• ABOUT
  • 60 Minutes or Less
  • ABOUT
  • 60 Minutes or Less

  • Asian

    Spicy Orange Ginger Soy Chicken Stir Fry

    Stir Fry is one of our favorite go-to dishes here in Casa de la Real Food Girl.  It’s simple, filling and most of all it really is easy.  You may not know this, but stir fry isn’t a dish. It’s a cooking technique.  Of all the cooking techniques I learned while attending culinary school, I’d have to say that learning stir fry was the most fun, and the most challenging.  You have to master the flame when you stir fry, and you can’t stand around and twiddle your thumbs like you can when you’re braising or poaching. The Chinese value balance and harmony. Balance is very important to their cuisine  You’ve heard about…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella
  • 30-Minue Monday's with Real Food Girl- Skillet Mac-n-Cheese. Best comfort food at its best!
    Grains, Rice, Pasta

    30-Minute Monday- Skillet Mac-n-Cheese

    I love melted, gooey cheese sauce.  I love melted cheese sauce as much as I love bacon, and because I love both, I am not only going to share a quick and simple truly comforting Macaroni and Cheese recipe, but also my secret mac-n-cheese bacon topping recipe with you.  I’ve thought long and hard and felt the world needed to be privileged with the knowledge of this amazing topping. You’ll never do boring, buttered breadcrumb topping again, nor will you ever make naked mac-n-cheese ever again.  I’m taking Mac-n-Cheese to a WHOLE new level y’all.  This recipe is so good, you’ll name your next child after me as a tribute. I’m somewhat ashamed…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Cheesy Orzo with Broccoli- Best Side Dish Ever! Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Cheesy Orzo with Broccoli

    May 7, 2014
    How to cook the perfect wild rice by Real Food Girl Unmodified

    How to Make the Perfect Wild Rice

    May 26, 2014
    Real Food Girl Unmodified Guest Posts for Mommypotamus- Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs

    Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs at Mommypotamus

    April 18, 2014
  • Slow Cooker Saucy Country Style BBQ Ribs by Real Food Girl Unmodified. Pin now, make these tonight!
    Barbeque,  Slow-Cooker

    Slow Cooker Country Style BBQ Ribs

    I have a serious foodie crush on barbeque ribs. My favorite have always been pork ribs. They are so tender, fall apart in your mouth, juicy and tangy and saucy. Yessum!  Love me some ribs. This dish was The Man Child’s (My bonus child) favorite, growing up.  I have a photo of him when he was 8 years old, sitting at the kitchen table with a huge grin and a face covered in BBQ sauce.  It still makes me smile just thinking about it. I typically buy about 3-4 pounds of Country Style ribs for this dish so that we can have lots of left overs. This is one of the few dishes…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce from Real Food Girl. It's sauce for a fingers only meat buffet folks!

    Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce

    May 28, 2013
    Stove-Top Brown Sugar & Maple Baked Beans (with bacon) by Real Food Girl: Unmodified.

    Brown Sugar Maple Baked Beans with Bacon

    June 26, 2014
    Real Food Girl: Unmodified| Not Yo Mama's Potato Salad

    Not Yo Mama’s Potato Salad

    May 30, 2013
  • Real Food Girl Unmodified 30-Minute Meals- Skillet Tamale Pie. This looks SO good!
    One Pot Meals

    30 Minute Monday- Real Food Skillet Tamale Pie

    Welcome to the fist installment of 30-Minute Monday’s.  When I used to work out in the real world I never cared for Mondays.  My biggest reason was I never slept well on Sunday nights and so I was always so sleepy on Monday. Typically I was dragging.  By the time I got home from working a 10-hour day the last thing I wanted to do was spend 90 minutes or more in the kitchen making dinner.  I wanted to jump in my flannel jammies, make something quick and filling and vegetate on the couch and snuggle with the fur babies and catch up on the day with The Stud Muffin. That ‘feeling’ was…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Real Food Girl Unmodified Guest Posts for Mommypotamus- Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs

    Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs

    April 20, 2015
    One Pot Jalapeno Chicken Corn Chowder|Real Food Girl Unmodified. So going to make this tonight! Pin Now!

    One Pot Jalapeno Chicken Corn Chowder

    November 24, 2012
    30-Minute Mondays by Real Food Girl: Unmodified- Shepherd's Pie. Savory ground lamb, fresh veggies, rich gravy-like sauce and fluffy mashed potatoes. Yum!

