First Rule of Chopped Club

I sure hope the first rule of Chopped Club is not “Don’t talk about Chopped Club” because if it is, I’m about to be in serious trouble! What is Chopped Club?  It’s a very exclusive, very elite society of top chefs who must utilize mystery ingredients in their food preparations.  By exclusive and elite, I […]

First Rule of Chopped Club

Homemade Granola Bars Redux

I think I’m kind of obsessed with this granola bar thing.  There are so many different ways to make them – I just can’t help myself!  This time I went back to the old standby of peanut butter and chocolate chips, but I also used coconut oil and added coconut.  Try to contain your excitement. […]

Cedar Plank Grilled Salmon – 3 Ingredients!

I’ve talked before about how we try to eat fish on a regular basis.  This pretty much means tilapia and salmon.   Salmon has tons of omega-3 fatty acids, protein, and vitamin D; however, you want to stick with wild salmon rather than farmed whenever possible, because farmed salmon may contain high levels of dioxins and […]

Brownie Bites again – with Mint Icing!

Remember when I made the low fat brownie bites with strawberries for Valentine’s Day?  I’ve actually made that brownie recipe many times – with peanut butter, with chocolate chips, with nuts…  It’s my favorite go-to, easy, chocolate but not terrible for you sweet.  For St. Patrick’s Day, I made them with mint icing, obviously because […]

Peanut Butter Banana French Toast

I think Elvis would be proud.  This is the new breakfast of champions. I don’t even know what else to say about this recipe except that you have to try it.  It’s UH-MAZE-ING.  So delicious and decadent.  It’s perfect for a weekend brunch.  And it’s easy.  I’d bet you already have all of the ingredients on hand. […]

Homemade Granola Bars

You see lots of recipes out there for granola bars. Well, I do anyway. We eat a lot of granola bars around our house, so after seeing several simple recipes, I decided I would make some. The method is very simple, and you can basically flavor them up however you want. So I set off […]

Peanut Butter Banana Surprise

Welcome to the Cocina Monologues!  I’m really excited about starting this blog, but I have to admit I don’t exactly know what I’m doing on the technical side of things just yet, so bear with me.  I usually post my culinary adventures on Facebook, and I’ve had many people tell me they enjoy reading about […]

Peanut Butter Banana Surprise