Creamy Chicken Taco Cups

A delicious, delicious appetizer that takes almost no time at all, save for cooking the chicken. Throw in whatever ingredients you have on hand - if you have more beans, use more beans and cut down on the rice and chicken and vice versa. Or cut out the chicken entirely for a vegetarian option. I doubled the recipe easily for a large party.

Creamy Chicken Taco Cups

Tilapia Francese

Here's a nice, light, weeknight meal to make after all the heavy eating of Thanksgiving! Takes almost no time at all and I would recommend serving with mashed potatoes or rice pilaf along with a green veggie.

Tilapia Francese

Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas

We're moving and I am in the clean-out-the-pantry phase of packing. This is a great recipe for that, as you can use almost anything you want in these (within reason): shredded chicken, green chiles, different kinds of cheeses, etc.. And I didn't have the time to make the enchilada sauce, but I did have some bottled already in the fridge, along with leftover salsa. So I just combined those on the stove and added some chili powder, cumin, and garlic powder for extra flavor. Use corn or flour tortillas as well!

Black Bean and Rice Enchiladas

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

So delicious - this will definitely be added into my favorite recipe file. I added a few dashes of Tabasco sauce before turning on the slow cooker to add a little more spice. Definitely try this with the pickles and ketchup as garnish - sounds weird but adds to the flavor! I served this alongside Texas Toast and a green salad.

Slow Cooker Cheeseburger Soup

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

So easy and so yummy. It's not pretty, but it will please a crowd!

Chocolate Chip Cookie Pudding Cake

Shrimp Fajita Pasta

An easy and tasty weeknight dinner. I recommend making the fajita seasoning shown on the recipe - quick, easy, and less sodium than the store-bought brands. Substitute chicken if you're not a seafood fan!

Shrimp Fajita Pasta

Layered Pizza Dip

An easy recipe to put together. I would recommend using the already sliced pepperoni and chopping that unless you plan on slicing the link of pepperoni REALLY thin. I served with pita chips.

Layered Pizza Dip

Turkey Pesto Burgers

I'm always looking for ways to mix up turkey burgers. I added a few tablespoons of chopped sundried tomatoes to the meat mixture before grilling.

Turkey Pesto Burgers

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

So good - these are best kept in the fridge because of their cakey texture (and they will last longer too). I used dark chocolate morsels in place of the chocolate chips.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Squares

Slow Cooker Pork and Green Chile Stew

Simple and delicious. I used diced green chiles instead of whole and left out the jalapenos - it was plenty spicy with the mild Rotel tomatoes.

Slow Cooker Pork and Green Chile Stew

BBQ Chicken Burgers with Spicy Lime Coleslaw

Another burger! I actually used ground turkey for these instead of chicken, but you can use either! I really liked the idea of the BBQ sauce IN the burger as well as basted on top of it. Chuck only flips burgers once, so once you flip to a cooked side, just baste once with the reserved sauce.

BBQ Chicken Burgers with Spicy Lime Coleslaw

Slutty Blondie Brownies

I must confess, I have no idea why this recipe has "slutty" in the title, but I don't care! This is a delicious layered bar of sugar cookie dough, Golden Oreos, and blondies. I made the exact recipe in  a 13 x 9 dish instead of the recommended 9 x 9 to stretch the amount of bars it would make. It came out fine - just watch the baking time, as it will probably take a little less.

Slutty Blondie Brownies

Greek Turkey Burgers

Summertime is all about grilling at our house, and I'm always on the lookout for a new burger, preferably a turkey burger to lighten it up! This recipe was delicious! I omitted the red onion in the tzatziki sauce since I have a problem eating it raw, but otherwise followed the recipe exactly.

Greek Turkey Burgers

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Although this ice cream calls for a custard (more work) it looked delicious and I wanted to make one with marshmallows. I actually served it alongside the Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream so instead of using peanuts in this I used the same amount of white chocolate chips. Enjoy!

Rocky Road Ice Cream

Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream

This ice cream looked easy enough - no praline to make and you just have to swirl the peanut butter in at the end of churning. I didn't use natural peanut butter (and I've actually read in The Perfect Scoop that it's not recommended), just regular smooth Skippy. It was delicious!

Peanut Butter Swirl Ice Cream

Mexican Pasta Salad

Very tasty, very easy, perfect for a summer party. Use a chunky salsa if you can't find pico de gallo.

Mexican Pasta Salad

Lemony Salmon with Cherry Tomato Couscous

Grilled or sauteed salmon is one of my favorite dishes, and this one was very tasty! There are a lot of steps designed to give more flavor to the dish, but if you are crunched for time, you can easily skip the tomatoes marinating and just add them right to the couscous.

Lemony Salmon with Cherry Tomato Couscous

Baked Ravioli Caprese

Save this recipe now. It is a simple, delicious recipe fit for a crowd, a dinner party, or a weeknight dinner. The better your ingredients, the better it will be. Enjoy!

Baked Ravioli Caprese

Mediterranean Pork Medallions

I'm always looking for a new recipe for marinating pork and this one stood out as a classic. You can either slice the pork as suggested, or if you're going to grill the meat, leave it as a whole tenderloin and marinate the entire piece. This will give it a little less flavor, but make it easier to grill.

Mediterranean Pork Medallions

Dijon Potato and Green Bean Salad

This is a nice alternative to a mayo-based potato salad. If you can't find (or don't want to spend the money on) new potatoes, Yukon gold or red potatoes cut into bite-sized pieces will work fine.

