Wild Rice & Mushroom Soup

-with toasted almonds, chives, and Gruyere toasts

Today is just one of those days. Yes, it's Spring and we've had a spate of nice weather days. But you know the old saying "April showers bring May flowers?" Today is a day of April showers. It's been gray, rainy, and cloudy since I woke up. Not only do I get a day off from keeping the un-sprouted seeds in the garden moist, but it's the perfect day for a comforting bowl of soup.

25 Tomato Recipes

Happy Monday! 

Wowsers, did this weekend fly by or what? I just can't even, I don't know where it went. I'll start with my doctor's appointment on Friday morning-

So, that appointment... It was first thing in the morning, 8 am. I was the surgeon's first patient of the day. Now, most of the surgeons I've seen, they start by asking me questions and conclude by giving me an exam. And truth be told, the exams are usually quite gentle. Painless. This surgeon started the appointment by giving me an exam. Somehow he managed to locate the exact evil spots on my back. Not only did he locate it/them, but he pressed insanely hard into them.

Naan Pizzas with Chicken, Asparagus, & Egg

Yes. You want this. Right now. For breakfast. For lunch today. For dinner tonight. Eat it for every meal! One bite and you'll be in love :-)

I love flatbread pizza. Does it get any easier? I love homemade pizza dough just as much as the next person, but there's something to be said about a meal that's ready in minutes vs. a meal you had to plan all day. And these pizzas really did take just minutes. I used leftover rotisserie chicken, because, hello, it's me. I seem to always have rotisserie chicken in my fridge. Pair chicken with leftover roasted asparagus from the night before, and pretty much the only work you will have to do will be making a couple of sunny-up eggs.

Lamb Ragù

-with Orecchiette and Sautéed Garlic Broccoli Rabe

Oh, you guys are going to love me. Actually, let me rephrase that- if you have some ground lamb on hand or can find some at the store, you are going to love me. 

This sauce hits it out of the park! It's savory. It's spicy. It doesn't taste like my usual pasta sauce, thanks to ingredients seldom used such as lamb, coriander, and mint. I always, always, always think that I hate mint in savory foods. I think that's because mint has always tasted overpowering to me. I remember one year when the hubby and I were in Cincinnati visiting his cousin and his wife, and I ordered lamb chops with mint jelly at a fancy steakhouse. The lamb chops? Amazing and to-die-for. The mint jelly? It tasted like toothpaste on top of my lamb. Sick. Have no fear friends, there's not enough mint in this recipe to evoke any images of a masked man sticking sharp tools into your uncomfortably stretched mouth while simultaneously trying to engage you in conversation. 

25 Rice Recipes

Rice. I love rice. It's a simple, affordable, and versatile grain product that's very familiar to most Americans. You can fry it, and come up with fried rice or even pan-fried rice cakes. You can bake it inside stuffed peppers, or casseroles loaded with veggies. You can serve it with a saucy stir fry with the sole intention of using it to soak up that sauce. One of my favorite ways to eat rice? In a bowl with a little soy sauce drizzled over it. Simple. Yet delicious. I credit rice with helping our budget when we first moved to Kentucky. Due to its low price, I added rice to a ton of dishes and served it often in our first years in the bluegrass state. We still eat a lot of it, even though things are much different these days. I wish I could get the hubby to enjoy brown rice, but you can't win all the battles :-)

Lasagna with Spicy Sausage & Spinach

Let's just continue our journey of around-the-world cuisine, shall we?

I was all set to blog about muffins this morning, and then did an abrupt 360º at the last minute. I mean, I already posted cupcakes this week, and what are muffins but slightly less sweet cupcakes? Plus, I jibber-jabbered all day yesterday about my world-traveling recipes so why not expound on that?

My thoughts exactly :-)

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.

Greek Pizza

Happy Friday all!

I really did try to blog yesterday, to ensure I got my normal 3-a-week in. However, yesterday was a morning (or rather afternoon) that I got one of those steroid shots in my back. And I'm not allowed to eat or drink anything after midnight before the procedure. That includes coffee. 

So I sat down to write yesterday and was heartily displeased to see all the existential, angsty sentences that my caffeine challenged-creativity managed to cough up. Whiny, here. Gloom and doom, there. All because Jessica's brain was without it's normal amount of coffee. Eventually, I erased everything I wrote and said, "Tomorrow then!"

