PYRC #59: Creamy Cajun Crawfish Pasta

Get ready. One of the best times of the year is coming upon us - crawfish season.

For us, when we end up with too much crawfish at a boil (sounds crazy, right?), we all sit around the table, peel the leftovers until our fingers hurt and one lucky person gets to stow away a crawfish-filled ziploc in the freezer for later use.

Now what to use those leftover crawfish tails for if you're looking for something beyond the traditional etouffee, creole, etc.? Well I've personally tried crawfish enchiladas and then discovered something even better, Creamy Cajun Crawfish Pasta.

PYRC #58: Four Super Bowl Snack Ideas

If you haven't already sourced the web for a new calorie-filled snack to serve on Super Bowl Sunday, then maybe I can help you out with a few ideas.

Sweet Onion Pizza Sliders

PYRC #57: Dijon Roasted Cabbage

So, I really do adore cabbage in all sorts of shapes and forms, and that includes Brussels sprouts, cabbage's younger, smaller, better looking sibling (or so how I perceive them).

Anyway, I can whip up some mean sauteed cabbage, cabbage soup or slaw, healthy or not, but beyond that, my cabbage creativity is a bit weak. Fortunately my fab friend Pinterest has lent some recent inspiration. Thus I present....

Dijon Roasted Cabbage

PYRC #57: Cheddar Jalapeno Chicken Burgers with Homemade Guacamole

Mother's Day has already passed, but that doesn't mean I can't share the delicious cheddar jalapeno chicken burgers and homemade guacamole that we made in celebration. I mean both Memorial Day AND Father's Day are coming up, and you might just want to pluck these recipes to whip up something delicious.

PYRC #56: Broiled Potstickers

Snacketizer time! Or maybe just dinner when you're not that hungry, have no other Asian things to cook and have a bag of frozen potstickers in your freezer. This Pinterest recipe is for broiled (not fried) potstickers.

PYRC #55: The BEST Steak Marinade

My husband is the grill master around the house, which means I don't technically cook a lot of meat, but that didn't stop me from pinning this best steak marinade recipe (dubbed rightfully so).

 
 

I know the rules – a good steak really only needs olive oil, cracked pepper and kosher salt. But not everyone can afford good steaks and even if they can, not everyone is the best chef. That's where really yummy steak marinades come into play.

PYRC #54: Belated Thanksgiving Feast

I figured since Christmas was nearing, I should wrap up my post on Thanksgiving, and here it is two days after Christmas, and I’m just now posting (whoops). Considering we have to wait an ENTIRE year for Thanksgiving and Christmas again, maybe this post will inject a dash of inspiration to whip up something for a good ‘ole (non-holiday) family feast… or you can wait till Easter.

This year we hosted a two-day Thanksgiving slumber party with Jeff's family at our house. And to feed the 8-adult, 5-kid crew, we did nothing less than what every Thanksgiving American longs for each and every year - prepare a turkey meal fit for an army.

The menu: Cajun fried turkey, oyster dressing, giblet gravy, fresh cranberry sauce, roasted root vegetables, cauliflower mash (maybe potato, can’t remember), baked cauliflower with béchamel sauce, roasted brussels sprouts with prosciutto, brussels sprouts goat cheese gratin, Pioneer Woman creamy mac n' cheese, rolls and three different types of delicious, not pictured, pies (pecan, chocolate/pumpkin, apple).

Sadly, my favorite dishes were actually things that I did not cook (tear), but that's the gamble of cooking new things. So, to my tackled Pinterest recipes: Pioneer Woman macaroni and cheese and brussels sprouts goat cheese gratin.

Pioneer Woman Macaroni and Cheese

If you've followed my cooking efforts at all, you know I've previously been unhappy with the "gritty" texture of homemade mac n' cheese (effort 1 and effort 2). It's not that my mac n' cheese hasn't been 'da bomb,' it just hasn't been as creamy as I wished. So, someone shared with me THE. BEST. mac' cheese recipe, from Pioneer Woman, who never fails. So I made it - the rue, the sauce, assorted cheeses, the breadcrumbs, baked in a cast iron pot...

