Sweet Chili Chicken Quesadillas

Yes, I'm still alive! I took a bit of a blogging hiatus since John commandeered my computer to study for some certification tests. He's done with them for a little while, so I finally have my beloved MacBook Air back! The good news is that I had still been cooking and taking tons of pictures, so you have many posts coming your way! 

I thought I'd start back with one that John called one of my "top three meals ever made". (He didn't list the top two, just said that this one was way towards the top.) And good news - it's pretty easy to make! It's also a great way to use some pre-cooked chicken that's leftover from a previous meal. The recipe came from Closet Cooking. 

Avocado Sashimi

This delicious and super simple recipe was first discovered by my mom. She made it for herself and was raving about how fantastic it was, and as soon as I heard what the ingredients were, I was in! Avocado, lemon, a special spice, soy sauce, and wasabi. Winner! This is also a great way for my vegetarian friends to enjoy a sushi alternative.

I usually try to make recipes with ingredients that I usually buy or are easy to find, but this was one exception, as I specifically bought two ingredients (a spice and a fancy soy sauce) just for it. The original recipe came from La Fuji Mama. 

Herb Crusted Pork Chops

John recently requested that I try a new recipe with pork. I thought pork chops would be fun, so I did some searching and came across this recipe on Eat Yourself Skinny. It sounded simple and yummy. Great news - it was!

Salmon Cubes with Tomatoes and Rice

I found this dish on All Recipes, and it was super easy to make. And even better: super yummy! It's a great way to prepare fish if (like John) you aren't super into plain fish.

The fresh salmon fillets the store had were really big, and I don't like to save fish leftovers, so I almost bought just one. I'm so glad I upped it to two - we both enjoyed two plates of this and ate until it was gone!

Spicy Roasted Chickpeas

I got this recipe from All Recipes. It's a nice, simple method that can be modified for whatever sort of spices you want to use. I'm sure it's no surprise that I made them spicy! This is a healthy snack that satisfies that crunchy, salty craving I usually have in the evenings. Much better for you than a bag of potato chips, and easier than baked kale!

Creamy Baked Chicken and Broccoli

I very rarely make meals with cream (especially since I'm slightly lactose intolerant), but for some reason, this recipe spoke to me. And I'm glad I gave it a try! We both enjoyed it. 

The original recipe (from Cinnamon, Spice, and Everything Nice) called for curry, but I forgot to buy some at the store, so I improvised. Instead, I used the Bankok Blend that I had picked up from a Penzeys Spice store a while back. I need to use it more often!

Spicy Sliced Potatoes

As a part of my continuing my quest to use up everything that has been lingering in the back of my pantry and freezer, I came across a can of sliced new potatoes. I had bought them specifically for some recipe months ago, but never made it, and eventually forgot what that recipe even was. So, I decided to make up my own recipe to use them.

Well, I need to pat myself on the back, because these turned out great! And very easy to make without much hands-on work at all.

Pancakes from Scratch, and How to Freeze Extras For Later

As I've been reducing the amount of stuff cluttering my pantry, one of the things that I didn't replace after finishing was the box of pancake mix. Because, guess what? I've found out you can make them completely from scratch almost as easily with stuff that I already keep stocked. This recipe was adapted from Charles' Pancakes from Scratch at Cooks.com.

When I make pancakes, I like to make a lot more than we'll eat for one breakfast, so I can freeze the extras to reheat on hurried weekday mornings. Tips on how to freeze and reheat pancakes are included in this post. 

This morning, John had a craving for chocolate chips, so I added those to his for the same-day breakfast. However, I plan to eat the extras myself and like them plain, so most were chocolate-free.

Taco Corn Bread Casserole

Ok, here we go. Our favorite dish I've made so far. John and I both LOVED it the first time around for dinner, but found that the leftovers for lunch the next day were EVEN BETTER. This is definitely going into heavy rotation. 

I found this recipe on Elizabeth's Dutch Oven. I used the super spicy En Fuego salsa that we recently bought at a local St. Patrick's Day Festival from Cape Fear Salsa. I think that might have been part of the magic, so I'm going to need to buy some more of that stuff!

Baked Parmesan Perch and Roasted Carrots

The other day, I found a single Perch fillet in the back our freezer, and wanted to use it up. It was kind of a bummer, because John and I had to share this lovely creation. (Don't worry, we had plenty of other leftovers in the fridge to fill our bellies.) The perch recipe came from All Recipes. I had originally planned to make these Honey Balsamic Carrots from Budget Bytes, but I was multi-tasking and accidentally let the balsamic vinegar burn. Whoops! No worry, though. The carrots were delish, even without any extra sauce.

Cayenne Sausage and Pepper Penne

This was a meal that really had John going crazy. It is very spicy, and he couldn't stop raving about how much he loved it. If your family isn't quite as into the burn, you'll want to cut back on the cayenne. But if you're brave, go for it!  The recipe inspiration came from Our McWonderful World, via Tasty Kitchen.

Strawberry Banana Oatmeal Bake

Today's recipe from Inspired Taste, and is another one that my sister Jillian discovered. She made it a couple weeks ago and enjoyed it, but thought that it didn't have quite enough of the fruit. I took this to heart and doubled what the original recipe recommended. Great move! I was also out of walnuts, so I used almonds instead. And I'm not a big chocolate fan (I know! The travesty!), so I left out the chocolate chips. 

This turned out to be a lovely "big breakfast" item with plenty of delicious leftovers!