#GetHimFed 20 + Welcome our new permanent hosts!

You can share your tasty man food on any of our six blogs! 

Visit us & be our friend:

Hungry Harps | Anyonita Nibbles | Dizzy, Busy & Hungry

Wondermom Wannabe | The Baking Fairy | Bakewell Junction

How to Embed Pinterest Boards into Blog Posts

Written by: Anyonita Green on 1/30/2104

Pinterest is one of the most reliable traffic sources for many bloggers, so finding new ways to utilize its benefits is important. Embedding a Pinterest board into your blog post is an easy way to show readers some of the diverse boards they can find on your Pinterest account.

With many users having hundreds of boards, it can be difficult for followers to wade through all of them to to the important ones. This can especially be an issue when your blog's Pinterest account doubles as your personal account.

If this is the case, you might want to consider doing some obvious hint-dropping and showing your readers exactly what they want to see: relevant Pinterest boards!

In this tutorial, I'll show you in 7 easy steps how to embed a Pinterest board into your blog post. And if you'd like to check out some more tutorials and tips for food bloggers, be sure to follow this board:
(See what I did there?)

Gluten Free Caramelized Sainsburys Fairtrade Banana Cream Pie Recipe

Sweet caramelized Fairtrade bananas top rum-infused mascarpone cream with mashed bananas. It's all sitting on a crisp shortcrust pastry base and drizzled with rum glaze!

Serves 6 to 8

  Caramelized Sainsburys Fairtrade Banana Cream Pie

This banana cream pie recipe is a modern and ethical take on a traditional dessert. It's made with Sainsbury's Fairtrade bananas, rum, rum extract and loads of cream and mascarpone in celebration of Fairtrade Fortnight. When the good people at Sainsburys supermarket approached me about developing a banana recipe I knew that I wanted to create something that the majority of people would enjoy. And since everyone loves dessert and since over 5 billion bananas are eaten in the UK a year, this recipe should catch a few people's eye!

According to organizers, this year's Fairtrade banana campaign seeks to make bananas fair by ensuring that banana farmers "earn enough money to have a decent standard of living, works in conditions that are safe and has rights and benefits." The campaign also helps to ensure that bananas are produced in an environmentally-sustainable way, too.

The use of Fairtrade bananas in this recipe ensures that banana farmers receive a fair wage for their product and although I was asked to develop a recipe in light of this campaign, Fairtrade is a cause that I proudly support and have done for some time.

Notes on the recipe

• The rum in the glaze doesn't cook out, so if you're planning on making this dessert for children, replace the rum with half the amount of rum extract instead.
• All of the bananas Sainsburys sells are Fairtrade! 
• Fairtrade Fortnight runs from 24 February to 9 March; for more information on the campaign and Fairtrade in general, head to the Fairtrade website.

Tasty Tuesdays #46 + Call for Valentine's Recipes!

 

Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mini Van Dreams | A Peek into my Paradise | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Gluten Free Red Velvet Popcorn Valentine's Treat

Microwave popcorn gets festive for Valentine's Day with crumbs of red velvet cake, red velvet M&Ms and melted vanilla candy!  It's served with a fan-tache-stic Valentine's message to make someone's February 14th a little sweeter.

Serves 8 to 10

Red Velvet Popcorn Valentine's Treat 

Popcorn and cake are two of my all-time favorite treats. And since Valentine's Day seems to get paired with Red Velvet cake (which just happens to be another favorite of mine), it seemed like a great idea to bring these two together for a festive love day treat! Red Velvet is the star of this treat, appearing in the cake crumbs and in the Red Velvet flavored M&Ms.

With this popcorn, you get sweet and salty--lots of sweet and just a little bit salty. You'll need to make or buy a red velvet cake beforehand, so you'll have the crumbs needed. The red velvet M&Ms were picked up at Walmart. Unfortunately, I don't think they've made their way to the UK yet, so this recipe is especially for my stateside buddies. The melted candy binds everything together into lovely chunks of red velvety popcorn.

I've tied these treats with a simple ribbon threaded through a mustache valentine that you can print for free! The valentine says "I mustache you to be my Valentine" and it comes in four lovely colors for personal use only. Get the recipe and the printable by clicking "read more"!

Update: This freebie is no longer available for download. 

#GetHimFed 19: We're back & we have 40 features!

Welcome to #GetHimFed with +Jess Harp  from Hungry Harps and me! This link party is all about celebrating the food men like to eat, which to be honest, is just about anything! :) All recipes are welcome! Come link up!

