entree

Juicy Roast Turkey Breast

The best way to cook roast turkey breast isn’t in the crockpot, but in the oven instead, and it only takes 30 minutes to cook.

Thanksgiving isn’t the only time of the year to talk turkey. Sure, it’s a popular protein over the holidays, but it should totally be considered as a dinner contender any time of year.

Turkey. It isn’t just for sandwiches anymore.

Turkey has so much more to offer than just a side dish to mashed potatoes, stuffing, and gravy. Especially when it’s cooked as a roasted turkey breast like this easy-to-make recipe.

My turkey-making-tricks result in a turkey breast that’s juicy on the inside, crispy on the outside, and ready to gobble down, whether it’s served with all the fixins’, in my favorite turkey pot pie, or yes, even as an awesome grilled cheese turkey sandwich.continue to the recipe… about Juicy Roast Turkey Breast

Baked Stuffed Bell Peppers With Beef Recipe

This healthy and easy dinner idea combines ground beef, rice, and sweet and colorful red, yellow and orange bell peppers for an easy dinner any night of the week.

Until my 20’s, bell peppers and I were far, far, far from fast friends.

I viewed the crunchy, green orbital vegetables with a look of disdain whenever they appeared on pizzas or veggie platter plates and as a kid, wrinkled my nose and plotted how to ditch every single bite in a napkin when my mom served them up for dinner.

But just like taking leisurely car rides on a Sunday afternoon, reading novels with long words you finally understand but now need readers to see, and taking hot baths (give me a tub every night of the week!), eating the food you hated as a kid suddenly becomes not. that. bad. as an adult. And sometimes, even really, really good.

And whenever I can serve a meal in it’s own vessel, it’s bonus time. Enter, stuffed bell peppers.

continue to the recipe… about Baked Stuffed Bell Peppers With Beef Recipe

Easy Lemon Orzo Faux Risotto

Say it ain’t faux! Yes it is! Faux ri-soh-tto to be exact.

I’m a big believer in real stuff. Real butter. Check. Real friends. They’re the only kind. Real flowers instead of fake? Always.

So why go faux with risotto?

1. In my humble cooking opinion, using orzo makes this recipe a whole lot less temperamental to cook. Traditional risotto takes a lot of hand holding—and constant stirring—to ensure success. Orzo is a bit more forgiving.

2. This orzo is organic AND whole wheat — healthy carbs rejoice!

3. I make it often because it cooks up in just 30 minutes and can be served as a main dish, or served as a side. It’s flexible like that. And one of my pantry staples.

Here’s why…

continue to the recipe… about Easy Lemon Orzo Faux Risotto

Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

Here is the thing about eating seasonal: You eat it while it’s fresh and you eat it ’til it’s gone.

I’ve pretty much been living this mantra all week long thanks to a batch of Hatch chiles I was gifted that resulted in an unofficial Hatch chile week in my kitchen, on my dinner table and here on the bloggity blog.

I was gifted these pretty little peppers by my friend Amanda, who brought them to me from New Mexico where Hatch chiles are authentically grown. Because it’s hard to get them fresh and locally here in Utah, I was thrilled! What a great hostess gift for a heat seeking foodie, don’t you think?

With so many options of how to put these chiles to work, I took to my Facebook page and asked you what recipes you wanted to see. Along with the favorites chile topped cheeseburgers, chile rellenos and enchiladas, here’s what you had to say:

Lisa said: “Green chile stew. I use the recipe from the Santa Fe school of cooking. Delish!” (I’m freezing some chiles so I can make Amanda’s version of this in the slow cooker this winter after a chilly ski day.)
Heather asked for: “Salsa verde!” Check that! Get my recipe for Hatch Chile Salsa Verde here. P.S. You’ll need it for this recipe, too!
Faye requested: “Hatch Chili and Chorizo Frittata.” I’m putting it on a to-make list.
Desiree commented: “I made a Hatch chile pull apart bread,” and doesn’t it look good!
Christopher may have been the most adventuresome of the group and a dyed in the wool Hatch chile lover. He said: “I roasted 25lb. I use them in eggs, smoothies, ice cream, hot and sour soup, stews, rice and bean burritos. I go through about a 1lb every week.” The man likes it spicy.

In then end, I had some great ideas to work with. But my husband ended up trumping them all with his request for a homemade Chile Verde.

continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

One-Pan Chicken with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Sauce

You might have a secret desire to be Suzy homemaker. Or to be known as the Martha Stewart of your neighborhood. Or strive to be just like whoever that overachiever is on Pinterest who makes, creates and cooks every. single. thing. from scratch.

