Best. burger. ever

We had some friends over last night to watch the Jets vs Steelers, and it was a unanimous decision that these spicy poblano burgers from Cooking Light (!) were PHENOMENAL. Like, top-5-best recipes-ever material. The toppings are fantastic - I spread the chipotle sour cream on thick and added a big helping of the pickled red onions, too. Seriously, make these immediately- you won't be disappointed.

Spanish everything rice

Last night's dinner was Rachael Ray's Spanish everything rice. This recipe has a lot of ingredients, and I eliminated some because of personal preference - no olives or green peas in my version, but we added cayenne pepper for a little heat. This dish was full of flavor - Robert went back for seconds, which is always a good sign!

Welsh rarebit burger

We made Rachael Ray's welsh rarebit burgers this week (link to follow later, it isn't up on her site yet). It's an open-face burger, served on a slice of bread and covered in a cheese sauce - what's not to love??

Hoisin pork tenderloin

We made Cooking Light's hoisin pork tenderloin last week and it was a big hit! Our tenderloin was pretty thick, so our cook time was longer than what the recipe called for. It was delicious!

Garlic Hasselback potatoes

We made these garlic Hasselback potatoes last week, and they were fantastic! I followed other reviewers advice and stuffed ours with garlic AND shallots, and the herbed sour cream is a must to go on top.

Chicken tostadas

Dinner last night was chicken tostadas from Mexican Made Easy on the Food Network. We agreed with the other reviewers - the tomatillo sauce made these tostadas shine! These are super-simple to make, and require no cooking if you buy a rotisserie chicken. Easy and delicious - that's a great combination!

Toffee blondies

This week was the premiere of the new Bachelor, and our group was chomping at the bit for another season of treats and trivia on Monday nights. I made these toffee blondies served with vanilla ice cream, and they were a big hit! I disregarded the fact that the recipe is from Cooking Light, and used an egg instead of egg substitute and doubled the amount of toffee bits on top. The batter was thick and sticky, and I wasn't sure they would turn out right, but surprise- they were perfect!

Ginger and garlic braised brisket

We spent New Year's Day on the couch watching football, so I thought this slow-cooked ginger and garlic braised brisket would be a great addition to our lazy day. The spices are unique (cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom) and delicious! My sauce never thickened to gravy status, so we just topped ours with the onions. Yum!

Shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes

We made Rachael Ray's shepherd's pie stuffed potatoes last week. I'm not a fan of traditional shepherd's pie, so I was surprised at how much I liked this version. I omitted the mushrooms, but followed the rest of the recipe as is. These hot potatoes were delicious!