Greek Salads and Light Summer Sides

Have I ever told you about the time I walked into the dining room and found my daughter sitting at the table digging into a block of feta cheese like it was an apple?

Because that happened once- and she will never live it down.  :-)

That child, my far-less-than-before-but-nevertheless-picky eater, loves feta.

And I love it when either one of my kids expands their culinary comfort zone, so I'm all for it.

Which means that I often find myself making recipes that call for feta- and ensuring that there's a little left over in the fridge for her.

You know...maybe less than an apple-sized brick but enough to make her happy.

We've reached a point where she will eat tomatoes, peppers, and onions as long as they're cooked into something but we're still working on tolerating them in their natural state.  I decided to push her limits a little with My Big Fat Greek Salad.  Not only does it have her favorite cheese but two kinds of olives- and that child would eat an entire jar of olives if given the opportunity!

Sausage Balls and the Perfect Recipe

I was 22 when I ate my first sausage ball.

That's right- I spent over two decades of my life completely oblivious to these fantastic little balls of goodness that have been ever-present at every southern get-together I have attended in the intervening years.

That's 22 years of my life I'll just never recover.

Ugh.  That's a hard fact to swallow.

The first time I lived anywhere outside of California I was stationed in Mississippi- which was an eye-opening experience for sure.

I'll lead with the fact that Mississippi is lush and green and beautiful.

I'll close with the fact that Mississippi has the biggest bugs I've ever encountered and more means of preparing catfish than I'd ever considered.

(FYI- I despise catfish.)

So anyway, first I spent four years in Mississippi, then I moved to Tennessee.

There simply isn't a gathering or holiday that doesn't include the ubiquitous sausage ball.

Magic Cheeses and Vanishing Summers

I don't know that I've ever had a summer fly by quite as quickly as this one.

It feels like in the past, at least in the years that I've been a stay-at-home parent, the season has slowly meandered around us, enveloping the kids and I in it's warm summer magic.  Leisurely mornings, fun adventures, afternoons spent with the heat of the sun on our skin offset by cool water of the pool followed by lunches inhaled by wet-haired, freckle-skinned children.

Not this summer.

Don't get me wrong, it's been a great summer full of travel adventures.

As a family we've loaded up my car and driven through five states.  We've visited aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, first cousins once removed, brother-in-laws, sister-in-laws, and all manner of family pets.

Delicious Fried Foods and Bad Photos

So, I have something to apologize for- I have several recipes to share with you that have less-than-stellar pictures to go with them.

Sorry about that.

Dinner was ready, the lighting wasn't great, and my family was hungry so I rushed through them.

Oops!

I can be a bit of a perfectionist about things sometimes and it really irks me to share pictures that stink.

Just rest assured that the recipes they accompany do not stink.

In fact, they're pretty wonderful.

So just hang in there with me for a few posts, ok?

Sunny Days and Loaded Salads

There's something about warm, beautiful weather that makes me want to live outside.

I want to soak up the sun, bask in it, feel it warming my face and arms.

I do not mind the heat.  Not one bit.

I absolutely drool over those beautiful, built-in outdoor kitchens one encounters on Pinterest and dream of warm days spent in outdoor living spaces.

One day.

While I don't have my dreamy outdoor kitchen situation quite yet (lets get me through school before we jump into another house- at least that's what I keep telling my husband...) I am definitely all for grilling out and fun summer-worthy meals as often as possible when it's as beautiful out as it has been lately.

After church on Sunday we came home and I got to work prepping side dishes while my husband got the grill going for the meat I had marinating.

One might think I get tired of trying new salad recipes.

One would be wrong.  :-)

Warm Days and Fun Salads

I can't overstate the fact that I love side dishes.

So much.

Bring on that (often) carb-y goodness!

I want the pasta salads, the potato salads, and the grain salads.

I want the beans, the rolls, and everything else that you can fit on my plate.

My family might be dreaming of all of the grilled meats that summer barbecues bring, but me?

It's all about the sides.

I don't remember what initially drew my attention to this recipe, but as soon as I saw it I knew that I needed to make it.  It's absolutely perfect for warm summer days, so light and refreshing.  In all honestly I had it for lunch yesterday, so it's definitely capable of holding it's own as a meal in and of itself, however I think it would also hold up to some grilled chicken or salmon if you don't have vegetarian leanings.

Mother's Day and Macaroni Salad

Life is good, folks.

So good.

After taking an incredibly long break from school I'm now two semesters in and going strong.

I can't tell you how much I'm loving it.

My husband laughed at me the other day when I let it slip that I was sad the semester was coming to a close and I wouldn't have class over the summer.

Things I've learned so far on my adventure:

1) I'm still an overachiever.

2) I'd forgotten how much I love writing...but I love writing.

3) My kids are wonderful, amazing, people who both seem to like that I'm in school now too

4) I do not handle a cluttered house or lack of time to cook dinner well.  Working on that.

Happy New Year and Trying New Things

Happy New Year!

