easy – Page 2 – Well Dined

30
Nov
2015

SRC – No Bake Eggnog Pudding Pie from I am a Honey Bee

categories: Recipes

I’m gonna be honest with you guys – I totally messed up this pie, in three different steps. Ugh. More on that later. But as it turns out, it didn’t even matter – it still came out super delicious! So I definitely call that a win.

We are doing a special Holiday Treats edition of the Secret Recipe Club! My assigned blog was I am a Honey Bee written by Nicole. We both live on the East coast and share a love of Buffy, tattoos, Greece, eggs bene, and a fear of open water and having to open gifts in front of others. I like that her blog includes reviews in addition to recipes, just like mine!

Anyway, I went to look for desserts on her blog and noticed a page called The Year of Pies, where she posted a pie recipes every week for a year. A year! I didn’t to look at any other category, ladies and gentlemen, I was home. But would it be caramel pie? One of four different kinds of chess pie? Maybe Reese’s or Thin Mint pie? So many to choose from! It was around this time that I began to feel woefully inadequate for my own dessert selection, and sorry for whoever drew my blog… I hope you were able to find something!

I scrolled down to the end of the year to look for holiday dessert and saw this No Bake Eggnog Pudding Pie. I love eggnog! And easy recipes! I wanted to make this right away. (more…)

29
Oct
2015

Halloween Candy Bark

categories: Recipes

The other day, Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) asked me if I wanted to help her make Halloween candy bark. Um – YES. Obviously. I mean – I’m not a crazy person.

Turns out, it is incredibly easy. Melt around 2 cups of chocolate, spread it on a silpat or parchment paper, sprinkle and press candy into it, chill, and done. What a great way to use up extra candy!

You can really use anything here – any kind of chocolate, any kind of candy. We used semi-sweet chocolate and reese’s, tootsie rolls, m&ms, white chocolate chips, and heath bits.

Happy Halloween, lovelies!

One Year Ago – Pasta with Sausage and Peppers
Two Years Ago – Butternut Squash and Kale Mac and Cheese
Three Years Ago – Halibut en Papillote
Four Years Ago – Homemade Ricotta

10
Aug
2015

SRC – Lemon and Basil Chicken Salad from Renee’s Kitchen Adventures

categories: Recipes

It’s my first Secret Recipe Club post!!! I had been wanting to join the SRC for a while, but wasn’t sure that I met the posting requirements, because I don’t always post every week. I also didn’t have a recipe index for a long time, so that is something that I have been working on. I finally felt like the time was right and asked to join, and here I am with my first post! Yay!

My assigned blog was Renee’s Kitchen Adventures, and I had such a great time looking through it. Renee is a stay-at-home mom and former nurse (labor and delivery – what a special unit!), and her story reminded me a lot of my mother. She talks about trying to be healthy and lose weight, and posts healthy recipes based on Weight Watchers points. I, too, am trying to be healthy and lose weight, so I loved that about this blog. Even though our ideas of what constitute healthy food are a bit different (I think fat is healthy), I think this blog will be a great resource and inspiration for me. I also love how accessible and family friendly Renee’s recipes are. I think I tend to only post about the really complicated stuff, which maybe isn’t so great.

As I was reading through Renee’s most recent recipes, I saw a lot that I wanted to try. I love that she has a lot of s’mores recipes, and especially that she made s’mores krispy treats – because I did the same thing! I also really liked the sound of this Almond Joy Poke Cake made with coconut oil, coconut oil is the best! She writes that she isn’t ashamed to use boxed cake mix as a shortcut, and I feel the same way! I don’t post about them much, but I love to make poke cakes or dress up cake mix in other ways (pro tip: use 1 extra egg, milk instead of water, melted butter instead of oil).

I’ve been baking way more than usual lately, though, and what jumped out at me the most was this Creamy Lemon and Fresh Basil Chicken Salad. It has been super hot and humid lately, so this is exactly the kind of thing I want to be eating right now. (more…)

30
Jul
2015

Vegan Three Bean Chili

categories: Recipes

I was making dinner for a vegan friend of mine and found this quick and easy recipe that sounded good. Using mostly canned products, I was not expecting it to turn out as well as it did (hence no preparation photos). We were both surprised at how much flavor this chili had. I added in some chopped leftover steak for Jasper, and he loved it too. This is definitely going into my records as cheap, easy, customizeable, and well-loved.

