Smoked Salt & Pepper

Ingredients:   Sweet potato or mixture of root vegetables, diced    Red onion, chopped    Garlic, chopped    Black been, 1 can   Fire roasted tomato, 2 cups diced (see note below for Mexican style)   Dried red quinoa, 1/2 cup    Vegetable stock   Chili powder, chipotle pepper, cumin, kosher salt    Lime juice   Some chipotle pepper in adobo sauce Method: Roast cut root vegetables such as sweet potatoes, turnip, butternut squash, Kabocha squash…with chopped onion and garlic until caramelized and charred. Drizzle some oil if you wish to keep them moist. Cook all in a soup pot, low heat to simmer until done. Adjust to your taste. Serve with lime wedges, cilantro, avocados, grated cheese and sour cream 

St. Louis style Whole30 spare ribs Dry rubbed a rack of pork ribs with: 1/4 c. Smoked paprika 1 tbs Onion powder 1 tbs Garlic powder 1/2 tsp Cayenne powder 1 tbs Salt 1 tbs Pepper Lemon rind Grilled in aluminum pan covered in foil with 3/4 c water +1/4c ACV for 2 hrs at 300F,  Then removed and grilled on grill with homemade no sugar BBQ sauce.  The literally fell apart on me when I tried to flip. Served with shredded Costco bag mix and Tessamae AvoRanch dressing 🤤😋 Homemade No Sugar BBQ sauce  https://40aprons.com/whole30-bbq-sauce-2/ 1 Tbs Ghee 1 c chopped onion 4 cloves minced garlic 1/2 c. Chopped dates coated in coconut flour ( Bard Valley Natural Delights Premium Chopped Medjool Dates) 4 Oz tomato paste 1 tbs Paprika 1 tsp mustard powder 1/4 c Coconut aminos Water  4 tbs Apple Cider Vinegar *I also had 2 very ripe figs I chopped and added Heat ghee in medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and cook until softened, about 5 minutes Add rest of ingredi...

I have always been a little intimidated by making biscuits from scratch. And the biscuit mixes I've tried thus far have been lacking and gummy (Bisquik=bisyuck). Making some nice, yummy, country-style biscuits with flaky butter layers without resorting to 'pop'n fresh' containers has eluded me. Until I found this recipe from Chrissy Tiegan's Cravings cookbook. Equal parts delicious and non-fussy. I did do a few adjustments, such as make maple butter glaze instead and I don't generally keep buttermilk on hand so I make my own. Chrissy Tiegan's Cravings Pull-Apart Buttermilk Biscuits Ingredients: 1 1/2 c. whole milk 1 TBS and 2 tsp. white vinegar 1 stick cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch cubes 3 cups plus 2 TBS. all purpose flour 1 TBS. baking powder 1 tsp. sugar 1 tsp. salt 1/2 tsp. baking soda For maple butter glaze: 5 TBS. butter, 3 TBS maple syrup, 1 tsp. salt Directions: In a measuring cup, combine milk and white vinegar a...

Mac n cheese is a tricky one. Everybody has their personal favorite style. Every person has their emotional ties to either a comforting bowl of ooey, gooey mac 'n cheese or homemade baked mac 'n cheese. I already have one post dedicated to one mac 'n cheese recipe . I'm a personal fan of the blue box kind. That's what I grew up eating. Powder cheese for me. Plus milk, butter, and good 'ole elbow macaroni noodles. Reid's family makes it this way. The Bolding's Mac 'n Cheese recipe Ingredients: 1 lb. macaroni noodles ~2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese ~1/2 c. reserved pasta water lots of pepper optional: butter Directions: Boil noodles per package directions.  Reserve about 1/2 c. pasta water.  Drain pasta and return to pot. Add cheddar cheese and stir to melt.  Shake in lots of pepper (or to taste). Optional Christine spin: melt about 1 tbs butter with the cheese and pepper serve immediately

I stumbled upon this idea a few years ago while I was surfing the internet for good slow cooker recipes. I can't remember the original source for the inspiration, but I think it was a blog that featured a slow cooker recipe for every day of the year! It might have been this one? A Year of Slow Cooking Anyway, it was chock-full of awesome slow cooker ideas and recipes. I fell in love with my $20 CrockPot in Veterinary school. I bought a cheapie on sale at Target and started using it for the typical chilis, stew, soups, pot roasts, etc while I was stuck in class or clinics. It was so revolutionary for me to be able to come home to a hot dinner that was already made! It was fan-freaking-tastic! So as I got a little more comfortable with the CrockPot I started to look for other was I could use it. Jambalaya, creamed corn, mac n' cheese, chex mix! The possibilities were pretty much endless. There were totally a few flops, but for the most part I was pretty happy with this...

You know how you throw out or give away all the food in your fridge before you go on vacation? Yea, well it's a necessary evil of making sure you don't come home to a stinky house.  The problem with that, is it leaves you with no food when you come home from vacation and you're tired. And you have to unpack. And need to do 5 loads of laundry. Going grocery shopping is one of the last things on my mind when I come home from a trip. So I usually have a few things stocked in my pantry or freezer that I would consider 'staples'.  This is also helpful for if you have a baby and don't have time or the effort to have perishables.  And hate food waste.  I usually have some oatmeal and/or grits in the pantry for breakfast.  And I usually have some kind of seafood, ground beef, and chicken thighs or breasts in my freezer.  And I usually keep some parmesan cheese in my freezer.  So I happened to have some frozen shrimp in the freezer when we came home from o...

