You can probably tell from reading this blog that I have a pretty informal writing style, and that if you were to talk to me in person, I would sound…well, pretty much the same. I don’t really do formulaic blog posts (or, if I do, they’re not intentional), and whenever I don’t feel like writing, I simply don’t post. I never want this blog to become more of a chore than a fun hobby.

That said, even as a fun hobby with typically quickly written and colloquial posts, I get writer’s block. I’ve never been one to think I need to tell a story with every post, or be super interesting or anything, but sometimes I have a hard time saying anything other than, “I made this meal. It was good. If you want to make it, here’s the recipe” (which, if I’m being honest, does sound quite a bit like my blog posts from the first  year or so).

The truth is, sometimes that’s all there is to say.

So -

I made this meal. I’ve been wanting to make Ina’s tequila-lime chicken for years and though I’ve made countless of-the-cuff marinades that are similar, I’d never used an actual recipe. Plus, it’s just the time of year for grilled chicken, isn’t it? As for the black bean sauce, I just loved the sound of it and it seemed like it would be a good fit for this chicken.  Something to boost the heartiness and fiber a bit, and still complement the chicken without being too heavy.

It was good. We eat a fair amount of chicken at home and while I pretty much never order chicken in restaurants, the truth is, I do actually like it quite a bit and could probably eat some sort of marinated/spiced grilled chicken on a very regular basis. The citrus in this chicken is flavorful and summery and there is just a little hint of spice.  The black bean sauce pairs really well with it and since we had it with some cilantro-lime rice, the meal was almost like eating a burrito bowl. The three of us were all fans of this meal. By the way, if you’re looking for another use for the black bean sauce (or if you cook less chicken and have extra), the chicken fajita pizza from Jessica’s blog is mighty tasty!

If you want to make it, here’s the recipe:

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Wah wah wah wah. You’ve seen the title of this post, so do you really care what I’m writing here? I mean…prosciutto. Lamb. Burgers. (And also Basil! Sun-dried Tomatoes! Romano!)

Given my background, I’m obviously a huge fan of lamb, but I reeeeally love it in burger form. It just can’t be beat. Unless you wrap it in pork, I suppose. These burgers are juicy on the inside, and the prosciutto provides a nice salty, crispy bite on top. I would have never thought to include sun-dried tomatoes in a burger patty, but they work so well here, especially with the basil and balsamic vinegar. Seriously guys, these burgers are drool-worthy and awesome.

The original recipe doesn’t call for cheese but personally, I think every burger is better with cheese. I made these a while back, before going off dairy, so I added provolone to them. You don’t really need the cheese, though, with every other wonderful flavor going on.

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If you’ve been around here much, you know that we’re all huge asparagus fans. As soon as it might possibly, maybe, sort of be in season, we pick  up a bunch (or 3). And, if you really pay attention around here, then you might also know that we eat tons of bulgur. It’s one of my absolute favorite grains because it’s so healthy for you, tastes nutty and fabulous, and cooks up in no time.

It stands to reason, then, that as soon as I saw this recipe pop up in my reader, it went on the menu. And after we ate it and enjoyed the leftovers, it went right back onto the menu the following week. Sometimes, we pay so much attention to the main course, that sides tend to be a second thought (if a thought at all). This pilaf is a perfect side to pretty much anything, and the bonus is that since it contains both carbs and vegetables, you don’t need to think about a second side at all. Or, hey, just eat it as a main dish (I think it would be great with goat cheese too. Just sayin’.)

I’ve made this with green onion and leeks and I prefer the leeks, but it’s great with both. The pilaf is toasted and nutty, the asparagus is nice and crisp, and the citrus and basil bring a great springtime brightness to the dish. You can bet I’ll be making this at least a few more times before the end of asparagus season (but let’s not talk about the end of asparagus season – maybe then it won’t happen).

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I’m  not the world’s biggest seafood fan, but I’ve come a long way. Technically, I can say that I’ve “always” liked shrimp, but the shrimp I liked as a child was the popcorn variety – aka, lots of oil and breading, very little actual shrimp. These days, while I still don’t eat fish all that often, I always have a bag of frozen shrimp hanging around. It’s so great to have for quick, easy meals and it’s been used many times to whip up something on a night when we don’t have anything planned or when plans go awry. Tom would probably eat shrimp (or any type of seafood) on a daily basis, and Zachary is definitely following in his footsteps in that regard.

I must say, with all the things I’ve done with frozen shrimp over the years, I don’t believe I’ve ever made tacos. While fresh shrimp would be great here, frozen absolutely works, too. The sauce on these tacos is basically a standard tomatillo/verde sauce, but with the addition of avocado to make it creamier. It reminded me a lot of this sauce, especially since I added lime juice to it, so obviously it was a winner with all of us. I charred the vegetables in a cast iron skillet beforehand, like all of Rick Bayless’s salsa recipes seem to do, because I think it makes it taste better.  Zachary finished his taco before I even got to sit down and start mine. Thankfully, asking for THREE helpings of a tomato/bean/corn salad thing we had on the side kept him sitting at the table while Tom and I finished our meal.

