Get Your Grill On!

Get Your Grill On!

Food Roundup

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This last week we finally had a taste of some real spring like weather with the sun shining and it getting warm enough to head out without a jacket! That means that grilling season is finally here! (Well, for those of us that were not willing to bundle up, get out and fire up the grill all winter long.) So dust off your barbecue, fire it up and get your grill on! Whether you are cooking for family or friends the warmer weather provides the perfect opportunity to move things outdoors, and who doesn't love to cook under open, sunny blue skies with fire! It's easy to cook an entire meal on the grill with everything from mains like juicy steaks, meat on a stick, burgers and sandwiches to sides like grilled vegetables and even desserts with grilled fruits. Below you will find a few of my favourite recipes for the grill and I am looking forward to sharing some new ones this summer! Happy grilling!

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Mother's Day Recipes

Mother's Day Recipes

Food Roundup

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This weekend is Mother's Day and a great way to show her how much you care is with some home cooking! Start the day off right for mom with breakfast in bed or a special brunch and then keep things going with some tasty snacks in the afternoon followed by and quick and easy dinner that is sure to please! You don't need to be a master chef to treat mom to some home cooking on Mother's Day; most of these recipes are super easy to make and she will definitely appreciate the effort! Whether you treat mom to a full day of home cooked meals or just one dish you can't go wrong with one of these recipes and any one of them will make this Mother's Day one that mom will never forget!

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Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Cinco de Mayo Recipes

Food Roundup

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Cinco de Mayo is right around the corner!

Cinco de Mayo is a day celebrated in both the US and in Mexico. In the US it originated with Mexican-American communities in the American West as a way to commemorate the cause of freedom and democracy during the first years of the American Civil War and it has since spread. In Mexico the day commemorates the Mexican army's victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862. Celebrations in the US typically include Mexican-American culture, food, music and dancing.

Mexican cuisine is definitely one of my favourites and Cinco de Mayo is the perfect excuse to pull out some of my favourite Mexican dishes and to try a few new ones! I am kicking things off a little early this year by testing some new recipes and gathering up a list of some of my favourite Mexican dishes and Mexican inspired dishes to share with you! I must apologize for the length of this list, there are just so many great options starting from breakfast or brunch, to snacks, main courses and sides and lets not forget plenty of salsas, tacos and quesadillas! You really can't go wrong celebrating Cinco de Mayo with tasty food and each of these recipes are sure to please!

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Spring Recipes

Spring Recipes

Food Roundup

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Spring took it's time showing up here this year but now that we have had a few days of warm weather (It's above freezing and there's no snow!) I feel like it's finally here! What's more is that I am finally seeing some spring produce in the grocery stores and that brings with it the promise of many good things to come! With that in mind I figured that it was time to roundup some of my favourite spring recipes using fresh ingredients like asparagus, strawberries, ramps, fiddleheads, peas, fava beans, artichokes, etc. I am definitely looking forward to making some of these recipes again and trying out some new ones using the fresh spring produce! This certainly is an exciting time of year, with the sun shining and the warming weather we can head out doors where the world is once again turning green; the perfect time to head out for BBQ's, picnic's etc!

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6 Ingredient Recipes

6 Ingredient Recipes

Food Roundup

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One request that I keep getting is for a list of 5 or 6 ingredient recipes and I think that's a great idea! I went through my main course recipes and collected all of the ones with 6 ingredients or less and I labeled/tagged them all as 6 ingredient recipes! As it turns out, I have a fair number of them, and these easy 6 ingredient recipes are are far from boring! In fact many of them are among my favourite recipes! I mean who doesn't like a recipe with only a handful of ingredients? Once I had identified all of the 6 ingredient recipes I had to roundup the top 50 recipes and share them with you here today and here the are!

