MANDY JACKSON - Page 2 of 9 -

Basil Cream Sauce

Aug 1, 2019 · Leave a Comment

For as much as I love every individual ingredient in pesto, combine them all together and it is just a BIG swing and a miss for me.

I’m pretty sure it’s a texture thing. I want it to be creamy! but it is always sort of gritty and I don’t want grit on my pasta.

Basil Cream Sauce | This is like a creamy pesto, and is PERFECT for all that fresh summer basil. Lots of flavor from basil, garlic, and parmesan with the most perfect creamy texture. This is a super easy pasta dish that feels so fancy!

Basil cream sauce is my solution to the pesto problem. A lot of pesto-esque flavor, but in creamy form.

This is a filling meal on its own, but is also very good with add-ins! Grilled shrimp or chicken, roasted red peppers, or chopped tomatoes jazz things up. And parmesan. Always add more parmesan.

And I need to tell you! This is my ideal meal in the amount of work it takes to make : fanciness ratio. It is basically just blending and cooking noodles and heating dairy products up. It takes maybe half an hour, but feels like a really special dinner.

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Basil Cream Sauce

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Servings: 4

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

12 ounces pasta
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2 cups fresh basil leaves
4 garlic cloves
6 ounces parmesan cheese, chopped
Salt and pepper

Directions

Cook noodles in generously salted water according to package directions.
Melt butter in a large pan over medium-low heat. Add cream to heat.
Combine basil, garlic, and parmesan in a food processor until coarsely ground. Add to the pan with the cream and stir to combine. Reduce heat to low and stir in noodles. Salt and pepper to taste.

Making My Summer Dreams Come True: Outdoor Party String Lights Edition

Jul 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I had high hopes for our backyard going into the summertime. I was feeling like we had missed out on an entire season of backyard fun last year, since we were busy with a newborn and then with moving. So I was determined to make up for it this year.

I largely abandoned working on the inside of the duplex to focus on the outside: we needed summer fun! I wanted lots of grilled foods. I wanted to eat dinners outside. And the most indulgent of all of my outdoor dreams: I wanted party lights.

String lights go a long way in making an outdoor setting feel really fun and special. You can have a regular backyard and then put some lights up and it turns into a cozy setting where you will want to spend hours.

I had had these lights in my Amazon cart for probably 6 months, but then found these Target lights super on sale in store and got them instead. The bulbs of the Target strands are also closer together, which made me feel like I was getting even more bang for my buck.

Hanging string lights is very easy! We have a privacy fence that separates the patio area from the rest of the backyard, so we zigzagged the strands back and forth between the house and the inner fence. We have vinyl siding, so got these hooks for the attachment points on the house, and just used nails for the fence side.

The hardest part was screwing the bulbs in after the strands were hung. My arms were unhappy that the Target lights came with bulbs unscrewed. But we also didn’t have any bulbs break during the hanging process, so I guess they know what they’re doing!

Let’s do a before/after of the backyard. It’ll be like one of those can-you-find-all-the-differences pictures.

We now have mulch and the grill on pavers and PARTY LIGHTS.

Summer fun is in full swing with cozy party light ambiance!

Cucumber Salad

Jul 25, 2019 · Leave a Comment

With all of the really good summer cucumbers, it is feeling like the right time to be eating a lot of this salad.

A salad as simple as it gets! Sliced cucumbers and green onions get tossed in a homemade vinegar dressing. It’s an easy, healthy, vegan salad that takes 5 minutes to make and is perfect for summer!

Salads where non-lettuce items get some time to shine are a favorite of mine. Not only because they automatically feel different and refreshing, but because they are generally way quicker to make.

Here, you just slice cucumbers and green onions and toss them in a vinegar-heavy dressing. It takes 5 minutes! I live for fresh, easy sides in the summer.

I will warn you that this salad is kind of the first step to a pickle obsession. It is much fresher and more salad-like than pickles, but like pickles, this is a little sweet, a little salty, and has a whole lot of vinegar punch. Also like pickles, it will go with all of your summer sandwiches and grilled meats.

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Cucumber Salad

Prep Time5 mins

Course: Salad, Side Dish

Servings: 4

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 large English cucumber, sliced thin
2 green onions, sliced thin

Directions

Whisk together vinegar, salt, sugar, and red pepper flakes in a medium bowl. Add cucumber and onions and toss to combine.

Adapted from Food and Wine.

Sloppy Joes (from scratch!)

Jul 22, 2019 · 2 Comments

Let’s take a minute to acknowledge the sheer quantity of sloppy joes we have consumed in the Jackson household this summer in pursuit of the perfect joe.

IT HAS BEEN A LOT. I would say we are bordering on being joe-d out, but I just don’t think that’s possible.

Sloppy joes from scratch | An easy recipe for homemade sloppy joes with no ketchup! It’s the perfect quick and cheap meal to feed a crowd.

Sloppy joes are the perfect summer sandwich, and I love them for so many reasons. To name a couple:

That scene in It Takes Two where they have a food fight with sloppy joes is one of my all time favorites. So many of the best things about the 90’s in one place.
Growing up, we almost never ate ground beef at home, and to this day, it still feels special-occasion to me.

So here is what I’ve landed on as the perfect sloppy joe. It’s quick and easy to make; it’s sweet, a little spicy, a little smokey; and it’s very, VERY sloppy.

Like, serve these with a side of wet wipes.

All those casual summer vibes are here. This is low-key fare for a quick dinner to feed hungry people, or to make for a backyard party crowd.

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Sloppy Joes

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Cuisine: American

Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
5 garlic cloves, minced
2 (28 ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Worchestershire sauce
Salt and pepper

Directions

Brown the beef with the onions, bell pepper, and garlic in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain well.
Stir in the crushed tomatoes, brown sugar, mustard, vinegar, chili powder, Worchestershire sauce, and salt and pepper. Reduce heat to low and simmer for 15 – 20 minutes, until thickened. Serve on toasted buns.

A Potted Herb Garden

Jul 18, 2019 · 1 Comment

I am no master gardener. I like to see myself as playing the long game to a flourishing vegetable and flower garden in a picturesque greenhouse in our one-day backyard. But for now, we are renting. And while I usually don’t let my renter-status stop me from doing things, cultivating a full-fledged garden does toe the line for me. So pots are my answer! They are portable and we can take them with us wherever we go next.

