January in Review: 2016

Did January fly by... or did January fly by?

I cannot believe the first month of 2016 is already gone. It's going to be another one of those years, I can feel it. It'll be gone before we know it. Now, I know I was a very bad blogger and I started my monthly wrap-up's again in November. Then I skipped December. Me oh my. 

I'm just going to pick right up where I left off. Let's talk about January!

We started off the year with Oregon vs TCU in the Alamo Bowl. The hubby and I were on point with our spread-

Spicy Sesame Beef Rice Bowls

What, what? It's January, and I've already posted as many Asian-style recipes this month as I did all of last year? (That would be 2!)

I told you guys I was going to get more Asian dishes on the table, and what do you know? Another for the books! You are going to love these rice bowls. There is soooooo much delicious flavor, and guess what? A ton of veggies! I have to ask myself, what's not to like about these bowls? Crisp red and yellow peppers, tender spinach, flavorful marinated sirloin, plus crunchy wanton strips, sesame seeds, and plenty of dressing? 

Sign me up! 

Mini Strawberry Swirl Cheesecakes

Yesterday I had a food bloggers melt down.

It happens occasionally. More often than I'd like to admit, actually. I mean, what else can you do when the project you've been working on since 8 that morning completely unravels at 5 pm, and you are home alone to react however you want to? 

You throw your temper tantrum. Then you move on with life.

25 Fruity Recipes

Hello from snowy Kentucky!

Actually, not so snowy now. Yesterday it got up to 50º and much of the snow has melted, much to my relief and those Chihuahuas. I opened the living room windows this morning and was shocked to see that at least 3 inches of snow melted overnight. This has to make my birds happy. The homestead has been overrun the last couple of days, complete with birds that never come to the feeders or yard. I had a large flock of starlings pass through yesterday, and a few days ago a foursome of Eastern Meadowlarks foraged the yard. Us birders get the biggest kick out of seeing new birds in our yards. 

Chopped Kale & Brussels Sprout Salad

-with garlic croutons, pomegranate arils, asiago cheese, fresh lemon zest, toasted almonds, and poppyseed dressing

Boy, my timing on this one is sure off, huh?

Tucked away here in my Northeastern corner of Kentucky, the weather forecasters aren't sure what we are going to get here. Right now, they think the line may be south of the Ohio River. As in, north of the river may only get 2-4 inches. Well, we live basically right on the river as we are about 3-4 miles away. We are either going to get a normal 2-4 inches or we are going to get 2 feet. Personally, I'm hoping it's only a couple of inches. The chihuahuas hate when the snow is taller than them, and I hate waddling through it all to feed the birds out back. At any rate, salad is not the name of the game for this weather.

The Best Homemade Poppyseed Dressing

-plus 5 recipes to use it on!

What, what? Poppyseed dressing in the hizouze! That's right, I can talk extensively about something as boring as a simple salad dressing.

It's true, salad dressings are pretty effortless. They're just a mixture of a few ingredients, emulsified together ambitiously to create an effect hoping to make people forget that what they are chomping on is indeed nutritious but most likely, not delicious. Or at least, not the filet-mignon-and-roasted-garlic-mashed-potatoes-all-covered-in-cheese kind of delicious. But sometimes, you run into a salad dressing that takes you far away from the norm. That makes even lettuce taste good. That doesn't taste like any dressing you've bought at the store before. I'm here to tell you, this Poppyseed Dressing has managed to maneuver its way to the top of my list in about 2 years. I discovered the recipe, yep, 2 years ago and a bottle of it has been in my fridge ever since. I keep it on hand 100% of the time now, and I'll tell you why-

Baked Parmesan Truffle Potato Wedges

Welp, it's happened.

I was afraid when I got my new lens that I wouldn't want to post my recipes that I'd already prepared to present. I opened the blog yesterday morning, to pick out a recipe to write about. I sat there mulling, hemming, and hawing through almost an entire cup of coffee. Indeed, I was shocked to reach over at one point only to find an empty mug sitting at my side. So I made a decision that I sometimes tend to make on Monday's: Do it tomorrow. 

And now it's tomorrow. Sigh. I gnashed and ground my teeth over what I had, and finally concluded on Baked Parmesan Truffle Potato Wedges. You know, cause it's hard to go wrong with fries, right?

Right :-)

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?

Recipe Redux: Pasta Salad with Tuna, Olives, and Parsley

We are going back to the beginning.

As in, really far back. This recipe takes us back to August 25, 2011. For those of you not in the know, I started my blog in May of 2011. I started it aimlessly, mostly just to have a place to occasionally write down ideas in my head and a good way to keep my parents updated on my shenanigans. This wasn't the first recipe I ever posted, but it's probably in the top 10 of my first foodie posts. Back then, I posted whatever was on my mind. It was mostly wrap-up's of family events, couponing trip summaries, and makeup reviews. I'd been cooking for maybe 2 years at the time and the words "food blog" had never entered my vocabulary. I didn't even know that food blogs existed.

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cheesecake

Happy Birthday to me!

Yep, this was my birthday cake. And let me tell you, this is a dessert worthy of the name "cake". It was decadent. It was dreamy. It made my tastebuds do a happy dance. Then, it made me realize I had to get it out of the house. Stat. 

Did I get it out of the house? Not so much.

Shrimp Pad Thai

It's the first recipe post of 2016! Yahoo!

You guys. Do you know how many Asian recipes I posted last year? 

This is embarrassing...

It was 2. Yep, you read that right. A Ginger-Soy Glazed Mahi Mahi in January of last year and a Shrimp and Broccoli Lo Mein in March. This is just crazy to me. When I was first learning to cook, Asian was my mainstay. But last year was a bonafide melee of Mexican and Italian. That just has to change. 

My 2016 Goal: Authenticity

Another New Year. Time to stop and reflect on the passing year. I'm a few days late, but that's never stopped me before. Just for reference, I want to put last year's goals out there, so here's that post. I'll just tell you right now, in terms of New Year's goals, 2015 was a dismal failure. Running 500 miles? Try 145. Learning to can? Nope. We had a woebegone summer in the garden, so there really wasn't anything to can anyway. Rebuilding my stockpile? Just didn't happen.

Am I going to sit here and think of the entire year of 2015 as a failure? Absolutely not. Good things happened in 2015 too. Oregon won the Rose Bowl and went to the National Championship. The hubby and I added a puppy to our family. We went to Oregon. We got a new computer and updated the master bedroom. Our niece and our nephew began having their first sleepovers at our house. I learned how to make pie crust. 2015 was filled with as many victories as losses.

2015: By the Numbers

Oregon Trip 2015

Happy New Year! I hope everyone had a healthy, happy, and safe holiday season. Let's wrap up 2015 by summing up last year in numbers, shall we? Here we go!

1- Oregon finally has a Heisman Trophy!
59- amount of points the Ducks scored in the Rose Bowl (new record!) against Florida St. on January 1st