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When we were eating these for the first time and talking about all of the things inside them, Zachary started joking that there was chicken, broccoli, and tables and chairs in the muffins, too. Not so much, but there definitely is a lot of stuff in there!

I’ve been wanting to make morning glory muffins for a while, and I’m so glad I finally got around to them.  I already had every ingredient on hand to make these (for some reason, I always have a random partial bag of coconut in the freezer, it seems), so the timing couldn’t be more perfect. These nutritious whole wheat muffins are packed with carrots, apples, raisins, coconut, and walnuts. They make a great breakfast or quick snack, and for that reason, went very quickly in this house. I did manage to freeze a few, and was very happy a couple weeks later when I remembered they were in the freezer.

These are a pretty healthy muffin as-is, but I made them a little better for you by reducing the amount of sugar, and also replacing some of it with honey. I also cut down on the oil but retained the moistness by adding some unsweetened applesauce. I don’t think the muffins suffered one bit from these changes. I think you’ll agree!

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Parenting a 3 year old is hard work. Sometimes it takes every ounce in your being not to completely flip out, and other times it takes every ounce in your being not to laugh hysterically at their ridiculous antics. How else can you get through things like your kid blowing a full blown tantrum when you ask them to do something simple like put on a pair of socks? Or when they’re crying I WANT TO BRUSH MY TEETH. And you say, “Let’s go brush your teeth” and they reply NOOO! Toddler logic, man.

A while back, I made sloppy joes for dinner. Like he always does when he gets home from school, Zachary asked, “What’s for dinner, mom?” and I told him. Let me preface this by saying that although this was literally the first time I’d made sloppy joes, I knew he’d eaten them before at school and at other houses several times and really liked them, usually eating multiple servings. But this time, he said, “I don’t LIKE sloppy joes!” Even he knew this was a lie, so soon enough he changed his story to, “I CAN’T eat sloppy joes” to which I asked, “Why?”  The answer? “Because I’ll put too much sloppy joe on my spoon and then when I put it in my mouth I’ll choke.” I told him this could easily be remedied by, you know, not putting too much on his spoon (don’t ask me why he eats sloppy joes with a spoon instead of his hands). I read in Nurture Shock that kids who lie are like really brilliant or something, so I’m pretty sure my kid should be in Mensa.

At any rate, I wasn’t a really big fan of the first recipe I used for sloppy joes on that fateful evening, so I decided to seek another one out this time around. I was much happier with the results of this recipe, and as a bonus, it’s healthier. A can of beans is added to the mixture, which is a great way to add some fiber and boost the number of servings more cheaply. There are no refined sugars and the jalapeño gives it just a little kick (though I did prefer adding a little hot sauce to my portion). And of course, Zachary ate it and liked it.

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I mentioned before that I had some odd cravings during my pregnancy, and baked spaghetti was one of them. What made it especially odd is that up until that point, I’d only had it once in my life. Even stranger, at the height of this craving, we visited my in-laws and my mother-in-law made baked spaghetti (without knowing of my craving). Score!

Spaghetti pie or baked spaghetti is pretty similar to baked ziti, but it uses cream cheese in addition to all the other cheeses (and obviously spaghetti in place of ziti).  I made this meal during my pregnancy and liked it so much that I made it again shortly after Ian was  born (and before finding out that he couldn’t handle his dairy quite as well as I could :P). I’ve made it with both cottage cheese and ricotta. I’m not a huge cottage cheese fan, but I find it works well enough in baked pasta dishes. I happened to have half a container of leftover ricotta the second time I made this and since I prefer the flavor, I used it instead. You can use whichever you choose.

Even with a homemade sauce, this meal doesn’t take much time to make. I don’t have a problem making the sauce while the water boils and pasta cooks (although admittedly, it seems to take approximately 1 week to boil a large pot of water on my range).  That said, this can be assembled one night and baked the next. The recipe makes extra sauce to spoon on top of each piece, which is especially nice if you’re assembling ahead of time because you don’t need to worry about the pieces being too dry.

I don’t have a very picky toddler (thankfully), so I know it doesn’t always mean much when I say Zachary loved something, but I can pretty much guarantee this meal will please the whole family. It’s hard to go wrong with pasta and copious amounts of cheese. And the leftovers are great, too!

