tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69984463845431017992013-06-17T19:50:41.420-04:00Food is love. Usually local, always delicious, naturally gluten free ...ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.comBlogger342125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-33047297139592127522013-06-17T18:24:00.000-04:002013-06-17T18:24:14.012-04:002013-06-17T18:24:14.012-04:00

Mixed Greens Salad With Fresh Fruit and Candied Pecans For Father's Day, we kept it pretty low key around here. No big activities other than the field trip to get the nail out of our tire. Actually, we had a large bolt plus the washer in our tire. That made for a fun trip to the Sears Automotive Store. As we drove to the outskirts of our city, my children marveled, "Where ARE we?" While

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-79751816752494002772013-06-12T17:23:00.003-04:002013-06-12T17:23:50.559-04:002013-06-12T17:23:50.559-04:00

Shredded Beef Fajitas (In a slow cooker!) The other day, my friend said that I need to post more "recipes that aren't really recipes..." I know exactly what she means. Please, Erin, just tell me to throw a couple of ingredients into my slow cooker and, like magic, my kids will have dinner before dark. These simple shredded beef fajitas couldn't fit the bill better ... truly a recipe that's

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-85163086918375094932013-06-10T15:06:00.002-04:002013-06-10T15:06:29.518-04:002013-06-10T15:06:29.518-04:00

Sauteed Chard and Mushrooms Just over a week ago, I had the opportunity to attend an amazing food writers' conference in Philadelphia - Eat Write Retreat. Packed into 2 1/2 days, there was a lot of eating and writing, but truly not much "retreating." One of my favorite sessions of the weekend was a presentation by local mushroom farmers, Tony and Joe D'Amico. We got a close up look at a

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-24816248151190236062013-05-20T09:34:00.000-04:002013-05-20T09:34:00.588-04:002013-05-20T09:34:00.588-04:00

Black-Eyed Pea Salad It is really, really nice if you have the time (and you remember) to soak some dried beans and cook them slowly. Alas, no such luck here! Canned beans are a pantry staple in my house for days when I need instant gratification. The other night, I needed a super simple side dish to accompany the delicious local bratwursts my husband was grilling outside so I grabbed a can of

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-73878253445585794422013-05-17T08:29:00.000-04:002013-05-17T08:29:00.620-04:002013-05-17T08:29:00.620-04:00

Strawberries from Hall Family Farm It is finally strawberry season around Charlotte! I love this time of year and my kids always beg to go strawberry picking. Yesterday was my birthday so I decided to start the day with a strawberry smoothie! In season and delicious... the perfect birthday combination. You can really put anything into a smoothie but I generally put in a few standard

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-80013914631335294872013-05-15T00:07:00.001-04:002013-05-15T00:07:23.743-04:002013-05-15T00:07:23.743-04:00

Amazing "Smashed" Potatoes with Roasted Garlic Aioli As I gear up to head to Eat Write Retreat (a fabulous food writing conference!) at the end of the month, I must complete two fun challenges. The first challenge involves appetizers and a few secret ingredients... Our group of easily excitable food bloggers was divided into four teams and we were each randomly assigned an ingredient. Lucky

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-39090950093680189442013-05-14T09:00:00.000-04:002013-05-14T09:00:08.537-04:002013-05-14T09:00:08.537-04:00

The other night, my husband and I were out to dinner with a few other couples. People I did not know. We were all getting along. We were at an amazing restaurant. The conversation turned to cooking... a favorite topic of mine! I was excited. I was in my element. One of the men asked another couple, what kinds of foods do you like to cook? They had exciting answers - a wide array of food. The

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-33624431332853867812013-05-11T23:32:00.002-04:002013-05-11T23:32:46.310-04:002013-05-11T23:32:46.310-04:00

Red Quinoa Tabbouleh (Gluten-Free!) Tabbouleh was one of my all time favorite foods before I was diagnosed with celiac disease. For awhile, I stayed away from it because I just did not know how easy it was to re-create a gluten-free version. Tabbouleh is a middle eastern dish traditionally made with bulgur wheat. The simplest way to make a gluten-free version of tabbouleh is to replace the

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-28242218771358758912013-04-21T09:00:00.000-04:002013-04-21T09:00:09.115-04:002013-04-21T09:00:09.115-04:00

