If you want a chili that’s full of chili flavor, then look no further. With some chipotle, chili powders, dried chili soaked in water, and green chili, your taste buds are sure to be dancing with flavor.

This recipe combines some of my favorite ingredients to make a good chili. A bit of beer, water that has been flavored with dried chili, and cocoa powder. Trust me on the last one — it gives good color and a tad bit of bitter flavor.

This dish is quick on prep time, because you only have an onion and garlic to chop before getting the cooking started. The chilis can be chopped while cooking, and after everything is combined (which happens within 10 minutes), you just let it simmer with the occasional stir until ready. Have I convinced you that you need the recipe? (more…)

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Chili, Dairy free, Dinner, Gluten free, Quick and Easy, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney

Attention Campbellites, this post is for you!

Actually, it’s for anyone that is experiencing those last warm days of summer that are fading into fall. This sandwich was inspired by products I pick up at my local farmer’s market, but if you’re not from these parts, you should easily be able to find most products in your local store (and the one secret ingredient online if not locally).

The veggie pita sandwich starts off with veggies – duh! Personally, I like to start with zucchini, summer squash, and onions. You could also try adding some tomatoes or eggplant to the mix. (more…)

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Cooking outdoors, Lunch, Sandwiches, Vegetarian by Courtney

One of my favorite prepare-ahead meals is pizza. Every month or two, I make up a big batch of pizza dough (usually doubling or quadrupling the recipe I have for 2 12-inch rounds), and I portion those out into large size and individual size lumps that are frozen for later.

When I do this, I also like to cube up some mozzarella and portion it into baggies (generally around 5 – 8 ounces per bag) and make a few batches of pizza sauce, freezing those in individual baggies as well. At some point in the month or two, I end up poaching a bag of sauce here, a baggie of mozzarella there, and I end up with just the pizza dough. So there are a couple of go-to pizzas I make when missing the other ingredients. (more…)

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Dinner, Italian, Lunch, Pizza, Prep for Later Use, Vegetarian by Courtney

This weekend it didn’t take me too long to figure out what to do with all of the zucchini that came in. “Stuffed zucchini!” I declared and went off to the store to procure the ingredients I would need.

I forget how I happened upon this original recipe from Giada de Laurentiis for stuffed zucchini and bell peppers, but I’m glad I did because it introduced me to the world of stuffing vegetables besides peppers.

I’ve made both her version (slightly adapted*) and a vegetarian, mushroom-stuffed version because I had some left over portobello mushrooms. I loved both, so they’re both in my repertoire now. Get the recipe for my mushroom-stuffed version below. (more…)

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Dinner, In the Garden, Italian, Prep for Later Use, Vegetarian by Courtney

I know, I know. That’s such a cheesy title for a blog post. I stumbled upon this recipe at the Kitchn and the picture looked so good, I had to make it. As I got into making this, I changed the proportions and the steps to make this, so below is my version of the recipe. (more…)

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Asian, Dinner, Gluten free, Soups, Vegan, Vegetarian by Courtney