How to Drive Traffic Using StumbleUpon*updated*

How to Drive Traffic using StumbleUpon

Written by: Anyonita Green on 1/23/2104

Have you heard of StumbleUpon? It's a content discovery tool and a number of bloggers are beginning to discover its traffic-boosting properties. As the name suggests, users simply stumble across carefully selected content, filtered by their interests and preferences. 


When used to its full potential, StumbleUpon can greatly influence traffic to a website or blog. All it takes is for the right person to "discover" your content, cache it in an appropriate list or category and for that content to be stumbled by like-minded users who share interests. When this transpires, content has the ability to go viral within days, if not hours, sending a spike in traffic to blogs and websites.

I've compiled a quick list of StumbleUpon tips to help you identify areas in which it could boost your traffic and to ensure that as a blogger you are getting the most out of this versatile platform.

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Gluten Free Honey Buttered Cheesy Soft Pretzel Knots Recipe

These warm and buttery homemade soft pretzel knots are topped with shredded cheese and served with a cheese dipping sauce for a decadent and delicious savory treat perfect for any occasion!

Yield about 20 soft pretzels

Honey Buttered Cheesy Soft Pretzel Knots 

Pretzels and cheese are a match made in heaven. Add a dusting of sweet honey butter and you've got a sweet and savory snack  that everyone will love. These homemade soft pretzel knots have a double serving of cheese--the first gets sprinkled on before the pretzels are baked. The second is served warm as a dip for dunking the buttery pretzel knots into.

I made these pretzel knots using the recipe I shared for my sea-salted soft pretzel knots, with a few slight adjustments to accommodate the addition of cheese. Just like with those, I didn't boil the pretzels in a baking powder solution and they still turned out crunchy, flaunting the perfect pretzel texture.With the sweet butter melting into the crevices of pretzel dough, the baked on cheese providing a crunchy coating and the warm cheese for dipping into, this might be my most favorite pretzel knot recipe yet.

 Ignore the glittery nails. They were sparkly from New Year's festivities.

Love homemade snacks?Be sure to follow this board:

Tasty Tuesdays #45 + Stumbleupon Linky + 2 Blogger Opportunities!

 

Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mini Van Dreams | A Peek into my Paradise | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Gluten Free Valentine's Day Red Velvet Pancakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Sauce

Serve up these delectable Red Velvet pancakes for an extra-sweet Valentine's Day treat! They're slathered with Nutella cream cheese sauce for a double hit of chocolate.

Serves 2 to 4

Valentine's Day Red Velvet Pancakes with Nutella Cream Cheese Sauce

This isn't your typical breakfast. It's basically cake with double the chocolate. And it is so delicious and it's guaranteed to get you and your Valentine's day off to a great start. Red Velvet cake is a dessert staple in the south in America and with this recipe, you can enjoy it first thing in the morning without too much of the guilt. I've ditched the traditional maple syrup that usually adorns American pancakes and whipped up a Nutella and cream cheese sauce instead.

These made-from-scratch pancakes are fluffy and won't disappoint. Serve them warm with lashings of the Nutella sauce. You could even try them with toasted hazelnuts or sprinkles scattered over the top. Throw chocolate chips into the batter or serve them with whipped cream. They can be customized in dozens of delicious ways so you can really make them your own.


Stay connected with me on Pinterest for more great breakfast recipes!

Maille's Gluten Free Sherry & Mustard Braised Chicken with Confit Potato Recipe

Sweet sherry and sherry vinegar meet succulent chicken thighs and shallots in this succulent dish!

Serves 2 to 4

Sherry & Mustard Braised Chicken with Confit Potato 

Sherry loves chicken. The sweet, unmistakable taste of it pairs really well. Especially with chicken thighs. This dish has many inspirations: the idea to braise the chicken in sherry was inspired by a dish created by Heston Blumenthal on Masterchef Australia last season. The confit potato is an adapted version of the one Michel Roux Jr made on an early season of the UK Masterchef: The Professionals.

A few days after seeing both shows, I received a lovely parcel full of goodies from Maille with the opportunity to create a recipe using the selection of mustards and vinegar in the box. The first jar of mustard I saw contained white wine, shallots and hazelnuts. I was intrigued by the combination and remembering the use of shallots in Heston's dish, I got hopeful that I could recreate a version of his dish. Rummaging in the box from Maille, I came across a bottle of the most delicious sherry vinegar and my fate was sealed and this sherry and mustard recipe for braised chicken was born.