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30 Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

30 Amazing Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Food Grilled Cheese Sandwich Roundup Sandwich

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April is National Grilled Cheese Month and I have 30 amazing grilled cheese sandwich recipes for you, one for every day of the month! Grilled cheese sandwiches are so easy to make and always good, especially when you add tasty extras to them like bacon, avocados, BBQ pulled pork, etc. As easy as they are to make there is a huge difference between a poorly made grilled cheese sandwich and a well made one so check out my tips on how to make the perfect grilled cheese sandwich! I am a huge fan of grilled cheese sandwiches and I have over 60 recipes for them on my site so it was difficult for me to choose just 30 of them but all of these sandwiches are truly amazing! Get your grilling gear ready and celebrate National Grilled Cheese Month the proper way, by having at least one grilled cheese sandwich every day in April! :)

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80 Easter Recipes

80 Easter Recipes

Food Roundup

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Easter is next weekend and that means that it is time to start thinking about your menu! The Easter long weekend provides plenty of opportunities for feasting whether it be a special long weekend breakfast or brunch or appetizers for an Easter get-together and the big family Easter Sunday dinner. Most of the focus on Easter weekend will go to the Easter Sunday dinner which will most likely be a big meal with the centre piece likely being a roast and it can be a ham, a turkey, beef or even lamb! Of course you will need some tasty sides to go with your main and lets not forget about dessert! Although I really enjoy a nice big roast for Easter dinner I sometimes like to change things up a bit and salmon or lamb tagine is a great way to go. With the extra time on the long weekend I like to do at least one special breakfast or brunch and there are plenty of great ways to go! No matter what your plans are for your Easter weekend dining, you cannot go wrong with one or more of these tasty dishes!

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St Patrick's Day Recipes

St Patrick's Day Recipes

Food Roundup St Patricks Day

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St Patrick's Day is this week and that means that it is time to start planning your menu! Corned beef is a classic recipe for St Patrick's Day, one of my favourites, and it is so easy to make! You simply throw it in the slow cooker in the morning and then optionally glaze it and toss it in the oven for a few minutes at night and you are in corned beef heaven! I always plan to make plenty of extra corned beef because there are just so many tasty recipes to use the leftovers in! Some great sides for your corned beef are colcannon, sauteed cabbage and soda bread. Of course corned beef is not your only option, lets not forget the tasty Irish stews, pies, fish n chips and dishes made with Irish stouts like Guinness. Of course no St Patrick's Day meal is complete without dessert and Guinness just happens to work fabulously well with chocolate so you have plenty of options! With these St Patrick's Day recipes your St Patrick's Day meal is sure to be one to remember!

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60 Soups to Warm the Soul

60 Soups to Warm the Soul

Food Roundup

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Even with the weather starting to warm up it's never a bad time for a nice, hot, comforting bowl of soup! Soups can be pretty amazing; they are pure comfort food and they are able to pick you up when you are down, warm you up when you are cold and of course help you feel better when you are sick. There are so many different kinds of soups that you will never get bored whether you like to stick with your favourites or if you like to try new ones all the time. I am always looking for a tasty new bowl of soup and these are a few of my favourites; I hope that you will enjoy them as much as I do!

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70 Valentine's Day Recipes

70 Valentine's Day Recipes

Food Roundup

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Valentine's Day is right around the corner and that means that it's time to start thinking about what recipes you want to make for that special person in your life. Homemade food is a great way to show that you care so I thought that I would take the opportunity to roundup some of my favourite recipes for Valentine's Day. This list includes tasty recipes for everything from breakfast in bed, to appetizers, dinners for two and of course plenty of decadent chocolate treats! Most of these Valentine's Day recipes are super quick and easy to make for all levels of cooking skills. No matter what you make, a homemade Valentin's Day recipe is bound to bring a smile to that special person in your life!

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25 Recipes for the Chinese New Year

25 Recipes for the Chinese New Year

Food Roundup

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The lunar new year, aka the Chinese new year, is tomorrow and it's the perfect excuse to to pull out some of my favourite Chinese recipes in addition to trying some new ones! I am a big fan of Chinese cuisine, both traditional style Chinese and American style Chinese, ie. Chinese takeout, and luckily they are both easy to make at home! Below you will find a mix of both traditional and takeout style Chinese recipes that are really easy make and most of them can be made with ingredients that are already in your pantry! I always find that it's fun to try to recreate recipes that I have had at restaurants and this is especially true for Chinese takeout where I can make the dishes much lighter and healthier than the takeout version and what's more, the homemade version tastes even better! Whether you are celebrating the Chinese New Year or not, you really cannot go wrong with making any of these tasty recipes at home!

