I think that pork dumplings are my favorite because pork meat is more fatty than other meats, and there's a ton more flavor. I sometimes like to combine the meat with very finely shaved napa cabbage too because I like how it makes the texture of the meat softer and less condensed, so the inside doesn't taste like a meatball. If you don't want to use cabbage, you can just add in more scallion for a softer inside or a small amount of minced mushroom will work too! 

My mom told me a long time ago to start putting cornstarch in my chicken marinades when I'm making a stiry fry and it literally changed my life. It gives the chicken a better texture and flavor because the starch binds together the liquid ingredients in the marinade and seals them to the meat.

I started using this "Pepper Sa-te Sauce" I found at the Asian grocery store and it's a game changer. The ingredients are chili, garlic, bean oil, spices and salt so it's very spicy and heavy on the garlic. SO MUCH FLAVOR.

This recipe makes enough chicken for two people. If you want more of it, you can double the reicpe. I served the chicken with my hand-made Chinese noodles but you could do rice or something else instead - click here for the noodle recipe.

Ingredients:

• 3 bonless skinless chicken breasts (I like to buy the thin ones)
• 4 scallion stalks, sliced into 1 inch pieces
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp chili oil

Marinade:

• 1-2 large garlic clove(s) minced
• 1-2 pieces of ginger root, peeled and minced (about the same size as a garlic clove)
• 2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp canola oil
• 1 tsp rice vinegar
• 1 tsp water
• ​1 tbsp pepper sauce (details above)
• 1 tbsp cornsartch

Due to the fact that I have to be in a bathingsuit soon, I served this chicken paprikash with cauliflower rice. Although (I'm pretty sure) traditional chicken paprikash is served with dumplings or spaetzle. Spaetzle are little bite sized dumplings, basically tiny pieces of chewy dough, kind of like gnocchi but smaller with more texture.

Chicken paprikash is super easy to make, the key to the recipe is using authentic Hungarian paprika seasoning. If you're trying to keep things light, you don't have to use heavy cream...you can sub something else, or omit the cream part completely - things will just be less soupy and more like seasoned chicken with rice or dumplings. This recipe makes enough for two people! 

So I didn't eat any of the peas. For some reason, I have it stuck in my head that peas are supposed to be in traditional carbonara, but most dishes that I make don't follow the rules anyways so I'm here to tell you that peas are 100% an optional ingredient. The following recipe makes enough for two really hungry people or three friends who feel like having a smaller portion!

I like chili, I like soup and I like enchiladas so this recipe is the best of all three worlds. I'm pretty sure that it's healthy since there's only about 1/4 cup of rice in it (which you don't necessarily even need to add in if you don't want!) and besides that it's just chicken and vegetables. The recipe makes around 6 cups of soup, you can freeze whatever is leftover and reheat it anytime.

I don't really like chicken in my pasta but this recipe is the ultimate exception. I love using super thin chicken breasts so that the sauce is easily absorbed throughout each piece and it's less meaty than a giant thick chicken breast.  Pro tip, whenever I have enough time and want to take things to the next level, I'll soak the chicken breasts in a salt water brine for a couple hours and add a few fresh lemon slices to the brine too - it makes the chicken way more tender. (Brine ratio is always 1tbsp salt: 1 cup water.)

This is a big recipe and I used a whole pound of pasta. If you want to make less, I wouldn't change anything except cooking less pieces of chicken breast and less pasta, you'll just end up with a little more sauce which is never a bad thing. PS - If you're trying to cut carbs you can make the chicken without any breading or pasta and just eat it with the buttery lemon sauce!

Or as Whole Foods rings them up, squid tubes...lol. I bought them in the seafood freezer section - there were options to buy either tubes and tenticles or just the tubes.

I've eaten calamari a ton, but never actually made it from scratch before. It's pretty weird to see it in it's fishy form and not going to lie, kindof gross...and smelly. If you're using frozen squid, make sure to give yourself some time to let them thaw. I ended up soaking the container in hot water to speed up the process.

