Dad's Cucumber-Dill Salad

Does anyone still have cucumbers left??

Good, let's do this! 

I made this salad all the way back for the 4th of July. Almost 2 months ago. Remember how I said this was one of the downfalls of taking a long summer break? You miss posting cucumber recipes at the height of the season. And this is a good one, too. My dad sent me the recipe at the end of last summer, and it took me all the way till this summer to get on it. 

See Dad? I don't just delete all those recipes you send me. They get filed away until it's almost a year later and you forgot you even sent it to me! I get to them eventually 😁

Recipe Redux: Tortellini Pepperoncini Salad

It's been a stormy morning y'all.

The hubby woke me up at 6 this morning to let me know a monster storm was on the way. I roused myself from slumber, shuffled my way to the den window that faces the northwest, and took a peep. Oh yeah, I could see the storm coming. I could see the lighting from miles away! We are prone to losing power out here in the country with these big wind storms, so I booked it to the coffee machine. I brewed 2 cups before the storm hit. I figured if I lost power at least I would have a 2nd cup of coffee, even if it turned out to be lukewarm. Lukewarm caffeine is better than none I figured :-)

Strawberry & Avocado Pasta Salad

- with balsamic dressing

Well, it's finally happened. 

Almost 3 months after we got the bees, one of the dogs has been stung. Poor little Mariota. Just the other morning, I was letting the boys out- all four of them. I say four because my mother-in-law's Pekingese was staying with us. All of them were sniffing around in front of the bee hives. I hate when they get right in front because I'm always afraid they are going to get stung (obviously for good reason!). So, there I am, hollering away at the top of my lungs for the dogs to get away from the bees. They were all moving my way when I saw Mariota snap at his hind quarters. And then his front quarters. And then... the cries. Oh, I felt so bad for him. He came squealing up to me with no idea what had happened to his little body. 

25 Side Dishes

Hey hey! We've got a holiday weekend coming up y'all!

The Memorial Day Holiday weekend is upon us. I don't know about you, but ever since we moved to Kentucky, Memorial Day has been spent with the hubby's family. The hubby's cousin and his wife drive in from out of town, and we all gather together for a family barbecue. This time, the hubby's cousin and his wife are bringing their new baby girl for everyone to meet! We are excited. The weekend is promising to be very sunny, right now they are forecasting a high of 90º. Whew! Good thing the hubby's-cousin's-wife's-mother (whose house we party at) has a pool. The pool is the best part of the get-together, at least as far as all the nieces and nephews are concerned :-)

Recipe Redux: Tomato Cucumber & Mozzarella Salad

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! Truth be told, I've been dying to "redux" this recipe for awhile. It's one of my most popular "old" recipes and one that I make a ton of during the summer. This truly is a summer salad, as there are only 5 ingredients consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, mozzarella chunks, lime juice, and olive oil. Well, I guess there's also salt and pepper but do people really count those as ingredients? I'm not sure... Anyways, when you are making a simple recipe, the ingredients you use really need to shine. And shine they do in this awesome, yet uncomplicated side dish. 

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 :-)

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-

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.

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.

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??

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!

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. 

Strawberry Avocado & Blue Cheese Salad

-with grilled chicken and flax seeds

I'm baaaaaack!

First things first, I have my computer! Woot woot! As many of you know, my Mac unceremoniously kicked the bucket last week. If I'd known the Mac was going to do it's final swan song, I would have taken my month-long break then. Instead, I was forced to take another break just when I was getting back into the swing of things. Talk about frustrating. I had ideas swirling, words that needed to be put to paper, recipes to be shared...and no where to put them. I also keep my journal on the computer, so there went that creative outlet too. Since I usually do all my blogging, social media, and catching up on the news in the morning, it was a week of catching up on sleep. I found it hard to drag my butt out of bed when I didn't have the computer to drag my butt to. 

Bruschetta Pasta Salad

The best laid plans...

Today's post is being brought to you thanks to a generator the hubby set up. We are currently without power, and who knows why. At 5 this morning (not even in the middle of a heat wave or a thunderstorm) our power went out. As it's almost 7, it's been out for about 2 hours. I was especially irritated as I planned on leisurely getting up, making a cup of coffee, and hammering out a new recipe post. Making coffee was out, so the hubby and I ran down to the local convenience store to get me some store-made swill. He hooked up the TV and the Internet to our little Honda generator, so here I am!

25 Deliciously Cheesy Recipes

You guys.

We are less than 24 hours away from the hubby and I hitting the road to go pick up our little man. To say I'm excited would be an understatement of mammoth proportions. I'm counting down the minutes till it's 8 am here, and I can call the puppy's foster mother to finalize our arrangements. Not that it will help. My brain is all like, "Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy... Is it time to leave yet? No? Puppy, puppy, puppy, puppy..."

Greek Pasta Salad

Bring on the warm weather, bring on the pasta salad. The two go hand in hand, don't you think? If there is one food item that epitomizes summer, it would be cold pasta.

And ice cream.

And seviche.

And gazpacho.

Ok, ok, scratch that. The correct terminology is probably more like "If there is one of many food items that epitomize summer, it would be cold pasta". But that doesn't sound as cool, does it?

Smoked Salmon Caesar Salad

- with poached egg

Last week, the hubby and I were picking up a few items at our big box warehouse. Just our usual fare- coffee creamer, huge jars of dill pickles (if the hubby eats any more dill pickles, I swear, he will become a dill pickle), tortillas, cheese, etc. The normal stuff. Anyways, we were smack in the middle of mundane, moving our way through the seafood, when I saw smoked salmon on a sale for a reasonable price. I consider $10 a reasonable price for a filet of smoked salmon, whereas it's normally around $20. I've only got 10 gazillion recipes stuffed in my back pocket for smoked salmon, so I grabbed up that fishy fare as fast as I could. And now, I'm wishing I'd picked up more!

25 Easy Chicken Recipes

Happy Friday! Happy March Madness! 

The NCAA tournament has been going as planned for the hubby, with Kentucky chugging right along. My bracket is looking awfully precarious, though I do have Kentucky winning it all. As long as Kentucky can keep on winning, I'm still in it. But barely, and by the skin of my teeth. I'm in 4th place in the family pool. Out of 5. I guess you can't win em' all.

Crispy Cajun Salmon Cakes

-with homemade tartar sauce and arugula

Happy Friday!

I'm ready to talk about an option for seafood lovers who don't quite have the access to fresh seafood they wish they did.

i.e. Landlocked Jessica

One of the hardest things about moving to Kentucky from Portland was getting used to the lack of amenities I'd previously been spoiled by.