Tag Archives: food

Mar3

Dinner At Misnyland

Posted on March 3, 2024 by lifewithlilred

Hello!! One of the coolest things that lifewithlilred has ever done for me is thanks to this OOTD rocking some MisnyMerch. That outfit helped me win a contest to attend a party at Misnyland to meet Ohio’s most famous personal injury lawyer, Tim Misny. At said party, I was able to conduct an interview with Tim, we hit it off, and the rest is history. Since then, we have created tons of content together with me as a MisnyMerch spokesmodel and it has been a dream!

While the work is neat, the best part has been making a new friend. Johnny, Tim, and I get along like three peas in a pod and it is a blast to hang out altogether. This past week, Tim treated Johnny and I to dinner at his place to show off his culinary skills and everything was divine:

Something Tim and I really bonded over was our shared love of cooking and serving meals for our family and friends. Next time we do dinner, I call dibs on helping Tim in the kitchen, but he prepared everything himself this time and I felt so spoiled. I can’t remember the last time I sat down while someone else cooked! For our meal, Tim made guacamole, breaded eggplant, tomato bisque, and baked perch for him and Johnny. I was very touched that Tim took the time to consult with me on his menu first to make sure he accommodated my vegetarianism. Everything was SO tasty and I was most impressed by the speed that Tim cooked with. This meal was ready within a half hour and that really blew my mind. Cooking is my me time so I like to draw it out lol.

Johnny and I often get asked what Tim is like in real life and I always say he’s just a guy! Then, I proceed to say that he is simply hilarious, smart as all get out, and a genuinely good person. Johnny and I rarely have the opportunity to make new friends and we enjoy our “Tim Time” so very much. When I began this post, note that I said “one” of the coolest things lifewithlilred has done for me. The top coolest thing my blog has given me is the gift of friendship with countless amazing people and, in this case, I got that too! ❤

I am so thankful to my blog and I always have a moment of “yes!” whenever I interact with anyone that it has put in my path. More Tim Misny X Lil Red collaborations are coming soon so keep your eyes peeled!

Do you like to cook? What is one of your favorite dishes to make? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb21

Fried String Cheese Bites

Posted on February 21, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! I don’t know about all of you, but I am feeling so refreshed! I had a very restful three day weekend and sleeping in until nine in the morning every day was just what the doctor ordered. Normally on Sundays, Johnny and I tend to binge watch the day away to gather our strength for the week ahead. Don’t get me wrong, we still binge watched the day away lol, but I did manage to cook a little snack that I have been dying to try! The Fried String Cheese Bites I made thanks to Dancing Through The Rain’s recipe turned out as good as I was hoping they’d be:

I was scrolling through Facebook when I saw this recipe and I was instantly intrigued. What can I say, it had me at “fried cheese”! Of course, this snack was also very appealing because it looked so darn easy to make and I had all of the ingredients minus the string cheese readily available. In fact, it used all of the same things that I needed to make fried mozzarella sandwiches a few weeks ago. This is always a high selling point to me because I can try something new with the supplies I already have!

Prepping the fried cheese bites was really easy. I set up a station to coat them in with three bowls. One for flour, a wash of milk and egg, and Italian bread crumbs. All that was left to do was coat the cut up string cheese in the flour, the wash, the crumbs, and fry them up. This was a bit of a time consuming process because I made thirty bites in total and was SO ready to be done afterwards lol. On the bright side, the bites took minimal time to fry (Thirty seconds, tops.) and they were fabulous. The bites tasted just like mini mozzarella sticks and I definitely plan on making them again.

One thing I plan on doing differently next time I make Fried String Cheese Bites is adding some more cayenne pepper, as per the recipe’s recommendation. What I put in was not enough and I think these would be even better with a bit of kick to them!

What is your favorite thing to snack on? Have you tried any new recipes recently? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb6

Cooking Extravaganza

Posted on February 6, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! To me, there is nothing better than grocery shopping. I love that first week of groceries feeling when you have all of the ingredients you need to make delicious meals. Despite a crazy busy schedule, I try to cook dinner as often as I can. Cooking is something I take a lot of joy in and it makes me feel good to make something that other people are going to enjoy. Whenever I make anything, I like to bring a serving to my beloved downstairs neighbor and parents too and I live for when the food is praised! I am seriously one of those people that ask “Do you like it?” ten times during a meal lol. What can I say, I thrive on positive reinforcement!