And herbs! They are my gateway plant to things like cucumbers and pumpkins. I am into them not only for their pot-friendliness, but also because they make summer food for me. And if you plan on using a lot of fresh herbs in your cooking, it’s a good idea to just grow your own. Lest you risk going bankrupt buying the packages of fresh herbs at your grocery store every time you need them. They are expensive!

My main resource for all things herb garden is this book. I bought it at a cutesy shop on our honeymoon, and crack it open every year, even if I have no intention of growing anything. It is pretty to look at, and so helpful. It walks you through all things herbs – from herb selection, to how to plant, to what to cook with your herbs, to how to store them for the winter. It even has an “herb catalog” which breaks down all the different types and varieties of herbs. I do zero googling in the gardening department – only referring to this book.

Here is our herb lineup this year, and my plans for them:

Basil: pasta, pasta, pasta, and more pasta. Maybe some bruschetta. Then pasta again.
Rosemary: roasted meats, potatoes, compound butters, and very possibly breads!
Thyme: more roasted meats and vegetables, quiche.
Mint: mojitos, mint chocolate chip ice cream, salads.

Happy growing season!

Creamy Cilantro Honey Lime Dressing

Jul 15, 2019 · Leave a Comment

A go-to for all summer salads! This is citrusy, sweet, and has a spicy jalapeño kick and lots of cilantro flavor.

I have made this dressing probably upwards of 30 times over the last several summers, but since my usual method is throwing things into a blender and sampling until it is how I want it, figuring out measurements proved difficult.

(this is also my method for making blended drinks, which is sometimes problematic.)

But here are measurements for our favorite salad dressing of the summer, and possibly ever: creamy cilantro honey lime. It’s super refreshing, a little bit spicy, and has a sweet kick.

A simple, homemade salad dressing that will add a big kick to your salad! Lime juice, cilantro, honey, and jalapeño give this salad dressing lots of fresh flavor, and a ripe avocado makes it super creamy! It’s an easy, healthy way to dress your favorite salads.

In a wild turn of events, there is avocado in this. It doesn’t do much for the flavor of the dressing (good news for avocado haters), but makes a world of difference to the creaminess. You can omit it and get more of a vinaigrette effect if that’s more your style. But I will just give you a heads up that the creaminess is other-worldly AND YOU SHOULD DEFINITELY ADD THE AVOCADO.

Also, let’s discuss cilantro. I used to diligently pluck leaves off the stems, which made using fresh cilantro an annoying, time-consuming chore. I have since joined the ain’t-nobody-got-time-for-that team and now lob off the leafy end from the stems. The stems do not have a bad taste! so including them won’t have any sort of disastrous effect flavor-wise. And since you are blending everything together here anyway, no one will even know about the stems.

This is our go-to dressing for steak salad in the summer (grilled strip, grilled corn, greens, feta, tomato, onion, avocado), but is good on all sorts of salad. Also good on tacos. We have even ventured into rice bowl territory with this and it is a very good thing.

I guess what I am really telling you is that you should eat this dressing on everything this summer because it is THAT GOOD.

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Creamy Cilantro Honey Lime Dressing

Makes roughly 1 1/4 cup of dressing.

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Mexican

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

1/2 cup lime juice
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup cilantro (this is roughly one handful)
1 large jalapeno, seeded and roughly chopped
1 ripe avocado, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, chopped
1 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions

Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Painting the Kitchen Cabinets

Jul 11, 2019 · Leave a Comment

When we came to check out the duplex, I saw the kitchen cabinets and in my intensive visual scanning for all things on my wish list, they just read as white cabinets. This was a win! I checked it off the mental list and moved along.

But then we arrived with all of our boxes and the crisp white cabinets of my dreams were looking a whole lot dingier than I had remembered. Were the undersides unpainted when we first visited? Was there that much grime by the knobs before? Since when is all the hardware mismatched and oxidizing? WHAT AM I TOUCHING THAT IS STICKY?

Oh, the things you notice when you actually live in a place. Not that better visual stock of the cabinets would have swayed us from renting here, but it does surprise us that even though we’re getting really experienced at checking out properties, there are still things we totally overlook/don’t even think to pay attention to.

But, this was a very easy fix. We bought a 4” roller, a couple of trusty Wooster paintbrushes, and a gallon of white paint in satin finish. My mom came armed with newspaper. The knobs were removed and vehemently thrown away. Then, we painted!

I’ve decided that the actual work of painting really is not hard. You have to pick a paint color and buy supplies and do prep work and (of course) carve out time to actually paint. But once painting starts, it really doesn’t take that long. I am saying this mostly for my future self when I inevitably start to feel like painting is too much work. Just do it!

(Also telling myself to continue to enlist the help of my mom. Much quicker and more fun than doing it alone.)

As a side note, this was my first time painting without painter’s tape. It was very good! I feel like so much care is taken to tape everything that my craftsmanship reserve is near empty by the time I’m ready to actually paint. It was easier, cheaper, and quicker to dive into the painting phase and just be mindful of where the paint was going.

Since we were putting fresh white paint on already white cabinets, we only needed one coat for the cabinet trim and faces. This felt very doable.

Something I noticed a few days into living here was that the paint stopped where I’m guessing the previous vent hood had been. Once I saw it, I couldn’t stop seeing it. This needed a few coats to look inconspicuous.

And then, since we already had the paint and supplies out and they were solving visual hangups in the kitchen in such a satisfying way, I had to paint the undersides. This prompted three coats of paint, a lot of neck-straining, and some creative/uncomfortable paintbrush angles, but whatever part of my brain had been 100% fixated on and unsettled by the discontinuity of the wood undersides is so happy it’s done.

Let’s admire some before and afters, shall we?? One coat of paint and new hardware and the cabinets are looking unbelievably better!

Cabinet paint was a high-impact project that has improved the feel of the kitchen SO MUCH. I do not exaggerate when I say that for weeks afterward, we couldn’t stop peeking in the kitchen to admire our handiwork. Even looking at these before/afters has me welling up with pride.

