I can always tell when there’s a new season approaching when I’m doing my weekly shopping at Target. Right now it’s OUTDOOR BBQ, get your ice buckets, garden lighting, stock up on sunscreen!!! season and it’s one of my favorite times of year. I love the promise of longer days and eating outside by candlelight (albeit citronella!) I also LOVE seeing what the color trend is for the year and picking out a new table cloth & a few new dishware items for outdoor parties. It’s a ritual I have and it means that soon life will slow down a bit. People take it a bit easier during summer. Life gets simpler and so does the food.
When it’s time to start eating outside, my brain shifts gears. I think of easy yet satisfying dishes that can be thrown together instantly. I always gravitate towards dishes that include some type of vegetable and the use of an outdoor grill!
I teamed up with Archer Farms (only found at Target!) to come up with a simple recipe (using one of their products) that will help you kick off the BBQ season. This Asparagus Tomato Basil Couscous uses Archer Farms Roasted Garlic & Olive Couscous. I grilled asparagus, pulled fresh basil from my patio, added toasted pine nuts, tomatoes & fresh mozzarella. This couscous is finished with a hefty squeeze of lemon juice to really wake up the asparagus. The fact that the couscous already has some simple seasoning helps cut down on the ingredients list. And that’s exactly what we need when we just wanna chill out & relax outside. Am I right?
Read More »
Happy Seis de Mayo!!! Did you eat tacos yesterday? I hoped to but the weather was a little rainy/grey so I made this Mexican Chicken Soup instead. If I was a better food blogger, I would have posted this recipe last week and I would have lead you to some of my favorite Mexican recipes from the past (Shrimp Tacos, Taquitos, Mexican Popcorn, Stuffed Poblanos, Goat Cheese Guacamole, Cilantro Limeade, Cinnamon Sugar Tortillas, Coconut Tres-Leche Cake). But I didn’t…OOPS.
So here I am the day after Cinco de Mayo showing you an easy Chicken Tostada Salad recipe. If you’re anything like me, you could eat Mexican food all day/everyday. I seriously never get sick of it. Well…maybe when I was in Mexico for a week I might have…
With it staying light outside later (HOORAY) and the ease of this recipe, I’m able to show you something I made after work. This means that if I can do all of this and make a meal for my family, you’ll be able to do this in no time. It’s a wonderful recipe and a perfect way to use any leftover rotisserie chicken you may have. Both me and the husband ate two each. This is totally going into the weekly rotation.
Do we still get to drink margaritas today? Please say yes.
Read More »
Coconut Almond Caramel Corn aka How to Woo Your Hair Stylist/Mail Carrier/Preschool Teacher/Boss/Neighbor. It is to be used when you really want to change someone’s mind about you…like WHOA!! He/She is AWESOME. I’m pretty sure you already are, but giving people delicious Caramel Corn can take your awesome status to a whole new level.
Have you ever tried something that made you speechless? This is the case with this recipe. Crunchy popcorn meets crunchy toasted coconut meets roasted salted almonds meets caramel OMG. Light, buttery, salty toffee-like amazingness.
And to think I was super impressed/dang proud of my Caramel Croutons…these might be my new favorite… I have visions of topping dulce de leche ice cream with crunched up bits of this Coconut Almond Caramel. Excuse me while I dream…BIG.
Read More »
For a couple of years in college I went vegetarian (thaaaaanks, dorm food) and lived off a lot of stir-fry meals, pizza, Tillamook cheese & hummus. It took me about a decade to get back into the stir-fry game. I went a little overboard with my college wok…
When my friend, Riley moved in during our last year of college, he came with a nice repertoire of meals. He was the first person to introduce me to chilaquiles (which I LOVED) and he also made this Tomato Artichoke Penne Pasta dish that had me swooning. He was most certainly a welcome breath of fresh air food-wise/roommate-wise.
What I love about this dish was how easy it is to prepare and how it costs next to nothing to make. For a college student those two things are GOLD. For an adult who has no time to grocery shop and wants a meal with tons of leftovers throughout the week, it’s SOLID gold. Sidenote: I find eating cold pasta to be way more enjoyable than hot. Is it just me? There’s just something about cold leftovers that satisfies me. Perhaps it’s how the flavors develop over time? Throw some feta in your pasta leftovers and you have a fantastic salad for an outdoor picnic.
Read More »
Remember when I was straight up obsessed with the Trader Joe’s Super Spinach Salad and decided to recreate it at home? I have a new obsession— their Broccoli Kale Slaw. It’s found a special place in my heart but the only problem is…well, I have some serious issues with it.
First things first! I don’t like the creamy mayo based dressing it comes with (I haven’t even tried it and I don’t want to. Nope.) And sometimes when I bite into a piece of the chicken in the pre-packaged salad, it doesn’t taste fresh. Have you ever had a old piece of lunch meat? Yeah. That’s the taste I’m talking about. BUZZKILL. I also know it’s not organic chicken and that bugs me. Yeah, I said it.
