Pesto Quinoa

Recipe Review: Great alternative to pasta or rice as a side. Was better cold than warm. Can also be made with pearled cous-cous.

It's been a little bit since I've made anything blog worthy. Life has been busy and I just haven't really felt like cooking anything major. Just as things were settling down and I was getting the bug I had a friend make a blog request! I had never had a blog request before so I was more than happy to oblige her request for me to try a quinoa recipe. Quinoa (pronounced Keen-wa) is technically a seed- not a grain, it is very high in protein and fiber, and gluten free. When cooked it is lighter and fluffier than rice or pasta and has a mild, slightly nutty flavor. I used "regular" quinoa (if thats even the right way to describe it) I've seen both red and black quinoa at the store, but haven't had the chance to taste either. 

Chicken Yakitori & Asian Vegetables

Recipe Review: Easy to Make Asian Marinade to use for grilled chicken (and veggies!)

I cook all the time. Everything from fancy recipes to easy dinners, and I'd like to think that I'm a pretty good cook. In general most of what I make gets good feedback from the people who have tried it, but the most enthusiastic review that I've ever gotten back from Kevin is for Chicken Yakitori that I made for the first time this fall. The recipe was originally from the New York Times and passed on to me by my dad. We made it again this week and it was just as good as we remembered.

Valentine's Day Treats

First off Happy Valentine's Day Everyone!! 

I'm not really one to gush online about my love life- but I am pretty happy to be celebrating Valentine's this year. I do understand completely however, the flip side of the coin and how annoying a holiday about couples and love can be for someone who is single. So what's the redeeming quality of this holiday if you are a me not a we? Chocolate. I'm pretty sure that candies and chocolate are just as yummy no matter your relationship status. This weekend I went wine tasting with a few girlfriends and put together little treat boxes with a cupcake, chocolates and strawberries. As I was coming out of the grocery store after picking up my baking supplies I was jumped by two girl scouts and ended up with an unplanned box of thin mints, which ended up working their way into my recipes. I made thin mint chocolate hearts, and berry cupcakes with vanilla frosting and thin mint crumbles on top. (side note: apparently the girl scouts have been hit by the recession too- this article says they are only selling 6 varieties of cookies now, and there are less cookies in each box. More research online led me to find that my beloved thin mints have 8 less cookies in the box now then they did when I was a girl scout.)

Weeknight Steak

Don't get me wrong, I love a good cooking adventure, but sometimes you just wanna eat dinner- right now! Just because its a weeknight doesn't mean you should have to eat something boring though. After a run Kevin and I threw together a quick dinner that took less then 30 minutes and after we ate I sat there thinking- "Hey even though this isn't fancy its really good! There's no reason I shouldn't write a blog about it"

Breakfast To Go

Recipe Review: My go to Breakfast Sandwich recipe. Perfect to reheat and eat on the fly!

I am not a morning person. I never have been and I'm pretty sure that I never will be. I've gotten a little better over the years, but will basically do anything I can to get those extra 5 minutes of sleep. It typically takes me a full hour before I actually "wake up" and can wrap my groggy brain around a concept like breakfast. What this means is that most days I end up eating my breakfast at work. There's a Starbucks approximately 75ft from my desk, (which believe me- makes controlling my caffeine addiction challenging) so that's a nice back up, but I try to bring my breakfasts with me. Every week or so I prep a batch of breakfast sandwiches, that can either be refrigerated or frozen, so I can just grab them on my way out the door.

Spinach & Pesto Chicken Rollatini

Recipe Review: Chicken, Pesto and Spinach- whats not to like? Looks fancy but its not- Can be prepped early and thrown in the oven later, 

I get so tired of just marinating and grilling chicken. It's quick and easy to make, but I get burnt out on chicken really fast that way. So I was looking for a new way to make chicken to jazz things up. Last fall I made asparagus stuffed chicken and really enjoyed the way the pesto tasted on the baked chicken. Some googling (and perhaps some olive garden ads) led me to the idea of doing a chicken "rollatini". Basically its a way to make stuffed chicken where you pound the chicken really thin and then roll it up with the stuffing inside. If done right when sliced you will have pretty little chicken pinwheels. I thought this would be good to make ahead and just pop in the oven, and it was!