Perfect Bacon Every Time

I am a bacon-aholic. I could polish off an entire package by myself in one sitting and not even feel bad about it. When I was 17, I took a small trip into the land of vegetarianism. It lasted exactly one month. My whole family was having a big Sunday morning breakfast, complete with pancakes and eggs and sausage and, you guessed it - bacon. I couldn't take it any more. Bacon brought me back.

Since then, I have spent years slaving over a hot, popping pan, getting burned by bacon grease at every turn. My forearms were covered in mini burns. I started wearing long sleeved shirts to cook my beloved bacon. I ruined several shirts this way - oil spatters are hard to get out! I relinquished the job to Andrew for a while. Until the day I took back the bacon! "I'll use the oven," I said. "It will be perfect," I said. And it was. And we all lived happily ever after.

High Protein Pancakes

I produce string bean children. It doesn't matter how much weight I gain during pregnancy, or how much I feed them after birth, or how many extra calories I pack onto their favorite foods - my offspring seem to be genetically predispositioned to be tall, lanky, all arms and legs and not an ounce of fat anywhere. Don't get me wrong, they're very healthy kids, but a strong breeze could knock them over.

That being said, I'm always looking for ways to get some extra protein in their diets, and that powdered whey stuff you turn into milk shakes... well, we'll save that for the bodybuilders - it freaks me out. I wouldn't drink it myself, and so I'm sure as heck not pumping my kids full of it. THAT being said, I'm super excited whenever I figure out a natural way to add an extra dose of protein to a food I know they are going to love, and that's exactly what we have here for you today! I surprised even myself with how good these are - I hope you like them!

Chocolate Recipe Roundup

I have been having some serious chocolate cravings lately. I absolutely positively can't get enough of the stuff. I even bought chocolate yogurt yesterday. You know it's bad when you're turning your healthy snacks into chocolate treats! Andrew's been having the same issue - he actually found (and bought) a 1 lb. chocolate bar at the grocery store - I wouldn't even go that far! But, just in case you are having the same insatiable cravings we are, I decided to be a sweetie and put my best chocolate recipes all in one place for you. Enjoy!

Panzanella

While I love to create my own recipes, I do watch a LOT of cooking shows for inspiration. I have a notebook full of famous-people-food that I love. Alton, Giada, Sandra Lee, Nadia, and Rachel Ray are some of my favorites. But the other day, I watched Kelsey Nixon make the most amazing sounding Smoky Panzanella with Market Vegetables. I couldn't wait - I went to the store that day to gather the ingredients. 

If you're not familiar with panzanella, it is an Italian bread and tomato salad traditionally made with day-old bread that soaks up this delicious homemade dressing. Kelsey adds cheese and a few other veggies to really take this one over the top. It's such a simple dish but the flavors come together so well and the bread soaks up the dressing and the basil screams summer and, well, I could go on and on about this. It's such an easy and perfect side dish, and it will only get better as summer heats up and tomatoes hit their peak. You should make it. Today. Now. You won't be sorry, I promise.

BBQ Shrimp over Spinach Rice

When I was 13, I went to a barbecue at one of my mom's friend's houses. I'm not really into crowds of people, so I usually pick a spot in the corner and stick to it. This time I hung out with the kid that was manning the grill. Well, he wasn't really a kid at the time; he was 23. I say "kid" now because I am almost 10 years beyond that, but I was 10 years his junior back then - perspective is everything!

Anyway, in addition to the standard burgers, dogs, and chicken, he made barbecue shrimp. I thought this was quite an odd pairing, but he insisted I try it as he taught me how to make them. We ate them straight off the grill and they were so, so good. The sweetness of the shrimp and the smokiness of the barbecue sauce are a surprisingly amazing combination. To this day, it is still one of my favorite shrimp recipes.

Kahlua Ice Cream (no ice cream maker needed)

I have always wanted an ice cream maker for as long as I can remember. I browse through kitchen stores quite frequently, but none of the machines ever seemed to scream "Take me home!" until recently. I found it on the clearance shelf for $12. It was tiny and it must have been the most bare-bones model known to man. But it was mine. 

