If I Dream It...

I wish I could explain where the thought for these tilapia tacos came from... but other than having extra cabbage I have no good excuse :) I love cabbage - thing is I buy it with one recipe in mind and then I have to come up with different ways to use it :) So with cabbage in mind and a peach that was starting to near the too ripe point, my version tilapia tacos with peach salsa was born. And wow - was I happy! To explain how much I enjoyed these - I've now had them two days in a row and I'm contemplating having them for dinner tonight :) Gotta finish off that peach salsa after all... Now I will admit, the peach salsa doesn't look the prettiest - but I made it in my mini food processor to avoid chopping everything by hand. But that aside - for my first attempt at peach salsa... I gotta say I like it! I made it spicy as the hubby generally isn't a big fan of fruity flavors for dinner - but it sounded good with tilapia... after the fact I even googled it, not ...

A stuffed pepper?  I've never eaten a stuffed pepper in my life... so why I had the urge to make them the other day, I honestly couldn't tell you. However, I couldn't be happier with the choice :) I started by making some brown rice. I didn't add as much water as I usually do (just a few tablespoons short) figuring it might be a little too mushy for a filling. I'm not sure if it really would've made a difference, but I was very happy with the way the rice came out. Then I prepped the peppers by making a slice down the side and removing the seeds. I popped them in the oven for about 20 minutes to soften and started on the filling while they cooked. For the filling I cooked the onions for almost 10 minutes so that they became soft. Added in the garlic and simmered for just about a minute more before adding the beans, water, and spices. Then I mixed in the rice and before stuffing I decided to add a little more than I had originally planned an...

With the issues of the last post behind me - THANKFULLY - I couldn't help but spend some time in the kitchen :) So today I share two "dishes" that are summer inspired - veggies with dinner and fruit with dessert. Both were super easy and pleasantly yummy!  Veggie Penne 1      Tbl      Bacon Grease (could use olive oil) 2.5   Cups   Penne 2      Cups   Chicken Broth (could use vegetable broth) 1/2   Cup     Water 2      Cup     Broccoli 1      Med     Carrot (shredded) 1/2   Cup     Frozen Peas 2      tsp       Minced Garlic (divided) 1/4   Cup     Grated Parmesan Cheese 1      oz        Cream Cheese Salt & Pepper to taste Melt bacon grease in a large skillet and add 1 tsp minced garlic. Allow to simmer for a minute and ...

I've had a bag of red quinoa in my pantry for a long time. I originally got it to be part of a recipe that sounded good, but I didn't find all the ingredients at the time. I never really went back out to search and the quinoa just sat in the pantry. So finally I decided to make some and try something with it. And well, I'm going to pat myself on the back a little, this was one experiment I really liked! It came out so good that a few days later, I did made it again :) However, as a result, I honestly didn't take many pictures. Sorry about that. So here's the yummy red quinoa veggie salad... I didn't cook the quinoa exactly as the package said too - but you could and have it totally cold. Trust me, this is one dish that's yummy warm or cold :) I'm going to write it the way I made it though... not necessarily the way it should've been cooked. Red Quinoa Veggie Salad 1/2       Cup     Red Quinoa 1 1/2    Cup     Water 1 1/2 ...

When trying to think of a new way to make chicken (it really is the main dinner item around here)... I figured I would try cooking it differently. It was time I made time to cook chicken in the oven! I've done it before - I'm usually just lazy and prefer to pan fry or grill it if it's not in the crock-pot. So this time I marinated my chicken breasts and tossed them in the oven, cooking down my marinade liquid to kill any bacteria and use it as a sauce. I also prepared some potatoes - that would ALSO be cooked in the oven :) Ok, toaster oven - I figured it'd be better than trying to do them and the chicken at the same time and I didn't want anything to go cold. And yes - I was being a little lazy for time :) Even considering the time, this was good!  Toss together marinade and let chicken marinade at least an hour - I like to flip the bag every 15 minutes or at least once at 30 so that the marinade gets all over the chicken.  Place chicken breasts ...

We had grilled kabobs with steak, pork, peppers, onions, and pineapple the other day... which led to a conversation about how good grilled pineapple was. That got me thinking - it had been a LONG time since I had a sandwich with grilled pineapple on it. It had sounded horrible to me when I first heard about it, but once I tried it I realized it was SOOOOO good. This even led to me being willing to try it on pizza - but that's another story all together :) With grilled pineapple on the brain, I decided I would toss a marinade together for some chicken to grill and top with grilled pineapple in a sandwich. I don't know why but I decided to use coconut milk in the marinade - and I must admit, much like my first time trying grilled pineapple, I was pleasantly surprised. So much so, that I used the rest of the coconut milk in another marinade. Granted - it was a very simple and lazy marinade that used up the rest of my coconut milk and another ingredient I had left over from a r...

Ever want something to eat but don't really feel like cooking? If you haven't already guessed from my love of the crock-pot... that hits me now and then :) And sometimes, especially when it's just me, it's hard to get myself in the mood to cook. However, regardless of if I'm in the mood to cook or not - I do have to eat... now I won't lie - sometimes I have ended up having popcorn for dinner because I didn't want to do anything. And so yes, many times what I end up having for dinner is junk food, snacks, and simply munching throughout the night. But sometimes, I still want real food - something more like a meal. Even if it is a lazy one. Baked potatoes are often my go to lazy dinner... next usually comes pasta... But what about when you're tired of those and want something different? Usually my fall back is soup. So here are a couple simple soups I've done. They don't require too much time or too many ingredients. Quick Black Bean Soup ...