Creamy Sausage and Roasted Cauliflower Pasta

Hello, beautiful!

This is a pasta dish we must talk about right now.

This is my Creamy Sausage and Roasted Cauliflower Pasta and it is about to be your new favorite. It's comfort food which means it's meant to soothe your soul. We aren't apologizing for eating pasta because we love it and it's delicious. This particular dish also has plenty of vegetables packed into each bite, so this is a well-rounded meal you can feel happy serving to your whole family!

Let's talk about cauliflower quick. A few weeks ago, I had a moment where I was like, "wait a minute...do I not like cauliflower?!" Every time I made a dish with cauliflower in it, I was sooo disappointed and wished I was eating anything else. This comes after years of never having any sort of aversion to it. After thinking about it for a bit, I realized that what I actually didn't like was frozen cauliflower...I wanted cauliflower that still had a bite to it. Roasted cauliflower that had a few charred bits to it, well - THAT'S really what I wanted, and that is exactly what I'm mixing in to this dish.

To compliment the cauliflower, I am browning up a bit of sweet sausage. Something about pasta and sausage - it just makes SENSE to me. We'll then make a quick, creamy sauce, wilt some fresh spinach in it, load it up with freshly grated parmesan and chopped parsley and finish it with a sprinkling of red pepper flakes. I mean, what is there NOT to love?!

In terms of the actual pasta, I used a whole wheat rotini. This was actually O Organics brand and I think it's my favorite rotini. The spirals are really tight and hold up well even after being cooked. It was the perfect shape to trap all that luscious sauce! But, really, any small cut pasta will do. You do you!

Chili Mac

MMMmmmMMmmmmmMMMM!

This is #dinnergoals right here!

Oh, did you guys hear? There is some kind of football game this weekend that is very big and very important and requires lots of delicious foods while you watch. I have the perfect dinner for the occasion.

My recipe for Chili Mac is a mash up of a beef chili and a creamy, cheesy pasta dish. It is a little spicy and will keep you coming back for more. The chili becomes a robust, tex-mex type of meat sauce that kiiiind of puts regular marinara to shame.

To compliment that spicy goodness, we need something creamy (and, duh, cheesy because we are talking CHILI after all, so some sharp cheddar is very much needed). After the chili is cooked up, I add a bunch of hot pasta along with some of the pasta cooking water along with some sour cream to help melt that glorious cheddar into the chili/sauce. It's sort of magical and very tasty.

Now, as with most recipes I bestow upon you, it's worth mentioning that you can customize this to you and your family's liking! Prefer black beans over cannelini beans? Great! Want to tone town the spice factor? Use a bell pepper instead of the poblano. Like it a little extra spicy? Try shredded pepper jack instead of shredded cheddar! Where does it end?! (just FYI, it doesn't end until your plate is licked clean :-D)

Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps

I have your new favorite dinner recipe, right here!

There's no oven involved (but we do get to break out our slow cookers!), every bite is packed with flavor and texture, and this recipe is so super simple! It's a win/win/win.

These Crockpot Teriyaki Chicken Lettuce Wraps are bursting with sweet. sour, and spicy Asian flavors. It's like drippy teriyaki chicken meets fresh and crunchy spring rolls, all tucked together in a piece of fresh, tender bib lettuce. They are light yet satisfying - a perfect summer meal or appetizer! Let's walk through it all...

It all starts with the most unbelievable teriyaki chicken, which we whip up with very little thought thanks to our Crockpots. It starts with chicken breasts and chopped onions layered in the bottom of the pot, doused in an amazing teriyaki marinade. The marinade is quite simple and packed with tasty ingredients you probably already have on hand - teriyaki sauce, soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, lime juice, garlic and ginger. After 4 to 5 hours cooking on high, we simply shred up the chicken, thicken the sauce with a bit of cornstarch, and pile it high on our wraps!

Besides the lettuce, I love adding a handful of vermicelli rice noodles to each leaf of lettuce. The rice noodles soak up the glorious sauce from the chicken and give the whole dish a little more oomph. To finish up, we just need a few simple fixin's. I'm partial to cilantro leaves, sesame seeds, and a squirt or two of sriracha.

Now, this dish...sure, it's a little messy. Your fingers are going to get sticky and you may get teriyaki sauce all over your face. But trust me - for a dish this delicious, it's worth it!

Beef, Zucchini and Spinach Enchiladas

Is there really a more beautiful sight?

