The Secret Recipe Club may be over, but the Fantastical Food Fight is just beginning! Instead of being assigned a blog, secret Santa style, we are given a theme (similar to the Improv Cooking Challenge that I also participate in). For our first month, the theme was deviled eggs – yum!
I knew that I wanted to do a fun take, and while I looked at Caesar Salad, Curry, Mexican Street Corn, and Crab Rangoon variations, I was really drawn to a Smoked Salmon idea. Filled with the flavors of a traditional Lox bagel, this twist is as delicious as it is pretty. (more…)
It’s time for a seasonal post from the Secret Recipe Club! Our theme was Fall Dishes and I was assigned Things I Make (For Dinner). This blog is written by Sarah who, in addition to my name, shares my love of cooking, travel, and sleeping.
These custards are made with pumpkin, cream, milk, maple syrup, egg yolks, and spices. Simple and delicious. After the base is made, it is poured into ramekins and baked in a water bath, much like creme brulee. (more…)
I started by cooking madras curry and grated ginger in olive oil (though it occurs to me now that I could have used coconut oil), then adding carrots, onion, and garlic. I seasoned with salt and cooked for 15 minutes, until the vegetables started to brown. Then I added chicken broth and coconut milk and simmered covered for 20 minutes. You can use vegetable broth to make this vegetarian/vegan. (more…)
The Secret Recipe Club is coming to an end, you guys. This is both very sad and a huge relief to me, as I have had so much fun exploring other blogs, but also felt a lot of pressure to meet the timeline. There will be one more seasonal post at the end of this month, and one more regular post in November. I was assigned Cheese Curd in Paradise this month, written by Ashley.
I actually couldn’t find a bio page on this blog, sorry Ashley! But I could discern that Ashley lives in Wisconsin, has a son, and loves comfort food! I found a ton of yummy looking stuff while scrolling through the archives.
It is hard to take good photos of casseroles, y’all, especially in the slow cooker. But the slow cooker was what I loved about this. Throw frozen tater tots, raw chicken, cooked bacon, onions, cheese, ranch seasoning, and milk into the insert and forget about it until dinner time. Perfect. I did feel like it was missing a bit of a creamy element, but I don’t know how sour cream would do in the slow cooker.
For ease an comfort, this just can’t be beat! Enjoy! (more…)
Oh my gosh, this cauliflower bowl is so gorgeous, and filling, and satisfying, and yummy, and healthy, and low carb, and all the things. It has a lot of different components, but they come together to make such a lovely whole. Another successful vegetarian lunch with Melissa from Smells Like Brownies.
Start by making your cauliflower “rice” (actually, start by pickling some chard stems, which was done by Melissa before I arrived). Place raw cauliflower into a food processor and pulse until chopped to the size of rice (a few larger pieces are fine) – 1/2 a large head will make 3-4 cups. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and microwave for 2 minutes, just to soften.
Next, heat some coconut oil in a pan and add turmeric, cumin, a pinch of cayenne, and some fresh pressed garlic. Cook for a bit to activate the spices, then add the cauliflower and stir to combine and heat through. But don’t leave it on for too long – you want the cauliflower to have texture! Make sure to season with salt and pepper. (more…)
A month ago, Melissa (Smells Like Brownies) asked for my help coming up with toppings for these gorgeous beet, quinoa, and black bean burgers. How could I refuse?! Before I tell you what we decided on, let me tell you about the burgers themselves.
The are firm, full of flavor, have great texture, and are a little bit smoky. Everyone always says this, but they do taste very meaty. I swear.
Veggie burgers rely on many ingredients to make a good product. They can be notoriously mushy and fall apart. This recipe seems to hit all the right notes to make a great burger. Mushrooms, onions, and beets give moisture and flavor; quinoa gives texture; and black beans and ground nuts hold it all together. (more…)
When I was assigned Melissa’s bloglast month for SRC, I was reminded of all the recipes of hers that I had been wanting to make. And I couldn’t get my mind off of this warm potato salad with roasted broccoli and an egg vinaigrette. That vinaigrette is called “sauce gribiche”, which I had never heard of before. Melissa says, “It’s an eggy French vinaigrette, apparently friends with mayonnaise, that is made from hardboiled eggs, oil, vinegar, capers, and fresh herbs.” Sign me up!
First step – roast the potatoes and the broccoli. Why do I only have a photo of the potatoes? I don’t know. Melissa used purple potatoes, which looked gorgeous. I couldn’t find any, though, so I used red.
Meanwhile, boil the eggs. Hello, lovelies! (more…)
I want to A) introduce you to my “famous” brussel sprout recipe and B) apologize for the terrible photos that I don’t have time to re-take if I want to get this recipe out to you before Thanksgiving. I call this recipe famous, because my husband requests it all the time. My husband who does not like vegetables. *EDIT – Jasper has informed me that he does too like vegetables!* This week he asked me if we could have steak and brussels for dinner, or even just brussels, and I just about fell over in shock. Let’s roast some brussels sprouts!
Trim and halve some sprouts, chop some bacon, and toss them around in olive oil, salt, and pepper. Roast for 30 minutes. So far – pretty easy, right?
When they are done, toss in a dressing of balsamic vinegar, honey, and stone ground mustard. The end. Seriously, that’s all there is too it! They are tender and crispy, sweet and savory, and pretty much just all-around awesome. Whether you make these for your holiday spread or a weeknight dinner – enjoy! (more…)
First, make sure that you are using good quality salmon. I refuse to eat farmed Atlantic salmon, and wild caught Alaskan can be expensive. So I usually opt for the farmed Norwegian or Icelandic, which never fails to be thick and fatty – yum.
First you will cook shallots in butter, then add Prosecco and thyme to make a poaching broth. Then, you will carefully place the salmon into the broth and spoon hot liquid over the top until cooked to your liking (Melissa and I both prefer medium). (more…)
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…)
