Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I never ate brussels sprouts growing up. Turns out my mom doesn't like them so she never made them for us. I think that never being forced to eat them as a kid made me want to try them again as an adult and that's a good thing. I love them if they're cooked the right way and Chris even likes them too. This method is based on one from Simply Recipes. I think this recipe might even make my Mom a brussels sprouts convert. Hope you enjoy as much as we do!

Snickerdoodles

This might be one of the first cookie recipes I made successfully. The recipe comes from All Recipes and has received thousands of rave reviews over the years. Most of ya'll already know that baking is not my strong suit. The measuring and precision just takes all of the fun out of being in the kitchen for me. The results of baking though are often worth it and these cookies are a prime example. Chris loves these and they've received many rave reviews from friends as well. I'll never forget taking these in a cute tin to a Christmas party a few years ago when I told the hostess, "You can either put these out for the party or stash them away for yourself." She kept them for herself and admitted to me later that most of them were consumed late-night after the party. Hope you enjoy these too!

Chicken Tortilla Soup

This is one of our favorite recipes. I hesitate to order tortilla soup in restaurants because I've almost never had a version I like as much as this one. It comes from my friend, Taylor, and I think it's a family recipe. When it starts getting cold outside, this is one of the first things I make. This recipe is double the original one Taylor gave me. The leftover soup is even better the next day and it freezes well (if it makes it that long) so I always make this amount. If you're not a spice-lover (well, you probably don't like a lot of my recipes if that's the case) you can leave out one of the jalapenos but serve some Cholula on the side for your guests. Hope you love this as much as we do!

Roasted Okra

Okra can be slimy depending on how it's cooked. This doesn't bother me too much because I love okra no matter how it's cooked. For those that don't like the slime though, you can either fry it or you can roast it. You don't see roasted okra a lot and I think it may be because it's not very pretty. I tried it a while back based on a Southern Living recipe I saw and despite it's wimpy appearance, I really loved it. It gets crispy around the edges and the slime totally dries up. I like to think of these as okra french fries so maybe you could even try them with a toddler. I served this batch with chicken tenders and tomato sauce and cheese grits. Hope you enjoy!

Quick Chili

Some of you might already be familiar with our annual chili cook-off tradition but here's a little background for those that are not. For the past 4 years, Chris and I have thrown a winter party where we each cook a giant pot of chili and leave it up to our guests to decide whose is best. After the first year, we learned that the voting has to be entirely anonymous for it to work. (there may or may not have been one person lagging behind so much that guests started to feel sorry for me and added votes to my tally) Now, guests don't know which chili is mine and which is Chris's - they are simply marked as "Red" and "Green" chili - and they use M&Ms of the same colors to vote for their favorite in a cup that is concealed by a foil top so they can't see who's winning. It's become quite a fun party over the years and the score is tied right now - 2 to 2. Check back on the blog after the New Year to see the winning recipe. For now, this is a quick version we came up with the other night to tide us over until chili cook-off time. Hope you enjoy!

Crispy Taco Shells

We are big fans of crispy tacos but I am not a big fan of the shells you buy in a box. The vacuum-packed packages with the cardboard inserts make me think they've been on the shelf for about a decade. Plus, they're always too thick and don't really taste right. This homemade solution was inspired by some tacos I used to have every summer on an annual river trip I went on with a friend. 5-6 families would get together with all of their kids and spend a few days in cabins on the Frio river. We'd float the river during the day and each family would take turns with breakfast or dinner. We rarely made it up for breakfast but the tacos were always one of our favorite dinners. One of the women on the trip hailed from Mexico and she knew how to make some amazing taco meat and homemade crispy shells. I watched her make them each year and thought it would be simple enough to replicate at home. I was right! Chris doubted me but we agreed that these came out great - much better than the box variety. Hope you enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Stock

When I roast a whole chicken, I like to replenish my supply of homemade chicken stock for the freezer. It makes me feel so domestic and throwing away all those bones is just wasteful. Plus, homemade stock always makes for better soups. You can use it in any recipe that calls for chicken broth or chicken stock. I'm actually not sure what the difference is between stock and broth - I just think of stock as a more flavorful version of broth. Anyway, this is a very easy method for making homemade chicken stock and, in my opinion, the best reason to own a crockpot. I can't remember how I learned to do this and don't follow a recipe so I suppose I'll just take credit for it. Hope you enjoy!

