Vegetarian Dirty Rice

This makes a very tasty side dish or could be a main course on its own.

Sourdough Biscuits

A reliable recipe for soft and flaky sourdough biscuits had eluded me for many months. However, I finally got it right with this one. The biscuits are very easy to throw together and result in exactly what you are looking for in a biscuit--soft and flaky on the inside with a traditional taste.

Coleslaw

My husband loves coleslaw and we wanted a nutritious go-to version to use in fish tacos. This recipe is perfect because it uses only fresh ingredients and tastes much better than anything you can purchase. One of the ingredients is a citrus (lemon and orange) infused white vinegar that I found on the blog LittleOwlCrunchyMomma. Her exact recipe is called Orange Vinegar (follow the link). You could use plain white vinegar instead, but the infused vinegar makes it really special.

This is an awesome way to use leftover lemon and orange rinds. I use my citrus vinegar for cooking and cleaning. This recipe is one of my favorite finds of the year. I use up a lot of lemons drinking Warm Lemon Water in the mornings and also a lot of oranges drinking orange water in the evenings. I am so happy to have found such a versatile recipe for my leftover lemon and orange rinds.

Sourdough Croissants

I just can't seem to stop baking things with my sourdough starter to my family's delight (read this if you would like to get a starter of your own going). I got it in my mind somehow that it would be fun to try to make sourdough croissants. However, either I could not really find the kind of recipe I was looking for, something more traditional, or I couldn't find a recipe with complete instructions or a full set of ingredients. So I set off on a mission to develop a complete sourdough croissant recipe, which includes step-by-step instructions. I researched several recipes for information to develop this recipe including this one by the Sourdough Companion, which gave me the starting point for some of the ingredient amounts.

I have learned a lot about my starter and baking breads in general through the development of this recipe - it has been an interesting and challenging journey to say the least! This is not a quick throw it together recipe. There will need to be a little planning involved as you prepare and care for your dough on and off during a 2-day period. The entire process includes lots of waiting and then more waiting and then some kneading (three of my least favorite things), but the end result is so worth it.

Awesome Rice Pudding

Years ago, I used to get rice pudding from this little Lebanese restaurant in town called N&J's. I loved it so much that I would buy several containers and keep them in the refrigerator at home for easy snacks. When I moved back here, the restaurant was still there but they sadly no longer sold their rice pudding.

Ever since, I have been trying to find a way to make a delicious, super creamy, mildly sweet rice pudding recipe at home. I have lots of leftover rice, and I want to make something really great with it. Everything I have tried in the past comes out a bit dried out or has a strange flavor, or something is wrong with it. Well, I am beyond happy to report that I have found a delicious rice pudding recipe and I am going to share it with you all. This does not taste like the Lebanese version I used to get as it is not a Lebanese rice pudding, but I think I will use it as a starting point for a Lebanese version.

Sourdough Pretzels

We just love this easy and quick recipe for sourdough pretzels that helps use up excess starter.

French Onion Soup

French Onion Soup is one of my very favorite soups. I remember eating it for the first time at a little restaurant on the Rhine River called Noah's Ark in Wiesbaden, Germany. I was around eight or ten years old and my sister and I would get the French Onion Soup every time we had dinner there. It was served in shallow metal "skillets" that were always too hot to touch. There was a thick layer of cheese covering a thin slice of German bread and the cheese was always bubbly and golden brown from the oven and overflowing down the sides of the metal bowls.

With winter just not letting go this year, I am back in a soup kick. It was -1 degree here this morning after all!

Sweet & Spicy Stovetop Beans

I created this recipe when my husband requested a side dish of beans to go with his lunchtime serving of grilled chicken. We had recently purchased roasted Hatch green chiles from our local garden center and I thought they would go nicely with the beans.

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

I have this lovely sourdough starter from Cultures for Health that has been living happily on my kitchen counter for the last month providing me with countless pancakes, some dense bread (darn it, still haven't found my "go to" recipe yet), and some absolutely wonderful buttery rolls.

You still have time to make them before thanksgiving and they are pretty easy with minimal fuss. They are really delicious! It is easy to keep a sourdough starter (I promise)! - please check out my Quick Start Guide for more information.

Aloo Poori

Aloo Poori is a popular North Indian breakfast dish that is a fried stuffed bread. This version is fairly simple to make and very delicious. Aloo Poori basically translates to Fried Bread (Poori) stuffed with Potato (Aloo). It is traditionally served with curd (yogurt) or Aam Ka Achaar (Mango Pickle), or you can serve as part of any meal. The recipe below is adapted from this one by Funwidfud.

Yellow Squash-Zucchini Fritters

As you can tell, I am definitely on a squash/ zucchini recipe "kick" since I have so much to use up from my CSA box. We have made these fritters several times now and they are husband and kid approved. 

Summer Squash Couscous

I have been searching the internet for squash recipes this month to try to find ways to use up all the squash I've gotten from my CSA box. Even after giving some away I find myself with an abundance and a need for new recipes. This light summer dish is really wonderful.

Yellow Squash Crustless Quiche

We have lots of yellow squash showing up in our CSA box and while we do love Dilled Yellow Squash as a side dish, we just weren't eating enough of it to use up our supply. This recipe came along with one of our deliveries and we made it with some minor modifications. The result was very good, a crustless quiche with a rich, buttery flavor.

Quinoa-Bean Salad

You will really enjoy this versatile dish, which makes enough for lunches during the week and a dinner side dish too.

 

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon Zest

A very easy side dish.

Scalloped Potatoes with Ham

This is a great use of leftover ham. These scalloped potatoes are fabulous.

Rice and Lentil Pilaf

This would be great to make on a Sunday so you could have quick and easy lunches all week. If you use a vegetable stock, this is vegetarian.

Pumpkin Cornbread (with GF variation)

It seems like we all have pumpkin fever around this time of year and are looking for places to include pumpkin in our recipes. I came across this recipe by The Comfort of Cooking, which is a perfect combination. Man, is this stuff good! I modified it slightly from the original version, which you can find at the link above, and also include a Gluten-Free variation that is equally good for those who are interested.

Baked Beans

For this recipe, baked beans is actually a misnomer because they are not baked at all. Although you could bake them, if you are so inclined, but I don't think it's necessary. However, the name "Barbeque" Beans doesn't really work either because barbeque sauce is not a dominant ingredient (and it's optional). So, baked beans it is, but even easier since there is no baking involved!

Buttermilk Biscuit Rolls

We like biscuits and gravy here. It's one of those things we have just not been able to give up forever and my husband makes about once a month. Since we do enjoy it so much, we thought we would try to find a better choice for the biscuits and after much researching we came up with this recipe. These biscuits are very good with the biscuits and gravy, but have a definite dinner roll feel to them and we enjoy them alongside our dinners as well. I couldn't decide if they were more biscuit or more dinner roll, so we call them biscuit rolls. Enjoy!