While everyone else is sharing their favorite Valentine’s Day recipes, here I am presenting you with what could probably be considered the most un-Valentine’s treat ever. But let’s face it…Super Bowl was a mere four days ago, so I have a good excuse to post one of my favorite snacks of all time.

I’m pretty picky about my guacamole. It has to be just the right consistency, contain more than just avocados and have lots of flavor and a little hint of heat. I had a crazy craving for guacamole a few weeks ago, so I whipped up a quick batch for a little girls night get-together I was having. The entire batch was gone the next day. Since then, guacamole has pretty much been a staple in our house. It’s so simple to throw together and makes a great meal snack.

Guacamole

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: about 2 cups
- 5 or 6 ripe avocados, pit removed and scooped out of the skin
- juice of 1 lime
- 2 roma tomatoes, seeds removed, diced
- about 1/2 of a red onion, finely diced
- 2 small serrano peppers, finely minced (the seeds can be removed if you prefer)
- salt and pepper
- garlic powder
- cayenne or chili powder
- a handful of cilantro leaves, roughly chopped
*adjust all of the ingredients to your liking, especially the seasonings and spices

Instructions:
In a medium mixing bowl, mash up the avocados to a reasonably smooth consistency using a fork or potato masher. Immediately mix in the lime juice so the avocados don’t turn brown. Stir in the tomatoes, onions and serrano peppers (you may not use the full amount of these ingredients, so I would suggest adding only a portion of each) until you achieve a consistency and flavor you like. Finally, mix in all of the seasonings, spices and cilantro to give the guacamole its delicious flavor. I don’t typically use exact amounts here, but I season pretty heavily with salt and garlic powder.

The Perfect Guacamole

Pretty simple, right? You really can’t go wrong with a good guacamole…it’s almost always a crowd pleaser, plus it’s real easy to prepare and not entirely bad for you! Well, unless you eat the whole batch in less than 24 hours. I love the texture the tomatoes and onions give in this recipe, it helps break up the creamyness of the mashed avocados. The salt really brings out the flavor of the avocados and the garlic powder adds a great depth of flavor. The cayenne gives everything that last little kick of heat and smokeyness. I’m not a huge fan of cilantro, but it really does finish out the flavors in this application — without it, the guacamole just isn’t the same.

This guacamole is perfect on it’s own with a bag of tortilla chips, but it also works great on tacos or fajitas. I bet it would even be good slathered on a burger or sandwich.

This chicken was one of the first things we made, and boy are we glad we did. There’s nothing horribly special about this recipe — really, it’s the sauce that’s the star. But what’s great about it is that it’s a simple, easy to prepare (perfect for a weeknight) meal that packs a lot of flavor. Plus, finding new ways to flavor and eat chicken is always a plus. The recipe called for pan fried chicken, but we decided to bread ours and cook it in the oven.

Chicken Cutlets with Dijon Sauce

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Serves: 2
- 2 chicken breasts, pounded out to about 1/2 inch thick
- salt and pepper
- olive oil
- 3 tbsp. shallots, diced
- 1/2 cup chicken broth
- 1 rosemary sprig
- 3 tbsp. heavy cream
- 2 tsp. Dijon mustard

Instructions:
Season the chicken with salt and pepper and prepare how you like. We breaded ours with some seasoned bread crumbs (a mix of regular old breadcrumbs and panko) and baked the breasts until they were golden brown (and cooked through, of course). The original recipe called for pan fried breasts without breading.

Meanwhile, prepare the sauce. In a small saucepan or skillet (or the pan you used to cook the chicken), heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the shallots and saute until soft and translucent, about two minutes. Stir in the chicken broth and the rosemary sprig and bring to a boil. Simmer and cook for about two minutes, or until the broth has reduced a little. Stir in the heavy cream and let the mixture bubble for another minute or two, or until the broth and cream combine to form a nice sauce (cook longer if necessary to thicken). Remove the pan from the heat, discard the rosemary and whisk in the mustard. Spoon the sauce over the chicken to serve.

Crispy Chicken Cutlets with Creamy Dijon Mustard Sauce

We really enjoyed this sauce chicken (but really, it’s all about the sauce). We were both glad we decided to bread and bake the chicken rather than pan fry it, the crunch really added to the dish. The sauce was so flavorful and paired perfect with the chicken. The shallots were the perfect addition to the tangy mustard, and the cream really helped round out all the flavors. The bed of mashed potatoes we served it on soaked up the extra sauce too, which was awesome. I think next time we make this I’ll just serve myself a huge bowl of potatoes with the sauce on top. Seriously.

