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Spicy Tomato Soup
Tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches are the quintessential cold, rainy day foods. While heating a can of tomato soup or Spaghetti-os is quick and easy, sometimes something a little more elegant is necessary. While this soup can easily be made from scratch with oven roasted tomatoes, garlic, and onion; on busy weeknights, shortcuts are a must. Using canned fire roasted tomatoes, or marinara can give you very similar flavors and quality and a fraction of the time. Additionally, if you need a vegetarian or vegan version omit the sausage and use vegetable stock instead of chicken stock. I’ve made this with diced portobello mushrooms instead of sausage as a…
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Copy Cat: Pei Wei Chicken Wraps
I don’t eat at Pei Wei’s often, but when I do, I always have to have their chicken wraps. They are SO tasty, but since I don’t get to go to Pei Wei’s as much as I’d like, I decided I needed to figure out how to recreate them at home. I’ve also been on a kick lately of tricking my family into trying new things. I had some left over cremini mushrooms in the fridge and decided to add them into this recipe instead of only having ground chicken. If you are most decidedly not a fan of mushrooms, just exchange the mushrooms for another pound of ground chicken.…
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Maple Roasted Beets and Carrots
Contains affiliate links My dad loves beets. I mean he LOVES beets. We always dreaded the dinners where beets were a side dish. It didn’t matter if they were canned, boiled, baked…I always thought they tasted like dirt. After a while, my parents gave up forcing their children to like beets. I hadn’t consumed beets since then, but I always wanted to try my hand a roasting them. Visiting my parents this last week, I knew I would find several pounds of fresh beets sitting in the refrigerator waiting to be consumed. Remember when I said my dad LOVES beets? He eats them as a snack if they are available.…
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Instapot Artichokes
Contains affiliate links Artichokes are one vegetable that had intimidated me for years. I can easily add canned artichoke hearts to a recipe, but taking a full head of artichoke and cooking it properly, that’s where the intimidation lies. It wasn’t until I saw them prepared on the Food Network Channel when I realized I was over analyzing it. I knew I could easily cook them in my Instapot. From start to finish, it typically takes me 30 minutes or less. AND…if I was only cooking for myself, I would totally have this as my dinner. If cooking artichokes have scared you, or if you have failed time and time…
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Quick Cashew Chicken
Well, I did it! I made it through my first Foodie February and blogged a recipe every weekday. It was definitely a challenge for me at times, but I thoroughly enjoyed all of the cooking and baking. I came up with a lot of recipes and perfected others. BUT don’t despair, I still have plenty up my sleeve and several upcoming recipes I am pretty proud of. I couldn’t give away all of my secrets in February. I LOVE Asian food. Ok, let’s be honest, I just love food…especially ethnic foods. But, Asian food is definitely in my top 3. When I finally purchased a wok, I just about cried.…
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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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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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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…
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Quick Dinners & Pantry Staples
Now that school is in full swing, extracurriculars are consuming our lives, and germs are being passed around…quick dinners have become the norm around here. I definitely love pouring my heart into preparing meals for friends and family, but most often I just don’t have the time or energy during the week to be very elaborate. Healthy, yummy meals are still my top priority…but there are plenty of meals that can be prepared quickly and are still healthy. Quinoa, Jasmine rice, and various types of pasta are always in my pantry. Quinoa bowls are a weekly occurrence in my house. It is easy to cook and easy to flavor. Some of my…
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Quinoa & Arugula Chicken Salad
This week has been the week of chicken salads. It is easy to create and easy to make a lot of for food prep. I really wanted to figure out a way to incorporate arugula into a recipe, especially a recipe the amigos would hopefully eat. Arugula is super yummy, it is a leaf that has a peppery taste. It is also packed with nitrate which has been proven to help lower blood pressure. It is the same nitrate family as broccoli, brussels sprouts, and kale…and I don’t know about you, but I would MUCH rather consume broccoli and arugula than kale or brussels sprouts. Other fun facts about arugula……