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.

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.

Top 15 Recipes of 2015

Happy New Year's Eve!

Unbelievable that it's the last day of the year. I feel like I have been on vacation this week (much needed after Christmas Cookies) with my slacker posts. Indeed, it's much easier to post round-up's and articles about reading and summing the year up. I was going to post this yesterday, but alas, it was my birthday friends! Yep, this ol' girl turned 29 again... Or maybe a little more than that. Haha.

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.

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.

Slow Cooker Chicken Enchilada Soup

Is there a more perfect time for a slow cooker recipe than at the holidays? I think not. After all the shopping, gift wrapping, check-book balancing, cookie baking, and making sure the hubby's not falling off the roof-ing (hehe), there's not a lot of energy left for cooking. Back when the hubby and I lived in Portland, this wasn't such big deal. We had many (quick) options for feeding ourselves somewhat healthy. We were within 5 minutes of Whole Foods, walking distance of of handful of restaurants, and had a kitchen drawer full of menus from restaurants that deliver. Ah, the old days. Today though? Our grocery store doesn't offer the options of Whole Foods (fresh salad bars, amazing hot soups, made-to-order sandwiches), we are within a 20 minute drive to the nearest restaurant, and delivery? That's a no-go. I cook a heck of a lot more here in Kentucky that I ever did in Oregon, which in itself has positives and negatives.

Salmon, Gouda, & Fried Egg Sandwiches

Happy Tuesday morning y'all!

I'm here posting again on Tuesday (after I posted on Monday) because I don't think I'm going to be back to the blog until Friday. The hubby and I have a super-busy week.

Isn't it always like that around the holidays?

As I mentioned previously (actually, quite a while ago), the hubby and I are hosting Thanksgiving this year. Which means a lot more work than usual. Haha. Usually we are just grabbing a couple of things and heading out the hubby's sister's house. Not this year. So, the hubby and I will be cleaning house today, with tomorrow being a prep day for the holiday. We also have to babysit our niece and our nephews tomorrow before doing the prep work, which will add a extra kick of pressure tomorrow.  I figure, as long as the turkey is defrosted, the Clam Dip is made, and the Pecan Pie is done, I should feel ready for the holiday.

Should being the key word there :-)

Spinach & Mushroom Stuffed Peppers

Hello friends! Up on deck today, a vegetarian stuffed pepper. Filled to the brim with marinara sauce, rice, spinach, mushrooms, panko, and of course, cheese! These are a great alternative to the standard stuffed pepper that is usually filled with a meat mixture. Use leftover rice, and you've really got yourself a meal that seems like it would take a long time but actually comes together very fast.

Chicken Fajita Casserole

Chicken Fajitas? In casserole form?

You mean, no screaming hot plate of peppers and chicken to burn my hands on? No constructing-every-portion-as-you-go? And, if you aren't constructing fajitas along the way, does that mean no extraneous plates of toppings lying around that you will eventually have to wash later that night?

If all that hasn't convinced you, how about this? Layers of tortilla, Spanish rice, smoky chicken, and sautéed peppers and onions, all tied together with a super-cheesy queso sauce?

Yep. You had me at queso :-)

Grown-Up Tuna Salad

Admittedly, it's November. That time of year when the weather is turning chilly, and everyone is craving food that's warm and comforting. Lasagna. Chili. Chowders. Meats slow roasted in the crock pot. Beef stews with potatoes and carrots. You get the idea. This salad is none of those things. But, if you are going to have all that comfort food for dinner, what are you going to have for lunch??

Chicken, Spinach, and Mushroom Melts

I love sandwiches. Love, love, love them. Before this summer and my guacamole-a-thon, I had been on a sandwich kick for a long time. A long, long time, eating a sandwich every day for lunch. I can't explain this behavior, it just is. I get stuck on something, and then I eat it. And eat it, and eat it, and eat it. Pretty much until I'm sick of it. So happened with my turkey sandwich. Here's the thing about my sandwich kicks- they last a long time and they always come back. When I lived in Oregon, I spent most of 2009 on a sandwich kick. The building I worked at had a cafeteria where I found the most magical turkey sandwich. I ate it almost every day that year. Yep, I'm that weirdo.