Chrissy Teigen’s Boursin and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Since this is about the 3rd or 4th time I’ve made this chicken, I figured it deserved a spot on the blog. I love Chrissy Teigen – she has a super entertaining Twitter presence, she’s freaking beautiful, and she has an awesome – albeit somewhat abandoned food blog (though I realize that I shouldn’t judge in this category too much). I think I first stumbled upon her blog because it was highlighted in some low-carb spotlight in a magazine, but her enthusiasm for of all types of food really comes through.

This chicken is pretty simple and straight-forward, but so so so good. Check it out!

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

This is THE BEST meatloaf ever. The combination of the ground beef + pork, all draped under a layer of streaky bacon…to die for. I’ve made this a couple of times now and it’s just too awesome not to share. Now, I never grew up eating meatloaf so this whole thing is somewhat new to me. But I like it. We served it with some steamed veggies and some frozen mashed sweet potatoes (which are kind of weird and bland, don’t recommend). Perfect Sunday meal. Also! I have fun plans for re-purposing the meatloaf leftovers – stay tuned.

Grilled Chicken with Brie and Prosciutto

An unexpected heat wave in Boston led me to ditch my plans for oven-roasted chicken to something lighter on the grill. I love summer (and summer foods), but enough is enough already. I CANNOT wait to make soups and roasted foods again and omg CHILI with all the fixins? Yes, please. Summer, I’m all set with you. But, for now, temps in the 80s and 90s are where we’re at and this dish is perfect for a hot summer night.

Sweet and Spicy Island Pork with Coconut Rice

This pork is goooooood. I wasn’t sure what I thought when I first saw the recipe, as it called for a ton of brown sugar and I’m don’t have a big sweet tooth. I do, however, have a salt tooth, so I just decided to reduce the amount of sugar called for and it was perfect. But, truthfully, I was drawn to this recipe because of the coconut rice. I mean, rice (I used basmati), cooked in coconut milk? Awesome. Life changing. If Brian didn’t think he hated coconut (he loved this rice so clearly he doesn’t), I would have garnished with some toasted, flaked coconut on top too. This whole meal was super easy and came together within 30 minutes. Weeknight score.

Broccoli, Ham, and Cheese Breakfast Casserole

Portability. This is the exact thing I need during a busy workweek to keep me from hitting the dreaded drive-thru on my hour+ commute to work. Something I can grab on my way out the door and know that when I finally reach my office, I can zap a piece of this casserole and enjoy a legitimate breakfast on the fly. This casserole is perfect for this – AND, it’s low-carb and only about 250 calories per serving. I’ve made it twice in as many weeks an I can see it as a regular in our menu plan. Eggs, cubed ham steak, broccoli, cheese – easy peasy. Make a big dish of this on Sunday, cut into 8 squares, and you’ve got breakfast for you and your mate for 80% of the workweek. I might get drive-thru crap on the 5th day when we run out, but that’s harm reduction at its best. Right?

Clam and Bacon Pizza

I’m on a bit of a clam bender. You see, I’ve been at the cape for a few days for our annual 4th of July pilgrimage and my dad is supremely talented at just innocently and ever-so-legally just stumbling upon clams in the bay across from my family’s house. One night we enjoyed the fruits of his labor tossed with linguine in a lemon garlic sauce with garlic bread, another day, we had bacon-laden clams casino. But, I most enjoy them chilled, freshly shucked, on the half shell and squeezed with a little lemon and Tabasco. Life is hard sometimes, I know.

my dad, stumbling upon clams in the bay

Enter this pizza. Brian and I had to sadly ditch the cape a day earlier than planned due to terrible, irresponsible sunburns. I came home and was really missing my diet of clams that I had become accustomed to. I had a roll of pillsbury pizza crust in the fridge (whole wheat from either trader joe’s or whole foods would have been my first choice, but you make do), some canned clams in the cupboard (blasphemy!), and a few slices of bacon and dinner was born. Made wholly from pantry staples (except for maybe the alfredo sauce, which can easily be made from scratch if you don’t have any bottled), this pizza was totally awesome.  I was a little sad when i took my last bite, I’m not gonna lie.

Grilled Chicken and Sausage Kebab Salad

This is my FAVORITE dinner salad. I was so excited making it tonight because somehow I had forgotten about it. This recipe was heavy in my repertoire a couple of years ago and for good reason – it’s awesome. Grilled skewers of pork sausage, chicken breast, and fresh bay doused in olive oil and lemon all tossed around with romaine lettuce (the most boring part, but necessary), fresh garlic croutons and THE BEST dressing ever. The Best. Best part is that it’s such a simple meal and perfect for a summer night.

