Roast Chicken with Herbs

Every once in a while you have to improvise a recipe, and it turns out so amazing you're not sure if you want to make it the "right" way or not. This is one of those times. Originally, this recipe was for Cornish hens, but I was not very smart and forgot to buy them ahead of time. When I found myself at the grocery store on Christmas Eve, I was pretty sure I wasn't going to win. And while technically that is true since they had long since been sold out of Cornish hens, they did have whole chickens in stock, and this was an amazing recipe!

Lest I sound like I blowing my own horn too much, I should point out that this is not my recipe. It comes from Recipezazz.com. The only substantial change I made was to use a whole chicken, and then of course I had to adjust the roasting time since it was considerably larger.

Cheesy Ham and Egg Skillet

I'm going to go ahead and assume things at your house work the same way they do at mine around the holidays: You're making 847 things you don't normally make, your refrigerator is full of ingredients as well as dishes for a party and also leftovers from a party that already happened... and then you realize you have to make dinner for tonight. Sure, you can eat leftovers again, but it's Wednesday and you've eaten Sunday's leftovers twice already this week.

You need something different, but that still uses your leftovers. A site I used to frequent often refers to this as CORN (Clean Out Refrigerator Night), and that's as good a name as any. What I did with my party leftovers and odd bits and ends of extra ingredients this time around I decided to call Cheesy Ham and Egg Skillet. It ain't pretty, but it's tasty. And I got rid of three containers from the refrigerator with no leftovers afterward.

Cranberry and Crab Meat Appetizers

Every year for my family Christmas parties I try to make a new recipe, mostly because I subscribe to the philosophy that if you're going to experiment, you should do it when a larger number of people than normal have to eat what you've made. That way you get to know if it's good, but if it's awful then you aren't stuck with a huge quantity of something. This one surprised me in a really good way, and while I won't be making it often (it's a little spendy), I will definitely be making it again.

As always, when a recipe is not mine I'm stating that right up front. This one comes from GroupRecipes.com, and I thank them (and Kytigger, the chef who posted it) kindly!

Soft Molasses Spice Cookies

Several years ago I made these on a whim, and I have made them every single Christmas since. Because while they were not traditional holiday cookies when I was a kid, I really wish they had been. They're soft on the inside, slightly crunchy on the outside, just spicy enough to be interesting, and just sweet enough to balance the spice. This isn't my recipe (although I've modified it). I originally found it at Food.com, where the recipe introduction says it came from the Robin Hood Cookbook.

Kidney Bean Rabbit (Welsh Rarebit)

Comfort food is a state of mind as much as it is sustenance, and for me Kidney Bean Rabbit has always been pretty high on the list. I spent a ridiculous number of years trying to figure out why it was called "Rabbit" when there isn't any rabbit in it, and then finally discovered it was a mispronunciation of "Rarebit" that just stuck. At any rate, it's what we've always called it in my family.

It's not for everyone. You can't be a food snob. It uses Velveeta, and I know there are a great number of people who find that offensive. You know what I say to those people? Don't eat any. I'll take yours. ;)

Mexican Chili-Lime Peanuts

There's something about the holidays that makes me want nuts to snack on. I blame The Nutcracker, and the fact that the only time we ever got to have nuts when I was a kid was at Christmas. My sister and I once very carefully cracked each one open without breaking the shells (which mostly only worked with walnuts), then wrote out "fortunes" on slips of paper, stuck them inside, and glued the shells back together. Then they got mixed into the bowl and we waited until someone opened one, giggling hysterically the whole time. I love my family for pretending not to know and playing along!

OK, sorry... I'm back from my trip down memory lane. These are Mexican Chili-Lime Peanuts, and the recipe is not mine. I got it from Recipezazz.com.

Crab Deviled Eggs

Is it just me, or are deviled eggs pretty much the easiest, quickest thing you can throw together when you have to go to a potluck? They require all things I normally have in my house, and they're really hard to screw up (with the exception of peeling eggs, and we'll be talking more about that later on).

These are a little different, though. These are my Crab Deviled Eggs, and while I've often made them using fake crab, if you can afford real stuff (canned is fine), it's definitely worth it.

Chocolate Truffles

Today we're going to do something completely different! Usually when I post a recipe, it's because I think you should try it after I've made it. Today is different. Today I'm posting a recipe because I put a lot of time, effort, and money into it, but I'm warning you that you should probably just skip right on by. Tasty? Absolutely. A total PITA? You betcha! And entirely too expensive for the results.

