2 weekends ago I had the opportunity to attend my 3rd Food Blog Forum! Once again Walt Disney World hosted Food Blog Forum and wowed over 100 food bloggers with all of their magic. I wanted my recap out last week, but it just never happened and Food Blog Forum reassured me that life goes on even if you can’t get a blog post out every day. I also learned that I have to slow down. Life is to short to be running at thousand miles per minute. So I’m going to give you a different recap on Food Blog Forum this year. This recap will mainly be in pictures and I created a short video to help document the weekend!
I have to thank my good friend Julius for reminding me on Friday night about video. How is it that I always forget to create videos yet I am always wanting to make video content?
Amy from The Nifty Foodie, Alicia of Alicia Carlson Photography, and my husband and I spent Friday evening at Splitsville and then made a mad dash to The Magic Kingdom. Amy, my husband, and I rode Splash Mountain right before the park closed, and then as we walked out of the park caught the Electrical Light Parade. I haven’t seen that in years so it was a nice way to finish the evening!
The next morning it was time to learn, to reconnect, and remind ourselves what our goals are for our blogs! After listening to Jaden, Scott, and her boys talk about their life and how blogging has grown from a hobby to a business. They also reminded us to be authentic. This is something we hear a lot as food bloggers or bloggers in general. Be true to yourself. Do that things that make you happy! Another big thing I took away from Jaden’s talk was to hire help. You can do more if you have the help to free up your time. I am running myself into the ground working a full time job, and maintaing two blogs. So I took Jaden’s advice and have recently hired help… and am slowly starting to find more time to create and of course spend time with those I love!
Next up, Todd & Diane. If you ever have a chance to listen to Todd & Diane speak… go! Run right away… they are the most inspirational and amazing couple I know. Their words and photographs can bring a room to tears. There videos… ahhh the amazing videos the two of them produce. I only dream to once day produce beautiful videos like the two of them do. It’s something I’m continuously trying to work on.
And of course we can’t forget to thank Walt Disney World Resorts! I mean everyone went above and beyond for us!
Lunch was fanstastic. And as you might have seen in the video we had tons of amazing food! The menu was inspired to be gourmet food for kids–they hit it out of the ball park! I got to catch up with my friend MJ from The Merry Gourmet and I made new friends with Tricia from Once a Month Mom and Camille from A Girl, A Granny, & A Goal. It was great to talk about how we all started blogging and how our blogs evolved over the years.
We had a great session about technology and the ever changing blog landscape with Elise, Babette, and Eric followed by Grassroots Community building with Lindsey, David, Julie, and Jeff. Both sessions mind blowing as always and have your mind spinning in a million different directions!
Of course… I captured a few moments with friends new and old.
I skipped the dessert party that Saturday night to spend a much needed date night with my husband, Jon. We ventured to the Magic Kingdom without a plan (which kills me because I’m such a planner). We rode rides, indulged in a Dole Whip at 11pm during the fireworks and then rode more rides. My husband for the first time in his life rode Dumbo, the speedway, and the Goofy Barnstormer. Seriously? We live in Orlando–where has he been all his life. At least now he can check those off his list!
Brunch once again was held at Whole Foods Market Orlando. We stayed out way passed our bedtime and felt very hungover the next morning (although we did not drink an ounce of alcohol we were mainly just sleep deprived)! Whole Foods once again did a stellar job keeping our tastebuds tantalized!
Who loves breakfast? ME!!! Two years ago I shared with you my favorite buttermilk waffle recipe. For years I had searched high in low for the holy grail of waffle recipes. This my friends is it. These are light and fluffy Belgium style waffles. And to make it even more decadent I top mine with a homemade blueberry syrup and freshly whipped cream. I mean come on… breakfast can’t get any better than this!
I can’t remember when I first started making waffles. It really feels like years ago and well, it was. I think I was in my early years of college living at home with my parents. I went to Kohls one day with my mom and decided to pick up a cheapy waffle maker. I want to say I spent $20 max. Both my boyfriend, now husband, and my mom thought I was crazy. They figured it was another countertop appliance that would maybe get used a handful of times. Boy were they wrong. I used that cheap waffle maker at least once a week and no one complained in my house at the tasty waffles I was producing. Although now thinking back, they were hard and dense. Nothing like my buttermilk waffle recipe I use now.
Well, Fondue Week is slowly wrapping up. It’s been fun and I hope that everyone has enjoyed the recipes that Christine and I have shared over the past week! For those who have written comments about never trying fondue… you have two options. Make it at home or head out to The Melting Pot and try it with people you love! This week, Christine from Cook the Story and I talked with Chef Shane Schaibly of The Melting Pot Restaurants, Inc. We spoke with Chef Shane about how to make different kinds of fondue, common problems and solutions, tips and ideas for making innovative fondues in your own home. I hope you’ll watch and learn just as much as we did if not more!