BBQ Pulled Pork and Jalapeno Pizza

It’s the age old question. What to do with a ton of leftover pulled pork. I’ve been pretty inventive with this dilemma in the past (pulled pork sweet potato waffle cheese fries, pork stuffed peppers, porky cornbread). This time, I craved pizza (shocking). The crispy multigrain crust (Hannaford has a yummy one…so does Whole Foods) holds up really well to the pulled pork and the jalapenos puts it over the top with a fresh punch.

Crispy Baked Chicken Cordon Bleu

This is a super easy way to make stuffed/rolled chicken of any kind – in this case, I used ham and thin slices of swiss cheese. These are coated in a crispy panko coating and baked until crispy on the outside and moist and cooked through on the inside. Also, and this really is an unnecessary addition and a bit of an indulgence, since I try to avoid super processed foods, but I ALWAYS heat up Campbell’s Golden Mushroom soup thinned out with a little water or chicken broth to use as a sauce. It’s delicious and mandatory for me, mostly because that’s what my mama does.

Slow-Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork

This was a bit of an experiment. I wanted to see how little work I could actually do to make something so incredibly yummy. Seriously – the only thing you have to do is season a huge hunk of pork and toss it in the slow cooker with some garlic, onions and maybe some fennel if you’re feeling fancy. Cook on low for 10 hours, which to me is the perfect length of time for a slow-cooker recipe because that’s how long I am usually out of the house on a work day. What’s up with those 4-hour slow-cooker recipes? If I could slow-cook something in 4 hours, then I could real-cook that same thing in probably 30-45 minutes, which would probably be less work in the planning department. I digress. This pork is amazing and will be the only way I make pulled pork in the future. I served it on some whole wheat buns with some greek yogurt coleslaw on top. YUM.

Pizza with Brussels Sprouts and Pancetta

I had some brussels sprouts to use up and adding it to a pizza seemed like the natural thing to do. With some bacon of course. I took the basic premise from one of my favorite fall meals – roasted brussels and pancetta over creamy polenta and decided to make pizza out of it. YUM. In addition, I wanted to use up some of the 12,000 string cheeses I bought a costco a while back so I stuffed the crust with cheese. Win.

Saucy Asian Meatballs

I made these for a family BBQ and they were a hit. I just made the meat mixture and sauce ahead of time and baked them off when I got to my parents house, then tossed them in the sauce. Poof – instant appetizer.

Lia’s Pasta Salad with Salami, Pecorino, and Broccoli Rabe

*Content and photos updated July 2012*

This was first inspired by a salad made for a BBQ by a new addition at my  team at my former place of work. Follow that? No need, really. All you need to know that this salad is yummy, travels well, and I’ve made it a half a dozen times for cook-outs and the like. Both the simple and bold flavors make it a perfect summer party salad.

My Favorite Meatballs

I apologize in advance to any family members I may offend with this post, but this is definitely my favorite meatball recipe. The combination of ground turkey (I always have some of this in my freezer) and ground pork makes a super tender and flavorful meatball. I browned these in some olive oil before dropping them in some gravy, all to be served with pasta. These meatballs are also delicious on their own or with your favorite tomato sauce.

Roasted Peppers Stuffed with Pulled Pork Chili Verde

Oh, man, this chili is good. And even better inside a roasted pepper underneath melted cheese with a little avocado and red onion and some sour cream if you like…oh boy, this was good.

Clean Eating Pulled Pork Chili Verde

I’m sure I join many people in starting the new year with healthy, real food after so much holiday junk. This chili is definitely different from the chilis I’ve made before, but it might be my new favorite. Essentially it’s a big bowl of delicious limey pulled pork with beans and it’s absolutely awesome. Serve it with a nice big salad and you’re good to go.

Asian Green Beans and Pork

This is another restaurant fave — however, in restaurants, the green beans are typically fried. These are broiled, much healthier, and delicious.

Braised pork with chiles and cinnamon over polenta

After we finished eating this, Brian said “That was a WIN”. It made me giggle, and I agreed with him. Delicious and stupidly easy.

Perfect Pulled Pork

MAN, I wish these pics came out better because this is THE BEST PULLED PORK EVER. Ever! Eat it plain, on a roll with coleslaw, or mop it up in some homemade pork sauce. SO good, and the best part is that it’s pretty hands-off. First, there is a simple brining process for about 8 hours. This is my first brining experience and I have to say, I am a fan. This is what keeps the meat moist while it cooks for so long. Fan. Then, the pork shoulder cooks overnight (about 2 hours per pound…so mine was in there for 10 hours).

Here’s the game plan: The morning before you want to eat this, follow the directions to brine the meat. Let it brine all day, and before you go to bed, season the meat and roast it overnight. The next day, you’ll have perfectly moist pulled pork and it will kind of feel like a miracle.

Make this as soon as you can, you won’t be disappointed.

Spicy Pork and Chorizo Burgers with Green Chile Mayo

Giant delicious burger. That’s all you need to know.

Oh, and the mayo is the best part so don’t skip that!