Garlicky Cranberry Beans in a Slow Cooker When I was visiting San Fransisco a few months ago, I stocked up on dried beans from Rancho Gordo - they had a table set up among the farmers outside the Ferry Building. They had some amazing varieties of beans that I just had to try. Rancho Gordo is all about heirloom beans and, truthfully, they just seem kind of cool. (Check out their packaging!) My

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-48875271174295312032013-04-18T15:28:00.001-04:002013-04-18T15:28:33.778-04:002013-04-18T15:28:33.778-04:00

Easy Quinoa and Kale Stir Fry How is it already mid-April? I haven't written a thing in weeks! Every day is busy around here but spring seems extra, extra busy this year. Spring fever has fully engulfed our house - sports practices, playdates, weddings, work - stop by and, if anyone is home, I guarantee you that they will not be inside. No complaints. The hot and humid weather is right around

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-77324347258152202102013-03-28T18:46:00.000-04:002013-03-28T18:46:00.533-04:002013-03-28T18:46:00.533-04:00

Creamy Potato & Cauliflower Soup Another easy meal for a meatless Friday! Or meatless any-day meal. I feel like I should be done making soups but it has been so cold and dreary this past month that I had to experiment with soup making for a few extra weeks this year. No complaints about the extra time with soup... the warm (hot!) weather will be here soon enough. I know that I have raved

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-18155145435733225032013-03-25T17:21:00.000-04:002013-03-25T17:39:20.128-04:002013-03-25T17:39:20.128-04:00

Lamb chops for Rogan Josh I love Indian food. Love it. I was spoiled for six years living next door to the best Indian restaurant in Cleveland. Now, sadly, I have to re-create these dishes on my own. I'm getting better... Practice makes perfect. This recipe uses a lot of traditional Indian spices that you might have on hand... ginger, coriander, cumin, paprika, Bay leaves, and turmeric. None

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-45150297704407069062013-03-18T11:31:00.000-04:002013-03-18T11:31:00.634-04:002013-03-18T11:31:00.634-04:00

Seared Pork Chops With Sauteed Rainbow Chard & Mushrooms When you use fresh, local ingredients, it doesn't take much to make an amazing dinner. A few ingredients, simply prepared, can pack a huge punch if you let their natural flavors shine through. The other night, a regular school night/work night, my family sat down and silently enjoyed every last bite of these seared pork chops topped

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-22277191853395402862013-03-15T11:01:00.001-04:002013-03-15T11:01:40.821-04:002013-03-15T11:01:40.821-04:00

Potato Crusted Tilapia ... 4 ingredients! During Lent, I am always looking for easy, after school dinners to satisfy our fish-on-Friday requirements. This recipe is SO easy. Ridiculously easy. Chances are good that you even have most of these ingredients on hand to make this dinner tonight... For Potato Crusted Tilapia, you only need 4 ingredients - including the fish (any thin white fish

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-50636901673025339472013-03-07T20:08:00.001-05:002013-03-07T20:08:23.071-05:002013-03-07T20:08:23.071-05:00

Spicy Broccoli & Cheddar Soup With Bacon  My kids LOVE soup. I send them to school with soup more than I send them to school with sandwiches. I am always looking for new ways to tweak old standards ... like Cheesy Broccoli Soup. There is nothing wrong with Broccoli & Cheese soup ... broccoli, cheese - done. But I was craving something a little bit more interesting. And then it hit me - bacon!

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-17620133373969757612013-03-04T12:12:00.001-05:002013-03-15T11:39:08.375-04:002013-03-15T11:39:08.375-04:00

Homemade Yogurt with Jam Food trend for 2013?? I'm sure you've heard... fermenting. Canning is so 2012. For weeks and weeks, I have been promising to put up directions for making homemade yogurt. Making yogurt is not very complicated and yet I had a less than stellar first attempt. I needed to try it a couple more times to make sure I had the hang of it. I'm feeling pretty good... so let's

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-6769025888074869502013-02-25T07:30:00.000-05:002013-02-25T07:30:02.350-05:002013-02-25T07:30:02.350-05:00

