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Easy Corn Salad
I love having an arsenal of side dishes in my recipe rotation. While heating up frozen vegetables or chopping up fruit and throwing it into a bowl is easy and tasty, sometimes it is nice to have more. This particular side salad is perfect for a potluck, or BBQ, or to just gorge yourself on at home…it is THAT yummy! A tiny bit of spice, a lot of cheese, plenty of vegetables. What more could a girl ask for? This particular recipe is especially delicious in the summer months when you can easily get fresh corn on the cob, but using thawed out frozen corn still makes it a special…
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Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
Being the mother to 4 boys, we go through bananas like the apocalypse is tomorrow. It is a rare occasion when we have overly ripe bananas that I can use to create banana bread or muffins. Goob especially loves bananas, having one for breakfast has become a ritual for him. His whole day is thrown off if he doesn’t start with a banana. By some miracle, last week I had 3 overly ripe bananas I needed to do something with. I also had some sour cream that needed to be used up. I remembered that sour cream in other baked goods causes the texture to be fluffy and light. That…
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GG Gladys’ Molasses Cookies
I distinctly remember the cookie jar filled to the brim every time we’d visit Grandma’s home. She loved to bake, and was damn good at it…pies, cakes, jello salads…okay, jello doesn’t involve baking. Her molasses cookies are a definite favorite among her posterity. When my genius of a brother was about 5 years old, he became rather distraught and proclaimed we shouldn’t swear and that molasses was a swear word…mole-asses (my powers of deduction was definitely not nearly that advanced at age 5). So from then on, we were to call molasses cookies gopher bottom cookies…over 20 years later, Gopher Bottom Cookies is the proper name in our household. The…
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Easy Homemade Smoothie Bowls
A recent food trend has been acai bowls or smoothie bowls. They are super yummy and filling. Most often they are also packed with vitamins and minerals and very heart-healthy. The place that is close to my house is one of my most favorite places to treat myself to…but, one bowl is $9 and for that much, I can make my whole family their own smoothie bowls at home. While it is super convenient to have someone else make one for you, I do enjoy creating them at home where I can control the ingredients. The key to smoothie bowls is to make sure the thickness of the puree is…
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Quick Instapot Lasagna
My family has absolutely no Italian heritage, but my boys could eat anything pasta and/or anything with cheeses and marinara til they die. When I cook a recipe and can make it super quick in my instapot, everyone is happy. This recipe takes less than 30 minutes start-to-finish and is a definite crowd pleaser. If you want the vegetarian/vegan version or the gluten-free tips then scroll to the bottom. Enjoy! To make this dish vegetarian, instead of pork sausage, diced eggplant and zucchini are super yummy. Once the olive oil has been drizzled, add in the diced eggplant and zucchini and just saute slightly with the dried onions and red…
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Moroccan Chili and Couscous
Back before Pinterest, I watched the Food Network channel religiously. Rachel Ray, Giada, and Sunny Anderson were some of my favorites. I especially loved Rachel’s 30 Minute Meals. If I could make an amazing meal for my family in the time it would take my boys to watch 2 Curious Georges then it was a huge win for me. I hoarded recipes like crazy. It would drive Matthew nuts because our DVR would fill up with all of the food shows I recorded. Now, I mostly create my own recipes and when that fails I search Pinterest. BUT, I have my favorites from the good o’le days…and Moroccan Chili and…
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Paleo Apple Cinnamon Pork Chops
Growing up, pork chops and applesauce was a staple meal in my house. It brings back a lot of memories, but it is also a very simple flavored meal. When I saw some amazing cuts of pork chops at my local butcher I knew exactly what I wanted to do with them. This recipe is a zhuzhed up version of my childhood applesauce and pork chops. Not only are the ingredients in season, which makes me super happy, but this recipe is Whole 30, Paleo, and Keto all rolled into one. It may look complicated, but it is ALMOST as easy as grilling pork chops and pouring applesauce on top. Keep…
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Chorizo 3 Bean Chili
The weather has turned cooler here in Las Vegas, which means I can now comfortably consume chili and soup. I absolutely love chili and soup, but I just can’t bring myself to eat either when the temperature is high. This time of year just makes me want to hibernate (which is why I’ve been so lazy and neglectful on social media) and consume all sorts of comfort foods. I have several chili recipes that are family favorites, but this one is definitely towards the top of the list. Each part of the country has their own way to correctly make chili, Texans think it’s an abomination to put beans in…
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Keto Avocado and Lime Sour Cream
Guys…GUYS!!!! This keto and paleo friendly avocado and lime sour cream dip is A.MAZING! I threw it together last week in an effort to tszuj (pronounced zhuj…I may or may not have spelled it zhuj the first time. Hey, I never said I was good at spelling) up the street tacos I had planned on having for dinner. My avocados weren’t 100% ripe so I decided to puree them with other yummy ingredients. This dip is yummy on top of tacos, enchiladas, as a spread in a sandwich and as a dip with chips. You definitely need to try this ASAP. Avocado and Lime Sour Cream Dip ingredeints: 1 large avocado…
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Fennel & Orange Focaccia
Sometimes I like to plan meals with flavors that are the same in each food. The other night I made a Spicy Blueberry & Orange Pork Tenderloin with this Fennel & Orange Focaccia. Not only does each food compliment the other, but it also is a great way to be able to use every part of the specific ingredient. In the pork tenderloin I used the orange zest, and then in the focaccia, I used the orange slices and the juice. The only waste I had from the oranges was the pith. Also…have you ever tried fennel? It has this amazing licorice scent and flavor. It looks like celery, dill…