Vegan Three Bean Chili with Pesto
adapted from Real Simple
serves 4

1 tbsp plus 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
2 carrots, diced
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian spices, including liquid
kosher salt and black pepper
1 15.5oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
1 15.5oz can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 15.5oz can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 clove garlic
3 tbsp pine nuts (you can use a less expensive nut)
1 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes and their liquid, 2 cups water, 1 1/2 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper and bring to a boil.

Add the beans and cook until heated through, about 3 minutes.

Either finely chop the garlic, pine nuts, and parsley and combine with remaining 1/4 cup oil, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/8 tsp pepper in a small bowl OR put everything into a mini food processor and pulse.

Divide the chili among individual bowls and top with the pesto.

One Year Ago – Greek Style Zucchini Salad
Two Years Ago – Meat Ravioli
Three Years Ago – 4th of July
Four Years Ago – CSA Week 9

18
Dec
2014

Apple Butter Glazed Pork Loin

categories: Recipes

Looking for yet another side to go with your Bacon Bourbon Sweet Potatoes? Check out this pork loin glazed with Dijon mustard, apple butter, and cider and roasted over veggies and sage. It’s moist, tender, savory, sweet, and easy to make – plus it’s pretty healthy!

I came up with this dish because I needed a protein to go with leftover sweet potatoes, and because I wanted to try out the recipe for the apple butter glaze. We are members of the Frog’s Leap wine club, and they sent us a little jar of apple butter along with our last shipment of wine. They also included a recipe for a savory glaze using the apple butter, Dijon mustard, apple cider, shallot, and garlic – it sounded great!

Start by placing a few carrots and an onion in a roasting pan, top with a few sprigs of sage, then pour in a little bit of apple cider (to keep the meat from drying out). Season the pork loin with salt and pepper, and set it on the vegetables and roast it on high heat for 15 minutes.

Then take it out, spread the glaze over the top, and return it to the oven at a lower temp for 45 minutes. And that’s it! Rest and slice and you’re ready to serve. This is a great dish for fall with flavors that pair with lots of seasonal side dishes. Enjoy! (more…)

15
Dec
2014

Maple Bourbon Glazed Chicken

categories: Recipes

Following on the heels of last week’s post on whipped sweet potatoes with all the best things (bourbon, bacon, brown butter, sage), I am keeping my promise to share a complimentary chicken recipe. This sticky glazed chicken with bourbon, maple, and thyme is easy, delicious, and perfect with the sweet potatoes.

Simply sear bone-in chicken breasts in a large skillet (I used a dutch oven), then add a mixture of chicken stock, maple syrup, and bourbon along with some thyme sprigs. Allow to cook down until the mixture is syrupy and the chicken is fully cooked. That’s it – done! It’s really so easy. The sticky glaze is super yummy and the bones keep the chicken from drying out. You could easily substitute bone-in pork chops, as well.

Maple Bourbon Glazed Chicken
adapted from Food Network
serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
4 (6-oz) bone-in chicken breasts, skin removed
Salt and fresh ground black pepper
1 cup chicken stock
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp bourbon
4 sprigs thyme

Place a large heavy-bottom or cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat with the olive oil. Season the chicken liberally all over with salt and pepper. Add the chicken to the pan breast-side down and sear until deep golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes.

While the chicken in searing, in a small dish whisk together the stock, syrup, and bourbon. Add the bourbon mixture to the skillet along with the thyme sprigs and continue cooking, turning the chicken occasionally, until the meat is cooked through and the sauce has reduced to a thick syrupy consistency, 8 to 10 minutes. (If the sauce reduces to a syrupy consistency before the chicken has cooked through, add a few splashes of stock to the skillet and continue cooking.)

To serve, remove and discard the thyme sprigs. Spoon the sticky sauce over the chicken and enjoy warm.