Ingredients:

• Around 10 "tubes" of calamari, should equal around 2 cup's worth once they are sliced (I used one packet of Rhode Island Calamari - tubes only)

Marinade

• 1 cup of whole milk
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• A pinch of salt and pepper
• 1 tablespoon cayenne pepper

Breading

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/3 cup cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon garlic powder
• 1 tablespoon seasoned salt or creole seasoning
• 2 teaspoons black pepper

Someone called me the other day while they were Christmas shopping to see if I had a crockpot. I said no, and then i said, wait, yes I do!! (That's how often I use it...yikes.) My mom gave me some short ribs that she wasn't going to use and I decided to whip out the crockpot. Crockpot cooking is so easy, you just sort of have to get things started and then forget about it for several hours.

Also, with tomato sauce...the longer it cooks, the better it tastes. This sauce is SO rich and flavorful I could cry. It's a bit different than most meaty sauces since it's short rib. I feel like the way it separates sets it apart from other kinds of bolognese sauces that use ground meat.

The recipe makes about 4 cups of sauce so there will be a lot. You can freeze part of it in a ziplock bag and save it for another time! It's a good one to start up earlier in the day since the short ribs have to cook for so long in the crockpot.

​I probably have no idea what I'm talking about because to be honest, I don't know too much about Asian food besides that I love and want to eat all of the noodle-things. I've come across "steamed rice rolls" a couple of times now and was dying to figure out how to make them at home.

 A couple of years ago I bought the ingredients to make my own rice noodles and it was such a fail that I never tried again. I'll leave that part up to the experts. If anyone knows an easy recipe for making rice noodles, let a girl know!

There are so many different kind of Asian noodles. I'm sure there are plenty of brands out there and I probably am not using the best one since I randomly tried to pull this off the other day without plotting too much or even asking anyone at the store if I had the right stuff. The rice noodle that I bought came completely folded up in a package from the refrigerator in the back of Tink Holl Market, which is in CLE's Asia Town. The package says "Natures Soy Rice Noodle" and below is a photo of what it looks like. The noodles were sort of stiff, and folded up kind of like a blanket.

It's pretty crazy that from start to finish, you can make ready-to-eat noodles with only three ingredients in only 30 minutes. 
​
The longer, more intensely you knead, the smoother the noodle texture is. You can totally knead by hand, I would say for about 10 minutes - that's how I used to make this recipe before I was gifted a Kitchen Aid and now I use a dough hook to help knead my dough.

I've used this recipe with bread flour and all purpose flour and both will work! I think the AP flour is best though. Oh AND, it makes enough noodles for two people so you can share or just eat the whole thing by yourself which is what I normally do, lol.

Tis' the season for all things butternut squash. Disclaimer, I didn't actually make stacks with that many layers, the pic is two pieces on top of one another. Just tryin' to keep it real with ya! Also,  you could sub slices of squash or zucchini if you're going for a low-carb or gluten free version.

Also, I did not start with actual whole squashes. My local grocery store (Heinen's) sells squash that's already been peeled and cubed, THANK GOD - and I'm pretty sure it was more than just one squash because there was a lot. It's kind of a b*tch to peel and cube one of those things - definitely something you have to be in the mood to do.

I was thinking about adding in a layer of kale or spinach, but realized that I forgot to grab it at the store. I feel like it would probably be pretty good with some sauteed kale mixed in. If you want to do more with this recipe and add in some color, I would try that!

What you'll need:

• Standard size box of lasagna noodles for a 9 x 9 size baking dish.  (If you're going make a 9 x 13 pan of lasanga, I might by two boxes.) 
• 2 butternut squashes, peeled and cubed - cubes should fill an entire large baking sheet.
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 large white onion, diced
• 2 garlic cloves, peedled and minced
• 1 stick of butter
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh sage leaves
• 1/2 cup heavy cream (milk will work too, but I prefer cream)
• Ricotta cheese - I used a medium sized tub of it (16 oz)
• Sartori Cheese Black Pepper Bellavitano cheese - parmesan or mozzerella will work here too (I would say about 1/4 cup per layer of lasagna)
• Salt and pepper to taste

What to do:

1. ​Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tinfoil and spray with a non-stick like PAM.
2. Toss the butternut squash cubes in a large bowl with olive oil, minced garlic, chopped onion and salt/pepper.  Pour it all out onto the baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45 minutes.
3. Cook the lasagna noodles according to directions on package or box. When they are done I would seperate them so that they don't stick together and rip by the time you're ready to use them. Olive oil helps to keep them from sticking together. 
4. Split the roasted squash into two even portions - try to keep one portion to just squash and no onion or garlic pieces. 
5. Mash the half of the squash without onion or garlic pieces with a fork in a bowl so that it kind of turns into a mashed potato texture and set it aside.
6. Brown the butter in a  large skillet on medium heat. (Keep stirring it around on and off until it browns.) Add in the fresh sage leaves so that their flavors mix with the butter. Once the butter is brown-ish, remove the sage leaves and set them aside until the end for topping.  The leaves should be kindof crispy.
7. Add the portion of the roasted squash with the onion/garlic into a food processor with the brown butter and cream. Blend for a minute or two. You can add in more cream or milk if the sauce is looking too pasty and thick. 
8. Grab a  deep baking dish and spread butter all over it so that the lasagna noodles won't stick to it. Pour a little of the sauce from the food processor into the bottom of the pan and spread it around.
9. Trim the edges of the noodles if you have to, but make sure they fit perfectly into the size of the pan. Start the dish with two layers of the lasagna noodles. I always like to do double noodle layers because I think it holds things together better - and, I also just love noodles. Lol.
10. Next, take the mashed squash and spread it out as evenly as you can on top of the lasagna noodles. Do the same with the ricotta cheese on top of the squash. Then sprinkle a thin layer of black pepper bellavitano - or other cheese choice on top of the ricotta.  Sprinkle with a tiny bit of salt and pepper.
11. Repeat processes 10 + 11 until you run low on ingredients. When you get towards the end, try and make sure to end the layering with lasagna noodles on the top.
12. Pour the sauce you made in the food processor on top of the masterpiece and spread it around. 
13. Shave some fresh black pepper bellavitano cheese and parmesan ontop.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
14. Cover the lasagna pan with tinfoil and bake for one hour at 400 degrees.
15. Let it cool and set for about 30 minutes before digging in, otherwise it will fall apart. Top with more cheese shavings and the crispy fresh sage leaves. 
16. FOR CUTTING: use a really thin sharp filet knife without any teeth - start to cut through it a little bit by sawing gently and then go in at an angle. It should slice nicely that way.
17. EATTTTT UP!!

When it comes to pasta, sometimes a few ingredients is all ya need.

There's a ton of controversy over the way this dish is supposed to be made so I will start of by saying that this is my personal version and the way that I prefer to eat cacio e pepe! I've gotten tons of comments about how it's wrong that I use butter but, I love butter and that doesn't feel wrong to me. I will say that it's super clutch to use fresh cracked black pepper - I usually buy whole black peppercorns and crack them myself with the edge of a large knife or mortar and pestle. 

Little Italy, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Cleveland is on the east side of town and it's home to one of my favorite dishes of all time. Since I live on the west side of town, it's kind of a treck - but always worth it for Mia Bella's cheese tortellini. Cheese stuffed pasta is a no-brainer but the sauce that it's served in is this amazingly rich blush pasta sauce - and it may or may not come with enough of it to save some and put over more pasta right when you get home. :)

I've tried to recreate it several times and it just wasn't happening. The other day I was cooking tomatoes in a skillet with some olive oil + garlic and decided to randomly added in a few different things and ended up with the literal same sauce that's served with the tortellini at Mia Bella. Funny how that kind of stuff always seems to happen on accident. 

I've eaten all kinds of chicken tacos before but there's something about the way I make these chicken thighs that tastes really different in the best way. I brine the chicken (aka soak it in salt water + seasonings for about 30 minutes before I cook it which makes the meat really juicy and so flavorful. The main seasoning I use is pre combined, called "butter mesquite" and it is from the West Side Market in Ohio City. I'm sure you could find it somewhere else, but from a market type place would be your best bet in terms of quality! 

