Vseward (Chef~V)

about me

I don't think there's anything better than spending time with family and friends and enjoying delicious food together.

I just love food. I love reading about food, writing about food, cooking food and.. not surprisingly, eating food. My latest passion is food-photography! I'm still learning a lot, but I'm trying to post photos with all my recipes and reviews. I read recipe books, magazines and food blogs like novels.

I get such satisfaction when someone enjoys a meal or dessert that I have prepared. It is the biggest compliment to me when my family and friends rave about my cooking.


I just about fell out of my chair when I received word that my audition tape had been selected! Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to have the experience I was about to have. To read more about my trip to New York to be filmed by Food Network and star in my own series click here!







See all the videos and recipes here! Be sure to leave a comment too!

I live in Central Valley California and love the small community town. I have been married to my best friend Ric for almost 20 years. We were blessed with 3 boys that keep me on my toes. Our lives are constantly moving. My boys play football and are very active, which means, they're ALWAYS hungry!

My favorite quote: "The best thing to hold on to in life is each other." – Audrey Hepburn

Here is a recent photo of my family after both our older sons winning their "Dogbowl" football games. GO BULLPUPS!!



... and a few more family shots.



I decided to get my many recipes organized online when I found Recipezaar. I had no idea this would soon change my life. I joined Zaar Sept 06' and have become addicted to the website ever since! My husband totatlly supports my addiction to Zaar as I am a stay-at-home Mom and work from home as a Web designer. I have made so many wonderful friends on Zaar who I communicate with on a daily basis. Zaar has become a second home not only to me, but my family as they are enjoying all the different recipes I am preparing. Zaar has a community of comradity you won't find anywhere else.



Speaking of friends... here is a photo of my friends and I (all from Zaar) in Costa Rica. We were thrilled to have been invited to NcMysteryshopper's Wedding where I had the pleasure of meeting other zaar girls. I will never forgot the wonderful memories of this awesome vacation and spending time with the girls I have been talking to online for over 2 yrs and their wonderful dear husbands. We had a blast! Click on the photo and see more photos from our "Hola from Costa Rica" Thread

In the photo, left to right....
Leslie, daughter sarah, Nancy(Sassafrasnanc), Hope (Mama'sKitchen), Cheryl (NcMysteryshopper) Myself and Chelle (MommyDiva)



There are so many terrific recipes on this site. If I'm looking for something, I'm sure to find it here. I do have stacks of my own favorite recipes which I am slowly but surely getting in my cookbooks here on Zaar.

Exploring cookbooks, one recipe at a time!



I have had so many awesome reviews and fabulous photos taken of my recipes...

I try to thank everyone personally .. I sincerely appreciate each and every review and or comment left. I know it takes time to photograph and upload photos - So I want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart for finding and trying my recipes and taking the extra effort...



I was honored when the Beverage Forum asked me to join their team. I've been having a lot of fun hosting the Beverage Tag game. It's not just beverages, we're swapping recipes with a different theme every month. You can join us by clicking here

There is Always something to do in our Forum. We have compiled a Beverage Cookbook that has everything from Tea & smoothies to fabulous cocktails. Check it out.HERE! Come join us and play This Round on Me or Join our Coffee Club Here





I dedicate my homepage to my Mom and Sisters, whom I love dearly and equally share a passion for cooking and entertaining!

