As someone who dislikes both bananas and berries, the fact that this recipe exists on this blog is practically a pre-Christmas miracle. Fruity desserts aren't typically my jam-- Get it? Jam? ...Sorry -- but I had to step outside of my chocolate-covered comfort zone last week. You see, my brother, the king of clean eating,...
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How To Make The Ultimate Autumn Harvest Cheese Board
I'm not sure if I've ever gone on record with this admission before, and I'm a little nervous to let the secret slip. But here goes: I could take or leave Thanksgiving food. There, I said it. Now, don't get me wrong. I love fall flavors. Carbs are my closest pals. Turkey and I are tight...
Nutella Pumpkin Samoa Cookies
Happy Halloweekend! I know we're excited about the here-and-now holiday, but I want to throw it back for just a second. Long, long ago, in the fabulous, fabled era of the nineteen-nineties, I was a young girl who had a vast and varied collection of beanie babies, a stockpile of gel pens, a dozen audio cassettes, three Lisa Frank folders, two tamagotchis,...
Maple Brown Butter Glazed Amish Apple Fry Pies
Sometimes, when I'm sitting at my desk, tucked inside of my warm house, with my fuzzy blanket draped over my lap and a hot coffee in hand, I almost forget how it felt to be 14 with frozen fingers. Far before I ever had the luxury of working from home, or even in an office,...
Korean Chicken and Kimchi-Fried Rice Bowls
Can I just say (in-between mouthfuls) that I'm so happy no one can see me right now? You know, as I intermittently shovel forkfuls of leftovers into my face, spill grains all over the keyboard of my laptop, and, since we're being so candid, grunt like a hungry beast? Yes, I know that it's not lady-like. It's certainly...
Thai Curry Turkey Burgers with Spicy Mayo and Coconut-Lime Slaw
For all of the things I get nervous about-- and trust me, despite my totally cool demeanor, there are a lot of them: flying, accidentally stepping on bugs when I'm barefoot, and parallel parking, for example-- I'm not one to hesitate when it comes to experimenting with seasoning and spice. What comes of these fearless forays into flavor-town? Sometimes it's...
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...
Nachos Al Pastor
I make no claim to the title of Nacho Elitist; I'll eat 'em even if they're microwaved, smothered in fake cheese, and soggy-bottomed-- they are nachos, after all. But I do have to say that sometimes you have to splurge a little and do nachos the right way, and yes, there is a right way. The Right Way™...
Strawberry Dragon Fruit Margaritas
I'm drinking Strawberry Dragon fruit Margaritas today for a few reasons: I'm celebrating the fact that I finally am feeling well enough to function like a real human being after a month of mystery illness. Please say I didn't just jinx myself. Speaking of jinxes (or Jynxes, I guess), I started playing Pokémon Go along...
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...
Caramelized Pineapple and Jalapeño Margaritas
My birthday is 2 weeks before Cinco de Mayo, yet it took me nearly 26 years to realize that throwing a combination party stocked with salsas and overflowing with margaritas would be right up my alley. Apparently, it is also right up the alley of far more friends than I ever thought would RSVP, and now the...
Spicy Sesame-Chili Noodles with Chicken
When people find out that I'm a food blogger, they seem to be under the impression that my cabinets are overflowing with the most sophisticated of ingredients, and that I casually toss together grand culinary masterpieces day in and day out. Well, I wish. Just like everyone else, I dread spending too much time in the supermarket....
Dubliner-Dill Skillet Irish Soda Bread
I'm about to reveal something pretty controversial, so hold on to your seat belts. ...I think raisins RUIN perfectly good soda bread. It's true. I like my crumbly, dense, delicious soda bread to be savory and buttery and definitely not filled with little sugar-bombs of wrinkly, dried grapes. Alas, every option I've seen at the grocery store...
Malted Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Frosting
There's nothing wrong with just slapping some green frosting on your cupcakes for St. Paddy's day, but if you want a dessert that really will make the Irishmen (and ladies) swoon, this Malted Guinness Chocolate Cake with Baileys Frosting is what you should be baking this year. And next year. And every chance you get for...
