Category Archives: Main Dishes
I like my pasta the way I like my wine, red and with a 12% ABV.Cold Szechuan Noodles with Chicken
Boston is under siege! A couple weeks ago an oppressive wave of heat and humidity descended upon the city sending our “feels like” temperatures into the triple digits. I know, I know, I should feel bad complaining about this having lived in New York, DC, and Kansas where the air is soupy enough to swim in come August, and in Texas where the dry, scorching heat will melt the skin off your face most months out of the year. But I’m a Northerner now, and us Yanks just can’t handle the heat. Continue reading
Homemade Crock Pot Ramen
I’m writing this blog post on the heels of our fourth nor’easter in Boston in almost as many weeks. For the past month we’ve been hunkered down indoors, binge-watching The Last Jedi, and eating ourselves stupid — which is the only way to survive a storm, btw. Before each cold front that’s moved in, I, along with a hundred of my closest friends, spent hours at the grocery Continue reading
Toad-in-the-the-Hole over Sautéed Kale, Bacon, and Leeks
Okay, so let’s talk about the name of this dish for a second. Toad-in-the-Hole is not only a somewhat unappetizing title, but it’s also historically inaccurate. This British dish became popular in the early 18th century and was traditionally made with sausages baked into Yorkshire pudding, giving it the look of a toad poking it’s head out of a hole. But somewhere along the way us sneaky Americans took that dish, changed it up, and made it our own; very much like driving on the wrong side of the road, scrapping the metric system for the super confusing Imperial system, and removing the “e” from the ends of words like theater (this one actually makes sense, “theatre” should be pronounced thee-ah-trey, should it not? I think we’ve got you on this one, Brits.). Soooo…in our quest to gain independence from England and establish ourselves as a new nation, we swapped the sausages for eggs and the Yorkshire pudding for toast, and Bam! we instantly became leaders of the free world. Okay, maybe it didn’t happen exactly that way, but close enough.
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Chicken Abruzzi
Aaaaaand the Holidays are over. Did everyone survive? Did we all make it out ok? Let’s do a quick headcount, shall we? 1, 2, 3… I don’t see Rodger – can somebody check on him please… 4, 5, 6, 7…. Yes, it looks like we’re all here. Whew!
So I took a couple weeks off to celebrate and spread good cheer, and let’s be honest, EAT! But now I’m back and ready to fill your inboxes with delicious, wholesome meals intended to wean you off of those calorie-laden dishes that we’ve all grown accustomed to these past few months. The first of which is this amazing, Southern Italian-inspired Chicken Abruzzi (pronounced aˈbɾut tsi) which boasts as much flavor as it lacks in calories and fat. Loaded with hearty vegetables, creamy cannellini beans, and zesty lemon chicken, this savory meal is just the trick to jumpstart your post-holiday diet. Continue reading
Three Ingredient, Gluten Free Mini-Meatloaf
Alright, I know that I posted a meatloaf recipe last week so it might seem kind of redundant to post another one this week, but bear with me. Unlike Friday’s Honey Glazed Pear, Sausage, & Sage Meatloaf (which was delicious, but took a bit of hands-on cooking), this meatloaf only calls for three simple ingredients and takes less than 10 minutes to prep. No really. And because I’ve recently been trying my hand at some gluten free cooking, it’s made sans bread — which is great for all of you who have a wheat sensitivity. And for those of you who don’t, I just want to point you back to the “three ingredients” and the “less than 10 minutes to prep” attributes I made earlier. Continue reading
Honey Glazed Pear, Sausage, & Sage Meatloaf
It’s finally December, the best month of the year, which means it’s time to bust out the holiday decorations and start cooking something other than turkeys and pumpkins! And what better way to kick off this joyful season than with a new take on an old favorite. With this thought in mind, I took my standard meatloaf recipe and jazzed it up with some festive flavors like pears and cinnamon, then topped it off with a sweet drizzling of honey. This meal is so festive, that for a spilt second I considered naming it Merry Meatloaf, but opted instead for this much longer and more descriptive (read boring) title. However, that in no way means you can’t be merry while eating it. Fa la la la la, la la la la! Continue reading
Turkey Leftovers Sandwich with Caramelized Onions, Sautéed Cinnamon Apples, & Champagne Honey Mustard
Whew! We made it through Thanksgiving! A show of hands, how many people are having a hard time buttoning their pants today? Come on, I can’t be the only one! Okay, now that the big turkey dinner is over, it’s time to concentrate on how to you’re going to put your leftovers to use… Continue reading
Harvest Soup
Okay, so Harvest Soup isn’t the actual name of this soup. It’s proper name is Mushroom and Hazelnut Soup, but since my mom only made it on Thanksgiving, my sister and I started referring to it as this (and be grateful, because the runner up was Pilgrim Stew). This is yet another recipe that’s been in the family for years, and we have no idea where it originated, other than one of my mom’s cooking magazines from way back. You see, at one point in the early 90’s (about the time Martha Stewart hit the scene), my mom decided that she wanted to fancy up our Thanksgiving dinner by serving courses. She was looking for something seasonally appropriate for the first course and felt that hazelnuts and mushrooms sounded autumny and elegant. It was an immediate hit with our guests, who, nearly 20 years later, ended up becoming my in-laws; that’s how magical this soup is! (Just kidding. Kind of.) Anyway, since that fateful Thanksgiving, this soup has made a return appearance every single year, but ONLY on the fourth Thursday in November. Continue reading
Tuna Casserole for Grownups
Okay, this title may be a bit misleading. I don’t want to imply that this casserole is ‘R’ rated or anything, it’s just a little more sophisticated than the 4-ingredient medley that mom used to make growing up. Although now that I think about it, my mom never made casseroles when I was young, and somehow I feel like I was robbed of this very 70’s food trend. Anyhow, the first time I tried tuna casserole I was in my early (okay, mid)-thirties, and my husband and I had just started dating. We had planned to spend a rainy weekend at home and I desperately wanted to cook for him. Still unsure as to what his food preferences were (other than pizza and beer), I asked him what he was craving most. Much to my bewilderment, he requested tuna casserole. I had never made tuna casserole before, let alone tried it, but I was certain that it was something I could handle. Continue reading
soup bowl recipes 