recipes

In honor of our move to Texas, we had to have King Ranch Chicken—a casserole that embodies the taste of south Texas—on our menu this fall. Though the origins of the dish are debated, most Texans love it. If you give it a try, you’ll understand why it is so popular. Ingredients (Adapted from this recipe.) 4 tablespoons butter 1 medium … [Read more...] about King Ranch Chicken

I’ve never been a fan of pumpkin pie, but I do often enjoy other baked goods that contain pumpkin. I think it is because I enjoy a hint of pumpkin flavor, but not the in-your-face pumpkin flavor that characterizes pumpkin pie. This fall I’m enjoying subtle pumpkin flavor in these Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins. Ingredients 2 1/2 cups flour (I … [Read more...] about Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins

Chicken fried steak is an incredibly tasty comfort food. Unfortunately, it’s not particularly healthy. Tasty and healthy don’t have to be mutually exclusive, so I tried a recipe for a baked version. The result was so good that I’ve added the recipe to my collection of favorites! Ingredients (Adapted from this recipe.) 6 beef eye of … [Read more...] about Baked Chicken “Fried” Steak

It has been years since I’ve eaten at a Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurant, but I recall there being a number of incredibly tasty items on the menu. I’ve recreated a few of these at home, including the Grilled Chicken Bowtie Festival. As you’ll see here, I use penne pasta instead of bowtie pasta, but the taste is still … [Read more...] about Penne Festival

After we enjoyed last menu’s Meatloaf Parmesan so much, I decided to attempt another twist on meatloaf. This time my inspiration was a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. Like the Meatloaf Parmesan, it was a hit! Ingredients 1 medium onion, chopped 1 green bell pepper, chopped 1 tablespoon oil 1 lb. ground meat 1/2 cup bread crumbs 1 … [Read more...] about Philly Cheese Meatloaf

It’s always frustrating when I have a box of lasagna noodles that contains broken pieces of pasta—these don’t work very well in traditional lasagna. It recently occurred to me that I could use these to make “lasagna” on the stovetop. This dish has a flavor similar to that of traditional lasagna, but it is much easier to … [Read more...] about Stovetop Lasagna

We eat a lot of chicken. Without a little creativity, it doesn’t take long for this to become monotonous and boring. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to create variety when cooking with chicken is to use different marinades and/or to top it with various sauces. Spicy Lemon Chicken, which involves a marinade and a sauce, is one of … [Read more...] about Spicy Lemon Chicken