Car snacks!!!! We are driving back to Pittsburgh tonight for a long weekend, and road trip snacks are always a must. Both Wes and I love a roasted chickpea, but we have always made them as a spicy/savory snack. I figured a cinnamon sugar version could never be a bad thing... and boy was I right. The other thing that is great about this recipe is that the honey coating helps them to stay nice and crispy, even after a few hours. This is an impossible feat for just a normal oven baked recipe, that can stay crispy while you snack on them right out of the oven... but give them an hour and they've lost it. We're going to enjoy these all the way to the burgh, and hope everyone has a happy Halloween weekend!
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I am a very proud wifey today as my husband completed his first marathon in DC this morning!!! I wanted to make something special for him this weekend as a pre AND post run treat, and also for a snack to have around for my parents, who made the trip from Pittsburgh to help me cheer him on. Seeing as peanut butter cookies are Wes's favorite.... it was an obvious choice, and beyond simply liking them, having baked goods of any sort around our home is a treat for Wes (my dessert of choice is ice cream...)!
A couple of notes about these cookies. To be honest, I am actually not a big peanut butter cookie person. They always seem dry and chalky to me, and just not sweet enough. I made some adjustments to a standard version of this particular dessert in order to please the whole household, and... They are soft, chewy, and peanut butter-y, and the cinnamon streusel topping gave it the perfect amount of sweetness that I wanted. All in all, they are completely gone and we all loved them! Keeper. Sometimes you want a good chili, and you just want it to be simple. This isn't one of those chili recipes with a thousand ingredients (not to say I don't love those - I just like eating them and not making them), and the simplicity of it was perfect for us this Saturday, when we wanted the bulk of the work to be letting it simmer. We packed it with all of our favorite flavors, and rewarded ourselves after a big day of organizing. We thanked ourselves for writing this one down every step of the way with each bowl of leftovers!
I will say - one of my favorite things about this blog is that it forces me to write down everything I'm doing. Every little tweak to a recipe, every recipe I am making up as I go along, and every recipe we're adapting to be allergen free, I am never left wonderding"What temperature do we normally cook this at? For how long? How much of that did we add last time?". It's allllll here. Deep thoughts by Cassie ;) This is hands down the best butternut squash soup you will ever have. Seriously. It is simple and fresh, thick and creamy, and the cinnamon and nutmeg give it such a nice warm depth for a fall dish. I first had this soup in Ireland last thanksgiving, and begged the chef to give me her recipe. Knowing that she makes it just by taste alone, she was able to pass along the different ingredients that she uses to a fault, but in what quantities - she wasn't sure. Luckily, I think I finally nailed it! Just a fair warning, this is not a quick meal... It comes together quickly once you start cooking, but there is a lot of chopping involved! A great Sunday afternoon project to feed you for the whole week, and just perfect for this time of year!
It is finally starting to cool down a bit here in DC and gosh do I love this time of year. To be honest, I loathe cold weather. Yes you read that correctly - I loathe it, not love it. I am not built for it and I go into full hibernation mode. However, these early October days still feel warm, but crisp all at the same time - a time where I can appreciate having no humidity without being freezing! Perfect for digging into your favorite fall recipes and having cozy weekends! This carrot and parsnip mash is an adaptation of one of my grandma's recipes that we have for thanksgiving every year. It is all of the comfort and flavor of fall, minus the bullion cube and the steaming of vegetables. Instead, I used fresh herbs chicken stock, and braise the vegetables for a bit more depth and flavor. Topped with these roasted herb shrimp, and you are in for the comfort meal of the fall, that will leave you feeling satisfied, yet light and healthy all at the same time.
If you are an east coaster getting ready to hunker down for a cold, rainy weekend, this is the stew for you!! Or, if you'll be enjoying a nice crisp fall weekend, this would be perfect for you, too!
Wes and I are currently relishing in our cozy life at home. We would recommend a fall wedding to anyone and everyone! You have all summer for your different showers and wedding associated parties, getting tan and in shape is easy and fun, and you get to really enjoy your engagement when it is beautiful out and you find any reason to celebrate. Then you have all fall and winter to just relax, hide under sweaters, and be able to stay in without having to justify it to yourself or anyone else. Bliss. This was one of our first cooking projects as we transition into fall... and it kept us full and happy for a good part of the weekend and week. Love me some leftovers! It is such a simple stew, with hearty fall ingredients, and we will certainly be making it again and again until we resurface in the spring :) I love decorating for the seasons as much as the next girl, but achieving that autumn feeling takes more than just putting mini pumpkins on every surface of your house. Let's focus on the comfort and coziness, shall we? Here are some of my must-haves for the season to fall-ify your home.
It is sad to say it, but I think this is my last summer recipe. Soon all of the unique fresh peppers will be gone from the farmers markets and grocery stores, and it will be back to bell peppers for the fall and winter! Read: make these ASAP!! We took advantage of the last of the season with these chorizo stuffed anaheim peppers - while we had absolutely NOTHING to do for the first weekend in God knows how many months. It was bliss. Coupled with too many bags of chips, tv shows and movies galore, and probably a tad too much wine (still relishing in no more wedding diets), we had a perfect and much needed cozy weekend spent in our sweats at home. It was hard to kiss it goodbye this morning, but was fun to celebrate one week of marriage in the books, and to finally tuck into a nice fall and winter together.
We are home, settled, and married!! More on our wedding later... it was the best weekend with so many details that I can't wait to share. But in the meantime, we are so happy to tuck into a cozy fall and winter of just relaxing and good food now that our wedding diets are a thing of the past. Halleluiah. We started off with this flank steak - admittedly, I went into the grocery store with a completely different plan, but they were on sale and looked amazing, so here we are - and it was delicious! Sweet and savory, light and satisfying. We ate it with some roasted broccolini, and it was just a great meal (and leftover lunch) as we ease into fall.
These two dishes are perfect together for a light dinner in the late summer heat. Wes requested that we have this become part of our weekly rotation! This pork tenderloin recipe was based off of our family classic (that I will be posting on here at some point....) but we adjusted it to accommodate the fresh herbs that we had on hand, and the other ingredients that we did not have on hand! All in all, it was a great summer version, and most definitely a keeper. We also LOVE this slaw salad, and even more the dressing that goes with it. Lemon and dill is one of my favorite combinations right now - I feel like I am finding any reason to use it. We make this dressing regularly and store it in the fridge for any of our salad, marinade, or "oops we overcooked it" needs (don't tell me this never happens to you!). I hope you enjoy this as much as we do!
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