Recipes
Zuppa Toscana - One of My Favorite Soups. Ever.
We don't eat at Olive Garden often, but whenever I find myself there during colder months, I always get the bottomless soup, salad & breadsticks. And even though they have several soups to choose from, I always stick with the Zuppa Toscana because it is, far and away, the superior option. So imagine my joy […]
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October 16, 2014
Recipes
How We Do Whole30 - Baked Coconut Curry Chicken Wings
When Jules asked me if I wanted to do the Whole30 thing with her several months ago, my answer was an enthusiastic "Not a chance, but I'll support you if you want to do it." She's asked me probably twice a month for the last 5 months, and my answer was always the same. That […]
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October 8, 2014
Recipes
Shepherd's Pie With Ground Beef (Cottage Pie, I Guess)
You know what's crazy? Life! Goodness, I haven't posted a recipe for quite awhile. But the weather around here has been cooling quickly, which always makes me want to slow down and cook something hearty. My first Fall-feeling meal of the year? Shepherd's pie. Ok, well it's not exactly shepherd's pie, because I used beef […]
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September 18, 2014
Recipes
Grilled Lemon & Rosemary Garlic Bread
I grew up helping my mom in the kitchen, and I still remember the very first thing my mom ever let me make all by myself for family dinner. Garlic bread. I sliced the bread into really crooked, misshapen pieces; spread way too much butter on each piece; poured garlic salt from the wrong end […]
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July 3, 2014
Recipes
Bright and Fresh Panzanella (Tuscan Bread Salad)
A couple weeks ago, Jules called me up and gave me the news. "Well," she said, "my thyroid numbers are now completely in the opposite direction to where my doctor says I have HYPERthyroidism, instead of hypo." Being a husband who loves his wife, I immediately assumed this meant she was going to die and […]
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June 20, 2014
Recipes
Grilled Chicken Cordon Bleu
Chicken cordon bleu is a classic dish. Chicken stuffed with ham and Swiss, coated in bread crumbs and baked to perfection. Truly delicious. This version cuts the carbs and oils, while adding that hint of smoke characteristic of grilled food. It's also way easier and faster than traditional chicken cordon bleu - basically the same […]
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June 12, 2014
Recipes
5 Ingredient Lemon Poppyseed Dressing
I know I'm all about grilling during the summers, but just important are the things served with your grilled food. To me, food in the summer is fresh and flavorful, especially the salads. But a less thought-out part of the meal is the dressing. There are thousands of recipes for lemon poppyseed dressing out there, […]
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June 4, 2014
Recipes
Potato, Bacon & Kale Tinfoil Dinners + A New Approach
If you had similar childhood experiences to mine, "tinfoil dinners" probably evoke memories of potatoes, onions and ground beef, rolled up in tinfoil, cooked over a fire. Maybe you had some carrots, too. While I actually love these traditional tinfoil dinners and the camp side memories that accompany them, I've recently adopted a new approach, […]
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May 20, 2014
Recipes
Grilled Potato Salad with Honey Mustard and Dill Dressing
The recipe I want to share today is a quick one, easy to execute, but so complex in flavor you'll go crazy for it. See, I've never been a fan of potato salad. There was one potato salad I had while living in Louisiana that was made with mashed potatoes instead of cubed potatoes, and […]
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May 14, 2014
Recipes
Hello, Spring - Strawberry Rhubarb Sodas
Even though we're only a few hours north of our last home in Utah, Spring tends to take its time making its way to Rexburg. And just when you think it's arrived, boom, snow. Well, we're a little tired of waiting for it to officially to be "Spring" here, so we made it Spring ourselves, […]
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April 25, 2014
Chris Cooks
4 Courses to Love - Homemade Vanilla Bean Ice Cream with Raspberry + Mint
So today we're wrapping up our 4 Courses to Love meal with a tasty ice cream dessert with fruit sauce, and hopefully you've found something useful along the way. And there's one thing I just want to make clear - you don't have to make all four courses! I posted each recipe separately so you could make […]
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February 13, 2014
Chris Cooks
4 Courses to Love - Pork Tenderloin and Asparagus Over Dijon Potato Puree w/Pomegranate + Balsamic Reduction
Chris Cooks
4 Courses to Love - Pork Tenderloin and Asparagus Over Dijon Potato Puree w/Pomegranate + Balsamic Reduction
I'm not sure if it's the same for you, but whenever I think "special occasion," filet mignon jumps out at me. And of course, there's good reason for that. Filet mignon comes from a part of the back that cows don't strain too much. Muscles that a cow uses a lot will be tougher, as […]
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February 11, 2014
Recipes
4 Courses to Love - Arugula with Pears + Prosciutto
This is the 2nd course in a 4 course meal, designed to be a springboard for your special occasion. See the first course here. Arugula and Prosciutto are not new ingredients on this blog. I use them often because they have good flavor, and aren't really that expensive. Sure, if you look at the "per […]
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February 6, 2014
Recipes
4 Courses to Love - Broth Seasoned with Pork + Vegetables
I've heard some people say they (and their significant other) don't celebrate Valentine's Day because they "prefer to show affection all year 'round!" ...didn't realize you had to choose between the two... To each their own, but Jules and I are always looking for an excuse to pamper each other, and what better time than […]
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February 4, 2014
Recipes
Braised Beef Short Rib with Mushrooms and Polenta
I love beef. Seriously, I'd eat it every day if I didn't care about being around for my daughters' weddings. And when I do have it, any cut that weighs less than 12 ounces just isn't worth my time. Horrible? Possibly. Wonderful? Most definitely. But as much as I love a viking's portion of beef, […]
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January 29, 2014
Recipes
Dry-Rubbed Baked Chicken Wings
This past summer, when I shared my favorite chicken wing recipe, I said that I'd probably share others. Here I am, making good on that. And usually I'm all about a great sauce on my wings, but every so often, we opt for the dry rub. And I have a pretty rockin' dry rub. Check […]
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January 21, 2014
Recipes
Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Kale and Prosciutto
Yo peeps! Hope all is well and we're all stickin' with those resolutions. To be honest I've felt myself slipping the past few days. So to combat that, I signed up for a marathon relay in August. Yeah, it's only 5 miles. Yeah, it's 7 months away. But running has always been rough for me, […]
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January 15, 2014
Recipes
Light Coconut Curry with Brown Rice - a Healthier Take on Thai Red Curry
Hello e'rbody! Long time no blog. I've had a few questions asking about all the gluten in my cooking recently, and why we haven't been so strict on that. Well, because Jules has been so sick, her doctors told her to just eat whatever she could and they'd monitor her levels closely. For almost a […]
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January 7, 2014
Recipes
Slow-Cooked, Tender Ham
There are lots of ways to cook a ham. By far the most popular Christmas ham is a baked, spiral-cut ham with the bone in, coated with brown sugar and/or a range of spices. Why wouldn't this be the favorite? It's delicious. But for my ham this year, I decided to try something a little […]
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December 12, 2013
Recipes
My First Crack at Italian Wedding Soup - Success
Before marrying Jules, I had never heard of Italian Wedding Soup. Julia's mom is full Italian, and there's a lot of heritage that comes along with that. Honestly I feel like I won the lottery when I married into Julia's family, but that's off topic. This post is about soup. And darn good soup. It's […]
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December 5, 2013
