I have been on a cooking bent lately and it has been great. Chris has been home more the past couple of weeks and we have really been enjoying the somewhat cooler temperatures and having some nice meals at home.
We often eat on the deck in the back overlooking the lake and on these cooler fall days it has been the perfect place to enjoy a few meals.
While I haven’t been cooking fancy I have been trying out some new recipes and some new cooking products so today is the day I share a couple on the blog. No fancy recipes or pictures but I will happily share some of my favorite dishes I have prepared the past couple of weeks.
First up is a great little site called Budget Bytes. Aaron and Erin use this a lot and I am a huge fan. Their recipes are easy and usually pretty quick to assemble and I am hooked on their one pan dinners and their sheet dinners. First up is a one pan dinner —Lemon Pepper Chicken with Orzo.
This one was a winner winner chicken dinner in all ways. I let Chris add his own goat cheese to his portion since I am not a huge fan and he loved it. Topped with fresh parsley and this was flavorful and easy. Just click on the link above to go directly to the recipe.
How about some Pesto Chicken? Sheet Pan Pesto Chicken could not have been easier. I love the recipes that dirty the least amount of dishes and with a sheet pan dinner this one was perfect in every way. Just look at those crispy potatoes and juicy chicken topped with pesto and mozzarella. Is your mouth watering yet?
Next up are a couple of soup recipes that I made in my Tupperware Micro Pressure Cooker. I had purchased it quite awhile ago from my Tupperware pusher dealer Mary Hopper. If you are ever in need of any Tupperware she is the perfect go to person. (Click on her link here to go to her personal Tupperware website.) Mary and I became friends when we were both North Iowa Bloggers and maintain that friendship long distance. I had to laugh because I felt like I was a commercial when I posted on Facebook how much I loved this product.
I have an Instant Pot and have not really used it. The Tupperware Micro Pressure Cooker is less intimidating to me for some reason. It is a bit smaller which fits our little two family household perfectly and I am finding new things to cook in it but at first I started with a couple of soups. Chicken Orzo Soup was a definite winner and I cooked a whole chicken in it in 25 minutes. Now that is amazing. If I do nothing else with this I will use it for that.
Notice my great wooden spoon? My favorite kitchen tool handcrafted by Will Burney of TOTMcraft.
I also made a pretty fabulous black bean soup with fresh cut green onions and cilantro on top to add that extra bit of flavor. Chris liked his with a dollop of sour cream.
How about applesauce in 15 minutes? Fall brings all of the best apples and I took advantage of the great varieties that The Whistlestop Market had and made a fabulous batch of homemade applesauce in record time.
Sometimes simple is best, don’t you think? Chris and I were gone over the weekend on a little trip (more to come on that later) and I packed a bunch of stuff in a cooler in case we needed a snack. One night we had had a really large lunch and didn’t really feel like a regular dinner so this little spread fit the bill. Repurposed the ice bucket tray and walaa we had an instant supper. Who says food has to be fancy to be good?
So what have you been eating lately? Anything worth sharing? Any favorite recipe sites to share? And favorite cookbooks? I would love for you to share those today so leave me a comment . All comments this month mean a 50 cent donation to our Comments for a Cause – UMCOR Florence Hurricane Relief fund.
