Squash Dumpling Chili Pot Pie

With no let up on the cold weather around here, I've been craving a steaming hot bowl of chili for dinner.  OK, that's easy enough, but what to serve with it?  A chili mac would be delicious but I'm trying to stay away from pasta for a while.  Fritos are another yummy option but I love those too much and am always tempted to just eat the whole bag standing up in my kitchen.  Please tell me I'm not the only one who feels that way about Fritos.

Sunchoke Hash with Bacon

Have you ever tried sunchokes, also called Jerusalem artichokes for reasons I don't know?  For years, they were just these mysterious little brown orbs in the gourmet produce section of my market.  Their knobbly exterior doesn't exactly scream 'I'm delicious, eat me' so I kept walking.  But a restaurant meal I had came with a tasty sunchoke puree and suddenly I had to look into this.

Oven "Fried" Crispy Cauliflower Poppers

When I was growing up, there were a few "special" dishes in my mothers repertoire that I always looked forward to and even occasionally begged for.  Certainly she always knew what to cook for me for my birthday.  Her pot roast with mashed potatoes and onion gravy was my all time comfort dish and the special treat was a fried veggie on the side.

Roasted Red Pepper Corn Salad

When I'm busy during the day, I find that I'm much more likely to eat a healthy salad for lunch if it's already prepped and waiting for me.  And salads certainly don't have to include lettuce.  So I spend part of my weekend making various bean and grain recipes that I can leave in the fridge for quick lunches or healthy snacks, if I'm hungry in the afternoon.

Skinny Spinach Tart with a Squash Crust

Quiches and tarts and hand pies...sweet or savory....I love pretty much all foods in a crust.  The trouble is that, no matter how much you skinny up the filling, there's all that butter in the crust.  I have made olive oil doughs before that are tasty and much healthier but still contain the calories.  What to do?

Banana "Nut" Scones

• “This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group™ and Post Pebbles, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #PostWalgreens http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV.”

Did you know that February is American Heart Month?  Yes, I realize that many of us spent the weekend munching on Valentine's candy but let's move past that right now.  To help us eat heart healthy, the folks at Post cereals contacted me to let me know that they've partnered with Walgreens to offer some of their healthy cereals.  You'll be able to pick up a box of Post Honey Bunches of Oats, Fruity Pebbles, Great Grains or Grape Nuts so, that's just what I did.

Happy Valentine's Day & The Month in Review - January 2014

You may have noticed that I usually do the month in review posts at the very beginning of the month and here we are on the 14th.  What can I say?  Sometimes life gets in the way and plans go awry.  But, happy Valentine's Day and I hope you're celebrating with something sweet.

Brussels Sprouts Gratin

No Brussels sprout preparation I've tried, roasted, sauteed, sweet, spiced, has convinced the Mr. to eat these little cabbages.  But I don't let sprout prejudice stop me from enjoying them.  Yes, they do have a slight bitterness to them, which can be lessened with the right preparation, but it doesn't bother me any more than bitter salad greens like kale and arugula.

Chocolate Mousse Pie

Are you a creamy dessert person?  Do you gravitate towards puddings and cream pies?  Do you consider coffee cake to be too dry?  Do you live here?  Um, I mean, you and Brian have a lot in common.  I tend to go for heartier desserts like crumb cake or biscotti.  He considers even New York style cheesecake to be too dry.  Ah, there's no accounting for taste.

Strawberry Cheesecake Heart Pie

Today a few of my food blogging friends and I are sharing Valentine's Day ideas and I "road tested" this pie on my honey last weekend.  He loves pie!  I usually make fruit pies but this time I wanted to try something different, in this case, cheesecake.  I love cheesecake!  See, now we're both happy.

Bacon, Egg & Cheese Breakfast Pizza

Let's clear up one thing first.  I have neither the appetite nor the motivation to make this for breakfast.  The best I can manage is a bowl of dry cereal first thing in the morning.  Sometimes, if I'm feeling especially energetic, I'll add milk.  I could probably face this for brunch on a lazy Sunday but you should know that, when we go out for Sunday brunch, it's usually around 1:00 o'clock in the afternoon.  So, what I'm trying to tell you is that, when I say breakfast, I mean breakfast for dinner.  I love breakfast for dinner.  It's my favorite meal of the day.

Veggie Pot Pie with a Cheesy Crust

Pot pies mean comfort food to me.  A hot, creamy filling and a flaky pastry sound so good.  And I love when they're made into individual portions so I can have my little savory pie all to myself.  As for the filling itself, Brian finds a chicken pot pie comforting but I prefer my chicken served on the side.  Or, if I have a pot pie, then not even at all.  Creamy veggies make me the happiest.

A Cocktail Life, a Martini and a Sweet Pecan

This past week we launched our new website, A Cocktail Life.  It's one I've been thinking of for quite a while and I fussed over every detail like an expectant mother.  As you should know by now, we shake a pretty mean cocktail around here.  Dozens of them, actually, and we're bursting with ideas for more.  And so it was time to give them a proper home on a site dedicated to our favorite beverage.