Jalapeño Popper Burgers

I recently came across a recipe for chocolate lasagna.  Maybe you all have already heard of this work of ingenuity, but I was late to the game.  I haven't made it yet, but how could it be bad?

Joy the Baker made a lasagna grilled cheese once that sounded pretty stellar.

These combo foods can reach beyond the lasagna-base though.  For example, this delightful treat/dinner is what happens when you stuff a jalapeño popper inside a burger, both things that I enjoy thoroughly and when put together in this mashup, I liked it even better.  A whole-is-greater-than-the-sum-of-its-parts kind of thing.

So you may be inclined to think that mashups only work well when you put two T. Swift songs together, but you're wrong.

I also wanted to point out that you're wrong about needing to eat healthier in 2015.  What you need is to eat more burgers.  Burgers stuffed with cheese!  Happy New Year!!

Butternut Squash & Fried Sage Panini

When you go to a restaurant, do you order the same thing you always get or do you try something new each time?

I fall somewhere in between.  I'll definitely try out new stuff from time to time, but if something was good, I'm gonna go back for more too.

I've never understood how people can eat the exact same things over and over again.  From time to time, I'll get in a rut where I find myself eating the same thing for breakfast for a few weeks straight, but that's about where it stops.

For the most part, I like to try new foods (even though it means there will be failures) and mix those meals in with the classic standbys (spaghetti and hamburgers).

If I never experimented with my food, I would have never had crispy sage.  If I'd never had crispy sage, I don't know if my life ever would have felt complete.

It's that good.

Especially when you pair it with some smokey provolone cheese and sweet butternut squash melted between two slices of golden toasted french bread.

So good!

Egg Salad BLT

Easter is this Sunday, and while I'm not dying eggs this year, I do always like to hard boil a few eggs so I can have some egg salad in the coming week.  Obviously, I could make egg salad any time of the year, but it just doesn't seem to happen.

I need some inspiration, I guess.

If you're like me and you need a little push, here's an idea for you: egg salad BLT's.  Bacon and eggs in sandwich form can't be bad.  Also, maybe you're kind over the basics.  You've exhausted deviled eggs and you need something new.  

If you have a favorite egg salad recipe, use that, I've added mine after the break.  Happy Easter!

Cheddar Apple Bacon Quesadilla

I almost exclusively do my grocery shopping at Krogers stores.  When we were Boulder, I shopped at King Soopers and now that we've moved to Utah, the name has changed to Smith's, but it's all the same thing.

I use the same value card when I check out.  I get the same discount on gas and the stores are generally laid out in the same way (like all grocery stores really).  I also use their online coupons which are loaded directly onto your value card and then once every month or two they send me a packet of "personalized coupons" in the mail.

These are based on your spending habits which is always kind of enlightening.  There are three things I am guaranteed to get coupons for: limes (due to my cocktailing habit, I'm sure), cheese (duh), and bacon.  This basically tells me we should probably cut back on the sodium, carbs, and alcohol, but I don't really see that happening anytime soon.  So, in the meantime, I'll just keep making quesadillas for lunch every day.

Obama Burger

There is a reason for the name of this burger, and I'm not going to be taking a political stance (not really) on this blog, so don't worry.

Do you remember back to the 2008 election when John McCain was running against Barack Obama.  Remember how people decided to run an attack campaign against Obama just because of the lettuce he eats?  I remember when that all unfolded and I remember thinking how there are plenty of faults that are far more significant with every politician, so we probably shouldn't waste our time on his/her veg choice.

That being said, I wasn't much of an arugula fan either.

But then it grew on me, and when you soak it in sweet balsamic vinegar and when it's laying on top of a grilled burger and melted mozzarella, it gets significantly better.

Chicken Jalapeño Panini

Over the weekend, Austin and I drove to Idaho Springs to meet up with some old friends from Utah.  We drank some beer (some of us maybe had a little too much), ate dinner, and just talked.

For the past two years, Austin and I have been making new friends.  It can be awkward.  Every once in a while you meet someone who you click with and things are easy, but for the most part it feels forced and hard.  You're spending your time trying to get to know them.  You put a lot of effort into really listening to them talk (admittedly, not my strong suit).  You worry about if they will like the food you made, or if they will think it is lame.

With old friends, things are easier.  Conversation flows, you have shared history and stories, and they'll like your food even if it's not fancy.

Sandwiches aren't typically thought of as "fancy," but when you turn a "sandwich" into a "panini," then it's fit for new friends too.  These chicken jalapeño paninis will please all types of friends (as long as they like food that's a little bit spicy).