Living away from my home isn't the worst thing in the world, especially since I'm used to being away from my family. But I will admit that not having my own kitchen can drive me crazy sometimes! I always see these short little recipe videos or pictures of delicious foods with a recipe attached. I love to bake/ cook new recipes that I find, but I don't have a kitchen in the dorm. So when I do go home, I whip up all kinds of things in the kitchen. Here is a list of a few of my favorites:

1. Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

This one is a fan favorite...and by fans, I mean my family. I tried this during the Superbowl 2 years ago and I had to try to make it when I went home. Needless to say, it was a huge success. My family is obsessed with cheese and let's face it, anything hot and cheesy is wonderful. I used garlic mayo because I'm obsessed with garlic, feel free to add your own twists, a little lemon juice makes this even better as well.

2. Paleo Coconut Brownies

Yes I know what you're thinking...how can anything paleo be delicious?? But trust me, these are the best brownies you've ever eaten. These are better than any box brownie that I ever had or any homemade brownie for that matter. Even when I was on paleo (and my family wasn't) they ate all my paleo brownies (frustrated eye roll). They would be gone the same day. They're also fairly guilt free considering there's no processed ingredients and no refined sugar in these. Give them a try!! They are so magical.

3. Egg nog

I did the first version of this (without eggs and raw). It was very good. My father said it tasted like he was drinking a pumpkin pie. This is also paleo friendly, but also better than anything you can buy in the store. The other two versions include raw eggs or a cooked version that also includes eggs.

4. Crab Rangoon

Another fan favorite, it's hot and has cream cheese, so it must be good. These taste pretty much the same as the appetizer that you would order at most oriental restaurants, but you can put your own twist on this bake it, fry it, cook it how you want!!

5. Egg Salad (Sandwich)

This is a recipe my mom showed me and it's very simple. We always make this around Easter, but I love it at any time of the year. It's simply several hardboiled eggs (however many you want...more eggs=more egg salad), a few tablespoons of mayonaise (start with one and see if you want more), add a splash of vinegar (apple cider, white, or redwine vinegar is fine....I personally like white). Very easy. Just add more ingredients until it gets to the consistency that you prefer. I like to toast some bread, put on some of the egg salad on the bread and add some pepper. Seriously an awesome snack or lunchtime meal!

I'm sure after this coming break I will have more recipes, but I encourage you to try these. They're all fairly simple and don't take too much time! Happy holidays!