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100 Game Day Snacks

100 Game Day Snacks

Food Roundup

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The football playoff, aka "The Big Game", is this weekend and that means that it's time to start planning your game day snacking menu! Whether you are throwing party at home in front of the big screen or heading out to a tailgating party you are going to need some tasty snacks! With that in mind I have gathered some of my favourite football munchies recipes and they include everything from decadent dips to chicken wings, chilies, grilled meat, jalapeno poppers, potato skins and grilled cheese sandwiches! All of these recipes are easy to make and many of them are even slow cooker friendly so drop that phone and don't bother ordering takeout when you can make something far better at home with little or no effort! No matter which of these recipes you make, they are all sure to keep you satisfied while watching the big game!

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75 Healthy Game Day Snacks

75 Healthy Game Day Snacks

Food Roundup

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Are you looking for some healthier snacking ideas for the Big Game, aka the football playoffs, tomorrow? I know that a lot of the 100 Game Day Snacks that I shared with you yesterday were not the healthiest recipes around so I decided to come up with a list of healthier munchies for the game. I know that a lot of you are rolling your eyes about now but these recipes are lighter without sacrificing anything in the way of flavour! The only things that are sacrificed are the carbs, calories and fat and all of these recipes are really easy to make and super tasty! This list of healthy game day snacks includes everything from buffalo cauliflower to veggie pizzas, dips, grilled meat on a stick, nachos, baked crispy veggie 'fries', quesadillas, chilies, casseroles, etc; pretty much anything that you could ask for! So if you are looking for some lighter snacking ideas for the Big Game this weekend I've got you covered and no matter which of these recipes you choose they are sure to satisfy and make your party the talk of the town!

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Gluten-free Recipes

Gluten-free Recipes

Food Roundup

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Update: Jan 23, 2016 - Given that it's January I was thinking about diets and that brought me to the idea of updating my gluten-free recipe favourites post! I've added a lot of new gluten-free recipes since the original post and I have now added 30+ tasty new recipes to this roundup!

One of the most commonly requested features on Closet Cooking these days has been gluten-free recipes and an easy way of accessing them. As it turns out, I have quite a few recipes that are gluten-free, more than 700, and there are even more that can easily be made gluten-free! I have spent the last few weeks labelling/tagging/categorizing and pinning all of my gluten-free recipes so that they can be more easily found and used! While I was going through all of the gluten-free recipes I took the opportunity to roundup the 50 most popular ones, which you can find below, and it is a tasty collection recipes! That's enough rambling, on to the gluten free recipes!

You can access the gluten-free recipes by:

With full photos by published date:
All Gluten-free Recipes
Gluten-free Mains
Gluten-free Sides
Gluten-free Appetizers
Gluten-free Breakfasts
Gluten-free Salads
Gluten-free Soups

Alphabetically by name: Gluten-free Recipes

Gluten-free Recipes Pinboard

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Low-carb Recipes

Low-carb Recipes

Food Roundup

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Update: Jan 17, 2016 - Thinking about New Years resolutions got me thinking about low-carb recipes and I thought that it was a great time to update my low-carb recipe post with 30+ tasty new recipes since it first went up! Enjoy the new low carb-recipes!

Due to popular demand I have made it easier to find all of the low-carb recipes on Closet Cooking! I went through all of my recipes and labeled/tagged the low carb ones so that you can easily identify which recipes are low carb and search for them in various ways. As it turns out I have shared quite a few low carb recipes, almost 500, ranging from mains to sides, appetizers/snacks, soups, salads, sandwiches, etc. Once I had identified all of the low-carb recipes it seemed only natural to share the most popular ones in a roundup and you can find them below!