Paint: it makes a big difference!

Mexican Chicken Stew

Jul 8, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Something about summertime makes me crave all the mexi-style comfort food.

Mexican Chicken Stew | Chicken thighs get baked with pinto beans and salsa in a Dutch oven for easy, hearty Mexican comfort food.

Maybe because Mexican is so fresh while still being a filling, comforting meal. Maybe because we now have air conditioning so effective that it has me reaching for foods that are HOT even on 80 degree days.

Whatever the reason, this Mexican chicken stew feels very right for summer.

There is salsa in it, which is definitely one of my favorite kitchen shortcuts: a lot of flavor from one pre-made ingredient! I really like using this homemade salsa here, but whatever you have will get the job done.

Per usual in all things soup or stew, I love this half because it is delicious on its own, half because it is an ideal delivery system for all manor of toppings.

Get wild and pile high.

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Mexican Chicken Stew

Chicken thighs get baked with pinto beans and salsa in a Dutch oven for easy, hearty Mexican comfort food.

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time2 hrs

Course: Dinner, Soup

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 4

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 cups salsa
2 (15.5 ounce) cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained
1 1/2 to 2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs
For serving: sour cream, chopped green onion, sliced jalapeno, diced avocado, shredded cheese, cilantro

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium. Cook onions and red pepper until softened slightly – about 5 minutes. Stir in salt, pepper, and flour and cook 1 minute more. Add salsa, beans, and 1 cup water and stir to combine. Place chicken thighs over top and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid and transfer to oven. Cook 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until chicken is tender.
Shred chicken. Serve with your favorite toppings.

Replacing the Towel Bar

Jul 3, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I find towel bars to be 100% pointless and 100% infuriating.

Were I to be commissioned by the towel bar association to coin a slogan for the towel bar, it would be as follows:

Towel bars: where you put your towel if you want it to take up a ton of space and stay wet forever.

Seriously. Am I missing something? If you want your towel to actually dry, you can only fit one towel per bar. Which is totally impractical in a household with more than one person regularly bathing.

Yet every rental we’ve ever lived in has boasted one measly towel bar in the bathroom.

Landlords around the world, I implore you, stop already with the towel bars. They are pointless.

Such was my fury at having a perpetually damp towel that the first thing to happen in the Duplex (after installing the sanity-saving baby gates, read the harrowing story here), was replacing the towel bar.

I used to think of towel bars as permanent fixtures that could not and should not be removed. On par with a kitchen cabinet. But guess what? It took maybe 40 seconds to take it off the wall. We’ll keep it somewhere safe to rehang before moving out.

Once we ditched the towel bar, we hung three IKEA skuggis hooks. They look like fun mod art all on their own! It took maybe one minute to patch and paint the four holes left from the towel bar, and the bathroom wall is now totally inconspicuous. Like nothing ever happened.

I am loving towel hooks for taking up minimal space, holding towels in a way that allows them to dry, and they even look good with or without a towel on them.

There are lots of good wall hooks on the market, so finding ones that look good is not hard!

Let’s also talk about the towel ring. They can be kind of expensive, and ones we’ve purchased previously for rentals, we’ve just left when we moved out. I wanted a fun geometric one, but was only finding them for $30 and up. And what am I? some sort of millionaire who can drop that kind of money every couple years on a towel ring that I’m going to ditch?

This one is $4 from Hobby Lobby. I spray painted it black with my trusty $0.87 cent can of spray paint, and still am patting myself on the back for remembering to paint the screws.

The towel bar replacement was a small, inexpensive, easy project that has made a huge difference in both the function and feel of the bathroom. See you never, towel bar.

Fruit Pizza

Jul 1, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Sitting here thinking how we have come up with ways to make pizza out of just about everything and how there is no pizza that I dislike. Veggie pizza=good, regular pepperoni pizza=great, fruit pizza=VERY FESTIVE AND VERY GOOD.

An easy red white and blue fruit pizza with homemade sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, that’s topped with glazed strawberries and blueberries. A crowd-pleasing patriotic dessert that’s perfect for 4th of July cookouts!

Truly, my favorite 4th of July food. A winner in both the taste bud and patriotism categories. Sugar cookie crust, cream cheese frosting, all the fresh berries. I hoover this.

Sugar cookie crust is homemade here. Buying the tubes is my preferred method, but because Aldi doesn’t carry sugar cookie dough, we are making our own. It is not hard!

Cookie crust however you make it gets smeared with cream cheese frosting and topped with berries. Berries that have been tossed in a lemon glaze, which takes this slightly into tart territory. It’s like a festive, low-key dessert that’s sort of fancy and dressed to impress at the same time.

And also, while I very strongly LOVE the USA flag design of a lot of fruit pizzas, I don’t like having to decide whether I am a blueberry person or a strawberry person when eating. Here, they are all combined and difficult decision-making can be postponed.

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Fruit Pizza

Prep Time45 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Total Time1 hr

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Servings: 12

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

Cookie Crust

3 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons strawberry jam
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 quart strawberries, hulled and sliced
1 cup blueberries

Directions

Cookie Crust

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine flour and baking powder in a bowl and set aside. Cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined. Gradually add dry ingredients and mix until the dough forms a ball. Turn out onto prepared baking sheet and press into a 12-inch circle roughly 1/4-inch thick. Bake 10-12 minutes, until cookie is golden around the edges. Cool completely.

Topping

Beat together cream cheese and sugar on high speed until fluffy.
In a large bowl, whisk together the jam and lemon juice. Add the berries and toss to coat. Set aside for 15 minutes.
To assemble, spread the cream cheese over the cookie crust and top with the berries.

Notes

You can substitute a 16 ounce tube of sugar cookie dough in lieu of making your own.

Summer 2019 Coffee Date

Jun 27, 2019 · Leave a Comment

What are you doing today? Drinking coffee with me and dishing about stuff? GOOD!