So, what do you say? For those who have never made Fondue you ready to give it a try? For those who have made fondue I hope you’ve learned a lot!
Remember, today is the last day to enter into the amazing Fondue Week Giveaways (including a $100 gift card to The Melting Pot)!
Disclaimer: I was not compensated or provided anything to interview the Chef Shane from The Melting Pot. I simply like the restaurant!
Today, I’m excited to announce that I’m sharing 2 healthy Super Bowl friendly recipes on my local Fox station morning show; Good Day Orlando. You can watch live at 9:35 am (streaming if you don’t live in CFL) or I’ll have a clip to share with everyone later.
Some of you might be sick of seeing recipes centered-around one football game. However, I love it! I love any holiday that is centered around eating. Is that bad? I love seeing round-up post and right now it seems like everyone has a round-up of all things Super Bowl food. I decided to change it up a bit and feature 50 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes. Now, granted not all of the recipes are not 100% healthy however they are lower fat than what you would normally consume during the big game. I.e., they use greek yogurt instead of 5 cups of mayonnaise, etc.
Earlier this week, I did my weekly Google+ Hangout with Christine from Cook the Story. We spoke about Healthy Entertaining with Liz from The Lemon Bowl. Liz and I have chatted back and forth for over a year now and it was so nice to finally get to “meet” her! We spoke about easy ways to entertain and still make food healthy (without your guest looking for all the fattening foods)!
I hope you were able to learn about some great tips and tricks for healthy entertaining. Here is my list of 50 Healthy Super Bowl Recipes everyone should make this weekend (well, ok, maybe not all 50 at once)!
Last spring, I was contacted by my friend Ricky Ly of TastyChomps.com to contribute a recipe to his new book the Food Lovers’ Guide to Orlando. I was so excited and knew that the very first recipe I wanted to have published in print was my Grandmother’s Potato Salad. Although my grandma did not live in Florida she sure did know how to make a potato salad that wasn’t full of mayonaise and wouldn’t spoil at parties! Perfect recipe to contribute to a Florida centered book!
I know my Grandma is looking down on me–so incredibly proud. Proud to know that one of her recipes was the first recipe I ever got published in print.
So without further ado. I would like to share with you an interview I conducted with Ricky about his brand new book: Food Lovers’ Guide to Orlando. Whether you live in Central Florida or are just visiting this book is a wonderful resource to have on hand.
To find more about this book and to purchase visit Amazon.com.
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. I received one book to review and keep in compensation for providing a recipe for the book. As always all opinions are my own.
Whether you are a blogger or not everyone needs to find balance in their life. This is the first topic that Christine from Cook the Story and I talked about that wasn’t centered 100% around food. I think finding balance in life is a struggle that everyone tries to maintain. We spoke Kim from Cravings of a Lunatic about finding balance. We all shared ways we are trying to find balance. Watch our chat to learn more.
I mentioned during the chat that I had a real ah-ha moment while traveling through Europe. I was disconnected from what seemed like the world and had my husbands full undying attention. I can’t tell you how many times he has asked me to put down my phone and talk, or eat dinner together, or even while he is driving and I’m sitting in the passenger seat. I’ve learned over the past few months that there is a time and place to check email and do social media. At times I think I’m addicted, but then I know I can walk away and the world won’t come to an end. Europe taught me that. I’m not going to lie. When I wrote about my time in Barcelona I started twitching after day 3 of no internet. During that trip though I also realized that I need to take more time to unplug and enjoy with family and friends. Some weekends I’ll find myself glued to my computer all weekend: editing photos, writing post, social media, etc. That is not healthy. Not healthy for me. Not healthy for my husband or any of my family and friends. So I’ve been easing off and if I don’t get a blog post up when I wanted it to go live I’m not having a mental breakdown. I know the world will go on. This is hard for any blogger to do. Especially someone who has 2 blogs (like me). Remember, I also manage a DIY blog called Sew Woodsy. That blog recently has not received as much TLC and I’m ok with that. I only have so much time in my day and that is just how it is going to be.
So when I’m trying to find balance I also like to write lots of notes. Number my priorities and know that the world won’t end if I don’t complete everything on my list that day.
I also like to meal plan for the week. I prep vegetables on a Sunday: chopping and dicing onions, peppers, garlic, etc. I also make fruit salads for the week so that we have them ready for us to take to work in the morning.
I also like to try to make lunch the night before. That way we are less stressed and rushed in the morning.
A few of these food tricks have helped me continue to stay balanced in the kitchen.
Do you struggle with finding balance? If so, what are some of your tips?