Everyone has something that they do best and for me it's cooking and baking. I can remember as a child standing in the kitchen watching my mom and grandmother making fresh cream corn. My sister's and I would get to help shuck the corn on the cob and watch as they made this favorite recipe. It was one of those family favorites that had a little bit of this and a little bit of that that made it extra special. I would eat it till I got sick and still didn't get enough. My whole family loves my aunt Phyllis' homemade bisquits and chocolate syrup made every morning to get us kids out of bed. To this day I will not buy canned bisquits because I know the satisfaction my family gets when I make them from scratch, rolling them and cutting them out still using my grandmother's favorite cookie cutter.
I love to experiment with recipes or anything I am preparing, I try to give them my own flair. My recipes are not overly complicated as I try to stick to Simple, Savory and Satisfying type dishes. I've also been on a health kick lately and have tweaked recipes so that they are lower in calories and fat. I love soup! When the weather changes I designate a soup night once a week. You could actually cook your way through fifty new soups in one year by trying some new recipes.
Cooking has been a passion for me for many years now. I grew up in New Mexico and got to experience not only the culture but the fabulous foods offered, such as the NM Chilis. If you have never visited New Mexico and experienced the food, you're missing out. My dad would always cook Southwest, Tex-Mex dishes and we became accustomed to spicy hot foods.

Enjoy my recipes and be sure to leave a comment. Hope you find something that sounds good and becomes a family favorite.



My favorite Motto and something I try to live by:





Be sure to check out the recipes other members have reviewed and photographed! I am so proud of each and every one!





Valonda Seward's Profile |
 

Favorite Foods:

Mexican and Tex-Mex definitely top my list of favorite cuisines. Their use of spices elevate and enhance simple ingredients to create delicious, comforting dishes. One of my favorite Tex-Mex dishes is Tamale Pie, which is a casserole that is supposed to mimic the flavors of a traditional Mexican tamale: shredded or ground meat encased in a masa (cornmeal) mixture, wrapped in corn husks and then steamed. Tamales are very time consuming to prepare, so I decided to take the easy road and make tamale pie.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~MORE ABOUT MY BACKROUND ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Extra good cooking (and baking) was an everyday occurrence as I was growing up. But without a doubt my sisters and I were accustomed to good cooking and baking. We all agree the best of the best was watching as my dad make his famous goulosh with ground beef and potatoes, how he got the texture just perfect was amazing. My dad loved cooking, he was always experimenting and enjoyed watching us girls and his grandkids eat up whatever he made....when there seemed to be nothing to make for dinner, he would go in the pantry, pick out a few ingredients and whip something up that was sure to please.

My Mom is no slouch in the kitchen either and that goes for all of my sisters and Aunts also. Mother was (and still is) my teacher, giving me many of the basics I use today and so much more. In my family, I guess it just comes naturally. My sisters love to cook and entertain, we enjoy getting the family together from anything from a fancy family hoe-down or luau to a simple backyard barbeque.

Some family favorites have been past down from generations and are still enjoyed today. Like my grandmother's "Nana's Thanksgiving Dressing or Strusal Yam casserole. Every year it is looked forward to by my family at thanksgiving. I remember watching my grandmother, my mom and dad and Aunts make this and I have become the expert now. They are the best recipes and one that my grandmother came up with herself. I invite you to look at these recipes and give them a try, you'll enjoy the many raves as I do every year making them for my family.

Everyone is so busy these days with getting the kids off to school to football practice and so on, who's got time to cook. I love my crockpot. It has become a lifesaver on time. I'm always looking for and trying new things with it so be Sure to check out my Easy CrockPot Recipes.



I will only post recipes tasted by me or prepared by me. Another useful thing I do with my recipes is to name them. If you find a recipe that has someone's name on it, it is sure to be a hit. I do this so that I can remember whose recipes are shared with me and would like to give them credit where credit is due. Also, it helps me remember it was something special shared with me that I really enjoyed.


My all time favorite food is Mexican and Tex-Mex (no surprise there huh). I also enjoy italian food. I've come up with a lot of pasta dishes that my family loves, such as pizza casserole, italian meatball sandwiches, Italian Chicken Subs and parmesan chicken that are family favorites. My heart belongs to Spicy foods so don't be surprised to see some of my recipes intertwined! Mexican meets Italian! Ooooo la la ---- Check out my Enchilada Soup or V's Mexican Lasagna . I was absolutely honored when Taste of Home featured my recipe!!! See the online page http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Mexican-Lasagna-7

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