Bacon candy

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/bacon-candy

Recipe and photo credit: Food & Wine 

Sebastian's remarkably wonderful brownies

http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161108/entlife/161109058/

Photo & recipe credit: Dorie's Cookies cookbook

Espresso chocolate sables

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/espresso-chocolate-sables


Recipe & photo credit: Dorie's Cookies cookbook

20-minute cranberry orange stir fry

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/20-minute-cranberry-orange-stir-fry/

Photo & recipe credit: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/

Winter squash enchiladas

http://brooklynsupper.com/2016/11/winter-squash-enchiladas/

*The salad is excellent, too!

Photo & recipe credit: http://brooklynsupper.com/

Corn and sweet potato chowder with saffron cream

https://www.washingtonpost.com/recipes/corn-and-sweet-potato-chowder-saffron-cream/15458

Photo & recipe credit: Washington Post/Soup Swap cookbook

15-minute cauliflower fried rice

http://pinchofyum.com/15-minute-cauliflower-fried-rice

* I added pineapple and radish to ours - you can add and subtract as you please, lots of variations would be delicious!!

Photo & recipe credit: http://pinchofyum.com/

Dorie Greenspan's newest chocolate chip cookies

https://food52.com/recipes/64534-my-newest-chocolate-chip-cookies

Photo and recipe credit: https://food52.com

Broccoli cheddar chicken and dumpling soup

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/broccoli-cheddar-chicken-and-dumpling-soup/


Photo and recipe credit: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/

Chipotle sweet potato and quinoa tacos with cranberry pomegranate salsa

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chipotle-quinoa-sweet-potato-tacos-roasted-cranberry-pomegranate-salsa/


Photo & recipe credit: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/

Sweet and spicy pretzel and nut mix

https://food52.com/recipes/8370-sweet-and-spicy-pretzel-and-nut-mix

Photo and recipe credit: https://food52.com/recipes

One pot chickpea shakshuka

So easy and delicious - I served ours with basmati rice.  Yum!!

http://minimalistbaker.com/1-pot-chickpea-shakshuka/

Photo and recipe credit: http://minimalistbaker.com/

Brown sugar chili and cheese grits

http://www.eunamaes.com/2016/10/brown-sugar-chili-and-cheese-grits.html


Photo and recipe credit: http://www.eunamaes.com/

Cream cheese chicken enchiladas

http://www.eunamaes.com/2015/02/cream-cheese-chicken-enchiladas.html

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.eunamaes.com/

Creamy queso

We tried a new queso (aka cheese dip) recipe last week and fell in love.  This is a creamy queso with no chunks, so my pickiest daughter was especially pleased she didn't have to dig around any tomatoes or peppers.  I don't have a photo because this recipe actually comes from a YouTube cooking channel called Cooking Today.  Recipe credit to Amy Hannon, who lives in Northwest Arkansas - she owns a precious store called Euna Mae's, a blog of the same name, and this cooking channel where she shares some delicious recipes!

EUNA MAE'S CREAMY QUESO
1lb Mexican Velveeta (I used regular because its what I had)
4 oz cream cheese
½ cup half and half or whole milk (I used skim)
Juice of one can of Rotel tomatoes (yes, just the juice!  Rreally push down on the tomatoes in the can to get all the juice out)
2-3 tsp juice of jarred jalapenos (again, just the juice!)
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp chili powder

Combine all ingredients in a pan over low heat, stirring until melted. Taste and season to taste, adding more milk or liquid to get desired consistency.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VBYVItFLZk

Fall harvest quinoa salad

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/fall-harvest-quinoa-salad/

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/

Sweet and sour veggie stir fry

https://www.hellofresh.com/recipe/detail/57acf78f518c88990d8b4568/jamie-s-sweet-and-sour-veggie-stir-fry-with-fluffy-rice-and-peanut-sprinkle/

Photo and recipe credit: Hello Fresh

Sweet potato corn chowder

http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/2016/09/vegan-sweet-potato-corn-chowder/

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/

Mole-spiced chickpea & grilled zucchini tacos

http://www.snixykitchen.com/2016/09/14/mole-spiced-chickpea-grilled-zucchini-tacos/

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.snixykitchen.com/

Pumpkin spice latte syrup

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2013/09/psl-syrup.html

Recipe & photo credit: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/

Roasted garlic tomato soup

http://naturallyella.com/roasted-garlic-and-tomato-soup/

Note: I skipped the sorghum garnish because I couldn't find it anywhere, and I added a splash of worcestershire sauce.

