Nine years ago Melody made a commitment to become a fantastic chef in less than forty years– that’s about how long she thought it would take! During the first few months of her quest to culinary greatness she tried out this recipe for Parmesan Crusted Chicken from Donna Hay’s “New Food Fast.” Much to her surprise she produced a delicious, juicy, full-flavored dish! Melody suggests serving this dish with corn on the cob, grilled vegetables, green beans, or asparagus. Fresh veggies are always a great accompaniment to a light chicken dish.

Serving up dinners like this, I would say that Melody is already well on her way to becoming a fantastic chef! Chicken Parmesan has always been an Italian favorite, and Melody’s twist on this classic dish is light and fresh. Check out Melody’s blog, Audrey Needs More Wooden Spoons, for more food ideas, recipes, menu du jour and occasional insight!

Though Sean from Hedonia blogs about preparing a Spring-time soup inspired by KCRW’s Good Food podcast, it’s more than okay to prepare this savory veggie-laden soup on a day like today, the first day of Fall! Why? Even if you don’t have fresh peas on hand, they’re available year around in the freezer section.

Another plus about this soup? Not only will it keep you warmer than a cozy Fall sweater, but it can easily be turned into a refreshing lunch if warm summer-like weather is still lingering. Though I prefer my soups served up hot, it’s not uncommon to have a bowl of chilled pea soup.

However you decide to serve it, Sean’s adapted English Pea Soup recipe will be just what you need to finish off the day. Whether you eat it with a sandwich or dress it up with your favorite crackers, you’ll be getting a flavorful bowl of veggies. Uncomplicated but just as tasty as one of grandma’s comforting recipes, the English Pea Soup Sean shares with us calls for only 3 other ingredients in addition to the peas. It’s time to welcome Autumn and all of its natural beauty; celebrate with a bowl of Sam’s Pea Soup!

If you just so happen to come across a recipe entitled Maryanne’s Bread and Butter Pickles, chances are it probably came from Dave’s blog, Dave’s Cupboard. This is a recipe that’s become somewhat famous because it’s for a perfectly preserved snack that we usually find ourselves craving. Whether it’s in a sandwich or served on the side with a burger, Dave’s wife’s pickle recipe is one that you will use time and time again.

Completely from-scratch recipes like these may seem intimidating, but the recipe Dave shares comes with simple step-by-step instructions. They’re easy to follow and the ingredients are just as easy to get ahold of. Maryanne’s Bread and Butter Pickles will impress both your taste buds and friends :). Can’t you feel your mouth watering at the thought of this vinegary treat already?

Not only will these pickles taste great, but they’ll add color to your plate and table. Nicely presented in a jam jar, Dave and his wife have even given the pickles away to friends during the holidays.

Kids are finicky and picky eaters, but when it comes to dessert they’ll eat anything sweet, especially Chris’s “kid-tastic” cone cupcakes! When called upon to bring a treat for her son’s kindergarten class Chris decided to make cupcakes. She didn’t want to make boring, old, traditional cupcakes, so she chose to bake this treat into an ice cream cone! Cupcakes have always been fun, but Chris has taken the fun up to a whole new level… the “kid-tastic” level.

Chris found that trying to bake them without falling over would be a bit tricky, so she carefully placed the filled cones in a glass baking dish and had no problems. Applealing to kids’ split personalities and inidecisive nature she frosted the cupcakes with half chocolate, half vanilla and topped them all off with sprinkles and a gummy worm! Needless to say, these cupcakes were a hit with the kids!

Check out Chris’s blog, Taste!, for more fun and creative recipe ideas!

Sam from Antics of a Cycling Cook knows how to satisfy a big appetite with his big heart. His Gordon Ramsay-inspired recipe for Sticky Lemon Chicken will leave you licking your fingers. The recipe calls for honey and soy sauce; when paired with lemon juice and a few other ingredients, the resulting sauce is savory, sweet, and delicious to the last drop. It coats the chicken nicely unlike runnier sauces that lack flavor.

Sam also notes that he uses free range chicken to put this recipe together. He submitted the Sticky Lemon Chicken recipe to a blogging event that supports what he believes in, the humane treatment of animals. Sam’s post is an inspirational one and represents how food blogging can have a positive effect on readers. Not only does it inspire creativity, but it can also be used to shed light on significant issues. Sam did a wonderful job with this recipe!

It’s almost time for dinner and I know just what I’m going to make tonight! How about you?! Why don’t we try out this ‘Winner Winner Chicken Dinner?’, as Guy Fieri would say :).

Aleyna’s blog Gluten Free South Africa offers its readers a variety of gluten-free recipes that will fool the tongue. You’d never guess that all-purpose flour isn’t the main ingredient in her recipes.

