Chicken Farro Casserole

The cold weather had me craving something hot, creamy, and cheesy. As I discovered with my first farro bake, farro is a great grain for a casserole because its hardy structure holds up well in the oven. The white wine, sour cream, and cream of mushroom combination was perfect for a warming winter meal. Guessipe…

Cheesy Butternut Squash Farro

A friend bought a ton of farro and then realized she had no idea what to do with it. I told her I was happy to experiment with the brown rice-like grain, and the next thing I knew she was giving all of it to me. I’d had it in salads/grain bowls before, but wanted…

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…

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…

Meatball Cheese Crisps

My cheese guy came through again, this time with a giant bag of shredded mozzarella. I also have an excessive supply of frozen meatballs at the moment, because for some reason my boyfriend keeps buying them every time he goes to the store. I decided to try making an appetizer of meatballs on mozzarella cheese…

Pizza Dough Buns

Have I mentioned that my boyfriend loves pizza? Which means we do a fair number of pizza nights. And that occasionally means leftover pizza dough. I often use the leftover dough to make focaccia, but one day I wanted to make burgers, and decided to see if I could make cheesy buns out of the…

Air Fryer Mozzarella Sticks

My cheese benefactor came through again – this time with a giant block of low-moisture mozzarella. And I mean giant. As in, so big that there was no way I was going to get through it before it went bad. So I had to come up with something, because I don’t let food go to…

Arancini

I made the Sausage Risotto with Balsamic-Roasted Shallots from the Back Pocket Pasta cookbook. First, let me say that it is INSANELY good. But it makes a pretty large portion, so I had quite a bit leftover even though my boyfriend went to town on it. So I made Arancini (Italian rice balls). I wouldn’t…

Cheese-Swirled Bread

When I make this bread, my boyfriend will eat the whole loaf in one day. The bread is soft and fluffy on the inside, with a crispy cheese crust on top, and delish herb cheese swirling through the middle. I have tried every combination of cheese and herbs – my favorite is cheddar with green…

Hummus Honey Salad Dressing

I was at a friend’s for dinner and she made a salad with a really tasty dressing. When I asked her about the dressing, she said it was mostly hummus with a little honey, apple cider vinegar, and some other seasonings. I kept thinking about that dressing for weeks after the dinner, so decided I…

Mozzarella and Crispy Salami Focaccia Sandwich

I was looking for more ways to use up that delish fresh mozzarella from my friend, and came up with this mozzarella and crispy salami focaccia sandwich that used up all kinds of leftovers from pizza night (including this Pizza Dough Focaccia). I see a lot of these sandwiches in my future. Guessipe focaccia olive…

Fresh Mozzarella Plate

My friend’s cheese company supplies restaurants, so when he brings me cheese the quantities are laughably large for a home cook. And of course with my aversion to wasting food, I have to use it all up before it goes bad. Not that I’m complaining about having to figure out what to do with massive…