Balsamic-Red Wine Roasted Chicken Thighs and Vegetables
Chicken thighs and I have had a rocky relationship throughout the years. My mom always avoided them in favor of the leaner breast meat, and because she shied away from them, I thought that there was something inherently unappetizing about thighs. I avoided them at all costs, up until my twenties when I realized that so many recipes...
Easy Salted Caramel Molten Lava Cakes
Do you remember those classroom motivational posters? You know what I'm talking about-- the ones that read "Believe And You Will Succeed," or "If You Can Dream It, You Can Do It," or some other feel-good phrase that made us elementary-aged children super self-assured. Well, my biggest life goal at that age was to be a dinosaur...
Death By Chocolate Chunk Cookies
This cookie is the result of countless hours of inner-debate over which decadent dessert to bake. Do I whip together my famous Chocolate Chip Cookies? Do I mix up some One Bowl Brownies? How's a woman to choose between both sources of sugary splendor? She doesn't. In times of crisis, she makes Death By Chocolate Chunk...
Matcha Cookie Christmas Tree Stacks
It's an exciting day of firsts for me. This is my first post I've written since moving (to my first place I've rented away from home since college), of my first time using matcha in baked goods. I never thought these Matcha Cookie Christmas Tree Stacks would turn out so perfectly on my first go, but what do you know? It's a...
Easy Applesauce Drop Doughnuts with Caramel Glaze
I've got to be quick today, for two reasons: First, because Hanukkah is just around the corner, and I want you to seriously consider making these Easy Applesauce Drop Doughnuts with Caramel Glaze for your holiday get-together. They're fried, they're much easier and quicker to make than Sufganiyah (they take less than an hour from start...
Ultimate Sweet Potato Casserole
Listen, I know that casseroles are supposed to be just "throw it together and bake" types of dishes, but sweet potato casserole is typically reserved for special holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas, and if I'm going to make anything on those days, I'm going to make it right. That means no dried out turkey, no soggy lasagna,...
Slow Cooker Pumpkin Cheesecake
Let's be honest: no matter how great of a cook you are, nor how gracious a host, Thanksgiving gets stressful when you're the chosen one who's preparing the feast. Everyone is counting on you for a delicious day; it is the biggest food-centric event of the year, after all. You spend days planning and prepping,...
Salted Caramel Crunch Cookies
I realize that this is the second post in a row that has "Crunch" in the title. But honestly, who doesn't want a crunchy exterior surrounding their chicken, or some crunchy mix-ins in their cookie dough? After all, if flavor is the leading role, then texture is the director. Did you know that texture actually largely...
Spicy Garlic Crunch Chicken
I went through a bit of a recipe slump recently where I'd think of recipes, write up the ingredients I thought I'd need and their approximate amounts, and then minutes before going to the grocery store, I'd completely change my mind and decide that I didn't want to make those dishes anymore. And then I'd...
One Pot Penne Alla Vodka with Sausage
All logical reasons considered, I should NOT like Penne Alla Vodka. I've only recently come around to tomato-based sauces (and still approach them with caution), and the vodka-- well, for all of the reasons I've ever imbibed, "Vodka is delicious" has never been one of them. Yet here I am, eating a bowl full of...
Mongolian Beef
You would think that a dish called "Mongolian Beef" would be, well, a Mongolian meal made of beef. But we apparently have a tendency to just name things on a whim around here, and Mongolian Beef has absolutely nothing to do with Mongolian methods of cooking. Nada. Instead, it resembles the Americanized versions of Chinese food, which,...
Baked Chicken Nuggets with Honey Mustard Dip
This year, Chick-Fil-A took the title of the fast food restaurant with the highest customer satisfaction, based off of a survey of just over 5,000 consumers. You might say it's due to their friendly staff, or perhaps their clean kitchens, but I say it's all about the chicken nuggets. Those crispy, salty, slightly-sweet Chick-Fil-A...
