Creamy Penne With Spinach, Mushrooms, and Seared Chicken Sausage
This easy weeknight pasta dinner uses ricotta to make the delicious creamy penne sauce. A little out of the box, yes, but I like to make a game out of leftover or partially used ingredients in my fridge and pantry. Like, how can half a lemon, six ounces of chicken stock, and sour cream be repurposed into some sort of delectable savory sauce to brush over a lightly salted grilled chicken breast? Hmmm… Or, maybe a handful of berries, a bruised pear, and a mostly used carton of half-n-half can be whipped into one of the best cobblers on the planet. Not only is that “game” fun, it’s also practical. Like…
Homemade Snack Bars Recipe
After hearing my sister rave about these homemade snack bars for a few weeks in a row, I asked if she’d mind sharing the recipe here — and, lucky for us, she accepted the challenge. Enjoy these easy-to-make, vegan, gluten free, tasty treats! I always need a snack at work sometime between breakfast and lunch. Always. I usually carry a piece of fruit, but that doesn’t always fill me up. So, a month or two ago, I decided to try making snack bars. Obviously I need it to be tasty, but I also need it to be a recipe that is easy enough for me to want to make it…
Chocolate Lime Zucchini Bread
This chocolate lime zucchini bread turns a breakfast snack into a yummy dessert, and with zucchini still in abundance here, we need all the zucchini recipes we can get. I mean, will those plants ever stop producing? Seems like the answer should be “no,” but we all know that in a few short weeks we’ll be reminiscing about the fresh veggies from mid- to late-summer. When I get my hands on a ton of zucchini, whether it’s from the garden or from the farmers’ market or grocery store, I decided to save it by freezing it, rather than using it right away. That process is really simple, too — no blanching…
Perfect Everyday Juicy Roast Chicken
I have a few favorite comfort foods, but none can compare with a juicy roast chicken, skin seasoned and baked to crispy goodness. Served with mashed potatoes and gravy … yum! How can you compete with that? As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. It’s been over a decade since I first discovered how easy it is to make roast chicken. For whatever reason, and I know I’m not alone, cooking a whole entire animal feels daunting when you’ve never done it before. Even something as simple and “everyday” as a chicken. Turns out with a little practice and some helpful tools,…
Parmesan Pistachio Orecchiette
This creamy parmesan pistachio orecchiette is the right mix of simple ingredients and big flavor! That’s right, you heard me, pistachios and pasta. That mash-up’s one of those things that sounds a little odd when you hear it, but after you try it you’re like … where have you been all my life?! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. This post may contain affiliate links. Now lemme tell you. I can barrel through a bag of salted pistachio nuts — shells on — in less time than it would take the average person to, well, do almost anything. They’re sooooo good. I found an online recipe for “Pistachio…
Chicken Stew and Drop Biscuit Dumplings
Chicken stew and drop biscuit dumplings is the perfect wintry warm-you-up meal. It’s snowed (well, flurried, really) a few times so far this season — not a lot, but enough to make things feel cozy and wintry. When winter finally sets in somewhere mid-January, I love lazy Saturdays and Sundays when we can relax and eat hearty comfort food. And, I find this is most often satisfied by something slowly simmering in a slow cooker or on the stove all day in my dutch oven, with wafts of deep, savory smells permeating the house. Something like a stew or soup. Growing up, my grandmother always made chicken and dumplings in…
Marinated Chicken Fajitas
In the world of “quick and easy” meals, these marinated chicken fajitas won’t disappoint! Tender, juicy and full of flavor, you’ll want to make sure to have plenty of leftovers on hand for lunch the next day. There are so many ways to make fajitas, including using pre-cooked frozen chicken or beef fajita strips from the grocery store. If I’m really in a rush, having these on hand in the deep freezer is a lifesaver! Just sauté some peppers, onions and garlic and toss in the strips with seasoning, and you’ll have dinner on the table in no time. Having said that, starting fajitas from scratch with chicken breasts or…
Dublin Roasters in Frederick: 5 Cool Facts
Admittedly, it doesn’t take much to bring me joy — they say “it’s the small things,” and I’d have to agree. Like a breathtaking sunset, an announcement of a new season of your favorite show, or really good coffee. Speaking of really good coffee, I was invited to tour Dublin Roasters in Frederick, Maryland, while on a mini-vacation to the area earlier this fall. The goal of my visit was to understand the process by which they specially roast their uniquely sourced beans, as well as learn more about Serina Roy’s vision as owner and founder — and to have a tasty latte along the way. (Of course, right?) And…