When I first started dating my husband he was really excited for me to meet his friend Mike. Mike was a great guy, really friendly and smart and we hit it off right away. One night Mike asked us over for dinner. My husband was all for it and told me Mike was going to make us his famous Mango Chicken Curry. At first I was all "Seriously? Not frozen pizza or a bottle of marinara poured over pasta?", the usual single 20-something guy's cooking staples. And then I was all "Really? YOU like curry? The guy who eats almost nothing adventurous?". I had to say yes because I had to see these two phenomena for myself. I went right from work to Mike's apartment and got there before my husband-to-be, so Mike let me watch him make his curry dish. I was really impressed with the fact that he didn't have to read a recipe, and even more impressed that it was so freakin' good (I have to admit, wasn't a big curry fan up until this point)! My future husband ate 2 plates of dinner and I knew I had to add Mike's famous curry dish to our repertoire. What I really like about this dish is that there is a nice balance of spice and sweet and all the ingredients can be easily found at any grocery store. So Mike Lamont, thank you for teaching me how to make this. I'm sure along the way somewhere I changed some ingredient quantities because I never wrote down the original recipe, and have been making it from memory for almost 10 years, but Jason still eats 2 plates of it so I must be close! Print this recipe Mango Chicken Curry 1-2 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs 3 tbsp olive oil 1 medium onion, peeled & chopped in 1/2" pieces 1 green pepper, chopped in 1/2" pieces 1 1/2 cups long grain rice 3 cups chicken stock or water 3 tbsp Sweet Mango Chutney 2 tbsp curry powder 1 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander Salt & Pepper 1. Brown chicken thighs in olive oil until about 50% cooked through. 2. Remove chicken from pan and add onion & green pepper. Cook for about 5 mins over medium heat. 3. Add rice and stir. Cook for about a minute and add chicken stock. 4. Add chutney, curry, cumin and coriander and stir. 5. Return chicken to pan and cover. 6. Cook over medium-low heat until rice is tender and chicken is cooked through (about 20 mins) stirring occasionally and adding more stock/water a little at a time as needed. Serve hot. Print this recipe

Cool weather brings pomegranates to the market and table just as many other fruits are disappearing. Use these beautiful, tart fruits to help warm up your chilliest evenings with a simple tea.

We've gathered 40 terrific taco recipes that run the gamut from basic to extraordinary. Looking for vegetarian options? Meat options? Fish? Chicken?

Instant Pot Pulled Pork is tender and flavorful pork shoulder (also called butt or Boston butt) cooked up quickly in your electric pressure cooker. The pork meat comes out fall-apart tender and makes amazing BBQ pulled pork sandwiches.LISTEN TO THE AUDIO RECIPE WITH THE PLAYER BELOW.

Mini beef pies flavored with stout beer are so good, we know you can’t eat just one!

So rich and creamy, macaroni and cheese will always be the ultimate comfort food. And the bonus? This savory 5-cheese mac and cheese is f...

Learn this easy, basic method for making perfect hard-boiled eggs. You'll use it again and again when you make egg salad, deviled eggs, and more.