If you’re new here, this is a seasonal post where I tell you all the things I need to tell you that haven’t come up in our regularly scheduled food/home posts. Like we’re real-life friends getting coffee together and catching up. And there is so much I need to tell you! Get an extra big coffee/cold brew/tea/whatever is currently calling your name and let’s discuss!

what we’re watching – we’ve been going through a New Girl phase which means Josh has had to daily talk me down from getting blunt bangs. Every time I so much as look at Zooey Deschanel I want her bangs. In college (my initial New Girl kick), I gave in and got them. HUGE MISTAKE. I rocked them as a 5-year-old but somehow it did not translate into adulthood.

But still after every episode I think, maybe they would look good this time?? Please talk me out of it.

duplex things – does it feel like there has been a huge lag in duplex updates? That’s how it feels to me. My checkbox-minded self forgets that even small projects have lots of steps and take time. Once, in a college French class, my professor spent all 50 minutes lecturing on the phrase petit a petit l’oiseau fait son nid (little by little the bird makes its nest). I liked it then and I love it now. Things move slowly, but something is being built.

oh baby – I have this problem with baby clothes. They start out very cute with neutral animals and soft colors, and then your baby becomes a toddler and all you have to work with are dump trucks and dinosaurs in aggressive colors. Ever on the hunt for non-obnoxious baby clothes, I have found my ideal pajamas. They are super soft and fit for a long time because they are not footed. I love their solid colored pajamas, but they also have patterned ones that are cute and of the mostly non-obnoxious variety.

shark tank idea – my razor broke 1/3 of the way up the handle a few months ago. It didn’t break all the way through – it has the rubber gripper strip along the top, and that is still in tact. Rather than buy a new one, I just kept using it, and have found it to be so ergonomic and easy to handle. The head is ultra-flexible and can bend all over! Someone please market this. I know it’s only a matter of time before it breaks all the way through. And then what? Do I buy a new one and try to break it? I’m worried my broken razor is irreplaceable.

organization station – a label maker has recently entered my life and NEVER IN MY WILDEST DREAMS could I have imagined how much I would use it. The things I can label now! I wanted this one for its retro-looking labels and its $10(!) price tag, but my target didn’t have it in store and my impatience to have a label maker RIGHT THEN made me spend an extra $7 for this one. It is very good.

unpopular opinions – even-numbered Harry Potters are better than the odd-numbered ones (**books only, not movies). My personal ranking is 2-4-6-1-3-7-5. Please weigh in.

celebrate the seasons – summertime is growing season and I have high hopes. Since my snake plant (from Januaryish) is still alive, I think I am ready to graduate to plants that need actual tending to. Please stay tuned for a (likely) long post from a (completely) unqualified person about potted herb gardens!

where have you been all my life? – this rain jacket is getting me through life. I stopped wearing a rain jacket when I grew out of my very reliable duck one when I was sixish. (complete with a duck bill). Since then, I’ve avoided getting another because it seemed like such an unnecessary purchase. It would rain and I would think, mandy, you NEED to get a rain jacket, but then it would be a sunny day when it was time to pull the trigger and spend actual money, so it seemed unnecessary. I finally had more than .5 seconds of foresight and splurged on this one from Target. LIFE CHANGING. It has made rainy spring/summer days far less wet. And also gets bonus points for being a cute jacket in its own right.

Blueberry Hand Pies

Jun 24, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Blueberry pie is a longtime summer favorite of mine. I will eat it for breakfast, for brunch, for an afternoon pick-me-up with a milk-heavy cup of coffee, or hidden under vanilla ice cream for dessert after any meal.

But the line has to be drawn somewhere. And that line is between me and making an entire pie for just myself.

Blueberry hand pies are the perfect hand-held dessert! These homemade mini pies can be made with fresh or frozen blueberries. Use store-bought crust for an easy finger-food treat.

Hand pies are much more reasonable for individual servings, and a very good way to get your favorite pie fix without being stuck eating an entire pie by yourself (how horrible that would be…).

I also like hand pies for being easily portable and not-embarrassing-to-eat finger food. Desserts that don’t require serving utensils or plates or silverware are my favorite for casual summer gatherings!

You can use fresh or frozen blueberries for this. AND ALSO you can use this method with any fruit, don’t feel limited to blueberries. You can even do this method with savory pies.

Store bought pie crust makes these so easy, but if you feel so inclined to make your own, you can find my favorite recipe here.

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Blueberry Hand Pies

Prep Time20 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 12

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

2 (9-inch) pie crusts
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen will work)
3 tablespoons sugar, plus additional for sprinkling
2 tablespoons flour, plus additional for work surface
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 egg yolk, beaten with 2 teaspoons water (for egg wash)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Combine blueberries, sugar, flour, and lemon juice in a bowl.
Roll out each sheet of pie dough on a lightly floured surface. Cut each sheet into 6 squares, roughly 4 by 4 inches, for a total of 12 squares of dough. Discard scraps.
Spoon a mounded tablespoon of the blueberries onto each dough square. Using your finger, lightly brush the border of each square with water. Fold in half and seal with a fork. Transfer to prepared baking sheet. Cut slits in the top of each pie and brush lightly with egg wash. Sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake 25-30 minutes, until pies are golden brown and filling is bubbling.

Coconut Curry Mini Meatballs

Jun 20, 2019 · Leave a Comment

There is a lot of division in the world, but I think we can all agree on one thing: miniature versions of our favorite foods make them even more lovable.

Mini Curry Turkey Meatballs in Ginger-Coconut Sauce | An easy recipe for curry turkey meatballs cooked in decadent coconut cream with stir fried veggies. These meatballs are so simple and quick to make - they’re ready in under an hour. Stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice for a weeknight flavor boost.

Meatballs are a fun addition to the weekday dinner rotation. Especially mini ones. Bite-size foods are conducive to an ultra-efficient food delivery system where cutting is not needed, thus saving time, energy, and brainpower.

I am a big fan of meatballs because you can load ’em up with lots of flavor. These mini meatballs have curry powder and spicy red pepper flakes in them and they’re cooked in decadent coconut cream. I can never decide if I love them so much because of their size or because they are just GOOD.

(It’s probably because both.)

But anyway, these little guys get lightly browned and then simmered in a gingery-coconut sauce along with some stir fried veggies. Once everything is cooked, we stir in a lot of cilantro and a heavy squirt of lime. Then we pile it up on top of our favorite rice and top it with siracha and green onions and more cilantro!

