Sub-zero winter temps never fail to make me crave rich, creamy comforting soups. You know the type… those soups that coat the spoon just right and envelop your whole body in warmth and childhood nostalgia. For me, creamy chicken wild rice soup does just that. …
It’s cookie season and I am not immune to all of the delectable holiday baking and candy making. My girls and I recently made my all time favorite cookie, chocolate mint cookies and also made a few batches of toffee. This is the time of …
I’ve previously claimed to not really like cauliflower but, you guys, I am SOLD!!! My fabulous mother in law brought a cauliflower gratin over for our Thanksgiving feast that I thought was really tasty. So I thought, why not kick it up a notch? I already have a squash and cheddar cheese fondue as well as a chile con queso dip recipe that I occasionally alter slightly and use as a mac and cheese sauce base which would be perfect for a gratin as well. So, creative girl that I try to be, I figured I could combine the best flavors of all of them and make a kickin’ nacho cauliflower gratin!
To make sure the cauliflower gratin doesn’t end up too watery and cause your cheesy delightful sauce to separate, boil the cauliflower first for about ten minutes until it’s tender crisp. Then, drain it in a colander and spread it out into a tea towel or cheesecloth. Let it cool until it’s cool enough to handle and then squeeze it until you’ve gotten as much water out of it as you can. It can then be stirred into the gratin sauce. This cauliflower gratin also has pureed squash in it for added veggie value along with the cauliflower. The addition of pureed squash makes the sauce doubly rich and creamy 🙂
Something very exciting just happened. By that, I mean something more exciting than making homemade tater tots, which I know, is also very exciting so I’ll get to that in a minute. You guys! I just made the list of Top 100 Clean Eating Blogs! …
Thanksgiving is just a handful of days away so I’ve been preparing my home to host family and friends the entire weekend long. I am thankful for the opportunity to share food and laughter together with the people who mean the most to me. To …
Take your (wild) game to the next level of flavor with these venison steaks smothered in a sweet smoky aioli! Venison is a deliciously high protein meat that’s also low in fat which makes it perfect for individuals who are watching their calories but still like the richer taste of beef or wild game. These steaks are prepared in a simple fashion for a quick easy meal. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and red pepper flakes if you like a smidgen of heat and cook until they’re done to your liking. I prefer my venison just a little pink, around the medium scale of doneness, for the best flavor and tenderness. Cooking venison too long almost always leads to tough dry meat since it’s so low in fat.
These venison steaks get a tasty treatment from a homemade sweet and smoky aioli. Aioli is really just a fancy word for thinned out and flavored mayonnaise. This delicious smother sauce starts with homemade mayonnaise (or you can use your favorite brand) combined with a little honey, mustard and sweet barbeque sauce. This sauce is also super tasty paired with tater tots or baked chicken tenders!
If you love venison, try out these other fantastic venison recipes: Venison Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce, Venison Chili, Venison Stroganoff and Marinated Venison Chops!
My daughter went hunting for the very first time this year. I learned to hunt when I was about her age and remember sighting deer with my dad, though I never really took to it. I preferred to help cut the meat into its proper …
Never mind the pumpkin spice craze going on right now. Instead, I’ll opt for this Indian inspired apple chutney spread. On EVERYTHING! This apple chutney is the flavor of fall in a jar (or bowl, however you roll). Having picked an abundance of apples from my …
I’m on a Thai food and Asian cuisine kick. It’s truly some of my favorite flavor combinations. When it’s about to freeze outside (we had our first frost last night!), I love to use tender garden herbs en masse in tasty meals like tomato basil soup which uses a LOT of basil or in stir fry like this Thai basil chicken. Fragrant, herbaceous basil of the Thai variety is used in this dish as it has a slightly more spicy bite to it. You can use whatever basil you have on hand as it’s incredible with any kind you use. This recipe is quite fast to make so it’s great for nights when you have a little less time to cook.
Bold umami flavor from a traditional sauce blends perfectly with tender chicken morsels and fills your kitchen with a basil-perfumed aroma. This dish can easily be made spicier or less spicy by altering the type of chilies you use or by omitting them altogether. I like mine to have some heat so I used a combo of spicy peppers like red fresno, jalepeno, and serrano. If it were just me eating it, a ghost pepper might end up in the mix but alas, it needs to be kid and Midwestern hubby friendly. Stir fry recipes are so wonderful for using garden fresh veggies and you don’t have to use the same veg in each one. This basic basil infused sauce could easily be tossed with broccoli and snow peas for a slightly different version. Spooned over rice or rice noodles, you get a gorgeous presentation that the kids will happily devour too.
Poison ivy is not an experience I’d recommend. I was moving some of my raspberry plants last weekend out of an area that I knew had poison ivy into a better spot without poison ivy in it. Well, I forgot to wash my gloves and …