Recipe and photo credit: http://naturallyella.com/

Italian spaghetti salad

Dinner last night:
 http://therecipecritic.com/2016/08/italian-spaghetti-salad/

Recipe and photo credit: http://therecipecritic.com/

Basil balsamic chickpea and kale salad

http://www.hummusapien.com/basil-balsamic-chickpea-and-kale-salad/

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.hummusapien.com/

Thai coconut curry chicken soup

http://www.cookingclassy.com/2016/08/thai-coconut-curry-chicken-soup/

Recipe and photo credit: http://www.cookingclassy.com/

Greek lentil salad

http://cookieandkate.com/2016/greek-lentil-salad-recipe/

Photo and recipe credit: http://cookieandkate.com/

Balsamic peach chicken salad

http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/balsamic-peach-basil-chicken-salad-with-crispy-prosciutto/

* Note: we made ours without chicken and it was still delicious!

Photo and recipe credit: http://www.halfbakedharvest.com/

Sweet potato falafel bowls

http://pinchofyum.com/summer-bliss-bowls

Photo and recipe credit: http://pinchofyum.com/

Dinner last night: Kale salad with blueberry balsamic vinaigrette

http://iowagirleats.com/2014/07/16/roasted-kale-summer-salad-blueberry-balsamic-vinaigrette/

Recipe and photo credit: http://iowagirleats.com/

Dinner last night: Chipotle peach salad

http://naturallyella.com/grilled-chipotle-peach-salad/

Photo and recipe credit: Naturally Ella

Dinner last night: Spicy oven-roasted okra and Spicy garlic edamame

https://food52.com/recipes/23374-spicy-oven-roasted-okra

http://www.skinnytaste.com/spicy-garlic-edamame/

Photo and recipe credits: https://food52.com/ and http://www.skinnytaste.com/

Breakfast today: Blueberry muffin cookies

http://www.abeautifulmess.com/2016/05/blueberry-muffin-cookies.html

* Note: we skipped the candied ginger in our batch

Photo and recipe credit: http://www.abeautifulmess.com/recipes/

Dinner last night: Grilled lime butter salmon packets with summer vegetables

http://therecipecritic.com/2016/07/lime-butter-salmon-foil-summer-veggies/

Photo and recipe credit: http://therecipecritic.com/

Dinner last night: Asian quinoa salad

http://minimalistbaker.com/asian-quinoa-salad/

Photo and recipe credit: http://minimalistbaker.com/

Dessert last night: Blackberry lemon poppy seed ice cream

https://food52.com/recipes/37788-lemon-blackberry-and-poppy-seed-ice-cream

 Photo and recipe from https://food52.com/recipes

Dinner last night: Mega-crunchy romaine salad with quinoa

http://cookieandkate.com/2016/mega-crunchy-romaine-salad-recipe/


** Photo and recipe credit: http://cookieandkate.com

Reality check --> blog changes

Hello friends!  You may or may not have noticed that the blog hasn't been updated in over a month.  I've come to the realization that I just can't keep up with daily life and maintain my blog (in it's current state) at the same time.  Taking photos, choosing a photo, editing the photo, and writing captions are just too time consuming at this point in my life and that results in days, weeks, a MONTH going by without a new blog entry.  I still want to share the recipes we try and love, so to simplify things, I am going to streamline my posts as follows: when we try a new recipe that gets two thumbs up, I will create a "Dinner last night" post with a link to the recipe's original source.  Same as I do now, but without my own photos or captions.  I will also link the posts on my Facebook page, so if you haven't followed Lindsay's Menu yet, now is a great time to do so!  I hope this still allows my blog to be a recipe source for you and I always appreciate feedback on the recipes you try from the blog.  Thank you, and bon appetit!!

Thai carrot salad with curried cashews

So this Thai carrot salad with curried cashews from Minimalist Baker was AMAZING.  The dressing has tons of flavor, and those curried cashews - insert heart-eye emoji's here.  The cashews get caramelized and basically candied - next time I'll make extra for snacking!!  And by next time, I mean soon.