This is like a fun, snappy comfort food that’s equally appropriate in the summer or winter. It feels substantial but not overly heavy. And there are mini meatballs! Basically, perfect in every way.

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Mini Curry Turkey Meatballs in Coconut-Ginger Sauce

An easy recipe for curry turkey meatballs cooked in decadent coconut cream with stir fried veggies. These meatballs are so simple and quick to make – they’re ready in under an hour. Stir in chopped cilantro and lime juice for a weeknight flavor boost.

Prep Time25 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Course: Dinner

Servings: 4

Ingredients

For the Mini Meatballs

1 (1.3 pound) package ground turkey
2 teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

For the Curry

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, sliced
2 large carrots, sliced thin on the diagonal
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 (15 ounce) can coconut cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons lime juice
For serving: rice, lime wedges, cilantro, hot sauce

Directions

In a large bowl, mix together the turkey, curry powder, ginger, red pepper flakes, salt, and pepper with clean hands until combined. Roll into teaspoon-size balls.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high. Add the sliced onion and carrot and stir fry for 2-3 minutes, until tender-crisp. Add ginger and garlic and cook 1 minute more. Push to perimeter of pan and place the prepared meatballs in a single layer at the center of the pan. Brown, undisturbed, for 2-3 minutes. Add coconut cream and salt and stir to combine. Bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer 20 minutes, until meatballs are cooked through.
Stir in cilantro and lime juice. Serve over rice with lime wedges, chopped green onions, more cilantro, and hot sauce.

White Bean Salad

Jun 17, 2019 · Leave a Comment

When thinking about summer potluck side dishes, my requirements are as follows:

Easy to make ahead
Fresh summer flavor galore
No heating/cooling required before serving
Not super expensive to make on the large scale

White bean and tomato salad | An easy summer side dish that’s perfect for potlucks and cookouts. This simple salad features white beans, tomatoes, green onion, and lemon. It’s a quick, fresh dish that can be made ahead. And it’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free, so everyone can enjoy it!

Here is an ideal summer side dish. It’s an easy salad that is embodying all the summer freshness for me. Log this away for all of your potlucks and cookouts and summer events!

We are in prime tomato season and all I want is to eat salty tomatoes. There are green onions in this too, which sometimes seem way easier than chopping a regular onion, and definitely feel more approachable in their raw form. And lemon. And creamy white beans. WHY have I not been making beans the base of my salads? It is very good.

This sort of reminds me of a pasta salad. It could be a side dish or the main event with some grilled meat or a big hunk o’ bread on the side. You can eat it on lettuce for a more traditional salad experience, you could eat it on its own, you could pack it in jars and take it for lunches during the week.

I should also tell you that this bean salad is WAY easier than making pasta salad because there’s not even any cooking to do. And I like that this is a gluten free side dish option, unlike pasta salad. I’m not gluten free, but so many of our friends are, and I feel better when they have OPTIONS.

This also is good for: vegans, vegetarians, dairy-free folks.

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White Bean Salad

An easy summer side dish that’s perfect for potlucks and cookouts. This simple salad features white beans, tomatoes, green onion, and lemon. It’s a quick, fresh dish that can be made ahead. And it’s vegan, vegetarian, gluten-free and dairy-free, so everyone can enjoy it!

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Lunch, Salad, Side Dish

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 (15.5 ounce) can cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Toss together all ingredients in a medium bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.
Can be made up to a day in advance and stored in the refrigerator.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

Installing Baby Gates on a Railing

Jun 13, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I’m just going to warn you that this post will appeal to approximately 3% of regular readers, but is also a post I wish I had been able to find on the internet a month ago.

BABY GATES. They’re not pretty. They’re not a fun baby purchase. They weren’t covered in our childbirth class, so we were in uncharted territory. We moved into The Duplex with a newly mobile baby and two unguarded stair cases from the main room of the house.

How to install baby gates at the top of the stairs when there’s only one wall. An affordable, easy method for installing baby gates on a railing or spindle.

I should tell you that I really like these staircases. I like that this feels like a split level and I think the metal railings make the whole room seem a lot more open and will down the road be fun to decorate around.

But I was forgetting all about my affinity for the stairs as Baby J beelined for them every chance he got, and I broke out my turbo speed mama bear sprint to rescue him from imminent stair demise.

So I ordered these baby gates on amazon prime. They showed up two days later. Then they sat, uninstalled, in our living room for three weeks. We had zero idea how to install them.

Top of stair baby gates need to be hardware mounted to the wall, rather than held up by tension. Since there’s a metal railing on one side of both staircases that we were unable/unwilling to drill into, we had to do some creative problem solving to get the baby gates safely installed.

Here’s how we did it. It was easy, cheap, and not too much of an eyesore.

For each railing you will need:

A baby gate
A piece of wood
Sandpaper
Spray paint the color of your railing (optional)
Zip ties

First, you’ll want to measure a few things to see what size wood you need. The wood needs to be tall enough to rest on the floor and extend past the tallest installation point on the gate. I wanted the top of ours to rest under the handrail so it would look as unobtrusive as possible. Width-wise, the wood needs to be at least as wide as the mounting piece of the gate, and it also needs to be deep enough for whatever screw you’re using. For our railings, I got two 30.5-inch cuts from a 2×3-inch stud.

Once you have your measurements, go get your wood. AS AN FYI: Home Depot will make cuts for you, for free! Pro-tip: if you’re able, it’s best to go to Home Depot early in the morning on a weekday. No one is there except contractors who know what they’re doing, so you will have dozens of employees ready to assist you with finding and cutting what you need!

Sand your wood down until it’s nice and smooth to avoid your house becoming Splinter City. Then give it a few coats of spray paint so it matches your railing.

At this point, we screwed the latch side of the gate to the stud and then used zip ties to affix the stud to the railing. We used anchors on the door side of the gate for extra support.

Safety is my middle name.

I had some doubts about the zip ties being strong enough to hold the gate in place, but they have not budged. Even after a month, we’ve had to tighten the screws for the gate, but haven’t had any issues with the stud.

That was it! It ended up being so easy, and my life is so much better with baby gates installed.

