Smoked Salt & Pepper

I really liked the stuffed acorn squash I'd made in the fall, and thought I'd do a riff on it with bell peppers.  More season appropriate. Instead of chorizo, I used Italian sausage. It was really pretty and turned out really yummy. Too bad Reid worked late the night I made them. I got to eat it while watching some "Mindy Project". Reid got leftovers a few nights later and still thought it was good. Stuffed Bell Peppers Ingredients 4 large green bell peppers 1/2 lb. Italian sausage, casings removed 1/4 medium onion, chopped 1 c. bulgar wheat, cooked 1/4 c. chopped Italian/flat leaf parsley 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese or Parmesan cheese 1 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. pepper 1. Over medium high heat, cook onions and Italian sausage in large skillet until no longer pink.   2. In a large bowl, combine sausage and onions, bulgar, parsley, cheese, salt and pepper. 3. Cut the tops of each bell pepper off and remove seeds and membrane.  4. Spoon sausa...

Last weekend I had my bachelorette weekend in Vegas and it was so fun. I think the best part was being able to see so many of my girl friends who live all over. My old roommate, Allegra, wrote me a card about some of the good times we had when we lived together and one of the things she mentioned was when I threw together a quiche with our leftovers. I had totally forgotten about that and it was such a sweet memory to remember. Anyway, it made me crave quiche and so I made this for lunch after work today. I don't know if it was because I was so hungry or because of some of the tweaks I made to my recipe, but it came out so pretty and yummy!  Also, if you want to make this quiche extra delicious, make Tartine's homemade pie crust**.  Reid will literally just eat the pie crust, it's so good!  It makes 2 pie crusts, so you can freeze one of them to make quiche another day. Spinach Quiche Ingredients: 1 c milk with 2 tsp Greek yogurt mixed in, allow to set at room temp ...

We've been trying to have "Meatless Mondays" to cut down on how much meat we usually eat.  Nothing too crazy, just one day a week when we try to eat vegetarian.  It doesn't seem hard, but we're pretty bad at remembering.  My parents did something similar before my dad when totally vegetarian.  I know I won't be able to do that because I am not as amazing and creative of a cook as my mom, but I'll try.  My sister and her husband have been doing this too, so I thought we could give it a try.  One of the recipes I've made several "Meatless Mondays" is this simple tofu with soy sauce recipe.  It's easy to have a block of tofu on hand, and this prep is not too difficult.  Even though I work a little later on Mondays, I can still have dinner ready by 7:00pm when I throw this quick one together.  Plus, I get to use some of the green onions we've got growing in our raised vegetable/herb gardens (thank you, previous tenant). Another plus of ...

Made this mac n' cheese this week for dinner.  Let me tell you, I have probably tried 80 million recipes for homemade mac n' cheese! Most times, I'm a little disappointed that they don't seem to taste any better than the blue box versions that only take 15 minutes to make.  I've tried all sorts of mac n' cheese recipes that range from baked bread crumb topped, with expensive cheeses, having to make a beschemel, to truffle oil mac n' cheese.  I love a nice creamy, cheesy, mac n' cheese.  And this recipe hit the spot.  And since it's 'smoky' it adds just another layer of tastiness.  I think having the Savory Smoky Hills Cheese Powder helps a lot.  Savory Spice Shop is a little spice shop that we found out about two Christmas' ago.  One of Reid's uncles friends owns one of the shops in downtown Austin.  It's an artisinal spice shop, which is awesome.  Reid got a set of BBQ spice rubs for Christmas once and I still use them every...

We've gotten TONS of wedding gifts recently.  I'm trying not to use any of the gifts until I write Thank You's, just as an incentive to get those done in a timely manner, but some gifts just can't wait.  Like the KitchenAid Stand Mixer from Reid's Mom.  It was so pretty, I had to use it right away.  This is what I whipped up with it.  These made the house smell so good, that Reid ate one before they were cool enough for frosting.  The cream cheese frosting is really great, too!  I cut back on the original recipe's butter a little and didn't even notice.  Reid and I ate about 4 ourselves for dessert, and I brought the rest to work where they were quickly annihilated. Carrot Cupcakes Ingredients For the cupcakes: 1 cup pecans 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon table salt or fine sea salt 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 1/4...

We love Pad Thai.  Reid's always telling me we should try making it at home, but I know it's not easy.  My sister has told me how not easy it is to make.  And she was right! It's difficult to keep the noodles from getting mushy, or to balance that perfect median of sweet, spicy, salty, and sour.  I also learned that traditional pad thai is much lighter, drier, and sweeter/sour than the restaurant variety.  Also, these ingredients are hard to come by.  I spent an hour at our Asian grocery store trying to find the tamarind sauce! Pad Thai Recipe from http://www.thaitable.com/thai/recipe/pad-thai 2-3 Servings, Prep Time: 40 Minutes, Total Time: 40 Minutes 1-1/3 cup bean sprouts Optional 1-1/2 cup Chinese chives Optional 1 egg 4 teaspoons fish sauce 3 cloves minced garlic 1/2 teaspoon ground dried chili pepper ground pepper 1/2 lime 2 tablespoons roasted chopped peanuts Optional 1 tablespoon preserved turnip Optional 1 mince...