The Best Marinade Ever

Recently the H and I joined a coworker of mine for dinner and football. It was the Saints game that sent them to the Superbowl, and I was incredibly happy! I feel like I've waited for this moment my entire life. My coworker and his wife are pretty fantastic, and they served some pretty fantastic food to go along with it. Grilled salmon in an Asian-inspired marinade, steamed broccoli in a light sesame dressing/glaze, and wild rice. It was so good that I was thinking about it all day Monday, a good week later. MMMMM...

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Noodle Adventures: Grilled Tilapia and Stir Fry with Black Bean Sauce

I love rice noodles. They're so light and fluffy and take mere minutes to fully cook. Since we had rather bad weather yesterday afternoon, I picked my dinner options according to my pantry. I knew we would be having tilapia because Thursdays have kind of become our unofficial fish dinner night, and I had planned accordingly in this week's shopping trip. Tilapia is always an easy and budget-friendly protein to have around, and these babies were HUGE! So the 3 easy parts to this meal: Grilled Tilapia: brushed with olive oil, sprinkled with my favorite seasoning mix,...

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Meatless Meatballs? Really!?

I just discovered the most wonderful meatless invention ever: meatless meatballs.  Veggie Patch frozen meatballs...with no meat!

They are GOOD and filling.  I think they would even be good in an appetizer...you know the ones that Southern folks serve at parties in their crock pots?   The ones you eat with toothpicks and chase around your plate with a slightly sweet sauce on them?  I have no idea what those are called, but I would bet these would be good in that, too. Mix 'em with some marinara and noodles, and oh my!  I had wanted to make this another...

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The Noodle Adventures: Shirataki is a Go

I tried the shirataki noodles last night. They are actually really good. They come already cooked inside a bag with water. You have to strain out the water and rinse them pretty well because it is a little funky. I was expecting a raucous stench because some of the sights describing shirataki talked about how most people find the liquid to be highly unsatisfying to the nostrils. It really wasn't that bad at all. I wouldn't cook with it or anything, but I have smelled worse (husband, dog, students, the occasional changing of a...

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Snow Day Chili

No school today!  Of course the weather is affecting my taste buds, making me want something warm, filling, and slightly spicy. While at the grocery store earlier in the week (amidst the huge crowd of folks preparing for a "big winter storm"), I saw a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce.  Apparently, they are just mature jalapenos that have been smoked.  I'd also never had adobo either.  It is kind of like a bbq sauce without the sweetness.  And these little peppers are HOT, especially since it is the whole jalapeno with seeds and all.  Be careful not to...

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Hearty Goat Cheese (“if you please!”) Pizza

Homemade pizza is a standard at my house. I have a special place in my heart for pizza because my husband charmed me by making a few during our very first dates together. It was a rainy, cold day just like most of the days this week. So we stayed in, he made a pizza for me, and I introduced him to Lost. Making him my Lost buddy was incredibly selfish of me, but that is another story for another time. =) Allow yourself an hour since this dough needs to rise. Of...

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A Fresh Tofu Adventure: How to Make Homemade Tofu

Last week, I came across some great vegan blogs. After a couple months on an almost meatless diet, Joe and I have never felt better. I even started going to the track at the Y to run. If you know me, you might be laughing your head off. I am not a runner. I love my spin class, but I am just too pale and lanky to be one of those "runner chicks." After we spent the latter part of the summer grilling mushrooms and salmon on the grill instead of burgers (and not...

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cheesy spaghetti squash casserole

I bought this awesome spaghetti squash after reading a couple of posts over at D is for Delicate. A previous roommate of mine made stuff with spaghetti squash. It was always weird to me. Heck, still is. I mean, how does it create noodles like that?! I realize that the point of spaghetti squash is to go the low carb way, but I put panko bread crumbs on it anyway. What the hell, right? I bought a load of some sort of cheese a while back at Costco. I cannot for the...

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Thai Coconut Soup and Pecan Crusted Tilapia

After 3 full days of Thanksgiving and the leftovers, I was ready for something different. Don't get me wrong. I love the fried turkey, smoked pork loin, ham, turkey dressing, cheesy carrot casserole, sweet potato casserole, pumpkin pie, pecan pie, jam cake, cole slaw, rolls, and heavenly hash. Heavenly hash is what clouds in heaven taste like. And one mustn't forget Mim's english pea salad. It is probably my favorite part of Thanksgiving. Mim, Joe's grandma, makes this delicacy. And I WILL find out the recipe. But, alas, just as the 1500 piece puzzle...

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Twin Peaks Lasagna

After a long week at work, my husband and I bummed out on the couch for the better half of the afternoon watching the first episode of Twin Peaks.  We recently visited some of the places where they filmed.  We took a belated honeymoon because neither of our work schedules matched up until October 3-10.  We flew out to Seattle because we both had always wanted to go.  Most people didn't really seem as psyched as us to be going out to the west coast.  Joe's sister-in-law, Linda, told me about this luxurious Salish Lodge in Snoqualmie Falls which is...

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