If that’s not a mouthful than I don’t know what is. I couldn’t decide what to name this recipe as there is so much going on here. I couldn’t seem to fit in the fact that these have blue cheese crumbles and that the meat is so incredibly tender because you brine the crap out of it.

Okay, at some point I have to stop always trying to convince you to make something that I have made and received rave reviews about. However…..this is not that day. I am about to do everything I can to persuade you to make these sandwiches!

If you feel that I’m bragging or claiming that I always make good food than think again, because that is not the case Not even close. I have major flops (almost daily) and have yet to solve the plight of childhood pickiness in my younger siblings with magic ingredients or superior cooking skills. That must be why I get so excited about the recipes that hit it out of the park. I am simply trying to do my part here and sharing something that is just too incredible to keep for just my family. This greatness needs to be shared with human kind like an art piece or a good book. It can go anywhere between the Mona Lisa and Shakespeare, I’m not picky.

This is one of those rare recipes that comes together in my mind with next to no head-banging. Pure inspiration that leads to a finished product that I feel almost guilty taking any credit for because it was just too easy. I enjoy these as much as possible when they occur because they are few and far between.

Seriously, I can’t tell you how I decided on this combo. All I know is that it started with my mom buying a pork roast and blackberries being everywhere. Then it just evolved from there. It’s been a while since we’ve had a pork roast and it got me all excited to try something different.

We don’t do roasts and steaks very often because the cuts of meat are different here. Like, they cut the animal into completely different sections than we were used to in the States and all of the names are obviously in Spanish so we still haven’t discovered our favorites or figured out what is what. Plus, well, we’ve had a bad experience. I won’t even tell you about the green and purple roast of 2014, blah! When we do get a new cut we always brine it for a long time to insure it has the best chance possible of being tender, and this usually works. Brining saves lives; true story.

This is probably the longest recipe I’ve ever written but don’t let that freak you out. I mean, I know the blackberry bbq has like a million ingredients, but they are most likely things that you already have in your pantry. Then the slaw is very simple and the blue cheese just finishes the whole thing. When you combine it all on a soft, doughy bun it has been proved to cause spontaneous bursts of song and dance. It is well worth every ingredient.

Oh, and one more thing. I just had to laugh at the pictures of my brother-in-law holding the sandwich (we’ve decided that he’s found his calling in life as a hand model) because his very large hands dwarf the sandwich that is actually huge. Both he and my younger brother are really tall and it’s like the twin towers when they are in the same room. They make me feel very short and I’m taller than average. These sandwiches were highly approved by both.

Anyway, If you are looking for a flavor explosion than look no further because this is going to knock your socks off. They’re perfect for any summer gathering or just a killer weeknight family dinner.

I’m going to keep this one fairly short today because it’s been a few days of way too little sleep and there’s no telling what I’m about to write in my delirious state. Just kidding, it’s not really that bad, but I could definitely use a few z’s. We are all so excited about baby Ryder finally arriving and so thankful that he is as healthy as can be, not to mention huge. I haven’t cooked and/or photographed food in a few days and it’s been really weird for me. Things like standing on random furniture to get the right angle for a shot, or making a dozen different versions of the same recipe in a 24 hour period, have become regular parts of my day.   Anyway, I said I’d keep this short. I made this tamale pie a few days ago for dinner. It’s been on my to do list for a while and I’m so happy I finlly got around to making it. It’s easy, it’s fairly fast and simple, oh and hey, it’s also gluten free so bonus points! I made it in a big family style pot and then in some little terracotta ramekins because those are just more fun. You can probably tell that I spent all of 15 minutes taking these pictures. FYI, that’s way shorter than I usually spend taking shots of a recipe. It was one of the rare occasions where I made something late in the day for dinner that I was also planning to take pictures of, which means everyone was hungry and you know that makes me crazy. I can’t take pictures under pressure. I had decided not to use them because they’re really not great, but with all the craziness of my last few days I reconsidered. It actually was really good. I’ve never made something like this but I will definitely be doing it again. It’s got my wheels spinning with ideas. So I hope you try this. Happy Thursday!

I hardly ever make chili. Mostly because my family has never been big on chili. Especially my younger siblings. In fact, the mere suggestion of chili for dinner has usually always rewarded me with a song about magical fruit.

Yeah, it’s just never been our thing…until now. Not only did I make chili for dinner recently but everyone wanted it again less than a week later.

The most surprising part of that is that my 5-year-old sister may be my chili’s biggest fan. She actually got excited about dinner that night. That is so unusual you guys. My youngest brother and sister pretty much consider dinner a bad word and have been known to hide in an attempt to avoid eating it. Are all kids this way? Getting nutrition into them seems impossible sometimes.

My point is that this chili was really good. It’s even better with cornbread. In my house we all put the cornbread into the chili and it becomes a super thick bowl of savory sweet goodness.

I know that lentils aren’t the most common ingredient in chili and I don’t get why. They are so good in it and they are less noticable to the kids than beans. I love using them in recipe.

Oh, and don’t forget about the toppings sour cream, cheddar cheese, and cilantro are my favorite toppings.

Hello peoples! I know it has been like forever since my last post.

So where in the world have I been and why have I gone totally awol.? Well, I could start listing excuses like how I have been so busy with family stuff, traveling, cooking (of course), and a bunch of other things but the truth is there has been some amount of procrastination involved. Okay, maybe a lot of it. Nobody’s perfect.

After I got home from traveling about a week and a half ago I decided to make some updates to my blog before diving back into to blogging. However, I am fully planning on starting back asap. I just have a few more things to get in order.

By the way, what do you guys think of my blog’s mini makeover?  I was starting to get really tired of the old look and when I had a pause in posting and traffic anyway I thought I should take advantage of it.

Honestly, I don’t know why I haven’t posted this recipe yet though. I literally made it about a month ago and it has been sitting ready to post needing nothing more than a small post to go with it.

I barely even remember it. What I do remember is that it made me fall in love with the flavors of Jamaiican jerk. I will definately be doing that again.

These would be a great party appetizer or tail-gaiting snack. The flavors are bold , a little spicy, and super Yum!

Who’s ready for some potstickers!

I finally decided to try these yesterday and I am glad I did because they are so good. 

Potstickers are one of the many frozen, totally bad for you, convenience food items that my family really misses from the States. Luckily, I am willing to try just about anything to create our favorite foods from scratch. I say from scratch because there is next to no pre-made ingredients here so there isn’t much of a choice. 

I am really getting used to it now though. I have always preferred cooking from scratch anyway.

Who knew that won ton wrappers were so simple to make. My mom was really impressed with them and couldn’t believe that there was only 3 very basic ingredients. She said that she had always thought there was some secret to making these that only little Japanese woman knew. Nope, just flour and water and some optional salt.

It’s too bad that no one has invented a way to teleport items at lightspeed from one place in the world to another because I would love to share these.  The closest thing that I can do is share the recipe, tell you how absolutely amazing these are and you should make them, and wish you luck and bon appetite.