Black Bean Rice Bowls...a new staple!

Love, love, love this recipe!

RECIPE >

Homemade Taco Seasoning

Heart disease and high blood pressure run in the family genes, so we are always looking for ways to help control sodium in our diets. Avoiding the packaged foods and seasonings is an easy place to start. Tested this recipe tonight and decided it's a keeper...wanted to log it here so that I don't lose it.

It has the perfect amount of seasoning...not too spicy, but tons of flavor. We increased the recipe 6x in order to cook and freeze 6 lbs. of taco meat.

Taco Seasoning Recipe >

Homemade Pizza Sauce with Garden Fresh Tomatoes

I came across this recipe on a random search...gave it a try and LOVED the flavor. Had to keep it on file for next year's harvest...

RECIPE >

Pistachio Crusted Tilapia — Gluten-free!

BY FAR, the best way I've ever eaten Tilapia. Don't skip the citrus salsa...it balances the saltiness of the nuts perfectly and truly finishes the dish. Gluten-free, yummy goodness...

Pistachio Crusted Tilapia Recipe

Best Ever Chicken & Dumplings

Today is the day to bring out the "best evers"...this one definitely lives up to it's name.

> Chicken & Dumplings Recipe

Best Chocolate Chip Cookies

OK, I'm not a baker...so when I do set aside time to make a powdery mess in the kitchen, I want to make sure it's worth the effort. The kids were clamoring for some cookies, so a quick google search unearthered this c-chip cookie gem. I used the large milk-chocolate chips to make sure they were extra chunky. Totally worth every ounce of effort.

> Link to the original cookie master's recipe...

Habanero-Infused Vodka

One of my favorite things to do is experiment with infusion...alcohol, vinegars, oils, etc. I was fortunate enough to pick two perfectly ripe habanero peppers in the garden yesterday, so habanero-vodka it is! So easy to do and makes the best Bloody Mary you'll ever have.

You can start with any-old vodka...we had some Koenig Potato Vodka on hand. Pour the amount you want to infuse into a glass container, mason jar works great. Take your fresh habanero and split it halfway down the middle (leave it intact, but splitting it will expose the seeds and infuse your vodka with more heat). As a guide, use 1-2 peppers per pint of vodka. For this go around, we used 2 peppers and it was H-O-T, but delicious.

For your drinking satisfaction, try this fantastic homemade Bloody Mary concoction.