Sheet Pan Chicken Fajitas

I don’t know if there is a name for this but when I see a recipe that sounds intriguing, I have this bad habit of cooking it either right-that-very-moment or pretty much never.
I do the same with clean laundry, I either get every single thing into its proper closet/drawer or it sits on my bedroom chair for days — never bothering to put it away. Same thing happens when I buy something I’m not sure of, I either return it the very next day or it stays in its bag forever.
The fact is, once something leaves my short-term memory, it may as well be lost eternally.
But with recipes, at least today, I’m on a rescue mission.

(Vegan) Coconut Curry Chickpeas

Crazy week? It can be all too easy to throw healthy eating out of the window and chow down on some takeaway.
With busy life comes the desire to feed oneself all that is easy, quick, and effortless.
But don’t dive into that pizza, Pad Thai or Chipotle just yet.
I have a perfect recipe for you.
So easy and simple, you’ll have dinner sorted in no time.
And if you make a double batch, you’ll have lunch for the next couple of days too.

Double Chocolate Blender Brownies

If you ask me, banana and chocolate is a marriage made in heaven. Just like eggs and avocado, tomato and mozzarella, orange and thyme, and coffee and shortbread, just to name a few.
I know that not everyone is a fan though and that some may be dubious about a recipe for brownies that calls for bananas and chocolate.
To be honest, if three years ago you’d told me about a killer recipe for double chocolate brownies made with bananas, I wouldn’t have believed you. But since then, three things happened.

Chocolate Caprese Cake (Gluten-free)

I can give up many things in my life but never chocolate. There’s no way around it.
Call it an addiction, call it a craving. It’s my reality, I just can’t ignore the voice in my head screaming for chocolate.
Luckily, I have a solution. My mantra when it comes to chocolate is “just a little bit”.
Whenever I get the craving for chocolate, the only reasonable thing to do is to go ahead and have my chocolate fix, with moderation.

Crock-Pot Mongolian Beef

One of the most fundamental, basic rules of dinner parties — and the one I routinely ignore — is that you should never try out recipes for the first time on your guests. Good manners predicate that guests are not guinea pigs, hence you should never test new dishes and ideas on them.
But when those guests are your family — which means that they are forced to love you — I say go to town on them.
Fortunately, with this Crock-Pot Mongolian Beef everything worked perfectly, like I knew it would. Soy sauce, ginger, garlic, sugar, and beef in the slow cooker: Hardly something can go wrong.

Caprese Lemon Cake (Gluten-Free)

I have this suspicion about myself that I love anything caprese.
As long as it’s labeled “caprese” I know I’m going to like it, a lot: Salad, chicken, cauliflower casserole, rice casserole, etc. you name it. The combination of tomato and mozzarella and anything else always wins, in my book.
I think it also has to do with the fact that when I first visited Capri (many moons ago) I fell in love with the place: the feel of the warm Mediterranean breeze, the turquoise water that crashes onto the rocky shores, the magnificent sights that greet you around every turn, and, of course, the taste of the delicious foods available at cafés and restaurants.

Easy Indian Butter Chickpeas

Since you all know me, then you know that I love Indian food to the utmost.
Give me some Chicken Tikka Masala, Butter Chicken or Pumpkin Masala and I’m one happy camper.
In fact, some of the most popular recipes on this blog are Indian-inspired; such as the Chickpea Tikka Masala or the Red Lentil and Spinach Tikka Masala — maybe not quite like your grandmother’s authentic Indian recipe but so tasty nonetheless.

Easy Zucchini Gratin

There is something rather awesome about vegetable gratins. You start out with ingredients that are usually not considered healthy — a memorable pile of shredded cheese, heaps of crème fraîche, butter — but then you add a glorious amount of veggies to the equation and the result is a pretty healthy dish. Because if there is a vegetable in it, it must be healthy food, right?

Cinnamon Carrot Soup

Although it’s still cold, it definitely feels less harsh than last week (and the week before that).
The severe and unusually long cold blast we just experienced was one the sharpest documented — numerous records (if not all) have been broken.
And when it gets cold (especially that cold), I have but one craving: warming and nourishing soups. There’s nothing quite like a big bowl of soup to keep your insides warm and healthy.

Mom’s Chocolate Chip Meringue Cookies

This week has gotten away from me a little. I haven’t had many home cooked meals and I’ve put my recipe testing on hold for a few days.
I’ve been finishing up my holiday to do list — okay, I started and have almost finished up my holiday to do list. Luckily, I’m taking Friday off and plan to wrap things up, because on Saturday and Sunday I’ll be cooking for the family for Christmas.

