finding time for cooking

for the time-starved or curious culinary adventurer

Balsamic & Honey Grilled Chicken

You just can’t go wrong with a well-grilled marinated chicken breast. It is endlessly versatile—eat it fresh off the grill, re-heat with some veggies, throw it in a stir fry, make chicken salad.

Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken

This marinade is one of perfect simplicity…the balsamic vinegar helps slightly break down the meat, allowing the spices and garlic to really soak in, and the honey to make it super moist. But none of it overwhelms.

Grilled Honey Balsamic Chicken cut

These suckers are so juicy and flavorful, but can go with just about anything!READ THE POST

Fresh Peach Coconut Milk Ice Cream

Peach season!!!!

Fresh Peach Coconut Milk Ice Cream

I feel like that should have been all-caps. Because, not only is it peach season, but my VERY. FIRST. PEACH. was perfectly ripe. That has never happened in the history of ever. Farmers market FTW!

fresh peach coconut milk ice cream peaches

When I snagged these beauties last weekend and they were perfectly ripe and criminally juicy, I knew I had to do something amazing with them immediately. And it was balls-hot (the hyphen is important for adhering to AP style…) so ice cream was the logical conclusion.

Fresh Peach Coconut Milk Ice Cream closeup

This is my no-fail coconut milk ice cream. I’ve made it in many different flavors, including my absolute favorite in the world, peanut butter and honey with sea salt, as well as a slight variation of peanut butter and strawberry jam. It’s easy, adaptable, healthy, only as sweet as you want it to be, and naturally dairy-free. And did I mention easy? As long as you have a little frozen yogurt maker you’re golden. Otherwise I’d try stirring it every so often in the freezer and you’ll probably still get good results.READ THE POST

Single-Serving Cherry Crisp

Sometimes I get obsessed with things.

Single-Serving Cherry Crisp

Sometimes that’s just obsessed with eating something. Sometimes it’s creating something that I can’t find. Other times it’s finding the perfect version—which may mean making it a TON of times. Homemade pad thai. Black bean brownies. Dreamy scones.

This is one of those things. I love fruit crisp, but sometimes it’s not worth the effort to make a whole pan (plus, then I eat the whole pan, which…).

Single-Serving Cherry Crisp done

I first got the idea when I made a sweet dark cherry pie for Thanksgiving last year. I’d never really worked with cherries before, always sticking instead to apples, pears, and peaches. I kind of winged it (wung it?) and made up the recipe after reading a few different ones, and it turned out great. And then one night recently I was jonesin’ for something sweet, and the idea of fruit crisp hit me (I wasn’t in the mood for chocolate for some reason). All I really had, though, was a bag of frozen cherries for smoothies. I decided to give it a go, and made two—one in the oven and one in the microwave. Shockingly, I liked the microwave version and it took WAY less time.

Single-Serving Cherry Crisp finished

Since then I’ve made it several more times because I couldn’t quite get the flavors exactly like I wanted. This is a pretty fluid and forgiving recipe. You can add a little honey or sugar to the filling if you feel it needs it (or are using tart cherries), but mine is plenty sweet. Also, you could make it gluten-free by using a flour alternative like oat flour, coconut flour, almond meal, etc.  I tried a few different spice combinations in the filling and topping (cardamom, ginger, etc.), but ultimately found that simpler was better—cinnamon and some almond extract.READ THE POST

Balsamic Chicken and Brussels Sprouts

That’s right, we’re still on a healthy kick! And it’s delicious!

Balsamic Chicken & Brussels Sprouts

This recipe had been calling my name for a while, but getting decent brussels sprouts is kind of hard right now, and I also kind of avoid chicken when I can. Chicken’s kind of boring.

Balsamic Chicken & Brussels Sprouts done

This chicken isn’t boring at all—it’s got a richness from the balsamic, a crunch from the walnuts, and serious fiber from brussels sprouts. It came together super fast and made for great work lunches for a few days.

Balsamic Chicken & Brussels Sprouts with sides

Throw in a side of spaghetti squash and butternut squash and you’re on healthy overload! Seriously, the whole thing is a 20-minute meal, was super easy, and totally delicious!READ THE POST

Chocolate Chip Granookie

I did it all for gra-nookie!

Granookie

Yeah, I couldn’t resist.

