Alex's Crispy & Crunchy Baked Chicken

Tweet

Here's another recipe from my brother's girlfriend Alex and her blog The Bookish Cook.  In the words of Gordon Ramsay, "This chicken is cooked perrrrfectly."  Also in the words of The Hubby quoting Gordon Ramsay, "This chicken is cooked perrrrfectly" (in loud angry British accent).

Alex nailed it again.  Some of her other hits that I have copied on this blog are the Flour-less Spicy Dark Chocolate Cake (The Hubby's favourite cake and also gluten free!) and the Brussels Sprouts Salad with Bacon, Avocado, and Lemony-Dijon Dressing (which is actually the salad that appears at the top left of the plate in these chicken pictures).

I'm happily hanging out in town this weekend after a super fun girls weekend on Vancouver Island last weekend.  The Hubby and I ordered way too much Chinese Food last night (partly because I hangrily made the statement, "Let's order, like, WAY too much Chinese Food tonight."), so we have quite the task ahead of us this weekend in polishing that off.  Other than that, I'm checking out a new kids park in my neighbourhood with my BFF Sheena and her daughter Natalie, running with my mom Sunday morning, and then The Hubby and I are checking out some local breweries with our pals Kendra and Kyle on Sunday afternoon.  Nice little weekend!

I hope you enjoy another recipe hit from Alex!  Have a great weekend everyone.

For a printer-friendly version of any recipe, simply click 'Print' below the title of any blog post. Voila - a clean recipe without my ramblings or any pictures!

One Year Ago:  Classic Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl
Two Years Ago:  White Wine Sangria Jello Jigglers
Three Years Ago:  8-Layered Greek Dip

Crispy & Crunchy Baked Chicken

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 2 cups panko bread crumbs
• 2 tablespoons dried Italian blend herbs
• 1/2 cup grated or ground parmesan cheese
• 1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder
• Salt and pepper
• 4 chicken breasts (boneless, skinless)
• 1 heaping tablespoon mayonnaise
• Drizzle of olive oil

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Grease a non-stick cooking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.

In a large plastic bag, combine bread crumbs, herbs, parmesan, garlic seasoning, paprika, onion power, and salt and pepper to taste.  Set aside.

In a small bowl, toss chicken breasts with the mayonnaise, rubbing it with your hands until well coated.  One at a time, put the chicken breasts into the plastic bag with the bread crumb mixture, and shake to coat the chicken completely.  Repeat with all four chicken breasts, moving each to the greased baking sheet once coated.

Drizzle the chicken breasts with a small amount of olive oil, and place into the oven on the middle rack.  Bake for 30 minutes, then flip over and bake for 10 more minutes or until golden brown and no longer pink in the centre.

Enjoy!



Recipe Source: The Bookish Cook

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Tweet

Anther vegan recipe on the blog...who am I with this fake detox where I still get to drink wine and eat Girl Guide Cookies?!

This soup is great on its own, but its also great as a base recipe that you can play around with.  So, sure - get trendy and use kale instead of spinach!  Substitute chicken broth for the beef broth if it makes you feel like a free-wheelin' babe!  YOLO it with chickpeas instead of canellini beans!  You can do what you want, and the main idea would be similar and delicious.

Look at the rainbow of beautiful vegetables in mine!

On a completely different topic, it's been a year since I became a runner and I've never really mentioned it on this blog because I guess I was scared it wouldn't stick.  But, it has stuck and I guess I'm a runner now, and here are a few of my thoughts on it.

I was never a runner.  I was the girl in high school that got winded and nauseous and felt like I was going to keel over in Physical Education class when we had to run a lap of the track.  But back then I didn't really have to have any physical activity in my life and could eat whatever the heck I wanted and still be twig-like.  I still think that Nutrition should be a semester-long class taught in today's high schools.  Nowadays, in the words of my childhood orthodontist, Mother Nature's goal is to "turn a pretty girl ugly."  I found out the hard way that if you don't wear your bottom retainer every night your teeth will go crooked again, and also that as it turns out metabolism becoming slower with age is a thing.  And here we are.

It all started for me because the location of my office building in downtown Vancouver is right on the most gorgeous stretch of seawall in North America, and right beside the 2014 Best Park In The World (according to Trip Advisor).  From my office window I can see hundreds of runners every day just running all the time - before work, on their lunch breaks, and as the sun is going down.  Seeing this every day (even on Vancouver's rainiest days) was enough to make me feel like I should be doing something like that too.  After all, it can't get any easier than throwing on your runners (Canadian word for sneakers; I've been told it's not used in other countries?!) and walking a block.  The only problem was that, just like when I was back in high school, I 'could not' run.

