1. Blue Apron – A perfect gift for anyone who loves to cook but juggles a busy schedule. You get the flexibility of picking your own menu from their selections, and are provided pre-portioned ingredients and step-by-step menu cards to make dinner assembly easy without the stress.
2. Calphalon Grill Pan – As the temperature drops for the season, and winter really gets under way, it is getting harder and harder to convince yourself to go out to the grill; this pan is the perfect gift for the creative cook who loves a good sear all year round! The pan easily transitions into the oven to finish steaks and other yummy items, and best of all you can pop it into the dishwasher when you are done!
3. Gearharts Fine Chocolates – Gearharts is a Virginia based specialty chocolate producer who offers a wide range of products and gift ideas for the sweet tooth on your list! They have dozens of creative specialty options to suit anyone who enjoys dessert and  their VA Whiskey Truffles or VA Wine infused chocolates make an awesome holiday gift!
4. Whole Spice – Napa Valley – I discovered this delightful spice producer purely by chance a few years ago and keep going back to order their items and have them shipped across the country. They are high quality spices, and rubs which make an excellent gift for any chef. They have quite the selection for a range of different flavor palates!
5. Savannah Bee Company – Pictured above, I have my all time favorite raw honeycomb from Savannah Bee Company. This item makes a great gift for the “hostess with the mostess” on your list, or pairs nicely with dessert or cheese spreads for the holidays if you choose to keep it for yourself!

I have no idea if this is an original recipe, or something she found in a cookbook many moons ago, but pulling it off the shelf and seeing her handwriting and special notes really puts a smile on my face. I vividly remember shelling pecans with my mom to make this pie on holidays as a child, and the memory really stands out to me. I hope you consider trying it out or pulling out an old family favorite this holiday!

Ingredients

• 9 inch unbaked pie crust of your choice – as you can see in the picture, my grandmother recommends Ritz
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup Karo white corn syrup
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 cup broken pecans (family tip: the biggest pieces will float to the top)

Directions

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine ingredients in order listed
3. Pour misture into unbaked pie crust
4. Bake for 45 minutes
5. Let cool and enjoy!

For those of you who have not had this ooey gooey delicious breakfast staple, you are really missing out. Not many people I have met in Virginia know what this is, but if you grew up in the midwest, specifically St. Louis, seeing this when you woke up for breakfast brought instantly made your day.  Prepackaged, or homemade it was always a win.

It is basically cake for breakfast, and in my eyes nothing could be better.

Ingredients

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 5 eggs
• 8 oz package of cream cheese
• 1 box of powdered sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Combine the cake mix, melted butter and 2 eggs (beat before adding) .
3. Pour cake mixture ingredients once combined into a greased 9×13 pan
4. With a mixer, combine cream cheese, 3 eggs and 1 box of powdered sugar.
5. Once well mixed, pour over top of cake mix into the 9×13 pan
6. Bake for 35-45 minutes
7. Once cool add a dusting of powdered sugar and ENJOY!

While we anxiously await the results of the 2015 Saucy Mama recipe contest I decided to share with y’all one of my other contenders for this year’s entry.

I decided not to enter this specific recipe, I thought it was a little to simple, and Saucy Mama had other deviled egg recipes on their website using some of their other unbelievable mustards.

One of the reasons I chose Dill Mustard from their extensive list of products to have and experiment with was because I love pickles. We put pickles on everything, and even in our pimento cheese!

I ultimately settled on the deviled egg because I thought it would showcase the mustard the most. I just new it would really kick them up a notch! I was not disappointed. I advise you taste as you go to see how much dill mustard you like. I probably added more than the 3 Tablespoons I suggested here if I am being honest :D

Directions:

1. Peel shells off of the hard boiled eggs and slice in half (lengthwise).
2. Crumble bacon bits into smaller pieces and set aside.
3. Using a spoon, gently remove the yolks from the whites and place all the yolks in a small bowl.
4. Using a fork, mash the yolks and add the mayonnaise and Saucy Mama Dill Mustard to the yolks and mix until a creamy consistency is achieved.
5. For the filling portion of the deviled eggs I scoop the filing into a ziplock bag and cut off one of the corners and use the bag as almost a pastry bag to make filing the egg halves as easily as possible.
6. Add crumbled bacon bits to the eggs as desired.
7. Sprinkle with paprika and keep in the fridge until ready to serve.

This pasta recipe is simple to make in large quantities and is easily refrigerated or made ahead of time to enjoy at family events! What I love most about this pasta entree is that you can prepare it with or without the extra creamy horseradish sauce and still enjoy a delicious and hearty entree.

While I was able to choose between 6 sauces to experiment with, for this recipe I specifically used the Cracked Pepper Marinade and the Creamy Horseradish sauce. Please check out the Saucy Mama online store, I have loved using so many of these sauces over the past few weeks in my experimental dishes.

Want to test out some of the Saucy Mama sauces for free? Remember to enter my Saucy Mama giveaway to win some free Saucy Mama Sauces of your choice!

