It is no secret my crew and I love Asian inspired meals. I seriously watch Mark Weins of Migrationology every single day.  He is this amazing blogger and food traveler that I am subscribed to and dude makes me so hungry with every single video. He does primarily focus on Asian countries but he has been featuring videos of his trip to Mexico and that is another place that has some serious amazing good food.



Anywoo, I am now contributing as recipe developer for Town and Gown magazine here in my town. When the editor said healthy and good, I knew I wanted to do Asian inspired. The use of fresh greens, herbs and veggies is so inspiring and so healthy. Pair it with a little flair with the sauces and oh muh gawd, yes.

My children loved each one of these recipes but they took most to the spring/summer rolls so much that I had to make them everyday for that entire week. I didn't complain though, heck, they were eating clean, right.



Check out these recipes coming to the Town and Gown website soon, but for now, if you are local to Starkville, Mississippi or the surrounding areas, you can pick up the magazine locally and try these out!

 I love fried green tomatoes. Seriously...love them. They are just little tart slices of fried goodness that makes my soul feel good. What can make fried green tomatoes better? The sharpness of pimento cheese and the slightly sweet  Kyvan sweet potato bbq sauce that marries with shredded chicken. Oh, my word yes.



These sliders are perfect for your Super Bowl party. Seriously two biters, they will be gone in a heart beat and while these are perfect sliders for parties, they would make an epic full size dinner option.  I made a simple apple coleslaw to go with it. The flavor profile on these bad boys are through the roof!



BBQ Chicken Sliders with Pimento Cheese, Fried Green Tomato and Apple Slaw

Boneless skinless chicken breast
Kyvan Dry BBQ Rub
2-4 pats of butter
Kyvan Sweet Potato BBQ Sauce

Slider buns


Apple Slaw
1 cup shredded cabbage
1/2 cup of thinly sliced Granny Smith apples
2-3 tbsp mayo
1/2 tsp of sugar
1/2-1 tbsp of vinegar

Fried Green Tomatoes
Green Tomatoes, sliced
Kyvan BBQ Dry rub
1 Cup Corn Meal
3 tablespoons flour
Vegetable oil 


Pimento Cheese Recipe found here.


Sprinkle both sides of chicken breasts with bbq dry rub and place in skillet on meduim heat with butter. Cook until chicken is completely done. Remove from heat and shred the chicken.  Drizzle  the Kyvan Sweet Potato BBQ Sauce over the shredded chicken.

In bowl, place your shredded cabbage, apples, mayo, sugar and vinegar and mix well.  The mixture should not be runny. If runny, add in more shredded cabbage.




Pour 2 cups of vegetable oil into your skillet on meduim high heat. Allow it to get hot.  In bowl, mix corn meal, flour and dry rub together.  Rinse your sliced tomatoes and then coat in your dry mixture. Place in the hot oil and fry on both sides until golden.



Remove from grease and allow tomatoes to drain on a paper towel.

Line your bottom slider buns on baking sheet. Top with bbq shredded chicken and then your pimento cheese. Place in oven at 450 degrees for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and top the sliders with fried green tomato and apple slaw. Top with bun and serve warm.

Gorgeous butcher block courtesy of Woods Rooted.

I am a sucker for a philly cheesesteak.


Being a mama and a lady who likes to throw parties, I am always looking for things to make that can act as snacks or appetizers. My cousin told me a couple years ago that one of her favorite appetizers were empanadas. I had never had one but immediately upon consulting google, I feel in love.

Of course, I will try and make more traditional versions but I had a hankering for some cheesesteak. I had flour, I had meat...I had time. So cheesesteak empanadas it was.

This is super easy and tasty...and perfect for parties.  And the sauce....not your typical cheese whiz....a little heavy whipping cream and smoked gouda with some cheddar makes it delicious.


I used this dough recipe from Laylita.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 6 oz unsalted butter (1 ½ sticks), chilled and cut into 12 pieces
• 1 egg
• 4-5 tbs water

Making homemade empanada dough:
1. Mix the flour and salt in a food processor.
2. Add the butter, egg and water until a clumpy dough forms.
3. To make the empanada dough by hand, follow the same instruction but use your hands to mix the ingredients together. To make it easier to incorporate the butter you can freeze it and then grate it into the flour mix.
4. Form a ball, flatten slightly, and chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes.
5. Roll out the dough into a thin sheet and cut out round disc shapes for empanadas (use round molds or a small plate).
6. Use immediately, or store in the refrigerator/freezer to use later.
Assembling and baking the empanadas:
7. To assemble the empanadas or turnovers, place a spoonful of the filling on the middle of each empanada disc. The amount of filling will vary based on the size of the empanada, but in general, it’s easier to seal an empanada that isn’t overstuffed. Also, the more you make empanadas, the easier it becomes to stuff them to the max and still seal them properly.
8. To seal the empanadas, fold the disc and seal the edges by pressing the dough with your fingers. If you’re having a hard time sealing the edges, you can use brush the inside edges with egg white, it will act as a glue for the empanadas. You can also use a fork to help seal the edges, just press the top of the fork against the edges. To the repulgue or churito, the curl type seal, use your fingers to twist the curl the edges. There are also empanada molds that you can buy and will help seal the empanadas.
9. For best results, I recommend refrigerating for at least 30 minutes the empanadas before baking – this also helps them seal better and prevents the filling from leaking out.
10. If you want your empanadas to have a nice golden finish, then you can brush them with egg wash (a whole egg whisked or egg yolk plus a few drops of water whisked).
11. Bake the empanadas in a pre-heated oven. I usually bake them at 375F-400F, the temperature will vary based on the oven and the size of the empanadas. I bake the smaller sized empanadas at 375F. The baking time also varies (again based on the oven and size), but it’s in the range of 18-25 minutes – the empanadas will be ready once they are golden.

All across America, Super Bowl Sunday means, family, friends, football, bets, belly busting funny commercials and of course, good food. Chicken wings, hot dogs, pizza, burgers, dips and tons of sweets. I love this time of year, coming up with different recipes and ideas that my guests usually don't get to try. Here are some really awesome recipes that will make your guests' tastebuds tingle.

What's on your menu?