Posts

I love jambalaya. It’s traditionally not pescetarian, so I swapped chicken for mushrooms and used vegetarian sausage to make my version. I also used brown rice instead of white rice, since that’s my family’s favorite type of rice. It also adds body to the jambalaya, so I prefer using it, even though it isn’t traditional. Since I don’t usually have the patience to cook the rice on a stovetop, I used my instant pot instead to make it.

A big cheeseboard is also the perfect appetizer at a holdiay party! I always used to see all these photos of fancy cheeseboards on Instagram and Pinterest, and I’d wish I could make something similar. There are a few steps to making a cheeseboard, which I cover in this guide.

I love pasta alla vodka, but it does require two pots – one to boil the water, and one to mix the sauce. I was craving a good tomatoey pasta the other night, and I happened to have the idea to try a one-pot version, where the pasta cooks in the sauce (please don’t come for me, Italians.) The pasta turned out delicious, and it was so easy to make that I knew I had to put it in a recipe!

I know this probably sounds weird, but ratatouille + shakshuka is a surprisingly good combo. If you’ve never heard of ratatouille before, it’s a French Provencal vegetable stew typically made with the freshest of summer produce – zucchini, tomatoes, eggplant. Shakshuka is a dish of eggs poached in tomato sauce, which has many variations that can be found around the Mediterranean and Northern Africa.

Salmon is a popular and easy dinner to make. A common way to make it is roasting it in the oven, which I used to do all the time. Except the problem is, I kept ending up with overcooked salmon, because the oven was too hot. And using the oven is such as hassle – you have to preheat it, and defrost the salmon, and what not.

A lot of muffins I find in stores are very sweet and very dry, so I prefer to make my own. Homemade muffins are the best, especially warm out of the oven. They only need a bowl and a whisk, and they’re so easy to customize! My recipe has no refined sugar and has oats for added fiber and texture.

Who else loves broccoli cheddar soup? I adored it as a kid, but really only from Panera Bread. Unfortunately, I’ve had quite a few bad broccoli cheddar soups in my life (school cafeteria, anyone?) — floury, bland, watery, and sometimes the broccoli inside would still be crunchy (yikes). But Panera’s was really good: creamy, savory, and deliciously cheesy.

I love caramelized onions. And mushrooms. And goat cheese. So I thought, why not put them all on top of a puff pastry base? It’s the perfect mix of sweet, savory caramelized onions and tangy, creamy goat cheese.

Pumpkin pie was one of the first things I ever learned how to bake! I originally used the Libby’s pumpkin pie recipe, but after a while, I got sick of baking the same recipe again and again. So I started to tinker with the recipe (to the delight of my family, of course) and I came up with the idea of using Chinese five spice instead of pumpkin pie spice. It gives the pie so much more depth of flavor.

Fritattas are a great dish to make anytime: They’re easy to whip up, and they’re great for pretty much any meal. Plus, they’re super customizable, and you can use them to clean leftover produce out of your fridge. You can customize the mix-ins if you desire!

I know you can buy the elements at the store, but I prefer to make this shrimp cocktail from scratch. It’s only a few ingredients and takes barely any time at all. Plus, it’s better made fresh. For a spin on the classic, I replaced the typical super-sweet ketchup with a homemade tomato sauce that’s tomatoey, spicy, just the right amount of sweet, and absolutely delish. I also made another version with a mango chili dipping sauce, which is an awesome combination with the shrimp!

Cauliflower wings are an awesome vegetarian snack! I first made cauliflower wings when I made vegetarian buffalo wings for the Super Bowl, but I don’t love buffalo sauce, so I came up with a sesame-honey version instead. The sauce is sticky, sweet, and garlicky, and the cauliflower wings are deliciously crunchy.