Recipe Highlight: Quick-And-Easy Chicken Noodle Soup

chicken noodle soup, cold, fall, dinner, main dish, warm soup, food, recipe, quick and easy

When my daughters and I caught a bad cold a few weeks ago, there was one thing I knew would make us all feel better…good ‘ole chicken noodle soup. There is nothing like a bowl of hot, soothing chicken noodle soup on a chilly autumn day. But when I have a craving for something, I want it right away. If it takes me too long to make it, my craving seems to dissipate. So I took one of my favorite chicken noodle soup recipes, Paula Deen’s The Lady’s Chicken Noodle Soup, and modified it to make it a quick-and-easy recipe. I had three bowls of hot chicken noodle soup on the table in no time. My daughters are a big fan of this soup and love dipping their crusty bread in it. They liked it so much that I made it again a couple of days ago. Continue reading

Recipe Highlight: Lime Chipotle Marinated Pork Tenderloin with Roasted Brussels Sprouts

Grilled Pork Tenderloin, lime, cilantro, chipotle, brussel sprouts, bacon, balsamic vinegar, parmesan mashed potatoes, fall dishes, fall flavors, entree, main dish, meal

I mentioned in my last recipe post that aside from an occasional grilled steak, I keep things pretty light in the summer when it comes to food. As temperatures continue to cool down, I’m starting to long for something a little more substantial. This is the perfect dish for transitioning into fall.  Continue reading

Recipe Highlight: Slow-Roasted Chipotle Salmon with Pineapple Rice and Mango Salsa

Slow-Roasted Chipotle Salmon with Pineapple Rice and Mango Salsa

I try to cook a fish dish for dinner almost every week. I don’t know too many kids that love fish but I’m hoping that if I keep it on regular rotation in our menu, my kids’ palates will eventually warm up to it or at least get used to it. I think the key to having them actually eat the fish is by adding either a sauce or a topping that they like. In this case, the salmon is glazed with a slightly spicy chipotle sauce. Surprisingly, my girls are starting to enjoy mildly spicy food. To add a little more appeal to the dish, I paired the salmon with pineapple rice. As a topping, I made a mango salsa. My girls may pick out a few items off of the salsa but at least they don’t reject it completely, thanks to the mango.

The way this salmon is cooked in the original recipe* produces a very soft and tender texture, which I love. However, I also love a nice seared crust on my salmon so I modified the recipe a little bit and seared both sides of the salmon before throwing it in the oven. You do lose a bit of the tenderness but that’s a trade I’m willing to make. Continue reading

Recipe Highlight: Vietnamese Rice Noodle Bowl (Bun Thit Nuong)

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I’m sure most of you know or heard of Sandra Lee of Semi-Homemade, a cooking show on the Food Network. I may not necessarily be jumping up to try all of the recipes featured on her show but I certainly agree with her motto, “Keep it simple. Keep it smart. Keep it semi-homemade.” With a busy schedule and a penchant for eating but not necessarily cooking, keeping things quick, easy and semi-homemade has been my way of cutting down on time in the kitchen. I just don’t think it’s worth my time to slave over a recipe to make everything from scratch and having the outcome be “meh” a lot of the times. Continue reading

Recipe Highlight: Butter Chicken

Butter Chicken, Chicken Makhani, Indian cuisine, spicy food, samosas
Can you believe I had never tried Indian food until after college? I know, I totally missed out. My first experience with Indian food was when I was living in Washington, DC. My friend was visiting me from out of town and we decided to be adventurous. It was the best choice we could have made. We both thoroughly enjoyed our dinner and Indian cuisine was no longer a mystery. Continue reading

Good Finds for Halloween

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Besides my usual outfit and recipe highlights, I like to share what’s been occupying my time lately in hopes that there is someone out there doing the same thing and could possibly benefit from the information presented. Halloween ideas have been occupying my mind these days as October 31st is fast approaching. Continue reading

Recipe Highlight: Korean Noodles with Black Soybean Paste Sauce (Jajangmyeon)

Jajangmyeon
When the weather gets colder, I always seem to crave comfort foods. Jajangmyeon, a Korean-Chinese noodle dish is one of those foods for me and also one of the few Asian dishes that I make on a regular basis. The funny thing is that I didn’t care too much for this dish when I was little but have acquired a taste for it as I got older. The literal translation for ‘jajang’ (also jjajang or chajang) is fried black soybean sauce and ‘myeon’ (also myun) is noodles. It is a popular “fast food” in Korea, enjoyed by both young and old. It is also a staple in the menus of many Korean-Chinese restaurants here in the United States. Continue reading