our supermarkets!

American Lamb. Not only is it a superior tasting product, it’s hyper local since lamb is produced in almost every single state here in the U.S.

I've had the honor and privilege to visit American Lamb ranches in both California and in Maine recently, and I saw first hand how much our American ranchers care about raising lamb. It’s 100% a labor of love and passion. It was incredible to see just how hard these people work day in and day out. It's a humble life with long hours and little recognition, but they are ranchers because they know it's such important work and they love it. That’s why I want to support these family-owned ranches by making sure the lamb I cook with is American Lamb!

We as Americans always love to support products that have the “Made in the United States” stamp on it. Why would we accept anything less from the food we eat?!

Next time you are at the butcher counter… make sure you let them know that you want to keep it local and support our neighbor ranchers with AMERICAN lamb. It tastes better, is fresher, and helps support families right here in the U.S.

And REMINDER: head over now to the American Lamb Sunday Funday contest! It takes less than 1 minute to enter and you can win some serious swag like a lamb sampler pack and a $500 gift card! I would so love to see one of you win!!!

Need More LAMBtastic recipe ideas? I've got ewe covered, shank you very much. Sorry for the dad jokes. I'm a dad. Deal with it.

Most importantly, make these Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries!

Loaded Mediterranean Lamb Fries

Why I Love The Cheesecake Factory

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

This post was sponsored by The Cheesecake Factory. As always, all opinions are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Although I don't love the term foodie, I've been classified as such by my family, circle of friends, and pretty much any and all acquaintances along the way. I love food, and I really love going out to eat. It's pretty much a daily occurrence at this point that I get asked for restaurant recommendations. Readers email me asking for my top spots to eat in NYC (I send them here), friends text me asking for NYC neighborhood-specific recommendations, and a lot of times fellow Long Island residents message me on Instagram asking for my favorite places to eat out locally. My answer always shocks them.

There are some very fine local restaurants on Long Island. I'm happy to recommend them. But there's one restaurant that never... and I mean never in all my years going there... disappoints when it comes time for a date night, meal out with some friends, or a special family dinner.

The Cheesecake Factory. Yup, a chain restaurant. Gasp. At this point I always get the same reaction. How can YOU... this huge foodie that eats at some of the best restaurants IN THE WORLD... recommend The Cheesecake Factory?!?!

Easily. The menu is huge. There's literally something for everyone there. And no matter what I order on the incredibly expansive menu, it's always good. Quite possibly most impressive is that the food is consistent, not just on multiple visits to the same location, but to experiences across various Cheesecake Factory locations around Long Island.

So here's where I always got stumped, because my gut reaction to explain The Cheesecake Factory's impeccable consistency had to be that they (spoiler alert: they don't) use pre-packaged and pre-prepared foods that are simply reheated and served. Just one problem with that theory... the food tastes way too good and fresh for it to be pre-made.

Friends. Prepare to have your minds blown as I take you BEHIND THE SCENES at The Cheesecake Factory. Please forgive the lengthy post that follows, but I'm so freaking excited to share everything I learned as I toured my local Cheesecake Factory kitchen and came to the realization that their 250+ menu items are cooked fresh from scratch every day!!!

As Dana and Anthony, this location's General Manager and the Area Director of Operations, respectively, graciously welcomed me into their The Cheesecake Factory, I was honestly equal parts excited and worried. Excited because I was hopeful that I could report back to you all what I suspected to be true all this time... that The Cheesecake Factory is a restaurant that's worthy of your faithful patronage (even famed and award-winning chef David Chang named it the most important dining establishment in the country). But I was also worried... that seeing behind the curtain would ruin it for me and that the magic was just some cheap trick.

I hope you're sitting down, because this is going to blow your mind.

As I walked through the prep kitchen at The Cheesecake Factory, I saw that this wasn't just a heat + serve operation. It's a LEGIT kitchen where actual cooking is taking place. There are no microwaves. There's no reheating. Everything I saw was being made FROM SCRATCH.

Every marinade. Every dressing. Every sauce. MADE FROM SCRATCH. That's 160 sauces & dressings... made from scratch. During my time in the kitchen before service, I watched as prep cooks prepared the spicy caesar dressing for their new Spicy Caesar Salad and the sauce for the new Tuna Poke. I walked into the refrigerated walk-in pantry, where I saw all the freshly prepared marinades, sauces, and dressings neatly lined up on shelves.

I saw the pico de gallo being made with the same wholesome ingredients and process that I use in my own kitchen. I even watched as a prep cook painstakingly separated baby gem lettuce into their individual leaves for the Spicy Caesar Salad. That's when I learned that all the vegetables (which are delivered daily to each restaurant) are cut and chopped by hand in the prep kitchen. That shredded lettuce on your tacos? Yup, it was cut by hand.

Even the cheese is grated by hand! I mean heck... even I use pre-shredded cheese at home for convenience. Not at The Cheesecake Factory.

I was in awe as I watched the head chef break down a stunning fresh loin of ahi tuna for the new Tuna Poke bowl. He explained how different sections of the loin get used for different dishes, and how he gets frequent deliveries of both seafood and meat (several each week) in order to give each guest the best, freshest experience possible.

It was at that moment I almost fainted. I turned around to see another prep cook hand forming samosas. COME THE HECK ON. Anyone who's every made eggrolls, dumplings, or pot stickers before knows what a huge pain in the you know what it is to prepare even a small batch of them. I can't even imagine preparing enough for the day's service. But yeah... they hand roll and hand form each and every eggroll, dumpling, and pot sticker that comes through that kitchen. Psst... the fillings are made from scratch as well.

Are you seeing what I'm seeing?

Whole ingredients. Real cooking. This is the level of cooking I would expect from one of the fancy Michelin starred restaurants I frequent in NYC, not a nation-wide restaurant with over 200 locations and 250 menu items!

As you can imagine, all this prep takes a tremendous amount of time, and that's why the prep cooks begin each day at 6am!

As Dana and Anthony invited me to the line (where you'll find the saute, grill, and fry stations), I continued to be ridiculously impressed. The Chicken Madeira, which is one of The Cheesecake Factory's most popular dishes, features thin-sliced chicken breast. I expected that the chicken breast would come into the restaurant like that (just like you and I could go to the grocery store right now and get thin-sliced chicken breast). NOPE. They prep that by hand as well.

The burgers? Hand-formed as well.

There simply is no cutting corners at The Cheesecake Factory. Everything is done correctly, every time. And that, my friends, is why the food tastes so freaking good when you visit.

You see that mixed platter of eggrolls below? That's a daily test ritual to make sure that every eggroll, potsticker, mozzarella stick, and the like are made and fried to the highest of standards. I watched as the head chef carefully inspected every roll to make sure the fry quality was just right and that the filling was cooked through and maintained the integrity he wanted for each dish.

There was a question that I couldn't wait to ask as I finished my tour of the kitchen. How does The Cheesecake Factory maintain it's consistency not just from day to day, but across all locations, especially considering that everything is made from scratch and the menu is so expansive?!?!

It would be so easy to be consistent if all the food was just prepackaged. That's the typical business model for fast food and casual chain restaurants. It's what I thought was the only way to achieve such consistent results. I mean, I've been to top rated Michelin starred restaurants that don't nail consistency as well as they do at The Cheesecake Factory. How the heck do they do it?

Three things that I learned:

Prep Validation: just as the head chef did with all those fried samplers, everything prepared in the prep kitchen must be validated... EVERY SINGLE TIME. That batch of famous mashed potatoes? A manager or head chef tested and validated that it was prepared correctly and is allowed to be served. Every sauce, every dressing, every marinade? It must be validated, every batch, every time. And yes, I was happy to help validate those mashed potatoes with the chef as I walked through the kitchen 🙂
Training and Education: as I suspected, The Cheesecake Factory takes it's training extremely seriously. Every during my short time in the kitchen, I watched as more senior cooks instructed and guided the new staff in the kitchen.
Ridiculous Retention: cooks and chefs stay at The Cheesecake Factory for a long time. They take care of their employees, and they create an environment where they can succeed and grow. The manager knows all of the employees (this location has over 150 employees on staff) and even when she thought I wasn't paying attention, I watched as she conversed with the staff about their lives and had a genuine interest in how they were doing.

Not going to lie. After this amazing immersive culinary experience and education, I was beyond excited to sample some of The Cheesecake Factory's all new FALL MENU!

First up, the drinks. I'm not really a cucumber fan, but the Cucumber Martini was really refreshing and not overly (in a great way) cucumber.

The non-alcoholic Passion Mint Fizz was AMAZING (passion fruit, agave nectar, and fresh mint topped with soda), and my friend Tyler was obsessed with the Pineapple Cherry Limeade!

Also pictured is the Strawberry Lemonade, which is not new but so freaking good... I get it every time!

Say it with me.

Peanut Butter & Banana Waffles!

Ermagherd.

This Belgian waffle was covered in creamy PB, fresh banana, Nutella®, and Crispy Almond-Toffee! Everyone at the table was floored by these waffles and we had no regrets about licking the plate clean.

The Tuna Poke Bowl wasn't just pretty to look at... it delivered HUGE on fresh, delicious flavor. The fresh raw ahi tuna was dressed with an extremely flavorful soy-sesame, garlic, onion, and ginger vinaigrette. It's served over white rice (or a Kale-Cashew Salad) with Avocado, Edamame, Shiitake Mushrooms, Cucumber, and Sriracha Aioli. We were fighting over who got the last helping at that table!

I'm not a shrimp fan, like at all. It's not something I ever order. But this Chipotle Grilled Shrimp Salad. It's legit. With a warm grain salad of quinoa, farro, avocado, corn, black beans, peppers, onion, feta cheese and cilantro-lime dressing, it's a meal I was happy to devour.

Quite possibly the winner of the day for me were these Breakfast Tacos. Not only did I watch them prepare the chicken chorizo and pico de gallo from scratch, these tacos hit a home run in the flavor department. It's how I want every single morning to start from this point forward.

I'm never one to be excited about a Caesar Salad. It's just underwhelming to me. NEVER AGAIN. This Spicy Caesar Salad surprised the heck out of all of us, and we found ourselves talking about it for days after our meal.

Remember that photo above of the prep cook separating the baby gem lettuce by hand? That was for this salad, as was the spicy caesar salad dressing I helped validate for service with the head chef. Something else I learned about this humble yet rockstar salad? The croutons are made FROM SCRATCH. Who does that? I sure don't. And not only are they made from scratch... they are exclusive to this salad. The other homemade croutons at The Cheesecake Factory were found to be slightly too big for this salad, so they decided to make custom-sized ones just for this Spicy Caesar Salad.

Attention to detail? Check.

Crispy Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Bacon and Vermont Maple Butter Glaze? Yup. I dig it.

Pictured at the top of this post is the Impossible Burger, which is a PLANT BASED burger (calling all vegetarians!) that left even this meat-loving eater more than satisfied!

Of course, any meal at The Cheesecake Factory isn't complete without cheesecake.

The Pumpkin Pecan Cheesecake is an annual seasonal favorite, but the two Fall Menu exclusive cheesecakes were also bonkers great.

I'm looking at you Very Cherry Ghirardelli Chocolate Cheesecake and also the Cinnabon Cinnamon Swirl Cheesecake. Our table was very divided between which one was better. There were some very convincing arguments for both cheesecakes. In the end we voted that you need to try both. I mean, life is too short to have to choose just one piece of cheesecake.

A big thank you to The Cheesecake Factory for inviting me behind the scenes to share your passion for excellence in cooking from scratch and providing an amazing experience for all of your guests. You definitely have a fan for life, and you better believe I'll continue recommending The Cheesecake Factory to any and every one! The level of detail you bring to your 250+ made from scratch dishes is unforgettably impressive!

Why I Love The Cheesecake Factory

Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs were created in partnership with ShopRite Supermarkets. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Well, it's official. School is 100% back in session and we are in full swing. I've taught elementary school band for the last 12 years, so I'm used to easing into the school year with inventory, setting up instruments for the kids, and creating lesson schedules. This is my first year getting the opportunity to move up to the high school band, and it's wildly different. There is no slow transition period. The pace is non-stop and I'm constantly busy. We've already had a ton of marching band performances and it's only the 3rd week of school.

And you know what... I kinda love it!

Not going to lie, though. I'm tired. The combination of having a new job, a newborn, and the fall wedding season being crazy busy (remember I also photograph weddings in my "free" time) has me a wee bit overwhelmed. Oh, and did I mention that our 3 year old is now doing dance class, gymnastics, and soccer?

Yeah... getting dinner on the table this past month has been tough. Thankfully, quick and easy weeknight dinners like these Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs have been saving my life (and sanity). It's a dinner I can feel good about serving up to my family AND it features the big and bold flavors I constantly crave.

Do you have a go-to supermarket? I actually have a few I rotate between, and I'm super excited because ShopRite Supermarket just opened right by my house! Side note... to find out where the nearest ShopRite Supermarket is to your home, check out their store locator.

I'm one of those people that loves food shopping. I get so excited exploring and finding new products to try. Perusing through ShopRite is always a great experience. Their produce department is consistently fresh, and they have a great private label line of ShopRite Trading Company products that consist of premium, artisanal foods inspired by a variety of world cuisines.

Grilled chicken kebabs have been a big win in our house lately. Olivia loves the colorful veggies and is always down with grilled juicy chicken. And rice... she LOVES rice. When I came across a bunch of ShopRite Trading Company Asian-inspired sauces, I was so excited to show Olivia. I brought home the STC Asian Style Sweet and Sour Sauce, STC Asian Style Orange Ginger Sauce, and STC Asian Style Garlic Sesame Sauce. After showing all three to Olivia, she picked the Orange Ginger for dinner. That's the one I was secretly craving that day and may have coaxed her into picking it!

The beauty of these Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs is that it takes such a minimal amount of prep and cooking time! Simply cube up some chicken, toss in a bunch of the ShopRite Trading Company Asian Style Orange Ginger Sauce, and let it marinate for about 4-6 hours. You can easily marinate it before you leave for work and leave it in the fridge until you get home as well!

Cut up some veggies, skewer in whatever pattern you like, and then grill until cooked through. Serve up with some of your favorite ShopRite Trading Company Basmati Rice and BOOM. Instant dinner!

Pro tip for these Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs: try to cut your chicken breast into uniform pieces. That will make sure they all cook at the same rate so you don't have some small pieces super overcooked by the time your large pieces are cooked through. Also, make sure you reserve some of that ShopRite Trading Company Asian Style Orange Ginger Sauce in the bottle for brushing on during the last minute of grilling!

Another pro tip? Cut up a couple oranges, brush the cut side with a little bit of oil, and grill them up along with these Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs. Grilled citrus is amazing, has a subtly smoky flavor, and is super juicy!

Oh and while you have that oil out, make sure to oil your grill grates before cooking up these kebabs. The sugar in the marinade will want to stick to the grates unless you create a nonstick surface first! The easiest way I like to oil the grates is by pouring a little bit of oil onto a folded up paper towel and then quickly brushing it back and forth over the grill grates.

Orange Ginger Chicken Kebabs

Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

This Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad was created in partnership with Bella Portofino Tuna. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

School is officially back in session. Although that always signifies the unofficial end of summer in this teacher's book, we technically still have a few weeks to enjoy the last bit of beautiful sunny weather. The temperatures here in New York are still reaching pretty ridiculously hot status, so our pool will continue to stay open for business as long as we need it to stay cool. And if the pool is open, our backyard is ready for entertaining.

With the back-to-school craziness and two little kids at home, I don't have the time (or energy) for recipes with a laundry list of ingredients and instructions. For me, successful backyard entertaining is all about quick and easy solutions with minimal ingredients and little to no prep that still deliver BIG on flavor. Bonus points for anything that can be made ahead of time!

This Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad featuring Bella Portofino Tuna. It delivers big in every way. Bold flavors. Just 5 ingredients. Super quick prep. And yes, it can be made up to a full day ahead of time!

Full disclosure. I cannot take credit for this recipe. It comes from our good friend, Steve. I can still remember the first time he made it for a backyard party we hosted a few years back. Asheley is usually so not a fan of any mayo-based side salad (I know, it's one of her very few faults). But this Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad. She ate it with such ferocity it was like she hadn't eaten any source of nourishment for the past 3 days. She DEVOURED as much as she could in one sitting.

The leftovers? She ate for breakfast, lunch, and dinner the next day. No exaggeration.

So now every single backyard get together, guess what Steve is stuck making for all eternity? Yup. This Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad. Or TUNA MAC for short. That's what all the cool kids in our circle of friends call it.

So why does my wife who never likes mayo-based side dishes absolutely CRAVE this Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad? Two secret ingredients: a double dose of pickles (chopped Kosher dill spears AND pickle juice in the dressing) and the smooth, mellow flavor of Bella Portofino Tuna.

Can we just stop for a second and appreciate the eye-catching packaging on the Bella Portofino Tuna cans? I love it so much. It just looks elegant and superior, doesn't it?!

Bella Portofino Tuna isn't just looks though. It's got the smooth, mellow flavor and tender texture that we love so much in our home, thanks to it being packed in extra virgin olive oil instead of water.

In fact, Bella Portofino Tuna only has three ingredients: wild caught tuna, EVOO, and sea salt! And that tuna? It's hand selected and wild caught Albacore and Yellowfin! It's a superior quality that you can see and taste!

If you've only ever experienced tuna packed in water, you need to check out Bella Portofino Tuna to taste the difference!

Check out how incredibly simple this Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad is. All you need is some cooked elbow macaroni, Bella Portofino Tuna, Kosher dill pickle spears (and some of the pickle juice), plum tomatoes, and mayonnaise. That's it. 5 simple wholesome ingredients that when combined... MAGIC HAPPENS.

Literally as I'm typing this, Asheley is sitting next to me on the couch eating the leftovers of the Tuna Mac I photographed for this recipe post. She's obsessed.

A few tips:

plum tomatoes work best because there's more firm flesh and less of the soggy watery interior
now's not the time for some artisanal pickle... you want the old school Kosher dill pickle from the grocery store
just lightly mash the tuna when adding it to this recipe because you want little chunks of tuna throughout!
you'll notice that when adding the dressing to this salad, it may look like it's too much dressing. HOWEVER, once it sits in the fridge, the macaroni will absorb some of the dressing and it'll set up really nicely!

If you look at the photo above on the left (this Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad undressed), you can see the chopping size for the tomatoes and pickles as well as the rough mash I do on the tuna.

Oh, and also... one more thing. Asheley is a huge, huge, huge pickle fan. She thinks the ratio of mayo to pickle juice I have in this recipe is perfect. If for some reason you want an even stronger pickle flavor, feel free to add more juice to the dressing!

Here's to the remaining days of summer. Let's get out there, enjoy the last of warm days for awhile, and get our friends and family together for some quality time together (and Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad, of course!).

Tuna Mac Macaroni Salad

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Bella Portofino Tuna.

Peach Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Peach Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops were created in partnership with Kingsford Charcoal. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

FINALLY. We are out of the 90°F weather we've had the last few days here in NY. Hopefully that's the last time we'll see that kind of humid heat until next summer. Now don't get me wrong. I'm not done with summer yet. And I'm definitely not endorsing the shorter days and cold weather that'll be coming way too soon. I'm just a fan of walking outside and not immediately feeling regret for leaving the air conditioning. Give me all the beautiful sunny fall weather!

The pool is still open (thanks to our new pool heater that's keeping it at a balmy 85°F!)... and you BETTER believe the grill will remain open for business for as long as I can walk outside without a snow shovel in hand. There's something so satisfying about grilling, especially when you've got friends or family hanging around with you outside!