This past week, I truly outdid myself with fried mozzarella sandwiches, jalapeno popper quesadillas, and baked cacio e pepe. Everything turned out amazing and we had leftovers for days! Check it out:

When I go grocery shopping, I like to get the ingredients to try at least one new recipe. Other than that, Johnny and I have a lot of tried and true meals and will both be happy whenever I make them. This is my second time making the baked cacio e pepe and it turned out even better than my first attempt. I thought the sauce turned out much creamier, it wasn’t as overpoweringly peppery, and the gnocchi was cooked to perfection. I was thrilled about this because I hosted a friend for dinner when I made it and I never want to serve anything that is less than awesome.

Last weekend, Johnny and I had some friends over for a viewing of the Royal Rumble. Jalapeno popper quesadillas were the way to go to feed our guests and they are always a huge hit. Although the prep work is a bit tedious, it’s such an easy meal to make and turns out fabulous every time. Literally all you have to do is cut the jalapenos and broil them. Then you assemble the quesadillas with cream cheese, shredded cheese, crushed up tortilla chips or Nacho Cheese Doritos, and the jalapenos. All that’s left is to fry them up!

While I love cooking for just me and Johnny, it was a huge treat to be able to share meals with our friends too. And also a huge treat to have tons of leftovers! 😀

What are some of your favorite meals to make? What is something that you take pride in? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Feb2

Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches

Posted on February 2, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! This past week, I have been able to cook a lot and it has been awesome. Don’t get me wrong, I love a frozen pizza as much as the next person, but there is something about a home cooked meal for dinner that hits SO much harder. It is always exciting to go grocery shopping with Johnny because I like to find one new recipe to try out each time along with our tried and true favorites. I usually find inspiration on Pinterest and Facebook and while scrolling through The Book, I found a recipe for Fried Mozzarella Sandwiches by The Petitecook. This was something I knew that both Johnny and I would enjoy and I was dead on. They were the bomb.com! Check it out:

When I am looking for meals to cook throughout the work week, I want something with minimal ingredients and prep time. This recipe had that in spades and required only eight ingredients (Most of which I already had) and took about twenty minutes to make. You just can’t beat that! The process was simple and the end result was delicious. All that needed done was to coat the sandwiches in flour, dip them into a wash of egg and milk, coat in breadcrumbs, and fry up in oil. Easy peasy lemon squeezie!

These sandwiches tasted exactly like a gigantic mozzarella stick and Johnny and I were SO there for it. They were ooey gooey from the huge slices of buffalo mozzarella and crisped to perfection on the outside. This was an incredibly filling meal too – I couldn’t even finish mine!! As soon as we were done eating, Johnny declared that he wanted me to make them again, making it a great success. While Johnny opted to have his plain, I made mine with pesto and sun dried tomatoes. Next time I make them, I plan on doing fresh tomato slices, basil, and a balsamic glaze for me. I can’t wait to try it. 😀

The Fried Mozzarella Sandwich (compliments of The Petitecook) was a true game changer in my dinner roster. It is a tasty take on a classic grilled cheese and I highly recommend it!

Have you tried any new recipes recently? How did it turn out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Jan30

The Joys Of Eating And Cooking In Your Backyard

Posted on January 30, 2024 by lifewithlilred

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The Joys Of Eating And Cooking In Your Backyard

One of the best ways to enjoy food these days is to take a seat outside and put something nice on the grill. The smell of grilled food, the warm sunshine hitting your skin, and the relaxing conversations of your friends and family members in the background – these are the types of things you can expect when you start eating and cooking more in your backyard. All that and so much more:

Encourage socializing in your family:

If you want to create a family-friendly backyard that also makes your friends and neighbors feel welcome, then consider cooking and eating outdoors. You don’t need to be in a separate room cooking food while your guests are interacting with each other. Instead, you can cook food in the open and have conversations with people. You won’t feel glued to the burner, watching things closely to ensure they don’t cook. In short, cooking in an open area such as a backyard is often a great way to encourage more socialization because we’re not stuck in the kitchen with our back to our guests and family members all the time.

Fresh air is always a plus:

Enjoying some fresh air is always nice, especially if the climate allows for it. Far too many of us are cooped up inside, working from home, and cooking indoors. Opening the windows and doors doesn’t cut it either – it doesn’t replicate the joy of cooking outside and breathing in the fresh air as we enjoy a delicious home-cooked meal.

