I know it is quite late in the season for a soup recipe, but I made this Leek and Potato Soup recently and just had to share it. This is a fairly traditional Irish Leek and Potato Soup, but the simplicity means you can really make it your own with some tweaks if you wanted.
Leeks are in season late winter to early summer, so this soup is great for those slightly cooler days, or when you’re looking for something simple to make that is ultimate comfort food.
This recipe uses under 10 ingredients and can be made in under 30 minutes!
Ingredients:
4 tablespoons salted butter
1 yellow onion, chopped
3-4 leeks (depending on their size), sliced
1 pound Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
Now that I know how darn easy it is to make homemade fudge, I like experimenting and making my own at home when the mood strikes me. This recipe for Homemade Chocolate Peanut Fudge uses just 5 ingredients and can be made with ingredients you might already have in your home!
I used peanuts in the below recipe, but really any nut you enjoy can be substituted in (walnuts would be the more traditional choice).
Ingredients:
1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into smaller pieces
Remember my insane beet purchase? I have finally cooked through ALL of the beets I bought! My last beet-filled meal was this Beet Kale and Goat Cheese Salad with Candied Walnuts, and boy, did I end my beet week on a high note. I had made a larger version (this recipe multiplied by 3) for my godson’s baptism and got rave reviews so I wanted to share it here as well, and luckily it finished off my remaining beet supply!
Roasting the beets takes a bit of time, but past that, this comes together really quickly. You can certainly buy pre-cooked beets to make this a quick recipe, I won’t tell.
Ingredients:
Salad (serves 4):
4 medium-sized beets, peeled and cut into bite-sized pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup walnut halves and pieces
2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
salt, to taste
4 cups baby kale
1/2 cup microgreens
4 oz goat cheese, crumbled (omit to make dairy-free/vegan)
I recently bought a ridiculous number of beets. I honestly can’t even tell you what moved me to do so, but I was staring down a good dozen plus beets for a household of two.
We were able to use some up in this awesome recipe for Gemelli with Brown Butter Beet Sauce, and I used a lot up in a salad recipe I will post later, but I was still left with about half a dozen beets!
This recipe for Roasted Beets and Sweets is fairly straightforward, used up all my remaining beets, and works as a good Sunday afternoon recipe so you have an easy side ready for later in the week (or to eat immediately with Sunday dinner).
Ingredients (serves 6):
6 beets, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
4 sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into bite sized pieces
Note: I was sent a copy of The Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook, 100 Recipes to Nourish Body and Soul in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
It is most certainly Instant Pot season! Work (at least for me) is busy this time of year, and yet, I crave meals that take a while to cook! Using an Instant Pot saves me a ton of time, so I tend to use it a lot this time of year.
I was recently sent a copy of The Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook by Paula Shoyer, which is filled with so many delicious sounding Kosher-friendly dishes! With The Instant Pot Kosher Cookbook (paid link) (paid link), Shoyer has curated 100 irresistible recipes for every table that even a novice cook can prepare in minutes. It is filled with modern takes on classic Jewish recipes, with all recipes offering options to adapt for special diets and allergies.
As I was paging through, I kept going back to a recipe for Persian Lamb and Herb Stew. I love a good lamb recipe, so I was excited to try this out! I adapted the below recipe ever so slightly from the original in the cookbook.
Note: I received free cow cash from Crowd Cow to try some of their products in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.
This recipe for Wild Boar Tenderloin with Mushrooms is my first time using wild boar! According to the Crowd Cow website, “Wild Boar meat is similar to domestic pork, but the flavor has a slightly sweet and nutty taste to it, derived from their wild foraging diet. Our Wild Boar Tenderloins are lean with low fat content. Searing, roasting and grilling work well, but be careful not to overcook and dry out these lean cuts of meat.”
To enhance the flavor of the wild boar, I sautéed mushrooms in the same pan that I cooked the meat in with some onions and garlic.