Anyone out there have hours and hours to prep and cook a meal? Yeah, didn't think so. I feel like I'm becoming more and more strapped for time lately (the beginning of the school year and the whole having two kids thing is most likely the reason). Especially with the sun setting earlier and all the back to school activities starting up (our three year old is now enrolled in soccer, gymnastics, AND dance), successful dinner times require minimal prep and cooking time. 30 minutes. That I can do. ESPECIALLY when you can whip up a legit meal like these Peach Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops with Kingsford Original Charcoal!

Let's talk about these Peach Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops. They are BIG on flavor and BOLD in taste. If you're a bourbon fan (my bros definitely are), you'll definitely taste and appreciate it in this glaze. If you're not a bourbon fan (like me), you'll be 100% okay with the bourbon in this recipes because the alcohol flavor disappears during the cooking process and you're left with a complex peach glaze that will leave you thinking... maybe I am a bourbon fan?!

Most of the peach glaze and sauce recipes out there call for using fresh peaches that you need to peel and cut up (and then cook down for about 30 minutes) to obtain a glaze consistency. No doubt those recipes will yield a great tasting glaze, but all that prep work and cooking time just isn't feasible when you're trying to hang with your bros and focus your time on beating them in bocce (our go to lawn game when we get together).

Instead, I learned a trick awhile back in one of those cooking magazines when you can make epic glazes using fruit preserves. A good-quality jar of fruit preserves will use top-notch fruit at the peak of freshness, so the flavor is always on point. It's also already thickened and sweetened, so it's a great shortcut to glaze greatness. All I needed to do was add some bourbon (to help deepen the complexity of the glaze), apple cider vinegar (to tame the sweetness), and onion powder (for flavor) and BOOM. Instant peach bourbon glaze for these pork chops!

Best of all, these pork chops come together in under 30 minutes (and just 15 minutes of prep and cooking time) and just 3-4 ingredients you probably need to actually get at the store and don't already have in the pantry .

When it comes to grilling, Kingsford® Original Charcoal is the gold standard. I remember my dad using Kingsford when I was a kid, and I'm happy to keep that tradition alive! Each of those beautiful Kingsford’s® Original Charcoal Briquets are made with natural ingredients and real wood to ensure the smoky flavor we all crave (and a flavor you just can't replicate on a gas grill).

And let's be honest. There's nothing more exciting than hanging with your bros building a fire. My buddy Tyler is an Eagle Scout and is a fire-building expert. Me... not so much. Thankfully, these briquets also feature Kingsford’s signature Sure Fire Grooves® to help coals light faster than ever (they’re ready for cooking within about 15 minutes)!

Kingsford gets it. Labor has come and gone. For many of us, that means close up the pool and pack up the grill for the winter. But we deserve better. Let's soak up every moment we can outside with family and friends before we have to be stuck inside. Especially as those cool fall weather nights start to set in, there's nothing better than grilling around a warm charcoal fire!

Two more things. If you've never grilled peaches before, you NEED to. The sugars in the peach begin to caramelize and the flavor concentrates. You also get some of that smoky flavor from the grill in the peaches, which pairs SO perfectly with pork. Speaking of pork, if your momma every made you pork chops as a kid, you probably remember a dried out piece of rubber because our parents were brainwashed into cooking pork until it was void of any moisture at all. Make sure to buy pork chops with a good thickness to them (1" is good) and I prefer bone in because it helps to keep the meat juicy. And jeez... make sure not to overcook it! An instant read thermometer is KEY!

So let's review. The weather may be changing, but your grill game shouldn't! Get grilling with these Pork Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops and you'll have more time to hang with your family and friends (and beat them in bocce)!

Peach Bourbon Glazed Pork Chops

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Kingsford Charcoal. The opinions and text are all mine.

If you're looking for more great ways to prepare pork, check out this awesome "How To Pork" recipe from Kingsford! https://www.kingsford.com/how-to-food/pork/

Frozen Banana Pops

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Frozen Banana Pops were created in partnership with SunButter. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Goodbye summer vacation. Hello the start of school. UGH. No, it's okay. It's time to get back into the routine of the school year. I need it. Olivia needs it. School is good (if I keep saying that, it'll be true, right?!).

Since the babysitter that watches Olivia (and now baby Bennett!) lives right by the school at which I teach, they are on the same schedule as their teacher daddy. When we get home from the school day, everyone in the house is HANGRY. Not just hungry, angry hungry. It's way too easy to just open up a bag of some lackluster processed food for Olivia as a quick snack, so I'm trying to up my parent cred this year and have some great after school snack options for her when we get home this year!

These Frozen Banana Pops featuring SunButter® are the answer! She LOVES bananas and LOVES ice pops. Since it's still crazy hot here in New York, these also cool her down after a busy day of running around with her little friends at the sitter's house. Best of all, there are two different flavor options to choose from, which will keep her taste buds dancing!

Parents. Do you remember the first time you had your child try peanut butter? I'll never forget it. I was in the middle of teaching when I get a frantic text that my wife just decided to have Olivia try peanut butter on a whim and she immediately got hives all over her body. And of course we didn't have any baby Benadryl in the house. Thankfully my wife is a Physician Assistant and handled the situation like a champ, but our lives quickly changed as we became a peanut-free home and had to constantly worry about cross-contamination in restaurants and making sure we carried her epi-pens at all times. Not going to lie, it was and still is stressful.

Now Olivia is technically only allergic to peanuts, so I could opt for almond butter for my sandwiches, but I just don't love the flavor of almond butter. It wasn't hitting the spot.

Then I had a food epiphany.

I grabbed a jar of SunButter, maker of premium sunflower butters that are completely nut-free, after a friend who has a son with several severe allergies recommended it to me. Guys. I'm HOOKED. SunButter is so. freaking. Good.

I don't miss peanut butter at all anymore, and it's 100% safe for my little princess (and SunButter is free from the top 8 food allergens: peanuts, tree nuts, soy, milk, eggs, wheat, fish, and crustacean shellfish). It's also U.S. grown and made! 'Merica!

Fellow parents of school-aged children (and fellow teachers): in a day where peanut butter is often not allowed in schools due to students with peanut allergies, SunButter is a GREAT school-friendly option which can be enjoyed as a standalone snack with fruits and veggies, spread onto a SB&J sandwich, or incorporated into your kid's favorite recipes. I keep a jar of it at school for lunch and snacking!

Bonus. SunButter packs as much protein and more micronutrients, like magnesium, Vitamin E, zinc and iron, than traditional nut butters like peanut butter and almond butter, and contains less saturated fat. BOOM.

You can find SunButter at major grocery chains, specialty food stores, and schools throughout the U.S.

Why do I love these Frozen Banana Pops?

you can customize the flavors to whatever your children like!
they can be made way ahead of time and kept in the freezer for whenever a snack craving hits
they are super fun to make (your kids will LOVE helping... I know Olivia did)
homemade > store bought
it's a healthy and wholesome snack I feel good about serving to Olivia

To start off, peel your bananas, slice them in half, and press in a popsicle stick about halfway into each banana. Place on a baking sheet and freeze until partially frozen.

Next comes the semi-tricky part. You need to work fast (before the bananas thaw out) and also remember that if you add too much yogurt or SunButter to the frozen bananas, the weight of it could make the banana fall off the stick.

For the Greek yogurt Frozen Banana Pops, feel free to use plain or vanilla Greek yogurt, or any other flavor your kids are into! I used a small offset spatula (a butter knife would also work!) to spread a thin layer of yogurt around the popsicles.

Make sure your SunButter is at room temperature before trying to spread it onto the frozen bananas. Again, make sure it's a thin layer and work fast!

Return your Frozen Banana Popsicles to the freezer until mostly frozen and then continue onto the decorating step!

The Greek yogurt Frozen Banana Popsicles get a drizzle of SunButter. The easiest way to make this happen is to spoon in some SunButter into a small plastic bag and snip off a very tiny corner of the bag with a scissor, making a makeshift pastry bag. You can then pipe your SunButter design onto each popsicle. Feel free to let your kids do this part and they can get creative with zig zags or other patterns!

For the SunButter coated Frozen Banana Popsicles, I like drizzling them with melted chocolate. Dark, milk, or white chocolate would all work! It gives just the right amount of decadence!

You of course can add any other toppings you want to these Frozen Banana Popsicles. Sprinkles, coconut flakes, and even granola would be great options!

Just don't forget the SunButter. You have NO IDEA how thankful I am to have this in our home. It not only gives us peace of mind, but allows us and Olivia to have a peanut butter replacement for snacks and meals!

Frozen Banana Pops

Korean Lamb Chops with Grilled Scallions

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

These Korean Lamb Chops with Grilled Scallions were created in partnership with the American Lamb Board. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

It has been quite the summer. So many memories have been made, so many fun times enjoyed. Our three year old Olivia is ridiculously fun to hang out with. It's such a great age and she loves going on adventures, hanging out in the pool, and going on scooter rides. We also welcomed our little boy Bennett into the world at the end of June, so it's been quite the change adjusting to a party of four around here (especially on limited sleep). Thankfully with Asheley on maternity leave and me on summer break from school (teacher life is pretty amazing), we've been doing a good job of tag teaming this whole parenting thing.

Of course with a newborn in the house and a three year old destroying the house (she loves taking out every single toy she owns and strategically placing it in high foot traffic areas), we don't get many chances for date night. Heck, we barely get a chance to talk to each other because we're busy playing man-to-man defense. Asheley feeds the baby. I keep Olivia entertained. At night once Olivia is in bed, we trade off who feeds Bennett and who gets to sleep for a few hours. The next day... repeat.

So I decided it was time to figure out a way to spend some quality time with Asheley, even if it had to be at home and only for a very short period of time. I devised a plan to have a picnic date in the backyard while the kids napped. By some miracle sent down from heaven, we actually got both kids to nap at the same time the other day. And then I got to work on whipping together this picnic lunch for the two of us, featuring these Korean Lamb Chops with Grilled Scallions!

We'll get to the picnic in a second, but just look at these amazing lamb loin chops. Most times when people think of lamb chops, they have rib chops or lamb lollipops in mind (like these Grilled Lamb Chops with Mint Chimichurri. If you've never had lamb loin chops before, you are MISSING OUT!

Lamb loin chops are usually pretty readily available at grocery stores and butcher shops, and are lean, tender, and packed with flavor! They have a built in perfect 3-4 ounce serving size and look like mini "T-Bone" steaks. Adorbs, I know. You can certainly marinate them, but they also are beyond amazing with just a bit of salt and pepper and grilled to a perfect medium-rare!

When I look for these lamb loin chops, or any lamb really, I always make sure to source AMERICAN Lamb.

The majority of lamb sold in the United States is actually from Australia and New Zealand. What the what?!

I know! We are literally buying meat from the opposite side of the world. American lamb is up to 10,000 miles fresher and is available daily in our supermarkets!

American Lamb. Not only is it a superior tasting product, it’s incredibly local.

Lamb is produced in almost every single state here in the U.S. During my visits to American Lamb ranches in California and in Maine, I learned all about just how much these ranchers care about raising lamb. It's 100% a labor of love and passion. I see how hard these people work, and I see how humbly they live. They are ranchers because they love it. That's why I want to support these family-owned ranches by making sure the lamb I cook with is American Lamb!

We as Americans always love to support products that have the "Made in the United States" stamp on it. Why would we accept anything less from the food we eat?!

Korean Lamb Chops. They are so easy and are done from start to finish in 20 minutes! That was key to the success of our little date picnic because Olivia only naps for 2 hours and who the heck knows with our newborn Bennett!

While the lamb loin chops were being grilled, I prepared a quick Korean glaze with ingredients very similar to what you'd find in a Korean bulgogi marinade. It's sweet, salty, and has a TON of flavor. Baste that on the lamb during the last few seconds of grilling and BOOM. Instant success! These Korean Lamb Chops are killer!

I know, I know. How the heck did I prepare all these sides in time for our picnic? The answer is... I didn't. Part of entertaining (even if it is just a backyard picnic with Asheley) is prepping things when you can so when it's show time, you can just serve and eat. My Sweet Potato Bacon Salad and Pineapple Habanero Salsa can be made way ahead of time (I made it the day before!). The sun gold tomato caprese salad was whipped together in about 3 minutes (thanks store bought pesto and tomatoes from our garden!). And the Spicy Southwest Corn was sautéed up with the Korean glaze while the lamb was on the grill.

It's all about the planning 🙂

Crack open a bottle of wine and picnic lunch is served! Not pictured... the baby monitor letting us keep an eye on the sleeping little ones!

Asheley and I so cherished our little bit of adult time together. It was desperately needed and ended up being ridiculously delicious! The lamb was a perfect medium rare and was so tender and flavorful. Ermagherd. Korean Lamb Chops with Grilled Scallions FOR THE WIN!

Korean Lamb Chops with Grilled Scallions

Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas were created in partnership with Daiya. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

In case you didn't already know, my full-time gig throughout the year is being a teacher. Specifically, I teach band. For many around the country, school has already started. For us here in New York, we still have a little bit more time. But it's definitely the "Sunday" part of our summer break. When vacation first starts for us at the end of June, every day feels like Friday at 3pm. School just let out and there's an entire weekend to look forward to. There's no school in sight, and it's the best feeling. But now it's Sunday. Every time your head hits the pillow at night, you know you are one day closer to another long school year. Mid-August = Sunday. Ugh.

Although I have to admit, there's always a bit of excitement that comes with a start to a new school year. I love teaching, after all. And this year I'm moving up from the elementary to the high school. It's going to be quite the change... and I'm eager to replace Hot Cross Buns with some more challenging music!

The beginning of the school year is always a bit of a difficult transition for families, and it's definitely true for our little party of four. With me on summer break and Asheley on maternity leave, we've been without a regimented schedule for us and the kids the last two months. That's about to change big time, including getting myself and both kids out the door at 6am on school days so I can bring them to the sitter before the school day. Send help.

Olivia's at the age now that all these activities are starting. Monday is gymnastics. Wednesday is dance. Soccer is starting too, so I'm sure that's another weeknight. All this means I have less time to get dinner on the table, and I really don't want to get into a take-out dinner routine on busy nights. Instead, it's all about strategic easy weeknight dinners like these Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas that can get on the table with extremely limited prep!

Summer produce on Long Island is pretty fantastic. We're past the very short berry season, but zucchini and corn (and peaches!) are upon us in force! I've been buying zucchini and corn at the store like it's my job, because Olivia is obsessed with both of them. Not going to lie, it's a pretty great flavor combo and just screams summer!

Even with being in back to school mode, we will be soaking up every last bit of summer with these beautiful zucchini and corn well into September. They are quick to prep and sauté up together with a bit of olive oil and salt for the most legit meatless summer filling for these quesadillas.

You can't have quesadillas without cheese. But can I tell you a secret about these Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas? They are actually vegan.

But how Chris? How can that be? I see all that ooey-gooey cheesy goodness!

And you'd be right, except it's the incredible Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds.

Needless to say I was a little skeptical that the plant-based Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds would achieve that perfect melted cheese state that we all crave and expect with quesadillas, but friends....

Daiya Pepperjack Style Shreds is the real deal!!!

As I cut into and pulled apart my Zucchini and Corn Quesadilla, the cheese was perfectly melted. That was an incredibly good sign. But that's just half the battle. It still had to taste good. As always, my quesadilla got topped with some of my simple pico de gallo and the best guacamole. I took my first bite and... fireworks went off on my tastebuds. It was, through and through, the most perfect quesadilla experience.

I immediately called my lactose intolerant friend and told him about these Daiya Cutting Board Collection Shreds. They stretch and melt just like dairy-based cheeses and he needs them in his life!

These Daiya Cutting Board Collection Shreds are made from an award-winning formula and are made with 100% plant-based and non-GMO ingredients! The flavorful line is available in Cheddar Style, Mozzarella Style and Pepperjack Style. I can already see that these shreds are going to be perfect for so many cheesy recipes, like nachos, queso dips, pizzas, and more!

Daiya. Thank you for making me a believer!

For those of you wondering more about Daiya, they are a leading maker of cravable, plant-based comfort foods that are free of top food allergens like dairy, gluten, nuts and soy! Good news for back to school: they recently launched some tasty new options that are perfect for lunch boxes or after-school snacking, like burritos, frozen desserts, and dairy-free cheese sticks!

Daiya can be found in more than 25,000 grocery stores in the U.S., including Whole Foods, Kroger, Safeway and Publix, as well as most natural food retailers.

Just look at that cheese pull!!!

These Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas are the perfect weeknight dinner! Done in under 20 minutes and a meal you can feel good about serving to your entire family!

Zucchini and Corn Quesadillas

Olivia is definitely my daughter. She has a sweet tooth just like me and she loves her treats. After dinner we tried out Daiya's new Non-Dairy Frozen Desserts. Usually I'm really not a fan of non-dairy frozen desserts but these have a creamy coconut base and you would never know by tasting them that they’re dairy-free! They were SO SO SO good! Guys. I'm seriously impressed over here!

I love that these dessert bars feature premium ingredients like semisweet chocolate, fair trade dark chocolate, real vanilla extract and 100% Arabica coffee. Daiya Frozen Desserts are available in four varieties: Chocolate Fudge Crunch, Classic Vanilla Bean, Salted Caramel Swirl and Espresso Coffee.

And as you can see from Olivia enjoying her Chocolate Fudge Crunch dessert bar below, it is super creamy and melts just like ice cream!

Sous Vide Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

This Sous Vide Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions was created in partnership with Everywhere Agency on behalf of FoodSaver®. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

sous vide steak chimichurri sauce 27

I have to be honest. Cooking at home with a toddler and a newborn is tough. Asheley has been a rockstar with taking the lead with our new addition to the family, but I've been trying hard to give Olivia lots of attention to help ease the transition from only child to big sister. Between keeping up with a highly active toddler and giving Asheley a hand with Bennett so she can get a few hours of sleep throughout the day, being able to focus on cooking a legit meal is near impossible.

Take steak, for instance. Getting a steak to be cooked perfect is hard enough, but you can completely forget about it these days. The last thing I would want to do is spend all that money on an epic steak to have it ruined because I was distracted during cooking. 1 little minute could mean the difference between not cooked enough or a rubbery overcooked mess.

BUT... I have the answer. Sous Vide Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions with FoodSaver® Sous-vide Vacuum Seal Bags!

I know what you're thinking. Sous vide is that fancy cooking technique used at those expensive restaurants. Yup. That's definitely true. It is also 100% accessible to the average home cook. And if we're being honest with each other, cooking a steak sous vide is actually way easier than traditional cooking methods. So get ready to enjoy that old favorite in a whole new way.

Perfect steak. Every time. Even when your focus is elsewhere, like changing a diaper with one hand while having a toddler tea party with the other. You're welcome.

sous vide steak chimichurri sauce 29

Here's the deal. When you cook steak the traditional way, you're pretty much guessing. You are hoping that when you take it out of the pan or off the grill it's cooked perfectly through, but unless you're using a thermometer it's a complete toss-up until you cut into that beautiful piece of meat. And even when you are using a thermometer, cooking steak requires your constant attention.

Here's the beauty of using the sous vide method with FoodSaver® Sous-vide Vacuum Seal Bags. You can set the temperature to the exact doneness you want the steak to be. Even if you overcook your steak by AN HOUR, it'll still be perfect. You read that correctly. Overcooking your sous vide steak is pretty much not even a possibility!

Perfect quality, every single time.

It's my preferred way to prepare steak always at this point, and especially when I'm hosting a dinner party or may be otherwise distracted (i.e. hello parenthood)!