I'll spare you of all the gory details, but I have been experiencing a health crisis lately. To say that this issue got my attention would be an understatement at the very least. There is no more denying it, I have to make some serious changes and the first one is with my diet. Like most die hard foodies, deep down I have known for sometime that I needed to make some alterations to my lifestyle. I kept telling myself that I would get started right after the new year, or after my birthday, or our anniversary, or after that big contest I wanted to enter, but my body got tired of waiting and took control. I also need to start listening to the signals my body gives off. No more Googling and searching for the answer that I want to see. No siree, from now on, for the rest of my life, I'm afraid that I will be running to the doctor for the smallest ache or pain. I used to make fun of people like that, but now I am one of them, for I see that they are the smart ones after all. My new normal started just over three weeks ago. Since then I have done my best to eliminate most animal fat and protein from my diet (can you imagine?). This dessert lover has actually stopped eating refined sugar and am very careful about how much fruit and honey I consume. It's a new day I tell you. I am also very guarded about the amount of gluten that I eat. If you know me personally, you know how drastic this is, because I love me some bread. Oh sure, I've stumbled a time or two. Thanksgiving was a real challenge, so I allowed myself a few bites of forbidden fruit, and got right back on that horse. The 15 pounds that I have lost is my reward. I promise that I won't go all Gwyneth Paltrow on you here, but in addition to my usual recipes, I am going to start posting some healthy recipes that I think are worthy. Oh yeah, there will still be recipes with cheese, beef, sugar and flour, but there will also be lots of farro, quinoa, tofu and leafy greens. One of my favorite new recipes is not only tasty, but it is perfect for our cold late fall nights. Inexpensive, hearty and satisfying, curried red lentil soup, has a lot of flavor and is a great way to finish off those vegetable odds and ends rolling around in your fridge from your Thanksgiving dinner. So I hope you'll enjoy, and most importantly, take care of yourself. Curried Red Lentil Soup 2 tablespoons light olive or vegetable oil 1 medium size yellow onion, chopped 1 large carrot, chopped 1 large celery stalk, chopped 1/2 teaspoon cumin seed 1 cup dried red lentils 3 tablespoons curry powder 6 cups vegetable stock 1 - 15 ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and mashed or pureed in a food processor with a couple of tablespoons of reserved liquid from the can 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro, chopped 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger root 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional) Salt and pepper to taste Pour oil into the bottom of a large sauce pan that is set over medium high heat. Once oil is shimmering and hot, add onion, carrot, celery and cumin seed. Cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are tender crisp. At this point add in the the lentils and curry powder, stirring to coat. Add the vegetable stock and garbanzo beans; stir well. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for approximately 20 - 30 minutes or until lentils are tender. Stir in the cilantro, lemon juice, ginger root, cayenne, salt and pepper. Cook for 2 minutes longer, stirring frequently. Serve piping hot. Serves 4 - 6.

There is nothing like a heaping spoonful of macaroni and cheese on your plate. Put simply, mac and cheese is comfort food at it's finest. While I do enjoy some blue-boxed Kraft every once in a while, a good homemade mac and cheese makes me feel all warm and cozy. Finding the right recipe has been tricky, though. I thought it was darn near impossible to make a creamy mac and cheese without Velveeta, but friends, have I got a recipe for you. I found it in a magazine, but it was so long ago that I don't remember which magazine it was. Probably Family Circle. Who knows? Who cares? All I know is that it is fantastic, and I'm willing to share it. Even my mom, who has sworn her entire adult life that she doesn't like macaroni and cheese had two helpings of it when I made it for her. Just so you know, I am not a good cook. I am a good follower of directions. Give me a recipe, I can make something yummy. Give me a bunch of ingredients and tell me to create something, I'll starve. When I say I've tweaked the recipe, it's not because I thought it would taste better. It's because I didn't have the ingredient and just left it out. And lastly, before we get to the best mac and cheese recipe you've ever seen, I'll tell you that I have changed a few of the directions. Not because they were unclear, but because the yahoos writing this paid no attention to the number of dishes they were using to make it. I am always conscious of the number of dishes I am using, making sure Hubby doesn't have to wash any dishes that are unnecessary. (Yes, you read that right. The day after we got married, we discussed the distribution of chores. Whoever cooks doesn't clean. I always cook, because I hate to clean.) Finally, the recipe. I will give you the directions from the recipe, then in italics you will find the things I do to keep the dirty dish count down. You will need: 1 box (1 pound) penne rigate 3/4 pound sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (I use 2 cup package of Kraft shredded.) 1/2 pound Gruyere cheese, shredded (I forgot to check the package before I wrote this, but I do believe I use only half of this amount.) 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded 3 Tbsp unsalted butter 3 Tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cups milk (I use skim.) 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (This would be a tweaked item. I've never used it.) Heat oven to 350. Coat a 2-quart broiler-safe oval baking dish with nonstick cooking spray. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to boiling. I only own one large pot, so I use a medium pot for the penne. I save the large pot for the cheese sauce. That way only one pot gets cheesy and hard to wash. I don't spray the dish until later. Instead of shredding on a plate or cutting board, I shred it in the baking dish. Shred the Gruyere and Parmesan into the dish, mix them up a bit, and save for later. Once water boils, add penne. Cook 6 minutes then drain. In a large bowl, toss together the cheddar, Gruyere and Parmesan. Set aside. As for the penne, duh. And I've never actually timed 6 minutes. As for the bowl and cheese, we've gone over that. Mix just the two cheeses, leave the cheddar in the bag for now. Melt butter in medium-size saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth and slightly bubbly. I used the large pot instead of the medium saucepan. I do believe we are making what is called a roux. In a thin stream, whisk in milk. Stir in onion powder, salt, and cayenne. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce and simmer 3 minutes. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 1/2 cups of the cheese mixture. I do all of this, except no cayenne and I don't measure the cheese. I just use half of the cheese, the two that I shredded into the baking dish, and half of the package of cheddar. The half of the cheese that I don't put into the pot, I put into the cheddar bag. Easy, no-mess way to mix all three cheeses together and set aside to use in a minute. NOW spray the baking dish. In pasta pot, stir together the cooked penne and the cheese sauce. Or pour the pasta into the cheese sauce in order to avoid washing two cheesy pots. Pour half of the mac and cheese into the baking dish. Sprinkle with a generous cup of the shredded cheese. Spoon remaining penne into dish and top with remaining cheese. By generous cup, they mean half of the leftover shredded cheese. We're just layering here. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Increase oven temperature to broil and cook 3 minutes, until top is lightly browned. Cool slightly before serving. One other thing about me, I seem to have a touch of ADD. Apparently, this is the first time that I made it to the bottom of this recipe. I have never, ever broiled the mac and cheese. I have simply baked it for 25 minutes or so. Until it looks good :) Oh, and it is good. Trust me. Have a lovely day!

