I’m an Auntie! My sister and her husband welcomed their first child, a baby boy, earlier this week (with a rather quick labor for a first child, I might add – just 6 hours!) and we’re all overjoyed. They just brought him home from the hospital yesterday, so now the real fun begins. The “new guy” is just 11 weeks younger than my own little man – our family holiday gatherings will forever have a new “energy” with these two little boys running around!

My nephew is actually among a huge wave of births going on among my friends. There have been at least eight new babies since October (three just in the last week) and another five or six friends are due before June. It’s incredible! Everyone gives each other a lot of support, which is especially appreciated in those early days when you’re a zombified mess from lack of sleep. A number of fantastic ladies brought over homemade meals after I had my son in December and I’m excited to have the opportunity to “pay it forward”.

Which brings me to baked pasta…and this wonderful Shrimp with Orzo recipe, from inside the wrapper of a can of crushed tomatoes.

Read more »

I’ve done what I used to think was the impossible, a feat reserved for only the superhuman among us. With the exception of our regular Saturday night take0ut, as of tomorrow I will have cooked dinner at home every night for the past two weeks.

Between activities, errands, a second infant and witching hour (do all children receive the memo on this one during delivery??) I’d been cooking two to three nights a week at best. Meal planning never worked for me, as I struggled to decide what to make – just thinking through a menu takes a lot of time I usually don’t have. A few weeks ago I finally decided to try those weekly menus and shopping lists you see in some food and lifestyle magazines, like the Grocery Bag feature in Everyday Food and the Real Simple Recipe Shopping Lists. For once I’m glad to have the decisions made for me! I just buy all the ingredients and make all the dishes on the menu, even the ones I’m not sure I’ll totally like. The ingredients in both magazines’ menus are seasonal and take relatively little hands-on prep time; the Everyday Food ones, in particular, tend to be rather economical too. I save my “big fancy meals” and most baking for the weekend when I have more time and an extra set of hands (my husband’s) to watch the kids. I should have started this long ago.

In the spirit of getting mid-week dinner on the table, I wanted to share this incredibly quick, easy and tasty recipe for a Fiesta Chicken Soup that comes from a carton of chicken broth. I suppose it’s called “Fiesta” as it’s similar to a Mexican chicken tortilla soup, with the zing of lime juice in the broth along with the flavors of jalapeño, cilantro and avocado. The way I prepared this soup actually wasn’t so quick, as I made my own chicken stock and grilled some organic chicken. But for nearly as good results in under 20 minutes you could easily use a good quality ready-made stock and rotisserie chicken.

Read more »

Food blogging is an amazing pastime for someone like me who loves to celebrate holidays. It seems like there’s always some kind of special occasion happening in the world, and along with it usually comes special food. We’ve just come off of Super Bowl and Valentine’s Day cooking; this week you’ll now find a lot of us food bloggers are turning to Chinese New Year and Mardi Gras. It never ends (and for that I’m grateful).

Read more »

Once upon a time, years ago, we had a good friend over for dinner. It was the first time we’d ever hosted her so I wanted to roll out the red carpet, so to speak, with a delicious, hearty pasta carbonara. I’d never made it before, but it was pasta – how hard could it be?

And then I got to the last step where I was to add the sauce made of cheese, heavy cream and eggs. And serve.

Ummm…did this recipe get cut off? It wants me to serve this tossed in raw egg? I’m not gonna do that! That’s not safe! Not to mention disgusting! I’ve gotta serve something right now. Aaaahh…what do I do??!

Read more »

Is there anything more homey than a big ol’ broccoli casserole? Perhaps it’s a sign of my “settling down”, now that I’m married with two kids and live in the suburbs (when did this happen?) but I’ve rediscovered casseroles in the past year or so. You’ll almost never see one on a restaurant menu but so many of us grew up with them on our dinner tables at home. When that shallow 13 x 9″ dish comes out of the oven, with errant strands of cheese baked onto the sides, I just know I’m in for a treat.

I’d actually describe this casserole as “mac & cheese with broccoli”.  Steamed broccoli is tossed with spiral-y fusilli pasta in a creamy cheddar cheese sauce, topped with Parmesan and baked to bubbly deliciousness.  I’m pretty sure I found this recipe on the side of a package of broccoli florets, although unfortunately I forgot to save enough of the original package to know for sure. Two good things I do know: 1) it tastes great alongside ham and 2) even a two-year-old will eat it.

Read more »

I was a little hesitant to post a chili recipe. Chili, it seems, can be rather personal to some people. Some believe in chili with all beef and no beans, others prefer vegetarian. There are those who pride themselves in their 30-item list of spices and other “secret ingredients”, others are content to pop open a can of Hormel and call it a day. Personally, I haven’t yet committed to any one way to enjoy chili. I’m still open to trying new recipes and discovering new approaches that I like. Since January is a popular time to simmer a pot of chili, with the colder weather and football championships and all, I thought I’d go ahead and share an “on-the-side” recipe.

Read more »

When I was 12 years old there was a contest at school where you had to guess how much a turkey they had on display weighed. My guess turned out to be correct – 22 pounds.

I won! I won!

I lugged my hefty prize out to the pick-up circle after school, proudly presenting our Thanksgiving turkey to my mom. For some reason, she didn’t seem nearly as excited about a win of these proportions.

Read more »

Ina Garten (aka, the Barefoot Contessa) roasts a chicken every Friday night for her husband Jeffrey when he makes the long drive out to their home in the Hamptons. How homey and inviting that sounds! Of course, Jeffrey is one lucky guy to be coming home to anything Ina makes, but a flavorful roast chicken is just one of those satisfying staples that always seems to please and is pretty easy to pull together. The Herb-Crusted Roast Chicken recipe I’m sharing today isn’t from Ina, but I’m quite sure Jeffrey would find it quite worth the drive home to “the island”.

Read more »

Split pea soup can be a little deceptive. With its bright green color, your eyes convince your mouth that it’s in for something really fresh and herby. You go in for the first spoonful and your tastebuds are surprised to be hit with rich, earthy, smoky flavors with a hint of sweetness – the result of having been simmered with smoked ham hocks for upwards of four hours.  Yes, they’re surprised – but they sure are happy.

Read more »

I’m an adult now (and have been for some time) so I shouldn’t really need excuses to eat my vegetables. But I still kind of do. It’s not that I don’t like them…but I don’t necessarily jump for them either. That is, unless they’re made in an especially tasty manner. This Creamy Broccoli Soup definitely qualifies.

Read more »