So let's break down how to cook this Sous Vide Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions.

When you sous vide, it means that an immersion circulator is used to heat and maintain a water bath at a specific temperature (and immersion circulators are now readily available and are quite affordable). You'll find your preferred steak temperature by experimenting, but I usually like my steak cooked to 57°C (that's right between medium-rare and medium).

While a pot of water gets preheated with your immersion circulator, you'll want to take out one of the most important sous vide tools in your kitchen. The FoodSaver® FM2000 Vacuum Sealing System with sous vide bags. They have become the ultimate choice in food bagging technology for sous-vide cooking.

By using these sous vide bags, you are making sure your steak is completely airtight in the water. This is crucial in making sure you achieve consistent, great-quality results in your sous vide cooking, and also prevents your food from floating while in the pot.

These sous-vide bags have multi-layer construction and they lock in freshness and flavor! It's also safe for the microwave, fridge, and freezer! In fact, one of my favorite features about these sous vide bags is that if I purchase steak at the store and then don't plan on using it right away, I can use the sous vide bags with the FM2000 system to vacuum seal them and put them right into the freezer to help preserve the quality of the meat (the same goes for preserving other types of food for storage). I can then go right from freezer to the hot water bath with no separate defrost or change of bag needed! How's that for convenient!

These sous-vide bags are available in a variety of sizes, and you can now purchase both the FoodSaver® Sous-vide Vacuum Seal Bags as well as the FoodSaver® FM2000 Vacuum Sealing System at 20% off during the month of July in- store or online at Target!

Before placing your steak in the sous-vide bag, I like season the meat generously with Kosher salt and some freshly ground black pepper and toss in a knob of butter or drizzle of olive oil. I also like to sometimes throw in some fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary, but I'm not this time around because I'm serving this sous vide steak with an herbaceous chimichurri sauce after cooking. I wouldn't want the flavor of rosemary or thyme to compete with the flavors in the chimichurri.

Using the FM2000 system, you can then vacuum seal your bag. It's oddly satisfying and relaxing watching all the air get sucked out!

You can then gently drop your steaks into the water bath and let it go! For standard 1" steaks, it'll be ready in 1 hour, but you can leave it in there for a few hours if needed! There's a BIG window for success using sous vide cooking! And let me tell you, taking away the stress with cooking steak is so liberating. You can go tend to guests if hosting a party, and not freak out if someone is running late which delays dinner. You also don't have to worry about leaving a pan unattended while helping clean up whatever messes 2 kids under the age of three conjure up with their imaginative minds!

Once you're ready to eat, you just remove that sous-vide bag from the water, cut open the vacuum-sealed pouch, and take out your cooked steak. At this point, it will look like an unappetizing gray blob. Don't worry... on the inside it's cooked PERFECTLY. Take your sous-vide steak and pat it dry with paper towels.

Grab a pan (or use your grill) and heat it over super high heat. Take your steak and sear it for about 30-60 seconds per side. That will give you the golden brown exterior you expect with steak. Let it rest for about 5 minutes, then slice it up and serve!

I'll say it again. Sous-vide steak. It's perfect... EVERY TIME.

Let's back it up a second. While your steak is cooking in the water bath, you can prepare your bold-flavored chimichurri sauce. It's so easy to whip together and it adds a huge punch of flavor to your steak dinner! Purists will say to hand chop all your herbs, but I'm going to be real and say that a food processor is perfectly acceptable in this case. You'll want to make the chimichurri at least 15 minutes before wanting to eat so that the flavors have time to meld.

Just be prepared. After cooking up a perfectly cooked sous vide steak with chimichurri sauce and grilled scallions, you will most likely be deemed a kitchen hero by your family and friends. Sshhh... you don't have to tell them how easy it was to nail that steak. It'll be our little secret 🙂

So let's review:

Cooking steak the traditional way is hard and takes a lot of focus.
Cooking steak sous-vide is pretty much fool proof and you'll get epic results every single time.
FoodSaver® Sous-vide Vacuum Seal Bags and the FoodSaver® FM2000 Vacuum Sealing System are essential for successful sous-vide cooking!
Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions help amp up the flavors in the steak and make for one heck of an impressive home-cooked dinner!

Sous Vide Steak with Chimichurri Sauce and Grilled Scallions

DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY with 10 Creative S'mores

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

This DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY was created in partnership with HERSHEY'S + Jet Puffed + HONEY MAID. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY | sharedappetite.com

Summer vacation. It's finally here. One of the biggest perks of being a teacher are these two months of glorious freedom. And you better believe I have a lot of big plans to enjoy this... okay, that's actually a lie. I have no plans. I'm actually wildly unprepared for what lies ahead in these next few weeks. Our second child is due towards the end of June. So just when I thought we had a handle on this whole parenting thing and everything was going smoothly with our three year old, yeah... like I said. Wildly unprepared for what lies ahead.

So my plan for this summer is actually quite simple. Start over. Enjoy what it's like having a baby in the house again, but this time with the added joy of watching my daughter be a big sister. I can pretty much guarantee we won't be venturing out a whole lot this summer on any grand adventures, but I am pretty darn positive we'll be having a lot of informal get togethers with family and friends here at our house.

When I'm not on bottle/burp/diaper duty, you better believe I'll be in the pool (or participating in one of the various other toddler-friendly outdoor activities) with our dear Olivia. She'll be my go-to helper in the kitchen too. Olivia loves helping me cook, and I'm excited to show her the joys of outdoor grilling this summer. And more importantly, I have just one little (but GIANT) goal for this summer. Introduce Olivia to the immense joy of s'mores.

Laying out the bars of HERSHEY'S Chocolate Bars and breaking those crisp sheets of HONEY MAID Honey Grahams in half. Piercing the fluffy Jet Puffed Marshmallows onto wooden skewers and slow roasting them over the grill. If there's one quintessential dessert that represents all that is right and good with summer, it's the humble s'more. Three simple ingredients, magically transformed into the perfect end to any good summer evening.

We all know that the classic s'more is an icon in the canon of summer desserts, but I'm all about riffs, variation, and customizations. Making s'mores is fun, but having a DIY S'mores Bar Party is legendary.

Kids. Teenagers. Young adults. Uhm... less young adults. EVERYONE loves a good s'more, and it's the perfect end to any summer get-together.

It all starts, of course, with the big three: HERSHEY'S Chocolate Bars, HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, and Jet Puffed Marshmallows. You can always stock up on these three essentials at your local Walmart. While I'm there, I also make sure to get my hands on all the rest of my DIY S'mores Bar Party needs! And let's be honest, you always find a bunch of other cool things you didn't even know you needed while walking through the aisles of Walmart! I got my daughter a HUGE bouncy ball the last time I was there (it's literally the size of her) and it's her favorite thing to play outside with these last few weeks.

Make sure to stock up for s'mores and shop for your favorites at Walmart! And to find a Walmart near you, check out their store locator!

Creating a DIY S'mores Bar Party is incredibly simple and the PERFECT way to pull off easy entertaining this summer! Just put everything out on one huge platter, and let your guests have at it!

Less time cooking, more time actually spent with the people you invited over in the first place! And best part, your guests will LOVE your DIY S'mores Bar (be prepared for them all to take lots of photos for their Instagram accounts... a s'mores platter is very photogenic)!

Let's break down ten creative s'mores you can create with this DIY S'mores Bar Party:

The Classic. It needs no introduction. It's perfect.

The Chocolate Covered Strawberry. Add some sliced strawberries for a fruity kick. Feel free to try other fruit as well!

The Chocolate Covered Pretzel. It adds a salty crunchy bite! Potato chips would also be pretty epic!

The Chocolate Peanut Butter. Peanut butter + chocolate is a match made in heaven. Our Olivia is allergic to PB unfortunately, so we'll be using an alternative nut butter at our house.

The Caramel Coconut. A instant favorite, just add toasted coconut and caramel topping to your s'more!

The Bacon. Bacon makes almost anything better. Don't believe me? Try it.

The King. Everyone’s favorite rock and roll legend liked PB + banana + bacon!

The Cookies & Cream. Swap out your usual HONEY MAID Honey Grahams for HONEY MAID Chocolate Grahams and use HERSHEY'S Cookies n' Cream Bars.

The Triple Chocolate. HONEY MAID Chocolate Grahams, HERSHEY’S Chocolate Bars, and Chocolate Hazelnut Spread. Ohhhh yeah!

The Mexican Hot Chocolate. Adding some cinnamon and chili powder to your s'more will give you a whole new experience!

Of course, your friends are welcome to create their own customized s'mores combinations as well! Heck, you can even hold a contest to see who can think up the most creative s'more!

One more idea... have each guest bring a unique ingredient to add to your DIY S'mores Bar! The more people get involved, the more interactive the experience! Just make sure to stock up on those HERSHEY'S Chocolate Bars, HONEY MAID Honey Grahams, and Jet Puffed Marshmallows!

The classic s'more for DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY | sharedappetite.com

The full board for DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY | sharedappetite.com

DIY S'MORES BAR PARTY

Hawaiian Turkey Burgers

By Chris Cockren 3 Comments

This recipe for Hawaiian Turkey Burgers was created in partnership with Flatout Bread. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Who has ever power-washed their house or patio? I just did my entire backyard patio and fence... it's pretty addicting and oddly relaxing once you see how much dirt you are wiping away. That is, of course, until you are six hours in and covered head to toe in wet mud. But worth it? You know it. It's so nice having a clean outdoor entertaining space, especially when you're gearing up for a summer full of pool parties!

Baby boy is due in just over a week, so I know a lot of this summer will be spent staying home as we adjust from being a family of three to our new +1. Olivia is also obsessed with the pool, so I know we'll be having a lot of play dates for her right here at the house, and there will be plenty of family and friends vying for some newborn baby time.

I cannot wait move my kitchen headquarters to the back patio this summer (with a drink in hand of course). The grill (and squeaky clean patio) is ready and open for business!

Asheley and I are also going to try and find some delicious ways to eat healthier this summer, and I'm definitely going to be adding this recipe into the dinner rotation! Hawaiian Turkey Burgers with Flatout Bread for the win!

There are so many times I have grand plans for some elaborate dinner menu, only to realize at the last minute holy crap it's almost Olivia's bed time already and I haven't even started to think about what to make for dinner. The day just gets away from me. Oh, you too? Okay good... glad I'm not alone.

When days like that happen, we are always down for a burger dinner. Since Asheley and I are trying to eat a bit healthier (my "dad bod" is in full form right now), swapping in turkey burgers and turkey bacon is a big win!

If you know me, though, you know that i refuse to sacrifice flavor in the name of eating healthy. Life is too short for boring food. Thankfully... Hawaiian Turkey Burgers to the rescue.

Have you ever grilled pineapple before? The sugars caramelize and it's sweet sticky goodness. It adds the perfect juicy kick to these Hawaiian Turkey Burgers. Side note: for a quick dessert I love sprinkling some cinnamon sugar on them before grilling and serve it up with some vanilla ice cream.

Quick tip with the teriyaki glaze or anytime you apply a sugary glaze or sauce to food on the grill (i.e. bbq sauce, etc). If you put it on at the beginning of grilling, the sugars in the sauce are going to burn by the time your meat is cooked through. Instead, I basted these turkey burgers with the pineapple juice spiked teriyaki sauce during the very last minute of cooking.

You've heard me talk about Flatout Bread before. It's a staple in our house, and has saved meal time more times than I can count. We use the wraps for everything from (duh) wraps, burritos, flatbreads, and quesadillas. Heck, I've even cut the wraps into wedges and baked them into chips! Their line of fold-its are perfect for sandwiches and burgers! I even made some killer apple pie tacos with them back in the fall! I'm so excited to announce that Flatout will be releasing some new products this summer with new packaging! You can check out Flatoutbread.com for more information, but here's the highlight reel:

New 60 calorie Flatout Flavorit oval-shaped wraps are dropping in three different kicked-up flavors: Olive Oil & Sea Salt, Southwest Chipotle, and Garden Ranch. They are also releasing these Sweet Hawaiian Foldits!

As with all their products, these wraps and foldits are low in carbs and calories AND high in fiber and protein. That's a win-win-win-win right there!

Make sure to stock up on Flatout next time you are in the grocery store... you'll want them on hand to save meal time over and over again! Best of all, it's a great way to help maintain a healthy lifestyle. In fact, some Flatout Flatbreads are even endorsed by Weight Watchers with as few as 1 Smart Point per flatbread! Make sure to check out Flatoutbread.com for tons of tasty recipes and their store locator

Psst. How cute are those hands? Olivia LOVES helping me take photos, and she wanted to grab hold of one of these Hawaiian Turkey Burgers so bad. I was super impressed she was willing to keep the burgers on the plate long enough to photograph!

Hawaiian Turkey Burgers

#Flatoutlove

Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

This recipe for Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches was created in partnership with Martin’s® Potato Rolls and Bread. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Ah, June. Quite possibly my favorite month of the year. The weather is pretty much pure perfection. The sun is out for almost 15 hours a day at this point and it's not too hot, not too cold. Flowers are starting to bud. The pool is open and ready for summer. As a music teacher, although June is one of my busiest and most hectic (hello concert season), it's also extremely close to summer vacation. I repeat, it's almost SUMMER VACATION. Two months of no alarm clocks (I still have a 3 year old toddler though waking me up at 6am) and no work clothes (hello elastic mesh shorts).

This June specifically will be one I will never forget. Our second child is due to arrive in just a couple of weeks. In fact, even as I type this my wife, sitting next to me eating ice cream and watching The Matrix, is trying to determine if the contractions she's feeling are Braxton Hicks or true labor. Fun times.

The day after Father's Day. That's when our baby boy Bennett is scheduled to arrive into this world. I can't wait to meet him. I can't wait for Olivia to be a big sister. I can't wait until I can get sushi again and crack open some of these bottles of wine I've been collecting over the past 9 months (eating sushi and drinking wine alone isn't my jam... I'm waiting for Asheley #gentleman).

But let's back up a second. Father's Day. I'm always a big advocate for celebrating at home on Father's Day. Restaurants are always stupid busy, the menus are limited, and the service is hurried. Enough of our life already involves hurried busyness, so a nice relaxing day at home is exactly what I crave come Father's Day. This year, that's going to be especially true. It'll be the last day as a family of 3, and I want to soak up every moment before our lives change in a BIG way.

Usually on Father's Day I'll fire up the grill (remember those Whiskey Glazed Burgers from last Father's Day?!), but this year I'm really excited for these Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches with Kimchi Slaw and Gochujang Aioli on Martin’s Big Marty's Rolls!

If you've been hanging around with me for awhile here on Shared Appetite, you know I've got a love for big, bold flavors. These Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches deliver HUGE in the flavor department. And they are way easier to pull off than you think. No need for a deep fryer or anything like that!

It all starts with giving your chicken a nice little rest in a buttermilk-based bath. Actually, scratch that. It actually starts with making sure your chicken is uniform thickness. This will make sure it cooks evenly without some parts being under/over cooked. I just place each chicken breast in-between some plastic wrap and give it a few smacks with a small skillet.

When you're ready to get cooking, I simply dredge each piece of chicken in a mixture of all-purpose flour, cornstarch, and finely-ground cornmeal. It provides a really nice crispy texture that still manages to be light and airy at the same time. And that golden brown color... oh heck yes.

But here's the important part. Don't just dredge your chicken and throw it into the hot oil. Let it rest on a baking sheet for about 10 minutes. That apparently helps the flour to hydrate a little and also makes sure you're not throwing really cold chicken into hot oil (which would then drastically lower the temperature of your oil).

Once that chicken is golden brown, give it another rest on a baking sheet (a different one from before, of course). Once it's cooled slightly, you'll want to give it a BIG smear with this Korean chili paste. Get it in every nook and cranny. It's AMAZING.

You might think at first glance that it's going to be ridiculously spicy with the amount of gochugaru (Korean chili flakes) it calls for, but the brown sugar in the paste really helps tame the heat and gives it a nicely balanced kick of sweet heat.

Don't make the chili paste last minute. It's best to whip that together right after you put the chicken in the buttermilk mixture so that the flavors in the paste have time to meld and get to know each other.

The last components in these Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches are the Gochujang Aioli and Kimchi Slaw.

Gochujang is the Korean equivalent to Sriracha. It's got a great depth of flavor and makes for one heck of an aioli for these Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches! Psst, it's perfect for Korean Steak Nachos as well!

If you've never experienced kimchi before, this is a GREAT way to get introduced to the Korean side dish staple. Not going to lie, like all fermented foods... it's got an intense flavor. If you're a kimchi newbie, adding it to slaw is a great way to get some kimchi essence without being slapped in the face with fermented cabbage.

Like anyone that loves sandwiches or burgers will tell you... a sandwich or burger is only as good as what it's served on. Anytime I go to the food store, there's one and one roll only I reach for every single time: Martin's Big Marty's Rolls! They are, without a doubt, the quintessential roll for all your sandwich and burger needs.

Martin's Big Marty's rolls are the perfect size, are incredibly soft and fluffy while being hearty enough for the sauciest of fillings, and stay fresh for an impressively long time. More than any other brand I've ever tried, Martin's Potato Rolls deliver on taste, texture, and freshness EVERY TIME. What more could you ask for in a bun?!

And that, my friends, is why you'll only see me serving up Martin's Rolls at every backyard get together all summer long.

If you need help finding a store near you that carries these magical rolls, be sure to check out their store locator!

Let's review.

Don't go out on Father's Day. It's an overcrowded world out there, especially at restaurants on Father's Day. Stay home and celebrate instead!
Make these Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches with Kimchi Slaw and Gochujang Aioli.
Don't forget the Martin's Big Marty's Rolls!

Happy Father's Day to all the dads, dads-to-be, grandparents, uncles, and all dudes out there who are father figures in any capacity. Hope someone in your life treats you to these epic Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches! And yes, it's perfectly acceptable to make them for yourself... I know I will be!

Korean Fried Chicken Sandwiches

Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

These Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce were created in partnership with American Greetings. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

Father's Day is just around the corner. For me this year, it's an extra special day because it's the last day for me as a dad of one. Our second child is due to arrive the day after Father's Day! I have no idea what's in store (I hear having two kids is vastly different than one!), but all I know is being a dad is really, really amazing.

If there's one thing I've learned fairly quickly as a parent, it's that it truly takes a village. Olivia is so incredibly blessed to have a lot of awesome people in her life that love her and care for her. On Father's Day, I want her not to just think of me, but all the special male role models in her life. Her Pop and Grampy (and uncle and great uncle) of course, but also two great friends of mine that have become really close uncles to her.

They don't have kids of their own yet, but they have both been so amazing with Olivia and she is proud to call them uncle. This Father's Day, I want them to know that we appreciate them. Getting stuff is nice, but there's a better gift I know these two guys will really love. And honestly, it's a gift that I think anyone special in your life would really appreciate too.

A greeting card with a heartfelt note (or in Olivia's case, a semi-but-not-really-legible original picture) can encourage someone more than you'll ever know. Let that someone special know what you're feeling. Show your gratitude. Tell them how they've impacted your life. It'll mean more than any trinket you can buy. Pro tip... Target has a legit greeting card section!

And along with that greeting card, we'll be giving Olivia's uncles something we know they'll love. Brownies. But not just any brownies. Candied Bacon Brownies. And Whiskey Caramel Sauce. This way, they can enjoy one heck of an epic dude dessert this Father's Day... Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce!

candied bacon brownie sundaes whiskey caramel sauce 32

If you're new to Target... I'm sorry. You've been in the dark way too long and it's time to see the light. Target is quite the magical place. It's a one-stop shopping experience for crossing off so many things on your weekly to-do list. Need a few groceries? Target. Light bulb blew out or need some storage options? Target. Got that kid's birthday party to go to this weekend and need a gift? Target. Want to fill your cart with some things you didn't know you needed but then walked through a few aisles and realized oh my gosh how have I not had this in my life all these years? Target.