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I recently went dairy-free, in an effort to see if a dairy sensitivity might be causing a few issues Ian seems to be having. I don’t think I need to tell you that eliminating dairy is tough – I mean, eliminating most dairy is one thing, but living without cheese is quite another. The jury is out on whether this is helping Ian, so I might end up adding it back into my diet into a few weeks, but in a cruel twist of fate, I’m currently still eating this way, which meant no dairy this past Sunday—Orthodox Easter. An Easter without tzatziki, feta, or tsoureki? For.the.birds.

When I was walking to pick up lamb for Easter, Tom mentioned I should pick up some sort of Greek dessert. I said, “Well, I can, but I can’t really eat any of it.” (insert sad face). But, as I was walking, I remembered karidopita, which doesn’t have any dairy in it. And the upside is that it’s one of my favorite Greek desserts of all time. It’s not that different from most Greek desserts in that it’s soaked in syrup (why mess with a bad thing, I guess). But there’s no butter and it’s really easy to make.

OF COURSE after I bought the zwieback biscuits, I looked at the ingredients and the very last one was sweetened condensed skim milk. Of course. But, I figured it was the last ingredient, the toasts are only one component of the whole cake, and it’s not like I would be eating the whole cake (in theory…). If you’re dairy-free and this small amount is too much, however, you can replace the zwieback with breadcrumbs or most likely semolina flour. I’m not sure if melba toasts  have dairy, but those may also be a good substitute.

I’ve been playing with this recipe for a while. I originally cobbled it together from two separate Greek church cookbooks. I’ve since reduced the amount of eggs and syrup, and made a few other changes. A lot of people don’t use honey in their karidopita, opting just for a simple syrup, but I prefer to add it. This is now my standard/go-to recipe. I only made half the recipe below, but this keeps really well, so there’s really no reason not to make the whole thing (unless you only have half the amount of walnuts and are too cheap to buy more from the expensive store where you’re buying the meat. Ahem.).

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I recently got Melissa Clark’s cookbook Cook This Now. Not only are the recipes organized seasonally, but they’re listed by month, too. I love this approach. I always say I wish I had the foresight to organize my saved recipes on Reader or Pinterest by season because it would make it so much easier those nights I’m searching for things to add to our menu. Of course, it should come as no surprise that as I was flipping through April, I automatically stopped at a roasted chicken recipe. My love for roast chicken of different kinds is well documented here, and I knew this one would be a hit. We love smoked paprika, and citrus of any type is always a plus on chicken. I’m not huge on cilantro, as you know, but the amount in the marinade was minimal so I hardly noticed it. And of course, I took pictures of Tom’s plate because I didn’t want that soapy cilantro covering my delicious chicken. ;)

This chicken turned out great. The marinade is delicious—a little smoky from the paprika and just a hint of spice from the jalapeño, but the orange juice and ginger keep it light. Adding a few squeezes of blood orange juice over the roasted chicken makes it even brighter and more springy than your typical roast chicken. The skin is nice and crispy, and the meat is moist and perfectly cooked. Plus, it really couldn’t get easier. Take a couple minutes to throw together the marinade, and then toss the chicken into a pan when you’re ready to cook it. The oven does the rest of the work for you. I diced up some yukon gold potatoes and seasoned them with sweet paprika, a little garlic & onion powder, and salt and pepper. They roasted alongside the chicken so everything was hands-off while the meal was cooking. During the last 15 minutes or so, I tossed in asparagus (how happy am I that it’s asparagus season? SO  HAPPY.) to make this a complete—and winning—meal.

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I don’t make waffles very often. Though I like them, I always have issues with my waffle iron and, in general, I just find pancakes a little easier (or, at least, a little less messy since I inevitably overfill the waffle maker and have batter pouring out of the sides…). I’ve made some waffle recipes we enjoy, but I hadn’t really found “the one.” I asked for a new recipe on a cooking message board, and Brianna recommended these yeast-risen waffles to me. We’ve made them a few times now, and they are officially my favorite among waffles I’ve made. The texture, to me, is perfect. The outside edges are slightly crispy while the inside is airy, which a little chew to it.

The batter needs to be made in advance, but that makes these perfect for a quick breakfast in the morning. We usually do breakfast for dinner 2-3 times a month, and I’ll mix the batter in the morning before work so all I really need to do when I get home is heat the waffle iron, pour the batter, enjoy. Since this is just a base recipe, the waffles are endlessly adaptable to whatever you want to include.You can sprinkle some some chocolate chips over the top before cooking them, top them with fruit, or just eat them as-is with some maple syrup. The only change I make to the original base recipe is adding some vanilla extract (or sometimes a combo of vanilla and almond), because I really love it in waffles.

By the way, this plate of waffles in particular is topped with jarred morello cherries from Trader Joe’s, which have sort of become my new obsession. They are sort of like eating canned cherry pie filling (which I’ve admitted to loving) without all the junk that’s usually in there.

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