assya

Spicy Caramelized Cauliflower - you simply have to try it, in order to understand how crazy good this is. Cauliflower that leaves you reaching for just one more bite? How is that possible? Well, this cauliflower does just that and we love it.

What do you call the cauliflower that you simply can not stop eating? This recipe was completely impulsive and it turned out absolutely amazing. I demolished half the pan just minutes after it finished cooking! I served this cauliflower with Simple Skillet Pork Chops and the whole time I was waiting for them on the stove, I kept reaching over for another piece of this cauliflower. Cauliflower is a great vegetable both for roasting and for combining with other unexpected flavors. The texture holds up well and it is almost a blank canvas for whatever flavors you like best.

I was putting away groceries earlier this week when my eye hit the cauliflower I was planning to roast. I saw my newest favorite barbecue sauce sitting in the refrigerator and wondered how it might work as a glaze or a marinade. I am so glad I tried it! I've made this cauliflower three times already and my kids are very happily eating it, despite the fact that they'd all previously declared cauliflower "not a favorite food." Ha, barbecue sauce for that win.

Continue Reading »

Sweet, tangy barbecue sauce with just enough heat to linger in your mouth. I've been slathering this sauce on darn near everything in my kitchen for a few weeks now! It's perfect on chicken, as a dipping sauce for potato wedges, with steak bites, and mixed into ranch dressing for a spicy kick. Best of all, not only can you pronounce all the ingredients, but you can whip it together in your own kitchen in less time than it would take to check out at the grocery store.

Barbecue sauce at the end of October? Yes, please! I have a fantastic new recipe to share tomorrow and you'll want to have a jar of this sauce waiting in the refrigerator. Of course, even if you don't believe me and you wait until tomorrow to see that recipe and then make the sauce, it will only take a few minutes to stir it together.

I'm told that this sauce tastes just like Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce, but in all fairness to Sweet Baby Ray, I think this sauce blows the store-bought version away. I actually went and bought a bottle of the original sauce, just to compare the flavors. The store bought sauce was really tasty, but the flavors here are deeper and I prefer them. (Of course, I can't think of many instances where a homemade version won't trump store-bought!)

Continue Reading »

Continue Reading »

Jap Chae is a classic Korean dish, made with glass noodles, crisp vegetables, and a perfect sticky sauce. Served in restaurants both with and without meat, I love everything about this meal.

For the longest time, my middle son's favorite dish was Korean Jap Chae, (pronounced chop-chay). Last time my husband was out of town, he took my oldest son along with him and I wanted to make some of the younger boys' favorite foods to make our weekend special as well. So, I played with this version of his favorite "noodle dish."

The dinner was a big hit and my kids ate enormous servings. As it turned out, I like this broccoli and mushroom filled Jap Chae even more than the original. The tiny broccoli florets are a GREAT addition to this dish and my son is always in heaven with so many mushrooms on his plate.

Continue Reading »

Continue Reading »

Poaching eggs, enhancing spices, clarifying butter, blanching and shocking vegetables,  making stock, working with chicken, pork, fish, and shellfish: these are just a few of the techniques shared in Brendan McDermott’s new online Craftsy class, 20 Essential Cooking Techniques. Did you know that you can de-vein a shrimp in about 3 seconds? (We just won’t talk about how long it’s taken me in the past.)




Continue Reading »

Buckeye Fudge is what happens when you combine creamy peanut butter fudge with smooth, rich, dark chocolate fudge. This was my answer to a craving for buckeye candy on a day when I simply didn't have time to play in the kitchen. Buckeye Candy is a classic for a good reason; those cute balls of peanut butter fudge, dipped in a chocolate coating are everybody's favorite. Most of the time though, I just don't have time or motivation to roll and dip all of them!

My kids absolutely flipped for this fudge, and I kept going back for just one more taste. I finally resorted to sending the rest of the fudge off to work with Sean, so that I wouldn't eat the whole batch myself. Buckeye Fudge is going on our Christmas baking list and it's sure to be a favorite for years. I love finding shortcut and simplified methods to re-make our favorite recipes!

Continue Reading »

Over the past year and a half, this roast has become one of my favorite crock-pot meals. The sweet and tangy glaze takes this roast from tasty to fantastic. This slow cooked pork roast is both company worthy and also perfect for a lazy weeknight dinner. I've served this pork with potatoes, over rice, and stuffed into soft rolls.

