Before living in Sicily, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you what a fennel bulb looks like, much less known what to do with it.  I knew of fennel seed, but had been turned off by it’s strong licorice flavor after encountering too many links of over-fennelized Italian sausage over the years.  Luckily, four years of eating delicious, well-seasoned salsicce cured me of my fear of fennel seed.  But not only that, I was finally introduced to what has now become one of my favorite vegetables: fresh fennel. Continue reading →

I admit that I’m not much of a football fan, but all this talk about the Superbowl has been making me crave chili! Since I almost always have ingredients on hand to throw together a quick pot of chili beans, it was very easy to satisfy my craving last night.

Although I prefer to to use as many fresh ingredients in my cooking as possible, I always have a variety of canned beans and canned tomatoes on hand. Pair those two ingredients with some ground beef (or just skip the meat altogether), chopped fresh veggies, and some good quality chili powder and you’ve got an easy, healthy, hearty and inexpensive meal that just about everyone loves! Continue reading →

This is what we ate for dinner tonight and it’s so good, I just had to share a photo and point you over to Elise’s wonderful Beef Stroganoff recipe at Simply Recipes. I’ve also been meaning to tell you how much my husband and I have been enjoying whole wheat egg noodles, and this is the perfect excuse to do so! Continue reading →

Although I haven’t roasted a turkey yet this season, I’ve been enjoying the occasional roasted turkey breast from grocery store deli.  I love turkey sandwiches and when my husband is away, a roasted turkey breast or rotisserie chicken from the grocery store up the street is the perfect thing to keep me fed for a few days. Continue reading →

Although my favorite sandwich has always been a Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato (BLT), this Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, and Turkey Sandwich (BLAT). might have just taken over the top spot! I know that B.L.A.T. often stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, and Tomato, but I didn’t have any good tomatoes!  And since this was my dinner last night, the turkey is what made it more substantial. Continue reading →

One of my many favorites from Kalyn’s Kitchen is her popular recipe for Egg Muffins. Egg muffins aren’t really muffins at all, they are more like mini omelettes baked in muffin cups.  Turning the omelettes into  ‘muffins’ makes them portable and easy to eat on the run.  The great thing about these egg muffins is that they can be made in advance and heated up in the microwave on your way out the door.  Brilliant! Continue reading →

Do you really need a recipe for French Toast?  I’m not sure.  But this is one of my favorite things to eat for breakfast and I just want to make sure that everyone knows how simple it is to make french toast at home! Continue reading →

It’s official, I’ve finally joined the Daring Bakers! And of all things, my first Daring Baker challenge was…pizza!

Pizza? That’s supposed to be a challenge?? Those were my first thoughts when I started reading about this month’s daring baker challenge.  And then I got to the part about how we would have to toss the dough in the air.  Ah yes, I thought. Therein lies the challenge!

You see, I make pizza all the time, but I refuse to toss the dough.  In fact, I pride myself on not tossing the dough.  I developed a method of pressing out the dough on parchment paper that creates a nice, round, perfectly thin pizza crust.  And once I perfected my method, I never thought I would have a reason to do it any other way.

And then I joined the Daring Bakers. Continue reading →