Even putting together a backyard bar just to enjoy a refreshing drink outside can be a great idea. People often underestimate just how relaxing and soothing it can be to enjoy some good food outdoors surrounded by nature. It’s something we urge you to try at least once to see what it’s like!

More cooking options:

Most people who try grilling food indoors will quickly realize that the flames rarely get hot enough, and it generates a lot of smoke that fills the kitchen and makes things harder for you. Grilling outside on a more powerful cooking device means you can get to higher temperatures, and you don’t have to worry about the area getting filled with smoke or heat from your cooking.

And that’s not to say you can’t use your kitchen either. You can bake goods or prepare food in your kitchen that is ready to be cooked outside. Combine cooking and preparation methods to open up more cooking options that you can try.

Eating and cooking outside might be different at first, but it’s well worth the try. It can transform your cooking, give your family a new place to socialize, and you’ll be encouraged to invite friends and neighbors over too!

Featured Image By: Unsplash (CC0)

Dec27

Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta

Posted on December 27, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! I always enjoy trying out new recipes and had a few random odds and ends of ingredients that I didn’t end up using for other meals. This included some lemons and a container of ricotta cheese. I originally planned on using the ricotta for baked ziti, but decided that I wanted to try something different. I knew that I could turn lemons into lemonade with these randos in my fridge and found a recipe by Savoring Italy for Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta on Pinterest. Both Johnny and I really enjoyed it and it is definitely one that I will make again! Check it out:

I am a huge fan of lemon pasta dishes. Well, let’s be real – any pasta dish lol. What I like about lemon pasta specifically is how light it is. The zingy flavor reminds me of summertime and after lots of snow in Ohio, it is just what I needed! I thought the last lemon pasta recipe I made was good, but the one by Savoring Italy was infinitely better. The ricotta cheese made it so rich and savory and every bite was a little slice of heaven. My only qualm with the recipe was that it tasted much better the second day. While it was very good freshly made, I always prefer something that I am making to taste its best immediately.

The recipe for this pasta was insanely easy and other than cooking the angel hair pasta that I opted for, the prep time took less than five minutes. All I needed to do was zest and juice the lemons, brown some butter in a pan, and mix it all together with the noodles and cheese. This is probably the fastest recipe I have ever made, which was excellent on a work night. It also used under ten ingredients and I didn’t have to buy anything different to make this recipe in its entirety. There is nothing better than that!

I am eager to make the Creamy Lemon Ricotta Pasta by Savoring Italy again. Now that I have made it once by staying true to the recipe, I plan on doctoring it up with some garlic, spinach, and pine nuts to give it a bit more variety. This meal was a huge success because Johnny was SO sure he wasn’t going to like it and ended up having seconds!

Have you tried any new recipes recently? How did it turn out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec17

Chipotle Taste Alike Recipes

Posted on December 17, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!! Taco Bell will always be my A1 ride or die fast food establishment. However, I also have a very soft spot in my heart for Chipotle too. I like to think that my homemade guacamole is very similar to their recipe and I found an awesome cilantro lime rice taste alike recipe on Pinterest that I love to make. I decided to try making the additional fixings for a Chipotle burrito bowl from home this past week and it turned out pretty good! Thanks to Pinterest, I found tons of recipes for black beans, fajita veggies, and steak for Johnny that all claimed to be just like Chipotle’s. Take a look at some pics and let’s discuss further:

Recipes Used:

Cilantro Lime Rice: Downshiftology

Black Beans: Dinner Then Dessert

Fajita Veggies: Downshiftology

Steak: Culinary Hill

To make my at home Chipotle burrito bowls, I cooked five different recipes that took about two and a half hours to make in total. None of these recipes were difficult to make and the most time consuming thing was chopping all of the different veggies. To start, I prepared my own personal recipe for guacamole which wouldn’t have taken long at all, but the avocados were really hard. To rectify this, I cut each avocado in half, wrapped them in paper towel, and microwaved them to soften them up. It worked like a charm even though it was a slow going process and I was able to cross it off of my “to cook” list.

