If you read Part 1, then you know that crispy, rich, tasty pork carnitas are a key component to The Ultimate Crowd-Pleasing, Make-Ahead, Freezer-Friendly Party Meal. This post is devoted to the rest of it – the elements that make a meal that can satisfy just about anyone’s tastes and dietary preferences. You are channeling…
Recipes
Carnitas (The Ultimate Crowd-Pleasing, Make-Ahead, Freezer-Friendly Party Meal – Part 1).
If you bothered to read the whole title – I really didn’t want to stop there, to be honest. I wanted to say this meal can also be paleo! vegetarian! gluten-free! perfect for meat-lovers! kid-approved! and lends itself well to having people over, transporting a meal to someone, and even a themed potluck. In other…
Brown Rice in the Oven.
Maybe you’re awesome and you can cook rice on the stovetop without it boiling over and/or sticking to the bottom of the pot and/or turning out wet since it didn’t absorb all the water, but for some reason this is a skill that escapes me. Or at least, it escaped me five years ago when…
Split Pea Soup (with ham).
Happy Thanksgiving, friends! Oh, man. I get food-excited pretty often, but I have a special love for all the components of a Thanksgiving dinner. I love it so much that I usually want to have the same exact meal in the same exact proportions a second night. Also: open-faced turkey and gravy sandwiches. Also: all…
Crunchy Black Bean Tacos.
I should probably be sharing a Thanksgiving-y recipe, but at this point in my life I can only show you what we’ve been eating, and we haven’t eaten Thanksgiving dinner yet. So, black bean tacos it is! Really, though, these lightly spicy, crispy, crunchy black bean tacos are the perfect thing to cook and eat in…
Chocolate Chess Pie (and the easiest pie crust ever!)
I love treats. Love ’em. I have a Pinterest board with 154 mouth-watering treats pinned on it, and I want to eat all of them. Like Apple-Spice Layer Cake with Caramel Swirl Icing. Or a Giant Oatmeal Creme Pie. Or Chocolate and Coconut Cream Pie Bars. And maybe one day I’ll make them (I mean –…
Pumpkin Bread.
Every fall, I get a craving for pumpkin pancakes, and I get all excited and look at recipes and pick one to try and get a lot of dishes dirty…and every time, I’m disappointed.
Roasted Pork Tenderloin (and Better Steamed Broccoli).
I hate to brag, but I married the Grill Master. (I’m sorry, but I snagged him and you didn’t. Fortunately, there’s hope for you. Read on.) There have always been a few things that I don’t even bother to cook inside since I love the grilled version so much more – and pork tenderloin was one…
Spicy Chicken Soup.
Some days, this sweet baby I have just doesn’t want to be put down. She’s perfectly content to hang out in my left arm while I attempt to do all the life tasks with my right. And with the exception of chopping vegetables and using a can opener, I made this chicken soup and documented it for…
Jay’s Steel Cut Oats (the perfect make-ahead breakfast).
I’ve been in a breakfast rut for aboouuut 10 years. It involves peanut butter on an English muffin and I’m happy here. I mean, I can be tempted out of it pretty easily with a pancake or something in that genre, but I can live without cereal or grits or oatmeal. But then Jay made…
Cheesy Bean Burritos (Stocking the Freezer #1).
Look! It’s a dinner that doesn’t involve potatoes! I love to cook. And by that I mean I love to make and eat delicious food. But I don’t necessarily love the process of making dinner every night – because, the budget. The unpredictable pickiness of children. The dishes. The juggling of schedules and activities. And…
Crispy Parmesan Potatoes.
Barbecue chicken, plain-jane steamed green beans, and crispy parmesan potatoes. This plate is scoring no creativity points, but I hereby award it lots of delicious points. It’s a thing. Trust me.
Apple Pie Dip and Cinnamon Sugar Pita Chips.
Having a three-year-old has really cramped my snacking style helped me to make healthier snack choices. It’s just a lot harder to sneak things than it used to be! That means I generally only snack at designated times, and I eat something I’m willing to give her. So I’m very glad when there’s a big…
Roasted Sweet Potatoes (and Jalapeño Cheddar Turkey Burgers).
I love to try new recipes, and one of my strategies is to pair something new with something familiar. This is both to ensure that there’s a friendly food on my three-year-old’s plate, and since new recipes can take more time and mental energy, it’s nice to have an easy, cooks-itself dish alongside. …Like these roasted sweet potatoes!…
Cinnamon Banana Muffins.
Last week we got to have dinner with friends who were just days away from the birth of their sweet baby girl. The mom was laughing and telling us about how she had accidentally burned a huge batch of banana muffins she was making for her freezer. Since Jay was letting their dog out while…
Cheesy Squash Casserole.
This is not a casserole blog. I’m not a casserole person. But I love this squash casserole. So it’s not exactly representative of what I typically cook, but after toying with the idea of having a food blog for…years…for some reason, this was the day. Because, you know, nothing screams “take on a new project!” like having…