Flattened Roast Chicken and Potatoes

Roast chicken is one of my favorite meals. Chris and I went to San Francisco a few years ago and shared the Roast Chicken dinner for 2 at Zuni Cafe. I never knew chicken could taste so good and quickly found out how simple it is to make! I've been making this recipe for a while from Thomas Keller but this time I decided to try something new. While I love the Thomas Keller method, I think I liked this one better. The skin was crisper, the breast meat was tastier and the chicken was much easier to carve. Plus, this recipe cooks faster. I used this Chicken al Mattone recipe from Bon Appetit for this. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

Biscuits and Gravy

Who doesn't love breakfast for dinner? I've been making these biscuits from the Homesick Texan for a few years now and I think they're wonderful. We must have had a light lunch the day I made these because I thought we needed gravy for our biscuits. I found a great recipe from Katie Lee Joel's Comfort Table cookbook which I adapted a bit to use bacon instead of sausage (because that's what we had). I suggest making a double batch of the biscuits because they freeze quite well. Just line the extras up on a sheet pan and freeze for 30 minutes or so. Then, place the frozen biscuits in a plastic freezer bag. (the pre-freeze helps keep them from sticking together) When you're ready to enjoy, just take out the number of biscuits you need and bake at 400° for 20 minutes or so. Hope you enjoy these as much as we do. Oh and the scrambled eggs in the picture were made by Chris. The eggs are always better when he scrambles them.

Linguine Alla Vodka

I made this as our meatless meal for the week awhile back and we both really enjoyed it. It's a classic dish for a reason and also happens to be really quick cooking. The vodka and touch of cream makes it filling without being too heavy. I used fresh pasta for this (just the kind you buy in the refrigerated section) and the more expensive San Marzano tomatoes since they are really the star of the dish. I served it with my Caesar Salad and some garlic bread. I adapted this recipe from the Joy of Cooking. Enjoy!

Twice-Baked Potatoes

This is a great make-ahead recipe and while it takes some time, it's really easy. I like to overstuff the potatoes so there is usually one or two halves of the skin leftover for potato skins. To make potato skins, I slice the skins into a few pieces, spray them with oil and bake at 400° for 5 minutes or so. They are a great pre-dinner snack and Chris really loves them. I like to serve these with steak, pork tenderloin or any other grilled meat. They are also great leftover for lunch with a salad on the side. This recipe is one of my own.

Time: 2 hours
Serves: 3 (or 2 with leftovers)

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake

I recently won Katie Lee Joel's cookbook at a girls card night. While my friend did not buy this book with me in mind, it definitely landed in good hands (thanks, Brooke!). We all bring a $10 gift to card night and the winner of each round gets to pick a gift. Anyway, I've used this book more than many cookbooks I've asked for and the recipes are all great. You might remember Katie Lee as the original host of Top Chef. She only made it one season and she kind of fell off the map after that (aside from the fact that she's married to Billy Joel). I recently saw her promoting her southern cookbook on TV and with an endorsement from Paula Deen, I knew she must be for real. Well, she is. This Chocolate Peanut Butter Cake was so yummy. Be warned though - it makes a HUGE cake. I might actually try to half the recipe next time because the cake is also very rich. If you are a fan of the chocolate, peanut butter combo, this is a must-try.

Mom's Chicken Enchiladas

This was my most-requested meal growing up. While not the easiest dish to make and certainly not the healthiest, this is the first thing that comes to mind when I think of comfort food. I like to make a giant batch of these so we have leftovers to freeze. The key to the leftovers is to freeze them just after you roll them and before cooking them - this keeps them from drying out when you reheat. Feel free to play with the recipe too. My mom sometimes adds fresh cilantro and fresh jalapeno.

Time: 2 hours
Serves: 12?

Chicken Taco Filling

I am often disappointed by the shredded chicken that Mexican restaurants serve in their tacos and enchiladas. It is so easy to add some spices to your chicken to make it more flavorful. This is a great use for leftover chicken and makes for some really flavorful tacos, enchiladas or quesadillas. The recipe is pretty versatile too so feel free to improvise with what you have on hand. It's a great dish to make a lot of too since you can easily freeze leftovers to use for a quick meal. This is my own recipe - enjoy!