I’m here to tell you that it’s okay to let those dreams die.

It’s okay to take a short cut here and there.

You don’t have to do it all, every. single. time. Especially when it comes to weeknights in the kitchen when all you’re craving is some simple, easy comfort food.

Hey! Let’s jump on the short cut, one-pan-dinner train together.

continue to the recipe… about One-Pan Chicken with Creamy Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Sauce

Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine

Lazy, dazy comfort food days. That’s what weekends are made of. And that’s when my man takes charge in the kitchen.

I’ve told you before about how my guy (I call him G-Dawg, because we’re gangstas like that) makes appearances here on the blog as a pretty good hand model, a stellar dish washer and super cute sous chef who can dice an onion so precisely it puts Bobby Flay to shame.

But his real talent is in front of the stove creating crazy mash-ups of our favorite foods. And this Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine is sure to be one that will go down as one of his masterpieces.

The recipe is inspired by three of our favorite food groups: pasta, chicken and hot sauce. Yes, you heard it right, hot sauce IS a food group. I’m claiming it now.

continue to the recipe… about Buffalo Chicken Fettuccine

Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

I wish I had a joke for you about when a chicken walked into a bar and met a lemon, some garlic and olive oil and they all got bagged together. But I’m not very good at jokes, that’s my Uncle T’s job.

But this recipe does indeed call for lounging in a bag. Not sure where the joke went but there’s got to be one in there somewhere.

This is one of those recipes that no matter what the season—or how bad the humor—whether I’m grilling outdoors or baking inside, is a go-to, never-fail, crave-worthy dinner option. And the best part is after a good soak—in the bag, in the refrigerator—it’s beyond easy to deliver to the dinner table with practically zero clean-up.

Skewers and kabobs can be really, really good, or go really, really bad. Small pieces of meat left unattended can turn into crispy little burned nuggets of unrecognizable char or simply become dry and overcooked when you’re distracted by obsessively checking your Instagram feed.

And while I do enjoy a good vegetable laden skewer, more often I like my protein to hang out on its own with just a simple flavoring in between, and set the cherry tomatoes, zucchini discs and bulbs of mushrooms off to their own devices to mingle on their own skewered line.

That’s why I’m such a fan of my Greek-inspired Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers in all of their glorious, lemon-marinaded simplicity

continue to the recipe… about Grilled Lemon Chicken Skewers

Things Aren’t Always What They Seem to Be: Sticky Glazed Asian Ham

As I was driving home from teaching class one of the past Tuesday nights of one of the past months since last September, my mind wandered as I zoned in and out, listening to my favorite part of my Tuesday night teaching gig—Tuesday Night Takeover with Karamea, her songlist is “the jam” as the kids say these days.

Per usual, my thoughts drifted to and fro about blogging. Not necessarily my blog, or even food blogs, but blogs in general.

And I had an epiphanie. Or a comparison, rather, about what blogs are like.

Some of you may be single, looking for that new special somebody. What does a girl or guy have to do these days to meet somebody new?

Date someone from work? Not always the best idea. If things go south you either need to find a new job or walk past one another with eyes averted as you secretly spy on the flirting going on with the new temp.

At a bar? The classic hook up, but unless you’re under 25, what you remember as a cute and flirty scene quickly devolves to desperation.

Which has led many singles to online dating sites. Match, e-Harmony, etc., we’ve all heard encouraging stories of relationships that have blossomed from screen time to snuggle time.

But first there’s that suffering vetting process. Screening through candidates and their life stories of roses and unicorns. Why yes of course he’s 6’3” with a chiseled jaw, a great job and no baggage, why wouldn’t he be single? Look at that perfectly poised photo and read those disarmingly witty texts he sends. And then you meet in real life, only to discover what really lies at the belly of the beast isn’t nearly as engaging or real as his onscreen persona.

And that’s where I found the comparison. Blogs are a lot like dating sites.continue to the recipe… about Things Aren’t Always What They Seem to Be: Sticky Glazed Asian Ham

Spring Vegetable Gnocchi

Before I talk about today’s recipe, I want to send my heartfelt thoughts to those that were affected by the bombing yesterday at the Boston Marathon finish line. Thankfully my friend, and many of yours, Dara of Cookin’ Canuck and her family—in Boston to cheer on her husband Steve who crossed the finish line just 3 minutes before the bombing—have let us all know via Twitter that they are fine even with the blast happening just one block and three minutes away from them.

