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You can probably tell from reading this blog that I have a pretty informal writing style, and that if you were to talk to me in person, I would sound…well, pretty much the same. I don’t really do formulaic blog posts (or, if I do, they’re not intentional), and whenever I don’t feel like [...]
Wah wah wah wah. You’ve seen the title of this post, so do you really care what I’m writing here? I mean…prosciutto. Lamb. Burgers. (And also Basil! Sun-dried Tomatoes! Romano!) Given my background, I’m obviously a huge fan of lamb, but I reeeeally love it in burger form. It just can’t be beat. Unless you [...]
If you’ve been around here much, you know that we’re all huge asparagus fans. As soon as it might possibly, maybe, sort of be in season, we pick up a bunch (or 3). And, if you really pay attention around here, then you might also know that we eat tons of bulgur. It’s one of [...]
I’m not the world’s biggest seafood fan, but I’ve come a long way. Technically, I can say that I’ve “always” liked shrimp, but the shrimp I liked as a child was the popcorn variety – aka, lots of oil and breading, very little actual shrimp. These days, while I still don’t eat fish all [...]
When we were eating these for the first time and talking about all of the things inside them, Zachary started joking that there was chicken, broccoli, and tables and chairs in the muffins, too. Not so much, but there definitely is a lot of stuff in there! I’ve been wanting to make morning glory muffins for [...]
Parenting a 3 year old is hard work. Sometimes it takes every ounce in your being not to completely flip out, and other times it takes every ounce in your being not to laugh hysterically at their ridiculous antics. How else can you get through things like your kid blowing a full blown tantrum when [...]
This is a test.
I mentioned before that I had some odd cravings during my pregnancy, and baked spaghetti was one of them. What made it especially odd is that up until that point, I’d only had it once in my life. Even stranger, at the height of this craving, we visited my in-laws and my mother-in-law made baked spaghetti [...]
I recently went dairy-free, in an effort to see if a dairy sensitivity might be causing a few issues Ian seems to be having. I don’t think I need to tell you that eliminating dairy is tough – I mean, eliminating most dairy is one thing, but living without cheese is quite another. The jury [...]
I recently got Melissa Clark’s cookbook Cook This Now. Not only are the recipes organized seasonally, but they’re listed by month, too. I love this approach. I always say I wish I had the foresight to organize my saved recipes on Reader or Pinterest by season because it would make it so much easier those nights [...]
I don’t make waffles very often. Though I like them, I always have issues with my waffle iron and, in general, I just find pancakes a little easier (or, at least, a little less messy since I inevitably overfill the waffle maker and have batter pouring out of the sides…). I’ve made some waffle recipes [...]
A few weeks back, I had a really proud mom moment when we were eating dinner and my not-yet-three-year-old said, “Mom, is this a sundried tomato?” Add to that him telling me he ate all his prosciutto a few weeks later without my reminding him what it was called, and I was pretty much beaming. [...]
We try to eat meatless 1-2 times per week but admittedly, I have a really hard time getting past pasta on those nights. Not only because it seems that a lot of the vegetarian recipes I come across are pasta-based, but also because I tend to already have a pasta dish on the menu once [...]
Burgers are always a hit in this house. Not only are they endlessly adaptable, but they’re incredibly quick to make, which is a working mom’s (or at least this working mom’s) priority. In fact, today is Zachary’s birthday (how did my kid turn THREE?) and he asked for burgers for dinner, which is sort of unexpected [...]
During my pregnancy, I craved sugar cookies like a mad woman. I pretty much never bought them, but any opportunity to make them, I did. When it came time to whipping up a batch of cookies for Santa, my mind immediately went to a simple sugar cookie—huge emphasis on simple. These were really easy to [...]
On March 20—my due date—Ian Gregory was born! He was 8 lbs. even and 20.5″ long (his big brother was 8 lbs. 1 oz and 20.5″ so they were so close!). I think a lot of people were surprised he wasn’t a girl. :) We’re all doing really well and adjusting to being a family [...]
Macaroni and cheese is one of my ultimate comfort foods. We don’t eat it very often because it’s really not terribly good for you, but every once in a while, you just have to have some macaroni and cheese. Homemade macaroni and cheese is pretty easy and straightforward, but it can take a while and, depending [...]