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 (1 lb) wild boar tenderloin
salt and pepper, to taste
2 (8 oz) packages sliced mushrooms
1 teaspoon fresh thyme leaves, plus more for garnish
Note: I received free cow cash from Crowd Cow to try some of their products in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone. This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links
As much as I love a nice, quick weeknight meal option, I really enjoy when I have a free Saturday or Sunday to slow it down and make an oven-roasted dish, like this recipe for Boneless Leg of Lamb with Roasted Vegetables.
We’ve had some sporadic fall-like days in Philadelphia recently, so I made the most of a cooler weekend day and tapped into one of the proteins I received in my Crowd Cow box! Crowd Cow is a frozen protein delivery service that partners with ethical farms, fisheries and producers globally. They hand select independent farms to deliver the best craft meat from the farm to your table.
I was super impressed with the selection on Crowd Cow. They have staples like free-range chicken, pasture-raised beef, and sustainable seafood, but they also have some options that caught my eye, including wild boar, elk, bison, and, of course, boneless leg of lamb.
I will have future posts highlighting some of my other purchases, but today, it’s all about the boneless leg of lamb. Boneless leg of lamb is surprisingly easy to make, and doesn’t require a bunch of ingredients to make a great meal. This one-pot recipe cooks the leg of lamb, then tosses some vegetables in the drippings and roasts them to perfection!
From August to October, figs are in season. Whenever I come across fresh figs, I just have to buy them!
I’ve shared recipes in the past using this yummy ingredient — everything from adding it to a flatbread to turning it into a cookie filling to using it in a jam.
So today I figured I’d go a little simpler with a favorite appetizer: Bacon Wrapped Stuffed Figs!
This recipe is so easy, and uses just 4 ingredients. They are great for parties or just as an appetizer with friends.
Note: I was sent affiliate boxes from Sitka Salmon Share in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
I’m back with another post using my Sitka Salmon Share! This recipe for Pan Seared Lingcod with Wilted Spinach uses Lingcod, which is a lean white fish native to the North America west coast. It has a mild flavor similar to halibut or cod so it’s very versatile.
I adapted this recipe from one on Sitka Salmon Share’s recipe website. The original recipe served this over mashed potatoes, but I went with a cauliflower puree instead. (To read more about Sitka Salmon Shares and get a promo code for a premium share, check out my other post.)
Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
5 ounces spinach leaves
salt and pepper, to taste
2 (6 to 8 oz) pieces lingcod
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
1 small shallot, finely chopped
2 tablespoons chopped roasted pistachios
1 lemon, divided
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley, plus more for garnish
I absolutely love grilling. When given the chance, I’d choose it over cooking on the stovetop or in my oven. So I am thrilled that the weather is turning and I can get back to using my favorite appliance as much as possible. To start the season off, here’s a recipe for Grilled Salmon and Asparagus Foil Packets that tastes awesome and is super easy to clean up!
This recipe is also really adaptable, so I’ve given a couple of suggestions below, but definitely make this your own!
Ingredients (serves 2, multiply as needed):
2 (8 oz) salmon fillets
salt and pepper, to taste
1 lb asparagus, woody ends removed
2 tablespoons olive oil
one lemon, divided
1 teaspoon hot sauce or your favorite mustard
1 shallot, minced
3 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
One of my favorite quick dinner options is Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Sandwiches. I thought it might be nice to lighten it up a bit and make it into a one skillet (ok, one skillet plus a small pot) recipe. The result is this yummy recipe for Sausage and Peppers Quinoa Skillet.
This recipe for Sausage and Peppers Quinoa Skillet is made with sliced bratwurst, a bunch of colorful bell peppers, sautéed onions and quinoa and makes for a hearty and healthy dinner that can be made in less than 30 minutes!
I can’t tell you how many times my InstantPot has saved me for dinner. All too often, I’ll look up from my computer at 7pm and realize I haven’t even thought about what we are going to eat! This recipe for Pressure Cooker Chicken Adobo is one of those time-saver meals – it takes about 45 minutes to make. (For comparison, my Pork Belly Adobo recipe takes about 2 hours to make, not including time to let the meat marinate!)
