Garlic & Parmesan Roasted Shrimp
Top shrimp with garlic, Parmesan cheese, basil, and oregano for a quick, perfect appetizer or weeknight dinner. Serve with Farro, Tomatoes, & Parmesan.
Farro, Tomatoes, & Parmesan
This dish was inspired by Martha Stewart’s one-pot pasta dish that creates its own sauce as it cooks. Combine water, farro, thinly sliced onions and garlic, and cherry tomatoes, and cook until the farro is tender and the onions and tomatoes have melted into the perfect sauce.
Cheez-It Chicken Tenders
These baked chicken tenders are moist and whimsical, due to a crispy coating of crushed Cheez-It crackers, making them the perfect weeknight meal for kids.
Farro Risotto with Butternut Squash & Ham
This recipe was a bit ambitious for a weeknight in our house, but is a winning combination of creamy farro and Parmesan cheese, grated butternut squash, and (perfect for holiday leftovers) diced ham. Farro contains the same amount of calories as rice, but more fiber and protein, so it’s a great nutritional choice.
Garlic Mashed Cauliflower
This low-carb side dish is a great alternative to mashed potatoes. Steam cauliflower florets, and then blend with sautéed garlic, Parmesan cheese, cream cheese, salt, and pepper.
Garlic Rosemary Parmesan Popcorn
This year we did the unthinkable, though we didn’t know it at the time. We sold our house and bought a new one at the same time in the Austin market, all with a toddler underfoot. Our realtor didn’t tell us until it was over that it was crazy, and that no one ever does a buy/sell in this market.
Our new house required renovations, and by the time we moved in, we were pretty fried. Neighbor Night Out was three weeks later, and our cut-de-sac does it in style, so we needed to have a dish to share with our new neighbors.
We unpacked our popcorn popper, cut some fresh rosemary from our new backyard, and made this popcorn. It was just the right thing to break the ice, and the neighbors loved it (even the kids).
Roasted Butternut Squash Salad
Butternut squash is one of my favorite foods, and I love any opportunity to make it the star of a meal. For this dish, roast diced butternut squash with maple syrup and dried cranberries, and then dress it with a mixture of apple cider vinegar, shallots, and Dijon mustard. Combine with arugula, walnuts, and Parmesan cheese.
Almond & Italian Parsley Pesto
This is a great alternative to traditional pesto, if pine nuts are too expensive, or if you have extra Italian parsley to use up.
Jamy’s Layered Goat Cheese Dip
Jamy shared this recipe with me in 2006 and again in 2014, so it must be a keeper, especially for someone who enjoys entertaining as much as she does. Layers of goat cheese and cream cheese alternate with pesto and sun-dried tomatoes for an impressive party dish.
Sweet Potato Risotto
Making risotto takes patience, which is part of why Guy is so good at making it. I much prefer his risotto to any I could get in a restaurant, and he often makes it for special occasions.
This risotto has soft cubes of sweet potato, dry white wine, Parmesan cheese, and fresh oregano.