Jalapeno-cornmeal pancakes

Dinner last night was jalapeno-cornmeal pancakes from Food Network magazine. This recipe seems a little unusual, but we thought it was a great change of pace. The pancakes have tons of flavor with the jalapenos and scallions, and the orange marmalade sauce and bacon put it over the top!

Southwestern Cobb salad

We made this Southwestern Cobb salad from Cooking Light for lunch one day this week. I don't typically go for a salad as a main course, but this was layers and layers of great flavors.

(And I know I sound like a broken record, but again with the queso fresco! I googled and found that Farmer's cheese would be a good substitute, which I was able to find at Fresh Market).

French onion grilled pizzas

Dinner last night was French onion grilled pizzas from Rachael Ray's magazine. (I made homemade pizza crust from a Bobby Flay recipe here). We modified the recipe for indoor cooking - cooked the bacon and onions in saute pans on the stove, grilled the pizza crusts on a grill pan, and broiled them in the oven once they were topped to melt the cheese. Also, we put the tomatoes on with the rest of the toppings so they would be warm, instead of at the end. This pizza recipe sounded simplistic (no sauce?!), but it turned out to have a lot of flavor. Robert and I both really enjoyed this one!

Salted caramel ice cream

Oh, YUM. This salted caramel ice cream from Cooking Light (believe it!) is so creamy and delicious. I have an iffy track record with making caramel, and there was a point in making this that I thought I had ruined yet another one. When I added the caramel to the cream and yolk mixture, it completely seized up and stayed in one large chunk. As it heated back up to 160 degrees as the recipe calls for, I kept stirring and it melted back into the cream. Also, this recipe is intended for a rock salt ice cream maker, but I have/use an electric one. So I halved the recipe, afraid that the original amounts wouldn't fit in my smallish maker - in hindsight, the entire recipe would have worked just fine, and now I'm sad that there isn't more of this ice cream to go around! I'll definitely be making this one again. Soon.

Roasted corn tostadas

Man, I loved this recipe from Rachael Ray for roasted corn tostadas. I've always had a weakness for tostadas (remember when Taco Bell took it off their menu for a few years?), and this one is a fantastic, grown-up version with corn roasted on the grill and a spicy chipotle cream sauce. I made a quick pico de gallo (chopped tomatoes, red onion and cilantro) instead of doing them as individual toppings.

Jalapeno, avocado and bacon burger

If you read the title of this post, enough said. But I'll elaborate - this jalapeno, avocado and bacon burger recipe combined several of our favorite things to make one delicious burger! Again, a recipe that calls for queso fresco, which is impossible to find around here. I substituted gruyere cheese, which is a completely different consistency, but a taste we love. Consequently, my cheese sauce was thicker than I expected (more of a flavored mayo), but still tasted great.

Grilled chicken with melon salsa

I made Cooking Light's marinated grilled chicken with jalapeno-melon salsa this week, with a small tweak (I subbed cantaloupe in place of the mango because I have terrible luck picking ripe, tasty mangos). I loved the fresh fruity flavors in this salsa, with the kick of the jalapeno and cilantro. Yum!

Grilled nectarine bourbon ice cream

I made Rachael Ray's grilled nectarine bourbon ice cream a few weeks ago, and wasn't sure if it was worth a post on the blog. If I make something that is just so-so or below average, it doesn't make the cut for the blog. This recipe was a split decision, though - Robert liked it, I did not. The bourbon flavor is very strong, which I didn't particularly like. If you enjoy that flavor... then this is the ice cream for you!

Blackberry jalapeno glazed pork tenderloin

We made Guy Fieri's blackberry jalapeno glazed pork tenderloin this week, and it was delicious. (I subbed chicken broth for the red wine in the glaze because Robert is allergic to it).

Brazilian cheese bread

If you've ever eaten at Cafe Bossa Nova in Little Rock, you've probably fallen in love with their Brazilian cheese bread. I was so excited to see this recipe to recreate it, especially since it had the word "easy" in it! This is truly a simple recipe - the only complicated part might be finding the ingredients- I finally found tapioca flour at Whole Foods, and queso fresco has proven difficult to find in the past, so I substituted shredded parmiagano reggiano instead. The steps are super simple - you just combine the ingredients in a blender, pulse a few times, and pour into a mini muffin tin! Robert LOVED these and has requested they be made weekly at our house!

Chocolate truffle cookies

I baked chocolate truffle cookies for our Bachelorette watch party this week. These were soft, fudgy and delicious! Mine look like little snowballs because I sifted confectioner's sugar on top instead of rolling them in it - that was the lazy way to do it, which I prefer. :)

BBQ chicken pasta

Dinner tonight was BBQ chicken pasta. This was a fast, simple weeknight dinner. Our only substitution was gruyere cheese in place of mozzarella because that's what we had in the fridge.

Chipotle chicken cheesesteaks

Dinner tonight was chipotle chicken cheesesteaks from Cooking Light. This recipe was super-simple and a great twist on a classic cheesesteak. Yum!

Grilled chicken fajitas

I was looking through some photos today and realized I never posted about these grilled chicken fajitas. It's a pretty standard fajita recipe, except for maybe the Worcestershire sauce in the marinade. If you don't already have a go-to chicken fajita recipe, we recommend this one!