Super Simple Gluten Free Birthday Cupcakes I recently read an article (by a food blogger) about food blogging trends that had to go in 2013... one of them was posting seasonal recipes. I just don't get that! If I had my way, we'd all be posting seasonal recipes to get people to actually understand what is IN SEASON... But I digress... The other food blogging trend that ranked up there on the

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-29082647560260997762013-02-14T07:30:00.000-05:002013-02-14T07:30:02.877-05:002013-02-14T07:30:02.877-05:00

Amazing Coffee Ice Cream... Churning Away I don't think that I can pinpoint the exact moment in time when cooking something from scratch became infinitely easier than strapping four kids into car seats to go buy a needed item at a grocery store. However, sometime in the past couple of years, I have often found myself thinking that it would be way easier to bake a loaf of bread, whip up some

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-3787459735031595502013-02-10T22:48:00.000-05:002013-02-10T22:48:06.559-05:002013-02-10T22:48:06.559-05:00

In honor of Mardi Gras this week and all the fun times going on down in New Orleans, I decided to make some gumbo. Gumbo is a traditional Cajun dish - it can be made with chicken, sausage, or seafood (or, as I like to make it - with all three!). It is usually thickened with okra but, since okra is not in season right now, I thickened mine with rice. Either (or both) ingredient will do! I can

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-53799930320058655062013-01-26T17:55:00.000-05:002013-01-26T17:55:11.678-05:002013-01-26T17:55:11.678-05:00

Dark chocolate shell over coffee ice cream = perfection At this very moment, I am supposed to be hanging out with some fabulous southern food writers and bloggers in the lovely city of Birmingham. Alas, an ice storm got in the way of my travels. (Darn southern ice storms!) What to do, what to do? Other than mope around a bit... On the bright side, I have these two days to get caught up on

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-10030155044630669002013-01-22T10:57:00.002-05:002013-01-26T14:23:10.860-05:002013-01-26T14:23:10.860-05:00

Black Eyed Peas and Collard Greens Soup My oldest kiddos are second graders in the same classroom (I know!! isn't that awesome?!) and they recently compiled a classroom cookbook to represent the different cultures in the class. This project made me realize that my poor children have a bit of an identity crisis going on - we are, as I have mentioned, meat and potatoes Irish Catholics, but we

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-6625195994921820762013-01-08T14:58:00.000-05:002013-01-22T11:03:31.752-05:002013-01-22T11:03:31.752-05:00

I know that there are A LOT of food blogs out there with ridiculously amazing photography. This blog, certainly, is not one of them. I do my best but I know that the photos are often an afterthought. As in, AFTER my kids have devoured the food... Oops! It's hard to keep delicious food out of the hands of hungry kids. Gluten Free Red Velvet Cupcake with Chocolate Chip Cream Cheese Frosting For

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-45645169926073832142013-01-01T21:50:00.000-05:002013-01-22T09:54:59.972-05:002013-01-22T09:54:59.972-05:00

Happy New Year! For many, many years before I moved to the south, I was just a nice Irish Catholic girl living in and around Boston. We did not eat black-eyed peas on New Years Day. Nor had I ever, ever even heard of collard greens. (Collard what? Is that kind of like spinach?) For New Years Day, we cooked like it was any other important football day ... lots of finger food and a nice "Sunday

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-78581999042575752752012-12-23T13:39:00.002-05:002013-01-01T22:11:46.529-05:002013-01-01T22:11:46.529-05:00

Amazing Artichoke and Goat Cheese Dip The other evening, my friend hosted a very fun wine-tasting holiday party and she asked me to bring a gluten-free appetizer. I decided that I couldn't go wrong with a warm dip made with my favorite local goat cheese. This amazing artichoke and goat cheese dip turned out to be a big hit. I have no photos of the finished product because it was eaten too

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6998446384543101799.post-88289246357697035242012-12-21T15:17:00.001-05:002013-01-01T22:11:59.798-05:002013-01-01T22:11:59.798-05:00

Rocky Road Gluten-Free Brownies I decided to bring a little treat over to my friend's house for book club last week - I wanted it to be easy to make but I also wanted it to be a little bit different... Brownies are always an easy dessert option but they just look so... brown. I climbed up on the counter (true story) to get a better look at my dark, dark cupboard and saw a tawdry assortment of

ERINhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03434934287276064776noreply@blogger.com0