Ingredients

• 1 bottle of Saucy Mama Cracked Pepper Marinade 
• 3-4lbs short ribs on the bone
• 16oz strozzapreti pasta (other thin pasta noodles will work)
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 Tbs red pepper flakes
• 1 cup grated parmesan cheese
• juice of 1 lemon
• zest of 1 lemon
• salt & pepper

Creamy Horseradish Sauce

• 1 cup Sour cream
• 2 tablespoons Saucy Mama Creamy Horseradish
• 1 tablespoon dijon mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
2. Arrange the short ribs in baking dish and cover with Saucy Mama Cracked Pepper Marinade.
3. Cover with aluminum foil and roast until cooked through and tender, about 3 hours.
4. While ribs cook combine all of the ingredients for Horseradish Sauce, and place in refrigerator for later.
5. After short ribs have cooked, remove oven and wait for ribs to cool so that rib meat can be shredded off the bone.
6. While ribs cool, cook Pasta according to package directions, and drain.
7. Add shredded short rib meat, parmesan, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, lemon juice and zest to drained pasta, mixing well to combine.
8. Serve pasta mixture with creamy horseradish sauce if desired.

Saucy Mama has been generous enough to allow me to offer 3 of their sauces as a giveaway as part of the contest! So enter the rafflecopter contest below, and winners will be announced on May 29th!
a Rafflecopter giveaway

While I have prepared many crab dishes, like my crab cakes, dips and appetizers, this is my first time attempting soft shell crabs at home. My husband and I hit a local farmers market yesterday, and among all of the fresh produce and local vendors, was a local seafood team selling all kinds of awesome items.

I saw they had jumbo soft shell crabs and I knew I had to attempt recreating what I had enjoyed at so many southern restaurants, fried soft shell crabs! So here is my take on friend soft shell crabs, which ended up in burger form for dinner tonight, with some fresh lettuce and chipotle mayo!

Ingredients (for up to 4 soft shell crabs)

• 2 cups self rising flour
• 2 Tbs old bay seasoning
• 1 egg
• 1 12oz can evaporated milk
• 1 tsp favorite hot sauce
• soft shell crabs
• pure vegetable oil
• salt & pepper

Directions

1. First things first, you should be cooking, fresh soft shell crabs, which means you need to clean these bad boys out. Start by cutting off the fronts of the crab’s face, just behind the eyes all the way across. Give them a good squeeze to be sure there is no lingering salt water inside. Next lift the sides of the shell up, and remove the gills from the crab, getting all of that yellow out (as pictured to the right). Then flip the crabs over and remove the apron from the crab (the part that distinguishes girls vs. boys), it should come off fairly easily.
2. Heat vegetable oil in dutch oven to about 350 degrees.
3. Pat the cleaned crabs dry, season with salt & pepper
4. Mix your old bay and flour together in a shallow dish.
5. In a second shallow dish, mix hot sauce, milk, and the egg together, beating the mixture to be sure it is all incorporated.
6. Dredge the crabs first in the flour mixture, then the egg mixture, and then back in the flour mixture, shaking off excess flour and liquid at each interval so that you get a nice even fry
7. Once the oil is hot enough, cook the crabs for about 6 minutes, flipping once to ensure an even golden brown.
8. Remove from oil, place on a paper towel to drain, and serve with condiments or on a burger like we did!
9. Enjoy!

When he told me about it the other week I immediately asked for the recipe. With the new house and new patio furniture for entertaining I knew this would be an instant hit! After hounding him he finally sent this my way, and not only is it delicious, it is something different to put on the menu that your friends aren’t always going to see.

This version is topped with blueberries, however any fruit combo would do! This one is from my dad, and my new favorite dessert!

This side dish is easy to prep in advance and serve, and was a real hit with friends who, like me, are avid pimento cheese lovers! I used green onions in my recipe but you could always go for something with a less bold flavor, like scallions if you so desired. I of course always encourage extra cheese :D
Ingredients

• 4 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
• 1 lb macaroni noodles, cooked, rinsed, and drained
• 4 green onions, finely chopped
• 8 0z jar pimento cheese, drained and minced
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 tsp cayenne pepper
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Combine noodles, cheese and mayo in large bowl.
2. Fold in spices, pimentos, and green onions.
3. Refrigerate until you are ready to serve!

I used frozen mango and edamame for this recipe, because I keep both on hand in the fridge for snacking and smoothies, but I of course encourage you to use fresh ingredients wherever you can!

Ingredients

• 1 cups quinoa – I used mixed quinoa for color!
• 2 cups water
• 1/4 cup diced red onion, keep it raw
• 1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
• 2/3 cup slivered almonds (I toasted mine, but that is a taste preference)
• 3/4 cup golden raisins
• 1 1/2 cups edamame (not the whole pods)
• 1 cup diced mango (or more if you love mango like me)
• 3 limes, juicedJuice of 4-5 limes
• 3  Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• salt & pepper to taste

Directions

1. Rinse and cook quinoa in water according to package directions.
2. Let the quinoa cool for this light summer side and in the meantime prepare the rest of the ingredients.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and toss with the lime juice, white balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper.
4. Refrigerate and enjoy!!