Earlier this summer, I came up with a recipe to imitate Trader Joe’s cowboy caviar, and I’ve made it three additional times since then. The only downside to making it at home is that it doesn’t keep as long as the store-bought version—and I suppose that’s the natural tradeoff when there are fewer preservatives involved. Since the recipe makes quite a bit, I’ve been finding new uses ...
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Copycat Trader Joe’s Cowboy Caviar
When I was deciding where to go to grad school, I found that the advice I received fell into two different camps: some people urged me to consider the location and general atmosphere of the university, while others insisted that I should only pay attention to the reputation of the program and what it had to offer academically. Ultimately, since I’m not the kind of person who can happily exist in a ...
Fiesta Beer Cheese Pinwheels
This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and Constellation Brands. All opinions are mine alone. The following content is intended for readers who are 21 or older. #CervezaCelebration #CollectiveBias Despite growing up in California, where I’ve found that Cinco de Mayo celebrations are, on the whole, a bit more common and a bit rowdier than in the Midwest, my all-time ...
Chipotle-Peach Chicken Pasta
Today, I’m bringing you the third installment in this summer’s impromptu chipotle-peach series: chipotle-peach chicken pasta! This recipe was inspired in part by the amazeballs chipotle-peach vinaigrette with which I have been o.b.s.e.s.s.e.d. since my first taste and in part by my frustration with the (lack of) pasta options in restaurants I’ve visited lately. ...
Whipped Feta Crostini
When I first started hosting dinner parties for friends, I thought it was crucial to make as much of the menu as possible from scratch. As the menus grew more elaborate, however, I found that the preparation started stretching into a full-day event…and then even into the preceding day. Eventually I realized that it’s not about having a 100% from-scratch meal, but rather, it’s about knowing where ...
Chipotle-Peach Three-Bean Salad
Meals right before and right after trips are generally far from ideal. Before a trip, I usually end up stuffing myself silly with various fruits and vegetables in an effort to use up all the fresh produce in the house. A dinner salad with two whole bell peppers, an apple, a crown of broccoli, and three tomatoes? Pretty typical. When I return from a trip, however, the situation is often much ...
Chipotle-Peach Quinoa Salad
We’re gearing up for summer in my household: I’m brainstorming fruity recipes and barbecue menus, the boyfriend is preparing to plant his garden, and Phoebe is busy shedding her winter coat like whoa. Unfortunately, Michigan weather has other plans, because yesterday…it snowed. ...
White Chicken Chili with Mozzarella Biscuits
Earlier this month, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his burrow without a shadow in sight, prompting the prediction of an early spring, although here in Michigan, we didn’t need a groundhog to guess as much. It has been an unusually mild winter—I have yet to see negative numbers on the thermometer, but there have certainly still been some below-freezing days ...
Chicken and Sweet Potato Tamale Pie
I hope I’m not alone in being completely taken by surprise at how quickly Thanksgiving arrived this year! Just over a week ago, the boyfriend and I were in Puerto Rico, and since it was my first real vacation in over five years (and certainly the first since starting grad school), I’d forgotten/not realized how many things there are to take care of both before and after a trip…and now all of a ...
Jalapeño Ranch Potato Salad
In my high school biology class, we did a unit on the human digestive system, and for the unit test, we had to describe the digestive process for various types of foods: fats, carbohydrates, etc. I still remember that test: it read, “Sam eats a spoonful of mayonnaise. Describe how he digests it.” My first thought was, He doesn’t. He barfs it back up because that’s DISGUSTING. I mean, really, how ...