I go back and forth with Josh almost every week about how he needs to contribute to the meal plan, and every week he claims he has no idea what kinds of foods can be made vegetarian. Let’s ignore the fact that there’s a meat substitute for almost literally every kind of meat in the world and focus on the fact that he has eaten a predominately vegetarian diet for years. Let me also point out that vegetarian versions of his favorite childhood meals, like the fajita tater tot casserole, are my more popular recipes. Clearly, there’s a lot of people who want to eat what Josh eats and that group of people includes me. Though he likes all the vegetarian meals I make, he definitely prefers when they have...

Long days. Long week. Can I get a TGIF? There’s something about snowy, cold days that make days drag on for me. And I feel like bring out the worst in people. I’ve had more unpleasant interactions with people in the last few days than I care to recount — can we all just gather around a steaming hot bowl of tomato soup, maybe with a side of grilled cheese, and just forget our troubles? Tomato soup is a food I just can’t resist. It’s hot, it’s creamy, and it’s surprisingly versatile. There was a time in my life when I’d make sure to have cans of tomato soup on hand for sudden cravings for fear of reliving the dreaded taco milk soup incident. One cold, rainy day in college...

When I’m brunching or even just checking out brunch pictures on Instagram, I’m irrationally jealous of bagels and lox. I normally prefer sweet brunches (with a side of salty potatoes, please) but there’s something about bagels, cream cheese, and a variety of toppings (like lettuce!) that just intrigues me to no end. When I tasted Blue Diamond’s Smokehouse almonds, I knew they’d be a great substitute for lox when paired with cream cheese. Is lox smokey? I reallllly have no idea, but I imagine it is. When crafting this snack, I opted for flatbread crackers (like the kind by Wasa) instead of bagels or even mini bagels because I wanted to keep them light and small. Also, because toasting enough bagels to feed a crowd seemed a little onerous —...

I received free samples of Cabot Cheese mentioned in this post. By posting this recipe I am entering a recipe challenge sponsored by Cabot Creamery and am eligible to win prizes. I was not additionally compensated for my time. Remember the series of guest posts from last month? Where everyone independently declared my love for cheese? They’re definitely not wrong. Cheese and I are besties. I’ll snack on cheese any day just as-is (and full disclosure: I’ve also caught Josh eating a block like a candy bar), but sometimes you want a slightly fancier vehicle for you cheese. You know for parties, watching the game, or just trying to impress all of your friends with gooey, melty cheese. I’ve noticed that most cheese dips are either A. meaty B. basically...

These pancakes are a moment I look back on with great regret. I’m in the midst of a great banana kick. Like a 2 bananas a day habit that I just can’t shake. When I made these last Saturday morning, I only had 1 banana left. My choices were A. slices it up and put it on the pancakes (looks pretty, tastes even better) B. ration it throughout the day or C. peel it with the intent of slicing, and instead inhale the whole thing without even realizing. Obviously I went with C, because I’m a well-rounded human being who definitely has self control. These pancakes have the perfect texture to go with slices bananas, too. Nutty, multi-grain flavor like you’d get from a restaurant pancake, only there’s not really...

First up – don’t forget to enter the giveaways for a copy of Dairy Made Easy and a $40 gift card for Evolution Fresh juices (redeemable at Starbucks and a bunch of other places). I’m excited to give two people a reason to smile because I’ve had a rough couple of days on top of having a rough last week. My computer decided it didn’t want to be a computer on Sunday and took a lot of coaxing to come back around on top of some hectic/stressful time at work. Needless to say, I need some good news and I’ll settle for passing on some good news instead. This month’s Recipe Redux theme is smokey foods, which is kind of good news because I LOVE smokey flavor. I put liquid...