Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti

I'm Skyping with my famberly and have writer's block. No nifty stories today! Just yummy biscotti!

Small & Wonderful Things 25

My very first spring dandelion bouquet from Joe

Apricot Cream Cheese Scones

The Geologist is off on another trip, this time backpacking in Arkansas with his brothers!! *grumble grumble* I'm too nice. I can't refuse him much of anything. I also happen to adore his brothers, so I can't deny them much either. Well, I'm lucky that I love my in-laws, right? Silver lining? Whenever he's gone, all I want to eat is junk food. Sad, really. Eat junk food, and watch lots and lots of movies. Instead of junk, I made these scones, which don't count because they're homemade! And instead of movies, I'm giving Doctor Who another try. I heard that Stephen Moffat, the writer of my FAVORITE show, Sherlock, has been writing the latest season, so my interest is re-kindled. We'll see!

Oven-Roasted Cauliflower

I never knew you could do interesting things with cauliflower! Silly me. Of course you can! When Mom and I went shopping for healthy things, we found four different colors of cauliflower! Green, orange, purple, and the usual white. I had never noticed such a thing! In a fit of veggie overload, we bought a head of each. We boiled the green and topped it with shredded cheese (which is how I'm used to eating cauliflower) and roasted the other two. The orange turned yellow after roasting, and the purple got darker! They each had subtly different flavors, and I'm definitely a fan of the roasting method. The boys weren't thrilled with the cauliflower, but oh well. I've got years to convert them!

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Last week, while The Geologist was in Houston, my Mom came to visit. Hooray!! It was a great visit, and she definitely helped me survive the week alone. She's a much healthier eater than I am (generally) and often grumbles just a smidge at the smaller percentage of healthy recipes on my blog. I was determined to prove to her that yes!! I DO know how to cook healthy, so there! We made the fish tacos from last week (win!) and this chicken, with the cauliflower I'll share tomorrow. Another win! I successfully proved that I can be healthy and yummy! Then I made biscotti and it all went out the window. Oh well. What can I do? I love to bake!

We're grilling a lot of our meats around here these days. The Geologist loves to grill, and it's a darn healthy cooking method! You can grill this chicken on skewers, pan-"fry" with a couple tablespoons of olive oil, bake it, or broil it, which is how I cooked it this time.

Weekly Menu May 20

Source: northwudzgirl

I couldn't bring myself to write up my usual silliness today, not with the all the families mourning in Oklahoma. Those children are the same age as my boys, and my heart is breaking. My prayers and tears are with them, and I'll see you all tomorrow. 

This week we have:

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Roasted Cauliflower

Chocolate Cherry Almond Biscotti

Apricot Cream Cheese Scones

Banana Cake with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting

I've been on a mission. I wanted to bake something with bananas. I've done muffins, I've done multiple breads, I wanted something new. I thought about it for 2 weeks, and eventually decided on banana cake. I've never had banana cake, actually. I envisioned something a bit sweeter than banana bread, definitely fluffier, hopefully lighter and prettier. Plenty of banana flavor, but not just banana bread in a cake pan with frosting on top. I searched through dozens of recipes, found one (of many) claiming to be the best, and messed with it, of course! The result is one of my new favorite cakes, a recipe I am head over heels in love with and want to share with EVERYONE!!

Homemade Beef Jerky (With or Without Dehydrator!)

Today I'm sharing a piece of my history. My Mom got this recipe from my uncle Pat long before I can remember. I didn't know him very well, he lived in Texas and as an Air Force family we were always moving around. I do remember his last visit to us, when we lived in Colorado in 1998. I was 13, and he drove up to visit us on his big touring motorcycle. He took us for rides on it, we played games till the cows came home, and I finally felt like I knew my uncle. A few months after he left, he was diagnosed with leukemia, and died after we moved to Missouri in 1999. I've always been grateful that he came to visit us that last time, and that I was old enough to remember him. 

This jerky has become legend in our family. My Mom would make a double batch every summer, for our summer vacations to Utah. One batch for us, and one for her brother Kent, her best hiking buddy. We would hoard and fight over every last piece! Occasionally my brother will still ask Mom to make him a batch and mail it to him. 

I started making it for my family a few years ago. I even made a batch for a friend as she was leaving on a road trip. (And moving away from me!!) I've made bags of it for The Geologist's college field courses, backpacking trips, and our own camping trips. Someday I'll pass the recipe on to my kids, but it will always be Uncle Pat's Beef Jerky. 

Grilled Fish Tacos

The Geologist is obsessed with fish tacos. When we were first married, he was pretty sure he didn't like fish, period. He eventually started adventuring out of his comfort zone, and discovered that he DID like fish! Living in Utah, we were introduced to the famous Rubio's fish tacos. They were just about the best fish tacos you can get away from the Coast, in our opinion! Now, those are fried. I love fried things, and fried fish is my favorite form of fish. Unhealthy, yes, but so yummy! As The Geologist has been traveling for work, to California and Houston, he discovered how amazing grilled fish tacos could be. He's been fantasizing about making them at home for months. I wasn't convinced, but we tried a few different recipes, messed with another, and came up with this one. According to him, these are now just about the best fish tacos you can get away from the Coast. I wish we had their super-fresh fish, but I'll make do with frozen for now! And guess what?? SO healthy!!

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Muffins! And lemons!! Two of my favorite things. I'm pretty much sold on anything involving the words "lemon poppyseed". Although sometimes that can get me in trouble...(grossest muffin ever) I figured I'd be safe with this recipe. My first lemon poppyseed muffin, from the first cookbook I have ever bought for myself! All of my cookbooks until now have been gifts or inherited. This was the first book I ever checked out from the library (I renewed it twice), the first one on my Amazon wish list, the cookbook I have been dreaming of for years. And I finally own it!! *eeeee*

Weekly Menu May 13

Source: theperfectcrush

This week we have:

Lemon Poppyseed Muffins

Grilled Fish Tacos

Homemade Beef Jerky

Banana Cake with Almond Cream Cheese Frosting

For today, May 13...