This savory beef and pork meatloaf has a sweet barbecue sauce topping. It's grilled right on the grates, with no pan, for a smoky flavor--but of course you can also bake it in the oven.

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I love when my worlds collide in the kitchen. I grew up in the U.S., I was born in Mexico and currently we are in Ecuador. Add to that I married a Georgia Southern man. This soup is a smorgasbord of all those roots. Ecuador has a Potato soup called Locro de Papa which you see some of […]

Adapted from Sweet! (Da Capo) by Mani Niall Because I like the play of sweet and spicy, I added a handful of chopped candied ginger to the recipe. You can use Golden Syrup, which is one of the best sweeteners ever. I also made a batch with treacle from England, which is similar to molasses, and it was excellent, too. Like my high school locker room, things got a little out of hand here, and I ended up making Sticky Toffee Pudding twice this week, the second time in my Baker’s Edge pan. If using one, bake the pudding for 35 to 40 minutes.

Spiced Apple Cider - one recipe served two ways - the traditional hot and as a cold soda

This past Saturday we had an Eric Carle themed 2nd birthday for our sweet Finley Rose. More specifically, the bugs for Eric Carle stories...The Very Hungry Caterpillar, The Very Busy Spider, The Grouchy Ladybug, The Very Lonely Firefly, The Clumsy Click Beetle, and The Very Quiet Cricket. My parents, grandparents, sister, and brother-in-law came in from Louisiana, we had family from Houston, Kyle's parents from Ft. Worth, and lots of friends from the area. I am so thankful for everyone who came, it really means so much to our family that you took time out of your busy day to help celebrate our Rosebud! The weekend was a little hectic, what with six additional people staying at my house, but honestly I couldn't have done it without everyone there. My dad was awesome in helping us set up the tents that my in-laws so thoughtfully bought for the weekend and he put together Finley's sand and water table. My brother-in-law Ben was the baby whisperer, he was so amazing with Rowynn and taking care of her so I could focus on the party and hosting. Stacy, my sister, helped entertain and dress Finley and she helped with the food. My mom also helped with the girls and helped with the food and beverages. She also bought all of the cookies, cake pops, and cupcakes for the party--a huge help! They were all so cute thanks to the talented Susan Dahlam! I was so thankful that Aunt Tina, Myca & Courtni were there too, can you believe they drove in from Houston to come to the party even though Myca had her wisdom teeth out on Thursday!?!? Seriously, how amazing is that?!?! I was so glad they were there, and glad I got to shop Tina's Scentsy store before the party--my house smelled amazing. \ And then there was my grandma...this woman never sits down! She helped me shop for the party, helped me make most of the food, cleaned the kitchen, took out trash, did laundry and anything and everything else. She made me tired just watching her! Seriously could not have done it without her and everyone else! Here are some pictures from the party: Yummy Critter Cookies, inspired by Eric Carle! Cake Pops---Oh my these were good!!! Caterpillar Fruit Kabobs! The Very Hungry Caterpillar Cupcakes! Our centerpiece. It's got a picture of all the different food eaten by the caterpillar. The Loot Bags & Cups What was found in the bags--watercolor paint, sunglasses, bubbles,sidewalk chalk, a bug kit, bug suckers and of course the kiddos got a colorful cup. We had the guest at the party sign a birthday message within the pages of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I saw this on another blog and love the idea of her having a keepsake book filled with sweet birthday messages! I got the book at Kohls for $5, so not a bad deal! The Very Grouchy Ladybug Juice & Mint Water. The green thing in the middle is our butterfly house with the butterflies we grew. A few weeks ago we ordered caterpillars and were able to watch them grow, form cocoons, and transform into butterflies! Such a neat experience and they made a nice addition to the party. Thanks Maile for letting me borrow your butterfly house! The food table!!! Chicken salad sandwiches, blackberry & raspberry (ladybug colors), crackers with cream cheese, cucumbers, and tomatoes, cookies, pretzels, turkey, salami, cheese, olives, cake pops, watermelon, cupcakes, fruit kabobs, pudding/oreo crumb/gummy worm in flower pots, salsa and chips, and we had Popsicles outside. Outside-bounce house (thanks Maile!), pool, tent, and bean bag toss game. Eric Carle tent and tunnel! Ladybug photo-opp! Painted with care by Kyle & I! Another of one of my projects! Bean bag toss game. My friend Jessica made bean bags out of The Very Hungry Caterpillar fabric! Pool time! The kiddos making caterpillars out of pom-poms, Popsicle sticks and googly eyes. Her cute cake! All week she kept asking for cake, but when it came time to blow out the candle, she decided to go into shy-mode. A mode I was unaware she had! But dad helped blow out the candle! She kept closing her eyes...unpredictable toddlers!! But she sure loved eating the cake! My little ladybug! Happy birthday sweet girl!!! I sure do love you!!! Something fierce!!! 

