Chicken Bacon Orzo Soup

Here in Kentucky, winter is about to give what I suspect is its last gasp. I even woke up to a dusting of snow this morning. Judging from the future forecast though it looks like after this next week, the weather will break. No more nights in the 30's with the fear of frost. Days in the high 60's, low 70's. The garden will flourish. Our privacy fence of densely populated trees at the edge of our property (which lose their greenery every winter) will fill out with leaves again. And chicken soup that warms the soul will lose just a smidgen of its appeal. 

Mini Butterscotch Banana Puddings

Ok. You all know how I can get into ruts? Here's a big one:

I haven't published a banana recipe since April 18, 2014. That was my Chocolate Oat Smoothies. Well, I guess technically it was my Banana Split Truffles on October 8, 2014, but I don't really count those. There's no actual banana in them! So, it's been a loooooooong time since we've talked banana.

How does that happen? I'm not sure. It's kind of like how I fell off the Asian wagon in 2015 and only posted 2 recipes. This banana-drought might be worse though, since I didn't post a single banana recipe last year. We are going to remedy that today with this quick, easy, kid-friendly, and delicious dessert!

Lucky Mules

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone!

Break out the green drinks, food, clothes, etc. and let's celebrate! I've always enjoyed St. Paddy's day. Granted, St. Paddy's day in college and the short time after graduating basically means you drink until you drop. This is not so much the point of the holiday as you get older, but it still holds a special place in my heart.  I may only have one green cocktail and one Thin Mint cupcake, but I'll be toasting my 21-year-old self who loved to come no earlier than dawn with green glitter in my hair and shamrocks painted on my face. Days long gone, but not forgotten. 

Vanilla Quick Bread

There is a strategic reason I'm posting this bread today. I'm posting it today because it is, officially, the perfect vehicle for my Blackberry-Nectarine Preserves. The two go hand-in-hand like chips and dip, or bacon and eggs. Although, I must confess, this bread is a great companion for pretty much any fruit spread. I slathered some Raspberry Jam on it, and my taste buds were equally pleased. Perfect for breakfast to serve alongside coffee, or a light dessert if you want to add some pudding and whip cream to the mix. Yummmmmm....

Blackberry-Nectarine Preserves

Yeah, I know it's still winter. And preserves are probably the last thing on your mind right now. However, I was at Sam's Club a while ago and they had lovely bags of nectarines they were selling. You may not know this about me, but I have a compelling weakness for stone fruits. Peaches, nectarines, plums, cherries... I devour each equally. Seeing as how it was late February, one could say it had been a considerable amount of time since I'd had any stone fruit. And the nectarines looked amazing, I couldn't resist. 

Toasted Almond & Salted Caramel Bark

Oh yes. It's Friday, and boy do I have a treat for you guys! Because what better day of the week to reward yourself than Friday? And let me tell you, this bark candy is truly a treat. It's super easy and fast to make, crunchy, sweet, and salty. It's only February, but I'm already thinking this will be going in my Christmas Cookie boxes. It's that good.

Creamy Chicken, Potato, & Kale Soup

This is truly one of those soups that came about by me throwing stuff in the pot. I'd picked up a rather large rotisserie chicken after getting a steroid shot one day. Because who feels like cooking after that, am I right? It's pretty much routine for me to throw the chicken carcass into the crockpot and make broth out of it the night we have it. So there I was. I had leftover chicken. I had freshly made chicken broth. It also happened to be the day after the Super Bowl, which meant I also had a bunch of potato innards on hand from the Potato Skins the hubby and I had devoured on our holiday. 

Chicken. Chicken broth. Very soft, almost mashed potatoes. What would you do? 

I chose soup!

Garlicky Sautéed Brussels Sprouts

Yeah, you can go ahead and say it. I've been pretty obsessed with Brussels sprouts lately. And it's all thanks to texture.