Shall we? This is from How Sweet It Is, and it was originally called Pop Rocks Firecracker Truffles.

Grandma Brown's Gingerbread

About ten or so years ago, I was digging through that drawer in my kitchen. You know that drawer. The one that holds maybe three things you use occasionally, but mostly holds a bunch of stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else: kitchen gadgets that looked neat but don't work (but you can't throw away), recipes clipped from magazines, usually a few batteries of indeterminate strength... That drawer.

You know what I found in that drawer? My great-grandmother's gingerbread recipe.

Coconut Truffles

For the longest time, I was afraid to make truffles. They seemed entirely too hard, and I paid a ridiculous amount of money for them from Godiva because I thought that was best. Then a couple of years ago I decided to bite the bullet and make some, and I'll never pay for them again. Other than the ridiculous mess making them leaves behind, they're almost stupid easy. This particular recipe comes from Betty Crocker, so you know it can't be that big a challenge.

Cherry Pie Filling Bread

I really wish this was my recipe, but it's not. I make it every year because it's so darn fabulous I can hardly stand it. The original can be found at Food.com, although I've re-written the directions a bit so they make more sense to me. What I love about this one is it makes two loaves, and it freezes beautifully. Just wrap tightly in plastic wrap and then put it in a zip-top freezer bag. To thaw, just leave it out on the counter for a few hours.

Fire-and-Ice Nut Mix

For the first installment in the Great 2014 Holiday Baking Extravaganza, I chose Fire-and-Ice Nut Mix from Recipe.com. This obviously isn't my recipe, but it's a good one. The combination of sweet and hot and salty and crunchy made me want to sit down and eat the whole bowl myself as soon as it was done, but I was good and sealed it in a container to save for my family parties.

Maple-Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I was looking for a healthy side dish alternative for Thanksgiving, and then I ran across this fabulous recipe from Eating Well that seemed to really fill the bill. It was easy and tasty and will be in the rotation of side dishes I make all winter long, although it was perfect for a holiday as well.

Lemon and Rosemary Roast Chicken

This Thanksgiving I was surprised to learn I would be making a full holiday dinner with less than 48 hours' notice. Consequently, we ended up having a chicken rather than a turkey since the grocery store was out of fresh turkey and there was no way I could defrost a frozen one in time. So I searched online and found a couple of recipes that inspired me, but the end result was a new recipe of ≈mostly≈ my own.

Smoked Sausage and Artichoke Casserole

Winter is comfort food time, and where I come from comfort food most often appears in the form of a casserole. Since I'm still living without the benefit of a working stove top, my normal method of making a casserole doesn't work so I've been having to get creative. This particular combination was something I threw together on a whim, with happily tasty results.

Planning the Holiday Baking Extravaganza

I am WAY late this year! Usually I sit down at the end of September, first week in October at the latest, and figure out what I'll be putting on my trays for Christmas. However, I didn't get around to it until this past weekend, so now I'm scrambling a little bit. The advantage to figuring it out so early is you can catch some killer sales on things that will keep like flour and sugar. Not that there aren't still sales to be had, but I'm used to having much more time to plan.

Basic Herbs and Spices

Herbs and spices: Absolutely necessary, but almost obscenely expensive. What are you supposed to do? Many of us make do without certain things, or substitute others, or occasionally bite the bullet and go buy a $7.00 half-ounce jar of something. You know what I do? Buy basics at the dollar store, watch for sales, and this year I started growing my own herbs.

Ham and Spinach Quiche

The adventure of not having a working stove continues (and boy do I envy those of you who are allowed to call repair people for things in your houses!). Originally I intended this to be a frittata with bacon and onions, but lacking a means of frying I improvised with other things. It ended up being really tasty!

Even better, I got to make it at my leisure since I got out of work early today. But it should only be about 20 minutes' prep, which puts it at about an hour total. Still not bad even if you're trying to make it a weeknight dinner after work.

Marinated Beef Pot Roast

No matter how much I experiment with food, no matter how much I thoroughly enjoy trying new things, and no matter how much I love eating things in new and different combinations, one of my favourite things will always be an old-fashioned pot roast. I prefer beef, but I certainly won't turn my nose up at pork, or venison if I can get it.

This one is a variation on what I normally do. Instead of adding everything to the roaster at once I marinated the beef, and it's definitely a keeper! It came out moist, flavourful, and I could cut it with the side of my fork.

