Slow Cooker Honey Garlic Chicken

Oh yes.

It's that wonderful time of year to pull out your slow cooker again! Admittedly, there are some that use their crock pot throughout the summer. It's true, the slow cooker is a great way to cook something without raising the temperature of the home. However, what usually cooks in a slow cooker? 

Meats. The hubby and I don't eat a lot of meat in the summer, and if we do, it's from the grill. 

Soups and stews. We rarely eat soup and never stew in the summer. 

Those 3 items make up the majority of slow cooker recipes. They are all things that scream "COMFORT!!!" food. And "comfort" food almost always equates to fall and winter weather in my book.

Bean and Rice Burrito Bowls

Y'all know I love Mexican. You should also know that burrito bowls are one of my favorite things ever. Ever. I love tortillas, so I love my burritos, but let's face it. A bowl full of the good stuff you usually cram inside the burrito can feel so much healthier than chowing down on a burrito-sized tortilla.  And, if you like lettuce in your burrito (call me Rabbit, cuz' I sure do!), it's almost like having a salad. Only the dressing is a combination of guacamole, salsa, and creamy beans which intertwine into the best possible partnership. Break out your tortilla chips, peeps, and let's talk burrito bowls!

Apple Pie Cookies

It's 5 am.

I'm up early, because the rest of the day is kind of busy. Yesterday, a girlfriend asked if I wanted to meet at the local Mexican restaurant for margaritas and lunch. Not the kind of girl to turn down tequila, I said hell yeah! Which means the hubby and I need to get out of the house and to the gym early today. 

So, yeah, it's 5 am on Friday, one of my bigger post days, and I'm just staring at multiple recipe posts I've got finished and ready to go. I can't pick one. I can't even think of what I'm going to write. One of those kind of days.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Chip Oat Bars

Did you guys try my Carmelitas?

If you did, and you became *obsessed* with them like I did- you're in for a treat! These chocolate-peanut butter bites are basically a modification of their caramel counterparts. I feel like the Carmelita recipe is such a solid recipe that you can sub out the caramel and chocolate for other combinations, and win big.

Grilled Chicken Pesto Pizza

Let me tell you about this pizza. It was an ordeal. This post has been a work in process since, well, ummm, sometime last year. I can never get it to look right. I make it quite regularly, but it's not my prettiest pizza. Last time I made it for pictures, I tried shredded chicken, yellow tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella bocconcini (those little mozzarella balls). It wasn't pretty. 

Metamorphosis

What? Another Sunday post? Are you guys lucky or what?? :)

Truth be told, something magical happened at the homestead this summer that I just had to share. I introduced milkweed to my garden for the first time this year, and I was rewarded with butterflies. 

Lots and lots of butterflies.

25 Muffin and Quick Bread Recipes

Happy Friday everyone!

It's been a long time since I posted a round-up, so I thought, why the heck not? Time to get back to my round-up's. First up, muffins and quick breads. I heart muffins and quick breads. I feel like muffins are the perfect jumping off point for someone just learning to bake. The recipes are simple and most of the time, forgiving. If there was one tip I could offer for the muffin newbie, it's this- mixing is not your friend. Cakes and cupcakes differ from muffins in the fact that mixing is paramount to the quality of your final product. Air is usually incorporated into those baked goods by creaming the butter and sugar. Most muffin recipes use baking powder or baking soda to cause the muffin to rise. Therefore, mixing until your arm falls off is not required. In fact, most of the time you'll find that the more you mix a muffin, the denser and tougher the muffin will be. Therefore, you'll want to mix the muffin ingredients just until the elements are moistened, but no more. Some of the recipes can even be made in one bowl. 

