Recipes

It's been a little quiet here around the blog because real life is busy! With the late spring rains finally petered out, we've been hammering away at projects around the property and programs at the museum have swelled as well.

But amidst all that, I wanted to take a minute to share some great recipes I've had a chance to try in the last couple weeks.

Dinosaur BBW "Mutha" Sauce - I didn't eat bbq until I discovered Dinosaur BBQ sauce. We can't buy it around here, so I was thrilled to find a make-it-yourself version from the restaurant's official cookbook that only used real products I already had in my kitchen! (Sub out the veg oil for olive oil, and only make half a batch - this recipe gives you a ton.) I was also pleased to find that it could be canned (thank you Ball Blue Book) - so I now have a backup jar sitting on my shelf for an easy dinner another time!

Photo from edible perspective

Low & Slow Sweet Potatoes - these could not have been any easier, and they were delicious! Cheap, healthy and flexible enough to go with any main dish.

Sage & Cinnamon Chicken - Another simple but delicious new recipe! There's lots of good stuff over on the Civilized Caveman blog, so if you have a minute, check it out.

Creamy Balsamic Dressing - one of the biggest problems I've had since cleaning up our diet has been finding salad dressing. We love salad, but I am strongly partial to creamy dressings and nearly all the commercially available offerings contain nasty ingredients (and are expensive to boot). I was delighted to find this fast, crap-free recipe and WOW is it good! I seriously want to eat it with a spoon... you need to try it!

P.F. Chang's Mongolian Beef - I've never had PFC's mongolian beef, so I can't promise this tastes just like it, but it was fantastic. I thickened up the sauce and heaped it on top of the rice. It was thick and rich and I'll definitely make it again. (Note: I barely coated the bottom of the skillet when stir frying the beef - you do not need a whole cup of oil for that step!)

photo from taste spotting

Strawberry Balsamic Pizza - I left out the chicken on this one, but otherwise made to spec and it was amazing. A great taste of summer decadence! We made a meal of this, but I can see it being a great appetizer for a summer party as well.

Caramelized Green Beans - I found this while trying to use up the last jar of green beans I put up last summer. It's incredibly healthy, simple and delicious.

Quinoa Curry - The recipe calls for chicken, but I subbed shrimp with no problem. This one-dish meal only takes about 20 minutes to make and was a nice change up from our usual quinoa dishes.

Southwestern Stuffed Sweet Potatoes - I made a few alterations to this recipe, but loved the end result. I skipped the sour cream, cilantro and adobo peppers. I subbed goat cheese for the cream cheese (such a good trick for healthy, creamy results!). Next time I might toss in a handful of sausage just for added kick, but this was a cheap yummy meal I will make again. I plan to make some of these, wrap them individually and freeze them to have on hand as easy lunches or a dinner back-up plan (new recipes don't always turn out well, after all!).

That wraps up the round-up for this week - happy cooking!