foodiecrush

Easy Shredded Chicken and Zucchini Tacos

September 25, 2018

Easy shredded chicken tacos get a healthy veggie upgrade when diced zucchini is added in for a fast dinner or lunch any day of the week.

“So, Sara…what’s your mom fixing for dinner tonight?”

It was my running joke with my daughter’s friend when I drove them home from Tuesday night basketball practice.

“Ugh. Taaaccccos, again,” she typically replied. “I’m kind of sick of tacos.” But how one possibly be tired of tacos?

Tacos are fast and easy to pull together as a simple vegetarian meal (these fried avocado tacos are BEYOND!) or with any sort of protein added in: fish tacos, beef tacos, slow cooker pork tacos, and yep, even spaghetti tacos. They’re one of the ultimate what-to-do-with-the-leftovers meal-prep meals.

So while Sara might be tired of Taco Tuesday, it makes a whole lot of sense to me.continue to the recipe… about Easy Shredded Chicken and Zucchini Tacos

Friday Faves

September 21, 2018

Hello and happy Friday!

I’ve been proofing and re-proofing every date, every word, and every letter in the 2019 Jan-Dec Nourished Planner so in my mind I’ve already moved on to next year. (and for those of you who’ve asked the pre-sale for the 2019 planner starts Oct.1, more info to come.)

But today it’s official. It’s the last day of summer which means tomorrow we officially welcome in fall. See? I CAN do math. Wow.

Not that you’d know it by the weather around here in Utah. It’s been hot hot hot. So hot the leaves are changing but look so bleh because they haven’t had the cold snap to get those sugars juicing the pretty colors.

Indian summer. Welcome to it.

It’s just one reason I’m looking forward to leaving for Vermont tomorrow. I’ve always heard it’s so amazingly gorgeous in the fall so I am ready to hunker down and cozy up and learn a thing or two about the area. I’ll be sharing on the Instastories so if you’re curious, follow along there.

So once I get back I’ll be taking advantage of all the fall produce (and make ALL the stuffed peppers) before those cold snaps hit. Real good real food. I’m in.

In case you missed them this week, I shared:

This one-pot chicken dinner that feeds four under $10 (plus a good cause to go along with it!)
And these no-bake cookies that are the gateway recipe for beginner cooks that veteran cooks still love too.
And sign up for my email list because I’m going to be doing some email only giveaways you’re gonna want to be part of for sure.

But enough about me. It’s time to dig into all those frigging Friday Faves. LET’S DO THIS!continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

September 20, 2018

These easy no-bake cookies are loaded with goodness and even a little bit of healthy. Old-fashioned oats, chocolate and the surprise addition of coconut make these classic no-bake cookies (without the peanut butter!) the very best.

No-bake cookies are a starter-cook-in-the-kitchen classic recipe that’s oh so easy to make.

That’s the good part.

So what’s the bad part?

It’s just that they’re so dang easy to make you can whip up a batch whenever the craving strikes. And then eat the whole bowl. By yourself. In one sitting.

Just ask my husband. That was his M.O. when back in the day after high school football practice he would make no-bake cookies at least once a week. As all big brothers do (or more aptly don’t) he refused to share any of the batch with his siblings. Brotherly love. It’s real.

But here’s the best part…

Once you make these no-bake beauties yourself, you’ll see why he was so selfish. And you won’t blame him one bit for keeping them all to himself.continue to the recipe… about The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

September 17, 2018

This creamy chicken and rice casserole is a fast and healthy 30-minute meal made right on the stove top, making it a favorite one-pot dinner that feeds a family of four for under $10.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

September is Hunger Action Month. As someone who has the access and the means to buy/grow/order food at my fingertips (or within a short walk or drive) every day of the week, this public initiative is a reminder that it isn’t nearly as easy for far too many. Helping others cure food scarcity is near and dear to my heart. And I hope to yours too.

So when Kroger asked me to participate in their #ZeroHungerZeroWaste donation challenge, I immediately said count me in. And now I’m challenging you to join too.

It’s one thing to donate that stray can of beans at the back of your pantry or the expired box of crackers. But it’s so much more to make healthful eating approachable and economical, showing families that there are better choices to easily cook and eat at home.

That’s why I’ve created this easy one-pot dinner to show you and those I’m donating it to that fast and easy dinners don’t have to come from a cardboard box, or sodium-loaded freezer meal, or be expensive.

They can just as easily come from real good, real food. And for many who are food challenged, most of the ingredients can be kept on hand in the pantry with little waste to be had.continue to the recipe… about One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Friday Faves

September 14, 2018

Hello, hello, and happy Friday!

While I’ve been traveling between lobster mac ‘n cheese (this is my fave recipe) and all the sea urchin I could devour in Santa Barbara, and then coming home to the hospital salad bar back home, my husband has been doing a bang up job keeping the home fires burning, and working on the home itself.