This recipe came from the latest issue of Cooking Light, which features a bunch of different chicken recipes. I can’t wait for grilling season to start up again, so this issue might come in handy for more spring-like recipes to share!

Pretty much for as long as we’ve been together, Billy and I have always baked something a little special for our families around the holidays. For the past two years, we’ve done an array of cookies and made little goodie bags to distribute after dinner. This year, these cream cheese and jam thumbprints were on the top of my list. I think thumbprints are a must-have cookie around the holidays, and this recipe seemed like something a little more special…perfect for that special time of year (or, for all 365 days of the year).

Cream Cheese Thumbprints

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: 5 dozen
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3 oz. cream cheese
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 egg yolk
- 3 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- jam (any flavor you prefer)

Instructions:
In a large mixing bowl (or the bowl of a stand mixer), cream together the butter, cream cheese and sugar until light and fluffy, about two minutes. Beat in the egg yolk and vanilla until well combined. Finally, mix in the flour a little at a time until thoroughly combined. Cover the mixture and refrigerate for about an hour, or until it’s easy to handle.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the dough is ready, begin shaping into 1-inch balls and place about two inches apart on an (ungreased) baking sheet. After all the dough has been formed into balls, begin creating the thumbprints and filling with jam. (The recipe suggested using the end of a wooden spoon, but I found it easier to use a knuckle or my thumb). Be careful when making the indention not to reach the bottom of the dough, otherwise the jam will leak out. Fill the thumbprint with about 1/4 teaspoon jam, or as much as will fit. Bake the filled cookies at 350 for 14 to 16 minutes, or until set and golden on the bottom. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack to cool and store in an air-tight container.

Strawberry and Raspberry Jam Thumbprints

Of all the cookies we made this holiday season, these were easily my favorite. The cookie was soft and chewy with a perfectly golden, crisp bottom. They had a delicious buttery, creamy texture that paired perfect with the jam filling. I literally could eat these all day long. We used strawberry and raspberry jam, and both were delicious (though, the strawberry were better in my opinion). I imagine these would be good with pretty much any flavor jam under the sun.

If there’s one of our Christmas cookies you try, this should definetly be the one — I promise you won’t be disappointed. And, since it’s not really a Christmasy cookie, you have no reason not to make these right now. Yes…they’re that good.

This recipe was featured in a 2009 holiday cookie magazine from Taste of Home, but you can also find it on the Taste of Home website.

I thought that making the decision to give up Newman was tough (I certainly spent many days and nights wondering if we made the right decision, crying over our loss and wondering if life would ever be the same) and that life would somehow get back to normal. It was tough and it was emotional, but life did return to normal. But, normalcy didn’t last for long.

It’s still hard to believe what I’m about to type, but I figure now’s as good a time as any…. Two weeks ago, after over a year-long battle with cancer and a trying last few weeks, my Grandpa passed away. Thankfully, we were able to spend the holiday season as a family. We were able to sit around his hospital bed talking about old memories and joking about years past, trying to avoid the thought of the inevitable. My Grandpa was an amazing man. He served in the United States Marine Corps for over 20 years, he was a New York City police officer and he was the epitome of a family man. But most of all, he was simply my Grandpa. He spoiled me like any grandparent would do and he treated me like I was the only person in the world. He loved food more than anything else (sometimes even more than me), and I was lucky enough to cook for him on many occasions. He’s part of the inspiration behind my cooking and behind this blog.

Grandpa Reenlisting in the Marines and in his NYPD Uniform

As I’m sure most of you know, losing a loved one is obviously not easy. I’ve never lost someone this close to me before, and I’m not exactly sure how to cope with it. But I’m doing what I know is best for me and what feels right to me, and luckily I’ve got an amazing husband and wonderful family to support me. And one thing I know for sure is that the spirit of my Grandpa will never die. There’s just way to many memories to forget about him. Plus, I know if we tried to forget, he’s give us all hell about it. :)

My Mom, Grandpa and Me (back in the day)

For the sake of my health and sanity, I pray to God this is the last depressing news I have to deliver. I can’t wait to get back to normal — no worries, just every day life, cooking, photographing and blogging. I’m making a late New Year’s resolution (probably only to break it, since that’s how resolutions work) to get back to blogging on a regular schedule. And…if I’m lucky, maybe improve my photography skills a little. I need it for myself, and I need it for those of you who’ve stuck around through the last few months. So…here’s to a new year and new beginnings. I adore you all, so thank you from the bottom of my heart for understanding through this difficult time.

