Huevos Rancheros Tacos

There is something so fun about having breakfast for dinner. Not only is it an easy way to whip up a meal with things you probably already have on hand, but it is so nice to have something so familiar and yet out of the ordinary.

Lindsay Landis and Taylor Hackbarth (of Love and Olive Oil) have compiled a cookbook filled with breakfast treats with a spin, making them perfect for  dinner. The cookbook, Breakfast for Dinner: Recipes for Fritatta Florentine, Huevos Rancheros, Sunny-Side-Up Burgers, and More! is plain drool-worthy. The photos are fantastic and each recipe sounds better than the last! It has a little bit of everything in its pages, including main dishes, appetizers, and desserts. Each recipe has an inventive twist on a traditional breakfast dish, which made it so difficult to decide which recipe to try first! When I asked my boyfriend to help choose, he responded, “Mmm… can’t we just make every one of them?”

Photo care of Quirk Books

We were finally able to decide on the Huevos Rancheros Tacos because we are big taco fans (I have 7 listed on this blog as of this post) and I loved the idea of turning Huevos Rancheros into delicious dinner!

Ingredients:

Ranchero Sauce

  • 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 large jalapeno, seeded and chopped
  • 1 (15 ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
  • 1/2 cup vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped, plus 1/2 tablespoon adobo sauce
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • freshly ground pepper, to taste

For tacos

  • 1 (15 ounce) can refried black beans
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
  • 8 corn tortillas
  • 1/3 cup shredded cheddar cheese
  • 8 large eggs
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or oregano

Note: this recipe is reproduced from the Breakfast for Dinner cookbok

Continue reading Huevos Rancheros Tacos

Game Day Round Up and Link Up

With the Wing Bowl in full swing down at the Wells Fargo Center, there is no better time to share all of your favorite game day recipes! I have a ton listed on this site, but I wanted to see what else is out there! Feel free to link up your top game day recipes below some of my featured recipes!

First up, my post from yesterday for a Pull-Apart Party Loaf. This loaf was made for sharing during the big game!

I will also be making a batch of these fall-off-the-bone Slow Cooker Bourbon BBQ Ribs. And I cannot wait!!

So what’s on your menu for the weekend? Link it up below!


Pull-Apart Party Loaf

Let’s be honest, one of the best parts of Super Bowl Sunday is the food. Although I’m excited to hang out with friends as we root for (so far) the most successful graduate in our class (Go Flacco!) and watch some amazing commercials, I’m more focused on the tasty treats that come along with the viewing.

I’ve been in the Football Food spirit for a while now. Last week, Land O’ Lakes and Rebecca of Foodie With Family hosted a webinar all about food for the big game.

 

We discussed a bunch of different group-friendly snacks, which ones travel well to other locations, and even how to keep food safe while it is sitting out during the game. Land O’ Lakes has a great round up of game day favorites, so be sure to check it out for some inspiration here. I learned a lot, but I was unfortunately kind of distracted. Why? Because the first darn photo they showed me was of a Pull-Apart Party Loaf.

 

Look at that loaf!

I loved it so much, I made a test batch of my own to share with you! I also received a nifty prize package for participating, plus one to give away, woo hoo! More on that below…

 

So this recipe is one created in the Land O’ Lakes Kitchen. Original recipe can be found here.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 (16- to 18-ounce) round loaf of sourdough bread
  • 1/4 cup Land O Lakes® Butter, melted
  • 1 teaspoon dry ranch dressing mix
  • 1/2 cup (about 5 slices) cooked chopped thick-cut bacon
  • 1/4 cup jalapeño peppers, chopped
  • 10 (3/4-ounce) slices Land O Lakes® Deli American Cheese, chopped
  • 2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley, if desired

Continue reading Pull-Apart Party Loaf

Apple-Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

I know, I know. You probably read the title and thought to yourself there is no way quinoa can be a tasty breakfast. But hear me out. Quinoa, although a great grain to use as a dinner side, can also hold its own as a sweeter breakfast meal. I actually originally made this recipe so that vegan friends who were visiting for the weekend had a breakfast option. (Vegans have a tough time when it comes to breakfast! Oatmeal, quinoa, fruit. I think that’s about it…) Anyways, I wasn’t expecting much. But it was so tasty I made a batch for my breakfasts all week. That’s right, it even reheats nicely!