So, back in May 2014 I downloaded the '5K Runner' iPhone app by ClearSky Apps.  In 8 weeks it promised to take me from the couch to a 5K race.  I was doubtful, but decided to give it a try.  The app gets you doing a combination of run/walk intervals three times a week, until eventually on the last day of the eighth week, you can magically run for 35 minutes without stopping.  I couldn't believe that it worked, but it did.  From there, I wanted to keep going with their program and so I downloaded their '5K Forever' app, which helped to improve my time with walk/run speed intervals over the next eight weeks.  I was on a roll at that point, so I downloaded the '10K Runner' app, and six weeks later I was able to run for an hour without stopping.  After that I participated in our local 10K Terry Fox Run in September 2014 (with my mom, who is my role model in many things, including running), the 10K Turkey Trot for Thanksgiving 2014 (with my friend Ashley and a horrible head cold), and coming up this weekend I'm participating on my office team in Canada's biggest 10K run, the Vancouver Sun Run.

There were a few things to overcome along the way, namely the following:  the wobbly feeling of my butt always running a few steps behind me (catch up, butt!), the commitment to run three times a week in rain or shine or snow (and when it rains and snows, that promise to myself that I can't break totally sucks), Netflix, the amazing smell of popcorn being sold along the Stanley Park Seawall as I run past and can't eat it, knee issues resulting in multiple trips to the physiotherapist, and an Imposter Syndrome that I've been harbouring since my youth.  But I did it.

Nowadays I trail run with my mom, I run the Vancouver Seawall with friends, and I run on my treadmill at home.  I'm proud (yes, proud!) to say that it's now a very healthy part of my life.  Some wonderful side effects have been a 20 pound weight loss over 12 months, finding strength and feeling good, muscle definition in my legs for the first time in my life, and an amazing feeling of self accomplishment.  I run for these things, but I also run for wine and cheese and pasta and health and vanity and better fitting jeans. But the best side effect of running so far has been the ability to completely silence my mind to almost everything else and just concentrate on the matter at hand - running.  Some people think when they run; for me it's the only time in my life when my head is totally clear, and I have found that I crave that.  There is a wonderful piece from The Oatmeal that totally speaks to me on this topic, with my favourite line being, "I run very fast because I desperately want to stand very still."  It's not about the butt, it's about the brain.  If you are a runner and have some time, click on the link and have a look...it's worth the read.

I recently went back to my high school track, and ran around it 28 times without stopping, just to prove to myself that I could.  The high school version of me would have been impressed.


OK, back to the soup...

For a printer-friendly version of any recipe, simply click 'Print' below the title of any blog post. Voila - a clean recipe without my ramblings or any pictures!


One Year Ago:  Classic Spinach Dip in Bread Bowl
Two Years Ago:  Chicken and Broccoli Casserole in Creamy Curry Sauce
Three Years Ago:  8-Layered Greek Dip

Tuscan Vegetable Soup

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1 (15 to 19-ounce) can canellini beans (white kidney beans), drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 large red onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 2 carrots, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
• 1 small zucchini, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme (or use 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried sage leaves (or use 2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage leaves)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cups low-sodium broth (beef or chicken or vegetable broth is fine)
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes
• 2 cups baby spinach leaves

Directions
In a small bowl, mash 1/2 of the canellini beans with a potato masher, and set aside.

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat.  Add the onion, carrots, celery, zucchini, garlic, thyme, sage, salt, and pepper.  Cook, stirring occasionally until the vegetables are soft, about 5 minutes.

Add the broth and tomatoes with their juice, then bring to a boil over high heat.  Add the beans (whole beans and mashed beans), and the spinach leaves, then cook until the spinach is wilted, about 3 minutes.

Enjoy!

Recipe Source: Tuscan Vegetable Soup Recipe - Food Network

Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Tweet

The Hubby and I got a little bit obsessed with the Brussels Sprouts and Bacon Salad that we were hitting pretty hard around Christmas-time.  So I decided to take the peeled Brussels Sprouts idea and turn it into a Caesar Salad peeled Brussels Sprouts idea.  And it was a good idea!  Mmm.

Warning - the Caesar dressing recipe is super garlicky, which I love.  Yum.  Regarding the Brussels sprouts themselves, we have found that the smaller ones are better because the leaves are thinner.  But make sure to remove the looser outer leaf (it's not good in the salad), as well as any other scruffy looking leaves.  

