a new nothing with a speckled handle

well, it's been quite sometime since our last post!  instead of catching you up on the happenings, let's just get right down to business, shall we?  basically, we still love cooking and baking and all things food related, and we love that you love our recipes!  and after many requests from our dear friends, neighbors, and acquaintances, we're back!  i (laura here ;) ) recently attended a mission farewell for a darling neighbor and this is the taco salad that was served there.  now I know you've made taco salad a million times in a million variations, but this one tops them all.  this meat/rice mixture is to die for, and it even makes a perfect dip for those extra fritos you didn't crunch up into your salad.  I made a ton with the intention of freezing it....and that didn't even happen because we ate it for leftovers for the next several days!  it's delicious with the meat and rice combo and the sugar cuts that acidity of the tomato s...

let's just get this straight.  cafe rio is not my all-time favorite restaurant.  in fact, when i visit utah, i never go to cafe rio.  ok, now that i've got that off my chest, i can continue... a long while back, when we moved to new orleans, layton (my handsome husband) and i were craving a cafe rio salad.  i think we all can agree that an occasional cafe rio salad tastes great.  so being the clever little self that i am, i started searching for a recipe to make my own salad dressing in the comfort of our cozy little apartment in downtown new orleans.  i found it!  i'd love to give credit to the source where i found it, but that was 7 years ago.  it is a true winner, though!  i made it for a few years and then stopped.  do you ever do that with a recipe?  i realized just last week that i hadn't made it in years!  i ate this salad every day last week until the dressing was gone.  so for all you cafe-rio lov...

i feel like i need to redeem myself with a healthy recipe so you know that sometimes i do eat healthy foods. sometimes. i'm trying really hard right now to eat better foods. i work out a lot and i love it, but i have felt so sluggish lately! is that from all the coconut brownies and magic cookie bars i eat? hmmmm. probably. its funny that i actually have a degree in exercise physiology and still struggle with eating right and feeling healthy! i like to pretend that i can eat what i want all day long and still feel fantastic. maybe it's my aging body, maybe it really is the fact that eating THAT many empty calories just simply doesn't fuel your body! anyway, can you say tangent? so i eat this salad almost every day. whether it's for lunch or dinner, it tastes really good and is very satisfying. and i always have the ingredients on hand for a quick bite when the kids are eating delicious looking pizza. don't worry, i'll be out of this healthy mood pr...

i have a friend who served me this salad.  it was love at first taste.  i think i could spend the rest of my life with that dressing.  i found myself wanting to eat it so often, i had to find something else to pair it with (just plain drinking it was not an option, although, it did cross my mind.)  it actually happened by accident.  i added pears to my salad one day and loved it so much, the next day i decided to leave out the lettuce/spinach altogether.  the result:  a fantastic and easy salad that just may make your lips pucker up and make your heart skip a beat. 2 fresh pears, peel on and diced grated parmesan, or any other sharp cheese almonds, chopped or slivered (the original recipe calls for crumbled bacon, which would be fantastic even in this salad!) lemon-garlic vinaigrette juice of one lemon small clove of garlic, minced 2/3 cup canola oil salt and pepper to taste combine in a jar and shake to emulsify (or you can whis...

i realized today that the meal that i've been eating for lunch every day for the past week was pretty much all supplied by costco.  anyway, that's beside the point. don't get me wrong.  i love a good tuna sandwich, especially with a hearty dill or sweet pickle (depends on my mood.)  but, i've been trying to eat more greens.  i have to fit into a bikini tankini one-piece swimming suit muumuu in less than ONE month and it's time to cut out some unnecessary carbs, like bread.  not all together, just a little.  i can't live without bread.  so, here is my take on a good tuna salad.  it's easy.  it's quick.  it's healthy.  and you can buy 99% of the ingredients in one store.  here's to healthy eating! side note:  this picture was taken with the salad served on a plate.  i went to eat the salad after taking a picture and just felt funny.  i finally realized what was wrong.  never have i actual...

2 heads romaine lettuce cut into bite sized pieces, washed, dried 1 head boston/butter lettuce cut into pieces, washed, dried 3 large avocados 2 1/2 cups grape tomatoes, halved crumbled gorgonzola (or any other bleu cheese) 4-5 strips of cooked bacon 1/4 - 1/2 cup chopped parsley leaves 1/4 cup chopped chives (quick tip...use kitchen scissors to cut your chives!) 1 recipe Lemon-Red Wine Vinaigrette Combine all ingredients and toss with dressing to coat. Lemon - Red Wine Vinaigrette (This actually called for sherry vinegar, but I didn't really search that hard to find it...and I had red wine vinegar already. So use whichever suits your fancy.) 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1/4 cup red wine vinegar 2 tsp finely grated lemon zest 1 tsp sugar 1 tsp minced fresh garlic 1/2 tsp dijon mustard 1/2 tsp kosher salt 1/4 tsp worcestershire sauce (or to taste...i can't get enough of this stuff!) 1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper Combine all ingredients in a mason jar. ...