Food In Between the Saguaros

Whole smoked beer can chicken

I used my husband’s Traeger for the first time yesterday and with him gone – so no supervision. I am pretty darn pleased with myself and he can’t quit raving about our dinner either – that says a lot. He actually told me that my chicken turned out better than any he has ever done….

Garden

Garden Time!

One of my most favorite parts of summer time – or Arizona spring is planting time! We are late here this year – which means it will be tougher to grow things like my heirloom tomatoes that take longer to ripen. This is because it will be too hot for them to keep producing right…

Baked

Italian Twice Baked Sweet Potatoes

We grabbed some great, huge sweet potatoes from the Old Town Scottsdale Farmers market. There are so many different ways you can cook them. We love them, especially on the savory side and they are healthy! I used some things that I typically have in my kitchen for this recipe. Two large sweet potatoes is…

GlutenFree

Pork Lettuce Cups & Spanish “Rice”

It’s not my husband’s favorite thing to smoke, but it’s my favorite thing for him to make – pulled pork! When we lived in Kansas City he and a good buddy started a little competition BBQ team and everyone loved being on that cheer squad. He still loves to use his smoker(s) and we are…

Appetizer

Lemon and Rosemary Marinated Olives

The idea for this was introduced to me from another good friend with a Costco membership. At one point, Costco had these wonderful olives that were marinated with lemons and rosemary – that’s about all I can remember. I searched everywhere online to find them so I could try to recreate, but it appears they…

Lunch

Mushrooms and Butternut Squash “Zoodles”

Vegetables have ALWAYS been my favorite. Cauliflower first. Extremely close seconds are pasta and mushrooms. When I was a kid in 1/2 day kindergarten, my mom had an in-home daycare in our house and therefore was always home with lunch ready when I got off the bus. One of my favorite lunches was her creamed…

Baked

Red Skin Spice Cake

This is not something you will see from me often. Cakes and sweets are really not my thing and not typically found in my diet. But – today is my birthday and I’m craving my favorite cake so I thought I would share with you. This recipe is from my mom. I’m not sure where…

Grilled

Grilled Romaine Salad

Before we moved to Arizona, we lived in a neighborhood called Napa Valley. Unfortunately for us, the grapes did not grow there, but thanks to some friends with a great little wine store – our cellar was stocked pretty well. The best thing about the neighborhood was meeting some of the best neighbors! People that…

Baked

Sheet Pan Chicken – Bowls

The idea for these bowls came from our good friends in “Napa Valley.” They introduced us to the wonderful Korean flavors we add to these. My favorite part about this dish is the simplicity. I typically purchase my chicken in bulk, separate and marinade before freezing. There are a lot of marinades that would work…

Garden

Simple “Caprese” Pasta

I’m currently preparing my garden for another round of planting. This picture from last year gets me so excited to get to work! I just think there is nothing better than fresh produce from the backyard. Cherry tomatoes are a great option in Arizona as they grow abundantly and don’t take as long to ripen…