You can also buy a ready-to-install piece of wood that velcroes to the railing (you can find them here). These were too tall for ours, and I could not justify spending $40 for two of them versus under $7 the DIY route cost. But it does exist if you want it!

Very Basic Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

Jun 10, 2019 · 1 Comment

I am weirdly into Mondays. They seem like the day to set the tone for the rest of the week, and one of the most important Monday predictors of how my week will go is: what is the food situation in the fridge looking like?

A typical Monday in my life involves crockpotting. This is nice because it gives us a quick, hands-off dinner, and also a lot of leftovers for the rest of the week. Routine-wise I like this because while dinner is slow-cooking, I do all of my least favorite tasks like cleaning and bookkeeping so the rest of my week can be dedicated to FUN.

This Mexi chicken is a regular staple of slow cooker Mondays. We usually eat it on tacos the first night and then use the leftovers in salads, burritos, rice bowls, quesadillas, nachos, and even soups! for the rest of the week.

THE BEST shredded Mexican chicken in the slow cooker. Good in tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, burritos, or in salads! Chicken breasts and homemade Mexican seasoning cook in the crock pot with green chiles for an easy Mexican chicken.

There are a lot of slow cooker Mexican chicken recipes in the world, but this is my favorite. What really makes this chicken special is the can of chopped green chiles that gets stirred in at the end. It gives everything a very fresh, salsa verde feel and makes it seem a lot fancier than your average crock pot chicken.

And any time I get to cook once and eat delicious, slightly spicy and smoky Mexican chicken for the rest of the week, I am there.

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Slow Cooker Mexican Chicken

Our favorite shredded Mexican chicken in the slow cooker. Good in tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, quesadillas, rice bowls, burritos, or in salads! Chicken breasts and homemade Mexican seasoning with chopped green chiles make an easy Mexican chicken with lots of flavor.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time3 hrs

Course: Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine: Mexican

Servings: 6

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 garlic cloves, chopped
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chiles

Directions

Combine the water, chili powder, cumin, smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic in the bowl of a slow cooker. Add chicken breasts and turn to coat. Cover and cook 4-5 hours on low or 2-3 hours on high.
Remove chicken to a cutting board and shred. Return to slow cooker and add chopped chiles. Stir to combine.

Quick-Pickled Red Onions

Jun 3, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I don’t know why it took me so long to get on the pickled onion train. They’re such a regular part of my diet now that I honestly don’t know what I did before them.

My favorite thing about these pickled onions is that they deliver the fresh-crunch that I appreciate so much in a raw onion, but without the aggressive raw onion flavor. So, yeah, they are maybe the best new food I’ve started making this year.

Quick-Pickled Red Onions | Pickled red onions are ready in 30 minutes with this simple method. Keep a jar in your fridge for a quick addition to sandwiches, tacos, salads, wraps, rice bowls, burgers and more!

Pickled onions are an easy refrigerator staple, and a total game changer for so many foods. We add them to sandwiches, tacos, salads, wraps, rice bowls, burgers. Pretty much everything I eat now has a forkful of pickled onions on it.

Super easy to make, colorful, and a really streamlined way to add onion to your food without having to slice an onion.

This is probably the most frill-free pickled onion recipe you will find: Just boil together vinegar and salt and let your onions steep in it for 30ish minutes.

If you like a sweet pickle, throw a couple tablespoons of sugar into the vinegar solution. You also can add any seasonings or spices you’re into. I like to keep it simple with a salty-pickled flavor.

And also I 10/10 recommend using the microwave to heat up the vinegar. It keeps the vinegar smell contained!

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Quick-Pickled Red Onions

Pickled red onions are ready in 30 minutes with this simple method. Keep a jar in your fridge for a quick addition to sandwiches, tacos, salads, wraps, rice bowls, burgers and more!

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time30 mins

Ingredients

1 medium red onion, sliced thin
3/4 cup white vinegar
2 teaspoons salt

Directions

Place onions in a jar.
Boil together the vinegar and salt and pour over the onions. Make sure onions are submerged in the vinegar solution. Let seep for 30 minutes, until liquid has cooled and onions have softened and turned bright purple.

Notes

Can be stored in the fridge for several weeks.

Roasted Strawberry Chicken

May 30, 2019 · Leave a Comment

We were in the throws of packing up our apartment when I got the sudden and insatiable urge to know what would happen if chicken were to be baked in strawberry jam.

Perfect, I thought, I’ll get rid of a partially-used jar of strawberry preserves AND make a delicious dinner. I am the best packer there ever was.

Except we had zero strawberry jam in our fridge.

So off I went to the store to get myself some jam, thwarting my packing plans but making my dinner dreams come true.

The chicken that resulted was so unspeakably good – dare I say life-changing – that we used the remainder of the jar within the week.

And then I debated whether I needed to get another jar to get us through the next 5 days.

This roasted strawberry chicken is a weeknight winner because there is zero marinading – just mix jam and balsamic, pour over the chicken, and bake!

The jam forms a sort of glaze on the chicken with a slightly sweet, roasted strawberry flavor and a little bit of bite from the balsamic. High flavor payoff for low effort investment. My favorite!

Roasted Strawberry Chicken | An easy, no-marinade chicken that’s perfect for weeknights! This recipe uses strawberry jam for a sweet strawberry flavor. Chicken breasts bake in a strawberry-balsamic sauce that glazes onto the chicken as it cooks.

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Roasted Strawberry Chicken

An easy, no-marinade chicken that’s perfect for weeknights! This recipe uses strawberry jam for a sweet strawberry flavor. Chicken breasts bake in a strawberry-balsamic sauce that glazes onto the chicken as it cooks.

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time35 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1/2 cup strawberry preserves
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Combine preserves, balsamic, salt, and pepper in a small bowl.
Place chicken in a baking dish lined with foil and sprinkle with more salt and pepper. Pour strawberry sauce over chicken, making sure each breast is coated.
Bake 35-40 minutes, until a meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

One Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta

May 20, 2019 · 1 Comment

One pot pastas became all the rage a few summers ago after this recipe came out, and I have to say that I am INTO it.

One of my least favorite kitchen tasks is draining pasta. It’s a heavy pot that’s awkward to carry and is also full of boiling water. The likelihood of a water and/or steam burn is too high for my liking.

