March 2, 2011
Spicy “Fried” Chicken Tenders with Glazed Sweet Potato Sticks
I generally put a lot of effort into making dinner. I comb through my cookbooks and bookmarks to come up with a meal plan every week and I try to make dinner most nights so that we won’t go out to eat instead. Brandon is a good sous chef and helps me prep everything, but sometimes I’m just not in the mood to put in all the effort, so over the past couple of years I have gathered a bunch of go-to recipes just for this occasion. I keep the ingredients in stock so that if I’m tired or I forgot to defrost the meat for my planned recipe or whatever else goes wrong, …
February 22, 2011
Ultimate Chocolate Cake with Chocolate-Orange Buttercream (And Cake Balls!)
To celebrate Valentine’s Day and my birthday, Brandon and I spent a wonderful weekend in a little cottage I rented in the mountains a few hours away. It was such a fun getaway: we did some hiking, we drove around and got lost and we spent a lot of time soaking in the hot tub. When we got back home on Sunday afternoon, I wanted to make myself a birthday cake but after such a relaxing weekend I didn’t want to deal with complicated recipes or put time into making something that didn’t turn out great. That’s why I love the internet and recipe sites with reviews like Epicurious. I mean, if you can find a cake …
February 9, 2011
Light and Chewy Chocolate Cookies – Two Ways
I wasn’t able to post last week due to my work load being particularly crazy lately, so this week you get two recipes! I’ve been good about eating better and counting my Weight Watchers points for the past month, but sometimes I just get a craving for chocolate that won’t go away. Especially now since it’s almost Valentine’s Day and there are lots of chocolate recipes floating around trying to tempt me. That’s when I head to my trusty Cooking Light cookbooks because they always have really satisfying desserts that won’t kill my diet. Both recipes I’m sharing today are rich and chocolatey and will satisfy your worst chocolate craving, but they happen to be quite low …
January 26, 2011
Pear-Cranberry Streusal Kuchen (Coffee Cake)
Streusal is probably one of my most favorite words to say as well as one of my favorite things to eat. But now I have a new favorite word: Kuchen. Kuchen just means cake in German, but it’s so much more fun to call it kuchen, isn’t it? Whatever you want to call this recipe, it’s really good and very easy to make. It got the Brandon seal of approval and he rarely likes fruit-filled cakes, especially ones with cranberry. He said it tasted way too good to be a light recipe, but it is, so you don’t even have to feel guilty about eating it!
This is basically a coffee cake, but it doesn’t matter if you …
January 20, 2011
Chipotle Chicken Chowder
Since last fall I’ve tried a ton of soup recipes looking for that one perfect soup. A soup recipe that could stand up against my absolute favorite: Chicken Tortilla Soup. I’ve found quite a few good soups, even some great ones, but nothing that I loved as much as that tortilla soup. But, finally, after months of looking I think I may have found it. I’m not sure I’d say I like it more than tortilla soup, but it’s definitely tied with it now.
I would call this chowder a cousin to that tortilla soup. They are different and yet quite similar. That’s probably why I like it so much. Both have a base of …
January 10, 2011
Berry-Orange Crunch Muffins
Happy New Year, everyone! It’s time for my semi-annual I’m-going-to-get-in-shape-I-really-mean-it-this-time, so you’ll have to indulge me while I post some healthier recipes over the next few months. (Don’t worry, there will still be treats! I’d never give up dessert, I just find ones that aren’t as bad for you.) Honestly, I really overindulged on cheesecake and cookies last month, so I’m ready to get back to eating better and eating less processed food. I’ve been eating a piece of fruit for dessert every day this past week and it’s been perfection.
I’m always looking for easy things to have in the morning with my coffee and muffins are definitely my favorite. Unfortunately, a lot of muffin …
