Man Pasta

If I had my choice in creating the most perfect pasta dish, it would be something that contained plenty of garlic, sautéed onions, fresh basil pesto, tender shrimp, diced tomatoes, hearty artichokes, and freshly grated parmesan cheese, spread over a bed of al dente linguine pasta and drizzled with a rich, buttery cream sauce.

If my husband had a choice in creating the most perfect pasta dish, it would be something that was contained within a circular tin can, wrapped with a label that read "Chef Boyardee", had an easy access pull tab, to open it and consumed at 11:00 at night.

Man Pasta is delicious, Man Pasta is easy, Man Pasta is our happy medium.

Roasted Brussel Sprouts

Brussel sprouts are one of my favorite vegetable sides.

Even as a kid, I loved slapping the butter, salt, and vinegar on the boiled cabbagy sprouts, my parents use to cook up.

Roasting them makes me feel like I'm eating the grown up version of sprouts…

If that's the case, growing up has it's perks...

Sausage, Tomato, Mac & Cheese

I not only love food, but I love how it brings people together and I love the stories that are told around it. Mostly, I love the memories that it provokes, that sometimes have an unfortunate way going long periods of time, without remembrance.

Like, how my great-grandmother use to have the best {store bought!} ginger snap cookies in life. Just the thought of their deliciousness, I can now smell the aroma of lavender powered that always surrounded her, hear the creak in the step that led up to warmth of her home , and feel the softness of skin during her too small body's surprisingly strong hugs….

Great, now I miss my Gram…and am hungry for ginger snaps….

Anyways, the simple point I was trying to make, if I could attach myself to a dish that would provoke memories of warmth throughout the generations of my family, this would be the one.

Roasted Sweet Potatoes

I could live off sweet potatoes. They are sweet… they are potatoes…and they are complemented best with a slab of butter and a sprinkle of salt, and peppered with… well pepper.

What's not to love about any of that?

Fried, mashed, chipped, or candied… Anyway you've got them, I want them… But my most preferred way, is roasted…

Bean & Corn Dip

Like a lot of the things I make, this is definitely one I never make the same twice. It doesn't matter either, it's amazing every way…

Heed my warning when I say you're guaranteed to eat yourself sick of it the first time you try it… then you'll dream about it… become obsessed with consuming it… and work it's amazingness into every dish possible.

It's original intention is a straight up tortilla chip dip…. however, it works nicely as a taco topper, stuffer for a chicken & cheese wrap, or mixed with spanish rice.

The possibilities are endless!

Peanut Clusters

When my brother was in 5th grade, he had to make a tutorial video for his class. He choice to demonstrate how to make these tasty little yummers… At the time, I remember thinking how great of an idea making these for a class project was…. not for the simplicity of the recipe, but because you got to eat them, in school, not during the Christmas season.

The video turned out great, it was funny, and is definitely one of those family keepsakes. Josh ended his video by saying, "And that's how you make Peanut Clusters!"….

Mention Peanut Cluster's around our family and you're guaranteed to hear Josh's quote at least once, for your sake, hopefully no more than ten.

Short Ribs

These short ribs are delicious, easy, and at first read of the ingredients, are a total turn off to most people.

Trust me when I say, don't.be.most.people.

They couldn't be more yummy, hearty, and house warming.

Granola

Granola is one of my most favorite and delicious go-tos. I consider it a fall/winter snack, seeing as I go to extreme lengths to avoid turning the oven on at all during the spring/summer season. Unfortunately, that also means sacrificing the presence of granola in my pantry. 

But it's not summer anymore and my pantry is once again feeling complete with the granola filled Mason jar in its rightful place.