Garlic Noodles

Years ago a friend took me to a Southeast Asian restaurant that had the most incredible garlic noodles I have ever eaten. When these garlic noodles were brought to our table, they looked like the plainest bowl of noodles you could imagine, but then I had a bite and was treated to such tantalizingly garlicky…

Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash

Acorn squash is one of my favorite kinds of squash because it looks and tastes great and is pretty easy to prepare – you don’t even have to peel the skin. Already delicious when simply roasted, it’s even better when stuffed with yummy goodies. This Sausage-Stuffed Acorn Squash presents so beautifully it gets wows when…

Mushroom Leek Pie

I had such good results with the Yam Beef Biscuit Pot Pie and still had more canned biscuits to use up, so I decided another biscuit pot pie was in order… this time with mushrooms and leeks. I guess it’s a testament to the success of this Mushroom Leek Pie that after eating it my…

Yam Beef Biscuit Pot Pie

I had purchased some canned biscuits on sale for really cheap, but maybe they were on sale for a reason! They weren’t at all flaky and they were a bit bland. But I hate letting food go to waste, so I thought maybe I could make them work as a pot pie topping. Judging by…

Taco Salad

With the warm weather, I was craving a salad that was hearty enough to be a meal all on its own. I had some tortilla chips and salsa I wanted to use up, and that inspired the idea to make a Taco Salad. After tasting the salad, my boyfriend – who previously swore he hated…

Cheesy Garlic Jalapeno Frittata

In preparation for going out of town, I was using up everything I could from my fridge. That led to this Cheesy Garlic Jalapeno Frittata, which my boyfriend could not stop talking about. I usually have these ingredients (you can use any mix of cheeses you want, but I’ve noted one of my fav combos…

Kids Menu Katsudon

Katsudon is one of my favorite Japanese dishes – rice topped with deep-fried pork cutlet, egg, and onion simmered in a savory sweet sauce. It’s super simple to make, except for the deep-fried pork cutlet. One weeknight I was super craving katsudon, but had neither the ingredients nor the energy to deep-fry a pork cutlet….

Jelly Meatballs

A friend of mine introduced me to grape jelly meatballs, which are meatballs slow-cooked in equal parts grape jelly and bbq sauce. They were good, but a touch sweet for my tastes. It inspired me to make a version equally as easy but more to my liking. I air-fried the meatballs to give them a…

Summer Squash Casserole

I had a huge bag of shredded provolone from my cheese guy. Combined with summer squash and topped with panko for some nice crunch, my boyfriend devoured more than half of this casserole in one sitting. A double win because it’s very easy to make! Guessipe Mix together the eggs, yogurt, provolone, onion salt, oregano,…

Spicy Spanish-Style Rice

Cookbook Club – Cinco de Mayo In honor of Cinco de Mayo, we did a Mexican themed Cookbook Club in May. We sourced recipes from three places – Joy of Cooking (2019 Edition), America’s Test Kitchen, and Chef John’s Food Wishes. Feast your eyes on the whole fiesta on my Cookbook Club site. For now…

Zuppa Toscana

Zuppa Toscana is the best soup at Olive Garden. It’s actually the only reason I ever go to Olive Garden. So now that I figured out how to make it at home, I guess I don’t have any reason to go to Olive Garden anymore. The Instant Pot makes this extra quick and easy to…

Tuscan White Bean and Sausage Soup

Now that I’ve experienced what quick work the Instant Pot can make of cooking beans, I’ve been much more willing to experiment with bean dishes. I ate a white bean and sausage soup years ago that I still remember and think about from time to time, and now finally got around to re-creating. It was…