So we brought it home, did all the prerequisite hot soapy water washing, read the instructions three times (I am a fine print freak) and got started on a simple vanilla recipe. About 10 minutes in, we ran out of ice. I'm still not sure how that's even possible since the thing barely makes more than a pint and I had plenty of ice on hand. Thank goodness we only live a few hundred feet from a convenience store or I may have cried. It must have gone through half of a party bag of ice by the time it was finished. It looked good, so we said a quick prayer and tossed it in the freezer to "firm up overnight". I got up early the next morning to sample our hard work. It was terrible. I can't even explain it, it was that bad. It thinned out and changed color and tasted like freezer burnt vanilla milk. 

The bad news? The ice cream maker is now an oversized paperweight.
The good news? I have now devoted my life to creating ice cream that does not require an ice cream maker. 
The best news? This Kahlua ice cream is probably the easiest and absolute best ice cream ever and I cannot wait for you to try it!

Oatmeal Almond Fruit Bars

I recently went to Trader Joe's for the first time. Among a million other cool things, I picked up a jar of Organic Super Fruit spread. It was hiding in a row of cute little jars on the very bottom shelf under the specialty peanut butters and I just had to have it. We brought it home and tried a tiny bit straight out of the jar to see how it tastes. While it was really, really good, it seemed a little too sophisticated for plain old peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. I had no idea what I was going to do with it, so it sat on the counter while I waited for my muse. Then I remembered we used to eat a lot of toaster pastries and breakfast fruit bars. I thought this might be just the thing I needed to create a homemade version that was versatile enough for breakfast or dessert. OMGosh - where have these been all my life??

Bangin' Black Bean Burgers

We LOVE burgers in our house. Beef is definitely our first pick, but I've been working on getting the boys to branch out. They didn't mind the Very Veggie Quinoa and Bean Burgers, and they recently started liking turkey burgers. I figured I'd push my luck a little more and see how far I could get. I snuck a can of black beans into the kitchen and got to work. The smell won Andrew over before he even tasted it (they smell amazing) and the fact that they look very beef-like had K diving in without a word. All in all, they were a total success!

French Toast Sticks

Between sports, music lessons, doctor's appointments, and everything else busy moms need to take care of these days, boxes of processed food and the local drive-thru seem like much easier options when it comes to feeding the family. I know because that is how we used to eat. But if you plan ahead, you can have homemade food ready whenever you need it.

The Best Chicken Salad

Arby's sells amazing chicken salad. You can get it on bread or wrapped up in a tortilla. It has grapes and nuts and a tangy sweetness that keeps you coming back for more. Then Arby's closed. Well, the one near my house closed. The next closest one is almost an hour away. I had to figure out how to duplicate this awesomeness at home, and I finally nailed it. It's a little different, and I think it might actually be better than the original. I could eat this every single day and be a very happy Mama. Let me know what you think.

Magic Double Berry Coconut Cobbler

I have been craving something fruity and summery lately. I wasn't sure what exactly I wanted, but I knew I'd know it when I saw it. Then I went to the grocery store and they had the most beautiful blackberries. Now I don't buy blackberries very often because I rarely see them for less than $5 for a tiny 6 oz. container, but they were on sale for two bucks! I got two of them and some strawberries and I knew a cobbler was in our future. To really up the ante on my summer craving, I used coconut oil instead of butter. It added such a nice touch to the sweet berries and the crispy topping. It was the perfect thing to tide me over these last few days of winter.

Fiesta Chicken Enchiladas

Andrew makes the most amazing beef enchiladas. He uses corn tortillas and a ton of cheese, and they are so, so good. He knew somebody whose sister had a friend who was from Mexico and she made "authentic food". She was kind enough to share a few of her recipes with him. Because of this, Andrew is the go-to guy around here whenever we want mexican food.

I make tacos. From a packet. That's about where my expertise ends. But I decided to give it a shot and see what I could come up with. Andrew looked at me kind of funny when I told him I was making enchiladas and no, it wasn't his recipe. It only got worse when I started talking about beans and rice and such. But when it was all over, he was hooked and we were fighting over the leftovers. K even cleaned his plate before I was half done, and that's saying something. Move over Andrew, Mama's going south of the border.

