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. 

Holy. Sh*t. This is the best meat I've ever had.. why have I never cooked rack of lamb before? I feel like such a dumbo for just now starting to explore my carnivorous taste-buds. LOL @ Chrissy Teigen's post last year saying "Please make lamb more people. It makes you seem fancy when you're really just a lazy trash bag." I have to agree with her though.. too good. 

I was originally going to make garlic bread with an alfredo base--but as soon as I spotted wing sauce in my fridge I changed my mind. Buffalo cheesy bread sounds so much cooler than cheesy bread, am I right? Literally all of my favorites are in this snack; cheese, alfredo sauce, buffalo sauce, more cheese!! I'm obsessed. The 'bread' is made from grated cauliflower, cheese, and eggs--instead of flattening the cauliflower dough like I would for a pizza crust, I simply left it a bit thicker so that it would taste more 'bready'. I hope you like as much as I did :)

Instructions:
[Garlic & Buffalo Alfredo Sauce]: 

1. Pour 2 cups of heavy cream and a few thin slices of butter into a small pot and turn the flame a little higher than simmer. 
2. Once the sauce starts to bubble, add the garlic powder, and buffalo wing sauce. Whisk with a fork until completely combined. Turn down the heat so that the mixture slowly bubbles, stir it every 2 minutes so that the cream does not burn and stick to the bottom of the pot. Continue to cook and stir frequently until the sauce has reached a thick creamy texture (about 20 minutes).  

[Garlic & Buffalo Alfredo Cheesy Bread]:

1. Prepare a cauliflower crust by following my recipe for cauliflower crust pizza until step 4 has been completed. Click here to view cauliflower crust pizza recipe. After you have made your cauliflower dough spread it out onto a pan in the shape of a football, the spread dough should be about 1/2 inch thick. Bake for 25 minutes at 400. 
2. Next, cover your baked cauliflower crust with a generous amount of the buffalo-alfredo sauce. Top the sauce with a blend of yellow and white shredded cheese, and chopped scallions. Bake for 20 minutes at 350. 
3. When serving, cut  down the middle of the cheesy bread longways, then section off pieces at a 90 degree angle from the initial center cut. 

I have been stalking the ramen burger via social media pics for over a year now; sadly I have never been anywhere close enough to a restaurant or food truck that sells these delicious looking things- and I've never had a chance to try them! 

For my fellow ramen lovers who don't live in New York or L.A.-- I have figured out a way to make them at home.. and they are so good that you can even eat the ramen bun all by itself.

It's a overnight process, and it involves being extremely careful and patient... but so worth it! 

[Ramen burger]

1. Combine the Flavor God Seasoning with the ground meat by mixing in with a fork and then form the meat into a ball. Flatten the ball into a medium sized patty. [Remember: patties shrink when cooking so it's best to make it a tiny bit bigger than what you want.] Cook on medium flame until the inside looks medium rare. Cover with a lid, about 10 minutes on each side.
   
2. While the burger is cooking chop the onion and combine mushrooms, chopped onion, 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil, and sweet chili sauce in a skillet and sauté for about 10-15 minutes. 
3. Prepare a large skillet by coating with the rest of the olive oil, turn the heat to medium. 
4. Carefully remove each ramen bun [I used a butter knife to detach the noodles from the bowl], and place on the hot skillet. Don't worry if the edges aren't perfectly even, that will be taken care of in a few steps. The key is to get the ramen burger transported quickly and carefully without it falling apart. 
5. Cook on each side until golden brown [about 6 minutes each side]. After flipping to cook the other side, I suggest melting the cheese on top of the ramen buns for extra flavor.
6. Once the ramen buns are done in the skillet carefully transport them to a cutting board, and use an appropriately sized coffee mug or cup to cut a perfect circle out of the middle of each ramen bun, this way the excess noodles won't be dangling off the edges. 
7. Assemble the burger however you would like and enjoy!! :)

So I won a national recipe contest! Zoup! Soup hosted the “Really good soup contest” in 2014 and I submitted my Spicy Noodle Soup recipe, and won! I won a gift card to Williams Sonoma and also got to cook my soup on two local news stations, one in Detroit (Zoup’s first home) and one in my hometown, CLE. You can try my soup at various locations across the U.S., Zoup tweaked the recipe a little and renamed it “Dragonfire Noodle Bowl.”
 
If I had to describe my spicy noodle soup to someone who’s never had it before I would say it’s a sort of spicy ramen, but instead of ramen noodles it’s made with Korean glass noodles (also called sweet potato noodles and glass noodles.) The noodles are clear, really slippery..and also gluten free. I’ve never seen them at local grocery stores so I suggest if you’re going to look for them to call and ask your local Asian markets or order them online.
 
The recipe is extremely flexible. You can add in more or less of one flavor if you prefer without really messing things up. If you want to keep things meatless, you can use veggie broth but I prefer chicken because I think it’s more flavorful.