I found this recipe on Budget Bytes and made some minor changes. Check out her original recipe here.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup quinoa
  • 1 1/2 cups apple cider
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1 medium apple (I used Fuji)
  • 1/2 cup dried fruit/nut mixture

 

Continue reading Apple-Cinnamon Breakfast Quinoa

I’d Appreciate Your Vote!

This is just a reminder that the Epikur Writer of the Year Award voting closes this week! Please consider voting for me (Kaitlin Lunny). Voting ends January 31!

 

Vote here!

A few months back, I received an email from Epikur Magazine, an online food and wine magazine written by The Wine School of Philadelphia, notifying me that my Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread post was being nominated for the Epikur Writer of the Year Award. How cool is that?

I was also given this snazzy badge to put on my “featured in” page :

It would mean a lot to me if you could take a minute to head over to the voting page, check off my name (Kaitlin Lunny) and vote for my little blog. There is no registration and you can only vote once. I’d really appreciate it!

Vote here!

Thank you for checking in on my blog from time to time as well. I love that you continue to be interested in my cooking journey and hope that you enjoy reading my posts as much as I like writing them!

Slow Cooker Marinara

Making a large batch of marinara sauce and freezing it for later use makes dinner on really hectic weeknights significantly easier. My mom used to make pots upon pots of tomato sauce during the first snow of the season which always made the house smell oh so good, especially after coming in from the cold. We haven’t had our first snow yet, but that’s not going to stop me from trying out this slow cooker marinara from Cooking Light. The sauce can be frozen and used for months.

The original recipe used fresh tomatoes but I hate peeling tomatoes and the plum tomatoes this time of year just aren’t very attractive. So I used the next best thing, canned whole peeled plum tomatoes. If it’s summer when you make this, go for the fresh ones!

Ingredients:

  • 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 3 cups chopped onion (about 2 onions)
  • 3/4 cup sliced carrot (about 2 carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1/4 cup minced garlic (a good dozen garlic cloves)
  • 1 tablespoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 2 tablespoons unsalted tomato paste
  • 1/2 cup dry red wine (such as cabernet sauvignon)
  • 3 28 oz cans of Whole Peeled Plum Tomatoes
  • 2 dried bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano
  • 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

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Chicken Fricassee With Tarragon

Cold weather always makes me crave comfort food. I tend to really want pasta (and would be perfectly happy eating it every day that drops below 40 degrees) but am always open to healthier comfort food options. BetterEats.com had a lighter recipe for Chicken Fricassee, which is a French stew with chicken, vegetables, white wine, and cream that when paired with some day old bread makes a fantastic comfort food option.

Ingredients:

  • 2 1/2 pounds chicken pieces (breast halves, thighs, and drumsticks) – bone-in, skin removed (I used 1 chicken breast, 1 thigh, 1 leg, and 1 drumstick)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • pepper, black – to taste
  • 2 tablespoons flour, all-purpose
  • 1 tablespoon oil, olive, extra virgin
  • 1 cup shallots (about 4 large ones)
  • 1 cup wine, dry white
  • 1 1/2 cups broth, chicken, less sodium
  • 1 medium carrot – peeled and thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
  • 1 pound mushrooms, I used 1/2 lb baby bellas, 1/2 lb button – wiped clean and halved or quartered
  • 4 sprigs tarragon, fresh
  • 4 teaspoons tarragon, fresh – chopped
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • 1/4 cup sour cream, reduced-fat
  • 2 teaspoons mustard, Dijon

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Gift Idea: a*pour toi Boxes & Giveaway!