This dish is so good. It's tangy from the use of two vinegars, sweet from the use of actual sherry and verjus and it has depth from the mustard. It's so good that we had it three times in the space of a month. It's so good that I've just about run out of the shallot and hazelnut mustard and I'm on the last dregs of the sherry vinegar. This braised chicken dish would be perfect for a special occasion served with the confit potato or dress it down by preparing it with bone-in chicken and replacing the confit potato with roasted wedges. Add some greens and take your time reducing the sauce and you'll be blown away.
Using a sauce in your cooking can really catapult your dish. Check out this board for sauce recipes:

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How to Dominate Google Image Search Results

Written by: Anyonita Green on 1/16/2104

Generally speaking, SEO tends to be very content oriented. When looking for ways to dominate search results, many bloggers focus on text and backlinks, but there's an often overlooked opportunity that makes a huge difference.

Dominating Google Image search results is an easy way to boost traffic to your blog or website. Taking advantage of this visual SEO tip is especially key for food bloggers since "we eat with our eyes"and many people judge a recipe by the photos accompanying it. 

Today, I'm going to share with you four free tips you could implement to dominate Google Image search results. These are proven, easy suggestions that require very little effort. You won't need any knowledge of coding and they'll work for any blog or any website. 

Take the guess work out of how to land in the first few results of Google Image! These tips will even work if your post isn't showing up on the first page of a standard Google search!  

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Fail-proof Gluten Free Pizza Dough Recipe

This fail-proof pizza dough turns out a perfect, restaurant style pizza every time. From thin crust to Chicago style deep dish, this is the only pizza dough recipe you'll need!

Serves 4 to 6

Fail-proof Pizza Dough Recipe

How do you like your pizza? Thin crust, hand-tossed and airy, deep dish, rustic and unusually shaped? No matter your pizza preference, this recipe is the only one you'll ever need! It creates a literally fail-proof pizza dough suitable for any toppings you could throw at it. This recipe uses strong flour or bread flour, flour that you can use for making pasta, so it's a bit more robust and definitely easy to work with.

It's versatile enough to be rolled thinly or you can pile up a deep dish like I've done for a Chicago style pizza pie. Keep the ingredients simple and make a classic margherita or get creative like +Kirsten Madaus and her amazing pizza concoctions. Next time it's pizza night, give the takeaways a miss and whip up your own restaurant-style pizza! Trust me guys, you can't mess up this easy recipe!

Tasty Tuesdays #44

 

Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mini Van Dreams | A Peek into my Paradise | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Gluten Free Crock Pot Smoked Turkey Chilli Recipe

Shredded smoked turkey is combined with carrots and beans in this easy crock pot recipe!

Serves 6 to 8

Crock Pot Smoked Turkey Chilli

This Christmas, my mother smoked the turkey and it was the most flavorful, juiciest turkey we have ever eaten. This recipe is one of those classic after-Christmas, too-many-leftovers-in-the-fridge creations. It's filled with shredded smoked turkey, onions, beans and loads of warming spices.

The first night we had this, I served it in roasted sweet potatoes topped with cheese. The next day for lunch, we had it with tortilla chips, but it'll work really well with rice, too. The smoked turkey adds a nice, unusual flavor to the chilli and it's loaded with beans, but my toddler didn't even notice as he gobbled it up.

As is often the case when I make chilli, I didn't bother measuring everything. I just chucked ingredients in, so there are no measurements. Instead, try adding more of what you and your family do like and less of what you don't and see what you come up with. No two chillies are ever the same anyway!

Gluten Free Grilled Chicken Thighs with Easy White Wine & Mushroom Sauce Recipe

Grilled chicken thighs marinated with sage & served on a bed of pasta with a rich mushroom & white wine sauce!

Serves 4 to 6

Grilled Chicken Thighs with Easy White Wine & Mushroom Sauce

Chicken loves sage. Sage loves mushrooms. Mushrooms love white wine. Combine them all and you've got a guaranteed delicious recipe. That's why this sauce is a classic: it just works!

If you've ever tried to make sauces, you know that sometimes they don't work. In the heat of the kitchen and the rush of multitasking (Being able to devote hours to the kitchen with no other task than to prepare food would be a dream come true for me!), sauces get neglected. They need attention, constant stirring or whisking. They need the temperature raised slightly or lowered just a tad. They need cream or butter swirled in at the last minute. They need letting down or thickening. Sauces are hard work. But they're such a key component to cooking.You hear it over and over: if you want to be a good cook, you've got to be a good saucier. In French kitchens, the saucier is the person laboring lovingly over the sauces.