You can access the low-carb recipes by:

With full photos by published date:
All Low-carb Recipes
Low-carb Mains
Low-carb Sides
Low-carb Appetizers
Low-carb Breakfasts
Low-carb Salads
Low-carb Soups

Alphabetically by name: Low-carb Recipes

Low-carb Recipes Pinboard

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Decadent Dips

Decadent Dips

Food Roundup

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With the football playoffs in full swing I thought that it was time to dust off one of my favourite list of recipes my list of decadent dips, which are perfect for snacking on while watching the game! There are so many different dips out there, and I am a huge fan of them, so I have quite a collection of dip recipes and these are my top 50 dips! You can make dips from so many different things and of course a lot my favourites are based on plenty of ooey gooey melted cheese but you can also make dips from things like pureed beans, avocado, yogurt, etc. Once you have chosen your dip it is time to decide what you are going to be dipping with and that can be anything from chips to crackers, tortilla chips, veggies, toast, breads, pitas, etc. A lot of these dips are truly decadent (and delicious) but there are also a lot of healthy options so no matter what your preference you are sure to find one, or if you are like me, several, to make for snacking while watching the game!

That's enough of my rambling; it's time to get dipping! Oh yeah... and watching the game!

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Healthy Recipes to Start the New Year

Healthy Recipes to Start the New Year

Food Roundup

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With all of the eating over the Holidays I was looking for some lighter fare to start off the New Year right! With this in mind I thought that I would take the opportunity to gather some of my favourtite healthier dishes to share with you. As this collection of recipes demonstrates, it is not difficult to eat healthier without have to sacrifice anything in the way of flavour and you are certainly not stuck eating boring salads all the time. This roundup of recipes includes some dishes for every occasion from breakfasts, to soups, salads, mains, sides and even a few snacks for munching on while watching the game!

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Closet Cooking Favourites 2015

Closet Cooking Favourites 2015

Food Roundup

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On this, the final day of 2015, I thought that I would take the opportunity to look back at the year and it has been a tasty year indeed! The year 2015 was full of tasty adventures along with plenty of great new recipes covering pretty much all of the bases from different meals including main courses, breakfasts, snacks, etc., to different cuisines from all around the globe, to new ingredients, to new ways of cooking, etc. Due to popular demand I added new dietary tags like low-carb, gluten-free and vegetarian to make it easier to find those recipes and because very often we are busy at dinner time I added the 30 minute meal and 20 minute meal tags and lets not forget some new ingredient tags like cauliflower, avocado and my favourite, bacon! The the year 2015 also saw the total number of recipes on Closet Cooking exceed 2000! There were just so many wondrous new things this year that it's hard difficult to narrow things down and select my favourites or the best recipes of 2015 but here was my best shot at it with my favourite recipe from each month of the year 2015!

Here's looking at a tasty 2016 filled with plenty of new and amazing recipes! Have a tasty New Year!

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New Years Eve Party Recipes

New Years Eve Party Recipes

Food Roundup

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I can't believe that it's that time of year again but 2015 is almost over and that means that it is time to start planning your New Years Eve party! Whether you are having a few guests over to celebrate or you're just spending a quite night in you are going to need some tasty snacks to help ring in the new year! With that in mind I have gathered up some of my favourite tasty treats that would be amazing at any New Years Eve party and they include everything from decadent melted cheese dips to grilled meat and even a few healthier options for those that are already dreading their New Years resolutions. Whatever you are doing this New Years Eve these tasty treats are sure to please, so enjoy and have a great New Year!

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Holiday Recipes

Holiday Recipes

Food Roundup

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For me the holidays are all about family, friends and good food so I like to have a lot of recipes on hand for everything from breakfasts to snacks and appetizers to the all important dinner main course to the sides and the desserts. Every holiday deserves to start out on the right foot with a special, tasty and hearty breakfast or brunch to get you through the day. Whether you are hosting the holiday or you are a guest you are going to need some tasty treats to get you through the afternoon and of course holiday cookies are on the menu but don't forget to include some savoury appetizers as well! For the the centre piece of your dinner it's always nice to do a roast like prime rib, ham or turkey but you can always go with something a little easier. I always have plenty of fun with the sides for the dinner as there are just so many tasty ways to go! Lets not forget the dessert, just in case someone has room leftover for it! I Hope that some of these recipe ideas will help make your holidays a little more tasty!

If you still don't have your holiday baking finished, don't worry there is still plenty of time. Check out my Holiday Cookie Guide for some new ideas!

If you are looking for some Homemade Holiday Food Gifts, I have some of those as well!

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