My Favorite Meal of the Week – Broccoli Pesto Pasta

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For some reason, I’ve been in a pasta mood lately (perhaps it has to do with the fact that it’s winter and I’ve accepted that I won’t see a bathing suit for months). One of my favorite pasta dishes is my mom’s pesto pasta, but this requires homegrown basil, not something I currently have. So to make up for this, I made this dish, which uses broccoli to make a pesto like sauce that is delicious. I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a pasta dish on the healthier side.

Ginger Cookie Sandwiches with Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting

Posted in Cookies, Dessert by
After spending all of January baking, and then planning to do a lot of Valentine’s baking this week, I decided to take this past weekend off. I wanted a break from having desserts in the apartment. But an early morning Sunday Pinterest session put an end to this plan. I saw a picture of these cookies and just had to have them (it didn’t help that I happened to have all of the necessary ingredients in my kitchen already). I was also planning to go to a Super Bowl party that evening. And here’s the thing about these parties, everyone always focuses on the wings, the dips, and all of the other salty delicious treats. But you also need a dessert. After all that salt, you’re going to want something sweet. And I’d like to say, I was the only person to bring a dessert this year and last year (and my cookies were gone REAL fast!).

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The original recipe used buttercream, but I actually detest buttercream. It seems like a cheap substitute for the more flavorful cream cheese frosting. And since I happened to have some cream cheese and lemon leftover from a previous baking adventure, I made a change. I also added a couple of decorative additions, which made these cookies seem much more festive. They’d be great for a birthday party or Valentines Day! If you’re the type who doesn’t like frosting (although I have to say, I don’t understand you people), the cookies were delicious by themselves. They’re soft and chewy with a ton of flavor.
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My Favorite Meal of the Week – Crock Pot Chili

Posted in Dinner, Gluten Free, Healthy, Soup, Winter by

So here’s the deal. I am really trying to be better about cooking new things for dinner, but sometimes you have to just fall back on your easy standbys when things are busy. One of my favorites is chili. And when it’s made in the crock pot, it’s even better! So here’s one of the best and easiest crock pot chili recipes.


I used this recipe. My only recommended changes are:

  • Use frozen chicken, otherwise it’s a little too mushy at the end. Also,  wait to shred the chicken until you’re ready to serve. And I shred mine in my mixer with the paddle attachment (much easier than forks).

The best part about this recipe is it lasts well. So I tend to make a big batch on Sundays and then enjoy it all week!

French Bread

Posted in Bread by

So as you may have guessed based on the title of my blog, I enjoy French food. All it took was a trip to Paris, and I am now forever in love with French baked goods. Croissants, baguettes, and many many more items.

And yet, it has taken me until now to make my own French baguette. But now that I have done it, I plan to keep trying different recipes and learning all of the different variations.

This one, has to be one of the easiest versions. And I definitely recommend it if you want some fresh bread to go along with dinner (we ended up turning some of it into garlic bread).

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My Favorite Meal of the Week – Spinach Tomato Orzo Soup

Posted in Dinner, Healthy, Soup, Vegetarian, Winter by

This is another great healthy and easy weeknight dinner. I made it on a Sunday night and then had leftovers to take to work for lunch. It’s also a great dinner for this time of year when we’re all fighting to stay healthy. One bowl of this soup has so many servings of vegetables in it!
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Rosemary Olive Oil Bread

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One of the most satisfying things to bake is always bread (at least for me). Dave was actually the one to request a rosemary bread, but I was more than happy to try one out. And I’m so glad I did, this was delicious and made a great addition to all of the soups I’ve been making lately.

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My Favorite Meal of the Week- Browned Butter Gnocchi

Posted in Dinner, Pasta, Vegetarian by

I’m all about easy dinners to make. As many of my friends know, I used to make the same couple things for dinner every week (they involved a lot of spinach, hummus, and tortilla chips). But this summer when I moved into my new apartment with Dave, I set a goal of trying new things every week. And so far, I think I’ve done a pretty decent job. So here’s a recipe of one of the new things I just tried that was easy, fast, delicious, and healthy.

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Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Posted in Bread, Breakfast, Brunch, Uncategorized by

As you may have noticed, I love to make breakfast items. This may have to do with the fact that brunch is my favorite meal, but really I just love having delicious smells in the apartment on Sunday mornings. The following is one of my most recent endeavors. And I have to say, it was one of the messier ones.

I tend to find a lot of my recipes on Pinterest. I love this because it helps introduce me to new things that I wouldn’t otherwise think of. But there is a downside – people always manage to show perfect, beautiful pictures of their items, and this is not always easy to recreate. As many of you may have learned, a lot of the work in baking is not pretty, and quite often, your items do not end up quite as pretty as the ones in the picture. But this is ok. You have to learn to just keep going, because quite often, it all works out in the end.

For me, this was one of those situations. The bread was delicious, but I struggled to get it to look as nice as the recipe I adapted. But here’s the good news, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that those you’re sharing it with, enjoy it. So go on, get flour on your hands and apron, and make a mess of your kitchen!


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My Favorite Meal of the Week – Stuffed Peppers

Posted in Appetizers, Dinner, Gluten Free, Healthy by
This week I decided to finally try one of those dishes you always see pictures of, and think wow that’s so pretty, it must be really complicated.

Turns out, it’s not. I made stuffed peppers. And as long as you don’t mind a little mess, they were easy, pretty fast, and totally delicious (even the next day).

Raspberry Swirl Rolls with Cream Cheese Frostring

Posted in Breakfast, Brunch, Fruit by

First of all, I have to apologize for my absence. I’d always planned to take a week and a half off while on vacation, but was forced to take even longer! As soon as I got back to DC, I was hit with a horrible case of the flu. And it pretty much took me a full week to get back to normal.

But now that I’m back, I’m baking like crazy. In fact, I spent the entire day in the kitchen today. I have lots of new recipes to share with you! First up are Raspberry Swirl Rolls with Cream Cheese Frosting.

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