Last week, we all got home at the same time and there was a box addressed to me in our foyer. Tom asked, “Now what did you order from Amazon?” I thought for a minute and couldn’t remember, but figured it probably was from Amazon because…well, yeah. But oh no, it was so much better. It [...]
I’ve had a lamb shoulder roast in my freezer from the good people at Lava Lake Lamb, but I kept finding myself short on time during the weekends to give it the slow-cooked treatment in the oven. This week, I finally gave it the slow-cooked treatment – in the crockpot – so I didn’t [...]
This blog has been in existence for six Pi days (3/14, for those of you not in the know) now. And every single year in maybe January, I tell myself, “Oh yeah, I should make a pie to post on Pi day this year!” And then every single year on March 14th, I’m scrolling through my reader [...]
Because I’m a food blogger, it’s pertinent that I bring the occasional quinoa dish to your attention. After all, who would take me seriously without some posts about this popular supergrain (that’s not actually a grain)? But, really, we have been fans of quinoa for a while now and even though it’s not necessarily the [...]
I mentioned in my last post that casseroles are pretty great. The only thing greater than a casserole? One that’s topped with biscuits. This recipe caught my eye immediately. I will say “polenta” cobbler is a bit of a misnomer to me personally, because I feel there isn’t quite enough cornmeal in the biscuits [...]
As a food blogger, lover of food, and occasional food snob, it may be taboo to say this—but I love casseroles. They’re homey, they’re easy to prep, they taste good, and they make great leftovers. They can also be great in adapting recipes for people who can be lazy (definitely referring to myself here); [...]
Ever since making the sausage-cheese biscuits, I’ve been craving biscuits and gravy like crazy. I’d never eaten biscuits and gravy until I was in my early-ish twenties. Tom frequently proclaimed his love for this meal, and frankly, I always thought it sounded really weird and it just didn’t appeal to me. But, after trying it [...]
I almost didn’t post this lasagna because I took precisely zero good pictures of it, but then I figured it might be way too long before you have this lasagna in your life. I know I’m already sad that I didn’t make like 3 batches of it to freeze because at this point in [...]
I’ve been making this recipe for chicken and pancetta patties for years now. It was only the second recipe from Nigel Slater’s Kitchen Diaries I tried the year I decided to cook a recipe each month from the book, and by the end, it was still one of our favorites. Tom especially has always loved these, [...]
Egg rolls are sort of a magical thing. They take things that aren’t terribly exciting on their own, like shredded vegetables, and make them fabulous. Thanks, in large part, to some hot oil. :) I’m a big egg roll fan. One of our favorite Chinese delivery places comes with free egg rolls if you spend a [...]
I’ve started taking a shine to chocolate cookies lately, which is sort of weird given that I’ve never been a huge fan. By that, I mostly mean a chocolate base – anything mixed or topped with chocolate has pretty much always been fair game. Something that also makes chocolate cookies appealing? When they have the word “brownie” [...]
Sometimes, I wonder if my taste buds have developed an immunity to garlic because I eat it so often. I always tend to double the amount of garlic in a recipe and I find that “too garlicky” is not a phrase in my lexicon (much like “too sweet”). I’ve been meaning to make this [...]
Our “mild” winter took a turn recently to subzero temps that have me wondering, once again, why I live in the Midwest. And yes, I know, it’s winter in Chicago so I shouldn’t expect mild temperatures to begin with, but the teasing is so not cool. Also not cool? A windchill temp of -19. [...]
For the longest time, I (thought I) didn’t like sweet potatoes. It really had more to do with common preparations—like dousing them in everything from brown sugar to cinnamon to marshmallows—that turned me off. When made savory, I actually love sweet potatoes, and that probably holds truest in Tex-Mex type meals. I am also a [...]
I’d like to say I’m wise for my age but, really, the only thing “old” about me (other than my early bedtime) is my memory. It’s awful. Truly, truly awful. And if it weren’t bad enough to begin with, pregnancy makes it even worse. I swear, pregnancy brain is a real thing, and it’s terrible. [...]
These popped into my Reader recently, and got made very quickly—quite the feat for most recipes I save (sadly). Whenever a recipe takes less than 20 minutes to make from start to finish, I’m down. Plus, anything with hot peppers or giardiniera catches my attention. I mean, giardiniera is pretty much the only acceptable [...]
There were many great things about our first Christmas morning at home, and these cinnamon rolls were high on that list. I’d never made cinnamon rolls from scratch before and I was really excited to give them a try. Although I usually have success with yeast doughs, there are still times I don’t—and in [...]
