Favorite Things #45 - Spring Training

Yesterday Tom and I took a vacation day from work to go see the Arizona Diamondbacks play the Oakland A's. The weather was perfect and the game was a lot of fun. This is my favorite time of year here in AZ!



Have you ever attended a Spring Training game?

Rachael Ray's Roasted Chicken and Cauliflower

I am still continuing to clean out my freezer and found some chicken legs buried deep in my meat drawer. This roasted chicken recipe is so simple and tasty that it is going to make it into my usual weeknight rotation.




Could this be any easier? Just a couple of ingredients, cauliflower, garlic and chicken legs. Of course you also need some salt and pepper and olive oil. Or EVOO as Rachael Ray says. The TV remote is optional. Preheat your oven to 400 and lets get cooking!


Smash and chop your garlic.


Get your pan heated with some oil.


Season the chicken with some salt or seasoned salt. I should have done this the night before but it still turned out tasty.


Get the chicken legs in the pan and cook for about 15 minutes until it is browned on all sides.


After the chicken has browned, get it out and add in the cauliflower and garlic.


Cook the cauliflower and garlic for about 5 minutes until it starts to brown.


Put the chicken back in and put that all in the oven for about 25 minutes. At this point it already smells awesome.


This was so easy, even Tom could have made this one if he wasn't completely mortified by raw chicken :) When I make this again I might squeeze a little lemon juice over the pan right as it comes out of the oven, just to brighten up the flavors.

I hope you all have a great week!!

The Best Thing I Ever Made - Fast Food

I don't eat a lot of fast food but because I am so lucky to live near an In n' Out burger I do indulge myself and get their food sometimes. If you have ever tried In n' Out I bet you would have to give in every once in a while too. So when this week's best food category came up as fast food, I knew I had to highlight this salad. This is a healthier alternative to the delicious 'animal style' flavors that In n' Out offers.

Click here for Hungry Girl's In-N-Outrageous Animal-Style Salad



This salad is tasty and filling and is much better on the waistline than the restaurant alternative.

Crock Pot Pork Roast with Sauerkraut

Tom and I have been trying to eat more of what we have in our fridge and freezer and buy less groceries every week. I was digging around and found a pork roast and some leftover sauerkraut and came up with a dinner plan that took about 5 minutes to prep.


All you need is a crock pot, preferably a cute one with owls on it, a pork roast, sliced onion, sauerkraut, and whatever meat seasoning you prefer. One thing I have been doing since I heard Michael Symon talk about it is seasoning the meat the night before cooking. I did that with a seasoning blend and I really think it makes a difference in the final flavor of the meat.


Layer in the onions, if you want you can also add some potatoes in.


Put the roast on top of the onions.


Top all of that with the sauerkraut and pop it on low for 8-10 hours.


I sauteed up some broccoli to go on the side and dinner was ready with no fuss and hardly any dishes to do!

I hope you all have a great week!!

Favorite Things #44 - Sabra Cucumber Dill Dip

Happy Valentine's Day to all of those who celebrate it! Tom and I will just be grabbing some dinner at a local sports bar and then hanging with our dogs, that is the perfect night for me. Oh, and I will probably be reading more of the Outlander series, I am on book two now and I am totally hooked.

One thing that Tom and I discovered recently that we both love is this veggie dip from Sabra.



I know that these kinds of dips are super easy to make as noted in my last recipe, but if you need a store brand in a pinch I highly recommend this. I honestly don't know who liked this more, me or Tom!

Are you doing anything fun for Valentine's Day?

The Best Thing I Ever Made - Street Food

One of the best street foods we tried in Amsterdam was Falafel. I know a lot of people are trying to maintain or lose weight so having something that is deep fried isn't an option all that often. So if you want to get your filling of falafel, try this awesome Oven Baked Falafel I made a few years back. They turned out delicious and I need to make them again soon since Tom actually eats this now!



Have you ever made your own falafel at home? Did you bake or fry it?

Favorite Things #43 - Outlander

I haven't been doing much cooking, or much of anything except reading this book! I discovered this series by randomly perusing Instagram last week. (my name is Wiliger on there if you want to add me)

I am loving this book and can't stop reading it! Luckily this is a series so I have a lot more reading ahead of me. The premise is a little strange, a woman travels through time from 1945 back to the 18th century and falls in love with an outlaw. I am usually not too into books with much of a romance plot but there is a lot of adventure and intrigue as well so I am really enjoying it.



Has anyone else read this series? What are you reading right now?

Lentil Sloppy Joes

I love the Food Network magazine and can usually find a recipe I want to make right away after I am done reading it. This sloppy joe recipe looked so perfect, and it was even low calorie because I swapped out the ground beef for ground chicken. I love comfort food and foods that remind me of being a kid, and I loved these sandwiches growing up.




You probably already have a lot of these ingredients, you need some ground chicken or turkey, garlic, lentils, ketchup, worcestershire sauce, oregano, green pepper, carrot, buns, cheese and some pickles. I loved the idea of a pickle on the sandwich to add a little sour to the sweetness.


There is a lot of chopping involved, but I enjoy chopping veggies. Get everything cut up and measured.


Heat up some oil and get everything staged near the stove.


Add in the onion, carrot, pepper and 2 tbs of ketchup. Let this cook about 3 minutes while stirring. This combo smelled so good!


Add in the garlic and let that cook for about 30 seconds.


Add in the lentils and 4 cups of water, bring this to a boil. Don't worry if this seems like a lot of water, it will all be absorbed and cooked down. Reduce the heat and let this simmer for about 40-50 minutes.


Everything reduced and thickened and got deliciously combined. Taste it here and add in some salt and pepper if needed.


Brown up your ground meat for a few minutes.


Add in the worcestershire and the rest of the ketchup.


Stir in the lentil mixture and one more cup of water and let this cook for about 10 minutes.


Everything reduces and thickens and becomes super tasty.


I put a little grated cheese on the bottom of the bun and topped with the sloppy joe and finished with the pickle. If the pickle seems like it might be weird, trust me, it really was delicious and added a little bit of sour and crunch to balance out the sweetness of the lentil mixture. You couldn't even tell the lentils were there so this would be a great way to hide these high fiber and protein packed morels from someone who is not a fan of beans.

Super Bowl Leftovers

Everyone is concentrating on appetizers and snacks for the big game, but I have to share a link from my site that gets a lot of traffic year round. What in the heck do I do with leftover artichoke dip? The recipe for the artichoke dip is there as well, with step by step photos.

I found myself stuck because of course Tom did not like my dip, and I made too much. My solution was simple, pour it over some pasta and stir it up. Delicious!



Do you have any creative ideas for leftover appetizers?