Cheesy Beefy Noodle Bake

If you follow my Facebook page, you're probably aware that I had a misadventure this week involving my stove burner exploding, so now my stove serves as a countertop until we can get the guy out to tell us what we need to replace. What I was in the process of making when it happened is the following recipe, although since I no longer have a working stove I had to radically alter the cooking methods I had planned.

However, this came out amazingly tasty! Not only that, but I was very pleasantly surprised to find out how low carb it ended up being, although the fat and cholesterol are a little higher than I'd prefer. Being that it was such an adventure to make, I'm calling low-carb comfort food a total win.

Salmon with Cucumbers and Dill

I love salmon. Even the cheap frozen stuff from the grocery store is good, but even better if someone has gone fishing and felt generous enough to share their catch. I got lucky with this batch, as a friend of my brother-in-law went fishing in the big lake and I ended up with an entire fillet (which came to probably six pounds of fish). Since I also had cucumbers from my sister's garden, I decided to try a recipe I'd had saved for a while.

Yes, this is another one that isn't mine. It actually comes from Diabetic Gourmet, but of course I made a couple of changes to it. Not many, though... it's pretty darn near perfect as written.

Need Snacks? How About Some Cheese & Crackers?

One of my all-time favourite snacks is cheese, or cheese spreads, on crackers. Whether you're watching a game, entertaining friends, having a family party, or just hanging out on your couch with a book or movie, cheese and crackers are an excellent choice. Instead of dedicating an entire blog post to each of these recipes, this time I'm combining several different spreads and a couple of types of homemade "crackers" into one post, because I often make them together.

Sunshine Broccoli Salad

Somehow I never got around to posting this one this summer, but there is pretty much never a bad time to make this salad. The combination of sweet, salty, and crunchy makes it a dish that rarely has leftovers no matter how big a bowl you make. I always put a smaller dish aside when I take this somewhere to ensure I end up with some.

As always, when a recipe is not mine, I'm stating that right up front. This comes from Sweet Tea and Cornbread, and I thank her most sincerely for sharing!

Sauteed Spinach with Garlic and Lemon

When I was a kid, I thought I hated spinach. Heck, maybe I did... kids are notoriously horrible judges of what constitutes good food. But all the way through high school I also didn't care for it, although I grew able to choke it down.

And then the day of revelation: My mother always served canned spinach, with white vinegar passed on the side. Canned spinach is, I am quite convinced, a food conceived in Hell. Fresh, on the other hand, is really quite amazing. Once I started cooking (or not) and eating fresh spinach, I couldn't get enough of it. Still can't.

Glazed Salmon

Do you ever have those days in the kitchen where you set out to make one thing, and then discover either you're out of a key ingredient or you simply grabbed the wrong thing, thus needing to make an entirely new plan? That happens to me more often than I care to admit, but so far I've won more often than not.

That's what happened with this salmon. I intended to make a soy-ginger-honey glaze. But that is not how it worked out.

Chicken and Bell Pepper Skillet

It never fails to amaze me how you can throw seemingly random things into a skillet, add some seasonings, and come up with a tasty dinner. When I put this one together, I had actually set out to make a frittata using some fresh spinach, but it turned out I didn't have nearly as many eggs as I thought and running to the store wasn't an option. Luckily, I was easily able to turn it into a sort of stir-fry instead.

Chocolate Whiskey Pie

Sometimes, you just have to indulge yourself. And sometimes, you can do that using boxed ingredients rather than making everything from scratch. I'm a big fan of easy desserts that are really tasty, and this one fills the bill quite nicely.

Soba Noodle Salad

This is one I actually made back in August, but somehow never got around to writing up here on the blog or posting on the Facebook page. It was really tasty, especially made with farmer's market bounty. I did use rice noodles instead of buckwheat soba noodles, and probably made a couple of other changes I hope I'll remember as I write this.

As always, when a recipe is not mine, I'm pointing that out right at the beginning. This came from Felicia Sullivan over at love.life.eat.

Bacon and Bell Pepper Frittata

Have I yet gone on about my love of quiches and frittatas on the blog yet? It seems like I've mentioned them at least once. But I do love them. There is something to be said for being able to throw virtually anything into a pan, pour beaten egg over it, and call it dinner. The best part is if you pay even a modicum of attention to your ingredients you really can't help but make it healthy.