Chocolate Pumpkin Mini Muffins

We love my Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins, but they are a little too big to fit in K's bento-style lunch box. Besides, him and dairy aren't getting along at the moment so that means the chocolate chips were a no-go. I reworked the recipe to make smaller muffins that skip the chips. They worked out beautifully and he can have them whenever he wants - breakfast, lunch, after school, or as a bedtime snack. The cocoa makes them decadent, the pumpkin makes them moist, and the oats make them a "healthier" option. You (and your kids) are going to love them!

Easy Triscuit Appetizers

A quick and easy, down and dirty, 5-minute snack that is perfect if A) your dinner guests arrive inappropriately early, B) your house becomes an impromptu football watching hub, or C) you're having one of those days where you are so busy you realize you forgot to have lunch and if you don't eat something RIGHT THIS SECOND, you're going to get hangry. And no, that's not a typo. Look it up - you know who you are :-)

Fake-it-till-you-make-it Thin Mint Wannabes

I'd like to clear the air right now. These are not Girl Scout Thin Mint cookies. I am not now, nor have I ever been, a Girl Scout. I am however, a complete and total Thin Mint addict. I remember many many moons ago when you could make a small-ish donation of $2.50 to the cause and get a box of really, really good cookies in return.

As to be expected, I have watched the price creep up little by little over the years. But I still got excited the other day when I saw the group of smiling, uniformed girls hanging out at my local grocery store pushing their lovely treats on innocent passersby. As I walked towards them, I was trying to decide how many boxes I was going to get. And then the girl on the end said, "Would you like to buy some Girl Scout cookies? They're only $4 a box." Only $4 a box? Only?? Don't get me wrong, I understand inflation and all that, but that's ridiculous. No way, it wasn't happening. There had to be another way.

Now, I'm going to level with you. Are these Thin Mints? No. Do they taste exactly like the ones in the beloved green box? No. Will you read the ingredients and make a batch of 5 cookies just to test it out because there is no way they will sufficiently satisfy your craving? Yes. And then you will make the full batch. Twice. In less than 24 hours. True story.

Ranch Dip and Dressing

I never have fresh herbs on hand. It usually goes something like this... I read recipe after recipe and see show after show highlighting food I would love to create in my kitchen, but it seems like they all require fresh herbs. So I put them on the grocery list, I buy them, I bring them home, and then... nothing. I can't remember what in the world I wanted them for and they languish in the fridge until they die. Just this afternoon, I threw away some rosemary that had turned black. And three seconds later I remembered that I never did make that Rosemary Focaccia I had been craving.

Hint of Strawberry Scones

When I lived in Utah, there was this awesome little restaurant called Sconecutters. They served everything from sandwiches to fried shrimp platters, but they were most known for their scones. It was kind of like a west coast version of Dunkin Donuts, serving combo meals like two scones and a coffee. They were open 24/7, they had a drive-thru window, and I simply couldn't get enough of them. What's a scone, you might ask? Well, if you've never had one before, they are this crazy cross between a biscuit and a sugar cookie. Not too sweet, dense but flaky at the same time, and completely addictive.

2-Ingredient Banana Ice Cream (no ice cream maker required!)

Come here, I want to tell you a secret. Closer... closer... that's close enough. Ready?

I hate bananas. I know, I know, you're so used to me telling you how much I love everything, but I really hate bananas. Totally despise the things. Really, really can't stand them. At all. I like banana flavored stuff - banana milkshakes, banana taffy, banana bread, banana pudding. But I absolutely, positively do not like plain bananas in their natural state. 

Whew. I feel better.

Now that we got that out of the way, I LOVE this. The baby loves this. Soon, you will love this.

Homemade Chocolates

Tomorrow is Valentine's Day, not that I really need an excuse to bring out the chocolates. I remember when I was pregnant with my second baby, I had gestational diabetes and couldn't have treats. A week before my due date, and a few days before Valentine's Day, we were walking through the mall and I spotted a HUGE heart filled with chocolates. No lie, this thing was over 2 feet wide.

Cold Oatmeal (Muesli)

My name is Lisa and I am addicted to oatmeal. I eat it every day, sometimes twice a day. I used to buy the flavored packets of instant oatmeal, but then I moved onto canisters of quick oats, then old-fashioned, then the really hard stuff - steel cut oats. It was bad.