This recipe comes together quickly but tastes like it’s been cooking all day. Ah, the magic of the InstantPot!
Ingredients:
4 drumsticks
4 chicken thighs
ground pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1 large onion, chopped
2/3 cup low sodium soy sauce (or coconut aminos to make gluten free)
I have quite a few St. Patrick’s Day recipes on here, but I thought it was worth adding in one decidedly untraditional and whimsical recipe: Lucky Charms Marshmallow Treats!
The treats are made the same way as other chewy bars from your childhood but have the extra fun of colorful marshmallows! To keep the marshmallows mostly intact, this recipe adds the marshmallows back in at the end.
Before I get to this awesome recipe for One Pot Jamaican Curry Chicken and Potatoes, I wanted to share with you a new addition to my kitchen that I’m madly in love with. One of the most important tools in any cook’s kitchen is a skillet. I use my skillets more than any other pot/pan in my house (although my Dutch oven gets a pretty good workout too). So having a good, sturdy, evenly cooking skillet is super important. I’m not exactly kind to my pots and pans… they get frequent use, and my husband isn’t the best at remembering not to use metal utensils on my non-stick cookware (sigh)… so having a skillet that can put up with some abuse is really important to me.
Which is why I’m so excited to share the 11-Inch NanoBond Skillet from Hestan Culinary, handcrafted in Italy. Not only is it beautiful, the NanoBond technology makes this skillet darn near indestructible.
Here are some of the features:
Molecular titanium bonds thousands of nanolayers for a lifetime of beauty
400% stronger than stainless steel
35% better heat conduction than aluminum-clad cookware
Additionally, the skillet is high-heat tolerant to 1050°F! So it’s perfect for searing meats or even cooking right on the grill.
To test out my new skillet, I wanted to make something I’ve been craving for a while now: Jamaican Curry Chicken and Potatoes.
This one pot (or skillet) wonder simmers chicken and potatoes in a seasoned curry sauce until the chicken is fall-off-the-bone tender.
Ingredients:
1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
2 pounds bone-in, skinless chicken thighs and drumsticks
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 large onion, sliced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 tablespoons Jamaican mild curry powder (I used Jamaican Choice)
1 habanero pepper
2 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes, washed and cut into bite sized pieces
Note: I was sent coupons from Nasoya in order to write this post. Opinions are mine alone.
Despite working from home for nearly a year now, I feel like I have less time to cook! I have a feeling I’m not alone, so I wanted to share a healthy, quick, and comforting recipe for a yummy Crunchy Noodle Salad that you can get on the dinner table in ~40 minutes.
This Crunchy Noodle Salad is made with glass noodles, sugar snap peas, shredded carrots, bell peppers, and crispy tofu tossed in a yummy peanut dressing, and can be served at room temperature or cold, so it makes for a great dinner-plus-leftovers option.
Don’t let the whole vegetarian/vegan/gluten-free part of this recipe throw you, it will fill you up! I this recipe uses Nasoya’s Organic Super Firm Tofu that delivers 15g of protein per serving to keep you full. Nasoya’s Organic Super Firm Tofu is also pre-pressed and drained so it’s perfect for quick dinners. Plus Nasoya’s Organic Super Firm Tofu is non-GMO project verified, USDA organic, cholesterol free, gluten free, and made with no preservatives. Nasoya is widely available in most grocery stores; I stopped into my local Shop Rite (it’s also available locally in Philly at Walmart Supercenters, Giant and Giant Heirloom Markets, The Fresh Grocer, and Wegmans), plus you can use their store locator to find which local grocers near you carry it.
Ingredients (serves 4):
6 oz glass noodles
8 oz sugar snap peas
1 package Nasoya Organic Super Firm Tofu, cubed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup carrots, shredded
1 red bell peppers, thinly sliced
2 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
1/4 cup tamari (or low sodium soy sauce if you don’t need this recipe to be gluten-free)
1 1/2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon honey
1 garlic clove, minced
1 teaspoon fresh ginger, grated
1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon roasted white sesame seeds, plus more for garnish
