Not five minutes away from beach, the airport, University of California, Irvine, and the world famous South Coast Plaza shopping center, Costa Mesa is at the center of all this action. And with such a thriving hub of traffic brings opportunity for restaurants to flourish. Costa Mesa’s proximity to the beach as well as a relatively high-end mall gives opportunity for some higher end restaurants to thrive, but the city is also rich with everyday fare....

This post has been sponsored by The California Prune Board. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Kroll’s Korner running! I also added espresso powder in these vegan chocolate chip cookies to help intensify the chocolate flavor. I love adding espresso powder in my brownie recipes too for this same reason! I am so fortunate to live in the San Joaquin Valley in California, which is widely known as the ‘fruit basket of the world’....

What is it? Mở hành litterally means onion oil in Vietnamese. It’s a good way to add a nice aroma and some richness to a dish. The vibrant green color creates a nice color contrast too. The green onions Try to find onions that have leaves no longer than half an inch wide. These are easier to work with and look much nicer in the final dish. For some reason, lately, many markets I’ve gotten these at are jumbo sized, maybe 3/4″ wide each when flattened....

For ReDux’s birthday month, let’s celebrate each other! Pick a fellow ReDuxer, go to their blog and either make one of their recipes or create one of your own inspired by theirs. In your post, give your readers a little intro to this blogger, what you like about this blogger/their blog and either link to their recipe you made or share your brand new “inspired” creation. Just to brag about Sonali a little more…she has won or placed in several contests including the Sutter Home Build a Better Burger Contest, National Beef Cook-Off, and National Chicken Contest....

For the ‘Eat this not that’ portion of the blog post…I want to compare this recipe to some of the crazy corn on the cob recipes I have seen lately. For example, bacon wrapped corn with honey glaze or slathered with tons of butter and different cheeses or sauces. Some of these recipes turn a simple corn on the cob into a high calorie delicacy. I swapped the butter with avocado and the cheese with nutritional yeast!...

Some other you might like are my Teriyaki Glazed Salmon, Teriyaki Chicken & Rice Skillet, and Crock Pot Teriyaki Steak Bites! These juicy Sriracha meatballs are an easy-to-make and flavorful dish made with ground turkey and mixed with a combination of common pantry ingredients to create moist and tender meatballs. I know it sounds funny to call a meatball moist, but honestly nothing is worse then a dry meatball! These have the perfect combination of ingredients, and tossed in the best glaze, so you can get dinner on the table quickly and know that is will taste delicious too!...

Type of chicken thighs to use In this recipe, we used bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs from Seven Sons, a meat delivery service that sells grass-fed, pasture-raised, and ethically raised beef, chicken, and other proteins. Obviously you don’t have to source your chicken here, but I prefer using bone-in and skin-on chicken thighs because they always have more flavor. Some of the pasture-raised chicken thighs I use vary in size (3”x3” to 4”x4” per chicken) and weight (4-6 oz per chicken) and are often smaller than non-pasture-raised chicken you would find at a typical grocery store....

This apple pie bar recipe is perfect for a crowd and so fun since you cut it into bars and serve. I have another post on how to make a homemade apple pie on the blog as well if a traditional pie is more your thing! Or my apple pie cookies and this Puff Pastry Apple Tart are fun spins on this classic dessert! I snagged this apple pie bar recipe from Cameron’s Grandma recently....

In general, butter lettuce wraps make for great a appetizer or even make it into a dinner – like with these Asian Style Butter Lettuce Wraps. These make for such an EASY dinner or prep ahead to have for a healthful, flavorful lunch. I also like to take the butter lettuce and tear it up just with my hands and build an Asian style salad or “burrito bowl” with all of the same toppings!...

I call it a back pocket pasta because it’s simply a good pasta recipe to have on hand! It has all of your favorite pasta flavors, it’s quick, really easy to make and I’m officially claiming it our new go-to pasta and meatballs recipe! Plus, I think everyone needs a few back pocket recipes that you can easily whip up and know the whole family will love it. Family dinner win?...