And yes, Target is my #1 go-to store for greeting cards. Remember when you'd have to go to a specific store just to buy a card way back when. How inefficient. With Target, I can get all my greeting cards AND do some grocery shopping (including almost everything I need for these Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce). Oh, and I can pick up those summer pajamas for Olivia I had to remember to buy.

Like I said. Magical.

Oh, and psst. Be sure to check out the Target App for a Cartwheel offer on Father’s Day greeting cards between 5/27 - 6/17. Find a Target near you!

Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

These Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce. Ermagherd everyone. Want to impress that special guy in your life? MAKE THESE NOW.

Just when you thought brownies couldn't get any better... yup. They do. I actually got the idea for these Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce from one of Olivia's uncles. At a recent get-together, I was serving up some brownies and he noticed there was some leftover bacon from one of the appetizers. He made himself a sundae with the bacon and it was AMAZING.

making brownies and candied bacon for Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

up close view of Candied Bacon Brownies for Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

Making candied bacon brownies is way easier than it sounds. Just whip up a batch of your favorite brownie mix and add in some chopped up candied bacon (which, by the way, is just bacon cooked up with brown sugar). See, I told you. Easy.

Olivia loved helping me measure everything out and mixing up the brownies. Her favorite part? Cracking the egg. She LOVES cracking eggs.

making whiskey caramel sauce for Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

Usually making caramel can be a bit tricky, but this whiskey caramel sauce is pretty close to foolproof. Simply dump some ingredients into a pan, cook for a few minutes, and boom. Instant caramel sauce.

Olivia was able to help me with measuring all the ingredients, but I took care of the cooking process. Because you know, boiling hot sugar and everything.

I can't wait to wrap up some of these brownies and caramel sauce for Olivia's uncles. I know they are going to love this legit delicious gift (and making themselves some candied bacon brownie sundaes) but more importantly, I know they're really going to appreciate Olivia giving it to them with a greeting card from Target.

Happy Father's Day to all those dads, grandpas, uncles, and dudes that help be a part of the village. You rock... and I hope someone makes you these Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce!

Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce | sharedappetite.com

Candied Bacon Brownie Sundaes with Whiskey Caramel Sauce

How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

This post for How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board was created in partnership with Sabra Hummus. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Life is good. It’s finally warm enough for shorts. It stays sunny out until almost 8pm at this point. And the pool is open. I repeat, the pool is open. We opened it a bit earlier this year than in the past because we also now have a pool heater. That thing stays at a balmy 85°F at all times (yes, my poor electric bill). It's a necessity, though, because the first words out of Olivia’s mouth when she wakes up every morning is when (not if) we can go into the pool. It doesn't matter if it's 60°F or 90°F out... the girl LOVES that pool.

With Olivia’s water obsession and a new baby coming in just a few weeks, I foresee a lot of backyard entertaining going on at our house this year.

I couldn’t be happier. THIS is what I look forward to all year long.

Now here’s the thing. Having a pool is really new for me. I never had one growing up (besides that semi-skeezy community pool), so I’ve learned a few lessons over these last few years when it comes to easy entertaining poolside.

The secret? Food that can be prepped way ahead of time and encourages grazing for hours and hours. And there’s nothing more perfect than an epic meat and cheese board (with plenty of beverages, of course). Let me show you How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board with Sabra Hummus, Shared Appetite style.

Pre-pool and pre-kids, my idea of summer entertaining was thinking up extravagant meals involving constant trips between the grill and kitchen. It was exhausting, and I never had the time to actually enjoy with my friends and family.

There’s a better way, and that is a Summer Charcuterie Board!

It’s my favorite way to eat during the summer. Tons of fresh summer veggies and fruit, some bold dips and spreads, and a variety of cheeses and meats. THAT’S IT. So easy, but so amazingly good.

And you know what? Guests go crazy for it. There’s no gut-busting meal weighing you down as you try to enjoy a lazy afternoon in the pool and sun, the hosts are actually free to spend time with everyone, and there’s no set time to eat. Eat when you want, as you want, what you want.

There’s a method to creating an epic summer charcuterie board, of course. I’m sure you’ve all been to a party where there was some sad looking cheese and meat platter. It probably involved blocks of pre-diced cheeses, waxy-looking meats, and buttery crackers. Yeah, not at our house.

So…. How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board??? Let’s break this thing down:

The cheese. The magic number is three. Less is cheap, more gives people anxiety over too many choices. There’s no specific cheeses to look for, but I usually go for one softer cheese (like brie, goat, triple cream, or some other soft buttery cheese), one hard or aged (like this peppery sheep's milk pecorino toscano), and one a little more funky (like blue cheese). You’re pretty much guaranteed to have at least one cheese on there for everyone’s tastes, and having multiple types of cheeses will help encourage people to create different flavor combos as they navigate your LEGIT Summer Charcuterie Board.

The meats. Honestly, this varies for me. Sometimes it’s just one. Sometimes it’s two or three. Usually I land on two: a good-quality creamy prosciutto and a nice, spicy salami or soppresata.

The foundation. Two options are key. A baguette has to be one of them. The other can be some sort of artisanal crispy seedy cracker or a good trusty pita chip. For bonus points, slice up your baguette, brush with oil, salt + pepper ‘em, and grill them until toasted. While you’ve got the grill going (and remember, you are doing all this ahead of time before guests arrive), grill up some asparagus and sliced summer squash or zucchini. They make for an amazing addition to your summer charcuterie board.

The fresh. This is going to depend on what looks good at your market. Go for three fruits and three vegetables. This isn’t a hard and fast rule… just give a good variety of options. I think strawberries, red seedless grapes, and some sort of melon like cantaloupe always are a win, but cherries, pears, and stone fruit can also be pretty great. For the vegetables, I like just picking three different colors. Cherry tomatoes are a trusty pick for me, I loved the color in the yellow bell pepper, and the vibrant green sugar snap peas looked super fresh at the grocery store when I went. Oh, and apparently I also have cucumber on my board. That would be because my toddler daughter is obsessed.

The spreads + accompaniments. Three to five choices here are amazing. And you have SO many options. Whole grain mustard. Some sweet jammy preserve. Homemade easy pickled onions. A fresh pesto. And, of course, don’t forget THE HUMMUS. Specifically, Sabra Hummus!

Sabra Hummus is the perfect addition for any summer entertaining occasion, and it’s essential to this summer charcuterie board! There are so many flavors to choose from, including a limited edition Sweet and Smoky BBQ that would be so awesome for your backyard grilling spread! I went with three classics that I thought would pair really nicely with this summer charcuterie board... Sabra Roasted Pine Nut Hummus, Roasted Garlic Hummus, and Olive Tapenade Hummus.

Sabra Hummus is so smooth and creamy, and the flavors are so on point. Besides using it for my summer charcuterie boards throughout the summer, I love having it on hand for some health-minded snacking. I almost always have a container of Sabra in the fridge to go along with some carrots! Instant snacking for the win!

And with so many varieties of hummus to choose from (there's about 15 flavors to choose from!), you can keep your taste buds happy throughout the summer with Sabra!

Plus, they’re offering a promotion this summer - buy 3 Sabra products and submit your reciept to sabrabowl.com, get a free homemade bowl that is the perfect size for Sabra Hummus 10oz tubs! These bowls add serious class to your Summer Charcuterie Board.

The last step to How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board…

Grab a drink (I pretty much always have some rosé on ice at my house during pool season) and DIG IN!

How To Build A Summer Charcuterie Board

Greek Lamb Tacos with American Lamb

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

These Greek Lamb Tacos with American Lamb were created in partnership with the American Lamb Board. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Some say December is the best time of year. I get it. Christmas and New Year... I'm a fan. But it's also an extremely stressful and busy month. That's why I think it's actually the second best time of the year. My absolute favorite day of the year? CINCO DE MAYO!!!

Yes, I'm dead serious. This is a day with no stress or expectations, except to enjoy plenty of margaritas and as many chips with guacamole as your stomach can hold (or if you're going out to eat... however much your wallet can afford, because you know guac is extra).

I host a big Cinco de MAN-o party every year. Our wives are usually away the first weekend of May at our church's annual women's retreat, so I get all the dudes together for an epic night of food. I always make my famous (and I use that word loosely) Pineapple Habanero Salsa, foolproof Carnitas, and highly anticipated 4 Ingredient Nutella Choco Tacos. This year, I'm bringing a new player to the party. These Greek Lamb Tacos made with American Lamb!!!

These Greek Lamb Tacos are getting me extra excited because I've been highly obsessed with Greek flavors lately, and this is pretty much the best of both worlds... Greek flavors in a TACO!

Let's start with the Greek equivalent to guacamole... tzatziki. If there's anything nearly as addictive as chips with guac, it's pita with tzatziki.

Am I Right?

Squeezing out excess moisture from the shredded cucumber is key to a tzatziki with good texture. Make sure you also use good quality Greek yogurt... none of that non-fat stuff. And last tip... after letting the flavors meld for a while in the fridge, make sure to taste and re-season your tzatziki with extra lemon juice and/or Kosher salt if it's needed!

Instead of Pico de Gallo for these Greek Lamb Tacos, we're bringing the fresh flavors of Israeli Salad to the party. I first had Israeli Salad in a falafel sandwich from Taim in NYC, and was immediately hooked. Quite surprising, might I add, because I'm 100% not a cucumber fan.

It's the perfect fresh and crisp bite that the creamy tzatziki and flavor-packed lamb kefta need.

Lamb Kefta... or Lamb Kofta... or one of the various other spellings it has. In ball form, in patty form, in skewer form... it's all good. Like little mini Greek lamb meatloaf, these nuggets are studded with BIG flavor.

It all starts, of course, with AMERICAN LAMB.

American. Made here, for here.

I was shocked when I first learned that the majority of lamb sold in the United States is actually from the OPPOSITE side of the world. Australia and New Zealand. We are literally purchasing lamb that's traveled 10,000 miles and up to 30 days to get to our grocery stores. That's insane!

American Lamb is not only a superior tasting product, it’s incredibly local.

How local? It's produced in almost EVERY STATE in the U.S. on family farms. I've had the privilege as serving as an American Lamb lambassador for a couple years now, and part of that honor is getting to meet some of the lamb ranchers and their families. Truly and fully, these people care. They eat, breathe, and sleep lamb. It's a labor of love, passion, and incredibly hard work. I can't think of a better way to support them than to keep it local at the grocery store.

Next time you are at your butcher counter (Whole Foods typically carries American Lamb)… make sure you let them know that you want American lamb. It tastes better, is fresher, and helps support families right here in the United States!

I love serving up these Greek Lamb Tacos on mini naan. If you can't find it, feel free to use regular old tortillas. Just make sure in either case, you heat up those carbs. There's nothing sadder than a room temperature tortilla or naan. I want it warmed through and a little toasty.

Then make sure to PILE ON the tzatziki and Israeli salad on top of these boldly flavored lamb kefta!

Greek Lamb Tacos

Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

This recipe for Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg was created in partnership with Simply Avocado. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

We are just about a week away until one of my favorite days of the entire year. Cinco de Mayo!

Yes, I'm serious.

It's no secret that Mexican, Tex-Mex, and Southwest flavors are totally my jam. I've shared plenty of recipes here for tacos, nachos, and churro desserts. But it hit me that I'm seriously lacking in the breakfast department. And with just a short 24 hours to cram in as much celebrating as possible, we have to get a Cinco de Mayo breakfast recipe happening like now. Besides, that means we can indulge in a breakfast margarita, right ?

My daughter and wife are obsessed with avocado toast. They like it straight up... toast + avocado. Me? You know I need the big, bold flavors in my life. So I decided to jazz up their simple breakfast with some legit flavors. This, my friends, is what needs to be on your breakfast table this Cinco de Mayo (and really, it's perfectly acceptable to put this recipe on repeat throughout the year)... Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg.

Elotes... we're talking about Mexican Street Corn. If you've never had the stuff, let's just put it this way. I'm pretty confident that on the seventh day when God rested, he did so with elotes in one hand and a margarita in the other. The chips and guacamole weren't far away, either.

Mexican Street Corn is one of my favorite side dishes to whip up whenever I get my hands on fresh corn throughout the season here in New York. What's not to like about roasted corn slathered with mayo, chili powder, cheese, and lime?! It's divine.

Side note... if you can't find fresh corn for this recipe, you can most certainly use frozen. No judgement here.

So back to my wife and daughter's obsession with avocado toast. It's seriously a daily occurrence in our house. The problem with that is keeping up with buying all those avocados and getting them to be ripe on a daily basis for them. It's a full time job in itself.

Well, problem solved.

I recently discovered Simply Avocado! It's a new line of pure, wholesome avocado dips and spreads from the makers of Wholly Guacamole, and they are made with real, hand scooped Haas avocados, and each variety is made with just four ingredients or less!

Best part, it's always ripe and ready to eat, which means keeping up with my wife and daughter's avocado toast habit is a breeze (and it made making this Elotes Avocado Toast so simple). There's no need to wait for a ripe avocado, or in my wife's case, guess incorrectly when the avocado is ripe (she always isn't patient enough!).

Simply Avocado is available in three tasty varieties... Sea Salt, Chunky Avocado, and Garlic & Herb, with Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeno & Lime flavors coming soon! You can find them in the produce department at Walmart stores and also online at Mexgrocer.com.

Let's break down how easy it is to whip together this Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg for breakfast:

it all starts with the bread. Don't make it an afterthought. Seek out some good-quality bread. I like some sort of thick-cut seeded whole grain loaf.
look how vibrant and fresh that Simply Avocado looks... so good. Make sure to slather on an even layer of the stuff so the elotes has something to adhere to!
the Mexican Street Corn... don't be shy here. Pile it on!
top with some extra chili powder and some crumbled cotija or queso fresco (I personally prefer queso fresco, but that's just me). If you're in a pinch, feta works ok as a substitute, or you can just omit the cheese if you're trying to keep it dairy free.
Get that beautiful fried egg on top. It's all about that #yolkporn. Your stomach (and Instagram feed... you know you're going to take a picture of it) will thank you.

This Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg would also be perfect for easy entertaining! Just make a batch of Elotes, whip up some fried eggs, and let guests assemble their Elotes Avocado Toast themselves! It's the perfect addition to your next brunch!

The best part is that the most undesirable task... breaking down all those avocados and mashing them up... is already done for you thanks to Simply Avocado! Such a great time saver, and the quality is top-notch. It's a win win!

Elotes Avocado Toast with a Fried Egg

Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

Introduce new, exciting flavors to your family and friends within a familiar comfort food with this recipe for Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli!

It's coming. The party I look forward to all year long. The get together that signifies the unofficial beginning of summer fun for all my buddies.

Cinco de MAN-o.

Not mano... MAN-o.

It all started with an impromptu little hangout session the night of our church's women's retreat several years back. All of our wives (or possibly even girlfriends at the time come to think of it) were away and us guys were bored. It's no secret I love entertaining, so everyone came over my house and I cooked up some Mexican food. Partly because it was the weekend of May 5th and largely because I just freaking love Tex-Mex and Southwest flavors, I cooked up a Mexican feast.

With our wives now away the first weekend of May each year, this Cinco de MAN-o party has become an assumed ritual. I don't even need to send out invite texts anymore. Everyone just knows... show up the first weekend of May. Done.

Each year I always try a few new recipe ideas out on the guys. They are a great gauge of of critics, from picky eaters who don't each much more than meat and potatoes to dudes that pick apart Michelin-rated restaurants. When I create a dish that gets everyone excited, I know I've hit a winner. These Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli are it.

The flavors in these Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli are unbelievably addicting. I first had Korean Steak Nachos at the Kimchi Taco Truck in NYC (which now also has a restaurant location called Kimchi Grill in Brooklyn). The flavors were so new, so different, and I couldn't stop eating them. I found myself craving these nachos week after week, and I knew I could make a version of them at home.

Let's break down these Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli:

The bulgogi marinade on the steak is crazy good. You'll find yourself using it frequently for steak because it's amazing. You'll want to slice the steak thin, which is easy work if you partially freeze the meat for a bit to firm it up.
Kimchi by itself is a really strong flavor. It's a staple you'll find on pretty much every Korean table daily. Chopping it up and scattering it around the nachos is a great way to introduce the new flavor in a more subtle way.
If you've never had gochujang, it's basically the Korean version of Sriracha. It's got a lot more depth of flavor and again, mixing into this creamy aioli (a mixture of sour cream, mayo, and gochujang), it makes it way more approachable to palates that are unfamiliar with the spicy fermented chili paste.
Go crazy with the toppings... I'm partial to my homemade pico de gallo and the BEST guacamole, along with scallions, cilantro, and some lime wedges!

Come Cinco de Mayo this year, celebrate with combining a fusion of big, bold flavors... Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli!

Bulgogi Korean Steak Nachos with Kimchi and Gochujang Aioli

Need More Cinco de Mayo Recipes? Get Ready...

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Mini Chocolate Churros with Peanut Butter Sauce

Mexican Street Corn Burgers

Mexican Lamb Tacos with Tequila Soaked Raisins

Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos

Healthy Turkey Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Channa Masala Vegetarian Indian Tacos

Huevos Rancheros Breakfast Tacos

Carnitas Tacos with Pickled Onions and Salsa Verde

Pork Belly Tacos with Ancho Chili Roasted Pineapple

Animal Style In-N-Out Bacon Cheeseburger Tacos

Bacon Cheeseburger Tater Tot Nachos

Honey BBQ Chicken Nachos

Buffalo Chicken Tater Tot Nachos

Hidden Veggie Chicken Enchiladas

Buffalo Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chile Sour Cream Sauce

Baked Brown Butter Churro Donuts

How To Make Perfect Carnitas

Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

This Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice was created in partnership with Lee Kum Kee. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

If Olivia or Asheley gets their way on takeout night, it is usually pizza. If I get control over the decision making, we're 100% getting Thai food. I always enjoy trying something new on the menu... it's an exciting way to experience unfamiliar flavors. Of course, though, I have my heavily trusted go-to order when I want one of my tried and true classics from the local restaurant: pad see ew with a side of coconut rice OR pineapple fried rice. Well, usually it's not "or"... it's "and".

Pad See Ew AND the Pineapple Fried Rice.

Yes, I'm a bit of a fatty when it comes to ordering food (having too much takeout is way more acceptable than not having enough), but for me Pineapple Fried Rice is 100% the perfect sharing dish at the dinner table. Everyone tries a little bit of it when I bring it home and everyone always loves it (even those picky eaters that swear they don't like Thai food).

Lately Olivia has been on a huge broccoli kick. Naturally, I took that and ran with it, and now have expanded her to also loving white broccoli (i.e. cauliflower). Side note... Olivia now does know it (and loves it) as cauliflower, but when introducing it to my stubborn little toddler, I knew white broccoli would have a much higher chance of succeeding.

She can't get enough cauliflower. I roast it. I add it soups and stews. And lately, I've been making it into rice, like for these Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls. Then one recent weeknight I got home after a long day of work and taking Olivia to toddler dance class, and I was really in the mood for Thai takeout. I was definitely not getting back in the car after just getting home and we are trying to keep things a bit healthy around here, so I took a look in the freezer and pantry. Light bulb moment. I think I could pull off Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice at home!

