Crispy Chicken Thighs With Orange & Cranberry Coconut Greens

Things that I love:

Handwritten letters
Jazz
Jazz hands
Cold steak for breakfast
Laughing so hard it hurts
Polar bears
Husband
Crispy Chicken Skin
Cast iron skillets
Aerobics videos from the 80s

Okay… so maybe that’s a very short and slightly random list, but you get the point. Crispy chicken skin is on that list. If they sold warm bits of crispy chicken skin in a bag like potato chips, I’d probably buy it. If I could eat said crispy bits while listening to jazz and petting a polar bear? Game over. I mean, really.  […]

Apple, Delicata & Blue Cheese Flatbread {Gluten-Free & Grain-Free}

Yesterday I set out to make a pie.
This effort was thwarted once I looked over at the bowl of neglected produce on my counter. The delicata squash made eye contact with me and got real. “Hey, G… I’ve been sitting on your counter for TWO weeks. What-chu gonna do about it?” Jeez. Sassy squash.
Ok, ok… so, the squash didn’t actually speak to me due to its lack of communicative parts and bits (i.e. I’ve never met a squash with lips–have you? If so, email me PUH-LEASE–I wanna hear all about it) but my own produce guilt did create a dialogue between myself and this neglected squash. I’ll spare you the details, but basically, the squash got sassier and sassier until I promised to help her fulfill her delicious little squash destiny. In this process I also got bullied by a very pushy apple. She wanted in on the action. I said yes. […]

Fiesta Chicken Soup {Gluten-Free & Paleo Option}

Sometimes you have a day where you make exactly two pans of failed brownies. This happens. It’s a hazard of the trade. It’s my job to fail at these things so y’all don’t have to. I get it. It can just be kind of heart-breaking to pull a freshly baked batch of brownies out of the oven, cut yourself a slice, put the fork into your mouth and then… *gag*.  Maybe squash was a bad choice. I admit it. Chocolate + Squash isn’t the brownie dream team. Lesson learned.

After my squash-tastrophe, I really needed a recipe WIN!  I set aside the remnants of Browniegate and started making some soup. Soup is comforting. Soup is kind. Soup will warm you up and hug you on the inside. I needed an inside hug. Sounds creepy, but I stand by my statement.  This Fiesta Soup is a total inside liquid tummy hug. The spices are warming, the chicken is tender. The soup gains a little thickness with the aid of some corn tortillas. If you are Paleo, feel free to leave them out. The flavor of the soup will still be just as good, you will just lose a little bit of the heft. Top it off with some avocado, sour cream, raw cheddar and scallions! Heck to the yes. Par-tay in a bowl!! So. Much. Better. Than. Squash. Brownies. […]

Spaghetti Squash Pesto Pasta With Chard & Sun Dried Tomatoes {Gluten-Free, Paleo & Vegan Option}

Have you ever tried to recreate a food memory? We all have them, right? Things that were simmering or baking during significant moments in our lives. Certain dishes that remind us of someone or something special. They can also go the other way on you… for example, I will most likely never again put a Sun Chip in my mouth — Thank you windy road to the beach for all the memories #nope.
When I was making this dish, I wanted to recreate what I ordered on my first date with my husband. The smell of pesto always brings me back to that evening. I wore a denim skirt that in hindsight was gloriously too short. He wore a button down that looked just like the checkered table cloths at the Italian restaurant. He was nervous. He wiped his mouth incessantly with his napkin. We joked. We laughed. Our waitress was totally drunk and boisterously exclaimed “You’re such a beautiful couple! When’s the wedding?!” Perfect for a first date. After the date, I asked him if he wanted to come over and meet my cat, Gunther. Smooth, right?  I made out with his face. The rest is history. Some might consider Gunther our Yenta (Fiddler On The Roof reference, anyone? )  Classic love story, right? Totally.  […]