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!

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!

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.

Black Bean Burgers and Spicy Sweet Potato Sticks

I had a hard time photographing this meal to look appetizing, and for that I am truly sorry. Because these burgers are SO. SO. GOOD. If you've never tried black bean burgers, this is the recipe to start with. I've tried others that are kind of blah or too mushy. But these! They're super flavorful, and actually hold together really well. You won't miss the beef at all, I swear! John is completely on-board with these too.

The Spicy Sweet Potato Sticks look a lot like french fries, but they have their own unique flavor, and aren't nearly as crunchy as they look. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE a crispy fry, but these are so delightful that I loved them even though they are a little soft. Kind of reminds me of mashed potatoes, disguised as fries.

Both the burgers and potatoes recipes came from the incomparable Budget Bytes.

Thai Chicken Pizza

I'm so happy that I recently decided to start making pizzas at home from scratch. It's just so satisfying to start from nothing and end up with this delicious creation. So far, I've only used the same simple crust recipe (this is my fourth pizza using it), but mixed up the toppings. This time, I went Thai! This recipe inspiration came from Closet Cooking.

Black Bean Quesadillas

Oh, Budget Bytes, what would I do without you? This was another ingenious recipe idea from my favorite inspiration source. If you can spot a theme with my blog here, it's that I love to make things that I can freeze for a quicker meal in the future. I can't believe I never thought to do this with quesadillas! These tasted amazing, and I've got 6 more in my freezer waiting for hunger to strike at the same time laziness ensues. This is also a great way to use the black beans that I cooked in my slow cooker.

I made my quesadillas this time with chicken, but that's only because I had some extra to use up from a previous recipe. This could just as easily be made vegetarian by leaving that out. (In fact, I made a couple without the chicken too, and you didn't miss it at all!)

Balsamic Chicken in a Slow Cooker

This is one of the first recipes I made when I started this blog last November. However, that was before I was taking the time to post photos and full descriptions. I went back to make it again and discovered that the original website that I got it from no longer exists! So, here's a full post with the ingredients I use and steps for how I make it. It's a really good, healthy meal that's super easy and uses stuff I always have on hand. 

Vegetable Lasagna Rolls with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce

This recipe came from a new source, Mother Thyme. I originally came across it on the Tasty Kitchen recipe community.  It had a very unique flavor, I think due to the red pepper sauce. It's quite a switch to have a lasagna with no tomatoes involved! It is also nice to have another delicious use of the superfood kale. 

This is certainly not a quick meal to prepare, but it is nice for the rare occasion when you have a little extra time and want to try something different.

Garlic Egg Chicken

This is a pretty simple recipe that includes ingredients I almost always have on hand. Nothing spectacular, but something good to turn to when you haven't been grocery shopping in a while. Note that this requires a few hours of marinating for best flavor. The original recipe came from All Recipes. 

A Jerky Chicken

Last night's dinner idea came from a file of favorite recipes my father-in-law sent to us. Every meal we've ever had at his house is fantastic, so I'm excited to try them out. Some are family specialties and originals, but others are just meals he's liked from other sources. This first recipe I made is called A Jerky Chicken, and originally came from All Recipes. It is a HOT and spicy Jamaican-style dish.

Garlic and Thyme Quinoa Patties

Today's recipe came from a new food blog I recently came across: Cook Republic. I have only recently discovered quinoa, and am happy to find another way to incorporate it into a dish. This really would be better as a party appetizer or side dish, but I used it as a full meal this time. 

We liked these patties a lot, but next time I am going to make some sort of dipping sauce to go along with them. More on that later...

Spaghetti Squash

This was a recipe idea I got from my cousin Heidi's blog, BananaBuzzbomb.com. Heidi is a vegan, and this would have been a great vegan dish, if I hadn't added parmesan cheese on top. Oops! My weakness! This still made a great vegetarian dish and would be a perfect "Meatless Monday" choice.

Chicken Diablo

I found this gem of a recipe at Bev Cooks. As I'm sure is obvious by the name of the dish and the look of the sauce, this was a spicy little thing. Of course, that's what made us love it! This is one of those dishes where you need to marinate the meat ahead of time to get the full flavor, and man, am I glad I did!

Kung Pao Chicken

Yesterday was the Lunar New Year, so I thought it would be fun to "celebrate" with some Chinese food: Kung Pao Chicken. This dish is far from authentic (I used a sauce from Buffalo Wild Wings, for goodness sakes!), but John and I both loved it. The recipe came from Budget Bytes.

BBQ Chicken Pizza from Scratch

When I make pizza at home, I usually just take the shortcut of pre-made crusts. This weekend, I decided to finally try my hand at making a pizza entirely from scratch. I used the recipe from The Pioneer Woman for California Pizza Kitchen's BBQ Chicken Pizza.  Oh, buddy. It was a good one.