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Crazy Chicken with Angel Hair Pasta
Chicken. It’s one of those versatile proteins that goes with just about anything. It’s also an ingredient that leaves us scratching our head as we take a package out of the freezer and wonder to ourselves; “What am I going to make with this?” We’ve all been there. It strikes fear and anxiety in the best of cooks. It’s a question that everyone has asked at one point in time when it comes to looking at a package of chicken when the dinner hour is fast approaching. We love our chicken, but we’re tired of the same ol’-same ol’, and we long for something new, exciting, and just plain different. After all, there are…
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Minnesota Wild Rice Hotdish- A Recipe Remake
I’ve been working on remaking a family recipe that my Aunt MJ makes. Her recipe is great, but I thought it would taste even better if I added some plain Jasmine rice and a creamy sauce. I mentioned in the Perfect Wild Rice post that it has taken me a while to enjoy the taste of Wild Rice. My Aunt’s recipe uses all Wild Rice, and for my sensitive palate it’s a little too strong. And for The Stud Muffin, it’s just got too much rice. That man has never met a rice he liked. Unless Chipotle’s rice bowl fixin’s are dumped on top of it. Or if it is combined with Stir-Fry.…
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How to Make the Perfect Wild Rice
I’m from Minnesota. It’s the land of Wild Rice. Did you know that Wild Rice is actually an aquatic grass seed, not a rice grain? ‘Tis true my Food Hippies. It’s a coarse annual grass called “zizania aquatica”. Despite its name, the plant isn’t even related to rice. For me, Wild Rice was an acquired taste. I’m not sure if I just had dishes from people who didn’t cook it long enough, or if I just didn’t have the palate for it. Whatever the reason, I shied away from it. Fast forward to a few years ago when I was working in a restaurant and developing a soup recipe with one of the chefs. He wanted a chicken…
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Cheesy Orzo with Broccoli
Earlier on in my blogging career I stumbled upon this side dish while wasting time trying to solve the toughest world problems by doing research online. Before the idea to start my blog was ever hatched in my special little mind, I used to follow quite a bit of non Real Food bloggers. No shame in that. A good recipe is a good recipe. Sometimes you just have to Real Foodify it, as I like to say. This recipe came from Iowa Girl Eats. She’s got a great little blog filled with some tasty recipes that are easy for me to adapt to our real food lifestyle. Many of her more current recipes…
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Lentil Salad with Bacon
It’s that time of year. You know, when the days start to get warmer and out of nowhere an 80+ degree day pops in and dinner time rolls around and you’re like, “Um, no. It’s not happening. I’m not cooking, uh-uh, no way, no how, it’s too hot. Bleh!” Tell me I’m not the only one who feels that way on really warm days? I love salads and I have a ton of great recipes written down, but I’ve yet to feature any of them on the blog because my salads feature so many components I’m pretty sure y’all be like “She’s crazy, there is NO way I’m doing all that just for…
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Simply Perfect Rice Pilaf
Are you intimidated by rice pilaf so you rely on that “San Fransisco Treat”? I used to be. Then I went to culinary school and learned a really easy way to make perfect rice pilaf. Each grain comes out nice and fluffy, not sticky or clumped together. I love rice. I could eat rice every day. The Stud Muffin isn’t a huge fan, but he’s coming around. He does like this pilaf, so whenever I make fish, chances are this rice will be on my plate. Rice can be flavorless and boring, but this rice is made with homemade chicken stock so it’s definitely not lacking in flavor department. I have found…
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Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs at Mommypotamus
I’m so excited I can hardly stand it!! I’m waving my hands, and bouncing in my chair and I may have even clapped for joy and squealed a little. I’m not sure. I just know I’m excited. Today I’m sharing my Risotto alla Milanese with Herbs recipe over at Mommypotamus. If you haven’t heard of her, Heather is the phenom behind Mommypotamus and she blogs about Real Food, parenting, vaccines, DIY and a whole host of other topics that I know you’ll find interesting. She even has tasty recipes. Heather reached out asking her fellow blogging community for some guest posts and I thought “Why not?!” So I sent her this recipe with…
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Chicken Pasta Primavera
We love pasta in our home. I’m sure being married to an Italian has absolutely nothing to do with it at all. Because of our love for fresh pasta, I someday hope to own some special die casts for making my own shapes, like penne, and rigatoni. Until then, I buy imported organic dry pasta for dishes that call for something other than a long skinny noodle. Those I’ve got down pat. I really want to share my homemade pasta recipe with you guys, but I don’t have anywhere to attach my pasta maker in my kitchen. Which I affectionately call Lord Voldemort’s 8th Horcrux. As soon as I can figure out how…