Kale taco salad

This kale taco salad from How Sweet Eats was a great combination of crisp and crunchy, tossed with a creamy dressing.  Tomatoes, black beans, jalapenos and avocado are a few of my favorite things, and adding crispy tortilla strips is always a good idea!!

Butternut squash and sage risotto

BUTTERNUT SQUASH AND SAGE RISOTTO

Serves 2

Ingredients:

2 cups butternut squash, cut in 1/2 inch cubes

Handful of sage, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 yellow onion, finely diced

3 cups vegetable stock

3/4 cup Arborio rice

1 Tbsp butter

Olive oil

Pumpkin seeds and feta cheese for topping

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Toss the butternut squash on a baking sheet with the sage, a drizzle of olive oil, and salt and pepper.  Roast for about 30 minutes, tossing halfway through cooking, until soft and golden brown.

In a small pot, bring the vegetable stock to a low simmer.  

In a large pan over medium heat, heat a drizzle of olive oil.  Add the onion and cook, tossing, for 5-6 minutes, until softened.  Add the garlic and cook for 30 seconds, then season with salt and pepper. Add the rice to the pan and toss for 2 minutes until translucent.  Begin adding the warm stock to the pan, 1/4 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed.  Repeat until the rice is al dente, about 25-30 minutes.  Add the roasted butternut squash to the pan, stir in the butter, and season generously with salt and pepper. Top with pumpkin seeds and feta, and enjoy!

Baked sweet potatoes with sticky salad

We jumped on the meal delivery bandwagon and did a trial run with Hello Fresh.  While the pre-measured ingredients were very convenient, the schedule wasn't flexible enough for us, so we're back to cooking and grocery shopping the old-fashioned way.  This Hello Fresh recipe was one of our favorites and it will stay in our rotation, so the experiment wasn't a total loss!!

BAKED SWEET POTATOES WITH STICKY SALAD
Serves 2 

Ingredients:
 2 medium sweet potatoes 
vegetable oil 
½ lemon 
¼ cup non-fat plain yogurt 
1 small pinch of turmeric 
1 small pinch of ground cumin 
1 carrot 
6 radishes 
1 small red onion 
1 apple 
1 beet 
extra virgin olive oil 
2 tablespoons shelled pumpkin and sunflower seeds 
1 tablespoon maple syrup 
1 ounce arugula

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Wash the sweet potatoes, pat dry with paper towels, then rub with a little vegetable oil and a pinch of sea salt and black pepper. Roast on a baking sheet for about 40 minutes, or until cooked through. 

Finely grate half the lemon zest into a small bowl and mix in the yogurt, and a pinch of turmeric and cumin. Leave at room temperature until needed. 

Scrub the beet, carrot, and radishes, peel the onion and core the apple. In this order, carefully push the carrot, radishes, red onion, apple and beet through the grating blade of your food processor, or coarsely grate by hand, then tip into a bowl.  Mix the veggies with the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil and a good pinch of salt and pepper. 

A few minutes before your potatoes are ready, toast the seeds in a small frying pan on a medium heat for 2 minutes, or until smelling fantastic. At this point, add 1 tablespoon of maple syrup and let it bubble until it starts to thicken, then take off the heat. Carefully pour onto a sheet of parchment paper, leave to cool and don’t touch! 

Cut a cross in the top of your cooked potatoes and gently break them open with a fork, mashing a little of the inside as you go. Spoon over a good dollop of the spiced yogurt, followed by the juicy grated salad, and the seeds. Serve with the arugula scattered over.

Nutella stuffed brown butter blondies

I made these nutella stuffed brown butter blondies from Ambitious Kitchen a few weeks ago for our Bachelor watch party and WOW- they were delicious.  I've had trouble in the past getting browned butter just right (it can burn quickly so watch it closely), but I nailed it this time and it really does add great nutty flavor to the bars.  Try these, I know you'll love them!

The Greeny Bowl

This Greeny Bowl from the Sprouted Kitchen Bowl + Spoon cookbook was FANTASTIC, and Robert immediately declared it a favorite and asked when we were having it again.