Next, I started prepping the fajita veggies and black beans. Overall, I was happy with the fajita veggies but they were missing that extra something. The only seasoning this recipe called for was oregano and salt and pepper to taste. When I make it again, I plan on adding a bit of spice to give the veggies some more kick. The black beans was my biggest bugaboo from this cooking session and is the one recipe I wouldn’t make again. This recipe turned out really saucy and I didn’t care for the amount of onions it called for. I almost think I would be better off cooking the beans in vegetable broth along with the seasoning so I will be winging it the next time I have a taste for Chipotle taste alikes.

The final steps in my cookathon was making the rice and steak. As always, the cilantro lime rice turned out delicious and was easily the best copycat recipe out of all of them. It definitely helped invoke all of the Chipotle vibes and I really think it tastes exactly like theirs. This was my first time ever cooking steak and I can’t say if it was a true Chipotle taste alike or not as a vegetarian, but Johnny loved it and that’s good enough for me! The only thing that I would do differently about the steak is marinate it longer. I let mine sit for over an hour and we both felt that it could benefit from some more time. I definitely breathed a sigh of relief when Johnny gave me his stamp of approval, though, because I had no idea how it would turn out!

The finishing touches on my burrito bowl was adding lettuce, cheese, sour cream, and salsa on top. Even though I wasn’t wowed by the black beans, I was pleased with everything else and it was fun to try and make recipes from one of my favorite eateries from scratch!

What is your favorite copycat recipe? What is your favorite fast food spot? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec9

Linguine With Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Posted on December 9, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Linguine With Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce

Howdy!! Johnny and I finally went grocery shopping this past week and I could not wait to try out some new recipes. I am planning on doing a Chipotle taste alike meal this weekend and I am most excited for that! During the week days, however, I am always looking for recipes that are easy to make with a limited amount of ingredients. My original plan for a meal this past week was to make sun dried tomato, spinach, and ricotta stuffed shells. Unfortunately, jumbo shells weren’t available at the grocery store, but I bought the ingredients anyways thinking the filling would still be good over linguine.

Later that evening, however, I began to pivot as I was fearful that the filling wouldn’t have enough sauce to coat the noodles with. I decided to start searching for a sun dried tomato sauce that would use some of the ingredients that I already had. After lots of scrolling through Pinterest, I found a recipe for a Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce by Midwest Foodie that I thought would work. The end result was, sadly, one that I was not pleased with. Let’s discuss:

The Sun Dried Tomato Cream Sauce recipe was an incredibly easy one to make. All I needed to do was blend the tomatoes, oil from the jar, and garlic in a food processor. After everything was blended to a pesto like texture, I put it in a pan with more oil from the tomato jar and let it cook for about a minute. Herbs and vegetable stock came next and once that mixture had a chance to simmer, all that was left was to add the cheese and heavy cream. I followed the instructions to the letter and the only things I changed was using dried parsley instead of fresh and grated Parmesan instead of shredded.

This meal took me about thirty minutes to make and I was really excited to try it. I wanted to like it so badly and Johnny and I both agreed that it was good, but not great. The flavors in this sauce were fairly subtle and they didn’t pack as much of a punch as I would have liked. Granted, this might be due to the fact that I didn’t have fresh parsley or shaved Parmesan. This wasn’t a huge deal and could be fixed with some additional seasoning. The biggest issue was the sauce’s consistency. It was very, very thin and runny. Was it because I didn’t use the shaved Parm? Who’s to say? But, I don’t think it would have made that big of a difference.

I expect this sauce to thicken in the fridge and I’ll add more seasoning to it as I heat it up on the stove top for leftovers. I think that will help a lot, but I do not plan on making this Midwest Foodie recipe again. It’s always disappointing when a new recipe doesn’t go accordingly to plan, but it was fun to cook something brand new!

Have you tried any new recipes recently? How did they turn out? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Dec6

The Green Dragon Inn Board Game Bar

Posted on December 6, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello everyone!! This past weekend I checked out a new board game bar in Akron called The Green Dragon Inn with Johnny, my brother, and our friend Ty. I have been itching to go since I saw posts on Facebook about it because it looked so awesome – exactly like a Medieval tavern and it did not disappoint. The space itself was beautiful, our waitress was most helpful and delightful, and the game we played per her suggestion was a hoot. A wonderful time was had by all and we cannot wait to go back! Take a look at some pics and let’s get to it:

The Green Dragon Inn sits on top of the second floor of a game store called Full Grip that is run by the same people. It is such a fantastic concept because you can go shopping for new games and play them at The Inn when you are done or test it out if they have the game available in their collection. After we browsed at Full Grip for a while, we made our way to The Green Dragon and were simply blown away. It was like walking into a movie set or something! The furnishing and decor instantly transported us to times of old and I was so impressed that this amazing space was in Akron. It felt like somewhere we would go if we were on a vacation!

