Taste and Tell Blog

Blogger Spotlight – Life As a Lofthouse

May 18, 2013 // 4 Comments

With the change of the design here at Taste and Tell, I am also switching things up with my Blogger Spotlight feature. First of all, you’ll notice that Blogger Spotlights are coming to you on Saturdays. So hopefully I’ll be able to introduce you to some great new blogs or let you know a little more about some of your favorite blogs every week! Second, the format is slightly changing. From this point on, the Blogger Spotlights will be known as The Blogger Ten. Ten questions all about blogging, food, and life behind the blog!

Also – BONUS! Make sure you are subscribed to my weekly newsletter, because the blogger will also be featured there with two more questions. Just another fun way to introduce you to some of my favorite Bloggers!

And now to this week’s blogger – Holly from Life As a Lofthouse. Holly’s blog is another that I’ve been stalking for years. Her food is family friendly and makes you want to run to the kitchen to get cooking, (hello Chicken Ranch Pizza), and the desserts are more than tempting (like her Easy Strawberry Cheesecake Ice Cream). I’m so happy to be featuring her here today and am glad she is sharing with us!

Hi everyone! I’m Holly from the food blog, Life as a Lofthouse, and I am so honored to be here today! I am a mother to 3 amazing kids and have been married to my best friend for almost 7 years. Along with blogging, I also work full-time as a surgical scheduler. I schedule surgeries for 3 Head and Neck surgeons. It is a very stressful and fast-paced job, but I love it. I love working in the medical field.

When I’m not working, I am home creating delicious food to feed my family. I started my blog in September 2010 and have so much fun being a blogger. It is such a fun way to be creative and share my passion with the world! I have always loved to cook and bake. Some of my favorite childhood memories are being with my Mom in the kitchen. I’d always ask her if I could help, even if it was just grating cheese for Tacos, I was in heaven!

What inspired you to start writing your blog?
My blog started out as a family blog. I would post pictures and fun memories about my family, and then I posted a couple recipes. I started getting compliments from friends and requests for more recipes. Before I knew it, I was only posting recipes.

What is your favorite kind of food to make?
Mexican. Hands down. I make tacos and enchiladas more than any normal person should, but we all love it, so I say why not!?

What is your favorite recipe posted on your blog?

Taco Pizza

My favorite recipe would definitely be my Taco Pizza. It’s a combo of my beloved Mexican food on top of a pizza crust. Doesn’t get much better than that!
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Spice Up Your Cereal

May 17, 2013 // 10 Comments

Growing up, the only time we would ever get cereal was on Saturday mornings. That was the morning my parents got to sleep in, so we got to get up and get ourselves cereal for breakfast. I have to admit – I can’t wait until my kids are old enough to get themselves cereal in the morning. I’ve pretty much forgotten how it feels to sleep in!!
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Strawberry Wonton Cups

May 15, 2013 // 37 Comments

I have seriously been going overboard on the strawberries this year. Every time I go to the grocery store, I buy more, and they never go to waste. And it’s not even prime strawberry season here in Utah yet! But the berries we have been getting have been so perfectly sweet and full of flavor, I just can’t help but keep buying them while they are so good.

While most of the time we have been enjoying them just plain, the other day I was feeling like getting a little bit fancy.

Now, we are a pretty “no frills” kind of household. Cookies, sheet cakes, brownies – we don’t usually pull out the good china or serve anything up with special napkins. But these strawberries were just so good that I had to make something a little bit more special with them. Something with a little more wow factor than just a cookie. (Not that there is anything at all wrong with a cookie! )

These Strawberry Wonton Cups are kind of a fake out, because they are so easy to make, but they look like they took a lot more effort. And the taste? Let me just say that you’d better make sure you have somewhere to take these or someone to give them to, otherwise, you may find yourself sneaking away to the refrigerator every 15 minutes. Just a hypothetical, though – that totally didn’t happen.

So next time you need a sweet appetizer, or something that looks a little fancy for dessert, these Strawberry Wonton Cups are what you need!

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Thai Chopped Chicken Salad

May 13, 2013 // 32 Comments

When I was pregnant with both of my boys, I had one craving that was the same. Salad. But not just any salad. It had to have ranch dressing.

Now, I’m not a food snob and I don’t put my nose up at ranch dressing – I actually do like it – but I used to opt for other choices. But then when I got pregnant with Easton, all I wanted was a big salad with ranch dressing. I tried to eat other dressings, but I just couldn’t. It was the ranch or nothing at all.

When I got pregnant with Camden, I found myself craving salads again. The need for ranch wasn’t quite as strong as it was with Easton, but it was definitely still there, and only ranch would really satisfy.

Luckily, once I gave birth, that need for ranch subsided. But the need for salads? I definitely still get a craving every now and again.

A few months back, I found myself craving a salad. But not just any salad. A chopped salad. A Thai chopped salad.

But the funny thing is – I’ve never had a Thai chopped salad before. But the craving hit, and I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

So I made one.

And it was good.