It should come as no surprise that my go-to gifts tend to be food related. I love gifting Philadelphia-themed gift baskets, assorted tea presents, and engagement cookies. New to my list are these beautiful gift boxes from a*pour toi.

The founder, Julie Hasson, began this company recently to provide gourmet treats that feel like they have been picked with care just for your recipient. Julie works with Dr. Tara D Seneviratne who specialized is nutrition and endocrinology to help select every item in the box.

This option is brand new, it is being launched to the public in mid-January. But I was given the opportunity to try a box beforehand. I was sent an a*pour toi box for free, but my opinions below are my own. a*pour toi, which translates to “a gift for you,” is also hosting a giveaway on my blog, with the winner receiving their very own gift box! (The box ingredients change monthly, so you may receive different treats than I did. Please see below on how to enter!)

Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta

I border on having an obsession with seafood. If I could eat it every night I would. (I have over 60 seafood recipes listed on this blog alone!) But I apparently have caused my boyfriend to be “fished out” so I decided to make a chicken dish with another favorite ingredient of his: olives. Pasta Puttanesca normally includes a tomato sauce with olives and capers. This Cooking Light version of Chicken Puttanesca is simplified to make it easy enough for a weeknight dinner.
Ingredients:

  • 8 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
  • 2 teaspoons olive oil
  • 4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups tomato-basil pasta sauce
  • 1/4 cup pitted and coarsely chopped kalamata olives
  • 1 tablespoon capers
  • 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
  • 1/4 cup (1 ounce) pre-shredded mozzarella cheese
  • Chopped fresh basil

Continue reading Chicken Puttanesca with Angel Hair Pasta

Tri Vegetarian Chili

I made a realization this weekend. Chili is so hearty that I really don’t realize if there is even meat in them. So why add it in?

With a bunch of different beans and peppers, you can still deliver an absolutely delicious chili that doesn’t even need meat! (I’m not knocking those that like meat in their chili, I just apparently prefer the vegetarian version)

Katherine Martinelli had a chili link up last week on her blog and I couldn’t stop thinking about chili. Her Three Bean Chili in particular looked so fantastic, I decided to make my own version of it below. It is based off of her recipe but I did make some changes, so to see the original recipe, check it out here.

This Tri Vegetarian Chili is aptly named. It uses three types of beans, three types of dried peppers, and three types of bell peppers.

 

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup dried red kidney beans
  • 1 cup dried great northern beans
  • 1 cup dried black turtle beans
  • 2 dried guajillo peppers
  • 2 dried chipotle peppers
  • 2 dried ancho chili peppers
  • 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 1 orange bell pepper, seeded and chopped
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 onion, chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 2 teaspoons dried oregano
  • ¼ teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 4 cups vegetable broth
  • 1 tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

Continue reading Tri Vegetarian Chili

Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole

I love recipes that make it easy to serve a bunch of people with minimal effort. A slow cooker is usually a go-to for those types of recipes but I’ve never considered using it to make breakfast before. The Ninja Cooking System is the perfect tool for it though. They sent over this recipe for a Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole and I couldn’t wait for the weekend to come so I could make it.

This recipe makes 8 servings so it would be great for breakfast for a larger group but I also packed up the rest of my servings to reheat during the week.

Ingredients:

  • ½ cup butter
  • 2 Granny Smith apples, cored and chopped
  • 1/2 cup chopped pecans
  • 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar
  • ½ cup pure maple syrup
  • 1 loaf challah bread (about 1 pound), cut into cubes
  • 6 large eggs
  • 2 cups vanilla almond milk (or normal milk)
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • Pinch salt
  • Confectioners’ sugar

Continue reading Slow Cooker Apple French Toast Casserole

Sweet Orange Salmon with Browned Butter Orange Couscous

After all the pasta, meat, and desserts I’ve had over the past, oh, month, I think it’s about time to switch back to some seafood recipes.

