Good Food Reads is taking another personal turn this week! A little food, a little parenting, a little teenage excitement. Join me as I share the details of hosting the homecoming dinner for six brand new freshmen girls this year!
Flowers: Meg’s Island Floral by Meg Spicher
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Fall. Autumn. Football Season. Whatever you call this gorgeous leaf color changing season, it is here-in all of it’s glory. Last week was 90 degrees here in Minneapolis, and this week is sixty degrees, windy and rainy. Fall has arrived. With fall comes so many of my favorite things! Back to school, comfort food, sweaters…blankets on the side lines of the kids’ soccer games. With back to school, though, comes the busy schedule. And with the busy schedule you need easy weeknight meals-like this One Skillet Apple Bourbon Pork Tenderloin!
We were also lucky enough to be included in the Fall Festival Blog Tour, so below we are featuring links to a whole week’s worth of fall recipes and fall decor!
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Hey All! I’ve just returned from a fantastic week in coastal Rhode Island with my family. We were blessed to spend a few years living in Boston before we had children and I will always love this time of year on the East Coast. Our time away was filled with lots of hours at the beach (yay for a warm early September and non-crowded beaches!) and plenty of good, fresh seafood. I may or may not have eaten my weight in lobster rolls! Now that I’m back to the Midwest and finally unpacked – let’s not mention the laundry – I’m also getting back into my kitchen. One of my favorite travel tricks is to order groceries to be delivered on the day we return from a trip and we supplemented that this time by also having Blue Apron deliver a few days after we returned! I love not having to stress out about getting to the grocery store for essentials and not having to think about meals (even for someone like me who generally finds cooking relaxin) was great. That being said, I’m really ready to get back into it and so for this week’s Good Food Reads, I’m sharing my list of what I’m hoping to make in the next week or so! I’m back in the proverbial saddle and so excited for a good ride. I hope you join us and share some of your recipe favorites from your kitchens or around the internet!…
I’ve had these gorgeous multicolored cherry tomatoes sitting on my kitchen counter just staring at me all week. I finally knew what I wanted to do with them-Bruschetta! But I didn’t want to make the plain old restaurant style Bruschetta. I’ve wanted to make something to show off the gorgeous colors of the tomatoes. Puttanesca Bruschetta does just that!
Puttanesca Bruschetta, now if that isn’t a mouthful, I don’t know what is.
But it is a mouthful of deliciousness. Truly.
Read further for the recipe for this amazing appetizer and an ode to one of my oldest friends!
Thank goodness we were friends before iPhone cameras and Facebook…right?
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As many of you know, I’ve long been a fan of Meatless Mondays – one day a week where I try to eat meatless. It’s not usually much of a stretch for me (I’m a former long time vegetarian), but it was an adjustment when I started cooking for my meat eating family. I’ve found, over the years, that the key to really great plant based cooking is not trying to replicate meat based meals (i.e. veggie “bacon” etc) but to celebrate the amazing flavors, textures, and nutrients of the plants themselves. Plant based cooking is a fun, economical, and tasty way to enjoy food! When I became a vegetarian, classic books like Mollie Katzen’s Moosewood Cookbook and Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone were key to learning how to really eat as a vegetarian (and you should still check out those books, by the way, they are classics for a reason). Now, the internet also provides a treasure trove of recipes and techniques to make plant based eating an easy reality for you and yours! This week’s Good Food Reads is a collection of plant based (mostly vegan, all vegetarian) recipes full of flavor and fun!…
A simple syrup is both simple and extremely versatile. Easy to make, simple syrups typically consist of a base of equal parts sugar and water and then you can get creative! They can be used to flavor cocktails, coffee drinks, or even add a little something extra to a basic fruit salad. I love getting creative with syrups and with such easy and accessible ingredients, the sky really is the limit. A few weeks ago, I had a bunch of strawberries and my basil plants were exploding! I decided to combine the two and make a simple syrup to flavor some basic iced tea and quickly, my easy Strawberry Basil Simple Syrup was born….
It’s back to school week here in Minnesota and I know for many busy families, it also means back to crazy nights of post-school activities, sports practices, and arts lessons. Trying to get a family fed in the midst of all that activity can be a challenge for even the most prepared and experienced home cooks. This week’s Good Food Reads is a collection of easy, hearty meals perfect for these busy back to school weeks. Most of the recipes are designed for slow cookers or the Instant Pot (or another electric pressure cooker) in an effort to make these hectic days a little less crazy.
50 Tastiest Meal Prep Recipes for Fall from Fit Foodie Finds. I’m especially excited to try some of the breakfast prep recipes, like the Paleo Pumpkin Pancakes or the Vegetarian Black Bean Burritos.
30 Minute Instant Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta from The Butterhalf. Perfect one pot meal for those crazy busy back to school/activities nights!
I love curry and can’t wait to try this Slow Cooker Coconut Curry Chicken from Fit Foodie Finds. It would be great with some fresh green beans and rice!
This Honey Mustard Slow Cooker Pork Loin and Rice from Food, Faith, Fitness is gluten free and adds fresh spinach at the end of cooking!
Instant Pot Chicken Cacciatore (Lexi’s Clean Kitchen) is packed with veggies and can easily be served over rice or cauliflower rice for a complete meal.
A fun twist on slow cooker soups: Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup (Foodie Crush).
Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken (Two Peas and Their Pod) is an easy slow cooker classic and can be used for tacos, burritos, or quinoa bowls. Such a great recipe for meal prep, too!
And if you’re looking to keep things on the lighter side, check out these recipes from the always genius SkinnyTaste: Unstuffed Cabbage Bowls and One Pot Spaghetti Squash and Meat Sauce (Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker).
Here’s hoping your back to school weeks are great ones! Let us know when you’re cooking and as always, we’d love to hear from you with your Good Food Reads.
I’ve been craving vegetables lately, and that is a little odd. Although I was a vegetarian for a year or two, (many, many years ago), I can honestly say that vegetables are not anywhere on my cravings list (I won’t lie, that is the list that starts and ends with chocolate. And wine.) My local grocery store has started carrying spiralized vegetables and every time I go into the store I’m drawn to their amazing colors…and then I keep walking.
Truth be told I even OWN a spiralizer. And it’s never been out of the box. I own a cookbook to go with it (that I’ve never opened). All of that changed this weekend with these Butternut Squash Noodles Alfredo….
I can not wait to share this Food Photography Workshop with you! So. Much. Fun.
Day 2: Pancakes and perfecting the “drizzle shot”
You guys. I just need to take a minute to gush about my last week.
Well, those of you who know me well, know that my dad has had some health problems this week, resulting in three hospitalizations and three trips to the cath lab. It’s been a roller coaster to say the least, but in between all of that worry and stress, was a bright, bright light-The Pinch of Yum Tasty Food Photography Workshop.
One word: Ah-mazing!
This week’s Good Food Reads is going to be a little more personal than usual…all about the food photography workshop!
(PS-My dad is all fixed up and is doing great!)
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Roasted Tomato Tart is my ode to the summer tomato harvest. Soft melty cheese, sweet roasted tomatoes, and a crispy crust combine to create the perfect end of summer treat.
It’s the end of summer. I’ve been trying valiantly to deny it, but here we are. The Minnesota State Fair is in full swing, school is starting next week, and I’ve even seen a few leaves prematurely turning color. Now that it is here, the end of summer means tomatoes. Tons and tons of tomatoes. And what better to showcase the bushels of gorgeous end-of-summer tomatoes but this Roasted Tomato and Ricotta Tart. …