We had our fun early last night with rounds of Beanboozled and lots of laughter on a chilly evening.  My daughter's friend spent the night, and in true pre-teen fashion they huddled away together upstairs, laughter spilling from her room for hours.  My younger one stayed downstairs with us, an uncontainable ball of energy zooming around the house as he anticipated the coming of the new year.  Though I'd already made an early dinner, as the night wore on I decided to order a pizza for the kids and as it arrived we'd just bundled up and headed outside so they could (briefly) frolic in a short-lived flurry of snow.

The young pizza guy took in the joyful, frenetic scene and just laughed as I met him at his car.

It's about the little moments, though, right?

Crab Rangoon and Insatiable Cravings

Sometimes I get a craving for Chinese food.

No...not the kind from a nice sit-down restaurant.

Not that (delicious) Asian Orange Chicken I make.

Nope.

It's that super-Americanized, incredibly gluttonous, buffet-style Chinese food I crave.

Sesame chicken.

Egg rolls.

Beef and broccoli.

Fried rice.

Those super thin rice noodles.

A little bit of everything...

And crab rangoon dipped in gobs of sweet and sour sauce in the most unnatural shade of red possible.

That's a must.

It's not a craving I indulge in often, not at all.

However when the craving hits, it hits hard.

Cranberry Orange Sauced Sweet Potatoes and A Break From School

It's incredibly hard to believe that in the past four months I've only found time to post once.

That's crazy.  Honestly, I've just been incredibly busy with school and these little posts have had to take a bit of a back burner.

I've been absolutely itching to cook, you just have no idea!

I've had an ever-growing list of recipes I want to try over the course of this semester and I'm so excited to have gotten through finals so that I can finally tackle some of them.

The other day it was cold, gray, and rainy- perfect weather for staying in pajamas and having fun in the kitchen.  One of the first recipes I tried out was for Cranberry Sauced Sweet Potatoes.

It just seemed kind of fitting given the holiday season and all.

I don't know about you, but I love cranberries.

Like love.

'Tis The Season For Fresh Fruit & Salad With Peaches

We've been going through a lot of fresh fruit around here lately!

My countertop has been overflowing with pineapple, watermelon, mangoes, cherries, grapes, plums, dragonfruit, peaches...pretty much whatever I can get my hands on!

I mean seriously...$1.48/lb for cherries?

Uh, yes.
I think I'll take two giant bag-fulls and not even worry about weighing them at the store- I've been eating my weight in cherries lately with that kind of markdown from their normal prices!

 My husband has been stuck on peaches.

I love peaches too (try the Molasses Grilled Peaches I shared last summer- SO GOOD!), but he's been really into them this year.  He tends to forget that they're sitting there on the counter and doesn't really just slice one up to eat it, but he LOVES it when I cook with them, like when I made that Grilled Prosciutto and Peach Flatbread Pizza recently.

Mexican Street Corn Pasta Salad

Generally speaking, side dishes are my favorite part of a meal.

Thanksgiving?

I couldn't care less about the turkey!  Nope, I'll be loading up on the stuffing, potatoes, rolls, cranberry sauce, and all of the other goodness.

Grilling out?

I might eat a hot dog or burger, but I'll definitely be leaving the steaks and such to my carnivorous family.  Show me the sides!

A few nights ago I was planning dinner.  I already knew that I was going to be serving those Carne Asada Enchiladas that I wrote about but I wanted to serve something alongside them that was more interesting than rice and beans, you know?  Don't get me wrong, I serve those often when doing Mexican, but I wanted to do something fun.

Mandarin Teriyaki Pasta Salad

Here I sit, at a little after nine in the morning on a balmy July Wednesday, forcing myself to recover from a late night of fireworks and festivities, as my son energetically runs circles around me.

No really.

Like actual circles around the couch.

So.  Much.  Energy.

My daughter has reached the age where she will pretty much stay in bed until I force her to join the world of the living, and today I'm kind of ok with that.

I'm old.  Late nights never used to take a toll like this!

So here I sit.

Optimistically decked out in my workout clothes, as I know that the elliptical should be my next stop.

I'm not going to lie, though...I might be parked on this couch for a bit longer.

Greek Orzo Salad and Warm Days Ahead

Can you believe that it's almost summer?
School's almost out, the weather is beautiful, and I'm ready for a few months of fun with the kids full of pool days and adventures.

As much as I love bundling up and being cozy in fall and winter, there's something about summer that just makes my soul sing.  I adore the feeling of the warm sun on my (sunscreen coated) skin.  I love spending time with my kids that doesn't involve packing school lunches and homework.  I love spending time with friends and family enjoying each other's company while my husband grills.

Which of course, is just another excuse for me to cook!

Roasted Beets 'n' Sweets Are Fall On A Fork

I have always always always hated sweet potatoes.

No sweet potatoes covered in marshmallows at Thanksgiving.

No sweet potato fries.

No sweet potato pies.

Just no sweet potatoes in general.

 Well...times they are a changing...my tastes seem to have matured a bit over the past year or so.

I think it was my discovery of the amazing adobo arequipeño at what was (until it closed- sob!) my favorite restaurant that got me to give sweet potatoes another chance.  It was a rich pork stew served on top of a sweet potato mash.  AMAZING.  I am so so so sad that place closed!