I would love to be a saucier but I just don't have the time. So this year, I set myself a challenge of trying to come up with a quick and easy sauce for most of the recipes I make. The mushroom sauce in this recipe is an homage to the classic mushroom cream sauce but I've added in cream of mushroom to thicken it up and started it with a big lump of rich butter. The result is an easy, perfectly balanced restaurant-style sauce in less than 10 minutes.

One SEO Alt-ernative for Pinnable Images

Written by: Anyonita Green on 1/9/2104

I used Pinterest recreationally before I began to use it to promote and drive traffic to my blog. Now Pinterest is a huge part of my blog. It's responsible for a large portion of traffic to my site, so I'm always on the look out for ways to make my images and my content more pinnable. 

On my Tuesday link party, I pin every post that gets shared because I know the advantages Pinterest can have and the amount of traffic it can bring in and I want to share that with my party participants. In doing my weekly pinning, I'm constantly coming across blogs that aren't taking proper notice of the one SEO trick that could catapult the pinability of their posts. 

I'm going to share that one trick with you. You might have guessed it from my word play, but it's the humble and too-often overlooked alt text.

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Gluten Free Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Rich and flavorful, this restaurant-quality baked spinach & artichoke dip is a simple to make crowd pleaser !

Serves 4 to 6

Baked Spinach & Artichoke Dip

This delicious warm, cheesy, creamy and tasty baked spinach and artichoke dip is flavorful and easy to make! Today I'm welcoming Rebecca from Living Better Together to the blog to share one of my personal favorite appetizers with you!

Rebecca says that whether you're getting together for the holidays or the big game, this is a must-have appetizer! Serve this delicious dip with toasted focaccia bread or tortilla chips! This makes a pretty large serving, so it's perfect for a large group of friends and family.

Tasty Tuesdays #43: Welcome to 2014!

 

Each week, our team of 10 amazing bloggers hosts this fabulous party! We're so glad that you've stopped by to party with us!

We blog: Anyonita Nibbles | Craft Dictator | Detours in Life | Lori's Culinary Creations | Red Cottage Chronicles | Three in Three | Mom on the Run x2 | West Street Story | I'm Not a Trophy Wife | Ma Niche

Without you, we wouldn't have a party at all. So we think you're pretty special and deserve to benefit from linking up with us each week. Here's how:

Gluten Free Grilled Tilapia Fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Salsa

Fish tacos recipe prepared with grilled tilapia and homemade quick pickled salsa for a perfect taste of Baja!

Serves 5

Grilled Tilapia Fish Tacos with Quick Pickled Salsa

Everything about fish tacos has to be fresh. From the chunks of fish to the veggies and the tortillas. This recipe makes the perfect, Baja-inspired fish tacos! To keep with the freshness, I've swapped the heavy, beer battered fried fish for lemony tilapia, prepared on the grill. I've also replaced the classic avocado and tomato with a quick pickled salsa so you can rustle up this dish in just minutes!

I've been making the pickled salsa in this recipe for years, changing up the ingredients and using different types of vinegars and the result is always the same: it tastes so good. You can add tomatoes, use red onions or sweet onions, use less cucumbers, add chile peppers or sweet corn--anything, really. 

Any firm flesh fish would do, too--try cod or haddock or even salmon, if you'd like. I prefer tilapia, though, because it has a great naturally lemony taste that makes the coriander and the cumin sing. If you find yourself pressed for time, you can make the salsa a day or two beforehand--the longer you leave it to marinate in the fridge, the better it'll taste. It doesn't really matter what you do to these fish tacos, they always taste delicious.

My 2014 Blog Resolutions

Resolutions are the hot topic this time of year. Each year, I outline at least 10 things I'd like to achieve throughout the year and this year, I wanted to do the same with blogging.

Blogging for pay means you have to take blogging seriously and sometimes, it's easy to get swept up in going through the motions or posting just to post.

If you read Anyonita Nibbles regularly (and I hope you do!), you may have noticed that I've been MIA. Partly because of a big computer issue and partly because I needed a break. 

Well I'm back & I'm back with some resolutions or blogolutions that I'd like to implement this year. I encourage you to develop your own blog resolutions, too!

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