Love you Grandpa, miss you tons. From here on out, every post on this blog is for you.

I’ve thought long and hard about how I should address this on the blog (or whether I should even address it at all). Throughout the last year and a half, many of you have become what I would call friends, so I thought it was appropriate to share what’s been happening in my life as of late. I’d like to especially thank Amy, who’s shown me that it truly is possible to make great friends through this blog. You’ve been a great support though this Amy, and I don’t know how to thank you for caring for what most people would call a stranger.

Over the last few months, our youngest (and newest) dog, Newman, started becoming a little agressive towards our other dog, Kramer. For the first few months, it was one or two small spouts here and there — something we thought we had under control and were working to fix. We thought we had the cause of the aggression pinned down, and we had even made an appointment to get Newman into some one-on-one training. On Thanksgiving, things changed drastically. Kramer and Newman got in two fights, one before dinner and one during. After the second fight we separated them until all our guests left, thinking maybe it was a stressful situation for the both of them. Later that night, everything seemed fine — they were getting along just fine and we knew we had our appointment in just a few days. Then, Friday they got in two more fights. But this time, we couldn’t get them back into their normal state. Newman was on high alert and Kramer was terrified to get near him. Again we separated them thinking maybe the time apart would help. Late Friday night we tried to reintroduce them with no luck. Newman showed his teeth and growled at Kramer the minute he saw him.

At that point we knew things just weren’t right. Up until all of this started happening, Kramer and Newman got along great — they played together all the time, they ate and slept in the same room and they never had an issue with one another. After a lot of difficult conversation, Billy and I came to the conclusion that we had to find a new home for Newman. Friday night, Billy and I slept in different rooms with one dog each. Newman spent his last night in our house curled up with his best human buddy (Billy, of course). We boarded Newman for the weekend while we worked everything out and tried to find him a new home. Monday we spent the afternoon hanging out with Newman before we took him to a foster home with the same rescue group that we got him from. While this obviously wasn’t our first choice of a home for him, we know that he is in good hands with this rescue and that he’ll eventually (and hopefully soon) find a great home where he can be the center of attention — just what he deserves.

Obviously this was not something we ever could have anticipated or prepared for. Newman had been with us for just about a year and we had fallen madly in love with him. He was (and is) a great dog, and it was beyond difficult to come to terms with the decision we made. In the end, both Billy and I know that this was the right choice — not only for us, but also for Kramer and Newman. It’s been a hard two weeks adjusting to only one little dog running around our house, but each day gets a little easier. Not a day goes by that I don’t think of Newman and wonder what he’s up to and if he’s able to snuggle with his foster humans the way he loved to snuggle with us. It was a great year with him, and we’ll never forget all the great memories he left behind. It really is amazing how much little four-legged fur balls touch your heart.

I feel pretty dumb posting this “recipe” (Rachel Ray style), but this applesauce is a staple at Thanksgiving in our house and it just so happens to be one of my favorite holiday side dishes. My grandma made this for every holiday when I was a kid and it’s stuck with me into adulthood. Nowadays, not a holiday goes by that this applesauce doesn’t grace the table.

Red Hot Apple Sauce

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: about 3 cups
- 1 (24 oz) jar applesauce
- about 1/2 cup red hot candies

Instructions:
In a medium saucepan, heat the applesauce over medium-low heat until warmed through. Add the red hots to the pot, stirring occasionally, until all of the candies have melted into the applesauce. The end result will be a bright red applesauce with a great cinnamon flavor. The applesauce is best served hot, but can be served cold or room temperature.