Anyway, my eyes were opened.

I've been trying out different sweet potato dishes (sweet potato and black bean burritos anyone?) a lot lately.  I think I've come to the conclusion that I just don't like sweet sweet potatoes.

I'm definitely down with the savory.

Did you know that mashed sweet potatoes are amazing with cheddar in a grilled cheese sandwich?

Dude.  Delicious.

Asian Peanut Chicken Fried Rice

I have this set of Asian dishes I've been holding on to for 16 years now.

They're totally impractical- the plates are small, and how often does the average person use Asian soup spoons and cute little dipping sauce bowls?

My guess is almost never.

Yet for 16 years every time I have moved I've dutifully bubble wrapped those babies and found an out of the way kitchen cabinet in which to tuck them for those rare occasions on which they're a practical choice.  They have followed me everywhere.

I always get a little excited when the opportunity to use them presents itself- both because they're fun to use and because I love using them in food photography.  Look back at almost any Asian dish I've written about over the past four years and more often than not you'll see those white dishes with the blue design on them somewhere underneath the food.

They're just fun, you know?

I made this Asian Peanut Chicken Fried Rice the other day, and of course I pulled out my favorite dishes!

Ok, so I have a bit of a story to tell you about this dish.

Not Quite Peruvian Pickled Veggies

I stumbled across the most amazing restaurant about a year ago.  It's Peruvian- and lets be honest, I know absolutely nothing about Peruvian food, so I have no idea how authentic it is. What I do know is that the food this place serves is seriously up there with the best food I've ever eaten in my life.  

I've tried several of the appetizers there- causa limeña, yuca, plantains, etc.  I've had a delicious soup with quinoa.  I've tried my husband's chicken with passion fruit.  However I have only ordered one entree myself.  I'm sure the entire menu is delicious and I'm missing out on loads of good food but I just can't help myself, I have to order it every time we go- that adobo arequipeño is just too good to miss out on.  I can't imagine how anything could possibly be better than that dish!  Ohmygoodness it's tasty.  Pork stew over white rice and sweet potatoes...it's perfection.  Sitting there on the plate next to all of this goodness is a little pile of pickled red onions called Salsa Criolla.

When I saw a recipe for salsa criolla I knew I had to try it.

Pasta Salad Loaded With The Good Stuff

This is one of those posts I feel I need to apologize for before I even begin- the pictures are awful.

Sorry.

Every once in awhile there's a dish I really want to share with you but I'm too tired or busy to play with lighting and all of that and I just zip through it.  Just know that this salad is tasty enough that I wanted to share it with you despite how ugly these pictures are!

Several years ago-

*sigh*

ok, more than several years ago- twelve years ago, I think it was.  I'm getting old...

Anyway, back when I was young I was a bridesmaid in my friend's wedding.  She and I were stationed together in the Air Force in Columbus, MS- she was from just outside of Tuscaloosa- an hour away- so I got to know her family and friends pretty well.  She enlisted hoping to see the world and they pretty much sent her right back home, go figure!

Caprese Farro Salads and Endless Grains

Well guys, I still have a ridiculous number of weird grains in my pantry.  Ok, weird grains might not really be a fair description- more like wonderful and underutilized grains.

I've tried to cook my way through them (thank goodness they have an insane shelf life!) but no matter how many ways I find to use them they're still there.  Have you ever been to a restaurant and been served a ginormous salad and no matter how much you eat it doesn't seem like you've made a dent?

No...that's just me?  Ok, well it's just like that.  I cook and cook and cook and cook and it's like freaking Strega Nona's pot in there.  Never-ending grains.

Thankfully- and if you've been following along with my postings for any amount of time you know this already- I'm a bit obsessed with interesting side dishes.  I just love mixing things up and trying out new ways to accompany meals, and fun new grains are always a great addition.  I've already written about a delicious Farro Salad with Asparagus and Parmesan and Barley Lime Fiesta Salad, so it's pretty obvious that I'm a fan of grain salads.  When I worked with Swanson a few months ago and was asked to create a recipe using their broth I knew that I was going to get a little creative and make- yet another- yummy salad and work on using up some of those grains in the pantry!

Tortellini Salad with Grilled Tomato Vinaigrette

Pretty much every weekend means family time, a smoky grill, and fun foods around here.

Throw in a blue sky and some time in the pool and I'm a seriously happy lady!

I so look forward to cooking for the weekends.  I know I keep saying it...but I love sides.  That's where I have my fun when it comes to feeding people during the summer.  I'm always on the lookout for fun new salads, and the other day I came across an interesting-sounding recipe for Tortellini Salad with Grilled Tomato Vinaigrette and knew I had to give it a try.

Honestly, until I made (and promptly fell in love with) the Broccoli and Tortellini Salad I wrote about last year it had never occurred to me to use tortellini in a pasta salad.  I was definitely missing out, because it's fabulous.  It makes for a heartier salad and you get the benefit of the flavor of the cheesy tortellini filling as well.

No going back.  I find myself searching out tortellini salad recipes now!