So good, in fact, that my husband and I pretty much inhaled this whole thing ourselves. Abbi did have some, (she is a salad addict), but Josh and I really went to town. And I’ve been craving it ever since. It looks like this craving isn’t going to go away any time soon!

And – you could totally leave the chicken out and this would come together pretty quickly. Or even use leftover chicken. But I actually prepared ahead of time and marinated my chicken. Not critical, but still delicious. But this would definitely make a killer meatless meal as well!
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Fridays with Rachael Ray – Smoky Tex-Mex Sloppy Joses

May 10, 2013 // 25 Comments

$Smoky Tex-Mex Sloppy Joses | www.tasteandtellblog.com$

Honestly, you guys – that just about killed me.

I haven’t posted a new recipe for a week now. I don’t remember the last time I went a whole week without posting a recipe. But I’m so glad that things are back to normal here, and especially that they are so pretty. Seriously – I get a smile on my face every time I open up my blog. I really am loving it, and am glad that you all are, too.

So – the food. I’m a sucker for certain ingredients. Throw a magic ingredient into a recipe, and I’ll come running. And I realize that this may make me sound a little bit trashy, but this recipe here has two of those magic ingredients:

Fritos and pickled jalapenos.

Yes – I never said I was gourmet. And I would never want to be gourmet if it meant giving up indulgences like Fritos and pickled jalapenos.

I’m pretty sure Rachael Ray is the queen of the sloppy joe. She’s made so many versions, and since I love them so much, I’ve made many of her versions as well. Sloppy Cubanos, Hula Joes, Sloppy Johnnies, Tango Joes, Sloppy Buffalo Joes – that Rachael Ray knows how to get creative when it comes to the Joe.

This one right here may be going to the top of my “love” list. I cannot tell you how much I loved this, and how excited I was the next day for leftovers. As much as I love a good, traditional Sloppy Joe, these overtook the ranking for my favorite. The pickled jalapenos added some great heat – but if you aren’t a fan, you could totally leave them off. But the Fritos – those are a must have. I love that they gave the sandwich a crunch. They made this totally stand out from a traditional sloppy joe.

And now I’m wondering what else I can throw Fritos and pickled jalapenos onto…

$Smoky Tex-Mex Sloppy Joses | www.tasteandtellblog.com$
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Taste and Tell – All New!

May 7, 2013 // 48 Comments

Today is a very good day here at Taste and Tell. You may notice that things look a little different around here. Ok, a lot different. For pretty much the last 2 years, I have been dreaming up my perfect site. I’ve changed my mind about a million times and I looked high and low for someone who could help me turn my dream into a reality.

And today, that dream has come true.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to reveal the new look here. And I have the wonderful and talented Melissa and Erin to thank for it all. I was on the search for a web designer when Melissa and Erin announced that they were starting a new boutique web design business – Wooden Spoons Kitchen. I’m not even kidding you – I emailed them the moment I saw the announcement. I’ve always love the clean style and look of both of their blogs, and I knew that I had found my designers!!

And here we are, and I couldn’t be happier. From the moment we started this process, I knew that I was going to love the end result. They have worked with me every step of the way, listening to all of my crazy ideas and bringing them to fruition. I would 100%, whole-heartedly recommend them to anyone who is looking for a new look!

Please take a look around! Here are some of the big changes:

I have always said that food will always be my main focus here on Taste and Tell. And that isn’t changing. But we are expanding!! If you’ll look under the logo in the top right corner, you’ll see links to each section.
- Food - Anytime you come to Taste and Tell, it will bring you to the main section, which is the food section. Things will continue on here as normal.
- Home - This is where things will get a little more personal. I’m not exactly sure what direction this section will take, but that’s the beauty of it. I’ll be discussing things a little more on this section on Thursday.
- Travel - If you’ve been following me here, you know this as Destinations – where I’ve been posting about places I’ve been and things I’ve seen. This section is the most exciting to me, because Erin was able to turn this into exactly what I wanted. I am a visual person, and this is as visual as it gets. I wanted it to be photo driven, since I get so much more excited about travel photos than I do words. You have got to check out this section. (I’m still reformatting the posts there, but I’m getting there slowly!) Click on one of the recent posts to get the full effect!

Only the food posts will show up here on the homepage, but you can always see what is happening in each section on the right sidebar. And you’ll still get updated if you subscribe to my newsletter, email updates, or by rss.

We’ll still be updating a few things in the next couple weeks. The recipe archives will have even more functionality in the weeks to come. (After I update 6 years worth of posts…ugh). And please feel free to tell me if I’m missing something that you had here before!

Some changes – I’ve thought long and hard about this, and after a lot of deliberation, I have decided to give up Taste and Tell Thursdays. It kind of breaks my heart because it was just starting to gain some momentum, but something had to go. But I will have recipe posts here Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Blogger Spotlights are moving to Saturdays.

A huge thanks to Melissa and Erin – thank you for making my vision come to life!!

Check back on Thursday on the Home section for a little introduction there, and an all new recipe is coming at you on Friday. I hope you love the new look as much as I do!!