I'm off to San Francisco to visit my friend Ariana, and I can't wait!  Lots of girl time and wine (a bit of a redundant statement), including an overnighter in Napa. Woo!  I've packed my suitcase with some gifts for her in the form of Canadian delicacies not sold in the United States, such as ketchup-flavoured potato chips, all-dressed flavoured potato chips, Hawkins Cheezies, Kit Kats, Coffee Crisps, Smarties, and Aero.  Oh, and I can't forget le piece de résistance...a few packets of McChicken Sauce straight from McDonalds.  Apparently McChickens don't come with McChicken Sauce on them in the good old US of A, and that just doesn't work for her.  And, you don't know Ariana, but she will love this care package of Canadian junk food.

Have a great weekend everyone!

For a printer-friendly version of any recipe, simply click 'Print' below the title of any blog post. Voila - a clean recipe without my ramblings or any pictures!

One Year Ago:  Spring Salad with Roasted Beets, Goat Cheese, and Pecans
Two Years Ago:  Classic Beef Stew
Three Years Ago:  Very Berry Muffins

Peeled Brussels Sprouts Caesar Salad

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 5 pounds Brussels Sprouts, trimmed, with outer layer and any scruffy leaves discarded
• 1 garlic clove, minced 
• 1/3 cup olive oil 
• salt and fresh ground pepper, to taste 
• 1/4 tsp. dry mustard 
• 1 1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce 
• 1 1/2 tsp. anchovy paste
• 1 egg 
• 1 - 2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice 
• Freshly grated parmesan cheese 
• Croutons

Directions
Blenderize the garlic, oil, salt, pepper, dry mustard, Worcestershire sauce, anchovy paste, egg, and lemon juice until smooth.  Refrigerate until ready to use.

Slice off the hard end of each Brussels sprout, pulling off the leaves one by one, and placing the leaves into a medium-sized salad bowl.  Once you are done, give yourself a pat on the back.  

Toss Brussels sprouts with dressing.  Sprinkle on parmesan cheese and croutons, and toss again.  Enjoy!

Recipe Source:  Caesar Salad Recipe from Playing With My Food

Garlic Scape Pesto

Tweet

Garlic Scape Pesto

Warning:  For garlic lovers only...all others beware the deliciousness!!!

It's garlic scape season again!!!!!!  Run, don't walk, to your nearest farmer's market and pick up some of these green beauties while you can, because their season is very short, too short, only 2 - 3 weeks in duration short.  I get a bit freakishly excited when I see garlic scapes at the market.  For example, my friend texted me that she picked up some garlic scapes and my reaction was 'Jealous!'  I've been known to buy armloads at at time, then go back for another bunch, then talk about it to whoever will listen.

Garlic Scapes !

Garlic scapes are one of the best kept secrets in the world of produce, and I'm here to out them.  The garlic scape is the long, bright green, usually curly stem that grows out of the garlic at the plant's maturity.  The closest thing that they resemble visually is a green onion, but they are hard to the touch unlike the soft green onion, with the stiffness of the stem of a daisy.  Their season is very short, from late June to early July (where I live anyway), and they can typically only be found at your local farmer's market.  Garlic scapes range in price from $1 to $2.50 a bunch - cheap, cheap, cheap - so get out there and support your local farmers.  They taste is exactly like garlic to me, which since I'm like very into garlic, works for me.

Creamy Bacon and Leek Pasta

Tweet

My family likes to cook.  So recently when we went away for a nice relaxing three-day weekend in Birch Bay just over the US border from our place, we decided to have a pasta throwdown.  Because why wouldn't you have an intense pasta competition on your relaxing family vacation.

The competition gets underway.

My family is obviously also competitive.  So when I called my dad a few days before our trip to let him know what kind of pasta I would be making and what my ingredients were, I shouldn't have been surprised when he remarked that he couldn't believe I had willingly given up my recipe so close to the competition and that he could really use this to his advantage.

Butternut Squash, Italian Sausage, and Spinach Pasta

Tweet

Secret:  The butternut squash is the sauce.  No, like it actually is the sauce.  Like, there's no tomato sauce, and instead it's butternut squash.  Does that mean it's healthier?  I have no clue.  But tasty?  Oh my gourd, yes!

But, first things first (and I know I'm a little late)...WAY TO GO TEAM CANADA!

This is what Canadians live for!

