I'm not exaggerating-- Prepare to put Mojo Sauce on EVERYTHING. This version, called Mojo Verde, is a tangy, garlicky, herb and chile pepper sauce that adds fresh-flavored magic to all it touches. Added bonus: it only takes a few minutes to make. WHAT IS MOJO SAUCE? Mojo is an uncooked, fresh and vibrant sauce that's...
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Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps (Larb Gai)
Savory, salty, spicy, sweet, and sour-- these Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps have it all. The classic fresh, flavorful, and easy-to-make filling is also known as Larb Gai, and it’s so delicious that you’ll almost forget that it happens to be healthy, too. IT’S ALL ABOUT THE THAI FOOD, BABY The most common question I’m asked...
Crispy Baked Carrot Fries
At only 170 calories per serving, Crispy Baked Carrot Fries are the perfect healthy side dish to satisfy your french fry cravings without the guilt. These surprisingly delicious, seasoned carrot fries are made without the hassle (and excess oil) of deep-frying, and they taste like sweet potato fries! FRIES MADE FROM CARROTS? If you had...
Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole
This Make-Ahead Mashed Potato Casserole is a holiday miracle. Cooked in herbed half-and-half and topped with fried sage, you’ll swoon over the crispy-yet-creamy texture as much as all of the avoided last-minute stress. MAKE-AHEAD MASHED POTATO CASSEROLE I spend 150% of the holiday season stressed out because time management is not the strong suit of...
Homemade Falafel (Pan-Fried or Baked)
Learn to make Homemade Pan-Fried or Baked Falafel so authentic that your friends will swear you had it flown in from Lebanon. Whichever method you choose, its vibrant fresh herbs, punchy seasoning blend, and crispy-yet-tender texture will be the star of any sandwich or mezze board. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again...
5-Minute Garlicky Tahini Sauce
5 Minute Garlicky Tahini Sauce is a traditional Middle Eastern sesame seed based sauce that's tangy, nutty, creamy, and silky smooth without any help from dairy. The secret that makes this recipe the best (and easiest)? Blending a whole, unpeeled head of garlic with fresh lemon juice. It sounds weird, but if you read on...
Homemade Pita Bread
If warm, fluffy, poofed, and perfectly-pocketed pitas are what you're looking for, it doesn't get better than this recipe for Homemade Pita Bread. They're surprisingly simple to make and leagues better than the store-bought stuff! Before stumbling upon my first go-to pita recipe, I'd already been dreaming about making it for years. There's just something...
Syracuse Salt Potatoes
These 4-ingredient Syracuse Salt Potatoes are a classic Central NY dish. Thin salt crusts, almost impossibly tender centers, and a drizzle of melted butter make them just as irresistible as they are easy to prepare. Every year until I was 15, my entire extended family traveled to Syracuse, New York to celebrate my great-grandfather’s birthday....
Dreamy, Creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce
This Dreamy, Creamy Avocado Cilantro Sauce takes just 5 minutes to make and is perfect for serving on tacos, over salads, with sweet potatoes, or simply with a side of chips for dipping. Let's be honest, you're going to eat it on everything. There was a time when I was in an exclusive relationship with guacamole. It was...
Sweet and Smoky Bacon Jam
Sweet and Smoky Bacon Jam. Brown sugar, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, coffee, apple cider vinegar, caramelized onions and of course, LOTS of bacon give this spread addictively deep, smoky, spicy, sweet, and salty flavors. You're going to want to spread it on everything-- consider this fair warning. I don't know what I love more-- the...
The Great Kitchen Kapers Holiday Gift Guide and GIVEAWAY 2018
We've made our list and checked it twice: Check out our round-up of the best kitchen gifts for everyone (and we do mean everyone) on your list, whatever your budget. Don't tell anyone, but I haven't bought any Christmas presents yet. I can't believe we're already through week one of December and quickly moving on to...
Charred Cherry Whiskey Lemonade
Charred Cherry Whiskey Lemonade. Grilled or sauteed cherries add great flavor (and a little edge) to these sweet and tart whiskey cocktails. Yesterday, while scheduling out my to-do-lists for recipe-making in the next few weeks (which, by the way, is a very ambitious schedule that's definitely going to result in lots of How Did I...
Grilled Potato Wedge Fries with Roasted Garlic Aioli
Grilled Potato Wedge Fries with Roasted Garlic Aioli. No burger is complete without a side of fries, so whip these easy grilled, seasoned wedges up for your next barbecue. The aioli, made from grill-roasted garlic, is just as addictive as the fries! The first time I made grilled fries for the blog, just over 5...