This roast was a delicious surprise the first time I made it. I'd originally planned to oven roast the pork in a more traditional style. However, in the interest of not spending my weekend evening working in the kitchen, I decided to put it in the crockpot that morning instead.

I did not expect the meat to cook so quickly and be falling apart at dinnertime, but it was absolutely perfect and I wouldn't change a thing. The sweet, tangy glaze takes just a few minutes to simmer and whisk together and the resulting meal is well worth the extra moment to make it special!
Continue Reading »

Creamy, potato chowder style soup, loaded with dill pickles and a heck of a lot of flavor, I can pretty much guarantee that you've never tasted anything like this!

Every so often, you run across a recipe that grabs your attention and simply doesn't let go. The first time I saw Dill Pickle Soup mentioned, I did a double-take and wondered what on earth it would taste like. Then I heard some friends raving about this soup and decided I needed to try it myself.

Cathy from Noble Pig created this recipe and it is truly the most unique soup I have ever tasted. We are almost entirely a family of pickle lovers and this soup is a dream come true for pickle lovers. My oldest son took his second bite of this soup and declared this soup to be his new lunch choice for his birthday meal. This is a BIG deal in our house, because on your birthday you get to choose all the meals for the day. Lots and lots of thought goes into these choices all year long.

Continue Reading »

This Fluffy, Creamy, Not-Too-Sweet, Absolutely Perfect Chocolate Buttercream Frosting is truly the best chocolate frosting I've ever tasted. Given the chance, I could have done some serious damage to the bowl without even slathering it on the cake. This is everything I wanted in a perfect chocolate buttercream.

We are smack in the middle of "birthday season" in our house these days. (We have birthdays in September, October, November, and December.) As you might guess, this adds up to plenty of cake and lots of special requests for meals. My middle boy turned 9 this weekend and requested his favorite white cake with lots of "fluffy" chocolate icing.

I played with a couple different ideas for the frosting before I realized that the flavor I wanted was only going to happen with melted chocolate versus cocoa powder. (I should have remembered that from the chocolate ice cream recipes this summer. Real chocolate makes everything better!) Not that frostings made with cocoa powder aren't delicious, but they simply weren't resulting in the ultimate creamy and fluffy frosting that I imagined.

This is such an easy frosting, you might wind up grinning every bit as big I am did when you taste it for the first time. This is going to be my go-to chocolate frosting for years to come!

Continue Reading »

Continue Reading »

Beef and bacon all wrapped up in a perfect little cheese topped meatball. Are you at all surprised that my kids went absolutely nuts over these Bacon Cheeseburger Meatballs?

I served the meatballs on their own with a whole bunch of cut up veggies and ranch dip. (We are super fancy like that.) However, my oldest was quick to point out that these meatballs would make the world's greatest burger if I served them in a bun. I'm thinking that they would also be delicious with a side of barbecue sauce and some roasted potato wedges. I already have them on the menu again for next month!

Continue Reading »

All of your favorite oatmeal toppings and mix-ins are stirred together dry and then stored in the pantry for easy breakfasts that the kids can make on their own. I don't know why it never occurred to me to try microwaving our oatmeal before now, but this is one seriously kicked up instant oatmeal. Ready to eat in just a few minutes, we ate this Homemade Instant Oatmeal for breakfast three times last week!

If you aren't a fan of microwave cooking, this is also a great shortcut for stove-top oatmeal. I use about 1 1/2 cups of water for every cup of the oatmeal mix when cooking it on the stove. Having all of our favorite oatmeal mix-ins already together and waiting in the cupboard is a great timesaver whether we use the microwave or the stove.

Continue Reading »

Caramel Chocolate Chip Toffee Cheesecake Cookie Bars, as if the name wasn't more than enough, just imagine each of those ingredients on it's own and now picture them all stacked into the ultimate cookie bar with a perfect layer of creamy cold cheesecake in the center. No joke, these bars are amazing.

