Recipe #3: Hearty Meat Sauce

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

Everybody loves their mama’s sauce, right? Well like you, I think MY mom’s sauce is the best and today, I’m sharing her recipe with the masses … well, anybody that reads this blog anyway. I didn’t need to make too many tweaks to the original recipe but as usual, I’ve provided her version as well as a slightly healthier version below so that you can enjoy either one – or compare the two!

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Recipe Project #2: Chicken & Brie Sandwiches

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

First of all, I want to say THANK YOU SO MUCH for all of the support and feedback you have given me regarding this little passion project. I am so thrilled that you are all excited about this idea and following along. I love hearing from you and it also makes ME excited to keep getting back in the kitchen and playing with these recipes. I also think my husband is really loving this project as he has been deemed the official taste tester. Anywho, let’s get into today’s recipe. Continue Reading

Recipe 1: Butternut Squash Risotto

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

When I decided to take on this recipe challenge, I kind of assumed I’d start on page one of the cookbook and work my way through. But when I started mapping things out, it just wasn’t realistic. I’m very intentional about the meals I prepare for the week. But then I realized, working through the book in a way that fit into my life was a better plan anyway. That IS the whole point of this project after all – to show you how you can incorporate indulgent recipes into your life in a healthy, realistic way. Anywho, once I decided to choose my own order, I knew exactly which recipe to start with: Butternut Squash Risotto.

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2019 Recipe Project

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Rebecca McKinney

I was born a foodie. My dad is a chef, baker, and restaurant owner and my mom might as well be because she owns whatever kitchen she walks into. I grew up working in my family’s restaurant and bakery in Pawling, New York – McKinney and Doyle. I started behind the bakery counter at 12 years old after begging my parents to let me start working. At 16 I worked as a hostess. By 18 I was serving tables and training behind the bar where I then worked every other weekend throughout my college career. Even now, when I am visiting my family in New York, I help out where I’m needed. To make a long story short, the food and restaurant industry has been my life for as long as I can remember.

I wanted to create this blog for a few reasons. First and foremost, to share tips, tricks, and knowledge about the food and beverage industry in general but also to help people see a different side of the restaurant world. Every restaurant has a totally unique culture and world within it. I want to help open people’s eyes to more than how fast the service is or how easy or hard it is to secure a reservation.

So, thanks for stopping by! I welcome your ideas, input, and feedback and hope you enjoy!

Eat well & travel often,

Becky McKinney

Latest posts by Rebecca McKinney (see all)

My 2019 Recipe Challenge is officially underway! I know I’ve already shared the concept with you all but figured I’d dive a little deeper.

When I first became a health & fitness coach, I knew I wanted to help people understand that weight loss and/or a healthy lifestyle didn’t have to mean giving up all of your favorite foods. I created the Foodie Turned Fit brand to share my weight loss journey (I’ve lost and kept off 45 pounds) but also to share how I did it in an enjoyable, sustainable way. This challenge takes that to the next level because it’s more than me just TELLING you that eating healthy is/can be gourmet … it’s me SHOWING you.

Every recipe that I’ll share this year will come straight from the family cookbook that my mother made for me. Some of the recipes have been passed down by generations, some were made up at home and some come right from M&D.

As we move forward in the challenge, I’ll share both the original AND the modified version of each recipe as well as the corresponding video. My hope is that you can get a picture of how I’m tweaking things as well as get to know myself and my husband, Matt (aka my official taste tester) as we eat our way through 2019.

See you next week! We’re making butternut squash risotto.