BBQ Mini Meatloaves

Ok, so I know that I just posted a recipe yesterday with the selling point of eating clean and lighter after the Super Bowl... but these were too good not to share. They're not clean, nor are they considered health food, but I have heard there is another snow storm making it's way to the East Coast, so I figured there needed to be another hearty, low maintenance meal out there that would be the perfect fuel for the post snow-shoveling marathons my friends are going through right now.

Meatless Monday : Warm Lentil Salad with a Poached Egg

How BORING was that Super Bowl? Not even the commercials were any good! I was expecting to bawl like a hungry baby at the Budweiser commercial with the puppies, but I just got this confused deja vu feeling that they had done a similar commercial a couple of years ago. Talk about stale. And I am so very sorry to any and all Denver fans out there- after the first half it was just mean what Seattle was doing to y'all.

Meatless Monday : Quinoa Cakes with Cream of Mushroom Soup

Oh my friends. Please forgive my absence. I literally had every intention of blogging through July and then as soon as I was settled back into life in the States... which I thought would be a couple weeks after our arrival. I completely underestimated (read: forgot) how difficult and stressful an overseas PCS can be. 

Light Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs

Yes, you're right my dear friends. It's the end of June. The temperatures are squelchingly hot. My windows literally sweat with condensation during the day because of the temperature differences between my cool, comfortable house inside in comparison with the sauna/steam room that is the Okinawa summer. Egads, it's freaking hot. So why on Earth would you want to make soup in the middle of summer? 

Chinese Slapped Cucumber

I am back from China! We had an amazing time, but traveling is so exhausting and over the course of our 2 week trip, we were in 4 different cities and on 6 different planes. Whew! Believe it or not, this was one of our very favorite dishes our tour guide searched out for us. I definitely cannot pronounce nor write the name in Mandarin, but it literally translates to slapped cucumber.

Pearl CousCous Vegetable Salad

 This has been one of my favorite side dishes lately. First off, look at at all of those colors! Helloooo vitamins! Thanks for joining the party- you are super delicious.

Thai Peanut Sauce Noodles with Veggies and Chicken

I don't know why I have waited so long to make this recipe. It is SO freaking good. I guess I thought that using spaghetti for anything other than Italian style recipes was kind of sacrilegious, but that was just crazy talk. I am hereby a complete convert in using semolina/durum flour pastas for everything... you know, because I really needed another excuse to eat more carbs. NOT. 

Crock Pot Pork Carnitas with a Copy Cat Chipotle Corn Salsa

First off, who gets colds in May? Seriously, like the connotation of the word "cold" would lead one to believe that they can actually happen any time and have absolutely nothing to do with the weather actually being cold, or the victim of said virus being cold, or having wet hair while going outside when it's cold, or really anything at all dealing with any definition of the word cold. Except when you can't breathe and you wish it were blustery and cold and windy so your sinuses would actually open up so when you speak your consonants don't all end with "d."

Miso Shrimp with Sautéed Vegetables (Clean and potentially Paleo)

Y'all, it has been a whirlwind of a past few weeks! Not really anything different has happened, other than I feel like I have been going non-stop from the moment I wake up at 5 am to the second I pass out from exhaustion at 10:30 pm with barely even a chance to check my email. It's pretty much a miracle my teeth get brushed and the dog gets fed and I haven't yet left my keys in the freezer. In the meantime, fast but fresh dinners like this one have been absolutely imperative during this recent craziness. 

Quinoa Burgers with Chipotle Mayo

How difficult do you think it would be to trick an Oklahoma born & raised, red-blooded American man into absolutely loving a veggie burger? Yeah, I thought it was going to be tough as well, until I made these.

Leek Latkes

Passover (or as my friend Natalie says in Hebrew, 'Pesach') was this week, which means I heard the collective groan of my Jewish friends around the world as they refrained from eating leavened bread for 8 days. Many non-Jews in America don't really know much about Passover, (including myself!) other than it starts with a Seder in which matzo balls are involved. The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke tout that the Seder that marked the start of Passover was also the Last Supper, which is pretty darn cool if it's true.

Easter Ranger Cookies

Lately my definition of insanity has been having piles upon piles of recipes, lists of lists of things I want to make, and suddenly walking into the kitchen and thinking, "I don't know what to cook next!"

Uhhh, say what now? Clearly, I have problems.

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Raise your hand if you grew up on taco spice that came from a packet! Yeah… me too. Don’t get me wrong, I think it tastes pretty darned good, but that was before I started reading ingredient labels. Now I can’t bring myself to use it except in emergencies (aka I didn’t plan well) because of all of the salt and unpronounceable nonsense that’s engineered to stay tasty 1 million years post-apocalypse.

Chicken à la King (A Clean Recipe)

Are there any dishes that you enjoy nowadays that started out as a "what the heck is on my plate" type of thoughts? For me, Chicken à la King was one of those dishes, and I can distinctly remember that It was in the galley (Navy speak for cafeteria) on base in Pensacola, Florida when I first experienced the dish. I had gone through the line, not knowing what Chicken à la King was, but excited to try something new. Clearly, I was new to the Navy since the words "galley" and "excited to try something new" were in the same thought.

Strawberry Scones

I have a feeling that many parts of America is huddled under down comforters by the fireside, cursing the winter snow and wishing it were spring time already. Me, on the other hand, is cursing that it’s gotten so warm so quickly here in Okinawa.

Roasted Vegetable Soup

I am on a soup kick lately- the weather here has been absolutely perfect for it. It's "winter" here in Okinawa, which means temperatures in the 50's, overcast and rainy. It's not the winter I would prefer, but I'll take what I can get. Just like the 30 Minute Chicken Noodle Soup I posted the other day, this recipe is high flavor, low maintenance. 

Slow-Cooker Texas Chili

Chili is a very personal dish. Have you ever noticed that? I don't think there is another dish, except maybe pizza, that evokes such strong opinions. Everyone and their brother has the "right" way to make chili- with beans, without beans. With tomatoes, or without. Ground beef or cubed chuck. Suet or bacon fat. People get pretty passionate about it too- especially Texans, which I know from experience since I am a Texan. We are definitely the most opinionated of them all in the chili debate, and I'm not ashamed to say it. 

Back to Basics : Lighter Basil Pesto

It's been a while since we've done a Back to Basics, hasn't it? For that, I apologize. I have been waiting rather impatiently for my kitchen garden to grow in order to do this post for you. The fact that my kitchen garden has actually produced living, edible things is a mini-miracle in itself.... I certainly did not inherit my mother's impeccable green thumb. This pesto is certainly a sauce you want to have in your recipe arsenal, especially when the spring basil starts hitting the grocery stores in a few weeks!

Back to Basics : Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

Remember a few weeks ago when we made those delicious stuffed acorn squash? I hope you didn't throw away the seeds, since they make a wonderful little snack! Healthy, flavorful and prevents food waste? Those are three of my favorite qualities in a dish!

Chicken Lettuce Cups

It's been so long since I've actually been to a P.F. Changs I can't really remember what their famous appetizer tastes like. But if my faint memory serves me right, this is pretty darn close. Even if my mind is playing tricks on me and I am completely off my rocker, which- let's be honest here- is completely possible probable, they're still so good that I don't even care how close they are to the real thing and might even write to the president of P.F. Changs and ask him/her to change their recipe. 'Cause these are rockin'.