Grilled Peach and Halloumi Panzanella
Grilled Peach and Halloumi Panzanella. This summer salad includes a mix of quickly grilled peaches, halloumi cheese, and ciabatta bread croutons that are tossed with fresh basil, red onions, and a simple white balsamic vinaigrette. It looks and tastes fancy, but it only takes less than a half-hour to prepare! I placed this platter on...
Boozy Watermelon Mint Lemonade
Boozy Watermelon Mint Lemonade. This super satisfying, refreshing cocktail is perfect for parties and cookouts. The combination of fresh watermelon, cucumber, lemon juice, and mint (with a little rum, of course) makes for a drink that screams summertime! I'm going to let you in on a little secret: even if you're the manliest of manly,...
Mezze Party Platter
I almost flipped the whole damn table over on Friday night. James suggested that we do a date-night dinner this past weekend at our favorite little Turkish hole-in-the-wall and I was all about it. Partially because I am absolutely obsessed with the food there-- the creamy hummus, the crispy falafel, the warm pita bread, the butter-soft grilled meats, the...
Bacon Jalapeño Popper Creamed Corn Gratin
This recipe is part of a Friendsgiving series (woo!) brought to you by the Friendsgiving with French’s® program #RealFlavorsHaveCrunch Don’t forget to check back for the next 2 posts so you can achieve maximum tastiness at your Friendsgiving and holiday feasts. “What’s the first thing you think of when you think of Thanksgiving?” I asked...
Sheet Pan Maple Pecan Crusted Chicken & Roasted Vegetables
This post is sponsored by PAM Spray Pumps, who has been responsible for many a crispy-baked recipe in this house. Well, we had a few cool breezes this month, which of course means I’ve nosedived into pumpkin spice, pulled down my bin of sweaters from the attic, and decorated my house with gourds and dried...
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Dessert
I know that most people have jumped into September with both feet-- they've got 25 pumpkin spice recipes already in the queue, they're throwing freshly-picked apples into absolutely everything, and they're using words like "warming" and "toasty" and "roasted." But a huge part of my heart is still hung up on summer recipes-- the...
Crispy Hearts of Palm Tacos with Chipotle Baja Sauce
This post is sponsored by Reese Specialty Foods, who inspired me to broaden my taco horizons-- for which I’m always grateful. Once you try these Crispy Hearts of Palm Tacos with Chipotle Baja Sauce, trust me, you’ll be grateful, too.
5 Ingredient Cheddar Bacon Horseradish Dip
I'd say that right around the time that someone literally lifts the entire bowl of dip from the buffet area and sneaks it over to their own table, it becomes acceptable to pat yourself on the back for making a damn good recipe. Or at least that's what I told myself as I eyed my 5 Ingredient...
Crispy Chicken Tacos with Avocado Buttermilk Ranch
I'm not sure of the technical way to measure the greatness of a meal (if such a thing exists), but I want to say that it's probably "how likely would it be that I'd happily-- maybe even eagerly-- eat this on an already painfully full stomach?" Because you know what? I spent this weekend raiding...
Chicken Bacon Pressed Picnic Sandwiches with Raspberry Honey Mustard
About five years ago, I met James' mom over a platter of pressed picnic sandwiches. I know that I've mentioned this once before, but bear with me. James had spent the past few months of our friendship-turned-budding-relationship letting me know all about his mom-- or maybe not so much about her as he did about her food, which...
Mushroom Carnitas Tacos
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #VivaLaMorena #CollectiveBias Ah, Lent. The time of year when, on top of the normal "what should we have for dinner" daily conundrum, many people also have to consider what indulgence they've given up for 40 days, and what...
Jalapeño Buttermilk Ranch Fried Chicken
It was with a metal mug full of Pimento Beer Cheese, a freezer full of Ultra Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits, and a mason jar overflowing with Jalapeño Buttermilk Ranch that I realized that I was missing an essential piece of the puzzle (or sandwich, as it was). I realized that I had no fried chicken for slathering...
Whipped Feta Tzatziki Hummus
There was a time, rather recently actually, when I swore my allegiance to a particular hummus recipe. I made some pretty bold proclamations to friends and family, like: "You could fly to the Middle East and try every centuries-old recipe from every beloved grandmother and every frequented street vendor and still never find hummus this perfect."...
