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. 

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.

Kung Pao Chicken Zoodles

I'm joining the zoodle craze.

Sure, February doesn't seem like the right time of year to start, um, zoodling, but it cannot be helped. I was catching up on reading the blogs I follow last month, in the evening and after a couple of glasses of wine. One of my favorite bloggers, Lindsay from Pinch of Yum, featured a recipe using spiralized veggies and that was all she wrote. I've had a spiralizer on my Amazon wishlist for months, but something clicked.  I had to have it. I wanted spiralized bell peppers, and cabbage, and most importantly, zoodles. The wine clearly muddled my thinking, and before I knew it, I'd already clicked "purchase" on Amazon.

Does this happen to anyone else late in the evening when they have a nice wine haze going on? I swear. Luckily, the contraption was only $30. It could have been worse :-)

Plus, the zoodles! Ohhhhhh, the zoodles...

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! 

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-

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.

Turkey Noodle Soup

Can. You. Believe. It?

It's December. Already. I'm in shock. It feels like just yesterday I was pouring over Pinterest, trying to pick out Christmas 2014's cookie selections. How is it that a whole year has flown by? I know, I know, I say this every year, but does anyone else feel this way? 

2015 was one for the books in terms of recipes. I was going through my 2015 posts and statistics, trying to guesstimate which recipes are going to make the top 15 of 2015. It was a great year for food photography. An unparalleled year. I felt quite a bit of satisfaction going over the years' work. And now, we are almost to another year. I get to post new Christmas cookies this month. Yippee! This year's selection includes : 

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.

Recipe Redux: Oktoberfest Stew

Recipe Redux.

Recipe Re-do.

Whatever you want to call it, it's time for this month's Recipe Redux! This one is definitely a keeper. I've been making it ever since the hubby and I moved into our new house. Literally, I think this was THE first new recipe I ever made in my brand new kitchen. Let's take a walk down memory lane, shall we?

When the hubby and I moved out of our rental in Ashland, it was the most organized move I'd ever, well, organized. I was on top of my game. I started packing 4 weeks before our move-out date, and I went slowly, room by room. Each box I packed had a room marked on it that it should go to. Underneath the name of the room, I listed every. single. thing. in the box. It was the most helpful thing I'd ever done.

Lasagna Soup

Ah, a recipe other than chicken. It warms my heart.

In all seriousness, it does feel like the hubby and I have been on a chicken rampage. We already don't eat a lot of red meat, we rarely eat pork, and all the other animals are not nearly as affordable and easy to buy at the store as chicken. Plus, our local grocery store has a pretty decent selection of organic chicken. The free-range kind with no hormones or antibiotics type of chicken. It's 100% more expensive, which might be why we've cut down on all others meats, but it's better for everyone. 

Except maybe our wallet.

Recipe Redux: Chicken Stroganoff

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! This month, I'm taking on one of our house favorites, Chicken Stroganoff. Beef Stroganoff is a childhood favorite of mine, and one that my mother made often. However, the hubby and I don't eat a lot of red meat. And if I have steak in the house, you can bet I'm not disguising it under stroganoff. So, we substitute chicken. Looking back at my original pictures, it was time for an update-

I'm always surprised what pictures lead people to my website. Shockingly enough, often times it's really old recipes. Like this one. I first posted Chicken Stroganoff on May 7, 2012.  Just in case you might have forgotten, here's what was happening the world when I first posted this recipe:

Soy & Citrus Marinated Chicken

I have found THE marinade.

The marinade above all marinades, the one that will make your toes curl and your mouth do the happy dance. It adds flavor. Saltiness. Moisture. And, it's oh-so pretty.

This happened on a typical weekend day for me and the hubby. True to form, we'd gone for a run and come home to collapse on the couch. Normally, we grab something while we are out to eat (usually beer and pizza, ahem), but we had decided to come home instead. I have a habit of always asking the hubby what he wants me to make for dinner. He has a habit of telling me to make whatever. He's notoriously non-committal when I needle him for suggestions. Not that day.

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.

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.

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. 

Two Tomato & Roasted Pepper Orzo Salad

What is it about roasted peppers? How does the humble bell pepper go from "Eh" to "Oh Yeah!" with just a quick turn in the oven? I'll never know, but this is a universal truth- You can take a ho-hum veggie that people seem to either love or hate (seriously, there's not a lot of in between) and turn it into gourmet perfection, all with the flick of an oven dial. Roasting peppers changes everything. The taste, the texture, the smell of your home... Peppers roasting in the oven is one of my favorite smells. I think it's because it reminds me of the Olive Garden and all those years I spent ordering Sausage Rustica, or penne with roasted peppers, thinly sliced onions, and smoked sausage, all cooked in spicy marinara. It was one of my favorite dishes. 

Recipe Redux: Chicken Souvlaki

-with tzatiki sauce

TGIF!

It's Friday. Wasn't it just Friday? It feels like it. Anyhoo, what better time to get my Recipe Redux series started up again than today? I know it's been a couple of months since I posted one. I picked a spectacularly easy recipe to jump in with- Chicken Souvlaki. Chicken Souvlaki is a popular recipe in our house, I find myself making it again and again. Why? It's so easy, and so delicious, and you know what else? It's pretty darn healthy too. And, after looking at the old pictures, this family favorite was decidedly due for an update-

Roasted Cod with Herbed Garlic Butter

A simple fish recipe is on deck today.

I love simple fish recipes. Love, love, LOVE them. If you've got lovely, fresh fish (or even just a firm one that's previously been frozen) you won't even need much help in the flavor department. For instance, my hands-down-smack-me-in-the-face favorite way to eat salmon is to sprinkle it with Cajun seasoning and garlic powder and to simply grill it. It's soooooo easy, and soooooo delicious.