One bite, just one bite, is all it took to know that I couldn't keep these in the house. I immediately sent half of them to the office with Sean, shared a few with the family, and dropped the remaining bars off at a friend's house. These are crazy good and I can't wait for an excuse to make them again. (I know better than to make them when I'll be left alone with the whole pan!) These bars are an awesome potluck or party treat, perfect for sharing with friends.

Continue Reading »

Simple Skillet Green Beans are warm and crisp, mixed with slivered red onions and bacon. Fresh green beans are one of our favorite side dishes and nine times out of ten I simply toss them in the oven to roast them. They are absolutely, positively delicious that way, but last night I wanted something a little different.
I spied the bacon in the fridge and within a few minutes I had a couple strips of that bacon sizzling on the stove. (Although, I did consider adding a full pound of bacon and calling this an indulgence instead of a vegetable side dish. Of course, I might not have felt as justified downing a good size brownie for dessert after eating half a pound of bacon on my own.) These green beans are a delicious vegetable side dish with just enough smoky bacon flavor to add something special to any meal.

Continue Reading »

Juicy chicken thighs with a crisp and flavorful skin can be on your dinner table with about 5 minutes worth of effort. This crispy chicken is made in the oven without any breading at all; the only ingredients you need are the chicken, a drizzle of oil, salt, and pepper. I am absolutely beside myself to have finally recreated our favorite chicken in the world, without the mess on the stove-top and with minimal clean up!

I've been making Pan Fried Chicken Thighs at least twice a month ever since I first made them a year and a half ago. The recipe is crazy easy and my whole family loves it. If you haven't tried that very simple cooking method yet, you should, because you simply have to taste it to understand how amazing a single piece of chicken can be.

I've tried a few different methods to recreate that flavor and crispiness in the oven over the past year and I am giddy to have finally nailed it. I'm dubbing this the easiest dinner recipe ever, because it requires no prep, no marinade, no special anything at all in advance. Grab your chicken, sprinkle with salt and pepper, then bake. Seriously. That's all the effort it requires.


Continue Reading »

Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal is one of our favorite breakfasts; my boys would happily eat this every single morning all fall long if I let them. There is just something awesome about the way oatmeal changes when it is baked. Almost like a cake, but not nearly so sweet, this is a hearty breakfast that we all love.

Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal has been our Thanksgiving breakfast for the past few years. I'm in favor of anything that makes my holiday kitchen work easier, there is enough other cooking happening for the holidays, an easy breakfast is ideal. This hearty oatmeal breakfast bake is as easy as it gets.


Continue Reading »

I read a few articles recently that bashed the glorified photographs on Instagram, the ones with perfect filters that share only the good and never the bad parts of our lives. I laughed and nodded along with some of it and then I realized that I love Instagram for that and more. Today, I'm taking a few minutes to share my happy place in social media with you.

It isn't just about finding your friends and connecting with them on another social media platform. Something beautiful, delicious, funny, fashionable, breathtaking, awe-inspiring is always just a scroll away. Instagram is a 60 second peek into another world whenever I want to take a minute away from my own.
Continue Reading »

Sweet potatoes are one of my favorite fall side dishes. While my family does eat sweet potatoes year round, it still "feels" like sweet potatoes should be a fall dish. These bite size chunks of sweet potato are tossed with Italian spices and roasted until crisp on the outside and fluffy inside.

These potatoes are delicious on their own, but I especially liked combining them with roasted Brussels sprouts. My whole family enjoyed this dish, although my children were happy to share most of their Brussels sprouts with me and keep their potatoes. I served these potatoes with Pan Fried Italian Chicken, but they will also be great with Garlic and Herb Rubbed Pork Tenderloin or Slow Cooked Italian Red Wine Roast Beef.
Continue Reading »

All the flavor of fancy cut out gingerbread cookies in a chewy, moist (and generously topped with fluffy cream cheese frosting) Gingerbread Cookie Bar. How's that for a wordy description? These bars are one of the greatest holiday baking ideas ever. I've had "make gingerbread cookies" on my holiday baking list for several years now and I never seem to get around to it.

Just thinking about rolling out cookies is enough to make me get out a bar pan and throw together a batch of brownies instead. Does that make me lazy? or just impatient? Maybe, just maybe, this will be the year I actually make cut out sugar cookies, because I totally crossed "make gingerbread cookies" off my list when I tasted these bars!

Continue Reading »

Continue Reading »