I love a good meaty sauce, my favorite recipe is from Chrissy Teigen's cookbook, Cravings. You can buy it for less than 20 dollars on Amazon. (I feel obligated to tell you that there's bacon in it. Because that's important. Bacon is important AF.)  The best part about this whole thing is that it's a low-carb recipe. It's the best when healthy things don't suck, am I right?

I used giant pizza cutter to slice 3 large zucchinis, down the middle longways and then scooped out the pulp with a rounded metal teaspoon which worked like a charm. This recipe is pretty much foolproof! Let me know if you have any questions. 

Well this was fun. I saw these things a while back somewhere...from some food truck...from someone's Instagram post...and there's no way I'm gonna remember any more details than that, lol. Since then, every time I walked past a Flamin' Hot Cheetos bag at the store I was reminded of this glorious creation. So I finally threw a bag into my cart and decided to make this happen. I used a cheese sauce recipe from Serious Eats, and then freezer isle fries and the hot Cheetos.  It was seriously so easy to make... and FYI, if you don't have a food processor I'm sure you could put the Cheetos into a ziplock bag and beat it like a caveman until you get the little crumbs to form! If you decide to go that route, good luck. ;)

One of my favorite dishes growing up was my Mom's soy sauce marinated chicken thighs. So juicy and magical - now that I'm older it makes me LOL how easy they are to make, and how I didn't have a clue back then. I basically thought she slaved away in the kitchen all day while we were at school in order to have this all prepared - because the taste is that GOOD! 

Now a days, I like to cut up the thighs before I marinate, and I also added honey, garlic and scallions to the marinate and it always turns out perfecto!

​You know when people talk about food like, "OMG - I love it so much, I just want bathe in it!!" Welp, that actually happened.

The day I decided to draw a ramen bath was also the day that I hit 10,000 followers on @FoodsofJane AND the day that I finally (6-year plan) graduated from college. It sort of started off as an inside joke with my fam since all I ever ate as a kid was ramen.  So I threw on an old bathing suit and filled my parents' giant tub (which by the way, is super nice - if I wasn't 20-something I would of totally gotten grounded.) The ramen noodles float, so I didn't actually have to fill the entire tub, it was mostly H20. I used the hottest water setting - I figured that would be hot enough to soften the noodles and I was right. It was also hot enough to basically cook myself, it's like I was the protein in some sort of human soup. My sisters took photos while hysterically laughing and the whole thing was just great.

Did you know that "ramen is actually good for your skin?" At least that's what the owner of this one Japanese Spa says. Can you even believe that there is a place in this world where this sort of thing actually happens on a daily basis? Here's more on that: http://bit.ly/2hI6K6b. 

So a few weeks later I got an email from a producer at ABC's The Chew. He somehow came across my photo and asked if I would mind if they showed it on TV. What a weird question to be asked, I'm pretty sure in the email he was like "I can't believe I'm actually saying this but..." I said yes, and sure enough, there I was - takin a bath in ramen noodles on national television. The cool thing about it was that they mentioned I was from Cleveland, OH and my dude Michael Symon (who is also from Cleveland) just so happens to be a co-host on The Chew. I love the way he screamed "CLEVELANDDDDDDDDDD" when the photo popped up behind him. I ended up officially meeting him later that year at the Fabulous Food Show in CLE - walked right up to him with a screenshot of my ramen bath photo and said - "Hi, remember me?!" and then of course his giant, loveable, best laugh ever roared and the rest is history. Love that man. <3

This is my favorite part of the story. I was out at a bar in The Flats (part of downtown CLE) and someone who was talking to a couple of my friends (without knowing they were my friends) pointed to me and said hey - isn't that that noodle girl? It's the only time I've been recognized by a stranger in public and I love it so much, I wouldn't want to be recognized any other way. "That noodle girl."