And that's the beauty of this dish. You can make it with most pantry and fridge/freezer staples you already have in the house, and if you're well-stocked like me (Asheley would claim I may be a wee-bit over stocked), you probably already have everything you need.

And you know what? We were all happy that night at the dinner table. I got my Thai flavors, Olivia got her cauliflower, and Asheley got her cashew fix. The last two weeks she's had the weirdest pregnancy cashew craving ever. She's gone through like $35 in cashews. Help me.

Did I mention this Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice only takes about 15 minutes to whip together and uses just ONE pan? Yeah, I know. AMAZING.

Let's break down just how simple this recipe is to get from your pantry and onto the table:

grab a big skillet or wok and heat up some Lee Kum Kee Pure Sesame Oil
saute a thinly sliced onion and then heat up some of that frozen vegetable medley you had stashed in your freezer
crack in 3 eggs and stir to scramble them up
stir in some frozen riced cauliflower* along with a few other pantry staples: Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce, fish sauce, brown sugar, garlic powder, turmeric (this is what gives it that awesome golden color), and coriander
add canned pineapple, chopped scallions, and roasted cashews
top with Lee Kum Kee Sriracha Chili Sauce and cilantro
DEVOUR

*you totally can just buy a head of cauliflower and chop it into rice-sized kernels in a food processor. I've done it. It's great, but it's messy. It's way easier to buy some frozen riced cauliflower and stock up in your freezer for quick weeknight meals like this Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice.

Let's review... ONE pan, only about 15 minutes of cooking time, and barely and prep needed! This is such a great way to use up frozen veggies in the freezer (feel free to customize with whatever you have on hand!), and it's a healthy vegetarian meal that you can feel good about serving your family. Best of all, the big and bold flavors in this Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice makes it feel like a hearty and satisfying dinner!

All of this wouldn't be possible, though, without help from Lee Kum Kee Soy Sauce! Lee Kum Kee makes it easy for people to enjoy authentic, restaurant-quality Asian tastes and flavors at home through its delicious line of savory Asian sauces and condiments!

Lee Kum Kee has a wide range of great-tasting authentic Asian sauces and condiments, and I easily found all three of these items at my local grocery store in the Asian foods aisle!

Thai Pineapple Fried Cauliflower Rice | sharedappetite.com

THAI PINEAPPLE FRIED CAULIFLOWER RICE

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos

By Chris Cockren 6 Comments

These Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos were created in partnership with 7UP®. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite! You must be 21 years of age or older to consume an alcoholic beverage.

It's finally here. SPRING. Can I get a hallelujah? I'm so looking forward to all the promises spring brings. The bare tree branches and desolate flower gardens start to show signs of life. The lazy sun starts to stretch its legs and stays awake a bit longer each day. The frigid temperature finally starts to creep up in the right direction. And all these things leads to one very important thing in our house since having Olivia... being outside.

Our daughter loves being outside. In the winter, it's just too cold most days and by the time we get home from work it's already dark outside anyway. Soon enough we'll be enjoying weeknight trips to the park, endless hours playing on her swing set, and my personal favorite: firing up the grill with a cool beverage in hand.

I love entertaining throughout these warmer months. Between big family BBQs and getting friends together to pool playdates for Olivia, we are constantly having guests come by. There's always a signature drink that I like to serve for each get together with whatever I'm cooking up, and now I have a new one to add to the rotation! These Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos with 7UP® are beyond perfect for spring and summer and can be made in large batches for easy entertaining!

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com When I first started to really entertain and have guests come over back in college, I always tried to take on too much. I'd be trying to juggle greeting all my friends, cooking crazy involved multistep recipes in the kitchen, and trying to play bartender by mixing drinks for everyone each and every time someone needed a beverage in hand.

It was nonstop chaos for the entire duration of every party. As I get older and a wee bit wiser, my entertaining game has evolved a bit. I decided that it may actually be nice to spend some time with the people I invited over in the first place. Radical idea, I know. One of the best changes I ever made was to start making cocktails that I could either make it large batches ahead of time or that guests could easily assemble themselves.

Good news with these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos? They check off both of those boxes! You can either make them in a large batch a little bit before your party or put out the four components and let guests mix them up themselves (which, side note... the nice thing about that is that they can customize their drinks to their liking).

Blueberries, Mint, and Lemon for these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com I'm all about sparkling cocktails. They are so refreshing and perfect on a warm day, especially when sipping on them poolside. The key to getting the SPARKLING in these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos is 7UP!

7UP is a major player in our house. Asheley and I both are partial to lemon lime flavored soda, and I know I can always stock up on 7UP at my local ShopRite in the soda aisle. And good news, you can score a $1.00 off coupon for 7UP now at ShopRite! One thing I didn't mention yet: you can most definitely use either 7UP or Diet 7UP for these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos!

Find your nearest ShopRite with their store locator and pick yourself up some 7UP or Diet 7UP!

Psst... for more drink ideas creative cooking recipes, and inspiration featuring 7UP, check out MixitUpwith7UP.com!

7UP for these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com

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Check out how simple whipping up a batch of these easy entertaining Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos are:

muddle up some fresh mint
pour in white rum and your favorite store-bought lemonade
add in some homemade blueberry simple syrup (don't worry, this is SUPER simple to make and you can do it days ahead of time!)
top it off with some 7UP, which reinforces the lemon lime flavors in this mojitos and gives it that nice sparkle!

Boom, that's it. You're done. Sit back, relax, and sip.

Step by step making these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com

pouring in 7UP into these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com A few tips to think about:

This cocktail can easily be made into a mocktail. Just leave out the rum! Asheley is currently pregnant with our #2, but she loves blueberries and lemonade (and yes, she was most definitely the inspiration for this cocktail) and happily enjoyed her Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojito sans the liquor.

This recipe calls for frozen blueberries because I feel like they are more cost stable (those fresh berries change prices weekly I feel like!), but fresh will work equally well!

Make sure to save some small-ish mint leaves for a pretty garnish. You can also make those cute little blueberry skewers as a garnish that doubles a drink stirrer!

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com It's your choice if you want to make your mojitos in a big batch all ahead of time or if you want to leave the ingredients out for guests to assemble themselves. I personally like letting my friends make them to taste because everyone has their own preference. Some like it sweeter, some a bit stronger, some more bubbly... this way everyone's happy!

Either way, these Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos are the perfect spring and summer easy entertaining cocktail recipe!

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos | sharedappetite.com

#MixitUpaLittle with 7UP

Sparkling Blueberry Lemonade Mojitos

Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen

By Chris Cockren 20 Comments

This Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen was created in partnership with the American Lamb Board. As always, all opinions and recipes are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Valentine's Day is next week. I don't know how it manages to sneak up on me every year... but here we are again. Honestly, Valentine's Day isn't a huge holiday for Asheley and I. We made the decision years ago that we wouldn't do the whole going out to dinner thing and Asheley is unwavering in her apathy for the standard Valentine's Day gifts.

Just to be clear... we absolutely love going out to dinner and I am so into buying gifts for people. Just not for Valentine’s Day. Going out to dinner on Valentine’s Day is such a lackluster experience. The pre-fixe menus are ridiculously uninspiring and they rush you in and out of the restaurant faster than you can finish your glass of wine. Oh, and don’t get Asheley started on the rate of inflation on Valentine’s Day flowers.

Instead, we take Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to slow down and spend a night together… at home (and yes, we did that even before we had a toddler in the mix).

I cook something epic. We actually set the table and use cloth napkins instead of eating on the couch while catching up on DVR. Yeah, an actual fancy adult dinner (after our toddler goes to bed, of course). And this year, I'm bringing some serious flavor to Valentine's Day dinner with this Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen!

Psst. Before you go any further, make sure you go and enter the Lamb Lover's Month giveaway for $1,000 in prizes! It takes less than 30 seconds to enter!

Asheley LOVES soup. It's what she craves for dinner 90% of the time... from the day I finally cave and turn on the heat in the fall all the way up until the pool gets uncovered in the spring. Yeah, that's a lot of soup. Usually I make a big batch of my Fire Roasted Chili or Roasted Butternut Squash and Apple Soup for her to reheat on demand, but Asheley and I both know what her absolute favorite soup of all time is... ramen.

We make sure to stop at her favorite legit ramen spots every time we make our way into the city in these winter months, but I also love making versions at home for her. My attempts are always wildly inauthentic (the real stuff takes a TON of time to prepare), but I make up for it with packing it full of extra flavor.

This Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen is actually inspired by a dish I had at the Lamb Jam Finale at the James Beard House a couple years back. After regional competitions determined qualifiers from local restaurants, each chef descended on NYC that evening to bring their best lamb dish to the lucky few that got to taste and vote on the winner (and by some stroke of luck, I was one of those lucky few).

The winner that night, and the dish I still cannot stop dreaming about, was the Smoked American Lamb Khao Soi from The Honey Paw in Portland, Maine. Their Khao Soi, which is a northern Thai/Burmese inspired soup, featured a coconut curry base with smoked lamb, noodles, fermented mustard greens, and lime. The intense amount of flavor they packed into this little bowl of soup literally made my jaw drop. It was... insanely unforgettable.

Fast forward to last year when the American Lamb Board invited me to Portland, Maine to tour one of their sheep farms and they had a little welcome dinner at... you guessed it, THE HONEY PAW! And yes, they served their Khao Soi. And yes, I ordered seconds.

My Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen is a version of their Khao Soi that is a little bit more accessible to the home cook (and one that is easier to make happen on a weeknight when time isn't on your side). It all starts with a flavor bomb that will become the base for this coconut curry soup... shallots, garlic, ginger, cilantro, a few spices, and sambal oelek. Give it a whirl in the food processor, simmer it with coconut milk and some broth, and you have one dynamite soup.

It's creamy (yet dairy free), has a stunning yellow color from the tumeric, and has an infectious flavor that will make your taste buds dance the entire meal. To finish off this Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen, you need some key players:

the spicy lamb gets a hit of sambal oelek, garlic, and ginger, and is the perfect protein for this rich ramen soup base
chopped scallions and fresh cilantro give a refreshing herbaceous bite
a perfect soft boiled egg is a standard ramen addition and let's be honest... a jammy yolk makes any meal better

And we can't forget about the actual noodle in this Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen. You have some choices. Feel free to use those instant ramen noodles, which is what is pictured here. I've also made it with stir fry rice noodles, which are a little bit wider and are a great gluten free option. If you're in a pinch, you can even use spaghetti or linguine!

Back to this spicy lamb. We need to have a chat.

Did you know that the majority of the lamb here sold in the states is actually from Australia and New Zealand. We are literally buying meat from the opposite side of the world. That's lamb that has traveled 10,000 miles and 30 days to get to our supermarkets.

The better choice? American Lamb. Not only is it a superior tasting product, it's incredibly local.

American Lamb is produced in almost every single state here in the U.S. I've had the honor now as an American Lamb lambassador to visit two ranches, one in California and one in Maine. Unequivocally I can tell you that raising lamb is a labor of love and passion. The people that run these family-owned farms work so incredibly hard, and I am personally so happy to support our local ranchers by keeping it local.

Next time you are at the butcher counter… make sure you let them know that you want AMERICAN lamb. It tastes better, is fresher, and helps support families right here in the U.S.

Did you know February is Lamb Lovers Month? To celebrate, the American Lamb Board is hosting an incredible Date Night Giveaway! You can win $1000 in prizes! It takes 30 seconds to enter either on their website or Facebook page!

Spicy Lamb Coconut Curry Ramen

Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

This Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring was created in partnership with Rojo's Salsa. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Has anyone else been seeing these crescent rings popping up in their Facebook feed like crazy lately? Or is it just because I'm obsessed about food and the internet somehow knows how much Asheley loves those perfectly buttery crescent rolls? Side note... I was talking with Asheley the other day how I need a new wallet, and the next time I was scrolling through my feed a wallet ad came up. Coincidence?

I digress. Either way, I'm so happy to be joining the crescent ring craze with this Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring.

SO. GOOD.

And the timing couldn't be more perfect. The BIG GAME... the one football fans look forward to all year long... is THIS weekend! If you know me, you know that I am 100% indifferent when it comes to football. I'll watch it if it's on and the remote control is out of reach, but I don't consider myself a fan and honestly don't even know who's playing this weekend. All that doesn't really matter though, because watching the big game in my house has way less to do with football and way more to do with voting on which commercial was your favorite and chowing down on legit game day eats LIKE IT'S YOUR JOB.

I'm currently working on finalizing my game day watch party menu (there's just so many game day recipes to choose from), but this Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring with Rojo's Salsa will definitely be making an appearance.

When it comes to game day entertaining, I have a few rules...

now's not the time to serve some delicately-flavored haute cuisine. Game day food is all about big, bold flavors!
if it requires utensils, it has no place on your menu (exception... chili like this Beer Braised Short Rib Chili)
if it requires napkins (or better yet paper towels), it should definitely be on your menu
game day recipes should be minimal on prep time and bonus points if you can make it ahead of time (you don't want to be in the kitchen and miss any ~~touchdowns~~ commercials!)
any type of food that you can dip or have flavor combination options for your guests are a huge win in my book

Does this Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring check all of those boxes? Heck to the YES.

These flavors aren't shy... we're talking a buttery dough stuffed with chicken, cheddar cheese, corn, black beans, and enchilada sauce! Even better, it's dunked in Rojo's Salsas and guacamole!

No utensils are required, but you better get your hands on a few napkins.

You can make the filling a couple hours ahead of time and just assemble it when ready to bake. Assembling this Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring takes all of 5 minutes and then you just let the oven do it's thing. The recipe is easy enough that I let my 2 year old daughter help me with the majority of the recipe... seriously!

My favorite part of game day food, though, has to be the ability to allow for flavor customizations. If I'm serving fries, I'll have 10 Different Ketchups you can try. Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Sliders? I'll put out a spread of crumbled blue cheese, avocado ranch dressing, pickled onions, pickled celery, and a few other toppings to choose from.

For this Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring? My famous guacamole, obviously. Lime wedges and sour cream as well. But the real star of flavor variety? Rojo's Salsas.

You know you've seen Rojo's big lineup of different salsas and dips at your local grocery stores. My first Rojo's Salsa encounter was at a friend's party. They put out a batch of their Classic 5 Layer Dip and I devoured so much of it. And now I always see Rojo's salsas and dips seducing me from the refrigerated sections of Costco and Walmart (you can find their full list of retailers here) with their fresh, premium flavors.

Rojo's has a bunch of different restaurant-quality salsas and dips to choose from, including the ones I used for my Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring... Homestyle, Restaurant Style, and Southwest Fire Roasted! I love that these salsas are made in small batches with fresh cut ingredients. It translates into big, bold, delicious flavor that you can taste in your game day spread. Each salsa has a different flavor profile, and I loved keeping my tastebuds dancing as I dunked my Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring into each one.

Make sure to search out Rojo's Salsas in the refrigerated section and keep an eye out for their newest varieties, including Hatch Chile Salsa and Salsa Verde (that Hatch Chile sounds epic) and a new line of (ermagherd!!!) queso dips!

A few tips for success with this recipe:

make sure the inside diameter for the Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring is about 5-6 inches. Smaller than that and you'll have too much overlap with the dough and it won't cook through. I like using an upside down bowl in the middle to help keep the circle exact.
when folding over the triangles of crescent dough, make sure to either tuck in the flaps or press the dough into the inside base of dough. That way it stays tight when baking.
use a store bought rotisserie chicken to make life easy! That's what I did!
feel free to change up the flavors of your filling with different enchilada sauces or other veggies/proteins. Ground beef would work equally well!
if you have any extra filling (I had a little bit left over), save it! I made a quick weeknight dinner by wrapping the extra filling in a tortilla, pouring some extra enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkling with cheese. Bake until hot and boom... instant enchiladas!

Chicken Enchilada Crescent Ring

Doritos Mac And Cheese Balls

By Chris Cockren 3 Comments

These Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls were created in partnership with Frito-Lay. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

January is all about one thing and one thing only. Well, two things. Trying to get back on track with some healthy eating after a little too much indulgence over the holiday season, and looking forward to drool-worthy EPIC game day eats when it comes time for the biggest game of the year. I’m also looking forward to the halftime show. And the commercials. Oh how I look forward to seeing some creative commercials.

And the game. Yeah, sure. I guess I'm excited about that too. Who's playing again?

In our house, watching the Super Bowl LII is more of a social opportunity than a sporting event. Any chance we have to bring our friends together... I'm all about it. If it just so happens to revolve around the year's most important football game, that's just a bonus in our book. The reason I'm always extra excited about entertaining this one day a year? Game day recipes are some of my absolute FAVORITES to cook... and eat.

My toddler Olivia is (like most children her age) pretty happy when we offer her mac and cheese for dinner. If we're being real, though, adults are pretty excited for mac and cheese as well. I was just photographing a wedding a few weeks ago and noticed while covering cocktail hour that they were serving mac and cheese to guests. Let me tell you... every guest was so excited about that comforting tray of cheesy carb-loaded goodness. And it was at that moment I realized I wanted to make mac and cheese balls for our football watch party this year. But not just any ordinary mac and cheese balls... these are coated in DORITOS® Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips!

That's right. This game day I'm adding these Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls with Sriracha Mayo to the menu!

Life is short, and I only have time for bold flavors. That's why I made sure to jam pack these Doritos® Crusted Mac and Cheese balls with as much jaw-dropping, stomach-happy-dance flavors I could.

Game day recipes should be all about being fast, easy, and approachable. This isn't the time to prepare gourmet 18-step recipes that are dainty or thought-provoking. It's all about big flavors and big impact, with the smallest amount of hands on time in the kitchen. That way I don't miss any of those awesome commercials!

These Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls with Sriracha Mayo can be made with as little as 5 ingredients if using store bought mac and cheese. That's pretty darn simple. Best of all, they include some of the greatest foods on earth... mac and cheese, Doritos®, and sriracha mayo. HECK to the YES.

So let's break down these Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls with Sriracha Mayo. First, the mac and cheese. You have some options. Making the recipe below for the mac and cheese will definitely be a huge win in the flavor department. Besides making an incredibly cheesy sauce for the macaroni, I also add an additional cup of shredded cheese into the mac and cheese to make these balls even cheesier.

If homemade mac and cheese isn't possible (no judgement, I promise), feel free to grab some store bought or just make the boxed stuff.

What IS essential is spreading it into a baking dish and refrigerating the mac and cheese until it's nice and firm. This will make shaping the balls extremely easy.

Once your mac and cheese is firm from it's spa day in the fridge, it's time to make some balls. I used an ice cream/cookie scoop about 1 ½" in diameter for these Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls. Scooping them will get the shape pretty close, but then use your hands to mold them into a nicer more precise sphere.

You can feel free to crush your DORITOS® Nacho Cheese Flavored Tortilla Chips however you'd like. A food processor would certainly do the trick, but I think taking a rolling pin to a bag of Doritos is way more fun. No rolling pin? An empty bottle of wine will work just fine!

These Doritos Mac and Cheese Balls are as easy as dipping in egg wash, rolling in the crushed Doritos®, and frying until crisp. When dredging the balls in the crushed Doritos®, make sure to really get them well coated. You want to maximize every morsel of Doritos® goodness on every mac and cheese ball.

And speaking of maximizing... Frito-Lay has you covered for all your Super Bowl LII recipes. I just created some LEGIT Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos last week, and Frito-Lay has a ton of game day inspiration on their Pinterest page!

Let's review.

The biggest football game of the year is coming up very soon
Even if you don't watch football (join the club), it's an opportunity to hang out with friends and eat epic game day food
Game day recipes should be easy, approachable, and HUGE on flavor
Mac and cheese balls are good, but Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls with Sriracha Mayo are way better
Make these Doritos® Mac and Cheese Balls
Happy Game Day!