This particular frittata (as defined by me, a frittata is typically done on the stove) came about because by the time I got to cook I had completely forgotten what my plans were for the bell peppers I bought several days earlier. They were starting to get a little wrinkly, so since I also had most of a package of bacon that wasn't spoken for, I decided to see what I could come up with.

Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

You know what amazes me? That there are people in the world who can't just walk into their kitchens and create something for dinner. I'm not claiming to be some fabulous chef by any stretch of the imagination, but I can usually come up with something nutritious and tasty for dinner even when I didn't have a plan going in. This one was born because the weather turned cold and I had two jars of turkey gravy that were gifted to me that were taking up space on my shelf.

But I realize there are people (perhaps some of you), who need a little push to get started, so that's why I started making what I call pantry stews, or casseroles, or whatever. Most of them use ingredients many of you probably have already, but if you don't have exactly what I used they're easily switched out for something you do or like better.

Braised Chicken Thighs with Mushrooms

Lately, it seems every week baby/mini bella mushrooms are on sale. I've always been a fan of portobella mushrooms, and with the little ones being the same price (or even cheaper) than white button mushrooms, it's been a little like Christmas around here. As always, when a recipe is not mine I'm stating that right up front. This one comes from the American Diabetes Association, and for once I actually made it as written without tweaking it at all. Weird, huh?

Spinach and Feta Pie

When I sat down to figure out what I wanted to put in this particular recipe, I was thinking just a traditional Greek feta cheese pie. Something simple for dinner that could work well for breakfast or lunch, nothing that involved. And then I started thinking of things I had that would be good in it. And more things. Eventually, I ended up making a 9x13-inch pan of what was really quite a fabulous tasting main dish, although I'm pretty sure it doesn't resemble anything anyone from Greece would recognize. You'll have that.

You Can't Get Enough of this Creamy Grape Salad

It always amazes me when something so simple is so ridiculously good, and my Creamy Grape Salad definitely fits the description. There's nothing hard about it, and the only time-consuming part is picking all the grapes off their stems and washing them. I make this constantly in the summer, and fairly often in winter as well. I've also used the dressing as a dip for fruit.

Peppers Aplenty? Make Some Fish With Bell Peppers!

As always, when the recipe isn't mine (even if I've tweaked it), I'm saying right up front that this recipe is not of my own creation. Instead, Nellie at From Garden to Soup Bowl originally posted this. I did make some changes because I felt it needed them, and the pictures are all mine, but the original recipe is not.

Moving on!

Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Stuffed with Spinach and Ricotta

First, I should point out that this is not my recipe, although I did make some minor changes to it. It comes from AllRecipes.com, but it was so incredible I simply had to share it with you. As with all recipes that are not my own, the pictures are mine, taken in my kitchen.

Southern-Style Green Beans

I used to spend a great deal of time on the Gulf Coast, and this recipe comes from a friend who told me her grandma always made them this way. It calls for canned beans, but I've used canned, frozen, and fresh with good results. If you're using fresh beans, you'll want to steam them to crisp-tender before going on with the recipe as written. This time, I used a 16 ounce bag of frozen cut green beans, thawed.

Eggplant Lasagna - A Tasty Diabetic Alternative to Pasta

One of the things I miss the most about this ultra-low carb, pre-diabetic diet is pasta. I am a big fan of pasta. It's not that we never have any, and I do use whole wheat or diabetic pastas on occasion, but with the restrictions my mother's doctor has given her it's hard to work it into a meal plan.

This lasagna uses slices of eggplant in place of noodles, and it's really pretty darn fabulous! I'm still tweaking it to make it work exactly how I picture it in my head, but this recipe (with a few adaptations) is the closest I've come thus far.

Another Way to Use Some of Your Farmer's Market Bonanza

Not that your fresh produce needs to come from a farmer's market, of course. It could be your own garden, a friend's garden, that co-worker who has a garden so huge they cannot possibly eat everything it grows, a CSA... even the grocery store, although that makes me sad. Fresh produce straight from the farm or garden has a taste that grocery store produce, no matter how they try to hype it as organic, fresh, local, or what-have-you, simply cannot match. Its flavour bursts on your tongue like a waterfall of tastiness.

What To Do With an Abundance of Fresh Vegetables?

So you've been to the farmer's market, and you could not resist buying some of everything because it's so cheap! And so good! And so fresh! And now you're looking at a mountain of fresh produce, knowing full well it will be impossible to eat all of it before it goes bad.

