My Favorite Recipes

I know you've seen that collection of most popular recipes on my sidebar. They are all great recipes, but they are not truly the best. The same few recipes continue to be the most viewed because they are easy to access, therefore getting the most hits. So in honor of my 1 year anniversary of the birth of this blog, I want to do this little segment on my favorite recipes from my archive. I often will go back to recipes so that I can re-make them. I probably use this blog to cook from as much as (or more than) anyone else does.

1. Possibly my favorite recipe actually came from the creative brain of my boyfriend, Tom. I'm not sure if I could ever go back to Manwich.

Homemade Sloppy Joes

2. Ok, this recipe is a contender with the Sloppy Joes. Because it involves bacon.

Chicken Wrapped in Bacon

3. This one has changed how I will make burgers forever. Onion juice is a magical ingredient.

Onion Burgers with Avocado Dressing








4. Another one credited to Tom--I use this recipe all the time when I'm especially broke or not feeling creative.

Easy Pasta Alfredo








5. When the veggies in the garden are ready, I am going to make this all the time. This one has even been published.


Ratatoullie








6. I have finally found the cole slaw recipe that is no-fail perfection.


Cole Slaw
















7. I haven't made this one a second time yet, but I really really want to.

Five Layer Dip








8. Stir fry is a gift from God for poor college students. I don't like the stir fry in the dining commons, but when it's homemade you can make it any way you like.

Sweet and Sour Stir Fry







9. My cousin Jessi's recipe for guacamole is THE BEST.

Jessi's Guac









10. Aaaand for dessert we have these mini cherry cheesecakes.

Cherry Cheesecake Tarts

Garlic Avocado BLT

The reason that the title of this recipe begins with the word "garlic", is because when Tom and I made these sandwiches, we put way too much garlic. We had one of those colossal garlic heads where one clove was equal to about three normal cloves, and we used two of them. I love garlic, but I admit it had a bit of a bite. But nothing that prevented these from being the best BLT I've ever made.

1 sesame seed bagel
2 slices tomato
4 slices maple bacon
1 large leaf Romano heart lettuce
1 slice American cheese
1/2 avocado
1 tsp lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, chopped
2 tbsp mayonnaise

To make the garlic avocado spread, mix together the avocado, lemon juice, garlic, onion, mayo and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the bacon in the manner you like it. Toast the bagel. Spread the mixture onto the bagel and add the bacon, lettuce, tomato and cheese. Enjoy!

Green Pasta Salad

Itching for the summer?

So am I, which is why I came up with this recipe for pasta salad. Although it always tastes better by a pool/at a BBQ/in the sun/with a cold beer/while wearing shorts, it will bring a little bit of sunshine to these cold winter days.

The recipe mostly came from my own head, aside from scanning through some different pasta salad recipes that I could find to see which parts I'd like to use for mine. I call this green pasta salad because those were the only colored veggies I used.

1/2 lb pasta
8oz frozen peas
1/2 cup chopped spinach
1/2 small yellow onion, chopped
1/2 avocado, sliced
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1 1/2 tbsp vinegar
1 tbsp sugar
1/8 tsp parsley
1/8 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
salt and pepper to taste

Makes about 4 servings

Boil the pasta according to directions on package. This pasta salad would work best with a shaped pasta rather than a vermicelli or fettuccine type. Meanwhile, prepare the vegetables by defrosting, cutting, etc. Add the sugar and spices to the veggies and mix. Once the pasta is drained and cooled, add the vegetables to the pasta. Then add the mayonnaise and the vinegar and mix well. Refrigerate until serving.

This recipe is very versatile. Next time I make this, I might just omit the spinach because it didn't do a whole lot that I could taste, it was just something in my freezer to give it more bulk. You could also use a bit less mayo and I think it would still taste relatively the same. My roommate said she really likes it! I hope you enjoy your taste of summer as much as I did. 

Avocado on Toast

When I was young, I used to watch my mom spread this yucky green stuff on her toast. I couldn't imagine that it could taste good, it was just so gooey and the color of boogers. 

I think honestly I was not a fan of avocado until this year. It just never appealed to me. But then when I realized that with a bit of alteration these bland avocados could nearly be guacamole without all the frills. 

I was inspired by this delicious looking post to put my avocado on toast just like my mom. I'm always so sick of toast or yogurt or whatever lame snacks we have on hand. So I decided to mix it up a little bit. 

Eating an avocado is all about improvisation. My favorite way is eating it raw and sprinkling a little lemon juice and garlic powder. This is also good on toast as well. A Cozy Kitchen suggested adding red pepper flakes, which gives it more of the spicy guacamole feel, and it was delicious. 

You can also do a stripped down guac, with just avocado, lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and jalapeño, omitting any of these ingredients that aren't on hand. You can use it as dip or you can be like me, and just eat it with a spoon. 

Avocados can sometimes be rather expensive. But like any food they go on sale. Catch them when they are cheap and you will appreciate them even more.  

Onion Burgers with Avocado Dressing

It's finals week, which for me has meant a lot of campus food and frozen pizza. I have little will or time to cook. This weekend I was craving something homemade; something new. Tom and I flipped through his mom's Every Day with Rachael Ray and decided on abbreviating one of her summer grilling recipes.

I was blown away by how good it was. The burger, although there were no traces of pinkness in the middle, was soft and melted in our mouths. The burger's flavor itself was exquisite. I'm not sure if it was the onion juice or maybe the poultry seasoning that lent to the unique taste that I was to replicate in every other burger I ever make. The avocado sauce was awesome as well. The leftovers could be used for technically anything; I was thinking dip for chips or topping on a cold cut sandwich.

For the burger:
1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
1 tbsp BBQ sauce
1 tsp poultry seasoning (generally made up of ingredients like thyme, sage, rosemary, salt and pepper)
1/2 tsp hot sauce
olive oil

For the dressing:
1 avocado
1 jalapeño pepper
1 clove garlic, pressed
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 tsp chives
1/2 tsp parsley
1 tbsp lemon juice

makes 3-4 servings

In a bowl, combine the beef, sauces and seasoning together. In order to get onion juice for the burger, grate the onion over the bowl to catch the juice. (I used about 1/3 of the small onion per burger.) Combine and shape into patties, then place on heated skillet and drizzle with olive oil so the burger does not stick to the pan. Meanwhile, combine the dressing ingredients in a bowl. (For the jalapeño, we grated it so the dressing would not have chunks, then added some of the seeds to add more of a bite.) If you own a food processor, you can mix it that way, but I just mushed up the avocado and stirred by hand. Cook the burgers until they are no longer pink inside. Eat on buns with a slice of cheese if you would like and top with avocado sauce!