Sour Cream & Onion Baked Eggs (recipe) The first time I ate these baked eggs, I was with family up in Washington. I sat at the kitchen counter drinking coffee and watching my uncle as he cracked eggs into a pan and sprinkled them with salt and pepper, sour cream, shredded cheese, and green onions. That's it. Nothing fussy. Nothing fancy. He slid the pan into the oven and 20 minutes later we were all dying over something so simple but so crazy delicious. It was like a magic trick. We watched him do every step, but the ending was still a happy surprise. I now serve them to pretty much every single overnight guest in our home. They might have to Keep Reading
Watermelon Feta Mint Salad
Watermelon Feta Mint Salad Summertime is so close I can almost taste it. A few more weeks and we'll have kids in the sprinkler, burgers on the grill, tomatoes in the garden. And watermelons rolling in as fast as we can eat them. I don't mean to brag, but one of my life skills is picking out the perfect watermelon. I've only had a handful of bum ones in the last decade. I know everybody has their own routine in the produce department, sniffing-shaking-patting, but I personally stick to the heft and the thump. You want a melon that feels heavy and sounds hollow when you knock your knuckles on it. I learned it from my dad who learned it from his Keep Reading
Caprese Skillet Eggs (one-pan, gluten-free recipe)
Caprese Skillet Eggs (gluten-free recipe) Most of my summer afternoons are spent around our half-deflated kiddie pool. Four little bodies splash and shriek, while I watch behind my sunglasses and hold a magazine (I never actually read it, I just look at the same sentence over and over). Their life is pretty much the kid version of an all-inclusive resort. I am the nurse-lifeguard-chef-concierge. I'm not sure why 5 o'clock surprises me every single day, but it does. We're out by the pool, doing our thing, and suddenly all these little people think they are starving. I am out of snacks. It's time for dinner. Fast. This dish is one of those summer Keep Reading
Rice Bowls with Citrus Soy Dressing
Rice Bowls with Citrus Soy Dressing Whether you call them rice bowls, sushi bowls, wok bowls, or just plain old stir fry, I think we can all agree on one thing: they. are. delicious. A bowl of rice topped with sautéed meat or fresh vegetables and drizzled with a flavorful sauce. Sign me up. I think of rice bowls as Asian-inspired comfort food, perfect for May when we are making that rainy transition from winter to spring. They are packed with flavor and color, two things I crave as we move out of the winter blahs. This recipe is yet another favorite from Heidi Swanson's Super Natural Cooking (Amazon) The fresh, flavorful sauce comes together Keep Reading
How to Make Crockpot Pinto Beans
How to Make Crockpot Pinto Beans In my first bean-related post, I showed you that cooking dried, soaked beans in a crockpot works really well because of the long, slow simmer. I usually use a stovetop burner for every bean except pinto. It's just a weird personal preference. There's something about a pot of beans simmering on the stove that makes me feel incredibly domestic, in a south-of-the-border kind of way. When I'm cooking dried pinto beans, though, I always use my crockpot because 1) I don't have to keep an eye on them and 2) I like to cook them down until they are super soft before mashing them into the consistency of refried Keep Reading
Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce (Inspired by The Whole Bowl food cart)
Rice Bowls with Spicy Curry Sauce Today's recipe is inspired by Portland's own Whole Bowl food cart. These rice bowls are packed with fresh ingredients and a spicy sauce. According to the official Whole Bowl site, "It's like eating a hug." Portland is food cart territory; several Whole Bowl locations in Portland. You will probably notice the long line of people before you spot the tiny cart. They are waiting to get their hands on a Whole Bowl, "A comforting and healthy medley of brown rice, red and black beans, fresh avocado, salsa, black olives, sour cream, Tillamook cheddar, cilantro, Tali Sauce and trace amounts of attitude." Yum. UPDATE: Keep Reading
Basic bean soup (gluten-free, dairy-free recipe)
Basic Bean Soup When I was first learning my way around the kitchen and figuring out how to cook real meals for real people, I steered as far away from soup as possible. For some dumb reason, making soup seemed really difficult. Maybe it had something to do with all those different ingredients swirled together in one pot. Where do you start? I was totally intimidated. After a few years of giving soup the silent treatment, though, I finally decided to figure it out. I quickly discovered that making soup is actually one of the easiest kitchen skills! Heat some olive oil, add meat if you want, saute a bunch of vegetables, add seasonings, cover with Keep Reading