• Food

    Bacon Wrapped Pork Roast

    A bright spot in our allergy struggles has been that we can all eat bacon. And so we eat bacon a lot. So when I was searching for a recipe for a pork roast I had bought, and came across a bacon wrapped pork roast, I was pretty excited. Turns out, it was for good reason. The roast was awesome and I’m already plotting how long I must wait to put this on the dinner menu again. Next week too soon?? Below is the whole dinner… it’s gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free and nut-free. I cooked it all in the same oven (once it went to 425), and there were very few dishes…

  • Food

    My Thanksgiving All-Stars

    I typically spend my Thanksgivings alternating between my grandma’s house and Blake’s family. And so while I haven’t hosted turkey day at my home but once or twice,  I’m usually making half a dozen sides to contribute to the meal and so I’ve acquired my favs over the years. My office also has an annual Thanksgiving lunch, and so I get another opportunity to try new recipes and perfect the tried and true. Ever since I began eating cleaner and cutting out all the “cream of whatever” soups, I’ve been on a quest to find recipes that are just as flavorful, but truly made from scratch. So far so good. I’m…

  • Food

    Shepherd’s Pie

    I am a meat and potatoes kind of girl, so Shepherd’s Pie is right up my alley. I grew up eating it and have made it dozens of times, but never before like this. This is the kind of Shepherd’s Pie I’ve enjoyed at authentic Irish pubs. And while I’m not knocking what I grew up on (which was ground beef, green beans, corn, mashed potatoes and cheese all served with ketchup), the Shepherd’s Pie I’ve been craving as of late is of the meat with gravy, peas and potatoes variety…. this Shepherd’s Pie. It took me about an hour to prepare (cooking time included). I served it with drop…

  • Food

    (Real) Lemon Pepper Chicken

    Lemon pepper. Nothing too crazy. I’ve cooked with it many times, but never have I prepared chicken (or anything else for that matter) with real lemon pepper.  So last night I decided to use the zest and juice of a lemon mixed with freshly ground pepper to do the trick. It turned out great and was much more flavorful than the seasoning mix I used to use.  The co-stars of my lemon pepper chicken were lemon and garlic roasted brussel sprouts and parmesan mashed potatoes. So, so yummy. One of my co-workers was making fun of me at lunch today saying how every time I post a recipe I go…

  • Food

    Pot Roast with Mashed Potatoes and Cornbread

    Pot roast. Umm. One of my favorite fall/winter dishes. It is the epitome of a Sunday meal. This beauty cooks low and slow and fills my house with one of the best smells to come out of an oven. I used to make this with carrots and potatoes cooking along side the meat, but decided to make this with just carrots since I prefer mashed potatoes.  So I made Thanksgiving-quaility whipped potatoes so that every forkful could be a heap and potatoes and a piece of tender meat. Yum, yum, yum. And when I make a pot roast, I have to make some buttermilk cornbread. Have to. The way I…