Homemade butternut squash ravioli stuffed with creamy squash and mascarpone cheese, drizzled in a buttery truffle sauce and topped with a pan fried prawn and crispy sage. We first tried butternut squash ravioli at the Cactus Club and it was melt in your mouth delicious! Debbie now orders this dish almost every time she goes to Cactus Club and because she loved it,  we had to create a copy cat recipe for the blog. Making this butternut squash ravioli at home is definitely more time consuming that ordering off a menu, and a hell of a lot messier!  But let me tell you, it is just as goo ..read more

This grilled flank steak is amazingly tender and flavorful when marinated in a delicious sauce then grilled to med-rare, cut on the bias, and covered in fresh and fragrant chimichurri sauce.  Great for feeding a crowd and for leftover steak sandwiches!  Flank steak is often overlooked and cast aside for fillet minion or rib-eyes, and mind you, those cuts are great, but for those of you who have had a properly prepared marinated and grilled flank steak, you know it won’t be your last. Typically a tougher cut of beef, if its marinated and cooked to medium rare and then cut on the bias ..read more

A nuts and bolts recipe with homemade ranch seasoning! Everyone at your party will be asking for the recipe.  Full of flavor and totally addicting! Debbie has been making this amazing nuts and bolts with ranch recipe for a long ass time.  I think I was probably 16 or so when I first tasted them!  Loved them then, love them now and so does everyone else that tries them.  Both Debbie and I make these often for a party and its a given for Christmas. We always have people ask us for the recipe.  Always! Debbie calls it her crack nuts and bolts recipe because you just cant ..read more

The layered salad idea isn’t a new one. Its a side dish that has been to every kind of potluck you can think of from funerals, baby showers and backyard barbecues. Many families have their own version of how they make this favorite and this is ours. ?  We always make this recipe with turkey dinner and often when we do a ham and scalloped potatoes dinner. We are sure it will become your favorite salad too. Trust us and give it a go! What You Need a glass bowl to make the salad in so you can see all the layers long serving tools (spoons or forks) a pot for making the hard boiled eggs Wha ..read more

Homemade roasted tomato soup that’s so quick and easy to make!  Curb that tomato soup craving with this silky smooth soup with intense roasted tomato flavor that could never come from a can.  Tomato soup is one of those classic soups that a person starts craving as soon as the leaves start changing and the days get colder. Debbie and I usually have a bunch of tomatoes left from in our gardens around this time so the clear answer for using them is to make tomato soup. Even if you don’t have garden fresh tomatoes, this homemade version is WAY better than anything you will get in a can ..read more

These delicious salmon cakes are bright, fresh and packed full of healthy nutrients and protein. Mixed with a green salad, this is truly an easy 15 min meal.  Gotta love that! These salmon cakes can be made small and served as an appetizer or medium sized and served as a first course. They are crispy and delicious on their own with just the sauce. This is how we usually eat them. Or… You could make them a little larger and eat them as a salmon burger! Served on a brioche bun with onions, a little crispy lettuce and a tomato, these are divine! Tools You Need You don’t need much to make the ..read more

This lasagna recipe is the “ultimate” because it tastes like my favorite Italian restaurants lasagna, and it’s easier and quicker to make than your other favorite lasagna recipe! Bold claim, I know! We’ve got a few secret hacks that can turn lasagna into a quick weeknight meal for your family that’s also delicious enough to serve to your most discerning lasagna loving friends and family. I have been making lasagna since I was 15 or so, cooking in my moms kitchen. It wasn’t nearly this good then, but my recipe has been steadily improving. It took a turn for the better when I went for lunch at ..read more

Make delicious homemade pasta, fresh in your own kitchen. Its easy, tastes amazing, and it will take your pasta game to a new level.  There’s not a lot that is more satisfying than homemade pasta. The store bought “fresh” pastas are ok, but nothing compares to homemade.  This is a basic pasta dough recipe that we have used many times for ravioli and fettuccine, but it would work well for any type of pasta you would like. Truth be told, there is a small learning curve to using the pasta making machines, but you will get the hang of it quick and be cranking out pasta in no time at ..read more

The best and easy to make ground beef and pork burger recipe! These homemade burgers are so juicy and meaty with the best homemade mayo that you have ever had on top!  Once you try these burgers, you will never buy store bought burger patties again. Gourmet burgers made at home = huge summer bbq win! Whats the best meat to use for burgers? The best meat to use in this beef and pork burger recipe is: For the Beef:  regular ground chuck. Don’t buy the lean ground, you want a decent amount of fat in the burgers.  Look for an 80/20 mix of meat and fat. You can also use ground sirloi ..read more