Blackened Salmon Salad with Roasted Red Peppers & Wasabi Edamame

On an idyllic Indian summer day, the last place you want to spend your time is indoors.  So when I walked out of work this afternoon into the beautiful 75 degree bliss of a gorgeous October evening, I knew just what to do.  Rollerblade.  So seventh grade, but so fun.  Our new favorite post-work activity is to strap up, grab the pups and blade around the neighborhood.  It's the least we can do for our little dog after a day in the crate.  Plus, these gorgeous evenings aren't going to be around much longer....

So when days like this come around, I like to pull a kitchen quickie out of the recipe repertoire.  And one of my absolute, hands down, all-time favorites is this fabulous blackened salmon salad.  Five ingredients, one pre-made spice mix and some lemon juice is all it takes.  This recipe is so fast, you can take an extra lap or two around the neighborhood.

White & Green Chicken Chili

Chili is one of my all time favorite bowl-meals.  Sure, you can serve it up with a side if you really want, but no need.  Vegetables, protein, fiber and carbs are all just a few ladles away.

This is a recipe that the hubs has been waiting months for me to make.  As wonderful as chili is, it is simply not appetizing in the summer heat.  But the weather has turned, the seasons have changed and the beans have come out to play.

Apple Walnut Pasta

I have been loving apples hardcore this fall.  Our third fall away from the Pacific Northwest, I think that we're attempting to overcompensate for our year-long apple withdrawals.  I mean, what's up with not being apple to pick an apple off a tree whenever you feel like a snack?  You actually have to pay for them here...bummer.  But none of that right now....it's apple season.  Huzzah!  Time to pick up your fork and get to work.  And I highly recommend starting with this lovely, simple weeknight dinner.

Butternut Squash Spanakopita

There is nothing quite like the crisp, airy crunch of phyllo dough.  Light, crispy....all around lovely.  It is always a phenom, be it wrapped around melty brie, shaped into cups or layered in baklava.  But my absolute favorite way to use it is in spanakopita.  This Greek recipe creates delicious savory pockets that you pick up and eat like a hand pie, and is traditionally filled with spinach and feta.  They make delightful little triangles and are very easy to eat.  In the words of the hubs, it's the finger football of the dinner table.  Who says you can't play with your food?

Roasted Pesto Barley Stuffed Peppers

I am proud to be the newest groupie in the barley fan club.  I've had it in dishes here and there, but I've only begun cooking with it myself this fall.  And let me tell you, it's my new favorite carb.  It's a like a pumped up grain of rice with a chewy, pasta-like texture.  Nutty in flavor, this grain is used in everything from your breakfast cereal to your favorite beer.  Anything that versatile is always welcome in my kitchen.  Especially when slathered in pesto....yum.

Cedar Plank Steelhead Trout with Crispy Sage

My hubs is a grilling machine.  Give him a cut of meat, and he can grill it to perfection.  He has the keenest internal grill sensor that I've ever seen.  Lucky me.

One of our favorite ways to eat salmon is the traditional Northwest preparation style of the cedar plank. Deliciously smokey and flavorful, you get a wonderful dish with the texture and flavor of the fish, but infused with a lovely light cedar flavor.  Yum.  But in our landlocked continental position, it can be tricky to get fresh salmon that is good enough caliber for this preparation.  Therefore, we turned to a similarly textured and flavor fish that is amazing here - Steelhead Trout.  

Radicchio Salad with Manchego Vinaigrette

This recipe is a blatant attempt to replicate one I had at Toro Bravo in Portland, Oregon.  This fabulous tapas restaurant is the funnest dining experience I can ever remember.  (Yes, funnest...there is simply no better word.)  A troupe of reunited college ladies flounced into this restaurant and began to order small dishes right and left to share.  None of us knew what to expect with this one, but we were all blown away.  I mean, manchego cheese vinaigrette?!  Holy cow.  Never have I had a cheese vinaigrette before.  Gorgeous to look at and even better to eat, I knew I would have to recreate this at home for the hubs.

Turkey Kielbasa & White Bean Rice Bowl

On an unexpectedly chilly day in early fall, our refrigerator was unprepared to satisfy my craving for a cozy, warm dinner.  Thankfully, I have a shamefully overstocked pantry that was ripe for the plucking.  We always have canned beans, onions and rice in plentiful supply.  After a bit of digging, chopping and stirring, out came this Turkey Kielbasa & White Bean Rice Bowl.  Totally hit the cozy spot.  While the hubs and I both thought the dish was very tasty, we weren't sure it was good enough to be considered blog-able.   It was only after we ran out of leftovers two days later that the realization hit us...we loved this dish!  Though gone from our refrigerator, we were haunted my food memories for weeks.  Any recipe that is that unforgettable is one that must not only be kept, but also shared.  Truly, a case of leftovers at their finest.

Grilled Vegetable Bruschetta with Italian Tomato Salsa

Fall is upon us and it's nearly time to party ways with our favorite fresh vegetables of summer.  Zucchini, you've been exceptional this year.  Tomatoes, lovely.  And peppers, though your time is not yet through, you're larger than life thus far.  With a few sunny days left, we decided to grill up a these favorites in a little Ode to Vegetable Goodness.  This was such a hit at dinner, it make an encore showing at lunch the next day.  And weather be darned, I will continue to make these as long as zucchini are still churning out of my local market.

Pumpkin Bottom Muffins with Cream Cheese Caps

Fall is finally here.  Welcome back, crock pot.  Hello, dutch oven.  And of course, a big and hearty hug for one of the absolute favorite friends of fall, pumpkin.  For the next three months, we will be consuming as many pumpkin infused items as possible.  Breads, raviolis, lattes and cookies have all been a part of the pumpkin love.  But perhaps my favorite pumpkin creation so far this year is these Pumpkin Bottom Muffins.  (The more delicious, kid-friendly version of apple bottom jeans).