Doritos Mac and Cheese Balls with Sriracha Mayo

Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Red Velvet Cake Truffles were created in partnership with American Greetings. As always, all opinions and the recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Valentine's Day. Yeah guys, it's coming up pretty darn soon. Did you make plans yet to celebrate? For Asheley and I, it's always a pretty laid back day. We don't do the whole going out to dinner thing and Asheley is adamant that I don't spend a large portion of my paycheck on overpriced flowers and jewelry.

Don't get us wrong. We love going out to dinner and I am all about shopping for gifts. Just not for Valentine's Day. Going out for dinner on Valentine's Day is painful. The lame pre-fixe menus are ridiculously lackluster and you are usually rushed in and out of the restaurant faster than you can finish your glass of wine. Oh, and don't get Asheley started on the rate of inflation on Valentine's Day flowers.

For us, Valentine's Day is an opportunity to take a night to spend together... at home. I cook something epic. We actually set the table and use cloth napkins. Maybe we even light the candles. Yeah, an actual fancy adult dinner (after our toddler goes to bed, of course). The only gift we trade? A heartfelt and thoughtful card. It only takes a credit card and less than 30 seconds nowadays to order flowers to be delivered right to your doorstep, but to write something beautiful to my wife on Valentine's Day in a card that I went to the store and hand picked? That shows a different level of love and care.

Oh, and I can't forget about dessert. This year, I'll be making Asheley these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles!

Yeah, I said it. Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles. EPIC.

Can we talk about Target for a second? Who else is obsessed? I know I'm not alone on this one.

You go in with a few things on your list, and then you get sucked into the beautiful vortex of retail perfection that is Target.

I love Target. Our daughter Olivia loves Target. Even Asheley, my wife who hates shopping, LOVES TARGET.

When it comes to making Valentine's Day happen, there's nothing better than one-stop shopping. I got all the ingredients I needed for these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles AND Target has a legit selection of American Greetings cards right when you walk into the store!

I'm not a huge baker. This was actually my very first attempt at making a version of cake balls. Now, I'm obsessed.

These Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles are everything. Red velvet cake. Cream cheese frosting. Nutella. What's not to love?!

Wondering how to get the Nutella on the inside of these truffles? It's as easy as freezing it first! I drop little teaspoon sized balls of Nutella onto a parchment paper lined plate, then freeze until I'm ready to assemble the Red Velvet Cake Truffles. Since the Nutella will get hard in the freezer, you can then just mold the cake truffles around the frozen Nutella.

A couple other tips with this recipe. If the cake truffles don't stay together as you try to roll them into balls, add a little more frosting to the mixture. That'll help it keep it shape, if needed. When picking chocolate to melt for the coating for these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles, go for the good stuff. Low quality chocolate doesn't melt well... no matter how much you heat it, the chocolate will stay thick and gloppy. When you try to dip your cake truffles, there will be way too much chocolate on each ball. Trust me, I found out the hard way. Higher quality chocolate will be super thin when melted and dries really well when dipped.

Olivia loved helping me pick out Asheley's Valentine's Day card this year. She always gets excited when looking at all the cards at Target. She loved the gold writing and hearts on the card we finally settled on. Mommy will like this one! And my heart melted.

So let's review, shall we?

forget going out this Valentine's Day
make your someone special a legit meal at home
finish the meal with these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles
when shopping for your Valentine's Day cards this year, be sure to check out the fun and unique options offered by American Greetings at Target

Oh, and if you happen to have any leftover of these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles, bring them to work the next day and leave in the break room. You'll quickly make lots of friends!

For all my friends without a special someone to celebrate Valentine's Day with this year... make these for YOU. You're worth it. Treat yourself.

Asheley is going to be beyond excited when she sees these Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles and her Valentine's Day card! Now the only question is... what should I make for dinner?

Nutella Filled Red Velvet Cake Truffles

Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos were created in partnership with Frito-Lay. As always, all opinions and the recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Well, that was fun. The chaos of Christmas and the New Year are now complete. Although it's always a non-stop crazy time of year and this post-holiday breather is definitely welcomed, I also kinda miss it. Olivia is at this perfect toddler age where she is starting to get it, and Christmas was such a magical season. The lights, the get togethers, the presents. She loved it ALL. And now... it's over. It's time to put away the decorations (noooooooooo!) and get the house back in order.

I don't know about you, but I need something new to look forward to now. Thankfully, it's the best time of year for game day eats. I'm not really a big football fan, but I'm 100% a HUGE game day food fan. That one magical day a year is fast approaching... Super Bowl LII... and I'm so on board with celebrating the great American pastime of football with a legit menu of mouthwatering food. This year I'm bringing these Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos. Just like nachos, but made with the perfectly salty and crunchy LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips. Oh heck yes.

I honestly never really got into football. I mean I'm happy to watch it when it's on, but I couldn't tell you what teams are doing well this year and which ones aren't. But that one magical day a year... the be all end all that fans wait all year for and the event that even non football fans like me can get into.

More importantly, I enjoy the commercials and I am all about the snacks.

All. The. Snacks.

Two of the favorites at our house? LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips and DORITOS® Cool Ranch Flavored Tortilla Chips.

Seriously, these two snacks rarely make it long in our house. Asheley and I both love them, and Olivia is definitely ~~walking~~ running in our footsteps.

When it comes time for a game day menu, I'm all about foods that take minimal effort and deliver huge on flavor. You all know I'm a sucker for Mexican and Southwest flavors, so when I had the opportunity to combine Asheley's love with potato chips with my love of nachos... let's juts say it was one excited house.

The flavor options for these Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos are endless. I'm already thinking up Korean pork and Buffalo Chicken variations, but for our game day watch party, I wanted to keep the flavors iconic for these potato chip nachos: Loaded Tacos!

You don't have to make these Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos in a large cast iron skillet, although you have to admit it looks pretty darn cool. Feel free to make them in any large baking dish or even a regular old baking tray. Let's break down how simple and easy it is to build these epic Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos:

Layer taco beef over a generous layer of crispy LAY’S® Classic Potato Chips
Sprinkle half of the shredded cheese over the beef
Top with Pickled Jalapeños and Easy Pickled Onions (these little beauties are SO simple to whip up and taste SO ridiculously good on nachos)
Add more cheese
Get everything nice and toasty in the oven, then smother in sour cream, pico de gallo, and ALL THE GUAC
Devour with your closest friends

Seriously, you'll be wondering why you've been making nachos with tortilla chips your whole life. These Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos have opened up a whole new world of nacho opportunities to me and have totally raised the bar for game day entertaining.

Do yourself a favor and make these Skillet Loaded Nacho Potato Chip Nachos for your next game day celebration. They come together in under 25 minutes and you'll be crowned the new queen/king of entertaining. I promise.

Oh, and bonus tip: I always shred cheese for nachos myself. Never get the pre-shredded stuff, as it never seems to melt as well as when you spend the extra two minutes to shred the cheese yourself.

And if you're looking for more game day recipe inspiration, check out the Frito-Lay pinterest page and my Game Day Eats recipe page!!

Skillet Loaded Taco Potato Chip Nachos

Baked Monte Cristo Sliders

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These Baked Monte Cristo Sliders were created in partnership with Hero Fruit Spreads. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

It's the most wonderful time of the year. Really, I so love the month of December. I'm the guy that wakes up the day after Thanksgiving and the first thing on my mind is to climb into the attic and get down all our Christmas decorations (while blasting my favorite seasonal tunes throughout the house, of course). It drives Asheley nuts (she sadly doesn't share in my ridiculous holiday enthusiasm), which coincidentally makes it all the more fun.

Buying gifts. Baking cookies. Get togethers with family and friends. I LOVE IT ALL.

There's something so amazingly magical about this time of year, and it's even more special that Olivia is now at the age that she is starting to get it. And Olivia is so my daughter... she loves decorating and constantly asks me to help when baking. It of course means that those Christmas cookie recipes now takes twice as long to make (i.e. toddler pace), but every extra minute is a memory worth waiting for.

Not going to lie, though. December is kind of exhausting. Between my full time teaching gig, finishing up the busiest wedding photography season we've had to date, shopping for lots of gifts, and the crazy packed social calendar that this time of year always brings... there's not much time to rest. Eh, that's what January is for. This month is all about getting together with as many friends and family as we can, which lines up perfectly with my never-ending thirst for entertaining.

Some people get stressed out (rightfully so) when hosting a party. There's a lot to think about, and cooking for a crowd can definitely be intimidating. I freaking love it so much. Planning a menu is one of my favorite things to do, and the more I entertain the more I rely on one very important rule: keep it simple. There's a time to make intricate dishes with 47 components that took two days to prepare, and then there's a time to make awesomely delicious food that is quick to prep and even faster to cook so you can actually spend time with your guests. Holiday entertaining is the latter.

I really enjoy hosting a cookie swap every year. It's a great way to get an epic spread of cookies without having to spend an absurd amount of time making them all. It's usually a fun Sunday late morning after church brunch thing, and this year I have a new secret weapon for feeding a crowd with minimal work... these Baked Monte Cristo Sliders with Hero Red Raspberry Fruit Spread!

Let's be honest. Everyone loves a good slider. It's substantial enough to tame extreme hunger but at the same time small enough to allow your stomach the space it needs to explore the culinary delights on the brunch table. Making a classic Monte Cristo just isn't practical for feeding a crowd, but these oven baked Monte Cristo sliders are so beyond perfect for holiday entertaining.

These Baked Monte Cristo Sliders take less than 10 minutes to prep and only require a handful of ingredients (many of which you probably already have on hand anyway). Let's break it down:

I like to layer my baking dish with parchment paper. It allows you to easily lift all 12 sliders at once and keeps the pan clean (because who has time to wash dishes). If you don't have it on hand, feel free to use foil sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. It'll have the same effect.
Cut your slider buns in half and place the bottoms in your pan. Spread with some of that gorgeous red raspberry Hero Fruit Spread (more on this later).
Layer slices of honey ham and honey roasted turkey. Does it need to be honey? No... but I'm partial to it because I have a sweet tooth.
Throw down some slices of cheese. You can use swiss if you're a purist, but I'm not a fan of the stuff and used gouda here instead. Gruyere would also work nicely.
Make the sauce, which is just some butter, egg, mustard, and mayo. Throw down half of it, slap on the slider tops, and then spread the remaining sauce on top. Cover and bake.

Seriously, that's it. So simple, my 2 ½ year old toddler was helping me make them.

Once they come out of the oven, the sauce is going to be really liquidy and loose. Just let it sit for a minute and it'll set up a bit. Then you can let it rain with powdered sugar and serve these Baked Monte Cristo Sliders with plenty of extra red raspberry Hero Fruit Spread on the side.

Insider tip: if you're having a big party, this recipe can easily be doubled/tripled. Mmm hmm.

Back to this Hero Fruit Spread. The holiday season is a great time to spread the goodness, and Hero Fruit Spreads help make it happen. Whether it be the perfect flavor fruit spread for those thumbprint cookies or the unexpected addition to your winter charcuterie board, Hero Fruit Spreads has you covered when it comes to entertaining!

It all started back in 1886 in the quaint village of Lenzburg, Switzerland, and Hero Fruit Spreads continues a legacy of creating the gold standard of Gourmet Fruit Spreads. Best of all, it's 100% natural and contains no artificial flavors/colors/ingredients, high fructose corn syrup, or preservatives!

Hero Fruit Spread has actually been a favorite of mine for a long time. I buy it almost weekly at this point. The flavors are so vibrant and pure... it's quality that you can instantly taste and feel good about serving to your family and friends. And I’m totally not alone… Hero is preferred by professional chefs for its fruit quality, taste and wide varieties, like Red Currant, Black Currant, Black Cherry and Bitter Orange.

You can find Hero Fruit Spreads in the jam aisle at your local supermarket. I find it at Stop & Shop, Shop Rite, and Fairway by me! Hero is also at Harris Teeter, Kroger, HEB, Price Chopper Market 32, Giant, Eagle, and other leading stores. Make sure to look for their unique flavor varieties like Black or Red Currant and Bitter Orange as well as their super popular Black Cherry (and Red Raspberry of course)! You can explore Hero Fruit Spread flavors here!

For more recipe inspiration, check out the Hero Fruit Spread flavors here!

Baked Monte Cristo Sliders

Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of StarKist. All opinions are 100% mine.

These Mediterranean Tuna Mini Pita Wraps were created in partnership with StarKist. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

It's officially the start to the holiday season. And as much as I try my best to avoid thinking about Christmas until after we fully celebrate Thanksgiving, I know as soon as I step foot into any store within the next week... BOOM. Christmas everywhere.

The holiday season is definitely a magical time. I'm so excited that Olivia is now old enough to begin understanding what Thanksgiving and Christmas is (side note: I can't wait to decorate the house with her... she's going to LOVE it), and I try my hardest to fill our home with family and friends every chance I get over the next two months. This is PRIME ENTERTAINING SEASON, people!

With a lot of our friends now having kids of their own, night time adult-only soirees have been replaced with lunchtime playdates. Menu planning has been replaced with holy crap this place looks like a disaster and we have people coming over in a few hours. Preparing something delicious for friends to eat is still one of my top priorities, but the time I have to prep is way less.

Is anyone else obsessed with Mediterranean flavors? The flavors are so bold, clean, and bright... it's healthy without feeling healthy (that's the best kind, isn't it?!). These Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps. They pack a powerful flavor punch and can be easily made at the moment by guests when they're hungry (with all the components very quickly prepped by you before anyone arrives). It's the perfect easy entertaining lunch recipe!

One of my favorite lunch time get togethers we try to make happen each year is some sort of friendly cookie swap. We do it after church on a Sunday, so it involves a house full of families with small children. It's... chaotic.

With all the business of organizing the massive amounts of cookies and having the house literally full with people, my menu is simple. Put out a bunch of different DIY sandwich ideas and... let guests help themselves. This is KEY to stress-free entertaining. You do the prep work beforehand (i.e. make any salads and spreads), and then let everyone make their own concoctions.

These Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps are going to be perfect for the holiday lunch sandwich spread. Grab some mini pitas and StarKist Selects EVOO canned tuna. Whip together a quick tzatziki and Israeli salad. Put out some other sandwich accompaniments. Boom. Instant success with minimal effort. It's my favorite type of entertaining... easy elegant!

Whenever I bought canned tuna in the past, I was usually a tuna in water kinda guy. It's simply because that's what my mom always bought when I was a kid. When I found that eye-catching can of StarKist Selects EVOO Roasted Garlic YellowFin Marinated Tuna staring back at me at my local grocery store, I was intrigued. I mean, I already love EVOO, and this YellowFin tuna (hello, super high quality!) is packed in cold-pressed, Tunisian extra virgin olive oil!

Whenever I look at a label on a package, the fewer the ingredients the better. That's why I love that these StarKist Selects EVOO contain simple, clean ingredients. Tuna. EVOO. Salt. That's what I'm talking about.

But probably most impressive about this StarKist Selects EVOO? The taste. The tuna was tender and luscious that's to being packed in extra virgin olive oil! It was so good! And I love that even if I'm on the go and can't deal with the whole canned tuna thing, there's a pouch packaging option! Perfect for bringing your StarKist Selects EVOO to work!

Check their store locator so you can find all of the StarKist Selects EVOO products near you!

StarKist Selects EVOO comes in a few different flavors. My local grocery store had the Roasted Garlic variety and I was super pumped with how it gave these Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps even more flavor! It went so well with the fresh and bright flavors of the Israeli Salad and creamy and acidic tzatziki.

I can't wait to add these to my regular lunch rotation. Healthy... easy... and SO freaking delicious. I know they are going to be SUPER popular for all my holiday lunch entertaining as well! Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps for the win!

Mini Mediterranean Tuna Pita Wraps

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails were created in partnership with Prairie Organic Vodka. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails | sharedappetite.com How is it November already?! I feel like it was just summer... and now it's suddenly dark at 4:30pm and the AC breaker in the electrical box has been officially turned off for the foreseeable future. And although there's still those lingering pieces of Halloween candy still lurking here and there, the focus of our minds has all shifted to the biggest entertaining season of the year. Thanksgiving and Christmas. They're coming... and quick.

I'm actually pretty excited for this time of year. I mean, I wish it was still warm out and the sun would stay up until at least after dinner, but this time of year is pretty magical overall. I love decorating the house. I love all the traditions that are continued and the memories that are created. But most of all, I love entertaining family and friends throughout the holiday season.

Asheley looked at our calendar yesterday and mentioned well this is the time of year that every weekend we have some party scheduled. And it's so true. This is prime time in the entertaining world. And I love every minute of it. I happily host friends and family every chance I get over the next two months. My kitchen gets a tremendous workout. But before I ever think about what to put on that food menu, my first thought is always... what should we drink?

I love starting any evening happy hour shindig with some sort of flavorful sparkling cocktail. Something that is easy, delicious, and gets the appetite going. These Sparkling Apple Sidecars are a pretty legit drink option that I usually whip up as a signature starter cocktail, but I wanted something a bit more festive for this year. These Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails are bright in both flavor and color, and I'm super pumped to add these into our holiday drink recipe rotation.

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails | sharedappetite.com When it comes to successful holiday entertaining, a few rules pop into my head. The biggest, though, is that you have to plan. The better game plan I have, the more relaxed and laid back I can be at the actual party. There's nothing more stressful (especially with my Type A personality) than trying to wing it last minute.

The older I get, the more I realize what good planning and bad planning looks like. I'm really great at bad planning. It includes creating a super complex menu with a thousand little components that keeps me constantly moving at a thousand miles an hour for days leading up to the event and throughout the entire time our friends and family are over. I'm busy perfectly plating every little dish that comes out of the kitchen and am trying to play bartender... making every drink to order as glasses become empty. Friends and family always have a great time... but I'm left at the end wondering why yet again I didn't get to really interact with any of the people we invited to come over in the first place.

There's a better way of course, and it involves planning smarter. I'm talking about a food menu that is equally delicious, but that doesn't involve me spending the entire party behind the stove. Make ahead and hands off recipes, those are key. And equally if not more importantly, create a signature cocktail that guests can quickly and easily pour themselves, without any guidance or assistance necessary.

Heck maybe my guests will even pour me a drink 🙂

That's the beauty of these Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails.

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails | sharedappetite.com

These Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails are the perfect happy hour drink. They are absolutely gorgeous and have the perfect aesthetic for all my holiday get togethers over the next two months. They are also exactly what people need when they first walk in the door.

Nothing says welcome to the start of a great evening like trading your jacket for a bubbly beverage. It quickly makes people relaxed and is an instant conversation starter (oh wow what is this... look how pretty it is... I wonder what's in it!). A Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktail also helps to start up the appetite and get people wanting to grab some bites to go along with their cocktail.

If there's one thing I've learned long ago with my friends, is that everyone loves a little bubbly. Personally, I'm not a fan of straight up champagne, prosecco, or the like. I crave more flavor. And that's where turning that prosecco into a quick and easy sparkling cocktail is a HUGE win in my book.

Whipping up a big batch of these Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails couldn't be easier. The recipe below will make 4 cocktails, but it's just as easy to multiply the recipe by as many as you want to serve for a large crowd. Best of all, everything can be prepped way before the first guest arrives!

The three ingredient rosemary simple syrup (i.e. sugar + water + rosemary) is super fragrant and adds a sweet herbaceous kick to these cocktails. It takes all of 10 minutes to make and will last in the fridge for several days!