I am so obsessed with this recipe and I hope you will be, too! These are Beef, Zucchini and Spinach Enchiladas, and they are equal parts creamy, cheesy, spicy and dreamy.

Every now and then (read: fairly often) I get these random dinner cravings that will haunt me for days and days until finally I am speeding down to the grocery store to whip it up for dinner. This week, that craving was enchiladas! Who would have thought in the second week of May, when the sun is supposed to shining and spring fever is supposed to be upon us, I'd be craving this ultimate comfort food?!

Well, here in Boston the weather has been every bit as confusing. Warm and sunny in the morning, gray and cool in the evenings. To deal with this, I decided to load up my rich and wonderful enchiladas with one of spring's best vegetable bounties - zucchini!

When I make enchiladas at home, there are a few basic components I hardly ever change. First, I like to use whole wheat flour tortillas. There are two reasons for this - first, they have just enough extra girth compared to their white counterparts and are far larger and more pliable than corn tortillas, making them the perfect vessel for chunky, rich, saucy fillings. Second is, when using the taco size, I find that 6 enchiladas perfectly fill up my 9x13 pan. The other thing I always do is make a homemade enchilada sauce, usually a red sauce, that is so so easy it would be foolish to use those canned sauces from the store! Not only does this guarantee that the spice level is up to snuff for my family, but it also means I know exactly what my enchiladas are swimmin' in, and that is such a win-win these days!

As for the creamy and cheesy factor, this particular batch of enchiladas is not lacking in any way. If I may, a bit of cream cheese (*heart eyes emoji*) and sour cream get stirred into our beefy filling (which also happens to be PACKED with vegetables but trust me you could hardly tell). Then to top it all off - grated. pepper. jack. cheese. So much yes! No cheese melts as beautifully as a jack cheese, and the extra kick from the peppers in the cheese balances everything just right.

This makes 3 servings of 2 enchiladas each, that is if you're willing to share. If you snuck a third roll, your secret is safe with me - I know, they are impossible to resist.

Creamy Lemon Gnocchi with Asparagus and Crispy Prosciutto

Internet friends!! Hi!!

Wow, it has been over a month since I shared my last recipe with you, which just happened to be this insanely delicious Sweet Chili Chicken Ramen that I am now officially craving again. Things have been a little crazy on the home-front and that's actually because we bought a home! Things moved at the speed of light, and between packing and moving I also took a quick but truly amazing trip to Sedona, AZ with my BFF. All I'm saying is, although I have been cooking and baking and eating and getting adjusted to my new kitchen, blogging took a bit of a back seat...but today, I am back!

It seemed fitting that I come back from my internet silence with this deeelicious recipe. My Creamy Lemon Gnocchi with Asparagus and Crispy Prosciutto is the quintessential meal for these early spring days. Warmer temperatures always have me craving fresh, crunchy vegetables and bright, citrusy flavors. Asparagus is just ah-mazing right now, I love the super thin stalks so much that I'll sometimes just roast off a bunch with a bit of olive oil and plop a drippy egg on top for a simple and satisfying dinner. And who doesn't love a super lemony dinner to brighten up their day??

The thing is, I live in New England. And that means that one day, it can be 75 and sunny and the next it can be a chilly, rainy and raw. So while we may be craving bright and fresh , we also still need a bit of comfort food to warm us up from the inside out. Gnocchi are basically edible pillows. soft and starchy and chewy. They are the perfect candidate to be doused in an herby lemon cream sauce with copious amounts of parmesan cheese. For an extra special, decadent crunch, prosciutto gets baked in the oven until crisp then crumbled all over the top. It's fancy bacon. It's a necessity.

So there you have it. The perfect balance of fresh and decadence. This meal needs to be on your dinner menu ASAP!

Crockpot French Onion Beef Stew

Beef stew season is here!!

I la-la-love beef stew, in any variety. With barley, over mashed potatoes, with a harvest-style twist, I feel like I've done it all. Cooked low and slow, no matter what you throw in it, it's bound to be delicious. 

This Crockpot French Onion Beef Stew is rooted in tradition - big bites of carrot, potato, celery, and onions cook all day with tender stew beef and rich beef broth. There's not much more you need, but I wanted to try...something else. I happened to have a packet of french onion soup mix in my pantry and I didn't have to think twice - this is what my stew needed. A salty, oniony kick, complimented with a glug of Worcestershire sauce and a can of tomato sauce for a little tang. 

