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!!

Honey Beer Bread

If you asked me what my favorite thing to make is (and I've been asked this question a lot), the answer is probably bread.  It's just so satisfying.  Take the most simple ingredients and they turn into bread!  It's like magic.  Magic that smells good.  Magic that tastes good.  Magic that makes you feel like a genius.

This bread is even more satisfying than most because it is so easy.  There's no kneading or waiting for the dough to rise.  No punching down.  Basically nothing hard.

Beer bread is like a quick bread that gets airy and doughy like a yeast bread.  It's best straight out of the oven with a generous slathering of butter on top.

I made this with an India Pale Ale (IPA) which gave the bread a little bit of a bitter flavor that contrasted really well with the honey, but you can use whatever beer you have on hand.  I can't wait to try it with a lot of different types and flavors of beer.

365: Week 52

December 22 | The start of our teardrop camper adventure.

Crockpot Corned Beef & Cabbage

I know you're getting ready for Christmas tomorrow and you're fully in the swing of Christmas things right now, but I wanted to get you prepared for the new year too.

You're probably thinking about ham or turkey or prime rib or whatever you eat on Christmas.  You're probably not thinking about cabbage.  I don't blame you, but I didn't want you to be unprepared when Friday rolls around.  Christmas is over.  You start putting away the decorations and get ready for the next holiday.

This is all in an effort to be prepared.

As far as I understand, corned beef and cabbage is a traditional Irish dish.  One that we ate every New Year's Day and St. Patrick's Day growing up (still do, actually), being the good quite distant, Irish immigrants that we are.

My sister shared this particular slow-cooker recipe for corned beef with me last year and it blew me away.  I had no idea that corned beef could be moist!  Seriously, no idea.  This one is though.  It's so satisfyingly salty and tender.  There's next to no prep that goes into it.  Quite honestly, it makes me want to eat it more than 2x a year.

Cranberry Eggnog French Toast

For the past couple months I've really been enjoying a healthy dose of eggnog in my morning coffee.  I used to think I hated that, but apparently I was wrong because when I tried it again this year, I slurped it down.  Now, I'm already dreading the day they pull the nog from the shelves.

When I was a tot, I hated eggnog in general.

I really wanted to like it, mostly because my cousin, Beth (who I thought was the coolest person in the entire world), drank it.  And I tried.  I really did, but the stuff is pretty weird.  It's so thick that it feels like you're drinking straight whipping cream and the flavor is not exactly kid-friendly.

So if you're still on the fence about the nog, I get it.  I don't even blame you and I probably won't even make you try it again.

Even if you're not the biggest fan of eggnog, this overnight french toast recipe is pretty mild.  And because eggnog is already sweet, you don't have to add any extra sugar like other overnight french toast recipes.

Even though the taste of the eggnog is mild, that, in combination with the cinnamon and fresh cranberries, makes it a perfect dish for Christmas morning!  Did I mention, you can make it the night before?!

365: Week 51

December 15 | Christmas Cookies!

Happy Hour: Pomegranate Rosemary Vodka Tonic

I always wanted to be one of those people who had a signature drink.  Something I'd get every time I went out to the bar or had a drink with dinner.  That way whenever the waiter or bartender asked for my order, I'd have it at the ready.  

And it'd sound cool when I ordered.  Every early 20-something drinking their rum and coke would be super jealous.  It couldn't be anything frilly.  No soda.  No juice.  No Redbull. 

After years of experimenting, I settled on a vodka tonic with lemon about a year ago.  It's not exactly the most impressive drink, but it's not the most embarrassing one either.  

So, to spruce up my favorite go-to cocktail for Christmas, I added some fresh pomegranate juice (I know, I said no juice, but this is a special circumstance) and rosemary and it is soooo good!  The pomegranate juice is really more for color and festiveness than anything else, but you can really taste the muddled rosemary.  

People will definitely be impressed if you shake some of these up on Christmas Eve!