Dijon Potato and Green Bean Salad

Artichoke, Romaine, and Cherry Tomato Salad with Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette

I've made this salad a few times now, and I am really posting this for the dressing recipe. It's a fantastic dressing that would be good on any savory salad (meaning probably not so great on a salad with fruit or candied nuts). Make a batch and see what you think!

Artichoke, Romaine, and Cherry Tomato Salad with Balsamic Dijon Vinaigrette

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

I have to say that I didn't even make these, my sister did. But I watched her make them, does that count?! It is a lengthy process to make these, but they're well worth it!

Strawberry Cheesecake Cupcakes

Coffee Ice Cream

A labor-intensive recipe (as ice creams go) that is well worth it, even for a non-coffee-ice-cream lover like me. Made this for my dad's birthday!

Coffee Ice Cream

Mexican Spinach Dip

This was really quick and easy to make and quite tasty. I was worried the spinach would make it all taste too earthy but it worked really well together. Enjoy!

Mexican Spinach Dip

Beef and Bean Burritos with Sour Cream Poblano Sauce

These were delicious and easy to make. If you're short on time you can even just skip making the sauce and use plain sour cream as a garnish. Chuck loved them!

Beef and Bean Burritos with Sour Cream Poblano Sauce

Chicken, Spinach, and Noodle Casserole

Delicious and makes lots of leftovers! If you don't want to make your own breadcrumbs, just substitute about 1/2 cup of panko bread crumbs.

Chicken, Spinach, and Noodle Casserole

Spicy Turkey Sloppy Joes

Super yummy and so easy to make! A lot of flavor without any premade spice packets.

Spicy Turkey Sloppy Joes

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Chuck saw this on my weekly menu I hang on the fridge and got very excited. It's pretty much covers his favorite food - pasta and chicken in a spicy sauce. This was VERY spicy - tone down the red peppers flakes if you're not up for a lot of heat.

This halved very nicely for the two of us (yes, we eat a lot). I would recommend using a pound of chicken for the full recipe though, and 8 ounces for half, if you enjoy meat in your meal.

Spicy Chicken Rigatoni

Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Lasagna

This was AMAZING. I would serve this for a brunch/light lunch or as a side dish with dinner for company. Even Chuck loved this, which is big because it A. contains lots of green vegetables and B. does not contain meat.

I subbed in four green onions for the leek.

Spring Vegetable and Goat Cheese Lasagna

Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo

Another fantastic dish, I would even serve this to company! I ate the leftovers for days afterwards, couldn't help myself from taking a forkful everytime I passed the fridge. Leftovers may be a little dry - add some olive oil as needed. We used broccoli.

Crockpot Parmesan Garlic Chicken with Orzo

Chicken Broccoli Bacon Ranch Foil Packets

So, so delicious. And super easy for a weeknight! Feel free to sub in Real Bacon Bits if you don't have time to make bacon.

Chicken Broccoli Bacon Ranch Foil Packets

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Arugula

I saw this on one of Giada's shows and thought it would be good over pasta instead of served on bruschetta. This was really very good, and easy enough for a weeknight meal. One batch of the topping covers half a pound of pasta very nicely.

Other changes I made include omitting the tarragon (don't like the flavor), using a can of drained diced tomatoes instead of the Romas, and substituting the new Philadelphia Cooking Creme for the mascarpone cheese.

Pasta with Shrimp, Tomatoes, and Arugula

Lo Mein with Pork

Quick and easy for a weeknight. I left out the mushrooms and used double the amount of snow peas. Definitely needs more soy sauce while serving.

Lo Mein with Pork

Homemade Twix Bars

Delicious!

Homemade Twix Bars

Blood Orange Margaritas

Delicious! If you can't find blood oranges or juice, use half orange juice, half cranberry juice.

Blood Orange Margaritas

Seven Layer Greek Dip

A delicious, healthy, and easy to prepare appetizer! I used regular feta instead of the crazy feta and it still had tons of flavor.

Seven Layer Greek Dip

S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

Another great dessert! Although I love white chocolate I didn't understand the need for it here and substituted milk chocolate chips for the white.

S'mores Gooey Cake Bars

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars

One of THE BEST desserts I have made recently. Plenty of chocolate - I decreased the amount of chips in the top layer to two cups and there was still almost too much. Best when stored in the fridge.

Gooey Chocolate Chip Sandwich Bars

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

A good freezer-friendly meal. You can also use shredded chicken.

Tuscan Macaroni and Cheese Bake

White Pizza Dip

White Pizza Dip

Honey BBQ Meatloaf

A new favorite. I recommend pouring all of the reserved sauce over the meatloaf before cooking instead of saving to serve alongside.

Honey BBQ Meatloaf

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

Crock Pot Pasta Fagioli

My Last Post?

Hello all to the two people out there still checking the blog for new recipes :)

It has probably become apparent over the last several months that my enthusiasm for posting new and exciting recipes has been waning. The land of food blogs has come a long way since I started back in 2008 and I haven't had the energy or time to keep up. New blogs pop up everyday and everyone who's anyone now has a light box to shoot their food, attends food photography classes and writes witty commentary to accompany their recipes.

So from here on out I will essentially be posting links to the recipes that I have made. I still cook dinner most weeknights and enjoy giving dinner parties large and small so I have recipes waiting to be shared. But I believe that for the time being it is better if I leave it at that. I think it will be a sense of relief to not be thinking about how to photograph my food before I eat it, or to make sure that I am making new meals with regularity so that I can post on a schedule.

Thank you to all of you who have read the blog over the years. I am keeping the blog address online so please feel free to continue to use the archives as well as check back if you want for my recipe links. (I guess I am essentially creating my own personal Pinterest board?) Maybe one day I will return to the land of blogs :)