Savoring the Journey of Recipes from Our Travels Across the United States
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Traveling the United States offers the chance to taste a variety of flavors and culinary experiences. You can find anything from sweet treats, unique burger dishes, and cultural dishes and traditions based on area of travel.
When I return from a memorable trip, one of the best ways to take myself back to those moments is through food. Traveling allows me the opportunity to try new foods from across the US. Once I am home, I then like to recreate some of those dishes such as pizzas, coffee shop style sweets and drinks, and scrumptious burgers with unique toppings, oh and don’t forget the sweetest treat of all, ice cream! I have been known to take a menu home with me just so I can see the ingredients and try to copy the recipe as close as I can.
This is a special way for me to relive those memories and share them with my family. Here you will find many of the recipes I have recreated and the recipe or resource for finding the recipe so you can recreate them for your family.
Blueberry Sweet Tea
Sweet tea while sitting by the pool is so refreshing but blueberry sweet tea is even better. Using Cold brew Lipton tea makes this even easier to make especially if you are in a hurry.
To make the blueberry puree: Take 1-pint fresh blueberries, rinsed, and add them to a saucepan with 1/2 cup water. Bring them to a boil, then lower the heat, cover and cook. Stir often until the mixture is soft and becomes a dark purple. Next, blend the mixture in a blender until smooth. Chill.
Tea: Add 2 Lipton Cold Brew tea bags to 8 cups cold water in a pitcher. Let sit for 5 minutes. For a stronger flavor, put in the fridge overnight.
Add the juice of 1-2 lemons into the pitcher of water, blueberry mixture (add as much or as little as you desire), and sugar (adjusted to your taste). Mix and add fresh lemon slices and mint leaves. Serve and enjoy!
Pretzels
Homemade pretzels are the absolute best. Although they take some extra time and effort to make, they always turn out so so good!! This recipe is from the Magnolia Table, Volume 2 cookbook on page 55 from Joanna Gaines. See below for more details on the cookbooks. I remember my family and I visiting a food truck festival in Minnesota several years ago and we had the best pretzel ever there. This recipe is a representation of that delicious moment.
Using dry yeast, flour, salt, oil, and more you can create these fantastic pretzels at home. Making the added cheese dip, makes these pretzels even more special.
Sweet Pepper & Pancetta Frittata
Joanna Gaines from the hit decorating TV show, Fixer Upper, has some amazing recipes you can recreate in your home. Our visit to Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, Texas has left me wanting to go back again and again. Their sweet empire has an amazing vibe and allows the opportunity to stay a while and enjoy all things Magnolia from decorating stores, food trucks, and bakery and coffee shop items.
Joanna has three cookbooks she has created, and each one has a unique collection of recipes for you to try. I recommend purchasing all three books so you can recreate her recipes in your own home.
This recipe for the frittata is in her original cookbook, Volume 1 on page 95. Using pancetta, peppers, eggs, heavy cream, Gruyere cheese, feta cheese, baby arugula and seasonings, this made for an easy breakfast dish. I found it to be a little salty, so I decreased the salt the next time to make it perfect. An easy breakfast with added fruit on the side.
Check out all the details on visiting Magnolia Market at the Silos in Waco, Texas
Empanadas from Argentina
When we moved into our home in Florida, our new neighbors who are from Argentina became good friends of ours. I was able to be a part of them making empanadas one day and I was honored to experience this tradition with them. Food always seems to bring people together, and I love that!
I do not have an exact recipe but here are the main ingredients these used.
Goya Empanada Dough for frying
hamburger, cooked
boiled eggs
green olives
oil for frying
Homemade Vanilla
Ok, so this might not be related to travel, but when making foods from our travels, some recipes might ask for vanilla, and I prefer to use this homemade vanilla instead of store bought anyday! I started making homemade vanilla a long time ago and have never gone back to store bought again. This recipe is so easy to make with only two ingredients, Vodka and organic vanilla beans, and can now be made using an instant pot and can be used immediately after it is done. In the past I would create the vanilla and it would have to sit for 6 months before it could be used. Now, using the Instant Pot method, I can use the vanilla right away making it very convenient. Check out Laura at Heavenly Homemakers for details.
