400th Recipe Post

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What’s up everyone! Today’s post is going to be a little different – not only did I recently reach the mile marker of FOUR HUNDRED recipes written and posted on my site (this post technically being the 426th post), but today I was nominated for a Sunshine Blogger Award by one of my fellow blogger buddies!

The Sunshine Blogger award is given by bloggers to bloggers who inspire positivity and creativity in the blogging community. I am honored to accept this award from Victoria at One Sharp Mama and pass on the love to other bloggers I take inspiration from. To celebrate the acceptance of this award, here are some of my favorite recipes from the last hundred or so I’ve written this year. Be sure to check out the bloggers I’ve nominated for the Sunshine Blogger Award at the end of this post.

400th Post Recipe Highlights

Homemade Chicken Salad

Even I get ‘over cooked’ from time to time. That’s why I love making really simple, easy lunches and dinners from food I find in my cabinets and fridge door – with as few dirty dishes as possible. That’s how this chicken salad came to be – I dug out some old frozen chicken and within 20 minutes transformed it into something delicious to eat throughout the week.

Read the recipe.


Dragon Fruit Shrimp

It may sound like an unusual combination, but I promise, it was strangely delicious and left me craving more! I ate all the leftover dragon fruit for breakfast the next day, and actually enjoyed the leftover rice and shrimp cold! It made for a great refreshing lunch.

Read the recipe.


Game of Thrones Dragon Eggs

Fortunately for us peasants, no fire is required to harness the power of these dragon eggs – they’re made mostly from peanut butter, cocoa and oats. I’d like to think my dragon eggs would have reunited the seven kingdoms under the power of deliciousness.

Read the recipe.


Cannoli Dip

The cannoli shells cut at an angle are the perfect vessels for transporting the sweet ricotta cheese filling to your mouth – as much or as little as you want. The shells are pretty tasty on their own as well. The dip can be used for anything from cannoli shells to fruit, graham crackers, waffle cones, cookies and more!

Read the recipe.


Chicken Parmesan STUFFED Meatballs

The best part about traditional chicken parmesan is that, if done correctly, you can make the entire thing in one pan. My chicken parm meatballs only required an extra bowl for mixing the ground chicken up with herbs and spices, but only one pan was required to cook everything up!

Read the recipe.


Victoria from One Sharp Mama had some questions about me – The Starving Chef!

  1. If you could describe yourself in three words, what would they be?
    • Creative, Passionate, HUNGRY!
  2. Who is your blog and what do you write about?
    • My blog started as a way to save money in college and continued into my post-grad life as a fun excuse to learn skills in not only cooking, but photography and videography, two big passions of mine.
  3. What is your passion in life?
    • To cook, to teach others to cook, and provide delicious food to those who don’t know how to cook!
  4. If you could be anything, have any profession, what would that be?
    • Surprisingly, I wouldn’t want to be a chef! I love cooking at home and I love my day job in web development – but little known fact: when I started college, my major was in environmental and freshwater marine biology! I’d love to hunt for bugs and critters in creek beds to determine stream health and biodiversity in freshwater environments.
  5. What is your favorite book?
    • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban will always have a soft spot in my heart – but basically EVERY Harry Potter book is my favorite.
  6. What is your favorite thing to do in your down time?
    • Cuddle with my boyfriend and puppies, maybe watch some guilty pleasure reality TV like Big Brother, and have some take out from our favorite Chinese restaurant.
  7. What’s your favorite television show?
    • I’m invested in so many shows at the moment – one day I might say Game of Thrones, the next day I might say Avatar: The Last Airbender or the Legend of Korra. I’ve rewatched all of them too many times to count.
  8. If you won the lottery, what would you do with the money?
    • Pay off all my student debt and buy a house with my dream kitchen!
  9. What’s your favorite social media platform?
    • I’ve learned to love Facebook but I spend way more time watching videos on Youtube! I’m just getting the hang of Pinterest too – I recently passed a milestone of 101k monthly viewers!
  10. If you could meet any celebrity, would would it be and why?
    • I’d love to meet Gordon Ramsay or Alton Brown – basically any celebrity chef is welcome to cook in my kitchen any time!
  11. Is the glass half empty or half full?
    • Depends on what’s in the glass! I’d say the glass is half empty BUT if I’ve enjoyed what is in the glass, it’s worth it!

Thanks again to Victoria at One Sharp Mama for the nom – now it’s my turn to nominate the bloggers who’ve helped support me in my blogging journey and that I’d love to learn more about:

  1. Jordan at Read. Eat. Repeat.
  2. Amanda at My Gluten Free Miami
  3. Krissie at Bites of Flavor
  4. Rebecca at Happily the Hicks
  5. Vicki at Babies to Bookworms
  6. Amanda at Mummy Confessions
  7. Corey at Nostalgia Diaries
  8. Giustina at Domestically Blissful
  9. Julie at Julie Hoag Writer
  10. Amber at Leggings ‘n’ Lattes
  11. Amber at Simply Made Recipes

I wish I could nominate everyone who’s helped support my blog – through these kind people I’ve seen my blog quadruple in social engagement. Now that these bloggers have officially been nominated – here is what they need to do to accept the Sunshine Blogger Award:

  • Thank the blogger who nominated them and link back to their blog in a post form.
  • Answer the 11 questions asked by the blogger who nominated them,
  • Nominate 11 other blogs and give them 11 new questions to answer.
  • Notify your nominees and display the Sunshine Blogger Award logo in your post.

Here are my questions for you:

  1. What inspired YOU to start your blogging journey?
  2. What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue?
  3. What’s your “claim to fame”?
  4. What’s the most frequent question people ask you about your blog?
  5. Why did you decide to do the work you do now?
  6. Who inspires you to be better?
  7. What is one of your favorite smells?
  8. What’s the title of the current chapter of your life?
  9. What bends your mind every time you think about it?
  10. What would be your spirit animal?
  11. How does your blog influence your daily routine?

Thanks again to Victoria – and HAPPY BLOGGING ALL!