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  • 60 Minutes or Less

  • Creamed corn with bacon and poblano pepper by Real Food Girl: Unmodified
    Barbeque,  Side Dishes,  Vegetables

    Creamed Corn with Bacon and Poblano Pepper

      I’m pretty excited about today’s recipe. I really like corn. I especially like sweet corn. When we moved to South Carolina I noticed that they had all sorts of farm stands along the sides of the roads. I was in fresh produce heaven. That is, until I found out that the one I was frequenting got their produce from WalMart and I was buying GMO sweet corn. Yep, you guessed it. I was no longer in heaven. It’s getting harder and harder to find organic sweet corn. This makes me sad because I can do wonders with an ear of corn. When I was out and about running errands last week, I found…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Caramelized Onion Burgers by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Caramelized Onion Burgers with Gruyere

    July 16, 2013
    Real Food Girl BBQ St. Louise Style Ribs on the grill. Juicy, tender, and saucy! www.realfoodgirl.com

    St. Louis Style BBQ Ribs on the Grill

    August 26, 2014
    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
  • Wild Rice Hotdish- A recipe remake by Real Food Girl: Unmodified. Tasty wild rice, ground beef, mushrooms, creamy sauce...
    Grains, Rice, Pasta

    Minnesota Wild Rice Hotdish- A Recipe Remake

    I’ve been working on remaking a family recipe that my Aunt MJ makes.  Her recipe is great, but I thought it would taste even better if I added some plain Jasmine rice and a creamy sauce.  I mentioned in the Perfect Wild Rice post that it has taken me a while to enjoy the taste of Wild Rice.  My Aunt’s recipe uses all Wild Rice, and for my sensitive palate it’s a little too strong.  And for The Stud Muffin, it’s just got too much rice. That man has never met a rice he liked.  Unless Chipotle’s rice bowl fixin’s are dumped on top of it. Or if it is combined with Stir-Fry.…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Out of the Box Hamburger Helper! No more processed boxed food for dinner! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Out of the Box Hamburger Helper (GMO-Free)

    February 19, 2013
    How to cook the perfect wild rice by Real Food Girl Unmodified

    How to Make the Perfect Wild Rice

    May 26, 2014
    Simply Perfect Rice Pilaf by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Simply Perfect Rice Pilaf

    April 23, 2014
  • How to cook the perfect wild rice by Real Food Girl Unmodified
    Gluten Free,  Grains, Rice, Pasta

    How to Make the Perfect Wild Rice

    I’m from Minnesota. It’s the land of Wild Rice. Did you know that Wild Rice is actually an aquatic grass seed, not a rice grain?  ‘Tis true my Food Hippies.  It’s a coarse annual grass called “zizania aquatica”. Despite its name, the plant isn’t even related to rice.  For me, Wild Rice was an acquired taste.  I’m not sure if I just had dishes from people who didn’t cook it long enough, or if I just didn’t have the palate for it. Whatever the reason, I shied away from it.  Fast forward to a few years ago when I was working in a restaurant and developing a soup recipe with one of the chefs.  He wanted a chicken…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Organic Homemade Chicken Stock. Easy, healthy, affordable! From Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Homemade Organic Chicken Stock

    February 22, 2013
    Real & Easy Shrimp-n-Grits. Cheesy grits topped with shrimp, bacon and a spicy cream sauce. Southern Comfort Food. So good!!

    Real & Easy Shrimp-n-Grits

    March 8, 2013
    Apple Poppy Seed Coleslaw by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Apple-Poppy Seed Coleslaw

    September 12, 2013
  • Perfect Mashed Potatoes by Real Food Girl Unmodified
    Side Dishes

    The Perfect Rustic Style Mashed Potatoes

    Mashed potatoes. The quintessential comfort food. There isn’t anything that a bowl of smashed up taters drenched in melted butter and bursting forth with gravy can’t make better.  Chopped off your thumb in a woodworking accident?  Here, have some mashed potatoes.  Boyfriend dumped you for your best friend?  Psh- not to worry.  Have some mashed potatoes–and you get extra gravy.  Didn’t get the winning lottery ticket?  Aww, stop buying lottery tickets and buy potatoes instead. Why? Because you can make mashed potatoes with potatoes and you can only make a book mark or a redneck toothpick with a lottery ticket.  It’s a no brainer, really.    I go in phases where I want…

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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
    Scalloped Potatoes with Ham. Seriously good comfort food dish. A rich creamy sauce, tender potatoes and sliced ham. Gmo-Free from Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

    February 27, 2013
    Veal, Pork and Ground Beef Meatballs from Real Food Girl. This is as authentic as it gets folks! If you want great meatballs, this is THE recipe!