The cocktail base is just a mixture of cranberry juice, Prairie Organic Vodka (more on this below), and Triple Sec. I mix this together in a large batch in a pitcher a few hours before the party starts so it's nice and cold by the time guests arrive.

When it's time to start serving, it's as easy as pouring some of the cocktail base into a glass, stirring in a little rosemary simple syrup (let guests decide how much to add so they can control the sweetness of their drink), and then topping it off with some prosecco. Boom... done. It takes less than 30 seconds to pour a drink, and all your guests can easily help themselves.

Usually I'll show one person at the beginning of the party how to make them, and will put them in charge of sharing the knowledge. That way I'm free to get the food going and mingle with guests!

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails | sharedappetite.com Back to this award winning Prairie Organic Vodka. That's right, you heard me. Award winning. That's two words I love to hear when it comes to my food and beverage choices. Because you know if they are winning awards, they are doing something right.

And that something... it's a dedication to their craft and a passion for creating the very best product they can. The holidays are such an extremely busy time for all of us. It's nice to know that even among all the craziness this time of year contains, Prairie Organic is all about making every little detail of their vodka perfect. Creamy on the palate and smooth and bright at the finish. It's high quality that you can taste (but without any chemicals, gluten, and GMOs).

Oh, and did I mention every batch of Prairie Organic Vodka is made right here in the USA? Minnesota, to be exact. Every batch begins as single vintage organic yellow corn grown right on American family farms!

Make sure to follow along with Prairie Organic: Facebook | Instagram

Enjoy Responsibly, 21 and up #PrairieOrganic

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails | sharedappetite.com

Sparkling Cranberry Rosemary Cocktails

Rachelle's Trip to Miami - Rachelle Travels

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

I went, I conquered, I ate way too much food in Miami. Goodness, it was a delicious weekend. Our trip took a different turn that expected. We planned to travel around, explore the sites and dive into the community. Well, really the only diving we did was into the pool. Let me tell you everything.

When we first arrived, we were famished after 6 hours of travel. First stop, BURGERS at Lokal. We were meeting up with a friend who lived there in The Grove. It’s a cute town, a main street like you’d see in the movies. But let’s talk about the food. I didn’t get the “My Childhood Dreams” like I mentioned in my last post, but I did get THE Lokal. Florida grass-fed burger with homemade honey mustard (with local honey), melted jack cheese, Florida tomatoes, sliced red onions, arugula, and Homestead avocados...what could be better? All of the ingredients married so nicely together. It was that happy eye-roll, deep breath, enjoy every bite type of burger. Gosh, I want one RIGHT NOW.

So, our plans had changed and we didn’t stay in the Miami proper area. There was actually a lot of damage from Hurricane Irma. Driving through the Grove and other parts, I had a very similar feeling of what it was like living on Long Island after Sandy. It had been a month and there was still so much debris everywhere. Buildings still had so much damage. Everyone was in good spirits though. Even though there had been tragedy, the locals were coming together and making it through.

When we first made plans to visit Miami, we were going to stay on the mainland. After a few changes, we found ourselves staying at The Stanton Marriott Hotel in South Beach. It was dope! Located at the most Southern tip of Miami beach, surrounded by restaurants, cafes and the beach, it was my type of Heaven.

Pura Vida became our coffee spot. It was walking distance to the hotel and had a lot of healthier options. Almond milk lattes, avocado toast for breakfast or lunch, acai bowls, GF and vegan snacks. It was perfect. Super cute little spot too. The doors were open, tables inside and outside, surrounded by beautiful greenery and flowers.

Our first night we celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary with a steak dinner at Smith and Wollensky. You’re probably wondering why did we go there when there is one right here in New York!? Because you can’t go wrong with a great steak dinner. And this Smith and Wollensky was right on the boardwalk. The place was HUGE. An gorgeous dining room inside, and upstairs and patio level deck, and then more seating across the boardwalk. It was amazing. We had the Tuna Tartare to start, with all the bread they would give us. Those little rolls are just so fluffy and warm! Of course, we had steak for dinner. I had the Signature Filet Mignon and Matt had the Ribeye. They were kind enough to give us a rich, moist, chocolate cake for dessert in celebration of our anniversary. It was great. A classic, romantic meal. One of the best parts was watching people pass by on the boardwalk as we ate dinner. There was a group of rollerbladers with neon colored clothes and flash lights dancing back and forth. That was the most Miami thing I think we saw all weekend.

Like I said before, we had all these plans to explore Miami, drive up to Little Havana, check out the Art Deco district, parasail, but we did NOTHING! When you’ve been married for 8 years, have 3 kids and never get to vacation, you just want to crash. We laid by the hotel pool from 9:30am to 4:30pm and it was glorious. Thankfully, there was a sick restaurant in the hotel and we ordered poolside all day. LOLO’s was bombdotcom, if you know what I mean. We had Tuna tartar (yes, again), Lolo’s guacamole and some tacos. The gauac was out of this world, better than anywhere else I’ve had. It so was flavorful, but you could still taste the avocado. A nice blend of tomatoes, roasted jalapeno, lime, cilantro and the best part, cotija cheese. MMM! We also ordered Tacos. Oh, the TACOS! Soft, fluffy tortillas filled with carnitas, salsa verde, cilantro and just the right amount of onion. And my husband’s favorite part was ordering a coconut. That’s right, a coconut! They literally used a hammer to open the top of a coconut, stuck a straw in and we were able to drink the water from it. It was so pure and perfectly sweet. We each had 2 and then went back late at night for another. All in all, it was a wonderful day by the pool with delicious food.

Now, for my absolute FAVORITE part of the trip, breakfast at ALL DAY. We arrived at 8:45 am, just as the club was letting out next door. Not sure of what to expect, quite a few people rolling out of the club told us we wouldn’t be disappointed with our choice for breakfast at All Day. They opened promptly at 9am and greeted us excitedly. It was beautiful. Imagine walking into an Anthropology type cafe and that’s exactly what it was. White walls, neon lights, eclectic decor, it was everything I ever wanted my house to look like. You’re able to order at a takeout window, at the coffee bar, or sit at a table with waiter service. We ordered our coffee first at the bar and then sat down to what we wanted to eat..(even though I scouted the menu ahead of time and knew exactly what I wanted). Here’s what we got to drink: NITRO 550 - 900 cold brew concentrate infused with nitrogen made with brooklyn blend by toby’s estate, new york served straight / POUR OVER 500 choice of one of our single origin coffees made to order on a kalita, japanese-style served in a decanter with a sipping cup with HOMEMADE Almond milk (SUPER delish), our seasonal drink the parasol, a refreshing & tart summer drink with cold brew, cherry juice, local honey & rose water served iced (not my favorite but it was worth the try). And then the food...oh my gosh the FOOD changed my life. We started with Blue Grits served with butter, scallion, salt & pepper, which I had never had before. Creamy and delicious that just made me feel warm and fuzzy inside. And then, we had more food, our entrees. The Runny and Everything, fried egg, bacon, sharp cheddar, lettuce, tomato, garlic aioli on an everything brioche bun. If I could have that every sing day of my life (without gaining weight) I would. It was a deep breath, eyes roll into the back of your head, curl your toes (in a good way) breakfast sandwich with every single bite I took. Matt ordered Pan Cotta Croqueta with homemade smoked pork croqueta, gouda, sauce gribiche, with pickles, on cuban bread, which was basically an even better cuban sandwich in a croquet, crazy delicious. We also ordered a side of greens sautéed rainbow chard, treviso & lemon, you know, for balance. This was my absolute favorite restaurant during our Miami experience. If I lived there, I’d eat there every single day, without a doubt.

Of course, we saved the best dessert for last. We stopped at The Salty Donut on our way out. I’ll tell you what we got, just know you HAVE to go there and try ever single donut. No shame in the donut game. Brown Butter and Salt: Tahitian Vanilla bean cake donut with brown butter glaze and Maldon Sea Salt / Maple Bacon: 24 hour raised brioche donut with pure maple glaze, J.Wakefield UJP Porter redux, and Miami Smokers ‘bacon cracklings’ / Pupkin (V, GF) Baked pumpkin donut, pumpkin spice glaze, topped with almond streusel. The Salty Donut does not disappoint, if you’re in the Miami area, GET THERE.

I feel like I just relive my entire trip...and my mouth is watering and I’m hungry. Thanks for allowing me to share this food journey with you! Now start planning your food trip to Miami!

Lance Asper

Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders were created in partnership with Dr Pepper. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

For many people around the country this time of year, weeks revolve around one thing and one thing only. What day and time is the game, and what channel is it on? Football is in full swing, and whether you are routing for your college alma mater or hometown professional team, fan loyalty runs deep. You can't miss a game... and DVR isn't an acceptable substitute.

But can I just be totally real? I honestly couldn't care less about football. I just never got into it. I know I'm in the gross minority here, and I'm cool with that. But do you know what I am totally on board with? Legit game day eats. I'll watch the sport of grass growing if there's tailgating involved. There's nothing more satisfying or comforting than all that delicious game day grub.

So when the opportunity arises to entertain some friends on game day, I'm all about it. To them the main event is right on that screen, but to me it's happening in the kitchen. Mmm hmm. My new secret weapon for game day entertaining this fall? These Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders! They are ridiculously easy to make and bursting with bold flavors!

There's a few criteria in my book for perfect game day food. First, it's gotta be easy. There's definitely a time to prep a gourmet meal in the kitchen for hours and hours... but this isn't it. There's nothing fancy about eating during a game. Utensils definitely should not be required.

Second, most likely you'll be entertaining quite a few people. This isn't the time to make something that's going to cost you an arm and a leg because the food is small, delicate, and light. Football eats are all about big, bold flavors that will fill up all those fanatics intensely rooting for their team.

Last, game are usually pretty darn long. I want food that I can leave out for the entire game and people can graze whenever they want. There should't need to be a specific "time to eat" where you pause watching the game. Get up when you want and grab a bite... and when you do, the food will be hot and ready for you.

So do these Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders fit the bill? Darn straight.

When you wake up in the morning, just dump four ingredients into a slow cooker. That takes all of 5 minutes. Let it cook on its own for a while, then shred that bird and add BBQ sauce. That takes another 5 minutes. Let the pulled chicken soak up all that BBQ flavored goodness for a bit and boom... your Slow Cooker Dr. Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders are just about done.

Chop up a few avocados. Stir together some sriracha mayo. Put out some slider buns and the pickled onions you had marinating in the fridge. DONE.

You're looking at a total hands-on prep time of about 15-20 minutes. The slow cooker will keep the chicken hot throughout the entire game for you, and your friends will love DIY'ing the heck out of their sliders.

Best of all, these will fill up all your friends (even the ones with those crazy big appetites) at a budget-friendly cost. And bonus... you'll have a bunch of cans of Dr. Pepper left over to drink during the game. Heck yes.

Let's back up to those pickled onions for a second. You may be tempted to skip them, but then you remember how AMAZING pickled onions are and how they totally MAKE this sandwich. It adds the perfect acidic bite to cut through the rich Dr Pepper BBQ chicken, creamy avocado, and spicy sriracha mayo. These Easy Pickled Onions literally take 5 minutes to make and can be done about a week ahead of time! I always have a jar of pickled onions in my fridge anyway, because they are perfect on sandwiches, salads, nachos, tacos, and more!

If you want to totally WIN when you make these Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders, put out some potato chips too. I love adding a couple to each slider... the salty crunch is the perfect addition!

If you've never put potato chips on your sandwiches before, be prepared for your life to change. It's pretty freaking amazing.

The Stop and Shop right down the road from my house always has a huge stock of Dr Pepper ready to go. It's always available in the soft drink aisle, but you can also find it a lot of times in a display right when you walk into the store. It's like I walk in and it's calling my name... Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Chicken Sliders here I come!

And while you're at Stop and Shop, grab all of the necessary game day food. It's a one stop shop for me there, because Stop and Shop always has EVERYTHING I need for tailgate entertaining!

Be sure to visit Visit http://tailgatingwithdrpepper.com/ for more tailgating inspiration!

Slow Cooker Dr Pepper BBQ Pulled Chicken Sliders

Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza

By Chris Cockren 2 Comments

This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Cooked Perfect® Meatballs. All opinions are 100% mine.

This recipe for Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza was created in partnership with Cooked Perfect® Fresh Meatballs. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Before I actually had a child, I told myself that my kid would of course be an adventurous eater. They'd have no problem trying new, exotic foods and would simply eat whatever Asheley and I decided to eat. Easy enough. Right?

Wrong.

Life with a toddler is... well, if you have a toddler... you know. I love that Olivia is becoming a strong, independent thinker. Except that she's now a strong independent thinker. If I let Olivia decide her dinner every night, it would most likely always consist of mac n' cheese and yogurt. She is obsessed with the stuff.

In all honesty though, Olivia is actually a great eater. She really likes a bunch of different foods and loves the healthy stuff (her go to breakfast is avocado toast with chia seeds... she calls them sprinkles and we're going to stick with that). Sometimes getting her to try new foods goes over really well. Most times, though, it takes some sly stealth maneuvers.

I've been trying to get Olivia to eat meatballs for quite some time now. She's all about sausage and hot dogs, and I knew that the consistency of meatballs would fall right in her wheelhouse. But of course, using toddler logic, this is the furthest idea from the truth. But then one day I had an idea. Pizza. She is a huge fan of pizza night. And cheese. The girl is all about the cheese.

I had minimal time for dinner prep the other day but knew I could whip up a quick pizza in under 30 minutes with... meatballs! And guess what? Olivia devoured this Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza. She even loved the meatballs. Sweet, sweet victory. Or savory, actually. Savory, savory victory.

Anyone else have a family that loves pizza? I'm all about ordering a takeout pie, but sometimes it's way more satisfying to just whip up a homemade variety at home with customized toppings. Best of all, I can have Olivia help me make the pizza. She loves being my little sous chef (Daddy, I STIR!!!!).

And from what I've found, the more I ask her to help me in the kitchen, the more excited she is to try what we just made. Of course, having her help does increase the prep time a little bit (toddler cooking pace is S-L-O-W), but I love every minute. And even with Olivia's "help", I still got dinner on the table in under 30 minutes. BOOM.

I did have a huge help in getting this Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza on the table so quick... Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs!

I'm all for making meatballs from scratch when I have a bunch of time on my hands, but let's get real. Extra time on a weekday is pretty laughable. These Cooked Perfect meatballs are fresh and fully-cooked, making them SO perfect for a quick and convenient weeknight dinner.

How quick? The steam-in pouch microwave technology helps keep the meatballs flavorful and moist while they heat in the microwave in just 2 minutes. For this Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza, I grabbed a package of Cooked Perfect Sundried Tomato & Roasted Garlic Chicken meatballs. I love that when you cut into the meatballs, you can actually see specks of sundried tomato and roasted garlic throughout. That really translates into more flavorful meatballs!

Bonus... there's no artificial flavors, colors, or preservatives in these meatballs! Huge win that makes me feel good about serving them to my family!

I'm super excited to try Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs other flavors really soon, including Italian Style Beef & Pork, Italian Style with Parmesan & Mozzarella Chicken, and Korean Style BBQ Beef & Pork. I'm especially pumped for those Korean meatballs... I'm dreaming of Korean BBQ Meatball Sliders for game day eats!

You can find Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs in the refrigerated meat & poultry section at select grocery stores, and with this offer you can Save $1.00 on Cooked Perfect Fresh Meatballs!

Besides the meatballs, I was also pretty darn happy that I snuck in some spinach into Olivia's dinner! At first she was like... what's this?! referring to the meatballs and spinach, but once she realized it was all part of the pizza she was totally down to try it.

Proof? Check out her hands in the below photo. At this point in life Olivia knows that sometimes Daddy cooks and then takes photos of the food. She's really good about being extra careful around all my camera equipment and photography gear, but she also LOVES watching. Daddy what that?! Daddy what doing?! Daddy I help! Daddy I want that!

When I was photographing this pizza, it took every ounce of her toddler level willpower to sit off to the side patiently while I snapped away. She kept pleading with me for some pizza, so when I finally said okay go for it... she literally dove for the pizza. Thankfully I snapped a pic just at the right moment!

Let's review. An epic pizza night meal that's family friendly, super convenient, and on the table in less than 30 minutes. Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza for the win!

Oh, and psst... for excellent store-bought pizza dough, head to your local pizzeria. The ones by me are always happy to sell me just the dough whenever I need for only a couple of bucks!

Meatball, Spinach, and Ricotta Pizza

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Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus and Apple Bites

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus and Apple Bites are brought to you by Flatout Bread. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

Well, it's now officially Fall. I know technically it started a few weeks back, but up until the start of this week it's been so unseasonally HOT here in New York. Although I'm sad to see summer go, I'm always pretty excited about the Fall weather. It's hard to beat a 60-70° day... I just wish I could have that temperature AND it stay light outside past 7pm. Lofty goals, I know.

I'm also in full Fall mode because we just went apple picking this past weekend! It was Olivia's very first time and she was SO excited. She couldn't believe that apples grew on trees and loved helping me pluck off the ripe ones. For those of you unfamiliar with Long Island, we have a North Fork and South Fork. The North Fork is where we have the majority of farms and wineries, but the South Fork is home to the more famous Hamptons and Montauk. Now most people from Long Island make the trip to the North Fork for apple picking, but we headed south to the Hamptons area because I knew it would be less crowded (it totally was the right move) AND this orchard was growing my all time favorite apple variety... HONEYCRISP!

Now we're at home with like 25 pounds of apples. We already gave some away, made an apple crisp, and I just tried making some homemade applesauce (except I over pureed it and now it's like the most weird silky applesauce ever). I'm planning on whipping up an apple galette tonight for dessert and making some apple bread for Asheley, but I also needed to share with you one of my favorite savory Fall easy entertaining apple recipes!

It's SO simple and barely even a recipe (hello just 6 ingredients and 10 minutes of prep with no cooking), but it's so delicious and satisfying. Meet these (accidentally) Vegan Sweet Potato and Apple Bites!

I actually have a recipe somewhere in the annals of Shared Appetite for a homemade Sweet Potato Hummus, but if we can just be real... since having a child I'm all about cutting corners when entertaining. Gone are the days when I could make everything from scratch and cook at my leisure. Now it's... okay let's get her to the babysitter (hi mom), drive back home, and we have 1 hour before guests come over... ready GO.

So when I decided to just try blending a good quality store bought hummus with some roasted sweet potatoes, I was really hoping it's would work out the way I wanted. Good news, it totally did. It takes totally awesome and WAY better than just regular old hummus. I love the slight little sweetness the sweet potato adds.

If you taste your sweet potato hummus and it tastes a little flat, you can always feel free to alter it with a little lemon juice and/or salt. Depending on what brand store bought hummus you buy, you may need a little help from those two kitchen all stars.

When I first started serving these Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus and Apple Bites, I used crackers. But the other day I realized the crackers in the pantry went stale on me and I had no interest in heading to the grocery store. Enter... yet again for another HUGE save, Flatout flatbread!

I always have a stockpile of Flatout products lying around for this very reason. They have saved breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacking SO many times at my house.

I love cutting up Flatout flatbreads into little chip shapes and baking them off. Not only are they way better for me than those fried tortilla chips, I can also customize the flavors. For these Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus and Apple Bites, I brushed the flatbreads with lemon juice and sprinkled with salt and pepper. I love the little acidic kick the lemon adds to the baked chips!

Make sure to look for Flatout products at your local grocery store in the deli section. To see what stores in your area carry Flatout, check out their product locator! And if you need some recipe inspiration, they have a HUGE recipe center!