The Chocolate Orange Almond cake she features on her blog is a recipe originally created by chef Martin Dwyer. Rich and chocolatey, this cake uses almond flour as its base. Almond flour makes cake moist and adds somewhat of a buttery flavor. Which brings me to another unique quality about this cake, the recipe doesn’t call for butter or oil! Only a chocolate orange cake as moist as this one can get away with that :).

2 large oranges, baking powder, dark chocolate, and sugar are the rest of ingredients in the Chocolate Orange Almond Cake. The juice of the oranges isn’t extracted the old fashion way. The oranges are quickly cooked in the microwave then ’skinned and juiced’ into a food processor, where they are pureed. Be sure to read the recipe card below to find out other ways this chocolate lover’s dream cake stands out from the rest!

Dell’s Little Lemon and Poppy Seed Cakes are worth treasuring. These little dessert cakes will easily fit in the palm of your hand, but probably won’t be safe there for long. It’s well-accepted that lemon and poppy seeds are meant to go together, it’s a match made in dessert heaven. You’ll certainly agree after trying out Dell’s dessert cakes that have a true and fresh almond flavor we all crave at one point or another.

Her recipe is a classic one, but it’s a bit different from your average lemon and poppy seed muffin or cupcake. The recipe calls for self-rising flour. You also won’t find any butter in these recipe, just 1/3 cup of vegetable oil. The instructions she’s provided are easy to follow, which is a good thing, because when the craving hits, you really don’t want to waste your time rushing to the grocery store to pick up hard-to-find ingredients. Do make sure you take the time to check out Dell’s blog Cooking and the City, though. You won’t be disappointed :).

All you’ll need to prepare Dell’s Little Lemon and Poppy Seed Cakes is an egg, a cup of milk, flour, sugar, one good sized lemon, oil…and don’t forget the poppy seeds! That’s it. And all you’ll be left with soon after you’ve finished baking the cakes is a pile of crumbs, if that. I wouldn’t be surprised if those disappear too :)! Especially after they’ve been glazed and sprinkled with lemon rind, the way Dell’s prepared her lemon cakes.

Christmas is just around the corner! Well…not quite, it isn’t even Halloween yet, but you better believe I’ll be listening to Christmas music while handing out candy to kiddos dressed in their fun costumes next month. Hopefully, my tendency to celebrate early won’t scare them off, and they decide to stick around for treats anyway! After all, I just might be in the mood to bake up a batch of Brandon’s Grandma’s Spritz Cookies!

Brandon’s secret for making the perfectly pressed cookie shape? In his blog City Gay & Country Gay he shares a tip worth considering before you take off on your cookie-press adventure. Make sure you run the cookie sheet under cold water before placing the pressed cookie dough on the sheet, otherwise, like Brandon says, you just might get a shapeless cookie…and maybe Santa won’t want to eat them!

As far as the cookie dough goes, it’s a recipe that grandma herself made-up, so you know it has to be good. Just make sure you don’t inhale all the cookie dough before baking the cookies! Brandon says this is the toughest part of the job; no complaints here :)!

I am a coffee addict. I’m not hiding it, I’m not ashamed, and I’m certainly not giving it up any time soon. I love coffee and it loves me! That is why tiramisu is the dessert of choice for coffee addicts across the world. It contains everything you love: cream, sugar, espresso and chocolate. Could it get any better? Apparently it can. Cherrye has created a fantastic strawberry tiramisu, and although it may be coffee free (downer I know) she has infused it with flavors of brandy and Strega liquor, not a bad substitute for espresso if I do say so myself.

On her blog, My Bella Vita, Cherrye tells us that the Italian word “tiramisu” translates as “pick me up.” Even though Cherrye’s recipe is caffeine free the strawberries are refreshing and perfect for an afternoon or evening dessert on the patio. If you just can’t have tiramisu without the coffee, enjoy this strawberry version with a nice, frothy cappuccino.

It’s always a treat when a picture-perfect recipe comes along and sweeps me off my feet. You can bet that with Linsey’s Downeast Lobster and Corn Chowder with a Touch of Bourbon it’s love at first taste. Though she invites readers to modify the recipe to their liking, it’s hard to compete with fresh lobster swimming in a bowl of vegetables, spices, and secret ingredients. Coming right out of the state of Maine, this is a chowder that Southern folks and California surfers will both find themselves drooling over.

If you agree that this is a jaw-dropping chowder, then let’s get cookin’. First, let’s see if we can find out what Linsey’s secret ingredient is. It’s in the title! But in her blog Cake and Commerce, she goes into further detail about bourbon’s role in her chowder. It adds depth and intensity, or as Lindsey puts it, “a hint of oaky butterscotch and smoke”. It’s the special something that all your guests will want to know about; it’s what sets this chowder apart from the rest.

So gather up the freshest lobster, white wine, spices, milk, even some lemon juice because you need to pencil this chowder into your schedule to cook up some time this weekend!