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Roast Pork with Farro Salad

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Today was 40 degrees and my husband brought home some baby pink tulips for me, so now I am in full-on February-Is-Basically-Spring Mode. Tonight's dish featured a few nods to spring veggies plus some hunks of pork. Like porky February plus Marchy veggies. And the best part is that I got this one from my favorite section of the Food Network magazine, where they offer low calorie dinners (under 500 calories) AND IT STILL HAS CARBS! Farro are carbs...gluten FREE carbs actually! I win again! What's my prize? Am I gluten free now? No. I hope not. Maybe just accepted as a leader of the gf society or something. Honorable member. It can be dairy-free too if you omit the pecorino romano or use your strange dairy-free cheese alternatives. One change in my life is that my kids started back up with "activities." Joy. My prime cooking time is now carpooling time. Fine, it's great to see the excitement on their little faces to be at piano and swimming. OK not really piano, but

Liz's Super Simple Salmon

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Lent is coming! Try this one for your "Fish On Friday." Do you guys ever wonder what I make when the rest of normal people everywhere go through a drive-thru? First of all, I can't patronage places with misspelled words like "thru" so that's off the table for me already. Secondly, nowadays these places idiotically list all their calories on their menus. Who is this helpful to? People who watch their calories' heads explode when they see these numbers. People who don't watch their calories don't care how many calories are in their fried crap. Maybe like medium people? Like 14 year old boys who want to beef up? Are the calorie listings for them? They note these for their files? It makes no sense to me, and further, causes me to order one small frozen yogurt every time. Frozen yogurt does not a meal make. SO, therefore, I have come up with a whole list of Liz-Friendly Fast Foods, such as the recipe I have here for you. This meal is finished in ten

Crispy Sheet Pan Fish Tacos

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Today is Tuesday. And for once, it's Taco Tuesday here! See, I can be fun. OK they were pretty healthy and Steve ate all the chips and salsa at lunch today. So I am as fun as healthy tacos, no chips, and no margaritas can be. Around here it's better than usual. Sheet Pan Crispy Fish Tacos  Recipe from Rhonda Boone. Ingredients So little makes me feel so big. 1 1/2 cups pumpkin seeds (pepitas) ¿Que pasa? Sí. OK normally no way, skip! BUUUUT I actually, super coincidentally, always get the same salad from Chik-fil-A and it comes with a bag of chipotle lime pepitas. I save them for recipes like this!I had three bags of them, which only got me about 1/2 cup crushed seeds, but it still counts as kitchen serendipity. Normally I would never have pumpkin seeds unless it was early November. You can replace with literally anything crunchy or omit. I would have likely gone with pistachios if I wasn't awesome like I was tonight. But using expired salad toppings from a fast food joint

Chicken with shallots and Mushrooms

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Today is Monday. Today's recipe I used more as a suggestion rather than a guide. I took out some chicken this morning because that sounded healthier than anything I had eaten in the prior 72 hours, and then proceeded to laze about the house. At one point I zoned out at Jewel and walked around buying things that seemed necessary, mostly in a bored trance. I then spent the afternoon hours ramped up on coffee, finally remembering I have a house and several children over here that needed attention. I organized our new mudroom cabinets, helped my kids write their names in the "to" section of their Valentines (we have to mess up something), there was tidying, dust-busting - it was a whole thing today.  So anyways, back to 4:52 p.m. without a plan in my head. I used what turned out to be boneless, skinless chicken thighs and the last of the vegetables I bought last week and hadn't used yet to make a super homey, creamy, mushroomy chicken in a saucy-thing. I think it was Fren

Big Game Wings Super Bowl

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 Today is Super Bowl Sunday! SUPER BOWL! Ah ha ha ha ha ha! I said it! FBI guys are gonna break through my windows momentarily! WHY can't I say it!?! I don't understand?! And why The Weekend?! He is not Lady Gaga and nothing makes sense. Ok folks, let's be honest, I had several 13% proof Cutwaters and some of my kids are still up so I'm gonna make this real short and sweet. I made wings tonight. And people who like wings said these were GOOOOD wings so that's what I'm sticking to. You should make them too. Why are the commercials never ever funny anymore? Why did Gisele take Tom? Why? Why! Liz's Honey Chipotle Citrus Wings   Yield 12 wings (1.5 lbs.)  Ingredients 12 chicken wings (1.5 lbs) I had a baker's dozen actually. Because I can't count. 1/4 cup flour 2 tsp. spice rub I used Stephanie Izard's Little Goat went to Cuba. You can use anything you like or just 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper. 1 tsp. salt 1/4 cup honey 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup chipot

Liz's Ginger Pear Cupcakes

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Today is Saturday! Checked the ole social calendar, and it is not blank! Lil 'Pizza Pop 'n' Parents Party' tonight, but we are the parents in this version. Woot woot! Obviously, there will be no pop. Probably Star Wars and whining, but who cares, I'm not hosting! I am bringing the dessert and I woke up bright and early at 8:00a.m. to whip it up so no little people would try to ruin it by helping. Buuut we have Nintendo now, so they were up with the sun and bothering me to help and lick stuff. Please ignore my lack of pictures, as I was mostly holding a beastly child back with one hand and trying to concentrate with the other. I made ginger pear cupcakes. Isn't that the combo everyone picks when they bring treats to a family gathering with six kids? They should! Because ginger and pear go together like...I don't know, ginger and bread. Ginger is such a fun flavor pop and pear is just sweet and mellow. I thought this one up because of that huge hunk of ginger

Liz's Lemon Blueberry Muffins

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Today is Friday. How many muffins are TOO MANY muffins to eat in one morning? Well let's see, considering the amount of batter I licked out of the bowl, like a dog, and the number of muffins I "taste-tested" before serving them to my very worldly and discerning guests of my preschooler, and my parents...I'm gonna go with "However many I ate." My worldly, discerning preschooler is a lover of lemon blueberry anything, so even though it's a February cold snap, I made him lemon blueberry muffins in honor of...wait for it...his half birthday. Because we celebrate whatever over here. Half birthdays included. This week I almost bought my kids smoothies because they got haircuts. Perhaps I go too far with the sugar celebrations of nothing, but a half birthday is like a real thing. He's four and-a-half, and that's the last of the baby ages ever! : ( These muffins were moist and sour and lip-smackin' sweet. But not sweet enough for Luca, who threw hims

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Liz: On Picky Eaters

Picky eaters? Never liked ‘em. Don’t really believe them either. I allow everyone maybe five foods they truly hate. You like mushrooms. You do! You may just need to give them another chance. There are so many different ways to prepare different foods and so many different seasonings and sauces that I just can’t believe someone when they tell me they don’t like something. I usually blame the parents. It’s probably your mom’s fault you think you don’t like fish or green beans. Well, you are the chef now, and food has come a long way since your mom was cooking for you every night. If I can learn to love a good honey balsamic marinade when honey is the most disgusting food on the planet, you can do it too! And any little people in your home may just follow suit. ;0)