Before we settled in our booth, our waitress gave us a tour of The Inn. There is a huge book shelf behind the bar filled with games and a moving ladder like in Beauty and The Beast. However, that is by no means their only selection. They have over eight hundred games to pick from and you can look through their website to narrow it down based on number of players, difficulty, and type of game. We all loved the “dungeon room” with the huge chandelier but the “secret room” was the best of all. This room is expertly hidden behind a bookshelf and it was just so neat to see something like that in real life. If I had all of the money in the world, a room like that would be my first order of business in a new house. 😀

After we were done exploring The Inn, we opted for recommendations for games from our waitress. We weren’t aware of the website we could have looked at beforehand to pick games out and didn’t want to spend time scrolling through it. Our waitress knocked it out of the park with the handful of games she returned with and gave us demonstrations of each game too. We decided to play Concept thanks to her guidance and oddly enough, Johnny and I have that game at home and have never played it! Granted, we never had enough people for it and also I think we both forgot about it lol. Concept was like Pictionary in board game form and it was perfect for our group. The rules were easy to understand and it was a game we would happily play again. In fact, we plan on bringing it to play on Christmas with our families!

As soon as we entered The Green Dragon Inn, we all knew that this was a place we would be returning back to. It’s safe to say that we have never seen anything like it before and we had the best time gaming and enjoying the atmosphere that has been so beautifully created!

Do you have a similar place to The Green Dragon Inn in your neck of the woods? What is your favorite game to play? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

Nov19

veg+ Review

Posted on November 19, 2023 by lifewithlilred

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Hello!!! My Misnyland weekend was a very eventful one. After hanging out with Tim, Johnny and I visited his parents, then we met up with my sister and her family for dinner. The following day, my mom, Kristen, my nieces, and aunt and uncle hit up a new vegetarian restaurant in my neck of the woods for lunch. The restaurant is called veg+ and it has been open for a few months or so. It’s actually pretty crazy because I just so happen to drive by it almost every day for work and I never noticed it lol. In my defense, the outdoor signage is lacking and I’m more focused on driving than checking out the scenery! Our experience was alright so let’s chat some more:

From the outside, veg+ leaves a lot to be desired but it was quaint and cute in the restaurant itself. We were graciously seated all by our lonesome at a big table in the backroom and that couldn’t have been better. It gave Val and Raya ample room to roam and play while the big people talked and we didn’t have to constantly remind them of their inside voice! Although it was great to have an entire room to ourselves, we were pretty sure that we had been forgotten because it took forever for our order to be placed. Our uncle had to track the waitress down after a solid twenty plus minutes, but she was very sweet as was the other staff.

The menu at veg+ was fairly limited and we all ordered the same thing – either a veggie burger or a hummus wrap. Val got the pretzels and cheese and Raya had some beans and rice. They were also able to make me a mimosa and that was very tasty! When our food arrived we were famished and had to laugh over the ginormous size of the veggie burgers. It would have been impossible to eat them normally so we cut them in half – some being more successful than others lol mine was a hot mess.

The general consensus we all came to was that the food was good. It didn’t blow us away, but it was a nice meal altogether. I liked the sweet potato fries with the aioli sauce the best. The fries were crisp on the outside and perfectly tender on the inside and the dipping sauce was delish. Val’s pretzels were actually the favorite among the table, but the vegan cheese it came with was a very strange texture and we opted for the mustard to dip instead. The veggie burger was just alright. The buns were obviously a bit of an issue and they were a tinge hard. The burger patty itself was also rather dry and there didn’t seem to be any sauce on it. I expected the veggie burger to knock our socks off but, unfortunately, it left everyone less than impressed.

Despite the food not being our favorite, it was so great to be able to get together for lunch at veg+. I wouldn’t be opposed to visiting it again if someone suggested it, but it wouldn’t be my first choice!

What is your favorite type of restaurant to go to? What is your favorite vegetarian dish? I want to hear from all of you, so leave me a comment and let’s chat! Much love. -Sarah

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