Simply Tasheena: Foodie

One of my biggest concerns, when I booked my cruise, was the food. Though I knew people who were avid cruisers. I know how picky I can be when it comes to food. I can say that I was pleasantly surprised by all of my food choices and meals. I ate every evening and morning in the dining hall. Throughout the day I would snack at the deli or indulge in veggie tortillas. Unfortunately, I didn’t have the opportunity to try the pizza, and my son never got around to trying out the BBQ restaurant.

Upon arriving on board the food was being served. That was another question I had. I wasn’t sure if the food was provided upon boarding the ship. It was!! The buffet wasn’t open. However, all of the grab and go restaurants were available. There are also plenty of blog posts and YouTube videos dedicated to food on cruise ships. Below, I’m sharing some of what my son and I ate during our cruise.

Have you been on a cruise? Did you enjoy the food?

What We Ate on Our Cruise - Carnival Liberty

Breakfast

Dinner

Dessert

Lunch/Snacks

9 comments

One of my passions and creating and trying new recipes. I had so much fun this year trying new foods and seeing new places. This past year, my son and I visited Cartagena Colombia and had coconut rice and Colombian Limonada de Coco for the very first time. Both items were amazing. My son is such a picky eater and raved about both items to all of our friends and family. They both were just so good. This year I hope to try making my own rendition of coconut rice, not sure why I haven't tried making it at home yet. However, it's on my list for 2019. I've tried making Colombian Limonada de Coco, and I'm still perfecting this recipe. This year I hope to try and create even more recipes and improve on my food photography. Thanks for sticking in their guys. I know my photos are not the best, and I'm looking forward to improving them. If you follow me on Instagram, I share the recipes I make for my family. One of my family favorites is our BBQ Chicken, I think I make this recipe at least once a week. It's just one of those recipes that are perfect for making on a whim. I'm looking forward to bringing amazing recipes to you and yours this year. Happy New Year!

What's your favorite recipe or new food that you've tried in 2018?

My Top Five Recipes of 2018

Crock Pot Chicken & Stuffing

Spicy- Sweet Glazed Shrimp

Baked Honey Garlic Chicken

Mozzarella, Basil, and Tomato Sandwich

Baked BBQ Chicken

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I’m not sure why but it feels like I really haven’t been trying recipes as much as I have previously in previous years. I’m really trying to get back into the swing of trying new recipes. I try vegan recipes often but when it comes to trying recipes for my family dinners, desserts, appetizers and breakfast foods I’m really slacking on changing it up a bit. And as most of you know my child is a picky eater. He doesn’t like the same food over and over again unless it’s one of his favorites. Which is few and far between. Last week I was in the mood to make some salmon for my family one thing that I love about making salmon is that is super, super easy to cook and it really doesn’t take that much time to thaw out if you’re not purchasing it fresh. In a mist of making the salmon. The next day the Mister asked me if I could try the same recipe but this time with chicken. And honestly I gave him a huge disclaimer that I wasn’t sure how the recipe was going to come out but if you wanted me to try the recipe on chicken, I would try my best to re-create the recipe.

Prior to putting in the chicken in the oven, I allowed it to marinate for a couple of hours in during the process of the chicken marinating in a Ziploc bag I would flip it over about every half an hour, to ensure that the marinade was evenly distributed. I decided to pan sear chicken on both sides just because I wasn’t sure how it was going to come out and I wanted to give it a crispy skin. I noticed that sometimes when you bake chicken in the oven and it just doesn’t have that nice crispy texture on the skin if you do not boil it. I placed the chicken in the oven, in an oven safe frying pan. I flipped the chicken over every half hour. To ensure both sides were getting nice and crispy as well. (The Mister likes his chicken overcooked). I must say that this was definitely a favorite in my home. Michael had a couple of servings which I was really surprised about. This is definitely a recipe that is crockpot friendly. I do plan on keeping their rotation as one of my go-to recipes, look out for it be included in our weekly meal plans.

