I’ve been on a bit of a hot wing kick lately. And while my favorite way to quelch that craving is grilled wings tossed in buffalo sauce, this is quickly becoming my second. A fat salad bowl full of romaine lettuce, buffalo chicken tenders, blue cheese dressing, and every veggie I think is wonderful dipped in blue cheese dressing. All in one bowl.

This mixture was born a few jobs back. Pretty much the only time I would frequent the salad bar at work was if there were buffalo chicken strips, then I would make my rounds and find a variety of vegetables that I liked, and top it all with blue cheese crumbles and ranch (since we rarely had blue cheese dressing on that bar, for some reason). However, I had never tried to make this at home until last week. I had picked up some Louisiana Hot Sauce wing sauce at the grocery store and did not use all of it on my grilled chicken wings. Lucky for me, I realized how easily this could all come together, especially when you already have broccoli chunked up for snacking on and the onion already peeled. I foresee many, many more of these salads happening during football season! (more…)

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Gluten free, Salad by Courtney

This is one of my go-to weeknight meals, and it is a great way to use up any random vegetables you may have left over. Growing up, my mom always dressed up marinara in a jar by sauteing some onions and beef (along with some other spices and peppers and such on occasion) before adding the marinara. I changed that up a bit, decided to forgo the beef and just use every veggie I had on hand. Everything is fair play – carrots, squash, zucchini, spinach, broccoli, fresh tomatoes, kale, peppers – you name it, I’ve tossed it in my drug-through-the-garden spaghetti. The key is to always keep a few things on hand (more…)

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Dinner, Gluten free, Italian, Quick and Easy, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

The final recipe from the Spanish picnic I enjoyed with friends a couple of weeks ago, the zucchini cake is a pretty versatile recipe that’s simultaneously at home for a chi-chi dinner party or low key enough for popping a couple in your mouth as you run out the door in the morning heading for work. It can be made in a pie plate or a muffin tin, and it makes great use of that proliferous summer vegetable, the zucchini.

For our picnic, I chose to make individual versions in a muffin tin, so I could only take with me what was needed for the day. These can be eaten warm, cold, or at room temperature, so it was a perfect food for a picnic. (more…)

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Appetizers, Gluten free, Spanish, Vegetarian by Courtney

Last week I told you about my fabulous Spanish themed picnic, and gave you the recipe for a killer gazpacho that packs a tomato punch but is tempered with some roasted red pepper. Well, continuing in that vein, today I have the recipe for the stuffed piquillo peppers I made for the picnic.

Stuffed piquillo peppers are not the first thing that comes to mind when I think picnic food. Stuffed with softened goat cheese, I wasn’t even sure I could make this work, but they’re so good that I was willing to give it a try. I often make these for appetizers at home, or just as a great little finger food for company. They always get rave reviews, and they never last long.

How did they hold up for the picnic? (more…)

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Appetizers, Gluten free, Spanish, Vegetarian by Courtney

Heeeeyy Boo-boo! Whadya think they got in that pic-a-nic basket?

I’m guessing Yogi never expected to get a basket full of Spanish goodies such as gazpacho, zucchini cake, lima bean salad, and piquillo peppers, but had he stumbled upon our party, that’s certainly what he would have found. Along with a pitcher or two of sangria!

A couple of weekends ago we decided to head out to a new park for a picnic and some light hiking. I was a little perplexed as to what to make, because at the time my husband and I were doing a gluten-free diet, and a friend of ours that was going is also gluten-free. So gone was the usual pressed sandwich meal, but I needed something that would not go off in the sun (no mayo or raw anything) but also wouldn’t be too heavy since it promised to be a warm day, and I knew the alcohol we would consume would already drain our energy a bit. Then it hit me – a Spanish-themed meal. Sangria is the perfect summer time drink, and with foods like gazpacho and stuffed peppers, we would be filled up and satisfied, but definitely not stuffed. And all the items could be served either room temperature or cold. And almost everything was vegetarian. While no one in the group was vegetarian, it’s always good to have some go to recipes that are meat-free for friends that don’t eat meat. (more…)

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Appetizers, Dairy free, Gluten free, Quick and Easy, Soups, Spanish, Vegan, Vegetarian, Wine pairings by Courtney