Smoked Salmon Eggs Benedict

Ah, Eggs Benedict. A brunch time classic. And one of a handful of recipes that the hubby is an expert at. There are a 2 recipes that I can always remember the hubby having made, since the beginning of our relationship. One is this Broccoli Rigatoni that I shared in February, but the other is Eggs Benedict. Classic Eggs Bene, I mean. The hubs has been making it practically since Day 1. Granted, on Day 1, I told the hubby I hated Hollandaise and Canadian Bacon and ate my "Eggs Benedict" basically as an Egg McMuffin. As in, English Muffin, Egg, and slice of American Cheese. LOL. I can't imagine how that made him feel. Preparing a gourmet breakfast for a girl you had just begun dating, only to have her turn it into America's favorite fast breakfast. Sigh. 

I'm lucky he still agreed to marry me :)

Recipe Redux: Pasta e Fagioli with Kale

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! I think the soup was in dire need of updated pictures-

That's the funny thing about photography. The more you progress, the more you look back and think, "Why didn't I change this one little thing?" or "Why didn't I add some color to that shot?" or "For the love, just blur that background!". Even while I bemoan the state of my early food photography, I also realize it's a wonderful thing. I shared so many recipes in the early days that are the hubby and I's absolute favorites. I'm enjoying these Redux's, if only to compare how far my photography has come. 

Lately: Fall 2015

Oh my gosh y'all. It's been forever, 2 months, 3 weeks, and 5 days since I did a Sunday post. In fact, my last "Lately" post was February 1st. Holy Superbowl Sunday Batman! I've got lots of pictures to share, you know, cause I haven't in a million years. Let's dive right in-

Oh, and if you don't like pictures of things like puppies and Chihuahuas, you may want to skip this post :)

Mini Blackberry Swirl Cheesecakes

I was looking through my picture portfolio the other day when I realized some peculiar...

There isn't a single blackberry recipe on my blog. Not. Even. One.

It's time to remedy that in the best possible way!

Fruit & Cream Pops

One more popsicle recipe before summer is over, mmmmk? 

Kentucky is in the middle of a heat wave, so even though it's September and I've already switched out all my summer decor for fall, I want to share one more summer recipe. I'm going to miss summer and my freezer full of ready-made popsicles. At one point this summer, I had Raspberry Kiwi, Strawberry Chocolate, Raspberry Jam Pops, and these Fruit and Cream Pops all in the freezer at the same time. Such variety! It was like going to an ice cream shop. Or a popsicle shop. Hey, why aren't there popsicle shops??

Chicken Guacamole Taquitos

I have a confession:

I've been hitting the guacamole hard this summer. Hard. It's been a serious craving for a good 2 months, and a couple times a week I find myself picking up yet another 2 avocados. 2 avocados makes a perfect amount of guacamole for me to eat in about 3 days (I know I've uttered that sentence before!). I've been snacking on the guac with tortilla chips, stuffing it into burritos, and baking it into these tasty little taquitos. 

Kentucky Hot Browns

If you want me to be completely honest with you, I will. I'd never heard of Kentucky Hot Browns until I moved to Kentucky. Seriously. I'd lived here a year and a half before I even heard the term. I was perusing FaceBook when I saw an article about The Brown Hotel, birthplace of the Kentucky Hot Brown. The story is, in the 1920's, upper class citizens used to come to The Brown Hotel to dance until the wee hours of the morning. After dancing away the night, they would make their bleary way to the kitchen where they would request a breakfast-y type dish. Wanting to serve his patrons something more upper-crust then eggs and bacon, the chef at The Brown Hotel devised an open-face turkey sandwich slathered in Mornay (that's CHEESE!) sauce. The Kentucky Hot Brown was born.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream

Some of you may be aware that I used to work at Baskin Robbins. Ice cream capitol of the world. Man, I loved that job. I remember, before I got hired, how excited I was that I might get to work there. A typical 20-year old to be excited about working at Baskin Robbins. What happened was that a lady who went to school with my mom (they were sorority sisters) was married to a Baskin Robbins franchisee. Somehow, there were a lot of Alpha Chi's that worked at that Baskin Robbins. I suspect we had an "in". At any rate, I worked there with 4 other girls from my sorority. We had a grand time.