...and wahhhhh, it was pretty, but not perfect. I want PERFECTLY CREAMY macaroni and cheese, which I about give up on at this point. I can't tell if I'm just overly hard on myself, if I was just too full on Thanksgiving to appreciate it or if there really is better homemade macaroni and cheese out there. I do think my version could have used less noodles so that the cheese sauce was more ooey gooey with each bite. However, I'm still on a "the best homemade mac n' cheese" mission, so if you've got a recipe for me, please share… along with any must-do tips and tricks.

Don't get me wrong, though, you really can't go wrong with Pioneer Woman's mac n' cheese recipe.

Brussels Sprouts Goat Cheese Gratin

I'm a brussels sprouts feign, which I've shared before. And when people weren't totally excited when I told them about the amazing brussels sprouts recipe I was going to make for Thanksgiving, I wanted to fall over in shock. How can anyone snub their nose at brussels sprouts WITH GOAT CHEESE? I had been dying to make this recipe, so when we switched Thanksgiving back from a Mexican theme to traditional, this was first on my list.

The recipe called for slightly steaming brussels sprouts and fresh cranberries, making a goat cheese sauce, combining the veggies and sauce in a baking dish, topping with pecans and bread crumbs, and then baking the dish in the oven.

Can I say "wahhhhh" again? I for sure thought this would be a rock star recipe, but it just wasn't. Brussels sprouts are ridiculously amazing roasted (my favorite is this balsamic reduction recipe), and I think steaming them and coating them with cheese kind of took away from their natural flavor. The cranberries were also extremely bitter (not sure if I did something wrong there), so I actually think they took away a little credibility from the dish. I also think goat cheese is ridiculously amazing fresh, so the melted version did not do it justice. It ALSO didn't help that there was a better version of brussels sprouts on the table... with prosciutto.

But hey, if you're not a brussels sprouts nut like me, there's a good chance you'll have better luck. Find the brussels sprouts goat cheese gratin recipe (which still sounds ridiculously amazing) here from Cinnamon and Spice and Everything Nice.

Hope your holidays were wonderful!



XOXO

Kendra

Don't forget to visit my shop, Kitsy Co!

PYRC #53: 5-Ingredient Easy White Chicken "Chili"

Y'all, I've never been dubbed a soup maker, but I'm starting to realize that it really doesn't take much to make some really awesome soup (of course topped with a pile of cheese). Here's another Pinterest recipe that had my household scrambling back for seconds, 5-Ingredient Easy White Chicken Chili, aka salsa verde chicken soup.

As I always say (broken record, yeah yeah, I know), "THIS RECIPE IS EASY." Actually, really delicious at-home soups that don't have fancy pantsy names do tend to be less complex, so I'm starting to learn. Maybe that's why people make soup so much.

PYRC #52: Three-Cheese Pasta Bake

A family member was in an accident (everything is ok), so we made some bulk food to assist with the cooking situation for a short while. Jeff was making the meat. I was making the side. Best place for "too much too eat" family-friendly recipes? Pinterest. There's so much ooey gooeniess that I never cook for just Jeff and me, so I chose a "Three-Cheese Pasta Bake."

 

PYRC #51: Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Reduction

Brussels sprouts! Brussels sprouts! Bru-ssels-SPROUTS! Also synonymous with that ooogie vegetable you do. not. want to eat as a kid. What?!? Who lied to me?!? I LOVE brussels sprouts, including these Roasted Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic Reduction.

Yum! I also love vinegar soooooo this recipe was meant for me. I mean, I've already made it twice... in a month. And the word "recipe" is kind of an overstatement. This recipe is really just roasted brussels sprouts with a no frills balsamic reduction.

Oh, have I piqued your attention? Here's a breakdown:

PYRC #50: Lazy Day Shrimp Scampi

I bought shrimp and parmesan cheese to make a pesto shrimp recipe, but it turns out that the recipe was for cilantro pesto, not basil pesto, so I diverted to plan two - making any Pinterest recipe that I had the ingredients for. I wasn't really in the mood to cook, actually, so this oven garlic butter shrimp was perfect (aka Lazy Day Shrimp Scampi).