    30-Minute Monday Skillet Shepherd’s Pie

    March 31, 2014
  • Split Pea Soup with Ham- The creamiest, most satisfying pea soup on the web.
    Gluten Free,  Soups, Stews, Chowders

    Real Food Split Pea and Ham Soup

    Out of all the veggies in the world I strongly dislike peas. Naturally, I’m betrothed to a man who LOVES peas.  I mean all out, get you in mah belly, I could eat three bowls each day LOVES peas.  God has a sense of humor all right.  Because I love my dear Stud Muffin, I make him Split Pea Soup, but I add ham because I love ham.  Throw pork into a soup and I’m a happy girl.  Throw peas into a soup and The Stud Muffin is a happy Man.  Combine them, and you have two happy people eating a rather tasty bowl of soup, even though it does contain a pound…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Apple Poppy Seed Coleslaw by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Apple-Poppy Seed Coleslaw

    September 12, 2013
    Cheesy and packed with flavor, this baked omelet makes a perfect breakfast for supper dish! Add some hashbrowns and you're ready to go! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Italian Sausage and Gruyere Baked Omelet

    December 14, 2012
    Truly tasty spaghetti squash #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Spaghetti Squash- (A Recipe Request from a reader)

    March 12, 2013
  • Better than Cinnabons by Real Food Girl: Unmodified
    Breads,  Breakfast,  Doughs

    Better than Cinnabon Cinnamon Rolls

    Today is my 1 year Blogiversary and I’m quite excited. It’s a big deal to make it through the first year of blogging and I’m seriously excited about what the next 12 months will bring to Real Food Girl: Unmodified. To thank all of you for putting up with me for an entire 365 days, I asked you over on my Facebook page if you’d rather have this recipe OR my split pea soup with ham recipe.  Hands down this recipe won.  But for those of you who asked for the soup, don’t worry. It will be on the blog later this week. I also have some fun surprises for the rest of…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Double Blueberry Muffins by Real Food Girl. Tastes like a fancy bakery muffin! Gotta make these!

    Double Blueberry Muffins

    December 4, 2012
    Skillet Honey Cornbread by Real Food Girl Unmodified

    Skillet Honey Cornbread

    February 20, 2014
    Bacon and Whipped Cream Guest Post for Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Real Food Girl Presents: Bacon and Whipped Cream

    April 24, 2013
  • Triple Citrus Bars by Real Food Girl Unmodified- Not your normal boring lemon bars!
    Desserts

    Real Food Triple Citrus Bars

    Nothing brightens your house like the smell of citrus and I’d had lemon bars on my mind for a few days and felt it was time to break out Old Blue and make something citrus-y.  It had been a while since I’d made any type of dessert since the kitchen in the house we’re renting- A) depresses me, and, B) it has virtually no counter or storage space which makes the normally joyful, fun, therapeutic and exciting task of cooking, baking and recipe creating about as fun as having one of the Dementors from Harry Potter suck out your soul.  I think I’m going to call my kitchen the Horcrux,   as that…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Better than Hershey's Chocolate Syrup. Use this on ice cream, cheese cake, brownies- or make hot chocolate or chocolate milkshakes! 5 ingredients, super easy! GMO-Free

    Rich and Tasty Chocolate Syrup GMO-Free

    February 6, 2013
    Classic Tapioca Pudding. Old-fashioned goodness made GMO-Free. This pudding is so good, I ate the entire first batch ALL by myself. No lie, hand to God, it was that good and I snarfed it all down!! Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Classic Tapioca Pudding

    March 6, 2013
    Real Food Girl: Unmodified| Cranberry-Coconut Oatmeal Cookies. Chewy cookies with dried cranberries, sweet coconut, tasty organic oats, cinnamon and nutmeg! Yes Please!

    Cranberry-Coconut Oatmeal Cookies

    March 28, 2014
  • Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes| Real Food Girl: Unmodified. I have to try these!!
    Condiments,  Vegetables

    Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes

    Pure beauty. That’s what these tomatoes are. Pure-brilliant-beauty.  I’m not a fan of raw tomatoes. Shocked?  Yeah, most people are. It’s a textural thing. Goes right up there with mushrooms and peas.  Put a dish in front of me with a few of these roasted, deep-red beauties and it’s another story all-together.  I’ve been promising this recipe for close to a year now, and I’m truly sorry it has taken me so long to getting around to photographing these.  My excuse is that we eat them after I make them and only after we’re rubbing our bellies and dabbing the corners of our mouths with our high-falutin’ paper napkins, would I realized I’d…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    This burger is to die for. Grated Gruyere cheese, onion bacon jam, and organic grass-fed ground beef. If you like burgers, make these! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Cheeseburgers with Onion Bacon Jam (Organic/GMO-Free)

    January 14, 2013
    Strawberry Balsamic Black Pepper Jam by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Balsamic-Strawberry Black Pepper Jam

    March 19, 2014
    Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce from Real Food Girl. It's sauce for a fingers only meat buffet folks!

    Sweet & Zesty BBQ Sauce

    May 28, 2013
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Meet Real Food Girl

Hi! I'm Kristine!

I'm a classically trained chef, who thinks that every aspect of health and wellness starts with food, but I also believe that you need to make room for a slice of cake every once in a while! Join me as I show you how to navigate a realistic and achievable 80/20 Real Food lifestyle, without breaking the bank, losing your sanity, or feeling shame because you can't live up to the "perfection" preached on other Real Food Blogs. Yeah, I went there.

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