Amazingly Delicious Red Hot Apple Sauce

I really shouldn’t even call this is a recipe. And I know it sounds weird and dumb and whatever else you might be thinking, but I swear it’s amazing. I could totally eat the whole bowl by myself. But I’d have to fight my dad for it. The color that the red hots turn the applesauce is sort of…weird, but that’s part of the fun. No cinnamon applesauce will ever taste the way this does. Something about melting little balls of cinnamon flavored sugar into warm applesauce just hits the spot. (I’m not making a very good case for this stuff, am I? Let me start over.)

Despite your hesitations, I urge you to give this applesauce a shot. The warm, silky consistency of the applesauce makes a perfect saucy complement for your Thanksgiving meal and the red hots infuse a ton of flavor. This applesauce can be served warm or cold, but it’s definitely way better when it’s warm. My favorite way to eat it (besides shoveling it straight from the bowl into my mouth) is to sop it up with a warm honey roll…it’s the perfect combination. It also makes a great Thanksgiving leftover sandwich condiment. :)

The Martin Thanksgiving Menu

The Main Event:
- Turkey — we’re brining the big guy this year, I’ll be sure to post the results
- Bill’s Famous Dressing
- Mashed Taters
- Roasted Brussels Sprouts
- Green Chili Rice
- Cranberry Chutney (and the canned jellied stuff, of course)
- Red Hot Apple Sauce
- Honey Rolls

The Sweet Stuff:
- Pumpkin Chocolate Cheesecake Bars
- Apple Pie
- *possibly* Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie

In the coming days and weeks (unfortunately I won’t be able to post everything before Thanksgiving) I’ll be posting the recipes for most of the goodies above and linking them back to this post. Hopefully the late recipes will come in handy for those of you who make turkey again on Christmas.

I’d also like to know…what are your favorite holiday dishes?

Since the beginning of time, the infamous canned jellied cranberry sauce was the only cranberry dish at our holiday table — and we all liked it that way. I mean, who can resist the perfectly shaped, pre-determined slices that made up this delicately tart cranberry sauce? Despite how much I loved this chutney, a can of the jellied goodness will still adorne our table this year. BUT, this new “fancy” cranberry sauce will be joining it.

Cranberry Chutney

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Serves: about 16
- 1 1/4 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup water
- 12 oz (one package) fresh cranberries
- 2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup cider vinegar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/8 tsp ground allspice
- 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 1/2 walnuts, chopped and toasted

Instructions:
Combine the sugar and water in a medium saucepan and place over medium heat, brining to a slow boil. Once bubbling, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for three minutes. Stir in the remaining ingredients (except for the walnuts), raise the heat and return to a boil. Once bubbling, reduce the heat and simmer (again) for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the apples are tender and you reach the desired thickness, stirring occasionally. Using an immersion blender, blend the mixture together to smooth out the chunks (obviously this is subjective — if you like it chunky, don’t blend it). Just before serving, stir in the walnuts. You can serve the chutney hot, cold, or even at room temperature.

Cranberry Chutney

Every component of this chutney was amazing. The tart berries, the tart sweetness of the apples, the crunch from the walnuts — it was all good. I contemplated leaving the walnuts out, I thought it sounded a little odd, but I’m so glad that I didn’t because they ended up being one of my favorite components of the dish. After simmering for about a half hour, the water and juices from the fruits made a nice sauce, so I only blended enough to take out the big chunks and I was really happy with the results. I think it would have been just as good if it wasn’t blended at all, though.

This chutney was a perfect way to mix up the traditional cranberry sauce, jellied or otherwise, and I anticipate it will be one of the stars of our Thanksgiving table this year. I also suspect it will be an amazing component to leftover turkey sandwiches in the days after Thanksgiving. If you’re a fan of the jellied stuff like I am, I suggest you give this chutney a sauce. I can’t say it will convert you, but you may just stray away from the canned stuff.

I got this recipe sort of illegally from Taste of Home — I searched high and low for just the right recipe and this was my favorite, but it was a “member exclusive.” Luckily for me, I was still able to see the recipe past the pop-up for a username and password. Thank you, screen capture! Hopefully the kind people at Taste of Home won’t come looking for me!

I was shocked to learn that this soup was done — start to finish — in under an hour. It’s something that could easily be done on a cool winter weeknight, but it definitely isn’t ruled out for a weekend simmer-on-the-stove kind of meal, either.