Parmesan Baked Zucchini

This is a go-to side dish for us that I make all the time. It's really low-maintenance, cooks quickly and tastes really good. This is one of my mom's recipes that I always loved growing up so I think it might be a good way to get your kids to eat veggies. I usually will prep these at the beginning of my cooking and set them aside until about 15 minutes before dinner. I use the toaster oven to cook them too which heats up quickly and doesn't heat up the kitchen. I love using the leftovers in omelets or scrambled eggs.

Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches

I'm a big proponent of freezing cooked chicken and beef. It's always so great to have on hand for a quick and easy dinner like this one. The chicken I used for these was leftover from a rotisserie chicken I bought at the grocery. I like to buy those when they're on sale, even if I'm not sure how I'll use it. The meat is great in soups, casseroles, quesadillas and much more. I think I used half of that rotisserie chicken to make chicken tacos the day I bought it. Then, I just shredded up the rest of the chicken and stuck it in the freezer, taking it out later to make these sandwiches. This recipe is loosely based on one from Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats.

Basic Salsa

When I posted my Red Chile Salsa, I mentioned that there is one other type of salsa I make often and this is it! The main difference is that this one doesn't have the dried chiles in it. I do vary my "recipe" almost every time I make it depending on what ingredients I have so feel free to change it up a bit to suit your tastes.

Katherine Hepburn Brownies

This is one of the easiest desserts to make. I like to keep all of the ingredients on hand so I can make a batch of these whenever I need a quick dessert to take somewhere. It's a great dessert for dinner parties too because you can prepare the batter in advance, then bake them off when you're ready. As you can see from my pic, they're not the prettiest dessert as they tend to fall apart when I cut them. That is easy to solve though by serving them with a giant scoop of Blue Bell Homemade Vanilla on top. I guess I could try lining my brownie pan with parchment paper too. If you do that, let me know how it turns out. This recipe comes from Epicurious and has been re-posted on various blogs. I did add my own touch with a sprinkle of sea salt on the bottom of the pan. Enjoy!

Braised Short Ribs

I made these in anticipation of the Fall weather moving into Texas this week and they were so yummy. I took half over to our friends who just had a baby and I think they enjoyed them too. While it takes a long time to cook, it's mostly hands-off time so don't be intimidated. Oh and I'd suggest making the whole recipe too. The leftovers make some yummy grilled cheeses. The recipe is actually based on one from Bon Appetit that makes the short ribs specifically for the grilled cheeses. I served these over risotto with a salad on the side. Welcome Fall!

Risotto

This was my first attempt at risotto and it turned out quite well! There was a little too much onion, so I've suggested less in the recipe. I mentioned on the Cooking Rice post that I've had my share of issues with rice cookery so I was a little fearful of how this would turn out. This is different from regular rice though since you're monitoring it the whole time and I liked that there wasn't any guesswork. This recipe does require almost constant attention so don't make it while you're trying to sear chicken or do a million other things. It's great when you're making a main dish that doesn't require your attention like a stew, roast chicken, or something in your crockpot. The recipe is adapted from a number of recipes I read, including one from Rachael Ray's 365 No Repeats cookbook. Crazy though, she said she made this for her dog. Poor Reilly only gets steamed rice ;)

Good News and Bad News

I have some good news and I have some bad news. Let's do the bad news first...

My camera broke. It's a really old Canon Elph and the mode switch hasn't worked for quite some time. It always kept switching into video mode right as I would try to snap a photo which has been really annoying, but manageable. Finally, the mode switch just broke off. I even tried to take the camera apart and fix the switch with a tiny screwdriver and some gum eraser but that didn't work. It did, however, make Chris notice and feel kind of sorry for me. Here enters the good news.

A new camera is on its way! A belated thank you to our families for all the wonderful Amazon gift cards that really come in handy at a time like this. I am hopeful that this new camera will motivate me to improve the photos on my blog so that's why it's good news for you too. I've been doing some research and am learning some tricks slowly but surely. Now, all of this does take some time and since I don't have photos of the meals I've been making in the last two weeks, I'll need to take a little break to catch up. I hope to be back up and running in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, check out my Facebook page and/or leave your recipe requests and comments below.