I don't have a link to credit. My directions were simply the following caption:

PYRC #49: Ham and Cheese Sliders

At my family's 2011 Super Bowl party, my cousin brought the. best. ham and cheese sliders. I completely forgot to snag the recipe, but when a similar one passed me by on Pinterest (who knows, could have been the same recipe), it was pinned and immeidately on my radar. I've been waiting (for way too long) for the perfect opportunity to test these sliders, and low and behold came a work baby shower... for twins! Opportunity prevailed. Ham and cheese sliders. Done.

PYRC #48: Jalapeno Cilantro Dip (AKA Jalapeno Ranch)

Ah, the magical creamy goodness known as jalapeno ranch! If you've been to Chuys, there's a pretty good chance you're familiar with this green ranch goodness and most likely you're in love as well. I literally visit Chuys just for margaritas, chips and jalapeno ranch. This sister recipe that passed me by on Pinterest is technically labeled Cilantro Jalapeno Dip, but same difference.

Every time I've made this dip, I've made it a slightly different way - fresh jalapenos, jarred jalapenos, with tomatillos, without tomatillos, one packet of ranch mix, two packets of ranch mix, with a little milk... wherever the wind blows. The best part is that the end result is always the same - delicious. Now with that being said, I've had an extremely difficult time tracking my measurements in order to pass along the recipe to others. So, I've taken this super simple jalapeno cilantro dip version for "sharabilty" purposes and slightly adapted it to taste.

PYRC #47: Lemon and Dill Chicken and Salad with Orange Basil Vinaigrette

This Texas sun is brutal on my mini herb garden, so I've been desperate to find some fresh herb recipes before all of mine die. Thanks to this Lemon Dill Chicken recipe, I was able to use my dill for both the first and last time this year, accompanied by a salad with orange basil vinaigrette.

PYRC #46: Latin Style Street Vendor Corn on the Cob

Mayo... and Frank's hot sauce... and parmesan cheese... and corn on the cob? Yeah, I probably wouldn't have pinned this recipe had I read the ingredients first, but it was Latin Style Street Vendor Corn on the Cob that caught my eye, and that's what hit he table.

Pardon the not so awesome photo per my iphone, fluorescent lighting and lack of "pretty" cooking. If you view the photo on the Frank's hot sauce website, you'll see what I tasted.

Per normal, I didn't follow the rules. I stirred together the weird mayo/hot sauce concoction (well, there's more ingredients than that), slathered it on my corn with a butter knife (rather than tossing it) and topped it with not finely grated parmesan cheese. Saving myself from cleaning more dishes worked for me.

PYRC #45: Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce with Fresh Mozzarella

Look, I'm a meatball diva, and I cook a heck ton of recipes, specifically recipes from Pinterest. Well bend me over backwards Sunny, I have hearts coming out of my eyes. I always wonder how people write such enthusiastic recipe blog posts, and now I know why. Taste this - Turkey Meatballs in Spicy Tomato Basil Sauce with Fresh Mozzarella.

(Ok, I wrote the intro while cooking, after only tasting the sauce and not the meatballs, and I'm totally sticking with my gut. I wrote the rest immediately after dinner, clearly.)

PYRC #44: Avocado Egg Salad

Egg salad is new to me. I like eggs, and I like chicken salad, but for some reason I've never really had egg salad. I broke that streak with this Avocado Egg Salad from one of my favorite recipe blogs, Skinnytaste.

Too Easy Peanut Butter M&M Bars

Quick share today - yummy peanut butter M&M bars. I made these for our recent Canton camping trip, and they were a total hit!

PYRC #43: Cranberry, Avocado and Almond Salad with Sweet White Balsamic Vinaigrette

Last week I shared our baked buffalo chicken rolls, and today I'm sharing the second half of our meal - cranberry, avocado and almond salad with sweet white balsamic vinaigrette. Two awesome recipes in one night - I was one lucky girl (or maybe Jeff was one lucky husband).


 

PYRC #42: Baked Buffalo Chicken Rolls

One word - buffalo. Buffalo anything for me, yes, please! This dinner night was composed of baked buffalo chicken rolls and cranberry, avocado, almond salad with sweet white balsamic vinaigrette. I'll share the salad in a part 2 post. Both recipes are completely worth the read. New favorites? I think so.