Timing. It’s a tenuous thing.

My thoughts and prayers go out to all of the families and participants, volunteers and emergency care workers who were affected, especially those that could not walk away. Special prayers to the family of the 8 year old who was killed in this manic event. That hits way too close to home. I cannot imagine.

Why did this happen? Why do any of these deranged plots happen? What are people thinking? I just can’t wrap my head around why anyone, ANYONE, thinks this is a good way to prove a point, gain notoriety or to simply create chaos through terror.

The only way I know how to address this is to love my loves and look for beauty and unselfishness in this unstable world. I hope you can too.

I’m very much a creature of habit. Or more likely a creature of cravings. When it comes to going out to eat I can rarely motivate myself to deviate from my standard favorites, especially when it comes to any sort of ethnic food. Mexican food: I always gravitate to the Chile Rellenos. Sushi: I must have Spicy Tuna anything.

When it comes to Italian, its rarely a question of what to order once the waiter rolls around: Gnocchi please. The sad thing is, at most Italian eateries gnocchi isn’t always standard fare. That’s why Sea Salt in Salt Lake City is one of my favorite spots to eat, since they have at least 5 different gnocchi recipes on the menu.

While Gnocchi alla Norma is my favorite and will make the blog sometime in the future, I’m working on spreading my wings and rallying through the rest of the menu at Sea Salt. Yep, I’m going wild around here. At least in the gnocchi department.

How it has taken me this long to get these potato pillows on the blog is beyond me.continue to the recipe… about Spring Vegetable Gnocchi

Seared Ahi Tuna with Asian Avocado Salsa

Are you a dinner recipe planner or do you fly by the seat of your desires once your cute striped TOD’s hit the front door of your favorite grocery store?

I wish I was a better grocery shopping planner. But then if I was, I wouldn’t have found these amazing tuna steaks at the good old Costco. And because I would have had a list I was compelled to follow, I probably wouldn’t have deviated from said written word. And then, I wouldn’t have shared these lovely meaty fishes with you. Meaty fishes? Oxymoron. But still.

When we lived in Venice, we didn’t have to buy fish from the good old Costco. We had Santa Monica Seafood which for anyone who has a crush on fish is like a the sparks that fly between Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper in Silver Lining Playbook. Why oh why did he not win Best Actor. His baby blues deserve their own award, stat.

SM Seafood had a plethora of fish, every single day. Stuff you’ve never heard of. But the tuna was crazy good. But given we were on the pacific coast, we didn’t always have to get our tuna from the store.

Nope, we had Jimmy for that.

continue to the recipe… about Seared Ahi Tuna with Asian Avocado Salsa

10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

This year’s Thanksgiving dinner table conversation could turn from a mild meet-up to a combative melee depending on one’s beliefs. Why? Here’s one reason why.

Thanks for the stimulating conversation but I’ll be staying far from the fracas.

Thanksgiving brings out opinions aplenty in areas other than current events or whether the Redskins or Cowboys will take the turkey honors. Some of the strongest are tied to food and the stalwart stands we each take when it comes to defending our turkey day dinners.continue to the recipe… about 10 Cranberry Recipes plus a Turkey Cranberry and Grilled Brie Cheese Sandwich

Chipotle Shrimp Burritos with Simple Avocado Crema

I’m Heidi and I love Mexican food. It’s 100% true and I am 100% good with owning up to the fact that if you can give me something spicy to eat I’ll be more than happy to choose it over a mundane turkey on white bread sandwich. Unless that turkey on white bread sandwich also comes with a layer of sweet cranberry sauce and avocado slices with a sprinkle of kosher salt. Then we are in business. Add pickles and I might be in heaven.

But for as much as I love Mexican food, from the tacos and gooey enchiladas to tomatillo salsa and citrusy guacamole, I’m not much of a burrito buff. So many flavors packed into portions that could feed a village resulting in the embarrassing wipe down of my face with half a dozen napkins—while searching for more—and the overwhelming kerfunkle of feeling like I just ate a house once I’m finally finished.continue to the recipe… about Chipotle Shrimp Burritos with Simple Avocado Crema

Dinner is for Kids: Spaghetti Tacos Recipe

I know, I know. You’re sitting there, staring at this post and thinking this recipe is one of those “Oh let’s see how outlandish we can be and create an oddball recipe just to be different.”

Well, it is and it isn’t.

Blame it on Spencer. He’s Carly’s big brother.