R.I.P...

Grilled Green Chile Chicken Kabobs

This is a family recipe that I adapted a little in honor of the Hatch Chile festival at Central Market. My mom usually makes these with jalapenos so you could easily do that if you don't have Hatch chiles available. The marinade for the chicken is great for other preparations like chicken fajitas or grilled chicken for a salad or anything else so hang on to this one. I served these with Hatch chile cheese grits and grilled zucchini.

Grilled Zucchini

We love zucchini. It's easy to find year round and adaptable to many different preparations. These take almost no time to cook so they're a great side dish for anything else you might be grilling. My mother-in-law did these recently and added some parmesan cheese to the top just after grilling so I'd suggest that as an add-on if it sounds good with your meal. This recipe is my own.

Chocolate and Peanut Butter Chip Cookies

I don't make desserts very much but when I do, these cookies are one of my go-to recipes. I like them because they cook relatively quickly since you can do 2 pans at a time. I also love the kosher salt in the dough. These cookies are on the crisper side of the chocolate chip cookie spectrum but they're definitely still soft too. We like to zap them in the microwave for 10 seconds before eating to make them chewy again. I've adapted this recipe from one I saw on Joy the Baker.

Red Chile Salsa

I make salsa 2-3 times a month I'd guess. It's Chris's favorite thing to have around the house to snack on and it's super easy. There are 2 different kinds of salsa I make. This one is my favorite but I think Chris might like the other kind better. I'll post that recipe soon too. I usually just do a little of this, a little of that with both of my salsa recipes but I finally made a point to do some measuring as I made this one. This recipe is one of my own.

Taco Meat

This is probably one of the first things I learned how to make on my own. Taco seasoning packets are generally pretty good but it somehow zaps the creativity out of the cooking for me. I'd also suggest making more of this than you'll eat since taco meat freezes wonderfully and thaws quickly making an easy filling for quesadillas, or topping for nachos when you need a quick "no grocery store" meal. Per the picture here, we used it to make taco salads. I like to do crushed tortilla chips, lettuce and tomato, chopped avocado, cilantro and queso as the "dressing". Not the healthiest salad but really yummy! This recipe is my own.

Grilled Veggie Sandwiches

This is a great way to use up leftover veggies. Once grilled, the veggies will keep for several days in the fridge and can be used for sandwiches, pizza, pasta, frittatas or omelets. These sandwiches were the first thing I made from our grilled veggies and we had enough leftover to make some yummy veggie pizzas (see pic below). I went all out and made some slow-roasted tomatoes and caramelized onions to go with mine but you could easily cut down on the cooking time by just doing the grilled veggies. This recipe is one of my own.

Cheesesteaks

I've actually never had a real Philly cheesesteak. Chris has though and he was underwhelmed. He still really likes the idea of cheesesteaks though and it's one of the few meals he requests. We used to love the chicken cheesesteaks from Delaware Sub Shop in Austin and I'm constantly trying to recreate theirs. This rendition is done with beef and it was quite good. Also a good summer time meal since there is limited stove time and no oven required. This recipe is one of my own.

Honey Soy Stir Fried Chicken

Like I mentioned in the Fried Rice post, we don't make Asian food a lot. One of the reasons is that I've tried a lot of really bad Asian recipes. Chris and I still have bad memories about Orange Slushy Chicken. One of those meals that was so bad that we made grilled cheeses and called it a night. This recipe, however, is a great one. (otherwise I wouldn't have posted it!) The chicken was really flavorful, spicy, and nicely browned. The trick I think is to let the chicken and sauce cook for several minutes until the sauce reduces and caramelizes around the chicken. I think I'm going to try this technique with some other stir-fry sauces too. I'll be sure to report back on how that goes. I adapted this recipe from one on Week of Menus and hers looks so much prettier than mine. Oh well, it was really yummy.

Cooking Rice

It took me so long to learn to cook rice. It seems so simple - just follow the package directions, right? Well, not so much for me. I can't tell you how many times my rice was overcooked, undercooked or just not any good. I tried that boil-in-a-bag stuff for a while but it was always mushy for me too. The most helpful tip I got for figuring this out was from my brother. He told me that when the rice package says, "cover and lower the heat to simmer", you should turn down your burner almost all the way. I think my interpretation of "simmer" was more like a slow boil. Anyway, here are some step-by-step instructions that will hopefully be helpful to someone else. Do check your package directions too though - the rice to liquid ratio may be a little different than what I recommend here depending on your brand.