Zuppa Toscana

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Serves: 4 to 6
- olive oil
- 1 lb Italian sausage, casing removed (we like to use turkey or chicken sausage — it’s healthier and less greasy)
- 1 onion, diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 cup white wine
- salt and pepper
- red pepper
- 2 russett potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 cups kale, chopped
- 3 cups chicken broth
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 cup heavy cream

Instructions:
Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat and add the sausage, using a wooden spoon to break the meat into small chunks. Cook the sausage until it’s nice a brown on all sides, six to eight minutes (I cooked the sausage all the way through, but this probably isn’t necessary since you’ll return it to the pot later). Once browned, remove the sausage from the pot using a slotted spoon and set aside.

With the pot still over medium heat, add the onion and saute until translucent, about five minutes. Add the garlic, salt, pepper and red pepper to the pan and cook for a minute more, just until fragrant. Stir the wine into the pot, making sure to scrape any browned bits off the bottom of the pot (that’s where all the flavor is, after all!). Return the sausage to the pot and add the potatoes, kale, chicken broth and water. Increase the heat to medium-high to bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 20 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender. Finally, stir in the heavy cream and season with more salt and pepper to taste.

Olive Garden's Zuppa Toscana (only better)

I was beyond happy with the results of this soup. I don’t think it was exactly like Olive Garden’s, but it was an easy, healthier (less salt!) alternative. It was creamy, but not too thick. The sausage (we bought hot) and red pepper gave it a nice kick, the potatoes became soft and creamy and the kale is the perfect textural change. I liked that Annie’s version of the recipe left out the bacon, it’s probably my least favorite ingredient in the real thing (of course, feel free to add it in if you like). This is definitely a soup that will be in our winter rotation this year — it’s a no fuss, easy recipe that yields great results. If you’re a fan of the OG’s zuppa Toscana, I highly recommend giving this a try.

Fall is finally in the air here in the desert known as New Mexico and I couldn’t be more excited. Billy and I have been making a few cool weather meals over the last few weeks, and I’ve been itching to experiment with fall-themed recipes. Last weekend when we walked into our local Sunflower Market, there were two full isles of apples begging to be turned into applesauce. I’ve actually never made applesauce before, and boy, was I missing out! Plus, simmering apples and spices makes your house smell insanely good. If you’ve never made applesauce before, I highly recommend you give it a try, especially since there’s an abundance of apples available right now. It takes little to no effort, and the results are so much better than the jarred stuff.

Cinnamon Applesauce

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Here’s what you’ll need:
Makes: about 2 cups
- 6 apples, peeled, cored and diced (we used a combination of golden delicious and granny smith, but you can use any apply you prefer that will stand up to cooking/baking)
- the juice of 1 lemon
- 1/4 tsp ground cloves
- 1 tsp cinnamon (I used a pretty heaping teaspoon)
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar

Instructions:
Combine all ingredients together in a medium pot and stir to combine (as best as you can at this point). Cover and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, for about 30 minutes, or until the apples are nice and soft. Once soft, puree to your liking. I found that using an immersion blender was the best (and easiest) bet. This step is really subjective — if you like chunky applesauce, just blend it enough to get a little liquid going; if you like smooth applesauce, blend the living crap out of it. Either way, you can’t go wrong. Serve hot or cold (but hot is obviously best).

Semi-Chunky Homemade Cinnamon Applesauce

After making this, I wonder why I ever even bought applesauce to begin with. This was ridiculously easy, made the house smell absolutely amazing (how can you go wrong with apples and cinnamon?) and tasted a million times better than the jarred stuff. Plus, there’s literally five ingredients — none of that preservative junk. This is another one of those recipes that’s really simple but really flavorful (don’t you just love those?). You could taste the cloves and cinnamon in each bite, but neither were overpowering (in fact, I bet you couldn’t go wrong adding more cinnamon). It was definitely best when it was hot, but I’m not saying we didn’t go through a jar or two while it was cold. It’s also perfect for slathering in between two fluffy pancakes. Just sayin.

I think one thing that’s pretty awesome about making your own applesauce is that you can change the flavor a little just by using different apples. We’ve almost made it through this batch of sauce, and I think I’ll be picking up some extra apples this weekend to make some more. Any apple and/or flavor combinations from all you applesauce novices out there would be greatly appreciated! (Thanks to Des over at Life’s Ambrosia for the inspiration for this recipe!)

P.S. Apparently I’m a fan of parenthetical asides today. Please disregard. :)