Peach Caprese salad
Peach Caprese
Another Joanna Gaines recipe from her Volume 1 book. Using fresh ingredients such as peaches, mozzarella balls and fresh basil leaves, this salad makes the perfect complement to any weeknight meal.
Homemade Starbucks
This is a super easy Starbucks recreation. It only takes 2 ingredients.
Tazo Passion (you can use Tazo tea bags and make your own or purchase it as seen in the picture, already made for convenience)
Simply Lemonade
Mix the two together in a cup and enjoy.
Starbucks copycat Egg Bites
I wanted to copycat the Egg Bites from Starbucks so my family could have them for breakfast at home. With simple ingredients, you too can make them at home. This is an Instant Pot egg bites recipe, but you can also make them in the oven with this egg bites recipe.
Pizza
My family and I love to make our own pizzas. Most times I make traditional pizzas from pepperoni to sausage but occasionally I like to experiment and make a unique pizza combination. Some of our favorite pizza places are Napoli Pizza in Bulington, Iowa and Capone’s Coal Fired Pizza in Fort Myers, Florida.
These three pizzas we made were so good and unique that I had to put the recipes here for you to enjoy as well. I created my own crust but followed the recipes of others for the unique pizza combinations.
Pizza dough: this recipe is from a good friend of mine. It is easy to make and makes 4 small pizzas.
2 cups warm water 100 degree
2 tablespoon active dry yeast
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
2 cup chopped fresh basil
6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons salt
Since you are placing warm water into a mixing bowl, I always run it under hot water to make sure the bowl is warm before adding the water, so it does not create the water to cool to quickly, therefore risking the water not being at the correct temp for the yeast. My stand-up mixer has a metal bowl.
In a stand-up mixing bowl, place water, yeast, olive oil, honey, garlic and chopped basil; allow to sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
add the flour and salt to the yeast mixture, knead with the mixer for 10 minutes (or knead with hands on a slightly floured surface to incorporate for 10 minutes), add more flour as needed until it pulls away from the edges of the bowl. I usually need to add more flour once or twice. Just about a tablespoon at a time.
place the dough into a slightly oiled bowl and roll around to coat the dough with oil. Let dough sit in a warm place until it has doubled in size, about an hour.
divide into 4-6 equal parts, roll the dough with a rolling pin to desired thickness.
add toppings and bake at 425 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until desired consistency.
click the link to find the full instructions.
Taco pizza: cook 1-pound of hamburger and add taco seasoning to the meat. To the pizza crust, add about half of a 15 oz can of refried beans as you would pizza sauce. Then add the cooked hamburger, salsa, diced tomatoes, lettuce, red onions, 2 cups mozzarella cheese and any other desired toppings.
Honey Bear pizza: This amazing recipe was sooo good. Using hot sausage, onions, cheese and a drizzle of honey, this pizza was so mouthwatering and the honey (who knew!!) gave it an added sweetness to make the flavor even more spectacular.
Blackberry Bacon, Basil Pizza: Such a unique combination for pizza but it proved to be really good. Check out the recipe for more details. We did not grill this pizza but cooked it in the oven and it was still delicious.
Read more about 15 of the best things to do in Burlington, Iowa
Kentucky Derby Museum tickets
Enjoy a self-guided tour of the Kentucky Derby Museum and then a guided tour of the Churchill Down Track. Prices start at $21 per person.
Lavender cookies and biscuits
While in Nashville, Tennesse we visited a farmer’s market where one of the vendors was selling their own dried lavender. Here we purchased some of their homemade lavender lemonade and thick and silky lavender lotion that is supposed to keep bugs away. My daughter fell in love with the lavender flavor, so we purchased some to take home. I am not a huge fan of the lavender flavor in food, but we had to give it a try.
Lavender Lemonade:
1/2 cup French lavender buds
1 cup white cane sugar
2 cups water (for boiling)
1 1/2 cups fresh squeezed lemon juice
2 cups cold water
Boil water, add lavender buds, steep for 3-5 minutes, drain and slowly add to your water and lemon juice. Serves 6.
Recipe from Lavender Girl TN. Instagram @lavendergriltn
Blueberry muffins
Blueberry Muffins
This easy and moist blueberry muffin recipe is recreated as a way to enjoy a coffee shop type breakfast at home for my whole family. Serve with orange juice and fresh fruit or boiled eggs.