Fried Rice

We don't eat Asian food very often but when we do, I like to make fried rice. I use brown rice for this, which is healthier, more filling and maybe even tastes better. The trick to really good fried rice is to use leftover rice, which I accomplish by cooking the rice during the day and sticking it in the fridge until I'm ready to use it. Something about giving the rice a chance to firm up and chill makes it get nice and crispy. This recipe is very adaptable to leftovers too - don't limit yourself to what I put in mine. Fried Rice is a great way to serve leftover chicken, pork, beef or veggies. This recipe is one of my own. Hope you enjoy.

Rosemary Garlic Grilled Pork Chops

It surprised me how much we enjoyed this recipe. I've only made pork chops one other time before and we didn't like them. But, my in-laws do these grilled, barbecue pork chops that I really love so I thought I'd give them another try. As you can see from my post topics, chicken gets a lot of attention around here. We'd actually had 2 chicken meals the week before this and I was determined to go a week without it. The pork chops I found were boneless and not super thick - really nothing special. The combination of the brown sugar, rosemary and cumin in the marinade really made them special though. I found this recipe on The Kitchn though I modified it a little bit. If you don't have a grill, I bet you could do these under your broiler too. You'd just preheat your broiler for about 5 minutes, then broil the chops on an upper rack for 5 minutes on each side. Enjoy!

Grilled Asparagus

I saw these beautiful, pencil-thin asparagus at the grocery the other day and couldn't pass them up. I've heard some tv chefs say that the thick asparagus is the best but I've always preferred the skinny ones. You just have to be careful not to overcook them. This method for grilling on top of foil worked well for me. Try out some different seasonings and spices too. And, if you have any leftover, warm it in the oven with some parmesan cheese on top, all topped with a fried or poached egg. This recipe is my own.

Parmesan Chicken Nuggets

I made these for a friend who just had a baby and also has a toddler at home. All kids like chicken nuggets, right? Well, my friend actually called me after they ate dinner to tell me how much they (including their toddler) enjoyed this. I was so flattered and happy I could help out. I was also happy I made a double batch of these so we could enjoy them too - they are quite tasty. This recipe is really similar to the Italian Chicken Fingers I posted recently so I made the same tomato dipping sauce to go with these too. The recipe comes from Simply Recipes.

Green Salad with Classic Vinaigrette

This is another one of those recipes I make so often that I don't use a recipe anymore. The dressing recipe is from Julia Child's Kitchen Wisdom and can be adapted in many different ways. It only takes a couple of minutes to make your own salad dressing and the result is so much better than anything you can get out of a bottle. As for the salad, add any vegetables or other toppings as you choose. This just happens to be my favorite combination.

Barbecue Chicken Pizza on the Grill

Here's a leftover idea and a method for making pizza on the grill. As I mentioned before, we love pizza but summer is not the time to be cranking up your oven as high as it will go and preheating a pizza stone. It took us a few tries cooking it on the grill but I think we've really got it down now. Many recipes have you put the dough right on the grill but this one is a little simpler I think. It also gives you as much time as you need to make sure your cheese is melted and brown and your toppings crispy. Let's call this recipe a collaboration since Chris definitely helped perfect it.

Barbecue Chicken

Barbecue chicken can be really good if it's cooked properly and I think I found a way to do just that. This method of cooking bone-in, skin-on chicken breasts on the grill can also be adapted to many other preparations so you may see a repeat appearance on the blog before summer is over. The cooking time is a bit long but the prep is short and it's a really low maintenance recipe. I got this one from Use Real Butter and I think it's a winner. I did make the sauce in the recipe but I cheated and used some I had leftover and frozen so I don't have any pics of that. I highly recommend the sauce if you have time. Otherwise, Cattleman's is my favorite bottled sauce. As for the rub, I had pre-made that too. I use the one from Joy of Cooking but the one in the recipe is probably just as good if not better than that. The chicken breasts I used were huge so we had plenty of leftovers. To freeze, I pulled the chicken off the bone, shredding it and stored in a ziploc.

