Kung pao chicken

Dinner tonight was kung pao chicken from Cooking Light. I halved the recipe and served it over brown rice. Also, we added extra soy sauce to the finished product to make it saucier.

Salted caramel banana pudding pie

I saw this salted caramel banana pudding pie on a new Food Network show called Dessert First and immediately put it on my to-bake list. To be honest though, it's pretty complicated - homemade caramel sauce, homemade pie crust, homemade vanilla pudding AND homemade whipped cream. For all that work, this pie needed to be out of this world, and it wasn't. It was just... good. The salted caramel sauce is amaaaaaaaaaaaazing though, and it would be fantastic with other desserts!

Pumpkin scones

I was on a pumpkin kick today so I made these pumpkin scones I had bookmarked a few weeks ago on A Feast for the Eyes blog. They. are. delicious!! I used a combination of cinnamon chips and mini-chocolate chips (heavier on the cinnamon chips), and no crystallized ginger. My only mistake is that I halved the recipe - I missed these when they were gone!

P.S. I've added a 'pumpkin' label to my recipes that call for canned pumpkin. A single recipe rarely uses an entire can, so you can click on the pumpkin tag to see other options to help you finish the rest of it! Today I made a repeat of the pumpkin spice marshmallows in addition to these scones.

Neiman Marcus cookies

My sweet tooth was aching last week so I baked these Neiman Marcus cookies, and they were fantastic! Everyone who had one commented on the light and fluffy texture. They are baked at 300 degrees, which is much lower than most baked goods - I'm no food scientist, but I assume the low cooking temperature is what creates the great texture. But who cares about all that mumbo jumbo - these cookies are easy to make and they taste DELICIOUS!!

Sloppy lasagna

We made Rachael Ray's sloppy lasagna last week, and it was devoured while we watched Sunday night football. It's a delicious recipe with a meat sauce AND a bechamel cheese sauce. I read people's reviews of the recipe and followed their advice to use 1/4 less lasagna noodles, and it was a perfect amount. I also increased the amount of tomatoes because I like my pasta saucy - I used a can of diced tomatoes AND a can of crushed tomatoes. I served it with the grilled romaine salad from an earlier blog post. Yum-o!

Poblano popper super-slides

We actually made these poblano popper sliders weeks ago, but Rachael Ray's website took forever to post the recipe and I wasn't in the mood to type it out. So, better late than never, right? All of the toppings were fantastic- loved the quick-pickled onions and the avocado cream sauce!

Roasted butternut squash and bacon pasta

We tried roasted butternut squash and bacon pasta from Cooking Light last week and loved it. Roasted butternut squash, bacon, and cheese - what's not to love??

Dragon's breath chili

Chili is one of those foods that a million recipes exist for and once you find one you love, you stick to it like glue. I love chili, and as soon as the weather drops below 60 degrees I officially declare it "chili weather". We had some friends over to cheer on the Hogs this weekend and served Guy Fieri's dragon's breath chili. Don't let the words 'dragon's breath' scare you - this recipe is not super-spicy (I promise!). Robert, the ultimate carnivore, loved the addition of steak alongside the usual ground beef and sausage. I halved the recipe (more or less :)) and it served 6 adults. I skipped the french fries, and went the Saltines/green onions/cheese/and sour cream route instead. Delicious!!

Farmhouse grilled cheese sandwiches

We made farmhouse grilled cheese sandwiches from 5-Ingredient Fix on the Food Network (brilliant idea for a show, huh?). These were a sophisticated take on a simple sandwich, and were as easy to make as the standard version. (We used regular tomatoes because heirlooms are no longer available, and we had to substitute brioche rolls because a Brioche loaf was nowhere to be found). Yum!!

Ravioli lasagna

We made this ravioli lasagna for dinner a few weeks ago, but I'm just now getting around to posting it. We've tried several new recipes lately, but I'm behind on blogging... so here goes! We made a small tweak using cheese tortellini in place of ravioli because it's the only thing the store had in a small package (I halved the recipe as I was only cooking for 2). You don't have to pre-cook the pasta, which is a nice timesaver. We will definitely make this again, but agreed that we like our pasta a little saucier, so I think I'll use my go-to Rachael Ray easy marinara next time and pile it on. Overall, very delicious!