If you’ve been a follower of Friday Faves for very long, you know I love to share the home tours and remodeling links. Probably because home remodeling never seems to end so I’m always getting inspired myself.

We “finished” our 4th buy-the-worst-house-on-the-block-and-make-it-awesome remodel 12 year ago—it’s our dream house and the inspiration for my first, now-expired blog to document the process so we didn’t mind dumping a little extra money into it for the finer finishes. continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

September 13, 2018

This hybrid of roasted and mashed potatoes is literally a mash up of cooking techniques t0 create a creamy potato on the inside with the crispy edges everyone craves on the outside, and it’s all made extra good thanks to garlic, butter and rosemary flavored smashed potatoes.

Easy side dishes should be a dime a dozen but I keep hearing from you guys that this is one of the most challenging parts of putting the finishing touch on your dinner time meal.

The beauty of a simple side dish like potatoes is they go with pretty much any main dish. Personally, I could eat them as the main dish all on their own.

So why mash when you can smash?

Because smashed baby red potatoes that are crisped with garlicky butter and rosemary like these smashed red potato babies here are the sure cure for your dinner-finishing cravings.

continue to the recipe… about Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

Linguine con Vongole (Linguine with Clam Sauce)

September 9, 2018

Linguine with fresh clams in a garlic white wine sauce (authentically known as linguine vongole) is one of those dinners that sounds totally chic and fancy but is actually one of the easiest and budget-friendly Italian pasta recipes you can make.

I was recently sent the new Fred’s at Barney’s New York Cookbook by Barney’s New York’s chef Mark Strausman who teaches us how to make some of the famous dishes beloved for years by celebrities and chic shoppers in the fashion store’s Fred’s restaurant.

Flipping through the cookbook there were tons of recipes that looked divine, but when I found this recipe for Mark’s Baby Clams and Spaghetti, fresh clams went directly on my shopping list.

Clams and spaghetti at Fred’s became clams and linguine at my house, and now no matter which pasta you choose to prepare, this recipe is on it’s way to yours.

continue to the recipe… about Linguine con Vongole (Linguine with Clam Sauce)

Friday Faves

September 7, 2018

Happy Friday FoodieCrush friends!

Are you finally accepting summer has seen it’s swan song and settling into the fall routine?

I know. Me neither. But…

Fall is probably my favorite season of all.

I love to cocoon. There’s a crispness in the air with the changing of the leaves and the musty smell is somehow totally soothing. Not to mention the up-tick of energy as we all pick up our pace, because could it be? Yes, the holiday season is right around the corner.

Fall gives me the craving to get in the kitchen with all the slow cooker recipes and do all the baking — Smudge baked up these salted chocolate chip cookies again and they are THE BOMB-diggity!

Those cookies have given me sustenance because there’s been a lot going on around here, like:continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves

11 Use It Up Zucchini Recipes

September 5, 2018

These 11 recipes are sure to answer question of what to make with zucchini and cure your healthy recipe cravings at the same time.

I am 100% for fresh produce–but things can get a little out of hand in the garden this time of year, know what I mean?

If you’re like me, your counter tops are covered with zucchini and if you don’t have your own garden, I bet you’re getting doorbell ditched with tons of the stuff from friendly neighbors, desperate to offload their bounty.

Not that I’m complaining.

With so many ways to use this versatile veggie, you can eat squash every day through September without getting sick of it.

This roundup features 11 healthy, delicious recipes, guaranteed to help you make the most of summer’s most popular veggie.continue to the recipe… about 11 Use It Up Zucchini Recipes

Saucy Greek Baked Shrimp

September 4, 2018

This healthy Greek-inspired shrimp recipe in a saucy tomato base with feta can be cooked and served as a one-pot skillet dinner, or in a baking dish as a fast and easy-to-make appetizer that’s the first thing to disappear.

Don’t forget the bread.

That’s my big tip about this recipe. Don’t forget to add a few crusty sourdough slices to your shopping list. Bread is key if you’re a dipper like me. Because while you might first be attracted to this recipe because of the lure of perfectly baked shrimp (which they are), it’s every last drop of the sauce you’ll be sopping up that will have you making this recipe on repeat.

As we move from the heat of summer into fall’s cozy-up-comfort mode, this Greek flavored shrimp is the PERFECT transition recipe.

This tomato sauce is light and bright so it won’t bog you down, yet it includes the warming flavors of cinnamon and allspice to make you feel all cuddly and content.

And I’m pretty sure we can all agree that shrimp are totally right any time of year.continue to the recipe… about Saucy Greek Baked Shrimp

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Easy Shredded Chicken and Zucchini Tacos

Friday Faves

The Best No-Bake Cookies Recipe – with Coconut!

One-Pot Creamy Chicken and Rice

Friday Faves

Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

Linguine con Vongole (Linguine with Clam Sauce)

Friday Faves

11 Use It Up Zucchini Recipes

Saucy Greek Baked Shrimp

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