Something strange happened last week that I'm still trying to wrap my head around. James and I went to a cook-out where the hosts totally (and deliciously) went overboard with the food: there were sausages of every sort, kebabs piled so high on platters that it looked like they'd topple over, racks upon racks of ribs,...
Search Results for: summer
Creamy Sun Dried Tomato Basil Bean Dip
It used to be that if you said the words "bean dip" to me, my mind would immediately go to Mexican-spiced refried beans, all warmed up so that the cheese is perfectly melted and oozy over chips. But now that-- as Nelly would so eloquently say-- it's getting hot in here, the idea of keeping dips warm for a...
One Pot Cajun Chicken Alfredo
This post is sponsored by Sutter Home, who inspired James and I to have a delicious date night for the #SweetOnSpice campaign. Cheers to that! I can't think of a single dish that I've made over the past year and a half that James and I have been living together that he didn't taste. He's...
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...
Honey Lemon Chiffon Pie
Well I'll bee damned. I've gotta tell you, I said "this probably isn't going to turn out" to myself at least 17 times as I made this pie. But much to my surprise, the bees wound up looking like bees, the honeycomb pattern looked like honeycomb, the filling set to an awesome consistency, and the Honey...
Strawberry Sangarita (Margarita Sangria)
When life gives you lemons, you make lemonade. But what do you do when life (or more accurately, overzealous grocery shopping) gives you dozens of leftover strawberries? Well, you still make a tasty beverage, but this time, you spike it. With a bottle of wine. And some triple sec. And tequila. You make Strawberry Sangarita,...
Blackberry Basil Moscow Mules
Eight years ago, I was finding respite from the constant chaos of my apartment (that's a story for another time) with my upstairs housemates and an oversized bowl of beef-flavored instant ramen. Komal made it for the four of us, because despite being a stereotypical broke and miserable college student-- as we all were, at...
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."...
Jamaican Jerk Pork Chops with Curry-Spiced Sweet Potatoes and Mango Salsa
I'm not nearly the only one who snuck off with the cordless phone as a child and dialed in with high hopes for my future, enticed by the woman on TV who insisted in her (faux-) Carribbean accent that I "Call Now For A Free Reading!" Free was an interesting choice of words, of course, as...
Saucy Skillet Chicken Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Peppers
There's something about stuffed peppers that always feels like the cozy, tuck-you-in type of comfort food to me. They're also the kind of comfort food that I tend to avoid in the warmer months because most recipes require turning on the oven. When it feels like an oven outside, I try not to use the oven inside, you know?...
30 Minute Thai Beef Stir Fry with Sriracha Roasted Peanuts
The toothpaste is out of the tube, and there's no putting it back. Not that anyone would want to. Thai food has been in the US since long before I was born. It was largely introduced when Vietnam War soldiers were on R&R in Thailand and enjoyed local dishes, fell for the women who prepared them, and brought...
Cornbread Salad with Jalapeño-Browned Butter Vinaigrette
Usually when I hear the words "cornbread" and "dressing" together, I have Thanksgiving flashbacks. But not today. Today, I'm having flashbacks to a weekend barbecue when I served up some Cornbread Salad with Jalapeño-Browned Butter Vinaigrette, which-- with its ton of toasty sweet cornbread, creamy avocado, melted cheddar cheese, fresh corn, juicy popped tomatoes, and sweet,...
Smoky Shrimp Pasta Salad with Chipotle-Honey Vinaigrette
This Smoky Shrimp Pasta Salad with Chipotle Dressing is about to make a lot of people reaaaal popular this summer.
Melon Whiskey Ginger
Before you file this cocktail away under "St. Patrick's Day recipes" to be forgotten and neglected for the rest of the year, hear me out. Sure, it's green; and sure, Irish whiskey is a staple of St. Paddy's day; and sure, you want to drink it right now in honor of your possibly-existent, possibly-distant Irish heritage...
Baked French Fries
"Oh no, I haven't had fries since 2008," my friend Justine said, waving her hand to block the golden-fried slice of spud that I offered her at a going away party over the summer. My brain exploded. Seven years without fries? Was this some sort of biblical curse? Maybe a kind of self-torture? The term "cruel...
Boozy Blackberry Sage Lemonade
Can you believe it's already September? Time to start closing up the pool for the year, pulling out our long-sleeved shirts from storage, and waving goodbye to our long, late hours of sunshine. Butternut squash and cinnamon season is just around the corner, but I'm not ready to go full-on Fall-flavored crazy just yet. I...
Slow Cooker Honey Chipotle Stout Enchiladas
Can you believe that it's already August? Where did the summer go? We're just over a month away from swapping out lemonade for pumpkin lattes and, you guys, I'm so not ready for the sun to start setting before I leave the office. We'll be packing away our swimsuits and taking out our sweaters in no time. NO. Nooooo!...
Slow Cooker Korean Sloppy Joes
My obsession with fusion food started when I was still living in New Brunswick, taste-testing my way through the town one drunk-friendly food truck or mini restaurant at a time. Out of all of the food NB had to offer, it was a Korean BBQ fusion restaurant that stole my heart and wooed my tastebuds....
Sangria Sorbet
You might not be used to your frozen desserts having rules, but this one has three: Must love sangria. Must resist the urge to eat it all before fully frozen. Must not operate a vehicle immediately after consuming, because this sorbet packs a punch.
Cuban Caesar Salad
Do you have one classic dish that you simply can't get enough of? One that you will order, without fail, every time you go out? If so, welcome to the club. James and I have eaten Caesar Salad at least once a week for the past... I don't know... two years? Yeah, I'm serious. In fact,...
