Slow Cooker Baby Food, Part 2

Now that my baby is 8 months old, she should be eating some meats to get iron. After a bit of research, I decided to make beef, chicken, and pork baby food.  Leaner cuts of meat are recommended, and as everyone knows, the best way to make lean meat tender is to slow cook it.  After the success of my first try at slow cooking baby food ( Slow Cooker Baby Food, Part 1), I was eager to try again.

Spicy Sweet Potato Fries

Earlier this week, I posted a recipe for Curry Sweet Potatoes.  I consider that my "fancy" sweet potato recipe.  My "casual" (aka I make once a week) sweet potato recipe is Spicy Sweet Potato Fries.  I always have the spices on hand, and they taste perfect dipped in ketchup. What could be easier?

Sweet & Spicy Ham Paninis

As I have previously mentioned, I love sandwiches.  I consider a good sandwich one of the greatest joys in life.  The Sweet & Spicy Ham Panini embodies everything I love in a sandwich: simple ingredients, easy to make, and cheese.  Mmm, cheese...

Curry Sweet Potato Fries with a Sriracha Dipping Sauce

Sweet potato fries are probably my favorite side.  I personally like my sweet potatoes to be savory instead of sweet, so when I'm hankering for some fries, I either make Curry Sweet Potato Fries or Spicy Sweet Potato fries.  I really recommend playing around with spices. 

Slow Cooker Pork & Sauerkraut

I learned about this recipe several years ago, from my lovely Sister-in-Law Brittany.  It is one of those great recipes that is both amazingly easy and inexpensive.  It literally has only three ingredients, and has the added bonus of being able to feed a large amount of people.

Buttermilk Pie

My friend Sweet Jenny requested my Buttermilk Pie recipe, and I am happy to oblige!  Buttermilk Pie has been my go-to dish for holidays since I was in college.  Inexpensive ingredients, no fancy baking techniques needed, super delicious, etc.  The only thing I have changed over the years is the amount of sugar.  I used to make it with 1 1/2 cups of sugar, but I have decreased it a little to 1 1/3 cups (mainly because I have become a bit more sensitive to sweets).  Feel free to play around with the recipe some.  You can reduce the sugar to just one cup, or do the full 1 1/2 cups, depending on the severity of your sweet tooth.  Some may want to add in some nutmeg or cinnamon, and some like a squeeze of lemon.  I'm a purist though; I stick with the basics.  

Taqueria del Sol

Taqueria del Sol has been one of our favorite restaurants in Athens since it opened in 2009.  There are several Taqueria del Sol's in the Atlanta-area, and I had frequented the Decatur one in the past, so I was really excited when I heard one was opening up in Athens. The first year of its operation was truly its golden year; the tacos were consistently delicious and the specials were adventurous and delicious.  From 2009-2010, we probably ate there at least once a week.  However, as the years passed, I feel like the restaurant's quality has decreased slightly. The specials are now often monotonous and boring. The seafood plate is almost always a tilapia dish with a side of rice; whereas a few years ago they had fun dishes like pork belly or shrimp topped with hollandaise.  Furthermore, I can no longer say that their tacos are consistently great.  A few years ago, you never got a bad taco. Now, every other visit, I get a taco with dry meat, not enough sauce, or an overly fishy tasting tilapia. Consistency is a huge problem in Athens culinary scene. I recently thought about all the restaurants in Athens, and realized that there was only one restaurant where I have consistently gotten a great meal--Last Resort.  So Taqueria del Sol is not alone in this problem.

Caprese Sandwich

Anybody that knows me is fully aware that sandwiches are my one true love.  I firmly believe that everything tastes better between two slices of bread or rolled up in a wrap.  Out of all the awesome sandwiches out there, one has always stood out as my absolute favorite: a Caprese Sandwich.   It's simply the ingredients of a Caprese salad put on ciabatta bread.  Sometimes I like to add prosciutto to the sandwich, but it isn't necessary.  The key to making a good Caprese Sandwich is using FRESH ingredients.  This is a must. Please do not use a block of Kraft mozzarella; there is a huge difference between that type of mozzarella and actual fresh mozzarella. Almost as much of a difference as between dried and fresh basil. Just don't do it. Trust me!

5 Minute Corn on the Cob

When I need a quick--and I mean quick--side, nothing is quicker than corn on the cob. At least for me. I am not sure where I learned my method from (in fact, until recently, I thought it was how everyone made it), but I've been doing it this way for years. It takes  about 5 minutes from start to finish, and makes it super easy to get all the silk off the corn.

Chickpea Salad

When I need a quick and healthy side, I often turn to Chickpea Salad.  It takes less than 10 minutes to make, and it tastes light and refreshing.

Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew

I love slow cooker meals.  You can throw a bunch of inexpensive ingredients in a pot, turn it on low, leave the house, and come back to a delicious meal.  However, most of my go-to slow cooker meals are kind of boring.  Tasty, but not very adventurous.  So when I saw Slow Cooker Indian Chicken Stew on Pinterest, I pinned it immediately, knowing it was going to be one of those pins I actually make.

Sweet Potato Hash

The first ever Pinterest recipe I made was Sweet Potato Hash.  I've been on a sweet potato kick for a year now, so when I saw a recipe with sweet potato AND eggs? I had to make it.