This soup has definitely made its way around the blogosphere (and Pinterest). I debated posting it, assuming you’ve already seen it, but we really loved this soup so I not only wanted to share it with you in case you hadn’t seen it, but also make sure it’s in my archives, so I remember to make it [...]
This Christmas, for the first time in over 10 years, I woke up in my own bed. It was glorious. We still had to do a lot of traveling for the holidays (including a trip to Michigan in a snowstorm that took over 9 hours), but I was happy to finally begin Christmas traditions [...]
If you follow my friend Josie’s blog, Pink Parsley (which you should!), then you know she’s expecting twins pretty much any day now. I really couldn’t be happier for her, and I can’t wait to see pictures of her new baby boys. Josie is a great mom, so I have no doubts she will [...]
It’s taken me quite a while to board the ground turkey train. Even as a healthy eater, ground turkey just never appealed to me in the slightest. I’m not even all that crazy about the big roasted bird, so it makes sense that I wouldn’t go gaga over a ground version. Plus, ground sirloin is [...]
Happy (early) New Year! I hope you enjoyed the holidays and are having a fun time gearing up for 2013. Today, I’m really excited that Zachary gets to help with making our traditional new year’s bread/cake—the vasilopita—for the first time! By this time next year, we’ll have to cut an extra slice for kiddo #2! [...]
I don’t get a lot of pregnancy cravings (more like justifications for making poor food choices…) but when I do, they’re pretty terrible. And I don’t necessarily mean terrible as in unhealthy, I mean terrible as in being really processed. With both pregnancies, I started wanting “pistachio salad” like, immediately (total lol that it’s called a salad). [...]
Since I’m Greek, it’s no surprise I love lamb. I grew up on it, eating it easily once a week (ah, the good ol’ days) and my love for it remains (though I now prefer it much less done than most Greeks :)) I’ve had Lava Lake Lamb quite a few times in the past, [...]
Warning: This soup is dangerous. So, yeah. If you need another reason to move from canned beans to dried, I’m here to give you one. I was making this soup on a Sunday evening when I managed to slice my thumb on a can lid that wouldn’t open fully. I wasn’t sure if I needed [...]
I find that pork chops are one cut of meat that I’m not terribly creative with. I typically just cook them on the stovetop, make a quick pan sauce, and serve. So, whenever I find an easy but different pork chop recipe, I’m always interested in trying it. This recipe brines the pork chops, [...]
It’s no secret that we are a Mexican food loving family. The word “quesadilla” entered Zachary’s vocabulary very early on, and he continues to be extremely excited on quesadilla and taco nights. Can’t say I blame him. These tacos are obviously a bit different than your usual ones, but we all really liked them. A quick and crispy [...]
I started this blog mainly for myself, as a repository of recipes, especially Greek ones since everyone knows Greek people don’t use recipes. And while I love trying new recipes and blogging about them, the absolute best part of the whole blogging experience for me has been the friendships I’ve made over the years. [...]
I came across these cookies in Courtney’s blog a while back, and they drew me in immediately. I’m a huge fan of using almonds in pretty much anything, and any baking recipe that has 5 ingredients and uses minimal effort is pretty much my ultimate baking recipe. We were actually headed to my in-laws’ the [...]
I meal plan on Fridays. And every Thursday or Friday, I ask Tom what to add to the menu. And almost every Friday, I plan the whole menu by myself, anyway, because he has no suggestions. A couple weeks ago, though, Tom did have a suggestion (a couple, in fact) and the first thing on [...]
Oh, soups and stews, how I love thee. Every year, I make all my staple soups and manage to try another 5-10 varieties, too. Soups are so easy to make, and the combinations really are endless. Plus, ones like these can be on the table in 30 minutes or less. Works for me! This is [...]
I’m not a cookbook fiend. I own a few, sure, but my collection pales in comparison to most food bloggers and people who cook on a regular basis. It’s weird, because I have enough other books to open a small library, but I’ve never been a big cookbook collector. That said, every once in a [...]
Chicken Parmesan is one of my go-to meals when we don’t have much around the house or I haven’t actually planned for a meal. Most of the time, I have the ingredients to make it, or at least enough to make a pretty close approximation. Plus, it’s quick, tasty, and you can serve it [...]
