Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash Recipe

Tonight was “see-what-you-can-make-for-dinner-with-whatever-is-in-the-fridge” and this brown butter spaghetti squash recipe was the result. It is seriously one of my absolute must-haves for fall! Buttery squash with a hint of nuttiness from the pine nuts and savory goodness from the squash, gosh it’s good!

You could easily substitute any veggies or meat that you like-or leave the meat out for a vegetarian meal.

When I was younger one of my friends decided to be a vegetarian. I was shocked! I grew up in a meat and potatoes home. My mother was from Idaho and my father from Oregon so we ate meat with every single dinner. That was the farm way. It was not however her way. I didn’t understand what a vegetarian was really other then you didn’t eat meat. That was enough to stop my inquiries as who could possibly eat dinner without meat? I don’t think it was a nutritious decision at all either.

As soon as she went vegetarian she also went overboard on the candy. No joke. She wouldn’t eat meat so she ate quite the plethora of candy instead. Whaaaaa? I think she missed the boat there a bit, but I’m quite certain she is back to meat eating. And even if she wasn’t, I’ve personally discovered that eating vegetarian for a few meals a week is actually quite awesome. Our bodies actually love the whole “meat sparingly” concept. Fancy that. 😉 We have several plant based and vegetarian recipes on the blog now, and they are some of my favorites!

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Ranch Melt in Your Mouth Baked Chicken Recipe

Buckle up and get ready for the best chicken recipe of your entire life! It is buttery, ranchy, and smoky with a crunchy panko topping. You’re going to be making this one over and over again!

Just 8 days before moving to a new city I decided to throw together a quick and easy chicken recipe for dinner that I honestly wasn’t even thinking about what I was doing. I was just trying to finish off things in the fridge, freezer and pantry as that’s always how I move- stop buying food and eat through as much as possible so I have less packing. 

Which means I created a killer chicken dinner recipe. 

UGH.

That’s always how it goes, when I’m not thinking and just playing in the kitchen the best recipes emerge. 

Thankfully I had enough thought after hearing Cade say for the 500th time that night, “THIS CHICKEN JUST MELTS IN MY MOUTH! It’s awesome!!!” to pause what I was doing and write it all down in my phone. 

This week I finally busted out the recipe and made magic happen again and I stand by this recipe until the end of time, it’s just that good! 

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Classic Margherita Pizza Recipe

My go-to pizza at all pizza restaurants is a margherita. It’s my favorite…hands down. Logically I had to create my own classic margherita pizza recipe that rivals the pies I had in Italy.

I honestly feel like you can judge how legit a pizza place is on how good their margherita is. If they can’t make a good marg…pizza in it’s most simple, pure form…then I have little hope for any of their other ‘zas. Might be harsh, but it has worked for me so far!

The crust in this recipe is a Neopolitan crust which means that it is thin. We love it thin and chewy. This pizza crust recipe is flawless and the perfect compliment to the simple and delicate but bold flavor of a margherita pizza.

Ingredients for a Margherita Pizza Recipe

Recipes that are amazing have to be complicated and have a grocery list a mile long, right? Wrong! The crust has just 5 ingredients, the sauce has 2, and for the toppings, there are 3. It really couldn’t be more simple! Here is what you will need:

Dough:

• Baker’s flour (or 00 flour): essential to getting that chewy crust you want in a pizza, see section below for more details
• Water: it needs to be warm (105-115 degrees F) to activate the yeast properly
• Sea Salt: go for fine grain, adds flavor to the crust
• Sugar: feeds the yeast
• Instant Yeast: don’t use active dry yeast

Sauce:

• San Marzano Tomatoes: you can use crushed, whole, diced…whatever you can find…it all ends up in the blender
• Sea Salt: adds flavor to the sauce

Toppings:

• Fresh Mozzarella: you can use as much or as little of the cheese as you want
• Fresh Basil: I like to leave the leaves whole and scatter them over th

How to Make the BEST BLT

I know you’re probably thinking that you don’t need a recipe for a BLT…the ingredients are in the name of the sandwich, right? I have a few tricks to take your average BLT and make it the BEST BLT ever!

Ok, so growing up my parents were garden people, and on top of the horror of having to weed the garden all the time as a kid, they also would eat raw tomatoes with a little salt like it was an apple. The horror!

And now here we are, once again the enemy called “time” has taught me that “yeah behold I know that I am nothing” (Alma 26:12) because sure enough, there’s nothing more incredible than a garden tomato. The grocery store might as well rename their tomatoes because they are not the same thing. My mom would practically salivate at the mention of a BLT and now I’m totally wiping my keyboard clean as I do the same.

Tips for the BEST BLT

We know there aren’t a ton of ingredients in a BLT sandwich so the ingredients need to be done right! Here are our tips for BLT success:

Bread

We prefer a good high quality sourdough bread sliced fairly thin — about 1/2 inch thick. If you aren’t a sour dough fan, then do a good sturdy white bread or french bread.

PRO TIP: Give up the toaster and grill each slice of bread in butter (not bacon fat!) on a cast iron skillet only on one side. This way, the inside remains tender. Don’t over toast the bread! You are looking for a nice light golden brown.

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Citrus Oven Baked Salmon over Arugula Cucumber Salad

This citrus oven baked salmon salad is bright and fresh with crunchy roasted chickpeas and a delightful zesty dressing that is going to have you coming back for more!

This is the recipe that changed our lives!! Our very first week of being totally unpacked in our new place, it was time to get back in the kitchen and cooking again. I’ve felt so out of it with the stress of moving and when our oldest daughter mentioned she really wants to learn to like fish so she can incorporate some healthier foods into her diet, I timidly said yes.

I’ve hated salmon since the day I was born but I do secretly wish seafood wasn’t such a nemesis of mine so I jumped in. In the past I’ve liked it ok, but this citrus baked salmon salad absolutely sold me! It’s all about the flavors so do not substitute other seasonings unless you’re crazy.

I adapted this recipe from Tiffany Angela.

Ingredients for Salmon Salad

I’m going to recommend not substituting any of these ingredients because each one has an important role in bringing all the flavor to your plate! I’ve divided the ingredients into categories – dressing, salmon, chickpeas and the salad. Don’t get overwhelmed! None of the ingredients are weird or har