Before you resign yourself to having paid good money for compost, why not consider freezing vegetables for later use? I get it if you don't want to can... I am not a canner, never have been and most likely never will be. But freezing? I can freeze stuff!

Take Advantage of Summer Bounty with a Farmstand Strata

About an hour away from my house is the best farmer's market I've ever had the great pleasure of shopping. Everything in this recipe could easily have come from there, although since I already owned bacon, eggs, sour cream, and cheese I didn't buy them. If you've got a farmer's market near you (and I know you do), this should be an easy way to simultaneously eat healthy, eat local, and enjoy good food.

Carbohydrates and Hidden Sugar and Dieting, Oh My!

As you know, I cook for a pre-diabetic. Which means I've had to learn a whole new way of thinking about food, and carbs in particular. If you're confused, here's a quick definition that helps me keep in mind what I should and should not be serving, along with some ideas on how to get the "good" carbs into your diet.

Healthy carbs (sometimes known as good carbs) include whole grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. Healthy carbs are digested slowly, helping you feel full longer and keeping blood sugar and insulin levels stable.

Unhealthy carbs (or bad carbs) are foods such as white flour, refined sugar, and white rice that have been stripped of all bran, fiber, and nutrients. Unhealthy carbs digest quickly and cause spikes in blood sugar levels and energy.

Simple Skillet Dinners - Quick, Easy, and Adaptable

One of the things I love best about summertime is the abundance of fresh, locally-grown vegetables. With a sense of adventure and access to a variety of seasonings, you can toss pretty much anything in a skillet and come up with a dinner that's healthy, tasty, colourful, and doesn't break the bank.

Chocolate "Lasagna": Your New Favourite No-Bake Dessert

Don't let the name fool you; this "lasagna" contains no pasta, just layers. But it's tasty and easy and I've rarely had any left no matter where I've taken it. Using a food processor makes it a lot easier, but it can all be done by hand if you have to.

Bacon, Sausage and Potato Frittata Squares

Frittata, quiche, crustless quiches...I honestly don't know the difference between the three, although I know there is one. I've even looked it up, but I still am unclear since everyone seems to have their own idea. Here's how I look at it: Quiche is like pie, with a crust. Crustless quiche is like pie, without a crust (and in my world always baked in a glass pie plate). Frittatas are usually done on the stove, but if they're baked then they are done in a square pan.

Is that an official definition? Not even a little. I make stuff up all the time.

At any rate, this is one I made up as I went along based on several odds and ends of things in my kitchen that needed to be used up or tossed. It would be good with a mixture of cheeses (pepper jack would be excellent), or with the addition of some bell peppers or mushrooms. But since I didn't have any of those things, they're not in this recipe. That's how I roll. Everything in this is an item I pretty much always have on-hand.

Take Some Vermicelli Salad to Your Next Picnic

In the summertime, we live on salads. The trouble is, having to make everything ultra-low carb means a lot of salads are out. However, if I plan well, I can sometimes slip a pasta or potato salad in here and there. This was my experiment to see if I could figure out a way to combat the thing where pasta salad soaks up the dressing and gets dry, and it actually worked! I never had to add more mayonnaise, even three days later as we were eating the last bit of it.

Crab-Stuffed Cucumbers Are Perfect For Summer

I love seafood, more than I probably should. Even if it's the fake kind (which is all pollock, if I'm not mistaken) it can be good, and it's certainly a lot cheaper than buying real seafood, especially if you don't live on a coast or in a big city. This recipe originally came from (I believe) Dlife.com, but I had to tweak it a great deal to make it taste how we wanted it to.

What I love about these is you can do them as an appetizer, or you can do them as a main dish. I even once seeded and diced the cucumber, then mixed it in with the crab.

Basic Pantry Items

When I first started the Facebook page, I was asked for some ideas of foods to keep on-hand that could always result in a meal even on short notice without a plan. Obviously everyone's taste is different, but here are some things I always keep on the shelf or in the freezer. Putting them together in various combinations with different herbs and spices often results in a new recipe, made with things I already own.

Why Not Start a Blog? All the Cool Kids Are Doing It!

There really is no reason for me to have put this off as long as I have, except sheer laziness. But, simply posting photos with attached recipes on Facebook has started to become cumbersome (especially when sharing to other pages), so I figured I should do something about it. Most of the recipes you'll see here for a while will have already been posted on my Facebook page as I started it almost a year ago, but I'll also be adding new things as well. I figure this will also be a better platform for longer posts about various things as well.