Honey Garlic Chicken Recipe

Recipe

Ingredients

4 Cloves Garlic (Minced)
1/4 Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Honey
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350
Combine all ingredients and set aside
Clean chicken and place chicken in a ziploc bag
Pour marinade into Ziploc bag, and marinate for two hours
Place chicken on baking sheet and pour leftover marinade on top of the chicken.
Bake for 1 hour and 30 minutes, ( flip the chicken over every half hour)
Once cooked, allow to cool to your desired temp and serve with your favorite sides. Enjoy!

Have you tried any new recipes lately?

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I often asked what are some of my favorite desserts to make on a whim and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to share some of them with you guys. Though, depending on the time of year and who I'm hosting. These recipes defiantly changeup. However, I always try my best to aim for simplicity when it comes to hosting a dinner or bringing a dish to a dinner party. One of my favorite desserts to make used to be Semi-Homemade Upside Pineapple Cake. This dessert has made an appearance at all of my get-togethers over the last twelve years or so. Though, this recipe has always been a crowd pleaser and is one that I truly love and one that my family loves as well. One of my second favorite recipes is Coconut Blender Cake. I typically will make this cake a day in advance and it's super moist. I made it for my mother-in-law during the holiday's and she loved it. It's just so simple to make and doesn't require a lot of dishes. Which I love. because I clean as I go when I'm cooking...

I know you guys may be wondering why I never mention or make carrot cake. Though I LOVE carrot cake and it's actually a cake that everyone in my home loves. I've never honestly made a homemade one. Thus, the reason that it pretty much has never been featured on the blog. 

Anywho, What's your favorite Easter Dessert?

4 Super Easy Easter Desserts

DIY Easter Themed Dipped Berries

Blender Coconut Cake

Basic Vanilla Cake with Brown Vanilla Glaze

Apple Cinnamon Buns

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18 comments

Happy Thursday! I couldn't wait to share with you guys a roundup of my top recipes of 2017. I had so much fun completing my 2016 recipe roundup that I thought I would do it again this year.

I was a little shocked that my vegan recipes were a huge hit this year. I'm super excited about this and plan on bringing plenty of vegan recipes in 2018.

I defiantly had a lifestyle change in 2017 and I'm happy that you guys have been along with me during this journey. I still have meat eaters at home, for those who have been with me from the start, I still have a ton of recipes for you guys too.

Hopefully, I will have an upcoming post sharing my 2017 plans for the blog. One thing that I would love to change is the blog theme. More talks about that in a later post. I would also like to improve on a couple of things. However, first I would like to Thank everyone for their sweet comments. You guys really rock! As you guys know that I'm not big into New Year's resolutions. However, I try to immediately start to work on what needs adjusting...

Anywho, enough about me, do you have any big plans for 2018? I would love to read about them. Let's keep this conversation going in the comment section.

My Top Recipes of 2017

Garlicky Shrimp Bake

Detox Ginger Lemonade

Teriyaki Glazed Salmon

Grilled Chicken Teriyaki

3 Ingredient LaraBars

Vegan Blender Pancakes

Vegan Crepe

Vegan French Toast

Chocolate Breakfast Cake

William Sonoma Stovetop Potourri

4 comments

One of the things that I love most about the holidays is spending time with my family. What I also love about the colder months is hot chocolate. Growing up. My Mom would always make us a cup of hot chocolate. Of course, I loved it topped with marshmallows and/or whipped cream. Something about the yumminess the cups provides while staying warm and enjoying the company of your family.

Of course, I try to create those same memories for my family.
On a whim, I asked Michael if he wanted a cup of hot chocolate. I went to the kitchen and to kick it up a notch. I decided to add Nutella to the rim as well as inside the mixture and thought it would be pretty cool to share with you guys how to make it for your family.

Ingredients One serving

1 tablespoon Nutella
1 cup Milk (or water)
Hot-chocolate pack
Mini-marshmallows
Christmas Sprinkles (optional)