THE GREENY BOWL
Serves 4

Ingredients:
3/4 pound brussels sprouts
1 1/2 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 Tbsp pure maple syrup
1/2 tsp paprika
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 hearts of romaine, chopped
3 cups mixed greens
1 pear, diced
1 avocado, diced 
3 green onions, white and green parts, thinly sliced
1/3 cup toasted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup shaved Parmesan
----
For the dressing:
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp pure maple syrup
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp dried Italian seasoning
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil for easy cleanup.  Halve or quarter the brussels sprouts, depending on size.  Place them in a bowl, and toss them with the olive oil, maple syrup, paprika, and a few pinches of salt.  Spread them in a single layer on the baking sheet and roast for 25 minutes, until the edges are browned.  Remove and set aside to cool completely.  (This can be done 1 day in advance.)

Add the romaine and the mixed greens to a large salad bowl.  Add the pear, avocado, green onions, half of the pepitas, and 1/4 cup of the Parmesan, and the brussels sprouts to the bowl.

For the dressing, in a small blender or by hand, whisk together the garlic, maple syrup, mustard, herbs, vinegar, olive oil, and a pinch of salt and pepper until combined.  Dress the salad and toss to mix well.  Garnish with the remaining pepitas and Parmesan and serve.

Moroccan chili

We made this Moroccan vegetarian chili from the Soup of the Day cookbook (Williams-Sonoma) last week and it was a big hit.  It is perfectly and warmly spiced with turmeric, cumin and cinnamon, and butternut squash is always welcome in this house.

Moroccan Vegetarian Chili

Serves 6

Ingredients:

4 large ancho chiles

10 cloves garlic (4 whole, 6 sliced)

1 yellow onion

1 1/2 tsp ground turmeric

1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes

1 butternut squash, peeled, halved, seeded and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

2 15 oz. cans chickpeas

2 zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch dice

1/3 cup sliced dried apricots

1/3 cup sliced pitted prunes (I omitted these)

In a saucepan, combine the chiles and 3 cups water and bring to a boil.  Remove from the heat- cover and let stand for 15 minutes.  Using tongs or a slotted spoon, transfer the chiles to a work surface; reserve the liquid.  Discard the stems and seeds from the chiles.  In a blender or food processor, combine the chiles with the 4 whole cloves garlic and 1/2 cup of the reserved chile soaking liquid.  Process until smooth and set aside.

Heat a large, heavy pot over medium heat.  Coat the pan with nonstick cooking spray.  Add the onion, the sliced garlic cloves, turmeric, cinnamon, cumin and coriander and saute until the onion and garlic have softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the butternut squash, and chile puree.  Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the butternut squash is just tender, about 25 minutes.

Stir in the chickpeas with their liquid, the zucchini, and the dried apriocts and prunes.  Simmer, uncovered, until the zucchini is tender, about 15 minutes.  Serve and enjoy!

Hot chocolate

Cold winter days are best spent in your pajamas, in front of a fire, with homemade hot chocolate.  I've always used the recipe on the side of the Hershey's cooca can, but this one from Euna Mae's is bigger and better- rich, decadent and super chocolaty, just how hot cocoa should be.  This recipe yields 1 large serving or 2 small servings.

In a small pot over low-medium heat, warm 1 cup of milk and 1/4 cup heaving cream, stirring so it doesn't scald.  Stir in 1 heaping teaspoon of sugar and 1 oz. chopped chocolate of your choice (I use dark, and this is the bar kind, not powder or Hershey's bars).  Stir until melted and combined and simmering.  Remove from heat and stir in a splash of vanilla extract (or peppermint extract if that tickles your fancy),  Top with marshmallows, whipped cream, peppermint pieces... you get the idea.  

Roasted chickpea salad with za'atar

We made this roasted chickpea salad with za'atar from Food 52 for dinner last week and WOW.  So many flavors and textures from the roasted chickpeas, the creamy feta and the crispy shallots.  Two thumbs up!  (I made my own za'atar spice to save myself a trip to Whole Foods, link here).

Ravioli with butternut squash and brown butter sauce

This recipe for ravioli with butternut squash and brown butter sauce has been on the blog before, but we made it again recently and I thought it deserved a repeat post!  This is an oldie but a goodie from Rachael Ray.  We use spinach and cheese ravioli (the refrigerated kind, by the butter and eggs at our store) and bacon instead of pancetta, because that's something we already have in our fridge.  The brown butter sauce and balsamic drizzle make this one truly special!!