French Apple Tart

It's another one from the Barefoot Contessa cookbook! And a darn good one too. Last night my sis Heidi and her roommate Brianna stopped by for dinner on their way home from Idaho. They'd been visiting our sister Amy for the 3-day weekend. So I made these teriyaki meatballs for dinner, which were really tasty, and then I'd been really wanting to try this dessert out from my new cookbook, and it did not disappoint! The crust was super flaky and delicious and the fresh tartness of the apples was so tasty. It's hard to go wrong with her recipes, because she gives very detailed specific instructions. Try it out! (Oh, and I forgot to take a picture of the whole thing after it came out of the oven and before we devoured it, so you just get one piece).

Herb-marinated loin of pork

So my mom gave the "Barefoot Contessa: Back to Basics" cookbook for Christmas and it is great! This is the first (and only) thing I've tried so far, but I've got my eye on several others. Anyway, this pork is so tasty. I've decided pretty much anything marinated/cooked in garlic, lemon juice, olive oil and herbs is delicious, so it's hard to go wrong there. This was super easy and very tasty.

5 minute No-Knead Bread

The other night I made a delicious (if I do say so myself) beef soup/stew and I tried out this recipe for bread to go along with it. I wanted something nice and hearty and this did the trick. It had a hard thick crust and it was dense and delicious. And it really was less than five minutes to mix together. It does need to rise for a couple hours, but it was extremely easy. As for the soup, I was kind of winging it, so I'll just give you the general idea. I cooked a big chuck roast on Sunday and had gravy with it and I had a lot left over, so I (with the inspiration of my mom) used the gravy and added some water. Then I chopped up potatoes, onions, and carrots and cooked those in there and just added a bay leaf and some garlic, salt, and Worchestershire sauce to taste (and of course I chopped up the beef and added that) and it turned out really tasty! So there's an idea for you if you have leftover pot roast or some type of big piece of beef. :)

Pecan Pie

This pecan pie is a major winner! It is made with real maple syrup instead of corn syrup, but it doesn't taste mapley at all. It just tastes GOOD. Here's the recipe:

Chinese Chicken Salad

This recipe is for easy, light, and delicious Chinese Chicken Salad. I thought it would be good to post something lighter before everyone eats their weight in turkey, stuffing, and mashed potatoes this week. I love this salad. I just kind of throw everything in, so the amounts will vary depending on what you like, but the dressing is measured and very easy. Here you go!

Creamy White Chili and Cornbread

This soup comes from the "My Kitchen Cafe" blog. She has a lot of tasty recipes and this one was definitely a winner! (She also happens to be my brother-in-law's cousin). It has a little bit of a kick to it and it has tons of flavor. I've made it twice now and it was delicious both times. I also found a yummy cornbread recipe from Martha Stewart to go with it. Both were really easy and super delicious. (My picture is lame, but it really is good). Yum!

Oatmeal Pancakes & Homemade maple syrup

My sister Amy makes these pancakes a lot and they are so delicious! What you do is make a dry mix (it makes 10 cups of mix) and then store it in a ziploc bag or something, and then every time you want to make pancakes, you just use some of the mix along with 3 other ingredients and it's so EASY! I love it. They have a great flavor with oats, cinnamon, whole wheat flour, etc. I also love how hearty they are. As a nursing mommy I often get hungry not too long after eating a meal, but these stay with me longer than any other breakfast food. And they're delicious!

Honey Lime Enchiladas

Honey Lime EnchiladasOkay, this pictures does not do this justice, but these are seriously the best enchiladas I've ever had. Every time I make them, Jeremy acts like Bob on "What About Bob". "Mmmm, these are soooo good". Yes, they really are that good. Anyway, I found the recipe on The Sisters' Cafe blog. As usual I will put up the recipe and add my little notes in italics. You have to try these. They are so tasty!

Zuppa Toscana

I was in the mood for soup last week, so I was browsing through several cooking blogs/websites I usually look at, and I found a recipe for "Zuppa Toscana", like they have at Olive Garden. Yum! I've had it there before, and I remember really liking it. It's been awhile, but as far I remember, this tasted just like it. I decided if I was going to make soup, I had to make bread to go with it :), so I made Jeremy's mom's french bread. That along with some salad made it a great dinner! By the way, I halved both recipes, since there's only two of us, and it made enough for both of us to have it for lunch the next day. So if you have more than 2, you should probably do the whole recipe. Hope you enjoy it!

Honey Chicken

This is a really yummy recipe that my sister Amy gave me and I think she got it from my Aunt Marilyn. It's best served over rice and I like to steam broccoli to go with it too. This is something we eat pretty often and it's really easy! (Which is probably why we eat it often; that and it's delicious). Enjoy!

Waffles & homemade syrup

I really like both of these recipes. The waffles have the perfect amount of fluffiness and crispness that I like and the syrup is to-die-for good. The waffle recipe comes from Jeremy's mom and the syrup recipe comes from a lady in my parent's ward - she gave it to me at my bridal shower 4 1/2 years ago and it has quickly become a favorite with most of my family. We often like to make waffles on Sunday nights, usually along with eggs and potatoes. Yum! So here are the recipes. Enjoy!

Garlic Chicken Pizza

So I thought I would start off with my Garlic Chicken Pizza recipe. I've had a few people request this, so I thought it would be a good one to start with. A year or so ago I was searching for a recipe kind of like this online, and I found one (called Roasted Garlic White Pizza), but I've changed it quite a bit, so now I think I can say it's mine and I won't bother saying where I got it from (especially since I can't remember). So here it goes...