I wanted Jon to make a wing sauce that was much less spicy than his typical wing sauces. He claims this sauce is made for old ladies and small children. But it's a super tasty sticky yummy wing sauce!

I have pinned and repinned many, many recipes on Pinterest. Parmesan Crusted Chicken is a recent one. The description for the pin gave the amounts of yogurt or sour cream to use to cover the chicken, but when I went to the site, there was no mention of either ingredient. Instead it showed the Hellman's Mayo Recipe. I don't know who decided to change the main ingredient from mayo to either yogurt or sour cream, but not having any mayo (we are salad dressing folks), I decided to try it using yogurt. When I looked in my frig looking for the yogurt, I saw an opened container of sour cream that I had used part of in a previous recipe. Knowing I needed to use it up, I decided to try the recipe as a pinner had suggested and use sour cream instead of the mayo. I made the recipe using four chicken breast as called for in the recipe, but next time I will cut the ingredients in half and just make it for 2. That way there won't be any leftovers to try to warm up. Anyone know a good way to warm up chicken not in a casserole? PARMESAN CRUSTED CHICKEN FOR 2 2 boneless, skinless, chicken breast 1/4 cup of sour cream or yogurt 2 tablespoon grated parmesan cheese Italian bread crumbs Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Line baking dish with parchment paper.( Easy cleanup). Lay the 2 chicken breast on top of the paper in the dish. Mix the sour cream or yogurt with the parmesan cheese in a small bowl and then spread it on top of the chicken breast. Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top of the cheese mixture covering the chicken completely. Bake for 40 minutes or til juices run clear. This was so good and so easy. TIP ALERT! I make my own bread crumbs from the heels left with a loaf of bread. I break the heel up into pieces and then chop it up in the blender. Then I store the crumbs in a freezer bag so I can take out how ever much I need, when I need it for a recipe. I always buy 100% Whole Wheat Bread so my bread crumbs aren't seasoned as much as the Italian ones called for in the recipe. BUT my husband loved it so I'm not going to go out and buy Italian bread crumbs just for the recipe. I am sure the yogurt would give it a sweeter taste than the sour cream. If you do not like sour cream, try the yogurt or even mayo as the original recipe used. I used fat free sour cream to reduce fat. What I really like about this recipe is that it would be so easy to make to serve for a dinner group and simply increase the ingredients. The ratio for the sour cream and cheese is 2:1 so for 4 chicken breast, use 1/2 cup of sour cream or yogurt and 1/4 cup of grated parmesan cheese. I'm sure I will be serving this the next time we have friends over for dinner.