We had 26 people crammed into our tiny living room to watch Canada win gold over Sweden in Men's Hockey in the Sochi Olympics.  And with a 4am game start time, why wake up early when you can stay up partying all night long?  We didn't crawl into bed until close to 8am, but it was worth it.  Well, except for The Hubby who was sawing logs by the end of the second period after doing a well-executed 'classic slip-out*' exit from the party.  He was discovered minutes later, in our bed, with drool already on the pillow...it was too late to drag him back to the party.

*During a classic slip-out, you must tell no one that you are leaving, and 'slip out' of the room without saying goodbye, for fear of being told by anyone in the room that you are actually, in fact, not allowed to leave because leaving would be super lame.

So, Pinterest is awesome and something I could become easily obsessed with.  Just kidding, I already am obsessed with it.  You can follow me here if you like.  Actually, I have pinned something like 1500+ recipes (with probably a lot of duplicates, because with 1500 recipes who could remember which ones you've laid eyes on before), and have only made a few things.  A couple of weeks ago I challenged myself to make something, anything, from one of my Pinterest boards, and that's when I stumbled upon the Pasta with Butternut Sauce, Spicy Sausage, and Baby Spinach from the Skinny Taste website.  It looked like exactly what I was going to need in my life that night, so I went to my favourite store (COSTCO!!), and picked up some butternut squash, 18 other things that I didn't plan on buying (48 granola bars!  16 cans of soup!  6 boxes of crackers!), and Italian sausage.  I changed up the recipe a little bit, with one of the main differences being that I roasted the squash instead of boiling it in water, which I felt would help to retain more flavour.

Turkey Meatballs in Coconut Curry Sauce

Tweet

Happy new year everyone!  Also happy November and December, seeing as it's been awhile since my last post.  The reason for that...well, I'm going to blame our Netflix subscription.  I've become super well acquainted with Emily and Daniel from Revenge, Jess and Nick from New Girl, Mindy and Danny from The Mindy Project, and seriously, why didn't anyone tell me how awesome Grey's Anatomy is like ten years ago?  I'm now hopelessly addicted to it, and have a long haul of ten 27-episode seasons (quick math: 10 x 27 = 270 episodes) to catch up on, and apparently I've given myself a deadline of about four weeks to do this at the rate I have been going at.  No one tell me, but are McDreamy and Meredith going to stay together forever?  Because I seriously can't handle it if they don't.  And no one tell me, but what's going to happen with Addison and McSteamy, and with Izzie and Alex?  They can't get back together, can they?  So many questions, so little time for anything but getting all of the answers!

So, things that have happened in the real world for me in the past few months, at least food wise...

Traditional Italian Sausage Lasagna

Tweet

While I'm on the Italian Sausage bandwagon...

This blog's tagline is The Kitchen Confessional of Megan McLeod...well, here's one for you.  All of the mozzarella cheese that went into this lasagna fell off the counter and onto the floor before I assembled the lasagna.  All of this precariously placed cheese, onto the non-swept floor...

Five second rule!

...and then into a lasagna.  Don't tell The Hubby!!

Second kitchen confessional is that I wear these onion goggles every single time that I cut onions.  They totally prevent my eyes from stinging and crying.  Plus they are obviously super stylish!

Hi 

So, our garage was broken into a couple of weeks ago.

Kendra's Italian Sausage and Cheese Stuffed Jalapeno Poppers

Tweet

It's amazing how many times you can forget not to touch your eyes after handling jalapeños.  For me, like 12 times probably.

 

Which is enough to make me wonder for a moment whether I have short term memory loss or whether maybe I am just a really slow learner.  Kendra's public service announcement is that you may want to use disposable gloves for this recipe (especially if you wear contact lenses) to protect your eyes and skin from the spicy jalapeños.  Or like me, you can just...not...

Who is Kendra, creator of Jalapeno Poppers, you ask?  Well, Kendra and I have been friends for ten years now, she was one of my bridesmaids, and she's one of my besties.

Kenji and me.

We met while working together at Milestone's Restaurant back in the early 2000's, most likely while commiserating over waiting for 'campers' (restaurant guests who linger even after the restaurant is closed, for no apparent reason, and don't take a hint to leave even after the ugly lights have come on and two waitresses are staring them down awkwardly from the other side of the restaurant) to finally go home so that we could do the same (or - let's be honest since we were 20 years old and worked in a restaurant - go to the bar).

Butternut Squash Risotto with Arugula

Tweet

The Hubby is starting to call Playing With My Food my 'soup blog,' so I guess it's time to post something not so liquidy (another new word!).  