Egg Salad

I think egg salad is one of those things people either love or hate. I remember my Mom making egg salad sandwiches on white bread with the crusts cut off when I was little and have loved it ever since. Like my pimiento cheese, I don't use a ton of mayo in this - just enough to bind it together. This recipe is also my own.

Chicken Tikka Masala

This meal was so good and really simple to make. We don't get to eat Indian food a lot but we love it every time we do. We both love spice, especially the different kind of heat you get with Indian food. Chris was actually surprised that the heat in the dish came from a serrano pepper, which is the same pepper I use in salsa and other Mexican food. We decided that the cooling Indian ingredients (yogurt, ginger, coriander) really balance it out so it's not the same "burn your tongue" kind of spice. Don't get me wrong, this is really spicy the way I made it. If you're not spice-lovers like us, you can just leave out the serrano pepper. This recipe comes from the Pioneer Woman and she credits Pastor Ryan, who must know a thing or two about cooking. I'd suggest making a point to try this one out and don't be intimidated by the ingredients - you can find them all at your regular grocery store.

Thin Crust Quick Pizzas

This is a great last-minute meal that I make at least a couple of times a month. I also like to do all-veggie versions of these for lunch. Now, I got a lot of skeptical comments when I was talking about this recipe with some friends the other day and believe me, I was skeptical too but if you like your pizza with super thin, crisp crust, you've got to give it a try. You truly can't tell it's a tortilla - it crisps up perfectly. As you can see, I use whole wheat ones too with great success. This recipe comes from Simply Recipes and you can use the same technique to make many different kinds of pizzas. A great option for appetizers too since you can make in advance and serve at room temp.

Onion Rings and Fried Okra

Happy 4th of July! In honor of this holiday, I thought I'd post a recipe to go along with some of the grilled fare you may be enjoying today. I try to cook relatively healthy most of the time but this is an exception - it's a holiday after all. I picked up some fresh 1015 onions at the farmers market on Saturday morning and the okra in the grocery store was too perfect to pass up. I usually do fried okra with frozen okra so you could use that too. Just be sure to thaw it out completely before you soak in the buttermilk. This recipe is one of my own and you could easily adapt and just make the onion rings or the okra. We had an abundance of leftovers.

Mexican Restaurant-Style Rice

Have you ever tried one of those Mexican Rice packets or mixes? They never taste like rice you get at a Mexican restaurant and are probably loaded with salt and preservatives too. My brother introduced me to this recipe several years ago and I've never strayed. This is a recipe I've made so many times that I know it by heart. The original recipe comes from the Food Network website.

Chicken-Stuffed Poblano Peppers

One of our favorite Mexican food restaurants is Lupe Tortilla in Houston, Texas. Chris always orders the Poblano Chicken and this is my attempt at recreating that. It is a really yummy version of a chile relleno minus the deep frying. The tender chicken is key and this method really works. I did these on the grill but have included instructions for doing these in the oven too.

Crispy Skin Pan Roasted Chicken Thighs

I debated about posting this recipe because the night I made this was not a good night in the kitchen. They were so good though, and so adaptable, that I had to share. I have suggested some modifications to the method I used which involved a big mess (use a lid!) and a bad burn on my hand, right in the tender area where my thumb and forefinger come together (don't grab the pan after you pull it out of the oven!) so I hope it works better for you than it did for me. I served these with mashed potatoes and some yummy baked spinach which I'm sure will make an appearance on the blog once I get the recipe right. This recipe was adapted from the most recent issue of Bon Appetit and I'm happy to report that other commenters on the online version had the same issues as me with the mess. I really think that using a lid to cover the pan as you're cooking will remedy this though so don't be afraid to try it out. Try out other flavor combinations for the sauce too. Bon Appetit suggested using lemon slices and thyme sprigs instead of the garlic and rosemary, or you could go plain and simple and just use the chicken broth and maybe add a little dijon mustard. Hope you enjoy this as much as we did.

