Crispy Cajun Salmon Cakes

-with homemade tartar sauce and arugula

Happy Friday!

I'm ready to talk about an option for seafood lovers who don't quite have the access to fresh seafood they wish they did.

i.e. Landlocked Jessica

One of the hardest things about moving to Kentucky from Portland was getting used to the lack of amenities I'd previously been spoiled by.

Swirled Strawberry Lemon Smoothies

Oh friends.

Remember the hubby and I's snowy adventure up to Chillicothe on Monday? Well, we finally heard back from the dealership at 4 pm yesterday. And it was not good news. Apparently, there is something wonky with the transmission, sooooooooo....

25 Super Bowl Snacks, Treats, and Meal Ideas

Good morning, and happy Tuesday!

I meant to publish a post yesterday, but the morning ended up being way too hectic. The hubby and I had to leave the house at 7 am yesterday to drive my car about an hour away to the Nissan dealership. It was not the best day for travel (thank you, East Coast Blizzard!), not to mention the problems I was already having with the drivability of the car.

Creamy Chicken, Tortellini, and Spinach Soup

Uh, as far as soup goes, this is hands-down delicious. 

Creamy, savory broth?  Check.

Chewy tortellini filled with cheesy goodness?  Check. 

Crammed with the green goodness of spinach and protein-packed chicken?  Check.

Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi

Ah, mahi mahi.

Mahi mahi makes me think of Hawaii. I remember one trip with the hubby's company (ex-company, many moons ago) when one of his coworker's wives turned to me in a restaurant and told me to never order mahi mahi. She said they were as intelligent as dolphins and should not be eaten. She was very serious and told me to go read some studies.

Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

I warned you it was coming, and now...

It's heeeeeeeere!

My very first homemade ice cream. Actually, not the first. Well, yeah, kind of the first. I brought you this Frozen Banana Ice Cream last year, but as my lovely husband pointed out, that was just pureed bananas that kind of tasted like ice cream. This is my first true ice cream. 

Butter Baked Garlic Chicken

-with roasted potatoes and baby carrots

This might be my new favorite way to prepare chicken...

This dinner was almost devoured so fast, I about didn't have time to document it. Like, seriously seriously fast. I usually roast a whole chicken, but you know what? I didn't feel like preparing the chicken, I had tons of chicken broth in the freezer, and the hubby and I were getting ready to go out of town. It wasn't like we needed the leftover chicken meat. So I picked up a pack of drumsticks, and planned to enjoy not having to disassemble the chicken.

Roasted Parmesan Garlic Cauliflower

There was a time in my life I didn't care for cauliflower. When I was younger, cauliflower was presented to me in one of two ways- either as a raw vegetable on a vegetable tray, or mushy with cheese sauce. I usually avoided cauliflower on vegetable trays, always opting to grab celery, carrots, and cherry tomatoes. Or bell peppers, if they happened to be on there. At home in those days, Mom would serve us mushy cauliflower (sorry Mom!) with cheese sauce. I loved cheese sauce to the moon and back, so Mom got me to eat both broccoli and cauliflower that way. 

Boozy Salted Caramel Milkshakes

It's a sad day in our house today.

The Oregon Ducks fell to the Ohio State Buckeyes last night, and our house is now in mourning. Even though we live squarely in Buckeye territory, we proudly ran our errands yesterday in our Duck gear. And yes, we got comments everywhere we went. Especially at our little bar we always stop at. We popped in yesterday for a couple of beers, and were definitely ribbed by some good-natured Ohio State fans. I was pretty surprised that no one was ugly, everyone we encountered was a good sportsman. 

My FaceBook friends? Another story. Ha!

Seafood Stew

Unbelievably, this is a leftover dish.

Yes, it's true! I had a handful of frozen bay scallops in the freezer, waiting for something to be used in.  I had one, lonely cod filet also hanging out in the freezer. And then, after the Ducks won the Rose Bowl (woot woot!), I had leftover shrimp. The last clue to this puzzle? An extra can of clams from making clam dip. 

Baked Chicken Parmesan

-with Garlic and Crushed Red Pepper Linguine

 I had my first food fail of 2015 last night.

It certainly won't be my last.

I had this really great, yummy idea for flank steak with a gorgonzola sauce. It sounded delicious in my head. So I pulled the last steak from my now-empty meat supply, and took it out to defrost. I thought the date on it said 8/17/14. Which in vacuum sealing world is just about the point of no return. They say 6 months in the freezer for a vacuum sealed piece of meat. Therefore, I thought no big deal. I went about planning to roast some mushrooms and making a salad to go with the steak. I even went so far as to get out the lettuce and a colander to rinse the mushrooms in.

Mom's Famous Family Clam Dip

Let's talk clam dip. Because talking about clam dip leads us to talking about family. And football. And holidays. Special occasions. 

But seriously, let's talk about it because it's delicious!

Clam dip has been in my family since the beginning of time. I remember eating this stuff as a toddler. I believe my grandma used to be the one to make it, but for as long as I can remember, my mom has been the one to make it. There wasn't a Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Super Bowl where clam dip wasn't served. Our family clamors for it (Get it? Clamors? I'm such a dork, I know).  

My 2015 Goals

It's time to talk change. Self-improvement. Growth. You know, all that stuff that we humans loathe to do. I, myself, am a highly self-motivated person. When I set a goal, I work hard to get there. As such, I thought before I laid out my 2015 goals that we would see how I did on last year's goals.

My first goal was to run a 10k. Accomplished! I ran my first 10k in August. It was extremely hilly and my time wasn't the best, but I did it.

Me and the hubby at the Cincinnati Beer Run in May 2014.

Books I Read in 2014

Happy New Year!

Well, it's 2015. Time to put 2014 in the rear view. One of my goals for 2014 was to read more. I didn't set a goal of a certain amount of books to read, mainly because I wasn't reading much in 2013 and anything would be an improvement. I thought I would simply see how I could do.