Butternut squash is my new wonder vegetable (actually it's technically a fruit, but that's like saying that Pluto is not a planet or something.  Details!)  It can be mashed, pureed, roasted, served in a soup, and also used as a delicious base for a risotto.  You can now buy it already peeled and pre-cut in a 2-pound package at Costco, or in a smaller packages at most grocery stores.  Since Costco is my favourite store in the world, I bought it there.  I first made the Butternut Squash and Cauliflower Winter Soup (yum!) that I posted last week, and then this risotto.  

Pasta With Arrabiata Sauce

Tweet

This was my my favourite pasta sauce to eat when I was in Italy last year.  When I wasn't gluten-free yet, aka the good old days.

 

And now, here it is, in my kitchen in Canada, on gluten-free pasta.  But I have to say, the quinoa/corn blend pasta that I use tastes fairly identical to wheat pasta, and this sauce recipe tastes fairly identical to what I became slightly obsessed with in Italy.  I hear that Costco, my favourite store in the world, is now selling a gigantic bag of quinoa/corn blend pasta...looking forward to my visit there this weekend!  Woo.

'Arrabiata.'  It means 'angry' in Italian, and the reason for the sauce being labelled with this name is because of the spice of the red pepper flakes.  At the restaurants that I ate at in Italy, Arrabiata meant a spicy red sauce with chunks of pancetta in it.  Back home, it seems to just mean a spicy red sauce, and an Amatricana sauce is the one that has the pancetta chunks.  I was happy when I stumbled across this Giada de Laurentiis recipe for Arrabiata sauce from my copy of her Everyday Pasta cookbook, because it combined both the spice of the red pepper flakes and the pancetta like I remembered.

Basic Marinara Sauce

Tweet

Here is a simple recipe for a basic marinara sauce that I made from my Giada De Laurentiis 'Everyday Pasta' cookbook.  This is a great cookbook that I highly recommend for the simple and delicious pasta recipes.  The marinara sauce is great as a base for Giada's Arrabiata Sauce recipe.

Yum.  Salivating.  Sexy.

 

Butternut Squash and Italian Sausage Lasagna with Sage

Tweet

When company's coming and you want to fuss a little bit...

 

Make this!

I fricking love Emeril.  Seriously, he has never let me down.  And you know who loves him more than me?  The Hubby.  He gets very excited when Emeril is on Top Chef, and very excited when we have gone to his restaurant NOLA (where we purchased a cookbook), and also very excited to eat anything that comes from an Emeril cookbook...including this lasagna, which quite frankly I was worried about serving to him.

Maybe it was the cooked apple (The Hubby hates 'warm fruit,' including in pies).  Or maybe it was the butternut squash (he doesn't really enjoy butternut squash when it's 'cube-shaped'...seriously, you can't make this stuff up).  Or maybe it was the cinnamon and hazelnuts (these would definitely be weird ingredients in a lasagna in The Hubby's eyes, and fair enough).  As I was preparing to dice the apple to cook it with the fennel, sausage, and onion, I was a little nervous that he would walk into the kitchen and see what was happening.  I even directed him to a different part of the house, which worked for a little while, but of course he eventually did walk in...but somehow didn't notice!  Phewf.

Meyer Lemon Chicken Piccata

Tweet

I'm on a bit of a chicken kick.

 

...as in I have eaten chicken every night for dinner this week.  As in there are going to be a lot of posts on the blog about chicken in January.  As in I even let The Hubby drag me to Swiss Chalet this weekend for the first time in my life (my mom says this is a lie and that I went once as a kid too...must have blocked it out) and ate all of the following:  1/4 chicken (dark meat) with a side of Chalet sauce, 1/3 rack BBQ ribs, side of cole slaw, extra-large side of poutine (I knooooooow) with Chalet sauce instead of gravy (keeping it gluten-free even at times like these), and a glass of white wine.

Caprese Salad On A Stick

Tweet

I know summer is over, but . . . this:

 

Some might say that I maybe got a little bit obsessed with Caprese Salad this year, perhaps because of this and then this.  

Those people would be right.  I've moved past the denial stage.

But how can you blame me for wanting to post about the same three ingredients again and again:  crisp tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, and basil leaves.  This may just be the best flavour profile to have ever existed, and I ate it again and again and again this summer.  