5-Minute Marinara Sauce

Here's a great alternative to a slow-simmered marinara sauce. This is a go-to recipe for me because it's so easy and so yummy I can eat it with a spoon. It's a little lighter than the Marcella Hazan sauce and obviously much simpler - it really does only take 5 minutes. And while summer offers a bounty of ripe, fresh tomatoes, sometimes I just can't bear to turn on the stove for more than 5 minutes. This recipe comes from 101 Cookbooks, which is a great blog. Like Heidi says, the type of tomatoes you use really is important. Not all canned tomatoes are great, so splurge for the organic ones here - it will still be cheaper than a jar of that processed stuff.

Eggplant Parmesan

Eggplant Parmesan is almost always what I order at Italian restaurants but it's not always great. Sometimes the eggplant is soggy, sometimes it's overbreaded and sometimes it's bitter. One of my favorite versions is from Just Dinner in Houston, Texas. After devouring it one night, the chef came by our table and I asked him what his secret was to his crispy and tender eggplant. He explained to me that eggplants actually have genders and proceeded to draw a picture of a "male" vs. a "female" eggplant on our table, which conveniently had some butcher paper on top. Female eggplants apparently have more seeds, which make them bitter. What you want to look for is a male eggplant. The difference? The males have a small round dot on the bottom and the females have a more oblong shape. I'll let you figure out a trick to remembering that. Meanwhile, here's a great blog post on the topic.

So, in an attempt to recreate my beloved eggplant parmesan at home, I found a recipe with great potential on the Arugula Files blog. If anyone can make a good eggplant parmesan, Uncle Sonny looks like the man for the job. I've made a couple of changes and am really happy with the result. It's great that I don't have to fry the eggplant too - it makes the dish a lot lighter. And don't forget about the genders - you'll never find a female eggplant in my kitchen.

Margaritas

We love a good margarita but they are quite hard to come by. Most restaurants here use sweet and sour mix or fake lime juice and they just don't taste right. Our favorite restaurant margarita is from Guero's Taco Bar in Austin, Texas and this is my attempt to recreate those at home. For those that like their margs sweet, you might add 1 TBSP of powdered sugar or a squirt of Agave nectar to the concoction. Let me know how that turns out if you try it.

Chicken Fajita Quesadillas

I always try to make extras when I do fajitas or even my Mexican chicken sandwiches so we can have quesadillas later in the week. The grilled onions and peppers really make these great. I realize you may not need a "recipe" for quesadillas but since I posted my Mexican chicken sandwiches, I thought it might be helpful to have an idea for the leftovers. I think I can take credit for this "recipe".

Mexican Chicken Sandwiches with Grilled Peppers and Onions

Halfway into June it's about time I post some grill-friendly recipes. We got a gas grill a couple of years ago and use it all the time. It's especially nice to not have to heat up our oven or stove during the summer. This meal was Chris's idea but the recipe is all mine. There's apparently a Mexican hamburger place near his office where he gets a great version of this and he was hoping I could recreate it. Sometimes I think he just looks for excuses for me to make homemade salsa but that's alright - I liked this meal too. Plus, this is a great meal for leftovers. Look for a post on that to come soon.

Pantry, Fridge and Freezer Staples

One important aspect of being able to cook frequently and quickly is to keep several go-to items on hand. Here is my essential list. If I run out of any of these items throughout the week, I add it to my grocery list. Then, even if I'm not planning to use it that week, I buy it anyway so that I'll always have what I need to make a quick lunch or dinner (or dessert, or side). I generally grocery shop each week for these items (when I'm out of something) and also buy fresh proteins, fruits and veggies to use through the week. Your list will probably change a bit over time but hopefully this is a good starting point. Let me know in the comments if I've left anything out!

Pimiento Cheese

One of our family friends makes an excellent version of this and this is my attempt to recreate it. I make this almost every time I'm asked to bring a dip somewhere, mainly because it's my favorite dip, but also because these ingredients are some I almost always have on hand. It's admittedly a little different every time I make it depending on what I have on hand and how heavy-handed I'm feeling that day so feel free to improvise.

Fried Egg Sandwiches

This is a typical Sunday night dinner for us. Sometimes on Sunday nights after a low-key weekend I'll spend all day in the kitchen and make something special but usually, we just want something that's quick like this. I always improvise with what I have on hand so feel free to use different types of cheeses, different meats (turkey or bacon are great) or go meat-free and add a diced tomato. I usually serve these with some kind of fruit or raw veggies with ranch and potato chips or some frozen french fries. This "recipe" is another one of my own.