Recipe Redux: Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

Happy Monday friends! I promised in January that I was going to share this recipe soon, and then... I went on break. However, I'm back, it's spring, and it's time to talk about chocolate and banana. Only one of the best foodie combinations ever, if you ask me. Next to chocolate and peanut butter, and maybe peanut butter and banana, of course 😂  I enjoy a good banana bread on its own but when you add chocolate, it just takes it to another level! 🍌🍫

Oven-Roasted Sea Bass with Spiralized Veggie Stir-Fry

Today, I feel like posting something pretty. Oh, I know those Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes were gorgeous in their own way 😉 But this dish is beautiful in it's own way! I mean, who doesn't love colorful food? That little saying "Eat the rainbow" comes to mind for me. I love eating the rainbow! And that's kind of what I was aiming for with this dish...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

You know what I just realized this morning when I opened the blog?

I haven't posted a dessert recipe since June 20! Remember Copy-Cat Girl Scout Tagalongs? Yeah, that was my last recipe to satisfy sweet tooth's (teeth? I don't know about that one 😁). Let's remedy that!

3-Cheese Risotto

Friends, I'm currently in a "creation" frenzy. I've been churning out the recipes here at home, night after night. Which has been unusual as of late. The hubby returned home from work the other night and exclaimed, "You made dinner again? Wow!". Ha ha. And the next thing he said? "You must be running out of back-up posts on the blog." 

He hit the nail on the head. Sometimes I go through weeks-long phases where all I want to do is write. Sometimes the phase is creating the recipe and taking pictures, and that's where I am currently. Taking lots and lots of pictures, and wracking my brain for any ol' little thing to write. In truth, I'm trying to create a big backlog because my parents are coming to visit next month! It's going to be a longer visit and I know I won't be doing any work while they are here. 

So, that's where my head is at. Must. Take. More. Pictures!!

Garlic & Herb Roasted Salmon

Salmon!

Oh my gosh you guys. I finally found some acceptable salmon. FINALLY! Oh, it feels like it's been way too long. I used to eat salmon once a week, and now, for the last 5 years, I feel like I have salmon once a blue moon. Until now!

Last time I was at Sam's (you must be thinking, 'Does this girl live at Sam's?') I was perusing the frozen seafood section. I always do, just wishing and hoping they'll have something new. My persistence paid off when I spotted some frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon fillets. Alarm bells went off in my head. My heart exploded with happiness as I eagerly loaded a big bag into my cart. Just what I'd been waiting for.

Recipe Redux: Banana Cake with Vanilla Bean Frosting

Ugh, I have been the worst blogger this month. I'm at 6 (now 7) posts for the month. I feel like I'm still on vacation. I usually post 3 times a week, but I've been averaging about 2 this month. I'm trying not to get too worked up over this, it is what it is. I've been spending a lot of time outside since I returned from my break, getting the garden ready and planting flowers. We added another raised bed to our garden this year. Year by year, the garden gets a little bigger than the year before. Obviously, the bigger the garden gets, the more time it needs. I'm feeling that this year. 

Recipe Redux: Chile Garlic Shrimp

Ah, the shrimp. That tasty little crustacean that usually lives at the bottom of the ocean. 

Shrimp has always been, and will probably always be one of my favorite foods. It was tradition in our family home growing up to have a shrimp ring on special occasions. I can still remember sneaking into the kitchen, gazing into the fridge, grabbing a few of those suckers, and devouring them on the spot. Of course, growing up in Oregon and 60 minutes from the Pacific Ocean, there was way more access to fresh shrimp than here in landlocked Kentucky. I depend on frozen shrimp here, which isn't technically my favorite but I take what I can get. Not to mention that shrimp is expensive, so it's a once-in-a-while treat too.

I take it when I can get it, and I love it.

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.

25 Pasta Recipes

Hey-o!

Happy Day-After Christmas folks! Did everyone have a great holiday with lots of friends and family? We sure did! Due to the holiday festivities yesterday, there was little time for blogging. The hubby and I have been go, go, GO! for the last couple of days. I'm definitely feeling it, and am ready for life to slow down just a bit. We've got our niece and nephew staying the night with us tonight, but come Monday, I should have some alone time. We aren't even planning anything for New Year's Eve, thank goodness. At the top of the list of my least favorite holidays you would have New Year's Eve. I'm always so-done with the holidays and usually 5 lbs overweight by the time it rolls around. This year, we are staying in. The more you progress into your 30's, the less you care about going out. Missing out on something. Not being in the pictures the next day. All the things that mattered so much in your 20's? Eh. I take em' or leave em' now.

Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies

Let the Christmas cookie bonanza begin!

I am officially on vacation. The hubby and I are staying with his cousin at his lake house in Marion, IL. I have no housework, no agenda, and now, no cookies to worry about! I spent the entire weekend like a baking fiend. There was no rest for the wicked. But the hubby shipped a majority of them yesterday morning to our far distant relatives, and we handed out the rest. The leftovers were brought to Illinois to be enjoyed by the hubby's cousin's wife because she is almost 8 months pregnant. She was very appreciative to see the cookies and Christmas Crunch Popcorn yesterday.  And, let me tell you, this year's cookie selections are better than ever.

Like, seriously. The hubby told me so :-)

Let's kick of my series (yes, there will be 4 cookie recipes I share with y'all) of cookies with these super-cute Reindeer Gingerbread Cookies!

Roasted Garlic Mashed Potatoes

We are getting so close to Thanksgiving, I thought I would share my holy grail recipe for mashed potatoes. They are made with milk and sour cream, a sprinkle of fresh herbs, and the most important part, a truckload of freshly roasted garlic. Oh yeah. Don't make this recipe for date night, unless of course part of your date entails rebuffing the advances of vampires.

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Garlic Butter

What?!

It's Friday, and I'm going to talk about Brussels sprouts? That most odiferous, often chucked-through-the-air-by-a-toddler, root-type vegetable that everyone seems to hate?

Yep. I sure am. Because Brussels Sprouts are one of my favorite things. I'm one of those weird people that has always liked Brussels sprouts. Especially when crispy from the oven with a smidge of salt and melty garlic butter for dipping.

I even got the hubby to eat these. He is one of those aforementioned vegetable-throwing people. We've been together almost 10 years, and I can count on two fingers the amount of times I've seen him eat Brussels sprouts. One of those fingers was this recipe.