skillet

Easy Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine

These green beans almondine are made in one skillet, steaming the beans right in with the butter and almonds then finishing them off with some lemon juice.

Easy Green Bean Recipe

This year I’m adding more simple side dishes to the blog’s recipe list because while main dishes are often the star of the dinner time show, it’s the sides that I find always sneak in and steal the spotlight. And this FoodieCrush green beans almondine recipe is proof that statement is true because it’s easy enough to make for everyday, but pretty enough to serve for special occasions too.

I remember my mom making a version of this super easy green bean recipe since before I could even decide if I liked it or not. At our house, there wasn’t really an option. You ate what was served and that was that. But I always loved these green beans.

They’re crisp. Buttery. A little bit lemony, and always with the crunch of almonds. And they are totally unlike the Brussels sprouts my mom tried to poison me with, where with each forkful I’d chew just enough to be convincing, then fake cough the mouthful into my napkin so I could feed them to our dog Posey. But Posey was smart. She didn’t like Brussels sprouts either. But she would have loved these green beans, if I’d been generous enough to share with her.

And yes, it is true. You can feed dogs green beans to help them lose weight. It was our secret weight loss ingredient for our 120 lb. malamute, Akasha, who shed the pounds but still felt full thanks to the fiber in green beans. Or at least she wasn’t howling and writhing with hunger pangs because she was a dog…and since she couldn’t talk and couldn’t sneak her own food, I’m deciding she was just fine with her mix of dog food and green beans.

I’ve often wondered if the green bean diet would help humans lose weight too? I mean, why not? Green beans are high in dietary fiber, low-calorie and virtually zero fat. Not to mention the loads of vitamins they pass along to our able bodies.

But I digress…

Back to the almondy beans…

While this simple recipe for fresh green beans topped with almonds has always been at the top of my side dish list, my husband prefers the canned version and has passed that preference along to our daughter, too. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, especially when it’s totally convenient to pull a can out of the pantry to get a quick veg into a meal.

But in my starry eyes, there’s really nothing better than the al denté snap of these babies. And whether you call it green beans almondine or amandine, those brown buttered almonds are the perfect topper for an easy side dish any time of year.continue to the recipe… about Easy Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine

Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

This lemon chicken recipe makes juicy, bone-in chicken thighs with the Mediterranean flavors of white wine and artichokes for an easy chicken dinner ready in 30 minutes.

30-Minute Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

Easy chicken dinners are always at the top of FoodieCrush readers most requested recipe list. Healthy, flavorful, and fast to make slides right along into that list too.

Guess what friends? I’m right there with you. And if a chicken dinner doesn’t make the flavor grade, what’s even the point?

I’m happy to report, this lemony chicken thighs with artichokes recipe ticks all those fill-in-the-blank boxes and then some.

While this skillet lemon chicken recipes is an easy one to make, there are definitely a couple of tips to follow for success every time.

Let’s skillet to it.continue to the recipe… about Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

Easy Chilaquiles with Eggs Recipe

Thanks to Taco Tuesday’s Mexican-fest that left you with an extra bag of tortilla chips, salsa and hopefully avocado, all this recipe needs to add is a super simple homemade tomato and chile enchilada sauce and sunny side up eggs to make chilaquiles at home for one of the quickest breakfast or brunch recipes that you’ll totally be making for dinner too.

The first time I spied chilaquiles on the menu was when I actually was IN Mexico, because until recent years, it wasn’t a very common item at any of the Mexican American restaurants I’d been to.

The thought of mixing chips with enchilada sauce and then topping it all with eggs may not sound as compelling as beef and butternut squash enchiladas or 5-minute chipotle shredded chicken taquitos with my homemade creamy avocado salsa verde but because you can have this entire meal-in-one cooked and on the table in less than 20 minutes, that’s more than compelling to me.

The recipe archives here on FoodieCrush have a well-stocked list of Mexican favorites, but there’s been a hole just waiting to be filled with this skillet breakfast nacho recipe. That’s why when I was leafing through one of my favorite food bloggers new cookbook, The Minimalist Kitchen: 100 Wholesome Recipes, Essential Tools, and Efficient Techniques by Melissa Coleman of The Faux Martha, this recipe was just one that leapt from it’s beautifully, but simply, designed pages.

I’ve known Melissa for years and have first hand seen her work her recipe-making magic in her minimalist farmhouse kitchen and totally enjoyed the labor of her foodie love.

I remember looking at the spices in her kitchen cupboard and thinking to myself, “Really? Is that all she has to flavor everything she cooks with?” And when she asked me to hand her a spatula, I was surprised at the contrast to my own kitchen when I opened the drawer and there in Melissa’s drawer I found just.one.spatula.

But oh the magic Melissa can make when living, and cooking, with less. And not only cooking, but baking the best things, too. She lives what she preaches and does it with ultimate style and loving grace.

What you won’t find in The Minimalist Kitchen are recipes with a laundry list of ingredients or take all day to make. That wouldn’t be very minimalist, now would it? Instead what you’ll find along with 100 recipes for her famous pizzas, easy to succeed at desserts and her make-every-day-of-the-week-hummus, are Melissa’s tricks and tips to making and keeping a minimalist kitchen yourself. This is just one of the ways The Minimalist Kitchen stands out among the rest.

How to Create a Minimalist Kitchen

Here are a few of Melissa’s minimalist tendency takeaways I’m totally working toward myself:continue to the recipe… about Easy Chilaquiles with Eggs Recipe

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

This amazingly easy, 5-ingredient recipe makes traditionally bitter brussels sprouts sweet and crazy delicious thanks to roasting in a cast-iron skillet to create a caramelized bite of baby cabbage and salty pancetta for a favorite simple side dish any time of the year.