    Meatballs with Beef, Pork and Veal

    April 5, 2013
  • Old-Fashioned Coconut Icebox Cookies by Real Food Girl: Unmodified. Soft, and chewy and loaded with coconut!
    Desserts,  Snacks

    Old Fashioned Coconut Icebox Cookies

    If you’re a fan of Dexter, you immediately thought about the Icebox Killer when you read the title of this recipe.  Luckily for us all, no brightly colored, manicured nails or unassuming serial killers made their way into this recipe.  Nope- just good old-fashioned yumminess.  Oh, and gobs and oodles of coconut.  It’s like a coconutty extravaganza y’all! Like lemons, I love coconuts. I think my top three dessert choices always have either lemon, coconut or a berry, such as raspberries or strawberries.  When I saw this recipe, I knew I had to try it. I made a few changes, changed out some of the not-so-good ingredients (like vegetable shortening) for butter, and replaced…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Ridiculously easy lemon curd by real food girl: unmodified|| tart, creamy, amazing!

    Ridiculously Easy Lemon Curd

    September 11, 2014
    Lemon Curd Mousse- look out folks, berries have a new best friend. So does your dessert spoon!

    Lemon Curd Mousse

    September 15, 2014
    White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies- Made with awesome non-GMO ingredients. Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Macadamia & White Chocolate Cookies

    March 11, 2013
  • Cheese and Sausage Egg Bake by Real Food Girl: Unmodified
    Breakfast,  Eggs

    Easy Cheese and Sausage Egg Bake

    It’s 84 degrees in our house. My den is in the finished room above the garage where I’m fairly certain the builders forgot to insulate, so it’s about 90 degrees in this room.  My fingers are so warm they’re sticking to the keys on the keyboard and I can barely swipe my finger along the touchpad without it getting ‘stuck’. You gotta love first world problems. It’s too warm to work on the post I needed to finish up in the kitchen, so instead, I’m going to just update a post from my blogging archives.  I originally shared this recipe under the title of  Italian Sausage & Gruyère Baked Omelet.  It’s a dish I make…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    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

    Food Hippie Granola

    April 2, 2013
    One of my favorite quickbread recipes. I love carrot cake, and this comes close but doesn't contain raisins! You must try my Carrot Pineapple Bread! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Carrot Pineapple Bread

    December 11, 2012
  • 30-Minute Mondays-Pork-Chops-Shallot-Sherry-Pan-Sauce by Real Food Girl: Unmodified.
    Miscellaneous

    Pan-Seared Pork Chops with a Shallot and Sherry Wine Pan Sauce

    Pan seared pork chops with a shallot and sherry wine pan sauce may sound pretentious and fancy, but this dish is anything but.  It’s just seriously delicious, down home, casual, quick cooking at its best.  I had the grandkids all weekend, and by all weekend, I mean Friday through Sunday afternoon.  TSM works all day long until late into the evening every Saturday for one of his part time jobs so I was on my own with Little Master C. and Little Miss B. I think we watched every DVD we own and I spent way too much time in the kitchen prepping food for our weekend meals.  My plan was to rush…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Ghee Whiz--by Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Ghee Whiz!

    July 11, 2013
    30-Minute Mondays- Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken & Broccoli|- Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    30-Minute Mondays– Fettuccine Alfredo with Chicken and Broccoli

    May 5, 2014
    Real Food Girl takes a trip to Trader Joe's!!

    A Trip to Trader Joe’s

    November 16, 2013
  • Asian Chicken Pasta Salad with Crispy Wontons by Real Food Girl: Unmodified
    Lunches,  Salads,  Side Dishes

    Asian Chicken Pasta Salad with Crispy Wontons

    I grew up right in the heart of the Twin Cities. That’s in Minnesota, don’t-chya-know?  Back in the day, before it was bought out by Macy’s, Dayton’s department store was a happening place to be.  There was a restaurant located inside this Dayton’s (which eventually became Marshall Field’s), and on occasion when my sister and I would spend the weekend with my grandparents, we’d take the city bus to downtown St. Paul, and have lunch at Dayton’s restaurant.  If we were really good, we got to go to the candy counter and pick out 1 or 2 suckers.  They had the best suckers.  They were rectangle shaped, and took forever to finish. Ahh, those…

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    Kristine Cocchiarella

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    Who doesn't love a tuna melt? You know you do! Try my tuna- it's anything but boring! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Tuna Salad and a Tuna Melt

    December 13, 2012
    Curry-Chicken Salad. The greatest chicken salad around! #Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Curry-Cayenne Chicken Salad

    November 14, 2012
    Organic Chicken Pasta Salad--Real Food Girl: Unmodified

    Organic Chicken Pasta Salad

    August 2, 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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