But I also really, really love eating pasta. So I like that one pot pastas require zero draining, but also that they can make really good pasta!

Since the water that noodles cook in becomes super starchy, it is ideal for making creamy, velvety sauces. In this pasta, the noodles cook along with smoky Cajun chicken, tomatoes, onions and LOTS of garlic all in one pot. When the noodles are just shy of being done, you’ll add in cream cheese (more creaminess, please), and peas (vegetables, please).

One pot required, no heavy lifting, and an end result of spicy, creamy Cajun pasta. This is a weeknight hero of a dinner!

One Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta | A weeknight hero of a recipe! This creamy Cajun pasta has spicy chicken, tomatoes, lots of garlic, cream cheese, and peas that all cook in one pot for an easy, weeknight comfort food meal.

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One Pot Cajun Chicken Pasta

A weeknight hero of a recipe! This creamy Cajun pasta has spicy chicken, tomatoes, lots of garlic, cream cheese, and peas that all cook in one pot for an easy, comforting meal.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time35 mins

Course: Dinner, Main Course

Servings: 4

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

Cajun Seasoning

1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon oregano
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

Cajun Pasta

2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 medium onion, sliced
1 (15 ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
2 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound rotini pasta
2 ounces cream cheese
1 cup frozen peas
For serving: Sliced green onion

Directions

Combine all seasoning ingredients in a medium bowl. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat.
Heat the olive oil and butter in a deep skillet over medium-high. Once butter has melted and begins to foam, add chicken along with any extra seasoning from the bowl. Cook 4-5 minutes, flipping occasionally – until chicken is browned on the outsides. Add sliced onion and cook an additional 2 minutes – until onion begins to char.
Add tomatoes, chicken broth, and pasta to the skillet and stir to combine. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and continue simmering – covered – for 8 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Break cream cheese into pieces and add to skillet along with peas. Cook an additional 2 minutes – until cream cheese is melted and peas are heated through. Serve topped with green onions.

Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

May 16, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I need to tell you that I majorly fangirled Martha Stewart as a kid. I was crushed when she went to prison. CRUSHED.

She debuted these cookies in 2001, and as a 9-year-old who lived for chocolate and baking and all things Martha Stewart, I immediately latched on. Baking and eating these with my aunts became a regular activity.

I recently had a major chocolate malt craving, dug up this recipe, and LET ME TELL YOU – unlike a lot of things from childhood (Flintstone Push-Ups, Crocodile Dundee, staying up past my bedtime, etc.) – these cookies are just as good as an adult.

Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies | Homemade sandwich cookies for true chocolate lovers! Velvety malted chocolate + cream cheese filling gets sandwiched between two chewy chocolate cookies for a rich, super chocolatey cookie.

The filling in these makes them. There is malt and chocolate and cream cheese and the combination of tang and malt and chocolate in a super silky spread has me contemplating if there is a cookie I like better than these.

It also doesn’t hurt that the filling is sandwiched between two chewy, chocolate cookies.

Um, yes, hi, my name is Mandy and all I want in life is a chewy malt chocolate cookie spread with mousse-y chocolate filling and topped with another chocolate cookie.

I will warn you that these are fairly labor-intensive. There is nothing complicated technique-wise here. But there is a healthy dose of patience involved because you first have to bake the cookies, then make and chill the filling, then assemble the sandwiches. Which makes these kind of special occasion cookies to me.

Or cookies to make when the chocolate malt mood strikes hard.

If you’re into baking with kids, assembling these is a fun baking project for little hands!

(And I know firsthand, speaking as a former kid who assembled these.)

You can find malt powder at your grocery store, usually by the hot chocolate mixes or it is sometimes in the baking aisle by the cocoa powder. Or, you can buy it on Amazon.

These are a long time favorite cookie of mine. If you’re into chocolate, malt, and rich desserts, these will definitely be a favorite of yours, too!

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Chocolate Malt Sandwich Cookies

Homemade sandwich cookies for true chocolate lovers! Velvety malted chocolate + cream cheese filling gets sandwiched between two chewy chocolate cookies for a rich, super chocolatey cookie.

Makes 24 sandwiches.

Prep Time1 hr

Cook Time30 mins

Total Time1 hr 30 mins

Course: Dessert

Author: Mandy Jackson

Ingredients

For the Cookies

2 cups plus 2 tablespoons flour
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 cup plain malted milk powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 cup sour cream

For the Filling

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 cup plain malted milk powder
1/3 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

For the Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
Combine flour, cocoa powder, malt powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.
Cream together butter and sugar in an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Once light and fluffy, mix in egg and vanilla. Mix in sour cream. Mix in 3 tablespoons hot water. Add dry ingredients on low speed.
Drop tablespoon-size scoops of dough on prepared baking sheets. Be sure to leave at least 3 inches between each scoop – this dough spreads a surprising amount as it bakes! Bake 8-10 minutes, until cookies are just set. Do not over bake! Remove from baking sheets and cool completely.

For the Filling

Melt chocolate chips and butter together. Let cool until warm.
Mix together cream cheese and malt powder until completely smooth. With the mixer running, pour in the milk. Mix in the melted chocolate and vanilla. Refrigerate until chilled and thickened – at least 30 minutes.
Remove filling from fridge and mix on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes.

To Assemble

Spread half of the cookies with filling and top with remaining cookies.
Store in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Adapted from Martha Stewart.

The Duplex!

May 13, 2019 · Leave a Comment

We are back in Michigan! We’ve been chipping away at the unpacking and getting settled, which is feeling like it will take a thousand years with a mobile baby, but in the meantime, come take a look around our newest rental!

This is a duplex, which technically I guess our last rental was, too, but it was an up/down split which felt more apartment-y. This is a side by side split, which just feels more duplex-y. So we are dubbing this The Duplex.

Here it is in all of its move-in day glory. Please excuse the smart phone pictures and aggressive lighting. I was dodging movers and trying to document rooms before they became booby trapped with boxes.

Okay so this place has finishes that are very blank-slate and scream RENTAL to me and I am excited about this! The Apartment had an old southern feel, which was so pretty in an architectural, fixer-upper kind of way, but didn’t really go with our style and was sort of overpowering. Here, rooms are waiting for some type of style to be imparted on them.

