Flavorful recipes you can look forward to serving tonight
When life gives you wilting arugula, make meatballs! These Beef and Arugula Meatballs are my go-to for an easy weeknight meal/appetizer and a swift rescue for a bag of arugula that is quickly yellowing, on the verge of becoming slimy, in my fridge. We’ve all been here, right? Yellow? Sad? Yes.
Always on a quest for something easy, cheesy, and delicious, I am very happy to have landed on the combo of blackened chicken and buttery, cheese/onion/pepper-stuffed tortillas. These Blackened Chicken Quesadillas are spicy, smoky, oozy, and simple as all get out. The next time you have chicken in the fridge and lots of laziness in your bones, please give these a shot.
Judging by the flour shelves at the grocery store, and my instagram feed, quarantine is bringing out the baker in all of us! I am into this but, on certain nights, my interest in big cooking projects has its limits. Luckily, no-yeast, super easy Scallion Flatbread exists!
In the blur of meals I’ve cooked over these past several #stayhome weeks, I cannot remember why I needed to make this bread. It was definitely to pair with something Middle Eastern, with lots of sauce and rice… that is *always* the type of meal that makes me and Joey crave some pillowy, blistered flatbread. I recall only having about an hour before the rest of dinner was ready and before hunger was going to turn me into a monster. Oh, and my oven was full. So, these babies came together in a cast iron skillet in under an hour. Amazing – I know.
Can we chat about smells for a second? The first day I made this caramelized shallot butter, our house smelled like sweet, earthy shallots and wine for the next 24 hours and I loved it. Certain cooking smells just have that warm, cozy hug quality. Onions or garlic cooking in butter has always been my #1. If they bottled the scent, I’d for sure wear it. But, these caramelized shallots, with thyme and generous splash of marsala wine, are a close second.
Yaaasss, homemade bread! I know some of you are doing it, or at least thinking about it, during these strange days of #stayinghome. If satisfaction, and maybe a little distraction, are what you’re seeking, make some dang focaccia. You’ll be so, so proud of you! And, at the end of the day, you’ll get to enjoy fresh, olive oily, crispy outside, chewy inside, yeasty bread studded with roasty red onions, fragrant rosemary, and briny olives. Swoon ❤️
Hushpuppies are my go-to party food, especially in the summer when we have friends over. There’s something about the summertime (I miss you, summer 👋 !), Joey smoking something yummy on the back deck, and a cold glass of wine. My loyal friend, the hushpuppy, fits right in.
We’re diving into the root-to-stem thing again today with cauliflower leaves and stems! This is a super simple and completely delicious way to use up those parts you might normally toss in the compost. Next time you chop up a head of cauliflower, save the leaves, the core, and the stem and chop it all into 1” pieces. Toss them in oil, salt, and pepper and pop them in the oven!
I don’t want to bury the lead here – this recipe for Roasted Radish Pesto Crostini is the best thing I’ve made all year. I wish we were further along in 2020 so that statement could have more impact but seriously – it’s so good. Two things that make me very happy about this recipe: 1. A humble, inexpensive ingredient being a total superstar. 2. No waste. After making this, I wanted to greet people by saying, “Hi, I’m Megan. I made a thing with radishes and didn’t have to throw the greens away.”
So, if you’ve found yourself stuck with a bunch of radishes and a mass of leafy green radish stems, like these, I can help you.
Lotta kale going on around here lately. Lots and lots of kale. Creamy kale stuffed into toasty roasted mushrooms. Cheesy kale stuffed into sweet, earthy spaghetti squash. It just seems useful at this point to share my favorite thing to do with all the leftover kale stems. I freeze mine so I usually have a bag waiting for me whenever I need an easy meal or a quick, convenient appetizer. Here is my favorite “recipe”, if you can call it that. It is spicy, garlicky, and served on toast. Plus, it takes less than 10 minutes to make, so… yes, we’re on the simple track to easy town.
Continue reading “What to do with kale stems”High five for little roasty mushrooms stuffed with onion-y kale and cream cheese, topped with toasty breadcrumbs! These were my recent addition to a family Christmas get-together where I was tasked with bringing some kind of vegetable appetizer. I’m not a crudités kind of girl, I refuse to bring something raw to the party. I’m here to cook and make things creamy and roasted and crispy on top. Can’t stop me. So, vegetables? No problem – earthy, meaty mushrooms + kale. Appetizer? I gotcha – bite-sized + finger food. Let’s party.