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chickpea Bars
I almost called these "Unbelievable Bars" because I was completely caught off guard when I realized that they were not only edible, but actually freaking delicious. They get this crackly, brownie-like crust on the top and bottom after baking, but stay extremely moist and almost fudgy in the center, sort of like the texture of...
Crunchy Mexican BBQ Sauced Chicken Tacos with Charred Corn Relish
I feel like you're giving me a weird look right now. Is it because when you envision sweet and smoky, barbecue sauce-smothered chicken with fresh-off-the-cob corn, you're usually not thinking of tacos? I feel you, friend. I do. But these Crunchy Mexican BBQ Sauced Chicken Tacos with Charred Corn Relish are about to change your WORLD.
Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Parmesan Rice
These Sun-Dried Tomato Basil Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Parmesan Rice are a result of what can only be explained as a freak accident on mother nature's behalf: I've managed to keep a basil plant alive in my kitchen for months now. Not only is it alive, it's flourishing. New leaves are coming in. Nothing is wilting. It's survived...
Sweet Chili Crab Dip
Sure, I sometimes like to go all out, but I much more often prefer some demi-cheeked fanciness. Bringing out the nice wine glasses with the takeout Chinese food, the nail polish stickers that make it look like you went to the salon recently, nibbling on Texas caviar, you know, that kind of stuff. It's really all about enjoying...
Honey Dijon Chicken Cheesesteaks on Pretzel Rolls
My mom is not a big eater. She is perfectly content having salad for dinner most nights, and she sticks to small portion sizes when she eats anything else. I did not inherit my endless (and frighteningly insatiable) appetite from her. But sometimes she surprises me, like when I told her that she could have the first taste...
Rosemary Olive Oil Crock Pot Bread, Take 2! Plus a recipe for Olive Oil Herb Dip
As I write this post, there is a photo over on the right-hand side of the blog, staring me in the face, right down into the depths of my soul. It's a photo that I am totally not proud of in any way, shape or form. It's a photo that I have GOT to get...
Spicy Baked Jicama Fries
Fellow french fry fiends, fear not. I'm not about to ruin your diets with pictures of deep fried potatoes. No, really, I'm not. These "fries" aren't fried at all, and they're definitely not potatoes. Instead, these fries are made of a different tuber called Jicama (pronounced hee-ka-ma), which is most often found in Mexican...
Baked Sweet Chili Garlic Popcorn Chicken
Believe it or not, in between chowing down on all things cheesy or chocolaty that I put up here, I try to make healthy choices. Well, at least sometimes. And I know that a lot of you are right there with me, trying to keep your snacking down and your salad-consumption up. However, just because...
Fried Green Tomatoes with Goat Cheese and Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
I have been waiting for a whole year to make and share this recipe with you. Last summer, James and I went down to North Carolina to visit my cousin, Ashley, and her fiance (now husband), Evan. We planned on jetskiing and picnicking and walking downtown, but we didn't get to experience much beautiful Carolinian...
Thai Cashew Coconut Rice with Ginger Peanut Sauce
I go to barbecues and shovel pasta salad in my mouth like it's going out of style. Seriously, I load up with enough dressing-doused noodles to make my paper plate sag down in the middle, and then I go back for seconds. And thirds. I love the stuff. For obvious reasons, pasta salad has been...
Crock Pot Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Tacos with Pineapple Slaw
When I'm in a creative slump, I always go to my friends and family for recipe inspiration. What does my cousin Ashley tell me to make every time? Hawaiian Chicken. Every. Single. Time. Even though she's been telling me to make Hawaiian Chicken for over a year now (seriously), I kept putting it off because......
Warm Balsamic Steak and Vegetable Medley
Let me be upfront with you: I had no idea what to call this dish, so if the name of the recipe sounds ridiculous, I'm sorry. At first I was thinking of calling it a "salad" because it technically is one, but I thought that could give people a different impression than what you actually...
Bacon Blue Cheese Burger Skins
For 22 years of my life, I avoided blue cheese like the plague. I don't know why I refused to try it. I don't know what made me decide that I'd despise it. All I know is that, for the large majority of my life, I deprived myself of one of the most enjoyable flavors...
How to Put Together Your Own Italian Wine and Antipasto Spread
I personally don't believe that you can go over-the-top with a meal as long as the taste is worth it in the end. I don't find anything wrong with spending hours in the kitchen, or searching high and low for the best ingredients, or meticulously planning out the details of each course. Food is something...