Back in September, a few weeks before I left for Europe I was asked to appear on an episode of Life, Love, Shopping to film a short cooking segment. This was my first nationally televised apperance. It was taped as if it was live; however, it aired about a month later (while I was globe-trotting around the world). I never had the opportunity to share my first television appearance. I figured this was the most appropriate time to share since we are all starting to wrap our heads around all things football and the “big game” next weekend!
I think I did pretty good for my first televised segment. I also wanted to show viewers that you can entertain with ease and that you don’t have to serve all things fattening. That you can have a lighter menu and no one will miss the heavy mayonnaise laced dips!
Keep in mind, just one week later after filming this I was asked to do a cooking demo on The Daily Buzz (and that was taped LIVE as in no dropping F-bombs on national tv because there was no editing to be done)!
So if you are starting to already think about what to serve next weekend here are a few of my favorite recipes that were included in the segment I taped.
Think about creating a flatbread bar where all of your guest can create their own flatbreads. You won’t have to worry about the picky eaters or kids, because everyone will be able to find something that they like to eat!
This artichoke dip is light and healthy and contains no fatty mayonnaise! Perfect for a lighter chips and dip appetizer this football season. It also only takes about 5 minutes to make and the food processor does most of the work!
You can’t forget about dessert! Instead of using green dye use your teams colors and use a football cookie cutter to make football shaped rice kirspie treats!
What do you plan to make next weekend for Super Bowl?
*If you are looking for more football recipes… I’ll be on Good Morning Fox next Friday, February 1stat 9am sharing to awesome and easy recipes! Don’t worry if you don’t live in CFL I’m sure I’ll have a video to share on Katie’s Cucina!
Last year, I made a vow to myself that I wanted to start creating more video content. So far I think I’m off to a good start and hope to be able to share at least one new video every two weeks! Today, I’m sharing how easy it is to roast red bell peppers. No need to buy them from the store — make your own in a matter of minutes.
You’ll notice in my photos that the roasted red bell peppers are sitting in a liquid substance. This is not a liquid I put in the mason jar. It is simply the liquid that was released once the peppers went into the jar. It is a sweet syrup like liquid. So, now that you have seen how easy it really is to make a jar full of gorgeous red bell peppers do you think you will give this a try instead of running out to the store the next time a recipe calls for it?
While the oven is preheating rinse bell peppers, pat dry, slice in half. Remove the seeds and membrane from the peppers. Place the bell peppers cut side down on a baking sheet lined with either parchment paper or tin foil.
Broil on high for 5-10 minutes or until the tops of the red bell peppers are beginning to char. Let cool for 10-20 minutes. Sliced in 1/2 inch thick pieces. Place in a mason jar and seal lid. Store in refrigerator for up to 5 days.
Well, it is official, the other day, we had our last Google+ Hangout of the year! Hard to believe that a simple idea has transpired into a weekly video chat with Food Bloggers from all over the world. Christine from Cook the Story and I honestly couldn’t have done this without our fabulous (blog) friends! First and foremost, a big thank you to all of our supporters whether you were a guest on Christine & Katie this year or simply watched our live stream or our previously recorded videos.
We invited our past guest to join us and talk about Holiday beverages and recipes of all kinds! We decided to make this an open format for 30 minutes where guest could pop-on and pop-off if they chose too. Of course, as we predicted once everyone was on they stayed on. It was one big food blogger party!
This dip is easy to make and best of all you can make it from the comforts of your pantry/refrigerator! I always have all the items on hand to whip this dip up in a hurry if unexpected guest stop by!
These are a tried and true classic… No one can resist these sumptuous bars! Best of all, your guest will never know that they are what I like to call a semi-homemade dessert!
Guest won’t know what to think after they take one bite of these truffles. Seriously, they are amazing and so easy to make! I now find myself making these once if not a few times a year.
Christine and I are looking for guest to hangout with next year. If you are interested, please email me!
Last week, Christine from Cook the Story and I spoke with Nicole from Arctic Garden Studio about winter food in Alaska. During our chat Nicole pointed out that we had a 100 degree difference in weather. That was mind blowing to me–something I couldn’t fathim. And here I was complaining about our chilly 60 degree weather! I take getting fresh produce and meats for granted, and I’m glad we got to talk with Nicole. It was very eye-opening!
Watch our Google Hangout as Nicole explains how food is managed/consumed during the winter months in Alaska!
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. {more}
Think about creating a flatbread bar where all of your guest can create their own flatbreads. You won’t have to worry about the picky eaters or kids, because everyone will be able to find something that they like to eat!
I'm Katie Jasiewicz: home cook, food blogger, and recipe developer. I’ve always had a love for cooking, and more so in the past few years a love for eating!
Join me on a culinary adventure where life always tastes good. 
