Chipotle Cheddar Biscuits

Biscuits….mmmmmmm yummy!  I was asked by a co-worker to find a great biscuit recipe which inspired me this morning.  I believe he was thinking more of a plain buttermilk type biscuit, but one of my favorite little shops in Old Town popped in my head – The Twisted Baker.  Ann and I used to meet there for breakfast on the weekends before she moved in with Matt and it is such a cute little bakery (made me want to open a place of my own).  They have a breakfast sandwich using chipotle cheddar biscuits as the buns with bacon, egg and cheese on it.  Just thinking of it makes me want to squeeze my fingertips together, make a kissing noise and say “PERFECTO!” Okay, okay, I might be going a little overboard, but they are pretty darn good. 

Grilled Chicken Salad with Lemony Dijon Dressing

Cafeteria food, usually not something to be excited about but PepsiCo has a pretty nice cafeteria, including a great salad bar.  About a year ago I made a commitment to making sure I eat more greens, so, for the past year I have been making myself a salad for lunch every day.  Well, not every day.  Every other Wednesday is Sushi Day and it is a little crazy how much we look forward to that day (really good classics made in front of you).  After a year of eating salad, I have become a little tired of the same salad every day. 

Creamy Mushroom Pasta with Caramelized Onions and Spinach

Pasta…the dish that can instantly put you in a good mood.  A few months ago I was traveling a good amount and when it finally came to an end, I went in search of a comfort food recipe.  I stumbled across this one on Pintrest and LOVED it!  Such great flavors with the caramelized onions, mushrooms and spinach.  The directions and ingredients seem a bit long, but don’t let it scare you away, it is a pretty easy dish to make.  With another blast of polar air heading to the Midwest this week, I would definitely suggest adding it to the dinner rotation this week.  Enjoy!

Tomato Soup

It’s my first day back in Chicago after a great Christmas in Atlanta and I thought I would give a few of my new gifts a whirl – thanks for the pot utensil clip Mom and pot holders Michael and Libby! Even though we were one Klindt (well, now Schumacher) short this year, we had a lot of fun, eating, drinking, watching movies, and SLEEPING.  I am not sure about you, but when I have a chunk of time off, my body will shut down and go into hibernation mode for a while. 

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup with Homemade Noodles

It has been rather chilly in Chicago over the past week (and when I say rather, I am talking about 0 degrees when I wake up with negative wind chills). Thankfully, I made a large pot of chicken noodle soup while it was snowing last Sunday which lasted me a few days.   The old Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup commercial kept popping in my head as I made it…the one where the snowman comes into the house and the snow melts away until you see a little red headed kid.  Since I didn’t want to venture out into the snow that day, I decided to be a little creative and made my own egg noodles, and they turned out AWESOME!!!  Definitely a great way to add a special touch to soup.  They tasted like little dumpling strips in my soup...yummmmm!  While I was making the noodles I realized I don’t own a rolling pin, so my noodles are a bit thick, but if you own a rolling pin, I am sure you can roll them out much better than I could with my hands. Enjoy!

Grandma Cole's Fudge Nut Bars

Christmas is in the air and there is no better place than Chicago during the holidays!  The lights are hung around town, there is a smell of Christmas trees when I walk down the street, and of course, fun holiday parties make it a magical time of year.  It also brings on some reflection of the year that has passed.  With this I would like to say THANK YOU to all of you who read my blog.  In just a little over a year, there have been ~4,700 pageviews!!  Not too shabby for a hobby of mine. 

Homemade Calzone

When I was growing up, calzones were a staple in our house.  It was something fun and customizable. Everyone could make their own (which decreased the number of arguments of what kind of pizza we were having).  And it was always fun seeing the dough rise. This weekend, I needed to use up some food in my fridge before it went bad and I thought this would be a great way to do it.  I had most of the ingredients in my fridge below, but feel free to make your own version…pepperoni and green peppers, veggie delight, chicken and spinach, anything your heart desires!  I decided to make one large calzone, but feel free to cut the dough in two.  Enjoy!