Smoked Salt & Pepper

I'm posting this recipe mainly for my mom, who was interested in my overnight oats when my parents stayed with us a couple of weeks ago.  I'm always looking for easy, quick breakfast meals and overnight oats is as good as it gets for me as far as meal planning goes.  I can make a batch of 10 of these jars on Sunday night and have breakfast on-the-go for both me and hubs for the whole work week.  These are so easy to put together, that even the hubs can assemble them.  I'm always amazed at people who can plan an entire week or month's worth of meals for their family.  I'm lucky if I can get it together enough to defrost some chicken to eat for that night's dinner.  So overnight oats is my stepping stone to those Pinterest boards of months of freezer-to-crockpot pictures I'm oh-so-envious of. Overnight Oats (makes 4) Ingredients: 4 pint sized mason jars 2 c. old fashioned or steel-cut oats 8 tsp. maple syrup 1 tsp. vanilla extract 4 tbs. chia seeds ...

I'm pretty sure every culture has their version of a sandwich.  Behind pho , banh mi 's are probably the most well-known Vietnamese food for the rest of the world.  Again, because Vietnam is a country with a complicated political past, it's food (unlike the rest of the country and culture) really benefited with the banh mi.   Part French, part Chinese, part Southeast Asian amazingness, the banh mi  takes a French baguette, stuffs it with meats only an adventurous, starving person would consider edible (can I get a hell-yeah for some headcheese?!), and smothers it in French mayonaise, fresh cilantro, jalepenos, cucumbers, and pickled, shredded carrots.  If you haven't had banh mi yet, you've probably been living under a rock.  But growing up in Houston where we have had amazing banh mi specialty shops for ever, I can tell you with experience that there are good banh mi  and there are life-changing, mmmm-worthy, eat-every-weekend-after-your-parents-dra...

The funny thing about having a mom who is an awesome cook, is that you don't even realize how good you had it until someone else points it out to you.  This happened recently on a visit home to my parent's house in Houston.  We had a casual lunch at home and my mom made bo xao sa lat song , a watercress salad with marinated beef, to accompany our meal of rice and various vegetarian dishes.   Growing up, I'd probably eaten watercress salad once a week and not thought much about it.  But then my husband kept on talking about how good it was.  And I came to my senses and realized, yes, it is delicious!  It's a shame not more people eat watercress.  It's crunchy and refreshing, with a hint of bitterness and sweetness.  I wouldn't be surprised if it became the next kale.   I like to make green smoothies with any leftover watercress I might have.  I used to have to go to the Asian grocery stores to find watercress, but now it's prett...

This year, like every year, Reid and I decided to celebrate Valentine's Day in.  I think there is very little desire, for most people, to fight the crowds, reservations and hastle of going out on Valentine's Day.  Heck, if you've been together for more than a year, or are older than 8 years old, you probably don't even celebrate Valentine's Day anymore. Well, we still celebrate Valentine's, even though we know it's a stupid, not-historically-accurate, Hallmark-sponsored holiday.  Mostly because it's an excuse to eat chocolate.  And pamper each other a little.  And give each other cheesy cards like this one I made Reid: From Julius So we often end up just having a nice meal in.  This year I'm making a cheese plate (thanks to my Antonelli's cheese of the month subscription), linguine with lobster in garlic cream sauce, and chocolate molten cake.  I also made some last minute chocolate covered strawberries. So excited about my...

Soup weather is the best.  I failed to post this back when I made it in December because we had an unusually mild winter.  Luckily, there's been a touch of cold weather in January and I've actually got a pot of soup on the stove right now (Chicken Tortilla  Pita, though.  Whoops, don't have any tortillas on hand).  Speaking of soups, you all should check out my fellow Austin Food Blogger Maggie's soup post  http://frommaggiesfarm.blogspot.com/2015/12/soup-weather-rabbit-sausage-soup-with.html?spref=tw Ingredients: 1 tbs. olive oil 1/2 small onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 lb. hot Italian sausage 6 c. chicken broth 1 lb. small red or white potatoes, washed and quartered 1 can white beans such as Cannellini, rinsed and drained 2 tsp. Italian seasoning or dried rosemary and thyme 1 bunch kale, stems removed and roughly chopped salt and pepper to taste shredded Parmesan and crusty bread (such as Rustic Rosemary Bread ) to serve ...

If you're bored with sweet potatoes topped with marshmallows, here's an interesting twist on the classic sweet potato side dish for Thanksgiving.  I personally like sweet potatoes that are seasoned more on the salty side; so you get that sweet and salty combo.  Like sweet potato fries, I feel there's no need to add cinnamon or sugar or marshmallows.  So when I came across this recipe 5 years ago, I knew I had to try it.  It's been very yummy and I've brought it to my family's Thanksgiving twice now. I came across this recipe of all places in the Bryan, TX electric's quarterly mailer, the "Texas Co-Op Power" November 2010 edition. Twice-Baked Chipotle Sweet Potaotes Ingredients 6 medium sweet potatoes (try picking rounder shaped sweet potatoes of similar sizes) olive oil 8 oz. goat cheese, softened (cream cheese may be substituted) 1 tsp. salt 1 tsp. chili powder 1/2 c. cilantro, minced 2 tbs. butter, softened 1 chipotle pepper...

So I got a little overzealous with my fall enthusiasm and had about 2 pounds of apples to use before they got all mushy this week.  Bust out the sweet potatoes, and sage, and pork chops! This was an easy and deliciously filling weeknight meal and it made our house smell really good. Pork Chops with Crispy Sweet Potatoes and Apple Cider Reduction Recipe inspired by Curtis Stone's Cider-Dijon Pork Chops Ingredients: 4 thin-cut bone-in pork chops 3 tbs. olive oi 2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4" long slices 1 onion, sliced into wedges 2 small Fuji apples, sliced in wedges about 10 sage leaves 2 tbs. butter 1 tbs. Dijon mustard 1/2 c. apple cider vinegar salt and pepper Directions: Preheat a sheet pan in the oven at 450 degrees.  In a large bowl, toss sweet potatoes, onion, apples, and sage leaves in 2 tbs. olive oil.  Season with salt and pepper.  Spread mixture on pre-heated sheet pan and roast for about 15-20 minutes or until gol...