It's weird how people get set in their ways with certain ingredients. I say it's weird, but it happens to me all the time too. Yes, me, the foodie. For example, it feels like I'm always focused on main dishes. As a result, my side dishes sometimes fall along the wayside and I find myself going back to the same ones over and over- garden salads, roasted asparagus, roasted potato wedges... Even with Brussels sprouts, I'd fallen into a routine. I only roasted them or steamed them, and then served them with butter for dipping. 

But did you know... Brussels sprouts are amazing when they are sliced thin! They taste different, and they have the best texture.

Recipe Redux: Chocolate Chip Coffee Muffins

This girl is ready for spring!

We've had some weird and wacky weather around here lately. The chihuahuas couldn't be more displeased. Especially Mariota. I've never had a dog that does his business so fast. I mean, even with 4 inches of wet, sloppy snow on the ground, Haloti will follow his nose outside until the iciness of his poor little paws catches up with him. Gizmo keeps wanting to cross the snow field over to our neighbor's house. Those 2 want to smell things all. day. long, even with snow on the ground. But Mariota? His process is more like this: run out the door, hike leg on small trees the hubby and I planted by the front sidewalk, run like hell back to the house. Done. It's amusing. 

Enchilada Stacks

-with chicken, black beans, spinach, and pepper jack cheese

Just call me "The Globetrotting Eater"!

I'm doing pretty good this month. An Asian recipe, a Greek recipe, a cupcake recipe (you gotta throw one of those in every now and then), and now a Mexican recipe. I'm spanning the world over here! 

Variety is good, yes? I think so. I know lots of people who eat the same foods, day after day, year after year, for their entire lives. Never getting outside the box. While it's true, I could and do eat certain foods everyday (hello turkey sandwiches!), I need diversity. There's something amazing and life-changing about discovering a new food that you've never tried before. It's almost like falling in love.

Monte Cristo Sliders

Happy Friday friends!

I have exactly 6 more recipes that I put together with pictures from my old lens, so bear with me as I burn through my backlog.  I have to say (even with pictures that now make me tilt my head slightly and say "huh" perplexedly) that these little sliders still look yummy. If you are unfamiliar with the Monte Cristo, as the hubby was, this is what a Monte Cristo is:

A Monte Cristo is typically a fried ham-and-cheese sandwich, a variation of the French croque-monsieur. Typically in the United States, you'll find this also made with raspberry preserves and lightly dusted with powdered sugar.

Pomegranate Lime Cosmos

I'm so excited to be posting today. And not just because I'm posting a cocktail, ha ha. Today's post is brought to you by my Christmas present! 

No, I didn't get a bottle of vodka or a pomegranate for Christmas. I besieged my family for Amazon gift cards for Christmas, all so I could pool them together and buy myself something I would use for years to come. Any guesses?

Chocolate-Mint Bark

Let's continue CookieFest 2015!

Still on vacation here in Illinois. As much as I love my dogs (because I love them to the moon and back, ya know) there is something to be said for simply waking up, making a cup of coffee, and enjoying the view of a lake. No shoving tired feet into boots, tired arms into coats. No checking the property for neighborhood dogs or the stray deer. No pack of vicious Chihuahuas barking at such a decibel you'd think we starved them by their urgent need for food.

Of course, I start to miss all those things after a couple of days. But man, for a couple of days, I do enjoy the "me" time. And speaking of "me" time, you'll have plenty of that if you decide to make this simple minty candy over say, Spritz cookies. I'm serious, this takes all of 5 minutes to make. And it's sooooo yummy!

Arugula Prosciutto Pizza

What is it about the holidays? There never seems to be enough time. I've been baking, pretty much non-stop, for the past 2 days. And I'm still not done! I guess this means the hubby and I will be mailing the cookies tomorrow morning instead of this morning. I've decided that I have to be ok with this, mainly because I'm not done. I should know better by now, 2 days is just not enough. Do you hear that, Future Jessica? 2 days is NOT enough!

We can only hope I remember that next year.