Kale Frittata

 

I had a bunch of kale and since it is much too hot to make any of my usual kale dishes, zuppa toscana and/or kale and cheese casserole, I decided to make this recipe I found for a delicious kale frittata. I made it ahead of time and ate it for lunch for a couple days in a row, it was quite tasty and perfectly hearty for a lunch meal. I halved the recipe since I was cooking for one and it turned out just as great. Also, I didn't broil mine long because I do not like browned eggs, but a normal frittata should be browned on top. 

Baked Coconut Shrimp

Sorry for my absence, but we have been quite busy over here (I will explain more in another post).  For now, here is the latest new recipe I have made. I love coconut shrimp even though coconut is not one of my favorite ingredients. This recipe is awesome because you bake the shrimp rather than deep fry, so it's a bit healthier...I think. Either way, these were delicious and quite easy to prepare. 

Indian Butter Chicken

This is another Indian food recipe that I found on Pinterest. While it was tasty, it wasn't my favorite (although Nick still enjoyed it quite a bit). I think out of all the Indian food I have made lately, my fave is still Chicken 65 or Chicken Tikka Masala. Either way, this one is still worth while.

 

Calzones

 I don't know if any of you have taken notice but we love pizza in our household. We have made pizza many many different ways: on the grill, in the oven, in rolls, as bites, and now as calzones. This is a recipe my good friend Megan shared with me and it was delicious! If you like pizza as much as we do then you should give all these recipes a try!

Zesty Cheesy Chicken (Slow Cooker Recipe)

 I found this simple slow cooker recipe on Pinterest. I knew it would be a great change in menu from our usual Mexican and/or Italian cuisine. This was very simple to make and it went great with rice and broccoli. 

Cajun Chicken Pasta

My friend shared this recipe with me on Pinterest and I just happened to have all the necessary ingredients on hand and so... I made it. It was very delicious, the only problem I had was that I used angel hair pasta because I didn't have any Fettuccine on hand and the sauce was a bit too thin for angel hair pasta, I know it would've been a much better fit if served with Fettuccine.

Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Nick and I went away for our anniversary to a somewhat local state park, called Turkey Run State Park. I figured I would make some bread to take with us for breakfast while we were staying at the Inn inside the state park. I knew I wanted to make a cinnamon coffee cake but there are so many recipes online that it almost became overwhelming, in the end I decided on this recipe and thank God I did because it was absolutely amazing! This is seriously the best cinnamon coffee cake I have ever had and Nick agrees. I highly recommend this recipe.

Chicken Tikka Masala (Slow Cooker)

As part of my Indian food fix, I found this awesome slow cooker Tikka Masala recipe. This was absolutely delicious and it will be a new go to for me. 

Creamy Lemon and Spinach Pasta

I found this recipe on Pinterest and it peaked my interest because of the lemon and spinach. This recipe really puts a summery taste to a usually heavy winter cream sauce. This is great served with chicken (seasoned with onion powder, garlic powder, and paprika) but I did not include chicken in the recipe because its not needed.

Crispy Tilapia Sandwich

So there is an obvious fish sandwich trend right now because basically every fast food place is promoting some kind of "fresh" fish sandwich. All these commercials have really made me start craving a good fish sandwich, but I didn't want a fast food version. So I decided to make my own. This was delicious and it truly satisfied my hunger for a real fish sandwich. All this said, good job fast food marketing, you got me hook line and sinker...kinda ;)

Rosemary Bread (Macaroni Grill)

  

 If you have ever eaten at Romano's Macaroni Grill you know that the best part of the meal is their fresh baked rosemary bread, well now you can make it at home. This is very easy to make but like most bread recipes you must prepare way in advance since there is about 2 hours of dough rising time. So to repeat, this bread is absolutely delicious! You should make some today.

Quinoa Pudding

 This is a lovely take on tapioca pudding but instead of tapioca it uses quinoa, therefore giving it a hint of a "healthier" take on pudding. This is a delicious recipe and I love the way the pudding looks with the tricolor quinoa. This pudding is high in protein and super yummy.

Thai Fried Quinoa

 I recently bought my first bag of quinoa and the first time I cooked it the basic way and served it as a side but this time I wanted something more interesting. One thing I can say is that I love quinoa, this tricolor mix is the best and it is so amazing how quinoa is tasty and yet completely healthy, it truly is a super food. I highly recommend this tricolor mix of red, black, and white quinoa because it is so pretty to cook with.

Chocolate Raspberry Crumb Bars

My friend Jill made these twice over the holidays and I fell in love. They are so very delicious and I love that they incorporate fruit, nuts, and chocolate. YUM. I decided these would be a perfect Valentines treat for my workplace and they were. I highly recommend these for all to enjoy.

Biscuits and Gravy

I had honestly never eaten biscuits and gravy until I met Nick and it is not something I could eat regularly but every once in awhile it is quite the treat. His grandparents make it for us every time we visit and I have realized how much Nick enjoys this breakfast, therefore I decided I would make it for him. It is much simpler and easier to make than expected. 

Indian Chicken 65

As a result of my recent obsession with Indian food, I made a trip to the local Indian market to buy myself all kinds of Indian spices including: coriander seeds, fennel seeds, cumin powder, garam masala, cardamom powder, turmeric, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and some naan. I am now equipped with all the various spices I need to successfully cook Indian food in my home. I decided to cook up some chicken 65, which is a spicy and less saucy tomato based chicken. This recipe was so simple and easy to make and it was delicious, the only thing I will do differently next time is double the sauce because we like ours saucier to eat with rice.

Orange Chocolate Chip Scones

I love scones and I love the combination of orange and chocolate and so when I stumbled upon this recipe online, I knew I had to make it. They were delicious and Nick keeps begging me to make them again.

Baked Avocado Fries

 I have made beer battered avocado tacos once before and although they were delicious, it was quite a bit of work. I decided I would give breaded avocados another try but this time by baking them. Honestly, I don't think I will ever do the deep fried version again, this was much too easy and very very tasty and much healthier. 

Basil Coconut Curry

 

I have been a little addicted to Indian food lately and so I finally made a plan to learn to make Indian food at home, the only problem being that I haven't found a local Indian market to buy all the necessary ingredients yet. Luckily I found this recipe for basil coconut curry that is made with ingredients I already have in my house. I decided to give it a try. I should've known from the listed ingredients that it was a spicy dish but I did not realize until we sat down to eat it, thank God both Nick and I have a high tolerance for heat. I really enjoyed this dish, it was unlike anything I have ever had in an Indian restaurant but still very enjoyable.

Lazy Cake Chocolate Chip Cookies

Since I was already making tons of things for Super Bowl, I decided to be lazy with my dessert. I found this recipe called "Lazy Cake Cookies" and it was so simple and really required no effort to make some delicious cookies. I definitely recommend this recipe to any busy person.