We’ll be making everything from scratch so you can get a better idea of how it’s done but you can substitute many of these ingredients with pre-made sides or leftovers in the future once you learn how its done! What is bibimbap? Bibimbap is a Korean rice dish that combines a simple mix of warm white rice with various toppings of seasoned vegetables, sauteed meat, and spicy condiments like gochujang sauce....

I love all variations of fried chicken whether that is southern or Korean fried chicken, but this Japanese variety is mind blowing. I can eat this for 5 days straight and still want more. Luckily, we have some amazing options for karaage at local restaurants (& also have tried amazing karaage in Austin, too). After many years of eating at these restaurants, I figured out the best parts of each recipe I liked to create flavorful and easy karaage at home....

These cookies are not only delicious but also packed with a ton of nutrients. I have always been a fan of oatmeal raisin cookies but I think these ones taste so much better! They are chewy, moist, and a little more substantial than just your regular oatmeal raisin cookie. I have yet to make my own homemade muesli, so I had some leftover Bob’s Red Mill and used that in this recipe....

I’ve more than doubled the thickness of the buttery crumb topping. I didn’t want just a small crumb, so you’ll be happy with the generous crumb on this recipe. I also made it a point to create a super moist, melt-in-your mouth cake layer. It has just the right amount of butter, vanilla, sour cream and sweetness to get you craving more of this crumb cake. I really wanted a moist cake layer and a thick crumb layer for this recipe....

This post has been sponsored by Sprouts. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Kroll’s Korner running! With Spring comes warmer weather, blossoms (errrrr, allergies), new plans, projects and memories to be made! In addition, Spring time brings on Easter, pastel colors, family gatherings and plenty of good food and Easter eggs hunts. One of my favorite memories is my grandma and mother in the kitchen cooking up Easter dinner....

My Cookie Ice Cream Sandwich is made with your favorite ice cream flavor (I love classic vanilla or vanilla bean) and two of my soft and chewy brown butter mini chocolate chip cookies. And then it gets even better and more delicious because you roll them in additional mini chocolate chips or fun sprinkles! One of the most frustrating parts about cookie ice cream sandwiches is when the cookies become too frozen too solid to bite and the ice cream is too soft to hold its shape....

When I heard about “green mac” I was instantly intrigued. Green mac? No way. I had to come up with my own and I landed on creating this avocado mac and cheese recipe. I am a fan of finding ways to sneak veggies into foods that seem ‘unhealthy.’ (The dietitian in me can’t help it). If you love this mac and cheese check out this sweet potato mac and butternut squash mac recipe too....

I chose to fill this butternut squash appetizer with a cheesy butternut squash mixture. The sage and butternut squash marriage is perfect! These phyllo (fillo) cups are only 20 calories per 2 cups and 4g carbs so they make for a great appetizer that won’t leave you feeling stuffed. I topped them with a pumpkin seed and it adds a nice crunch to the butternut squash bite! Ingredients needed for Butternut Squash Bites You only need 7 ingredients to make this festive appetizer and you probably already have most of the ingredients on hand!...

Now that it’s Halloween…I’ve realized there are so many cute Halloween recipes that use black olives to decorate. Genius idea! If you’re an olive fan like me, you know olives have a place other than on combination pizza. The culinary uses for them is endless! And yes, eating them off of your fingers is always acceptable in my house too! I made these deviled eggs as a spin off version of these Easy Avocado Deviled Eggs on my blog!...

Lemon flavored anything and I’m in love actually. If that’s the case for you too, you’ll have to check out these lemon cookies, this lemon pound cake, or my favorite lemon poppyseed scones. Yum, yum, YUM! These muffins are soft, fluffy and the batter comes together in minutes. You’ll love how lemony and bright these are and their perfectly high domed bakery-style muffin tops. Flour: be sure to spoon and level the flour by using a spoon to scoop the flour into the measuring cup and use the back of a knife to level off the top of it....