Now, I don't think I need to spend much time on the fact that this is all made in the Crockpot and therefore you hardly have to expend any effort before you get to snuggle up with a big delicious bowl of this stew. Chop up those veggies, dump everything in your trusty slow cooker, do whatever you have to do for 8 hours, and then...dinner time! 

Just a few notes on this stew: french onion soup mix can be VERY salty, so I strongly suggest using a low sodium beef broth and salting very lightly in the beginning. It will be very important to taste and season gradually to avoid over-salting the dish. Also, I always recommend searing your stew beef before adding it to the Crockpot, but this dish will be just as delicious if you skip this step (but oh, boy, it is delicious if you have the time!) Lastly, the stew will freeze well! Once it has finished cooking, cool completely and store in a freezer-safe air tight container for up to 2 months. Defrost in the fridge then reheat in a large pot until warmed through. 

Recent Eats - Volume 3

A round-up of my favorite bites and other food drama from the past few weeks

It is officially FALL and that is something to celebrate. Whether you are obsessed with pumpkins, apples, winter squash, soups, stews, or casseroles, this is one of my favorite times of the year to cook and eat! 

Pumpkin Everything

I have quite a few pumpkin recipes on the blog, some of my favorites being Pumpkin Oat Waffles, Pumpkin Snickerdoodles, and Pumpkin Martinis. This year, I want to experiment more with savory pumpkin recipes! In the meantime, I'm also going nuts with every pumpkin spice product the grocery store throws my way. 

Like yogurt...

 And Fudge Stripe Cookies...

(!!!)

Chili, baby!

Football season is in full swing and that always makes me crave a big pot of chili with all the fixin's. On opening day, I made a batch of my Mom's chili, but rather than cooking it on the stove I threw it in the Crockpot on high for 4 hours. For topping, I had plenty of sour cream, shredded cheese, cilantro, and tortilla chips on hand. Combine this with a win for my team (the New York Giants!) and it turned into a pretty great Sunday!

Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini

This is so random, but I have been on a grilled sandwich kick recently. On Snapchat a few weeks ago, I made Chicken Cordon Bleu Panini that were to die for! The key components: chicken tenders, deli ham slices, and swiss cheese with mayo! Nestle it all between two slices of bread, butter the outside, and cook in a pan until golden brown and melty. I also use a grill press to really bind the whole sammie together. 

Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka a la Smitten Kitchen

I'm rather convinced that Deb can do no wrong. A true food blogging inspiration, I often find myself cooking a meal or two of hers every couple of weeks. This recipe for Sheet Pan Chicken Tikka is addicting! The spices are warm and comforting, while a dollop of greek yogurt cools the whole thing down. I had a few hearty helpings atop steamed white rice. Dinner bliss!

What are you cooking and eating and drinking this fall?! 

Crock Pot Italian-Style Beef with Cheesy Polenta

I adore this dinner. Simple, slow-cooked, tangy, and cheesy.

These are adjectives to live by! 

Are you, like me, a fool who forgets all about her beloved Crock Pot in the summer? Why do we neglect the one device in our kitchen that cooks our food entirely without an oven?! Well today, we are fixing this problem. 

This Crock Pot Italian-Style Beef with Cheesy Polenta is familiar yet intriguing. Comforting Italian flavors like oregano, parsley, and tangy crushed tomatoes meet boneless chuck steak, make a wonderfully rich ragu as they simmer away while we are at work, THEN get piled high atop a polenta packed with garlic, mozzarella cheese and cracked black pepper. What's not to love?

Oh, I nearly forgot, if you--this time, unlike me--are handy with your summer garden and find it overflooowing with fresh basil, please please PLEASE tear up a bunch and throw it on top. Please? Thank you. 

So, here's how this all goes down:

The night before your delicious dinner: Set out your Crock Pot/slow cooker, the exact spices you need, a can of tomatoes, and honey so you don't have to fumble in the pantry early in the morning. Chop an onion and a clove or two of garlic, then stick them in the fridge in a zip top baggie.

The morning of: Dump onion, garlic, tomatoes, spices, honey, and olive oil in the bowl of your slow cooker. Whisk until combined, then nestle in the steak. Turn on low, go live your life for 8 hours.

Just before dinner: Prepare the most delicious, creamy polenta known to man. Shred up your beef. EAT! 

It's meals like this that remind me why I l.o.v.e. food! Let's eat.