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It has been a busy day and it feels good to sit down. I worked on my patriotic table runner all morning. Will be sharing it when I get it finished. It's looking good so far. Then after lunch, I had to run to JoAnn's to get some material for the backing for the table runner. While I was washing the backing material, I packed a box and then mailed it to COS that contained Hallie and Sadie's Blue Jean Aprons that I made, some things I got them at a garage sale, and then an additional surprise for Colby. He sorta gets left out with the sewing. Although I have made him clothes when he was younger. For dinner tonight I made Zucchini Meatloaf and Sweet Potato Biscuits. I used my second zucchini from my garden to make the meatloaf. That is so exciting to say since I didn't get any zucchini from my garden last year. I have gotten 4 so far this summer. I hope I get more. This early heat wave we are in, isn't being enjoyed by my flowers and plants. When I mixed up the meat loaf today, I decided I would make two mini loaves -- cook one and freeze one to cook on another day. Here is the recipe as I found it from Pillsbury.com. I will add a note at the bottom of how I changed it. ZUCCHINI MEAT LOAF Ingredients: Meat Loaf: 2 eggs, slightly beaten 2 cups shredded zucchini ( 1 large or 2 small) 1/3 cup bread crumbs 1/3 cup chopped onion 1 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano leaves 1/4 teaspoon pepper 1 1/2 lb. ground beef Topping: 1 tablespoon packed brown sugar 2 tablespoons ketchup 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In large bowl, mix all meat loaf ingredients until well blended. Press mixture into ungreased 9 1/2-inch deep-dish glass pie plate. Bake 35 minutes. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix all topping ingredients. Remove meat loaf from oven; pour off drippings. Spread topping over loaf. Return to oven; back 10 - 15 minutes longer or until thoroughly cooked in center. Let stand 5 minutes before serving. *****I use ground turkey instead of ground beef. Because I am just cooking for 2, I decided to divide the mixture up and make two mini loaves. I cooked one and am freezing the other one to cook on another day. I cooked the loaf 40 minutes since it is thicker than it would be if I had used the deep dish pie plate. I also cooked it the full 15 minutes after putting the topping on it. I had about a half inch wide piece left for lunch tomorrow. So the mini loaf is just perfect for 2. This is the one we ate. TIP ALERT! This is the one I am freezing. I put plastic wrap in the loaf pan first. This way when the meat loaf is frozen, I can take it out of the pan and put it in a freezer bag until I am ready to cook it. I will take it out of the freezer the night before, remove the plastic wrap, return it to the pan I shaped it in, and let it thaw in the refrigerator. Spray the pan first with cooking oil before placing the frozen loaf in it. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ We love sweet potatoes and I am always looking for more ways to cook with them. I found my recipe for Sweet Potato Biscuits in a magazine several years ago. I decided I would make some to go with the meat loaf. Here is the recipe for them. SWEET POTATO BISCUITS 2 1/2 C. flour 1/4 C. brown sugar 1 Tbsp. baking powder 1/2 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon 1/2 C. butter, softened 1 C. mashed sweet potato 3 1/2 Tbsp. milk Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Combine dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Cut in softened butter (I use my hand) and then add sweet potato and milk. Mix completely. On a floured surface, knead the dough several times til smooth. I pat the dough down using my hand to about 1/2 inch thick. Cut desired size. (I use a glass that is the same size as the pan I use to cook the biscuits on). Re work the scraps by kneading a few times til smooth and pat down and cut. Keep repeating til all dough is used. I use about a tablespoon of oil in a plate and pat each biscuit on both sides in the oil before I put in the pan. This helps the biscuit brown on both the top and bottom while it is baking. Bake in oven for 12-15 minutes until golden brown. *****I use 1 1/4 cups of bread flour and 1 1/4 cups of whole wheat pastry flour for the 2 1/2 cups flour the recipe calls for. TIP ALERT! I love this pan for my biscuits because I like a nice edge on my biscuits. I got this one at Cracker Barrel... TIP ALERT! Another thing I can't recommend enough, is my glass cutting board. I think that is how they are advertised. You can buy them with various picture designs. It has a rough glass surface. I have never used mine for a cutting board, but it is perfect for rolling out dough. The rough surface keeps the dough from sticking to the surface. You do need to spread a little flour out on it. If you don't have one, you should get one. If you never use it, it will look good in your kitchen on your counter, so choose a picture that fits with your decor. I hope you will try these recipes and let me know how they turned out for you.

Delicious brown butter cookie base studded with toffee chips and stuffed with homemade salted caramel sauce.

I tried this recipe back in January, and while I don’t know that I’d go so far as to say it changed my life, it is the first brownie recipe I’ve ever tried and liked that didnR…