I'm really bad at posting great holiday recipes until it's too late.  I'm just not that good of a food blogger.  But posting ON THE ACTUAL DAY? Does that count? HEB is open until 2pm so if you're still looking for a last minute Thanksgiving dish to bring to a dinner or add to yours, here it is! Mom's Bourbon Pecan Sweet Potato Casserole Ingredients: 4 lbs. sweet potatoes 3 green apples, peeled, cored and sliced 6 tbs. butter 1/2 c.dark brown sugar 1/2 tsp. kosher salt 1 tsp. cinnamon 1 tsp. ginger 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1 &1/2 tsp. vanilla 2 tsp. maple syrup 1/4 c. bourbon 1 c. toasted pecans or chestnuts optional: 1 bag mini marshmallows Directions: Roast and peel sweet potatoes in a 375*F oven for about 30-45 minutes.  Slice in 1/4" thick rounds. In a saucepan over medium-high heat, combine butter, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg.  Lower heat to a simmer and add vanilla, maple syrup, and bourbon.  Simmer until sugar is di...

In my quest to find lower carb substitutes, I learned that cauliflower can be made into ANYTHING. Although whether it should or not remains to be questioned.  You want to eat rice? Make cauliflower rice! You want to eat pizza? Make cauliflower pizza crust! You want to eat mashed potatoes? Make mashed cauliflower!  You want to eat crackers and hummus? Just eat cauliflowers.  So basically, since I was diagnosed with gestational diabetes, I've bought a head of cauliflower every week at the grocery store.  I love that cauliflower is super cheap I'd posted this on my Instagram account a few weeks ago, and I hadn't planned on posting about it since it is so stupid simple, but lots of people were interested in it so here goes: Fully Loaded Mashed Cauliflower Ingredients 1 head of cauliflower florets 1/2 c. shredded cheese 2 slices thick-cut bacon, cooked and crumbled 3 tbs. butter 2 tbs. Greek yogurt 1 tbs. ranch dressing mix (optional) salt and pepper, to tas...

It's the summertime! And here in Austin, it's hot!  Watermelon is in season and the mint in my backyard has not yet had a chance to be demolished by my fresh mint chocolate chip ice cream . So I bought a little personal sized watermelon at the grocery store, cut some up to refrigerate and enjoy left over and was still left with a lot that wouldn't fit in my tupperware. Enter, the Blendtec.  Popped the rest of the watermelon in there with some fresh mint, lemon juice, sugar and triple sec and had a tasty and refreshing dessert for later. Ingredients: 3 cups watermelon 1 tbs. fresh mint 1/4 c. sugar 1 tsp. triple sec or vodka, can omit 1 tbs. fresh lemon juice Directions: Throw everything in the blender and blend. Freeze or refrigerate until sorbet-y Use a fork to carve out sorbet or spoon depending on consistency. Watermelon and Mint Sorbet

Not sure who had more fun: Husband or Dog Last weekend we threw our annual crawfish boil.  Well, technically not annual since last year was rained out.  Luckily the storms paused for the day and we were able to power through over 100 lbs. of crawfish with the help of some of our friends.  I didn't take many pictures, but it was a good time.  Reid and I joked it was an adjustment going from lazy Saturdays hanging with our cat to partying outside for over 12 hours.  We started the boil around 1pm and finished the last of the beer around 1am. Every year we get a little better about time managment and our boil so this is what we did this year that really helped: Had 2 large boilers going.  It can take up to 2 hours for one of those huge pots of water to come to a boil so this helps ensure a steady stream of food Boiled sausage, potatoes, and corn first to flavor the water and kept them warm in a cooler.  Yea, "cooler sausage" sounds a bit s...

This is so good and soooo simple!  I watched Reid's grandma, Mimi, make it for Christmas and it is so good.  I probably ate way too many meatballs because of this sweet, sour, salty sauce.  And, it has 3 ingredients!  Little old Southern ladies know where it's at!  Thanks, Mimi! Ingredients: frozen, store-bought meatballs 1/2 jar of any tart jam (IE: cherry, strawberry, blackberry), I used blackberry 1/2 c. ketchup Directions: Defrost/cook meatballs according to directions.  Combine jam, ketchup and sauce in a small Crock pot.  Stir and serve!

A while back, I posted my turkey quinoa "chili"  and though it is absolutely delicious, and I've had several people tell me they make it all the time, the reason I couldn't call it chili without the quotations is because of this chili recipe.  Like I'd mention before, Reid is a chili purist.  There should not be beans in chili, or TURKEY, and especially not quinoa!  And that's because Reid had this chili growing up. His uncle Brent and his father perfected this recipe years ago and used to enter it into (and win) chili competitions.  So, yea.  It's pretty stinkin' good.  Reid's version uses the fattiest meat that you can find.   I found the ground beef for chili at HEB and it's a thicker grind and appears pretty fatty.  I've also added a chipotle in adobe (that I had leftover from making chipotle twice-baked sweet potatoes) the last time I made it, and it was really tasty.  I always make a box of Jiffy cornbread in a small cast iron sk...

Reid and I spent the weekend in Abilene, visiting his parents, sister's family, and grandma.  I snatched up the opportunity to learn how to make a good chicken fry and to buy an awesome couch off of Abilene Craigslist.  Yay!  The kitties, Cleo and Alex, were recovering from their recent spays so I couldn't pester them too much.  Did get to check out the Paramount theater for a showing of Indiana Jones and drive around town.  It was a great weekend hanging out with Reid's family. I really wanted to learn how to make a good chicken fry(ied steak), because it's one of my favorite things to order at southern comfort food restaurant.  Reid has let me know there is good chicken fried steak, and there is bad chicken fried steak.  I really had no reference point because my mom never made chicken fried steak.  Surprise!  I think Luby's has a good chicken fried steak.  Pretty much any place with chicken fried steak on the menu is good to me. ...