Other things I am excited about:

Being on the second floor! This was one of the things on my wish list. I love feeling tall and also do not like sleeping on ground level.
Big window in the kitchen. And white cabinets!
1.5 bathrooms.
CARPET! I’m excited about the carpet in the upstairs bedrooms/main room, but will also tell you that I’ve found myself missing the warm, natural look of our apartment’s hardwoods. I guess I should invent carpet that looks like hardwood? No, wait. Stop.
Second living area downstairs where the piano easily fits. The piano most recently lived in a storage unit because there was no way to get it up the stairs in the apartment. It’s good to have it back!
Big main room upstairs – It feels sort of open concept and I think it will be a fun furniture arrangement challenge for me.
Private back yard – Didn’t even know this was possible for a duplex! We missed an entire summer of grilling last year, so we have a lot to make up for. Heavy back yard usage is expected!
Storage space – The closets here are huge and there are lots of them! This is a nice change after the apartment which was built in the 1890’s when people apparently owned 3 articles of clothing and needed 1 foot of closet space.
Attached garage – Okay so just the fact that I no longer need to cross a busy street in a shady neighborhood to get to my car feels LUXURY. An attached garage is seriously the dream.

Welcome! We’re excited to start making this place look like ours!

Black Bean Tostadas

May 6, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Whew! It makes for a whirlwind when the Derby and Cinco de Mayo fall on the same weekend. We had lots of activities and the Derby! Did you watch? It was the most exciting I have ever seen! I’ve decided that we need to have Derby parties in future years and also to always make sure we have ICE ready to go before bourbon time and that I need to learn 100% more about horse racing before said Derby party.

Also our towers of boxes have now been whittled down to scatterings throughout our home, so progress is being made all around.

Black Bean Tacos | An easy, healthy, vegetarian tostada that’s perfect for Meatless Monday and will get you geared up for Taco Tuesday. Smashed black beans and cheese get baked on a corn tortilla, then slathered in sour cream and topped with homemade corn salsa.

Here is a fun and easy tostada recipe that uses smashed black beans (much like these tacos!). I am really liking smashed black beans because you can doctor them up however you like and they have a much more interesting texture than regular refried beans. Plus, they feel less heavy and probably they are healthier?

Corn tortillas get oiled and layered with cheese and smashed black beans and then baked until the cheese is melted and tortillas are crisp. Then they’re smeared with sour cream and topped with limey corn salsa.

This is a fun, easy weeknight meal that feels substantial and is filling without being heavy. A very good Meatless Monday option that will also get you in the zone for Taco Tuesday!

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Black Bean Tostadas

An easy, healthy, vegetarian tostada that’s perfect for Meatless Monday and will get you geared up for Taco Tuesday. Smashed black beans and cheese get baked on a corn tortilla, then slathered in sour cream and topped with homemade corn salsa.

Prep Time15 mins

Cook Time5 mins

Total Time20 mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

1 (14.5 ounce) can black beans, drained
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
6 corn tortillas
1 cup shredded colby jack cheese
1 (1 pound) bag frozen corn, thawed
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 avocado, diced
1 small red onion, diced
1 jalapeño, diced
1 teaspoon salt
Juice of 1 lime
Sour cream

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a medium bowl, mash together beans, chili powder, and cumin.
In a large bowl, combine corn, tomatoes, avocado, onion, jalapeño, salt, and lime juice.
Brush both sides of the tortillas with the oil and arrange on a sheet pan. Sprinkle with cheese and spread with mashed beans. Bake 5 minutes on top rack. Rotate pan and bake an additional 2-3 minutes, until tortillas are crisp, cheese is melted, and beans begin to brown.
Spread each tostada with sour cream and top with corn salsa. Serve immediately.

Notes

This recipe makes more corn salsa than you will use on tostadas. We like the leftovers on chips, salads, tacos, and eggs.

Mother’s Day Gifts for $25 and Under

May 2, 2019 · Leave a Comment

Mother’s Day is coming fast! Here are some gift ideas to celebrate the moms in your life. All for $25 and under, and all available on Amazon Prime.

Because two day shipping is getting us all through life, am I right?

(Two day shipping, and moms.)

From left to right:
*Tea Towel* | *Elephant Necklace* | *Terracotta Triangle Planter*
*Wine Tumbler* | *Ceramic Vase Set* |*Windchime*
*Open Toe Slippers* |*Mama Bear Mug*
*Marble Wine Chiller* |*Cheese Knife Set* | *Wood Cheese Board*

FYI: This blog participates in Amazon Affiliates as a means for revenue. If you make a purchase from an affiliate link, you will pay the regular Amazon price, and Amazon will kick back a commission to me. Affiliates help keep this content free!

Veggie Cream Cheese

Apr 29, 2019 · Leave a Comment

I am convinced that a warm bagel with a thick schmear of cream cheese is one of the greater luxuries in life.

Veggie Cream Cheese | An easy recipe for homemade garden veggie cream cheese! This spread is so simple to make - just combine lots of diced vegetables and cream cheese for a healthy schemer that’s chock full of veggies!

I have yet to have a bad cream cheese, but the veggie variety has always been a favorite of mine. I am liking this homemade veggie cream cheese as an easy way to clear out the vegetable odds and ends that seem to always be accumulating in our crisper drawer.

Spread on a warm everything bagel is my favorite way to eat this. It also is good on sandwiches, in wraps, and on bagel chips!

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Veggie Cream Cheese

A delicious, homemade garden veggie cream cheese that’s perfect for using up any stragglers in your vegetable drawer. Spread on a bagel for breakfast, on a sandwich for lunch, or on bagel chips for a snack!

Makes about 1 1/4 cups of cream cheese.

Prep Time10 mins

Course: Breakfast, Lunch, Snack

Ingredients

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced carrot
1 tablespoon diced celery
1 green onion, sliced thin
1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl. Adjust seasoning to taste.

Notes

This recipe is totally customizable! Feel free to use whatever veggies you have around with the basic formula of 1/3 – 1/2 cup veggies per block of cream cheese.