If I Dream It...

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 get tired of the same old dessert? The same old flavors? Chocolate or Vanilla? Now I know, there's lots of ways to accent those flavors and make something absolutely delish! But what if you want something just different? Well there's some flavor combos that I often fall back to - usually it involves a berry or citrus... but I wanted something even more different. Something unique. Something that isn't done all that often that would end up being a nice treat. Now, this may not be super unique for everyone... but it certainly is for me :) I love pistachios but usually it's me cracking the shell and enjoying the nut and upon occasion the pudding... that's usually as far as it goes with me. Not that other things with pistachios aren't just as good - they're just more rare for me... Like pistachio almond ice cream - absolutely love it, but rarely buy it (if I bought it regularly I could easily go through a carton by myself a week... and it may not la...

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 ...

All in all I like cookies - they're the easy grab and go treat that's easy to eat any time. And no dirty dishes after you eat them either :) Ok - unless you put them on a plate and go sit and eat several... but even then the plate just needs a simple rinse. Anyways, there are all sorts of cookies - the possibilities are truly endless... but today, I'm talking about cake mix cookies :) Cake mixes come in several flavors and make an incredibly easy cookie... not to mention you can always add things to spruce up your cookies... and the one big plus of cake mix cookies -- they're always soft and yummy! I don't know about you, but I love a good soft cookie! Especially fresh out of the oven :) And when they're still soft and moist after they've cooled. I've found come cookies I love fresh, but after they've cooled a day they seem a bit harder and I'm not always in the mood for that... and I'm always in the mood for soft cookies :) I've got ...

I love the crock-pot... and so long as I take the time to toss everything in it in the morning or the night before - it's wonderful for simple, yummy, meals... Any meat that comes out of the crock-pot is always incredibly moist and tender  - and depending on what you cook it in, full of flavor! I wanted to something a little different than my normal... and while I like pork, I rarely make it. And since I had done things over rice and as a sandwich lately, I figured - tacos! I still had the BBQ Beer Chicken recipe in my head as it hadn't been that long and it was really good... so I used it as inspiration for this dish. Added in some different spices and called it good. When it came to eat, I sweetened some of the cooking liquid and tossed some cabbage in it to top the tacos... it was super yummy! I tried them plain, with avocado, and with a little extra BBQ sauce on top - and I must admit, all of them were very good! The only thing I liked more on day two was that the cabbag...