I love the balance of flavors in these Vegan Sweet Potato and Apple Bites. The savory hummus with just a hint of sweetness, the sweet and tart honeycrisp apples (PLEASE make sure to use honeycrisp or something similar... don't go using red delicious or anything like that... bleh), and the bite of shallot. HEAVEN on a chip.

For easy entertaining at parties, I just put out a big tray of the chips, hummus, apple slices, and shallot and let guests build their own. It's way easier and encourages people to interact!

I'm so excited to share this video with you all. I teamed up with a bunch of other food bloggers that LOVE Flatout to create this awesome Flatout tribute to share the #FlatoutLove!

https://youtu.be/f1aN7pun4Zo

Vegan Sweet Potato Hummus and Apple Bites

No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream with Roasted Peaches

By Chris Cockren 17 Comments

This No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream with Roasted Peaches and Olive Oil Cookies are brought to you by Carapelli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

One of the hardest goodbyes I have to say each year is to my dear friend... summer. It always takes forever to get here and then leaves way too quick, but my oh my do I love every minute we get to spend together.

My favorite part? Well, besides the whole summer vacation from teaching and getting to spend lots of time with my family and friends? ICE CREAM. I am obsessed with the stuff. And even though summer may officially be over, I enthusiastically devour ice cream year round. Unfortunately, my 2 year old daughter does not share the same love for frozen concoctions as her daddy does. It breaks my heart. I couldn't even get her to try ice cream for the first two years of her life.

However, there was a MAJOR breakthrough this August. I got Olivia to try ice cream (with rainbow sprinkles, of course). Finally, she got it. The light bulb went off. It was one of the proudest moments I've had in fatherhood to date. My daughter now LOVES ice cream. Praise the Lord.

Of course I'm happy to get some scoops wherever I can, but there's a certain satisfaction from making homemade ice cream. Usually I'll make it the legit way, cooking a custard to just the right temperature and putting it through an ice cream machine. But let's be honest. When you have a toddler hanging on your legs, it's hard to concentrate on such a finicky recipe. That's when a recipe like this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream saves the day!

And you know what’s seriously saving the day here? This Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It’s seriously SO good. But, more on that later.

I know what you're thinking. Olive oil IN ice cream?! I like olive oil. I like ice cream. But don't you dare go crazy on us and combine the two.

The thing is, it's actually pretty epic. I first had olive oil ice cream at one of Mario Batali's restaurants in NYC. I was skeptical too at first. I was 100% ready to denounce this ice cream anomaly and move on. But... his olive oil gelato was absolutely mind-blowing. It was rich, buttery, and absolutely unforgettable.

Batali served it up in a sundae with some sort of seasonal fruit and crunchy crumble. And that is exactly what we are recreating today. Check out just how QUICK and EASY it is to make this No Churn Carapelli® Olive Oil Ice Cream with Roasted Peaches and Olive Oil Cookies.

Plus, you can find the Carapelli® Olive Oil and all other ingeredients at Shop Rite, which makes shopping almost too easy.

I have to admit. I always thought no churn ice creams were kind of lame. I mean, they are kind of like cheating. Mix a few ingredients together... freeze... and boom, ice cream. Really? Could it truly be that easy?

My friends. It IS that easy!

All this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream needs is FOUR INGREDIENTS and 5 minutes of prep!

Just mix together some sweetened condensed milk, vanilla, and Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Fold in some whipped heavy cream. Freeze. That's it. No more, no less.

Now I will tell you. There's a secret to getting this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream to have the perfect smooth, lucious, and creamy texture possible. It can't be frozen solid when eating it. When you try to eat it straight out of the freezer, the ice cream can be a little brittle. You need to let it sit and "melt" a little bit. Once it softens from its time in the freezer, you're left with legit ice cream.

Smooth, thick, velvety No Churn Olive Oil Ice cream.

Now listen, you really need some fruit component on top of this ice cream. It really helps tie together the olive oil ice cream. I'm using peaches here because it's peak season for them in NY, but feel free to use another seasonal fruit as you see fit. Roasted apples, berries, cherries, and other stone fruit would be amazing as well!

You'll want to roast your fruit until it's meltingly soft. Not quite to the point where it's falling apart and no longer retains it shape, but the fruit should be VERY soft.

I roasted these peaches with Carapelli® olive oil and brown sugar (skip the cinnamon like you would normally use for pies and crisps... it'll overwhelm the delicate flavor of the olive oil in the ice cream), and ermagherd they are good enough to eat all by themselves. However, they are really superb on top of this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream.

Feel free to serve the roasted fruit warm, room temperature, or cold on your ice cream!

These mini olive oil cookies are not entirely required for these sundaes, but they certainly make them MUCH BETTER. I love having a textural component in my ice cream, whether that be as simple as some sprinkles or crushed oreos... or as stunning as these mini olive oil cookies.

The dairy free cookies use Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in place of the butter, and are quite good all on their own. If you know you won't need all of them for your sundaes, feel free to mix some chocolate chips into the rest of the cookie dough and bake them up for a future snack 🙂

How good are these cookies? Let's just say my 2 year old daughter couldn't keep her hands off them long enough for daddy to photograph them...

Onto the star of this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream with Roasted Peaches and Olive Oil Cookies. Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil.

Carapelli® Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a genuine and balanced taste with a lovely peppery finish. I love that it's organic, non-GMO, and is super high quality.

The superior quality is something you can instantly taste... my olive oil loving friend (he's a bit of an olive oil snob actually) was quite impressed with this olive oil. And if he says its good, it's good!

And can we just talk about the Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil bottle? I love love love the sleek design. It's a bottle I don't even hide away in my pantry... I let it proudly sit out on my kitchen island because it's absolutely stunning!

Looking to find Carapelli® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil? Good news... it's in stock at your local Shop Rite! I found it in the oil/vinegar aisle right away! Plus, use this Ibotta offer through November 3rd and save on your next purchase of Carapelli®!

Make sure to put this on your list for the next time you're making a Shop Rite run and get going on making this No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream. It's the perfect easy entertaining dessert for your next dinner party!

No Churn Olive Oil Ice Cream

Looking For More Ice Cream?

Gluten Free Brownie Cookie Salted Caramel Ice Cream Sandwiches

S'mores Semifreddo

Mini Caramel Pretzel Ice Cream Trifles

Two Ingredient Toasted Marshmallow Ice Cream

Apple Crisp Ice Cream

Sweet Corn Ice Cream

Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins were created in partnership with Butterball. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

The new school year is in full swing. I can't believe summer is over. Well, okay I know... it's still technically summer. But not for us teachers. Long gone are days without alarms, elastic shorts, and care free schedules. Now I have to get Olivia out the door by 7:30am so I can get her to the babysitter with enough time for me to get to work before the bell rings. Then it's home, make her dinner, get some quick play time in, and the bed time routine. It's... exhausting.

I don't even get how people have more than one kid. Seriously, I don't.

So let's back up for a second. During the month of August, I worked pretty darn hard on eating better and exercising. I ran almost every single day (and I hate running), and I made excellent food decisions. Gosh, it's so much harder to get workouts in and eat well now. But, that's where meal planning comes in (and having a wife that's super understanding and is supportive of me going for a run after work... thanks Asheley!). So here's the plan each morning. Have something already made and ready to eat that's nourishing and super flavorful.

The answer? These Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins!

Making breakfast is just so out of the question for us in the morning. Asheley is packing up Olivia's food for the day at the sitter while I quickly answer emails and catch up on work (besides being a music teacher and running Shared Appetite, I also co-own a wedding photography studio... and it's peak wedding season of course). So yeah, things are hectic.

A lot of days I just grab a yogurt and run, but that gets all sorts of boring after a while. Variety is the flavor of my life, and you know how much I'm obsessed with southwest cuisine. These Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins check all the boxes for me...

make ahead in a large batch
refrigerate/freeze and reheat as needed in the morning
full of southwest flavor
healthy and filling

Let's break down just how easy these dairy-free Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins are to make:

Whisk together some eggs with southwest spices (I'm looking at your chili powder and cumin).
Get your fillings ready... I went with corn, black beans, chopped red bell pepper, scallions, and tomatoes. However, pretty much any fillings will work! Get creative and go with flavors that will rock your socks.
Wrap some turkey bacon in each muffin tin and put your fillings inside.
Top with the eggs and bake!

Seriously, they are that easy! It took me all of 10 minutes of prep on Sunday to whip these together and then I had breakfast for Asheley and I all week long. You can refrigerate or freeze them and just reheat each morning! THAT'S some meal planning I can totally get behind!

My go to turkey bacon is Butterball! It's got a ton of great bacon-y flavor and is 65% less fat than traditional flavor! I usually always have a package of Butterball Turkey Bacon in the bacon and cook it up as needed. You won't need the entire package for this recipe, so feel free to use the extra to make this Healthy California BLT with Lemon Aioli for lunch!

And if you're one of those people that only think about turkey around Thanksgiving or when making one of those deli sandwiches, you're totally missing out! It's time to unleash your inner turketarian and enjoy turkey year round! I'm talking burger, lettuce wraps, soup, and more! Check out some of my recipe ideas at the bottom of this post for some inspiration, and also check out the Butterball recipe center!

When you're ready to serve up and devour these Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Egg Muffins, I love topping it with some diced up avocado and jarred salsa. If you have guacamole, that'll of course totally work as well!

And hey, let's say you're hosting a breakfast or brunch? There's no need to stand at the stove cooking up eggs while everyone is waiting to eat. Pop these in the oven before people are over and they'll be ready when you're ready to eat! They are the perfect size for individual portions and are full of flavor!

Healthy Turkey Bacon Wrapped Southwest Egg Muffins

Need More Turkey Inspiration?

Sweet Potato, Corn, and Sausage Soup

Healthy Turkey Tacos with Pineapple Salsa

Huevos Rancheros Pizza with Turkey Chorizo

Korean Turkey Burgers with Kimchi Slaw and Gochujang Aioli

Greek Turkey Burgers

Korean Turkey Lettuce Wraps

Spiral Cut Sausage Banh Mi

Places to eat in Miami - RACHELLE TRAVELS

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

In the words of Will Smith… I’m GOING TO MIAMI! That’s right, I’m going away with my husband, no kids for a whole weekend and I cannot wait. I’ve never been to Miami before so I am absolutely stoked to go. So much has come from Miami: Pitbull, the show Dexter, Miami Vice, Flo Rida, A-Rod and the list can go on and on. What I’m most excited about is the food, DUH! Cuban sandwiches, Cuban coffee, the mouth watering donuts like in Dexter, delicious tacos and just about anything else I can get to. I cannot wait. The sun, sand, and Miami heat are calling me. Let me tell you about some of the restaurants I can’t wait to visit!

Little Havana Restaurant - I’ve heard this place is legit. Traditional Cuban food. There are two locations, one in North Miami and one in Deerfield. This is one of my sister-in-law's favorite places to visit. I’ve been told the food is delicious, and is an absolute taste of Cuba. Dinner plans for one of their entrees is a must.

And what is food is Cuba known for? Their Cuban sandwiches, which brings me to the next place I am looking forward to visiting. El Tropico is the place to go for Cuban Sandwiches. Also located in Little Havana, this place is known for their amazing Cuban comfort food but especially the Cuban sandwich. The Medianoche, a traditional Cuban sandwich served on sweet potato bread is to die for. Pickles, ham, turkey, cheese and mustard, the sandwich dreams are made of. I can’t wait to dive in for lunch.

I’ll definitely need to try a great BURGER place while in Miami. I hear LoKal is the place to be. A friend of mine said the vibe is chill and the burgers are super tasty. I’ve been on kind of a special diet these days, I heard they have some great gluten free options! Or, I can get something crazy on the menu like the “My Childhood dream” that is a burger sandwiched between two donuts with all other kinds of deliciousness. Gosh, what a tough choice. I’ll let you know what happens!

Now, while I’m all about diving into the culture and community when I visit somewhere new, I also enjoy sticking with things that I know. I LOVE Italian food, I mean, come on now, I’m a New Yorker. I heard that Vero is the Italian restaurant to be at in Downtown Miami. I’ll be getting the Caesar salad, Calabresi Duck Ragu, and Diavolo, one of their pizzas. I have to try a bit of everything! Gosh, my mouth is watering just thinking of it.

SWEETS. I have not forgotten about SWEETS. Like I said, I’ve kind of been on a health kick lately but what kind of vacation is a trip without dessert? There are two places I’m hoping to visit:

Over in South Miami, Whip n Dip Ice Cream, which looks like a super cute mom and pop shop, with a little spunk. The flavors change seasonally and their ingredients are locally sourced, which is always a plus.

For my second dessert stop, I hope to make it over to LuLu’s Nitrogen Ice cream. They are also using locally sourced ingredients but with a splash of nitrogen to freeze it up. I bet in that Miami humidity having something so cold and delicious just takes the edge right off. I’m kind of a classic flavor type gal when it comes to ice cream, I’ll probably go with cookies and cream or coffee. I can’t wait.

There are so many great restaurants to choose from, I don’t know what’s gonna happen! All I know is, I’m hungry already just thinking about it.

Lance Asper

Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps

By Chris Cockren Leave a Comment

These Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps are brought to you by Flatout Bread. As always, all opinions and recipe are my own. Thanks for supporting the brands that support Shared Appetite!

It's 3am. Yes, you read that right. 3. AM. Ugh.

Our fire alarm decided to malfunction, so I got up to try and fix it (or at least stop that incessant ear-piercing beeping right outside our bedroom). And now I'm wide awake, 3 hours before I'm supposed to wake up for the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

If I was a coffee drinker, I'd say I need a crap ton later. But I don't drink the stuff, so who knows how I'm going to make it through a full day of teacher meetings.

Thankfully, I have something to look forward to at lunch time today. Usually my middle meal of the day is pretty boring, especially at work. I keep it simple and low key... usually just a few rice cakes with PB+J. But nope... not today. A new school year needs to start off better than that. Thankfully this lunch recipe requires minimal effort and delivers huge on flavor. And maybe the hope of these legit Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps for lunch will actually keep me alert and awake throughout the day.

One of my favorite lunches growing up was when my mom would make tuna salad on toast. If things got real crazy, she added a slice of melty cheese into the mix. There was something so divine about the simplicity of her tuna sandwiches. The tuna salad itself was barely a recipe. Tuna, mayo, salt. That's it. But gosh it's good.

The nostalgia of her tuna salad has stayed with me to this day, and every time I whip some up I'm instantly transported right back to childhood.

But here's the problem. I'm on a pretty big health kick right now. Mayo really isn't something I want be loading up on right now. I need to unload some of the extra poundage preventing me from fitting into my fitted clothing (i.e. not elastic shorts and t-shirts). The last month of eating healthy and exercising has been going very well. I'm down 20 pounds and made a commitment to go for a run every single day (and anyone that knows me understands how much I detest exercising, especially running).

So I did what anyone would do in this predicament. I made a healthy tuna salad... but had to make sure it was full of big, bold flavors. These Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps were born.

Just look at all that delicious flavor. Tuna, black beans, red bell pepper, corn, avocado, tomato, and cilantro. HECK yes. And the mayo? It's been replaced with guilt-free Greek yogurt, spiked with a few southwest spices to give it some serious flavor.

This definitely isn't my mom's tuna salad. And I'm okay with it. All the flavors. It gets my taste buds going, and I don't miss the mayo even for a second. You honestly can't even tell it's not mayo. Greek yogurt is my #1 favorite way to keep chicken salads and tuna salads healthy and guilt-free. It's super creamy and has a slight tanginess that plays so well into these Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps.

A wrap, however, is only as good as the wrap itself. Thankfully, I'm covered in that department with Flatout Bread.

I'm no stranger to the greatness that is Flatout Bread. They literally have permanent real estate in my pantry, and for good reason. Their full lineup of flatbread wraps, fold-its (think pita sandwich bread), and thin crust pizza crusts have saved breakfast, lunch, and dinner for me over the years. When I'm at a loss of what to make and look in the pantry, I can always count on Flatout for some inspiration. And if you need some, here's a look at all of the recipes I've created with Flatout Bread over the last couple years.

What I love about Flatout Bread? It's got great flavor, is a perfect canvas to build on tons of flavors, and they are all right around the 100 calorie mark. These Flatout Light Original Flatbread Wraps are just 90 calories each, low in carbs, and high in fiber! Boom.

Make sure to look for Flatout Bread in the deli aisle of your local grocery story. You can make check out which stores in your area carry Flatout Bread by using their store locator. Make sure to be on the lookout for it the next time your shopping so you can make these Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps for lunch this week!

Healthy Southwest Tuna Salad Wraps

Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls

By Chris Cockren 1 Comment

These guilt-free Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls taste just like your favorite Chipotle takeout, just without all the calories!

2 days. Just 48 hours before another school year begins. The beginning of each school year usually coincides with a need to go on a bit of a diet. Summers filled with lots of parties, ice cream, and elastic shorts don't really equate to a body that can fit into clothes with a defined waistline.

However, this year is a bit different. I started the diet during the summer, at the very beginning of August. Now, I have to admit. I'm a bit of a master at dieting. Oddly enough, I'm also a master at gaining weight... but I digress. Dieting for me, always, has been one where I eat super well for a few months and my body loses weight very well (the converse is also unfortunately true). But this time, I really want it to be different. I don't want to lose only to gain again. I truly and fully want this to be a permanent lifestyle change.

What does that mean? Not only am I working hard to make better food choices (with the occasional indulgence, of course), but I am also doing the thing I hate the most. Exercising. Specifically, the worst form of exercising. Running. I loathe running. However, I made a commitment to run every day, and so far I've kept it. And you know what? I actually kind of enjoy it now. Not really enjoy... more like tolerate, but a good tolerate. And I'm happy to report that in the first month, I'm down 20 pounds. Boom.

The secret to eating well, of course, is to still eat well. It's important not just to eat healthy, but to eat absolutely DELICIOUS food... like these Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls. They pack in so much unbelievably bold, healthy flavor.

Is anyone else kinda obsessed with Chipotle? I'm pretty sure Asheley and I grab takeout from there at least once a week. I love that I can feel pretty healthy about grabbing a salad or burrito bowl. But I always feel a little bit guilty about all that rice. I know it's not great for me. So these Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls are the PERFECT solution.

It's just like the Chipotle bowls, but with a much more nutritious base.

Gotta admit. I've always been a bit skeptical about cauliflower rice. I mean, it's still cauliflower. Just because it's in a cute little rice shapes doesn't mean it's going to taste like rice.

And it's definitely not rice. But... and this is a HUGE but... this Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice is actually really, really great. It's got an incredible flavor and the texture definitely mimics the feeling of the rice in a burrito bowl.

All the flavor and texture... with almost none of the calories. That's a big win!

The best part of these Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls? The toppings, of course.

C'mon. Anyone that's gone down that iconic Chipotle line knows the beauty of getting to customize your bowls with a variety of toppings as far as the eye can see.

And to do any epic burrito bowl at home... you need to do it right. Bring on THE TOPPINGS.

A can of black or pinto beans. A quick corn salsa (just like the one at Chipotle). A super simple and fresh Pico de Gallo. My famous guacamole. And of course some lettuce and cheese to top it off. That's how you take an ordinary dinner into the land of extraordinary.

Bonus points if you have some legit hot sauce on hand.
Just look at all that topping goodness. And that Cilantro Lime Cauliflower Rice. Doesn't it look just like actual rice?! Best of all, this cauliflower rice actually takes way less time than making the real stuff. It's done in under 15 minutes! BAM.

And go ahead... eat as much of these Healthy Cauliflower Rice Burrito Bowls as you want. They are absolutely GUILT-FREE and I love it!