This is actually two different recipes from Cooking Light but I thought they’d be fantastic together. The Sweet Orange Salmon recipe is so easy and quick to make and the Browned-Butter Orange Couscous can be whipped up in no time as well!

Ingredients

Salmon:

  • 2 tablespoons brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon chili powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated orange rind
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/8 teaspoon black pepper
  • 4 (6-ounce) salmon fillets
  • Cooking spray
  • Orange wedges

 

Couscous:

  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1/4 cup slivered almonds
  • 1 cup uncooked couscous
  • 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
  • 1/2 cup coarsely chopped orange sections
  • 1/4 cup pomegranate seeds
  • 3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • Orange wedges

Continue reading Sweet Orange Salmon with Browned Butter Orange Couscous

Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade

I realized I have never posted a recipe for crab cakes.  That is ridiculous! So today’s the day. I found this recipe for Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade in one of my Cooking Light recipes and altered it a bit for what I happened to have in my pantry.

 

Crab cakes:

  • 1 pound jumbo lump crabmeat, shell pieces removed
  • 2 tablespoons finely chopped green bell pepper
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons canola mayonnaise
  • 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 green onions, finely chopped
  • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
  • 1 cup bread crumbs, divided
  • 2 tablespoons canola oil, divided

Remoulade:

  • 1/4 cup canola mayonnaise
  • 2 teaspoons minced shallots
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh tarragon
  • 1 teaspoon chopped fresh parsley
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
  • 3/4 teaspoon capers, chopped
  • 3/4 teaspoon champagne vinegar
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper

Continue reading Crab Cakes with Spicy Remoulade

Tiramisu Brownies

I am a huge fan of coffee and coffee-related foods, so tiramisu is obviously a favorite of mine. When the concept of Tiramisu Brownies was mentioned, I was immediately excited. What a fantastic combination of desserts!

Barista Prima Coffeehouse® K-Cup® (paid link) packs are four dark, rich coffee blends that really deliver an intense flavor that are more bold and robust than other K-Cup offerings. The four flavors offered are: Colombia, House Blend, Italian Roast, and French Roast. I’ve had a Keurig for years now (I just had to retire my original Keurig and buy a replacement, sniffle) and am always really pleased with the coffee choices that can be found in K-Cup form. I tend to use coffee grounds in a bunch of recipes, especially ones that use chocolate, to really up the flavor.

Barista Prima was nice enough to send me a box of their House Blend K-Cups so I naturally wanted to make a dish that used these delicious grounds as well as a dessert that would be perfect paired with a cup of House Blend coffee. Many thanks to Barista Prima for also sending me this mouthwatering recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 12 oz. chocolate chips
  • 1 cup butter, softened
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 4 whole eggs
  • 4 egg whites
  • 1 cup cake flour (or normal flour if you can’t find it)
  • Brewed House Blend coffee grounds, to taste
  • 8 oz. Mascarpone cheese, room temperature
  • 8 oz. Cream Cheese, room temperature
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 4 egg whites
  • 2 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 1 Pkg. Soft Ladyfingers
  • 1 cup of Barista Prima House Blend Coffee

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Chai Eggnog Sugar Cookies

Last year, I made sugar cookies and attempted to decorate them myself (attempted being the key word). I may be getting better at cooking, but my decorating skills are still really sub par. I didn’t want to give away funny looking cookies again this year but wanted to still make sugar cookies. Cooking Light’s Chai Eggnog Sugar Cookies were the perfect choice. Plus, these cookies are really quick to whip up because you can absolutely use sugar cookie mix!

Ingredients:

  • 1 chai tea bag
  • 1 (17.5-oz.) package sugar cookie mix
  • 1/2 cup melted butter
  • 1 large egg
  • 4 tablespoons eggnog, divided
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar
  • 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Note: These cookies are non-alcoholic so they are fine for all ages of cookie lovers.

Continue reading Chai Eggnog Sugar Cookies

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