This recipe is brought to you by Kroger

Whether you call them correctly with the plural Brussels sprouts, or leave the S off the end of this cruciferous veg aka brussel sprouts, everyone can agree that these green baby cabbages are at their best when roasted in a skillet with crispy bacon bites drizzled with a maple-sweetened vinegar tang. Even a newly-converted-brussel(s) sprout lover, like me.

When I was a kid I pretty much loved everything my mom made for dinner and was just about always the first one finished. But when she served the one or two things I really didn’t care for, (“Awwwww…Brussels sprouts and liver????”) I had two secret tricks that made it so it appeared I was eating, but really, I wasn’t. First I’d take a gratuitous bite or two, then another combined with a fake cough straight into my napkin with whatever was in my mouth, that was quickly hid under the table and fed to the dog, or as I excused myself to go to the restroom and dumped into the toilet later.

I can’t believe my mom didn’t realize the only times I EVER had to go to the bathroom during dinner was when we had Brussels sprouts and liver. (Sidenote: Watch for my mom’s reply that she really did know all along in the comments below…I know her too well and I probably wan’t that good of an actress anyway.)

But thankfully, times change, and so do our palettes. At least half the time. I’m still not a fan of liver, but you can now count me as one of the lovers of Brussels. And even the singular brussel sprouts too, because of easy, 5-ingredient recipes like this.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Goat Cheese

30-minute recipes like this stuffed chicken thighs recipe with a mixture of creamy, melty goat cheese, spinach, artichoke hearts, and sun dried tomatoes that sits right under the crispy skin, not only make boring chicken dinners a thing of the past, but since it’s cooked all in one cast iron skillet, the typicial stack of dishes to wash goes by the wayside, too.

As a recipe creator, it’s part of my job to look through cookbooks. But as a regular-old, home cook, one of my favorite hobbies is to look at them for fun, too. Call me crazy—I’m okay with that—but don’t ever think I don’t find myself one of the lucky few who actually gets to weave a hobby they love into their full-time job. I mean, how many of us can count walking through the grocery store and squeezing avocados or deciding on shrimp or chicken for dinner tonight as the means for their paycheck? So when I receive another new cookbook in the mail, it’s like Christmas at our house. Make that Christmas in the kitchen.

Today’s recipe comes from Megan of the blog Country Cleaver‘s new cookbook Cast Iron Gourmet, with recipes any home cook can easily master. From one-pot dinners, to meals made with just 5 ingredients, or those ready in 30 minutes or less, these cast-iron skillet or dutch oven recipes prove her tagline of “with less fuss and fewer dishes” totally true. And totally my kind of recipes.

Chicken is always a popular recipe to prepare. The best grilled chicken. Oven roasted chicken (proof that garlic, lemon and rosemary are made for one another.) And of course slow cooker chicken. So it’s no wonder that while looking through Megan’s book that’s loaded with a bounty of comfort food recipes and deliciously inspiring photos, chicken is what made me stop and stare.

To put it simply, chicken can sometimes get boring. But not this one. I’ve been ready to add a cheese stuffed chicken recipe to the blog forever, so when this one loaded with my best-loved Mediterranean-inspired ingredients of artichokes, spinach, and sun-dried tomatoes caught my eye, it went straight to the top of my to-make-list.continue to the recipe… about Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Cast-Iron Skillet Whole Roasted Chicken With Potatoes

Nothing says simple comfort food like a whole-roasted chicken, and when tossed into an already-hot, cast iron skillet with sliced potatoes and onions, you have an incredibly easy one-pot-meal that’s ready in just one hour for dinner any night of the week.

If you’ve ever watched an episode of Barefoot Contessa, you know that Ina’s husband Jeffrey’s favorite meal is a whole roasted chicken. Every Friday night. She even wrote a cookbook about it. So while it may have become a bit of a schtick, I’d have to say those two are onto something.

I like to make a roast chicken on Sunday as part of my meal prep to have on hand for lunches and throw together dinners through the rest of the week.

And every time I roast that whole chicken I wonder why I don’t hear more about others preparing the whole humble bird. Because we all know, people love their chicken. Chicken breasts? Absolutely! Drumsticks? They’re the most transportable bite. Wings are always a party favorite, and even chicken thighs are having their day.

So when I picked up the latest issue of Bon Appétit’s Sunday Suppers issue and discovered a new variation on whole-bird roasting, I was in. And now, you are too. continue to the recipe… about Cast-Iron Skillet Whole Roasted Chicken With Potatoes

Friday Faves and a Pepperoni Italian Egg Skillet

It’s the last weekend before the final gorge, aka Thanksgiving.

But before you sweat it out over the pumpkin pie with distant cousin Miranda who doesn’t hesitant to tell you allllll about her kids amazing experience at the gifted children’s private school where they’re getting straight A’s or listen to Uncle Barry’s wife #4 who he met on his most recent trip to Baja, we must eat breakfast. Something that’s hearty enough to nourish us early in the a.m. and carry us past noon or until the big bird sings and more “interesting” relatives show up.continue to the recipe… about Friday Faves and a Pepperoni Italian Egg Skillet

Easy Green Beans with Browned Butter Almondine

Easy Green Bean Recipe

Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

30-Minute Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

Easy Chilaquiles with Eggs Recipe

How to Create a Minimalist Kitchen

Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Pancetta

Stuffed Chicken Thighs with Spinach and Goat Cheese

Cast-Iron Skillet Whole Roasted Chicken With Potatoes

Friday Faves and a Pepperoni Italian Egg Skillet

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

How to Make Classic Macaroni Salad

How to Make the Best Grilled Salmon

The Best Greek Chicken Marinade

skillet

Easy Green Bean Recipe

30-Minute Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

How to Create a Minimalist Kitchen

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5 Quick and Healthy No-Sweat Simple Meals