Dinner

Spiced Chicken with Creamy Chili Herb Sauce

Spiced Chicken with Creamy Chili Herb Sauce

You can never have enough chicken recipes in your arsenal! Anyone who knows me, knows I'm not too big on spicy food. But I love this recipe! Smoky, spiced chicken thighs are grilled and topped off with a bright, fresh sauce made of parsley, lime juice, jalapeño, and a drizzle of half-and-half for a little body. Both the spice rub and the herb sauce take minutes to whip up, so this is a great option for weeknights!  Let's get cookin!  

Perfect Fried Chicken

Perfect Fried Chicken

Crispy, seasoned skin, and tender, flavorful meat. One of my favorite indulgences is simple fried chicken. However, I find that sometimes fried chicken has really yummy skin, but is dry and flavorless inside. So I set out to come up with the perfect recipe for flawless homemade fried chicken with the following criteria in mind: easy, not too time-consuming, and yielding a great golden crust with well seasoned meat. I’ve been experimenting with different recipes and techniques and have come up with a recipe that I’m really happy with. The steps are simple and there’s little hands-on time in the kitchen. I learned the secret of using Old Bay Seasoning from Melissa Gilbert of what else but Little House On The Prairie, and incorporated a really important step - brining the chicken overnight. 
The other night I used the same recipe on lil nuggets of chicken and tossed them in Chinese white pepper right out of the frying oil. Fantastic. I love a good base recipe that makes it easy to doctor up and experiment with. Read on to find out how to make the best fried chicken you’ll ever make. 

Minty Spring Pea & Ricotta Ravioli

Minty Spring Pea & Ricotta Ravioli

Alright are you ready to impress everyone in your family, including yourself? Time to make some homemade ravioli! Don’t worry, we aren’t making fresh pasta dough - this is an easy and accessible recipe that will become one of your favorite staples! In keeping with this beautiful warm weather, I’ve kept the filling nice and light for this dish. After devouring all the ravs, I’m definitely going to adapt this recipe and make a heartier fall ravioli in the near future! 

These babies are so simple to throw together. It’s as easy as blending the filling ingredients together, and sandwiching a healthy dollop in between two paper thin wonton wraps. Seal them up and toss them in boiling water for about 3 minutes, and serve it any way you like! Today I’ll show you how to make a brown butter sauce with accents of what else, but bacon :) You can also serve these homemade ravioli in broth for a heartwarming meal. Let’s get cookin! :)

Classic Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

Classic Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken

I love experimenting with fun, seasonal ingredients, but sometimes learning to make a classic is just as great. Pesto can be made with tons of different ingredients; it’s a game of mix and match. A great pesto only requires a few fresh ingredients. The most important part is using fresh basil (or your favorite herbs) and good quality extra virgin olive oil. 

This recipe is simple and delicious. Pesto is incredibly versatile - once you have a fresh batch, you can use it on way more than pasta! Make homemade pizza, eat it with eggs, spread it on bread or a sandwich, or use it as a salad dressing. This recipe is for a classic basil pesto. A quick pulse in a food processor and you have a fresh, garlicky sauce that is way better than a jar from the store. Let’s get cookin :)

Dover Sole A La Meuniere

Dover Sole A La Meuniere

During the week, I like to eat lighter meals. It’s great to have an arsenal of simple, reliable recipes that you can tweak and put your twist on. This classic recipe uses Dover sole, a flatfish that is prized for its mild, buttery, sweet flavor and versatility. The classic recipe coats the fish in seasoned flour, but I’ve added another step to give it a little more crispiness. Butter and lemon enhance the natural taste and texture of the fish. Sole is affordable and pretty hard to mess up. You can use the techniques in this recipe on other protein as well! Let’s get cookin :)

Vietnamese Pork Chops with Cantaloupe Basil Salad

Vietnamese Pork Chops with Cantaloupe Basil Salad

Vietnamese food is definitely something I crave often. Tons of fresh herbs, pickled veggies, and multiple layers of flavor are some of my favorite things about Vietnamese food. I would love to learn authentic recipes from someone one day! Today I’m sharing a fun and simple recipe that’s made with ingredients you might already have in your kitchen. If you don’t happen to eat pork, try this delicious marinade on chicken! This marinade works best overnight, so a quick tip is to throw it together while you’re cooking dinner the previous night and throw it in the fridge. This grilled pork turns out so tender and savory, which is accompanied by a sweet cantaloupe salad. Let’s get cookin! 

Chicken Thighs and Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Sauce

Chicken Thighs and Brussels Sprouts with Mustard Sauce

Simple, tasty weeknight dinners are so clutch! This one takes minimal prep, uses a bunch of ingredients you already have in the fridge, and yields the tastiest meal. Tender, juicy chicken thighs and crisp Brussels are glazed in a tangy, savory sauce that takes minutes to come together. Let’s get cookin :)

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

Baked Cilantro Lime Chicken

These suckers went fast in my house. A zesty marinade of lime juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic, salt, and pepper is a quick way to inject a ton of flavor into any cut of chicken. It’s baked in the oven, which helps cut down on extra oil, and comes out tender and juicy, ready to be finished off with fresh lime zest and chopped cilantro. Because this recipe is really for a simple marinade, it can be used to dress up chicken in almost any dish… chop it up for over a salad, serve it over pasta, rice, quinoa, or throw some pieces into some tacos for a fun weeknight meal. 

This marinade is made of ingredients that are super affordable, and often, all you need to head to the store for is for fresh limes and cilantro. Limes are often on sale at produce markets for fairly cheap prices - this week Safeway had them on sale at 3 for $0.99! You can use this marinade on any cut of chicken - breasts, thighs, or drumsticks. I prefer thighs, even though breasts are healthier and have more protein. If you’re just starting to play with different chicken recipes, I’d suggest cooking up some chicken thighs! You can hardly mess them up :) So let’s get cookin, this one’s a fun one.

Corned Beef with Roasted Cabbage, Balsamic Carrots & Mashed Red Potatoes

Corned Beef with Roasted Cabbage, Balsamic Carrots & Mashed Red Potatoes

Growing up, my grandma always baked her corned beef with a crust of mustard and brown sugar. I’ve also heard about a ton of people boiling their brisket in ginger ale, which adds a little sweetness to balance out the brininess of the meat. I decided to combine these two techniques, and see how it would come out. I thought that it would bring tons of flavor to the brisket. 

Tomato Braised Chicken and Mushrooms over Polenta

Tomato Braised Chicken and Mushrooms over Polenta

My mind pictured a tender, fall-off-the-bone chicken thigh, seared and then cooked gently in a delicious tomato basil sauce. Crimini mushrooms hold up nicely in liquid, and the addition of fresh spinach is perfect to round out this dish. I’ve been a little apprehensive about posting this recipe because I cheat and use one of my favorite bottled sauces from TJ’s, their Tomato Basil sauce. I know that some people are super anti pre-made sauce, but honestly, it’s budget-friendly ($1.99/bottle), delicious, and makes this meal easy to throw together on a weeknight when time is so important. You can of course, substitute your own favorite homemade tomato sauce, but I am stickin to my guns - I love the TJ’s Tomato Basil.