Work. Cook. Eat. - Page 3 of 4 - A food blog with recipes to help you fit cooking and eating into your busy life.

Secret Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

March 17, 2017 No Comments

I have a problem: I am incapable of buying the right number of bananas. It does not matter how few I buy, we never eat them all before they get too soft. It doesn’t really help that bananas are only the perfect ripeness for eating for all of about 10 minutes either.

Because of this banana situation, I end up freezing all of the slightly overripe bananas. At any given time I have 4-6 bananas (sometimes 10-12) in my freezer. Sure, sure, they’re great for smoothies, but I’m too lazy to drag out my blender and have to clean it up just so I can make a smoothie. My blender is reserved almost exclusively for salsa making and frozen adult beverages.

Secret Ingredient Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

More often than not my frozen bananas are destined for baked goods. Breads, cakes, muffins. Mmmm, muffins. Little cakelettes that are socially acceptable to eat for breakfast. An excuse to sneak chocolate chips into breakfast food? Yes, please.

Dessert

Grasshopper Pie

March 14, 2017 No Comments

Happy Pi(e) Day! In honor of this magical mathematical day, I bring you Grasshopper Pie! Now, if you don’t know what grasshopper pie is, don’t get grossed out by the name. It’s the pie version of the famous cocktail- a sweet, green, minty beverage. To me, it’s better as a pie. I don’t love my alcohol super sweet, but I do love my desserts that way!

I really wanted to post a traditional Irish dish this week, in honor of Saint Patrick’s Day. Turns out, most of the dishes we Americans know as “Irish” are figments of our imagination. So I scrapped the traditional part and brought you a two-for-one holiday treat, the pie version of the Shamrock Shake! So really you could use this recipe for Pi Day or for Saint Patty’s Day! You’re welcome.

Main Dish

Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Blue Cheese Slaw

March 6, 2017 4 Comments

Buffalo chicken burgers with blue cheese slaw

I am a person of many strong opinions. There is no doubt about that. None of my opinions are more resolute than the ones I have about food. Please skip ahead if you are easily offended by other people’s food thoughts. Angel food cake is just a sweet sponge. A sandwich without meat is just a salad. Frozen yogurt is not a suitable substitute for ice cream. And burgers are made of beef. Chicken burgers, turkey burgers and other meat burgers, in my world, are sandwiches. Not burgers. Veggie burgers, bean burgers, quinoa burgers: these strange things fall under the aforementioned category of salad.

“Uh, Casey, you named this post ‘Buffalo Chicken Burgers with Blue Cheese Slaw’ though…” you are probably saying at the moment. And you’re right, I did. Here’s why: while in my house these are called sandwiches, in most people’s homes (and according to various internet sources), any sandwich with a ground meat patty is technically a burger. So for the sake of not rocking the boat, I will concede this point to the internet.

Drinks

Strawberry Chipotle Margaritas

February 22, 2017 No Comments

In case you didn’t know, today is a national holiday. It’s National Margarita Day, also known as the best day of the year. The Dallas weather apparently knew, because it is a gorgeous, sunny, warm day, and to celebrate I have made for you (and mostly me) Strawberry Chipotle Margaritas!

Strawberry Chipotle Margaritas

Side Dish

Roasted Broccoli with Hummus

February 15, 2017 4 Comments

And we’re back.

Sorry for the delay between posts, but I’ve been a little busy. I took a little trip to Vegas and got married! It was totally awesome and dreamy and fun and crazy, but now I’m back to real life. I’ll be posting more regularly since that big life change has happened.

Now, back to talking about food. One thing I find myself constantly googling or scouring Pinterest for is side dishes. Especially vegetables. I find it relatively easy to think of a million and a half ways to change up a chicken breast for dinner, or put together a casserole or sandwich, but when it comes to side dishes that I actually want to eat, that’s a different story. I can only eat side salads so many times a week before I will just skip it all together (that number is more than 1 and less than 3). I don’t want to expend a lot of energy just for a side. I need it to be easy and tasty. Bonus points if it’s healthy.

Roasted Broccoli with Hummus

Enter Roasted Broccoli with Hummus.

Main Dish, Salad

Broccoli and Arugula Salad with Harissa Shrimp

January 18, 2017 1 Comment

Broccoli and Arugula Salad with Harissa Shrimp

It’s that time of year when I have to stop myself from making pasta for dinner every night. The weather sucks, even here in Texas (50° and rainy constitutes bad weather, okay?), all of the good shows are on hiatus, and all I want to do is sit around in my pajamas with a big bowl of cheesy pasta and binge watch Sherlock on Netflix.

Is that so bad? Yes. Yes, it is. Especially when spring comes around, and I can’t fit into any of my shorts.

That’s when I have to force myself to remember that I do actually like vegetables. Kind of a lot, actually. Plus, I can totally sit around in my pajamas with a big bowl of salad and binge watch Sherlock, and then I won’t feel bad about that ~~glass~~ bottle of wine I’m drinking, because SALAD!

This Broccoli and Arugula Salad with Harissa Shrimp is actually tasty enough that I don’t even remember that I wanted pasta. It has A LOT going on in it (don’t get intimidated by the number of ingredients!), it is really filling, and it comes together in no time.

Main Dish

Spice Rubbed Pork with Butternut Squash and Apples

January 15, 2017 4 Comments

Call a couple of friends, your significant other, your parents. Call somebody, anybody. Invite them over for dinner, because I got you. This Spice Rubbed Pork with Butternut Squash and Apples recipe is all you’re going to need for an excellent dinner in. Ok, maybe a bottle of wine too (if your friends are anything like mine), but you could just ask your guests to bring that!

Spice Rubbed Pork with Butternut Squash and Apples

Really though, this dish is the best excuse to have friends over for dinner. If you get your pork loin on sale at the grocery store like I did, it’s pretty inexpensive. There’s about twenty minutes of active cooking and prep time, and then you just hang out until it’s time to eat. Everything is cooked in one pan, so clean up is a breeze. It’s kind of ridiculous how easy this is.