Basically, this is just a giant, semi-healthy cookie. One cookie. Or, if you’re super nice, one you can share with your friends. (Spoiler alert: I’m not nice)

Granookie done

The cookie base is coconut oil and a little butter, then the main ingredients are granola and whole wheat flour. So while it’s a dessert, it’s full of whole grain, fiber-y goodness and can be a nice breakfast treat to get you through the week. You can also customize it however you want—I used vanilla granola and dark chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. But the sky’s the limit. You could use banana nut granola and peanut butter chips, mocha granola and milk chocolate chips. If you can dream it, do it.READ THE POST

Pan-Caramelized Salmon

Salmon is one of my favorite simple, healthy dinners. It cooks quickly, is super versatile, and is such a nice break from boring chicken.

Pan Caramelized Salmon

This recipe can be made either entirely on the stove or finished off with a nice broil in the oven. Besides the salmon, everything else in this recipe is a pantry staple, and you can throw it together in like 10 minutes total.READ THE POST

Roasted Apricot & Honey Ice Cream

I’m on an ice cream kick. I’ve tried like four different recipes in the past few weeks, all with this super easy coconut milk base. Because it’s been HAWT!

Roasted Apricot Ice Cream wiht Coconut Milk

I had seen several recipes for roasted plum ice cream, which I found super intriguing, but when I went to the store they were out of plums. And then these beautiful, firm apricots just jumped out at me.

Roasted Apricot Ice Cream

Apricot is such a strong flavor that I couldn’t think of a good spice complement (I’d planned to do cardamom with the plums), so I just kept it super simple—honey, vanilla, and a little bit of sea salt.

roasted apricot ice cream apricots

While it was a bit tart for my taste (I was trying to go easy on the honey but probably went a little TOO light), it was refreshing and delicious!READ THE POST

Easy Pad Thai

I never expected pad thai to become my Everest…

Easy Pad Thai

Pad thai is such a great, uncomplicated dish. Simple flavors, not too many extras mixed in—it’s basically thai comfort food. Recipes vary, many more on the authentic route using tamarind paste, fish sauce, and other Asian staples. Others, like this one, stick to the basics. I’ll be trying the more complicated ones later [update: tried, hated, sticking with this one], but this one is a great place to start.

easy pad thai assembled

The sauce calls for only three ingredients—brown sugar, soy sauce, and lime juice. And maybe a squirt of sriracha if that’s how you roll. The first time I made this recipe, it came out pretty great. “This is so easy!” I thought. “But honestly I’d like it to have a little more sauce, it’s a little dry. I’ll try it again.”

Cue descent into madness…

easy pad thai green onions

I don’t know what was wrong with me but the next few times I made it, something went terribly wrong. First of all, I am the WORST at reading directions, so I had to throw like three different batches of sauce away because I accidentally added the oil to it instead of to the pan. (Don’t be like me, boys and girls.) And then one time I soaked my noodles exactly like I had before and when I added them to the pan they were still super tough and gross. Had to throw the entire pan of food away.

easy pad thai noodles sauce closeup

However, I finally got my act together and here you go. It really is a simple recipe, I have no idea why I had to make things so hard. So without further ado, I submit your next favorite 30-minute meal…READ THE POST

30-Minute Mongolian Beef

Happy Independence Day! Because what’s more patriotic than Americanized Chinese food?!

30-Minute Mongolian Beef

It’s  funny, I looked through all the recent recipes I’ve made but not posted yet, and there’s not a single one I’d classify as American. Apparently I’ve been on an Asian kick, though. And this one’s a doozy—the most delicious, successful Asian recipe I’ve made since this super easy sesame chicken.

30-minute mongolian beef green onion

I’ve gone through like a hundred green onions lately. They’re the best!

30-Minute Mongolian Beef done

The sauce is obviously the hero of this recipe—you could switch the beef out for chicken and maybe wouldn’t even notice. It’s a little sweet and salty and garlicky and super tangy. It’s got bite. I honestly don’t know that I’d classify it as a traditional Mongolian beef sauce, which I think of as a little more mellow. But no matter what you call it, it’s awesome. And as a bonus, this recipe creates a lot of sauce to soak into the rice, which is one of my non-negotiables where Chinese food is concerned.READ THE POST