Easy Greek Tzatziki Chicken Salad
Is it too late for me to start working on getting a bikini bod in time for summer? Yes? Probably? But I mean I have this Easy Greek Tzatziki Chicken Salad, and that has to count for something. You see, this spin on chicken salad fulfills some pretty difficult criteria: it's healthy, it's simple, and it...
Easy Vegetable Enchilada Skillet
In an unexpected twist of events that would shock and appall my former 5-year-old self, I have grown to love vegetables. I am like a kid in a candy store in the produce section during the warmer-weather months. Aside from the massive (and I do mean massive) amounts of cheese in my fridge, there are...
One Pot Pesto Carbonara
Looking outside, I can hardly tell it's spring. The sky is grey, the grass is brownish, and the trees are still barren. O Sunshine, where art thou? We get less and less "spring weather" here in Jersey every year, it seems. Is it like that everywhere? Do you feel like it's either scorching hot summer...
Thai Coconut Curry Butternut Squash Soup
Usually I'm pretty convinced that "make it in the slow cooker" is all I have to say in order to turn some heads around here, but it tends to take a lot more to coerce James and Mike into trying a recipe without ruling it out before they take a bite. Include anything that even...
Crock Pot White Bean Chicken Chili
We're half-way through September and we've got out feet firmly planted in soup season, which makes me a happy gal. Is there anything better than slurping up a big bowl of broth-bathed meat, noodles, and veggies? That was a rhetorical question-- the answer is yes. Yes, there is, by a margin. Her name is Chili. The...
Mediterranean Vegetable Lasagna
Okay, I'm just going to lay it out there right away-- this isn't really a lasagna. Please put down your pitchforks, food-name-purists, and open your hearts to this layered lasagna-esque casserole of zucchini, eggplant, spinach, cheese, and bechamel. It's seriously yummy, no matter what you call it in-between mouthfuls. Ever since I first made the Zucchini,...
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...
Strawberry-Kiwi Frozen Mojitos
When I bought them, I had every intention of using my fresh strawberries and kiwis into a fruity summer salsa. I imagined scooping it on top of crisp tortilla chips or flaky fish tacos, and was enthralled at the idea. But then I thought, What if I added rum to the salsa? That would be delicious. ...
Pull-Apart Pretzel Skillet with Beer Cheese Dip
Today I was planning on posting a different recipe, but I'm feeling very German at the moment so pretzels and beer were a must. By "feeling very German", I mean that my whole house is now obsessed with DuoLingo (if you want to learn a language, look it up, it's free and I've been using...
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...
Mango Chile Glazed Shrimp
After an hour of blow-drying and flat-ironing, I've got Medusa-head going on within 30 seconds of walking outside. I can feel that August is just around the corner-- that glorious month of hair-ruining humidity. Yes, August, when we finally come to terms with the fact that we never prepared for swimsuit season. Even well into swimsuit season, we...
Three Cheese Crock Pot Macaroni and Cheese
I'm sad to say that there was a point in my life when I hated Mac n' Cheese. Doesn't that make you sad for my childhood? Oh, the wasted years! For much of my life, I didn't realize that there was anything else out there other than the watery, powder-made instant cheese sauce from a box. No...
Blackened Fish Tacos with Avocado-Cilantro Sauce
I come from a family of avid taco lovers. We eat tacos of some sort at least twice a week (in fact, we had tacos last night), and every single week, when I ask my brother what I should make for the blog, he tells me to make tacos. The only thing that rivals my...
Crispy Sea Salt and Vinegar Roasted Potatoes
Ever since making the Crispy-Outside Creamy-Inside Garlic Herb Potatoes, I have been totally and utterly obsessed with making the perfect potato side dishes. When done properly, potatoes can actually be the stars of your meal, and they fly off the plate like nothing you've ever seen before. Especially if that plate happens to be placed...
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......
Cucumber Basil Gin and Tonic
I'm gonna be honest with you-- I had a very tame weekend filled with tbs movie marathons, trying to get work done on my laptop, and fried foods. And even though I'm not leaving any crazy spree of excitement behind as I enter the work week, I've got to say, I have a serious case of the Mondays...
Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad
This Creamy Pesto Pasta Salad is everything you always wished your cookout side dish could be. It's loaded up with flavorful ingredients like sun-dried tomatoes, peppery arugula, and fresh mozzarella balls, and tossed in a creamy pesto dressing that will make your mouth water just thinking about it. I first made this recipe as a...
Boozy Red, White, and Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles
I'm really bad at coming up with short recipe names. I thought about calling these "The Absolute Best Frozen Dessert The World Has Ever Seen", but that seemed a little too wordy. Boozy Red, White, and Blueberry Cheesecake Popsicles was shorter-- by a margin-- so I went with that. You can call them whatever you want though,...
Bacon Bourbon BBQ Chicken Kebabs
You want bacon recipes? I've got twenty. But who cares? No big deal. I want mooooooooore... I once thought that recipes including bacon were pretty straight forward. You'd just fry up some meaty goodness in its own fat, crumble it up if you'd like, and mix it in. Then I found out about Bacon Jam,...
Eggplant, Prosciutto, & Pesto Pressed Picnic Sandwiches
"These sandwiches were so delectable that the enzymes in my palate shivered with excitement" - James, when asked how begin this blog post. And that is why he is not a food blogger. But he is a big fan of these sandwiches, because.... well, who wouldn't be? Homemade pesto, grilled eggplant, fresh mozzarella, roasted red peppers,...