Crab Ragoon
Crab ragoon
For my daughters birthday, she wanted to recreate the illusion of eating at a sushi restaurant. We purchased the sushi but then made the crab ragoon and at home using an air fryer. Super easy to make.
Guacamole Dip Mix
This is a delicious dip that we purchased at Carlsbad Caverns National Park in New Mexico. Made a great dip for fresh veggies and crackers.
Enjoy learning about Louisville city’s past while visiting hotels with ghosts and drinking prohibition era drinks. Drinks and snacks included. Prices start at $189 per person.
Strawberry Basil lemonade
At Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville, I tried their fresh strawberry basil lemonade and became obsessed with it and had to recreate it at home.
Recipe:
1 cup strawberries, hulled
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 cup (4-6 lemons)
Simple syrup (simmer 1 cup water and 1 cup sugar over medium heat until sugar is dissolved, chill)
4 cups water
ice
~~Mix the strawberries and basil in a blender and strain the mixture if desired. Add this mixture with the rest of the ingredients and enjoy!
Fresh salad
On our travels through Florida, I stopped at the Sarasota’s Farmers Market. This Farmers Market has a lot to see with multiple vendors from food trucks, fresh fruits and vegetables, live music, and clothing items. Below I created this amazing salad from the fresh vegetables I purchased at Kinsey’s Produce. Our salad consisted of:
Butter lettuce
radishes
fresh grated parmesan cheese
boiled eggs
Romano Caesar dressing from Trader Joes
Bacon Jam
When we were visiting the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville Kentucky, we stopped and ate at Mussel and Burger Bar where we found some of the most satisfying flavors and combinations of burgers that had me craving for more. After returning home, I created this wonderful burger with homemade bacon jam, inspired by this restaurant, and oh my, it was delicious! You can find this recipe on the bacon jam at Foodie with Family blog.
Jeni’s Brambleberry Ice Cream
Our first experience with eating Jeni’s Ice Cream was in Nashville, Tennessee. We happened to be at a local farmers market where one of the permanent food vendors was Jeni’s Ice Cream. Well, if you know me, you know I love to try ice cream everywhere I go, and this place was no exception. Once I tried it, I was hooked. Jeni’s has locations all over the US and luck fully there are several locations in Florida so I can enjoy it anytime I want. I liked Jeni’s so much that I even purchased her Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream at Home cookbook so I could recreate my favorite flavor, Brambleberry ice cream at home. It’s so good!!!
Picture on the right is Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream in Tampa, Florida.
Check out the top places to eat in Tampa, Florida that includes Jeni’s Ice Cream shops.
Coffee Cake Donuts
I love to get up on Saturday mornings and take my youngest son to Starbucks to get a drink and a breakfast item. We sit and enjoy time together as we (mostly he) talk about our week, or he tells me about the thousand different things he has learned this week from how the chocolate chip cookies were started or what he learned about his favorite insect or animal. Although his many stores can be overwhelming, I know the time spend together is precious.
I like to recreate many of the breakfast recipes we find at coffee shops to have at home that will feed my whole family for way cheaper. This recipe is for the Coffee Cake donuts. This easy recipe can be made to serve any weekend or make ahead and eat them throughout the week.
Check out this yummy donut place in Anna Marie Island, Florida
Save this post for later as I will continue to add to it as we travel and experience some new foods. This culinary journey provides an array of recipes, a clear way to connect with the flavors and people in surrounding places.
Make a refreshing drink to serve with your meal, have a hearty breakfast, savory empanadas from Argentina, crisp salads, and mouthwatering pizzas. Each recipe will bring a sense of togetherness to your kitchen.
So, grab your apron, gather the ingredients, and transform your kitchen into a world of delicious possibilities.
Where was your favorite place to eat across the US? Comment below!
Enjoy the journey,
Meet the author: Jennifer
I am a girl who loves to travel and enjoys sharing expert family travel advice. I am a content creator and influencer on Instagram with years of travel experience and provide readers with advice, tips, and details on adventurous family travel and tips on saving money while boondocking or traveling across the US.
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London is a city that provides an array of culinary delights, offering something for every palate and budget. Whether you are craving the classic comfort of fish and chips, seeking the elegance of an afternoon tea, or wanting to dine at the iconic first Hard Rock Cafe in the word, London’s food scene has you covered.