Smudge has been relentlessly requesting Spaghetti Tacos ever since she saw the first episode of Nickelodeon’s iCarly. Which means its been, like, 2 years.

And surprisinglly, I think it’s pretty good too.

continue to the recipe… about Dinner is for Kids: Spaghetti Tacos Recipe

Chicken Sliders with Pasilla Peppers and Chipotle Ketchup

I’m like my mom this way. I love a good burger.

On our summer trips to visit my Grandma in San Francisco, my dad would make a huge bed in the back of the Suburban and my sister and I would travel the 600 miles there and 600 miles back sprawled out in the lap of luxury on a 6 inch styrofoam bed, surrounded by magic markers, books and games.

Our road trips were pre-seatbelts, pre-DVD, pre-books on tape and even pre-VHS or Sony Walkman. Raise your hand if you’re wondering what those are. Oh my, oh my, oh my..continue to the recipe… about Chicken Sliders with Pasilla Peppers and Chipotle Ketchup

Brined and Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

This week has definitely been one for the record books.

Thank you, thank you for all of your amazing support of—and eyeballs on—the launch of the Summer 2012 issue of FoodieCrush magazine. Your comments through the blog, on Twitter and Facebook reinforce my belief that there IS an audience that loves food bloggers, their recipes and photography and you too want to know more about these talents beyond their blogs.

Please don’t stop learning about these bloggers after you click close on the magazine. Visit their blogs and let them know you’re there with a simple comment, a wave or a shout and let them know you like them and their work.

One of the articles I was most excited to share is the Boys of Summer feature, featuring some of the best boy bloggers on the web aka Verses From My Kitchen, The Sophisticated Gourmet, SippitySup, Closet Cooking, A Thought for Food and Eat the Love, to give them some man-love-food props and strut their boy food stuff. I keep thinking they would make an amazing boy band, I’d be a groupie for sure.

There are so many amazing food bloggers on the www. I swear I have enough content to publish a new issue every week. Hey, that might be something to aspire to right?

So getting another issue of FoodieCrush out the door. Whew. That was a big deal.

And another big deal happened for me too, something some of you may have seen a mention of on Twitter or Facebook.continue to the recipe… about Brined and Grilled Pork Loin Roast with Balsamic and Raspberry Chili Glaze

Garlic Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp

Wow, what a week its been. And before I can even think of digging into one of my favorite recipes, I have to say thanks. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

This week Maria and I launched Cookie Cravings, Two Peas and Their Pod’s first foray into the cookbook arena and another publishing adventure for me. We both agree its been such a rewarding project to create and finally share with our readers.

So again, thank you, thank you, thank you for all of you for your amazing feedback and support; I can finally uncross my fingers and toes thanks to the digital delivery process going off without a hitch. If you haven’t already, visit my cookbook page for all of the cookie details.

continue to the recipe… about Garlic Soba Noodles with Grilled Shrimp

Mini Hot Dog Rolls and My Academy Award Recipe Round-Up

Paparazzi-chased limousines and never-ending flash of camera flashes. Form-fitted, haute couture-dressed beauties dripping in diamonds floating down the cascading red carpet. Acceptance speeches that have been rehearsed and rehearsed and rehearsed because, “It’s just an honor to be nominated.” Uh-huh. We’ve heard that one before.

The Academy Awards telecast is one of my favorite TV nights of the year, when the pomp and circumstance of Oscar’s big night and the celebrity falderal come front and center and we cheer—and jeer—the winners and the losers of Hollywood’s biggest popularity contest.

Which makes it the perfect night for us to pop some champers ourselves, invite some friends over and party like the Hollywood royalty we aren’t.

Who will be the big winner? It’s anyone’s guess with Vegas bookies as nervously sweaty about the odds as the ravenous, 10-day cleanse-ed actresses starvingly awaiting Wolfgang’s braised short ribs to be served.

For me, I have my odds-on favorite to win and a recipe to honor it in all the glory it’s leading man and his abs deserves.

Ever since the 1996 Golden Globes, when Brad—yeah, we’re on a first name basis, just don’t tell my husband—won the award for Best Supporting Actor and thanked his “love o’ my life, the angel Gwyneth Paltrow”—oh, if only that had worked out—I have been rooting for the poor little guy who just can’t catch a break to win at The Big Show. Maybe this will be his coup de grace, the one thing that will put him on a cover of a magazine.

So what’s my tribute to the big night?continue to the recipe… about Mini Hot Dog Rolls and My Academy Award Recipe Round-Up