Chicken and Broccoli in Garlic Sauce
As you might know already from last week's Sweet and Sour Chicken and Loaded Vegetable Lo Mein, I'm on a takeout-at-home kick this month. When I first decided to do a series of quick, lightened-up versions of fast food and takeout meals, I wasn't sure of all the dishes I'd wind up trying to replicate, but...
Loaded Vegetable Lo Mein
There are times, like after a night out, a particularly miserable day, or a rough break-up, that I welcome the absolute lack of restraint that most takeout restaurants exhibit when it comes to salt, sugar and oil. Oh yes, nothing soothes a broken heart quite like massive amounts of some seriously artery-clogging cuisine. But for every day...
Sweet and Sour Chicken
The feeling you get when you're eating Chinese takeout is kind of strange, isn't it? It's part excitement and part self-hatred. Part, "I'm way too full to continue eating," and part, "I'll just eat that delicious egg roll they threw in and then I'm done. Oh, and a bit more rice. And I can't not eat...
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...
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.
The Best One Bowl Brownies
You guys, I have been trying for a long time now to come up with the best brownies. I have tested all of the celebrated brownie recipes my little heart could handle, and I found promise in some, but not perfection. I have compared to box mixes. I have compared to bakery brownies. I have talked to...
Gooey Lemon Bars with Blueberry Glaze
My family heard that I was making brownies for Easter, so they showed up ready to get their sweet teeth tickled. "That is not a brownie," my grandmother informed me, pointing to a yellow rectangle I was cutting. "And hi, dear!" She was right, the brownies were set aside (more on those brownies next week, by...
Sofritas Tofu Burrito Bowls
As a lover of bacon, pulled pork, and burgers, a lot of people find it surprising when I say that I also adore tofu. Or maybe I should say I adore good tofu. Tofu gets a bad wrap from the many people who don't know how to properly prepare the wiggly soybean curd, leaving a lot of people to think...
Butter Chicken Pot Pie with Naan Crust
It never fails-- when there's snow on the ground and a grumbling in my stomach, I always crave comfort food in the form of Chicken Pot Pie. Juicy chicken, tender vegetables, and creamy sauce all nestled beneath crisp, golden crust; that's my idea of cold weather consolation. Everything about Chicken Pot Pie screams "All-American classic"... but...
Cucumber-Wrapped, Feta-Stuffed Meatballs
Please do not ask me to detail what I have eaten in the past couple of weeks. The holidays have turned me into a walking garbage disposal for all things fried, fatty, or fudgy, and just trying to remember exactly what that entails gives me a bit of a stomach ache. I'm not saying that...
Walnut-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Gravy
I am so obsessed with this recipe, I wrote a haiku about it. Oh, succulent hog With walnut crust and cider Is this how love feels? ...Perhaps not my greatest work of poetry, but the recipe is far better than my writing, luckily. This Walnut-Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Apple Cider Gravy is now one of my...
Easy Salted Caramel Sauce
Guys, this recipe is going to be my downfall. Not because it's bad-- oh no. Quite the opposite, really. A simple caramel sauce that requires only 5 ingredients (well, I guess 6 if you count the 2 tablespoons of water) and 15 minutes? You know a caramel overdose is in my near future.
Bacon Egg & Cheese "Everything" Egg Rolls
When it comes to breakfast, I'm the worst. It's probably easy to imagine that I wake up every morning to make myself omelettes stuffed to the max with fresh veggies and melted cheese that oozes out of the folds like a little egg volcano. And being that homemade meals are kinda my thing, there are always plenty of...
Maple Bourbon Brown Butter Peach Pie
I'm firmly convinced that there is no better dessert in this world than Maple Bourbon Brown Butter Peach Pie. Yes, I said it. I, the fruit skeptic, the haphazard baker, the Thanksgiving-dessert-skipping monster (seriously, who turns down a slice of warm apple pie?!) made this pie twice in one week. It was just that delicious. And...