You can find the original Insta post here and no I did not eat the ramen afterwards because...that's disgusting. ;)

I've eaten different kinds of pierogi pizza before... but never like this. A friend told me that she used pierogi dough instead of noodles in a lasanga that she made and the lightbulb inside of my stomach went off. The crust for this pizza is actual pierogi dough, boiled and buttered. Basically, this pizza is like a giant open faced pierogi. I mean what's better than mashed potatoes, butter and cheese on a snowy December afternoon?

I will say it was super hard to fit the rolled out dough into a pot of boiling water, so the bigger the pot, the better. Be really cafeul at that step - the dough tore for me, but everthing was all good in the long run. Scroll to the bottom of this post to see the steps that were taken to put this pie together! 

Let me start off by saying that I absolutely hate dry meatballs. I honestly think that one time, I didn't eat meatballs for like two years straight because I ate one that was so dry and gross. I decided to make meatballs last week to go with some spaghetti squash I had made and here's how I went about doing it. I literally googled "best meatball recipe" and looked at about 10 different sites that popped up, then decided to give it a go. I did not keep track of anything I added into the mix, so I had to remake them because I want you all to experience these. I saw recipes that used eggs, buttermilk, breadcrumbs, actual slices of white bread. Who knew there were so many different ways to make random balls of meat?? 

I ended up just combining little parts from different recipes that I read online and they turned out so damn good, and juicy. This recipe makes about 20 small meatballs, or 10 big ones. I literally ate them plain... popped those things like I would doughnut holes. Lol, I am gross. It's fine.

A few tips - if your meatballs are too mushy you can add in a little flour to thicken them up. Also, don't be alarmed if you notice gooey stuff on the cookie sheet once you take the meatballs out of the oven. I don't know what that stuff is, but I'm guessing it is part of the egg/buttermilk ingredients. Either way, it's what makes them juicy so don't worry! 

French fries just make everything better. And whoever thought of smothering them with different types of gravy and cheese curds is an absolute genius.

I used about half a bag of frozen fries and made a giant plate that was enough to serve at least 4 people.. I really hate serving sizes because it all depends on how much someone likes to eat... am I right? I always just say make a bunch and then you'll have more for later.

So, insanity happened today in the form of grilled cheese. I feel like my arteries are really mad at me, but my taste buds are justifying their hatred. Everything is going to be FINE - just make this please and eat it so you can understand how I am feeling at the moment because I'm not really sure what else to say right now. 

True story: I lived in Cincinnati, OH for two years of my life - I was around age 4-5 but I STILL remember loving Skyline Chili and LaRosa's Pizza. My favorite part was for sure the giant pile of cheddar cheese and that's why I used so much of it in this recipe! Heinen's sells Skyline Chili in the freezer isle and every once in a while I eat it with the fam. 
 
So here's my grand Super Bowl idea, lol. I mean... this is better for you than having Skyline Chili with a pound of pasta or on a hot dog, am I right? Either way, it tastes delicious and there are in fact fewer carbs than traditional Skyline Chili meals. Unless you drink multiple beers while eating it like I did. #SundayFunday

You guys. This is my new favorite pasta. I love pesto pasta but I can't really eat it because of all the pine nuts and my peanut allergy-- but this totally reminds me of pesto and it's nut free! You can make it with whatever kind of pasta you want, pictured above is gnocchi, and pictured below is ziti.

The flavor of all of the fresh herbs grown in my garden courtesy of Petitti's Garden Centers creates a burst of flavor that mixes so perfectly with creamy alfredo sauce and pasta. 

Pork belly: Where do you buy it? How do you make it? What the heck is it?  Pork belly is a slab of meat that comes directly from the fat belly-part of a pig, it's so deliciously juicy. You can buy a slab of from local meat markets...you definitely can't buy it at Giant Eagle or other chain-style grocery stores. If you live in the Cleveland area, I would suggest going to the Westside Market in Ohio City, or Hall Brother's Meat in Olmsted Falls. 

Pork belly can also be cooked a bunch of different ways. My method was cooking it in the oven for 3 and a half hours, so that the top fatty part turns sort of crunchy. Once it's cooked you can slice it and put in on sandwiches or steamed buns, it can be used in ramen, or on tacos.. or it can just be eaten plain! The options are endless.