(Gluten-Free) Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles, why are they called snickerdoodles?
No one knows where the name comes from. According to Wikipedia these cookies are probably German in origin, and the name is a corruption of the German word Schneckennudel.
I’m not fond of the name, to tell you the truth. I almost wish they had another name.
I do love the cookie though.
Mouth watering and blasting with cinnamon flavor, hard on the outside and chewy on the inside, and once you bite into the crisp you can’t get the cinnamon out of your tongue. Awesome.

(Gluten-Free) Almond Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

Since it’s the holidays, I’m all about cookies. And today I’m going to share one of my very favorite cookie recipe: Almond Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies.
Insanely delicious, super easy to make, and great for holiday parties and cookie exchanges (if you’re into that). And you know what? They are also gluten-free and can be made vegan and/or paleo if you want.
Awesome, right?

Crock Pot Shredded Beef Ragu

Ragu is one of those recipes that really showcases the beauty of Italian cooking: everyday ingredients, fast prep, long and slow cooking until you get a luscious dish that tastes like a million bucks.

Frosted Grapes

With Christmas just around the corner (I can’t believe it’s already that time of the year), I wanted to share an extra special snack that is a staple in my house since I was a kid: frosted grapes or as niece like to call ‘em Elsa’s Frozen Grapes (believe it or not, after 4 years Frozen was released she still looooves it!)
Seriously, is there anything more festive than these sugared grapes?
Not only they are a yummy snack but you can use them as a decoration to your holiday desserts. Imagine a classic white layer cake topped with these grapes. It's pretty awesome if you ask me.

Best Ever Tuna Salad

No matter how inventive or creative or ingenious I try to be be with my weekday lunches, at some point I end up craving just a simple tuna salad sandwich. Just like egg salad, a tuna salad may be the ultimate lunchtime comfort food. Perfect for cold sandwiches or fresh wraps on the go.
Here’s my favorite, not-so-basic tuna salad recipe. I think it’s just about perfect.

Fancy Egg Salad

I’m going to make a confession guys, this egg salad is (as the title suggests) fancy and high-maintenance.
Made from a few ordinary ingredients it's more than the sum of its parts: well balanced, with bright fresh flavors, and a texture that spans from rich and creamy to crunchy.
It really has it all.

(Easy) Spinach Ricotta Quiche

I am certain that for many of you — just like myself — the sole preoccupation right now is Thanksgiving menu and that you probably forget — just like myself — that in order to survive and make it to Thursday alive you still need to eat.
That’s why I have a little recipe for you today, a fantastic quiche that
(A) requires a few simple ingredients,
(B) is incredibly easy to make,
(C) is perfect for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, and
(D) last but not least, is super delicious and wholesome, while being healthy and nutritious.

Eggplant Lasagna

I love lasagna, I know I’m not the only one: Creamy, rich, comforting, it’s hard not to love it.
Pasta noodles baked with bolognese sauce, mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese into something delectable and truly irresistible.
I would go as far as saying that it’s an epic dish. Oh sure, it looks like an ordinary broiled mass, but it’s so much more.
However, lasagna isn’t a dish for the calorie conscious — it’s incredibly, let me say that again i-n-c-r-e-d-i-b-l-y rich.

One Pot Pizza Rice

I was not, in fact, looking for a new rice dish. I have already so many, I certainly do not need one more.
But, as it happens, because I’m terrible at timely meal-planning, I was attempting to make this chicken for dinner a couple of weeks ago and it wasn’t ready on time, or even close to it.
That’s when I remembered a one-pan Spanish rice I made in February that was both delicious and easy to make.
Realizing I had almost all the ingredients on hand, I rustled it up. But since I had Nephew and Niece over for lunch, I made a few tweaks (no spices, marinara sauce instead of tomato sauce, etc.) and what began as Spanish flavored rice ended up looking much more as a tomato rice that smelled like pizza.
So I took it a step further, sprinkled some mozzarella I had in the fridge, dotted with mini-pepperoni slices, five minutes under the broiler and BOOM a delicious One Pot Pizza Rice.
The kids loved it so much they asked for seconds, and thirds. Actually, they polished it ALL off.

(Vegan) Creamy Crock Pot Coconut Curry Lentils

Weeknight dinners don’t get simpler or healthier than this.
You can prep everything for these (Vegan) Creamy Crock Pot Coconut Curry Lentils in 5 minutes tops, then toss it all in your slow cooker and with no other effort required on your part, you’ll have a healthy meal that everyone will love.
Fact is, when I’m using the crock pot to save time (and stay out of the kitchen) I like to keep things as simple as possible, and believe me when I say that it doesn’t get simpler than this.
Just some peeling and chopping is needed, then throw everything in the slow cooker, go out to work or run errands, and when you get home you don’t have to start fussing with dinner—the work’s already done.