So, I know that summer has come to an end and now it's time that I officially go into soup, casserole, and stew mode for the dreary fall and winter months (not that I'm complaining...I love those foods too!).  This year it does kind of feel like an endless summer, at least in the place where I live.  The sun keeps on shining, and the rain hasn't yet arrived.  The Hubby and I are leaving for the weekend soon to head to Kamloops, B.C., for his brother's wedding.  I am a bridesmaid and he is a groomsman, and all of his family and most of our friends will be in attendance, so it's sure to be a really fun time.  The bonus is that when I come home I will have a new sister!  

Arugula, Tomato, and Fresh Mozzarella Salad w/ Basil Dressing

Tweet

 

I like when a recipe lists all of the ingredients in just the title.  Baby Arugula, Grape Tomatoes, and Fresh Mozzarella, all topped with Basil Dressing.  You may have figured out that this is just a Caprese Salad in disguise.  What can I say?  I love this flavour combination!

Forget about food for a minute, because I want to talk about me.  I want sympathy please, because I have been at home with shingles all week.  That's right, shingles.  Shingles!  Not the roof kind.  When the doctor told me I had shingles, I didn't even know what it was.  It seems like such an archaic illness.

And let me be the first to say that shingles is flipping painful.  I feel like I have been bludgeoned in the head (repeatedly), like I have a burning pain all across my skin, like I have bugs crawling through my hair, like I am getting an electric shock every 20 - 30 seconds, and like any time my skin comes into contact with anything (at all) that my skin has been lit on fire.  I've also been working at home for four days, and I'm going a little out of my mind with cabin fever.  I know there are many, many, worse conditions out there than shingles, and so this week I've been trying to perk myself up by singing lyrics to songs like, "All the Shingle Ladies, All The Shingle Ladies."  The Hubby says that I'm going to have to start going to Shingles Bars if I keep this up.

Scallop and Broccolini Risotto

Tweet

Sometimes...I impress myself.

Like, take last Wednesday night for example.  First of all, it's a Wednesday night, so there's that.  Second of all, I'm like tired after work on Wednesdays, guys!

But, let me back up a little bit, because before Wednesday night there was Monday night, which as we all know is way worse than Wednesday night (because at least Wednesday night is Hump Day and also there's Big Brother).  On Monday night I thawed a frozen package of scallops from Costco in the refrigerator.  This is usually pretty much how I guarantee to myself that I will not be lazy at some point later in the week, because the guilt of having something thawing in my fridge sits in my mind all day long.

Easy Caprese Salad

Tweet

My mouth is watering from looking at these pictures.  Five ingredients.  Taste perfection.

Fresh juicy tomatoes, crisp fresh basil, chewy fresh mozzarella, all sliced and topped with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.  Fresh, fresh, fresh.

When I was in Italy earlier this year, The Hubby and I ate Caprese Salad every day.  I loved Caprese Salad so much there that it hurt (my waistline, but what else is new).  Arriving back in Canada, I worried that when I made it at home it wouldn't be the same.  But it was.  Thanks to the two-pack containers of fresh mozzarella at Costco for less than $10, I can make amazing Caprese Salads at home that taste just like someone's mama used to make me back in Italy.

Farfalle With Broccoli

Tweet

Farfalle:  Fancy name for something that's already pretty dressed up...bow-tie pasta!  Hyuck hyuck hyuck!

Here's a super-easy and super-fast recipe for some pretty darn super-tasty pasta.  You could even call it Pasta Fasta if you wanted to.  No?  Only one lame comment allowed per blog post?  That's fair.

What's up pasta?  I've missed you.  It had been, what, three days after I got home from Italy when I made this recipe?  Forget the detox plan...I've got to have you.

This is an extremely easy recipe that I made because I just happened to have all of the ingredients on hand on a rainy Saturday afternoon.  The flavour was simple but good, and I would definitely make it again.

Tomato and Italian Sausage Risotto

Tweet

I made a delicious dinner last night.  The Hubby said it was the best thing he has eaten in 2012!  Thank you Martha Stewart, you saucy domestic goddess you!

Risotto always seemed like one of those unconquerable meals that I could only order in a restaurant.  Like...what is that stuff?  But I made it last year for the first time, and it was EASY!  Lots of stirring and monitoring, but still pretty darn easy!  So, I decided to try it again last night...this time with a tomato-based version (healthier? maybe. probably), and it was delish.

There is a bunch of spinach in this recipe (like actually a spinach bunch of spinach!), so if you feel like skipping a side vegetable, you will still have your vegetable quota covered.  I usually have all of these ingredients on hand, so it was a breeze to make for a hearty weeknight meal to help combat these cold nights that still lurk.