But now I’ve made those issues non-issues. I made my own catered-to-me version of this slaw and I think you’ll love too. It’s a colorful salad full of texture, sweetness, tang & crunchy. It’s a salad with substance….one that fills you up and leaves you satisfied. A salad that does a good job keeping my cookie cravings at bay….At least for a little while…
Read More »
I accidentally forgot my headphones when I was going for a walk yesterday, so instead of using that as an excuse (I’m always full of them when it comes to exercising), I thought I’d use the opportunity to clear my head before I started working in the kitchen. What could be better than listening to chirping birds and overzealous crickets surrounded by redwoods? I’ll listen to podcasts another day.
For some reason I just couldn’t focus. The chatter in my brain went something like this: BIRDS CHIRPING, Whoa. LEMON, GINGER, RICE KRISPIES, Is that poison oak? WHITE CHOCOLATE, EMAIL, ZEST, LEMON CAKE.What time do I need to get this done. RICE KRISPY TREATS. Repeat that for 60 minutes and you’ll have my workout. I think I walked fast just so I could get home and tackle this. I suppose that might be good motivation?
And so I made them…and they were everything I’d hoped for. Rice crispy treat meets lemon cake meets ginger white chocolate bark. Now if only I could meditate hard enough to make fries magically appear in my kitchen. Hold on, let me concentrate and get this crazy brain going….
Read More »
April showers bring May flowers. I have to keep reminding myself of that when it rains all day long. And in between moments of crazy rain and sun peeking through clouds, I want to sit at my kitchen table reading a magazine & eating a bowl of soup. This fantasy includes a hunk of garlic bread, as most fantasies do.
One of my go-to soups is this Sausage Soup I made years ago. I’ve probably made it as many times as I’ve seen The Royal Tenenbaums (which is A LOT). When I was flipping through one of my old Everyday Food Magazines (sniff sniff! So sad they shut down) I found this recipe and realized I had all of the ingredients at my disposal.
It’s like having a bowl of pasta, a bowl of soup, and a salad all in one. Carbs, meat, greens, SUPER FOODS and dairy all in one dish. It might soon replace my old standby. We’ll see about that.
Read More »
I actually just looked up the word smoothie online. This is the definition in case you’re wondering….
Let’s discuss # 1 for a second. Have you ever called a dude a smoothie? Oh, he’s such a smoothie. Hmm. Not so sure about that one.
This milk & cookies smoothie definitely doesn’t fit definition #1. Although this smoothie is pretty suave.
#2. Yes. OK this is a smoothie.
I looked up the definition because I feel like this smoothie is way too decadent to be considered a smoothie. In my mind a smoothie is something you fill with bananas & berries. Something that you blend with green stuff to get good stuff into your kid’s diet. You know…something on the healthy side. According to this definition, this is an actual smoothie even though it tastes like a milkshake. I think it has everything to do with the frozen bananas & cookies. It’s DECADENT. One second you get banana, and then you get a hint of cookies and BAM! There’s the peanut butter. It’s rich & creamy and will definitely fulfill your cookie & milkshake craving. It’s not just any old smoothie. It’s a Milk & Cookies Smoothie!
Read More »
I overheard Casey telling my parents last night during Easter dinner that he had an epic food week (thanks to me). That’s exactly what you want to overhear, isn’t it? Especially when you pour your heart & soul into feeding others. It’s not like he doesn’t tell me he loves it when I make food for him, but to hear him tell other people? Well, that’s just awesome. During this “epic” food week, I made a version of Greek salad that had tabouleh mixed in, summer rolls from scratch, some of the crispiest potatoes ever with grilled lamb for Easter and his most favorite food ever—Banh-Mi. Whew! Epic!
I’ve never made Banh-Mi before. I’ve always wanted to but it seemed kind of out of reach. We usually go out for Banh-Mi because it’s pretty reasonable, but the last time we went out they tried to charge us $8 per sandwich. I don’t think so!
What was stopping me? First of all, I felt like I might not be able to match all the sandwiches my husband has devoured in the last 6 years. I also thought that grilling pork would be hard (it’s NOT). I was super concerned about getting the bread right (the bread worked, but now I think I have a better source!). Pickling my own veggies seemed laborious (so super duper easy and daikon is at my local Whole Foods). I was also worried that what I made wouldn’t be super authentic (who cares when it tastes soo dang good & just like the Bahn-Mi we get out to eat?!) All the issues were just in my head because this recipe is a snap!
The only problem is…I think I set the bar even higher when it comes to home cooked meals. Oof!
Read More »
2007 - 2012 shutterbean, All Rights Reserved.