One Year Ago – Smoked Salmon Pizzette
Two Years Ago – Stained Glass Jello
Three Years Ago – Snickerdoodle Surprise Cookies

02
Oct
2014

Pasta with Sausage and Peppers

categories: Recipes

If you’ve been wondering where I’ve been for the past 2 weeks, the answer is – vacation! I will be writing about that for sure, but before I get to it I want to talk about this pasta that I made before we left. My friend Melissa (you know her by now) was also going out of town, a little before we were, and gifted me several of her home-grown bell peppers and tomatoes. I wanted to use them to do a take on sausage and peppers in pasta form because I’m, well, me.

So I browned some sliced sausage, and then threw in an onion, the peppers, and the tomatoes to saute. Then I tossed in cooked whole wheat penne along with pasta water, a splash of cream, and some Parmesan to make a sauce. And finally, I topped it with some fresh basil and parsley. Fast, easy, and hearty. Thanks Melissa! (more…)

12
Sep
2014

Tortellini with Vegetables and Meatballs

categories: Recipes

I have been really busy and traveling a lot lately, I haven’t really been cooking much. When I do, it is usually a quick throw together of some type of pasta, vegetable, and protein. This particular version consisted of tri-color cheese tortellini, heirloom tomato, yellow zucchini, spinach, turkey meatballs, goat cheese, and fresh herbs.

While the water for the pasta was boiling, I sliced the zucchini and chopped the tomato and an onion. I sauteed the onion and zucchini in some goat butter, then added the spinach and let it wilt. I added the cooked tortellini on top with a little pit of pasta water (which helped with the wilting), then threw in the fresh tomatoes and took it off the heat.

Lastly I added some frozen turkey meatballs that I had heated in the microwave (I know, I know – I was in a hurry okay?), some crumbled goat cheese, and some fresh basil and parsley. This was super easy and came together in less than 30 minutes. Plus there was enough other stuff going on to distract my husband from the vegetables – score! (more…)

06
Aug
2014

Zucchini Pizza with Burrata and Anchovy

categories: Recipes

Fast, easy, simple, and perfect for summer – this pizza is creamy and fresh and super yummy.

All pizza starts with dough, and I highly recommend the Jim Lahey no-knead recipe. It comes out tender and crisp and full of air pockets. You can see some bubbles in the dough in the photo above – that’s the good stuff! I do need to try and remember not to stretch it out too much, though. I think I made the pizza a little too large this time.

Top the dough with minced garlic, bits of anchovy, and a drizzle of olive oil. The anchovy adds little pops of salty and umami flavors. Along with the garlic, this richness is what elevates this pizza from being boring, do not skip! Melissa (who I made this with), said that she might make it with capers instead of anchovies next time. I think that is a really good suggestion for vegetarians who don’t eat fish, but still want to get that briney flavor.

(more…)

28
Jul
2014

Garlic Butter Salmon with Dill

categories: Recipes

I grew a monster dill plant – I’m talking like 3 feet tall with stems as thick as pencils. So I went to Melissa and begged her to help me use up a ton of dill. We brainstormed for a bit and came up with this salmon recipe. I mean, what goes better with dill than salmon?

This recipe couldn’t be easier – pour melted butter over a flank (or filet) of salmon, spread on minced garlic, top with dill, lemon slices, salt, and pepper. Then just pop into the oven for 10 minutes, for a regular sized fish. I picked up salmon from my favorite fish shop (MediterraFish at Mosaic, if you are a local), because their Norwegian salmon is healthy, sustainable, fatty, and HUGE. Like really, really thick. So it was more of a 15 minute fish (though I cut off a piece for me a bit early because I like my salmon medium – not quite opaque in the center, but still able to flake).

The house smelled Ah. Maze. Ing. while this was cooking, and just a few ingredients imparted a lot of flavor. It would have been just fine on it’s own, but we also made a sauce with sour cream, horseradish, lemon, shallot, and dill that took it to the next level. So good, simple, and summery – get on it, people, and make this! Stay tuned for the side dish recipe – Greek style zucchini salad. (more…)

Tag: easy