• Crab Bisque recipe @ bestwithchocolate.com

    crab bisque;

    August 3, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    I am definitely becoming the queen of convenience!  Okay, not really, because this recipe isn’t exactly as simple as some of my five-ingredient recipes like bbq baby back ribs, but I’ve definitely been reaching for the recipes with a convenience factor (read: cream of potato soup, for this one).  Here’s the same plug from my last recipe, spicy cream tomato sauce pasta which uses jarred tomato sauce: convenience isn’t a bad thing.  In an ideal world, I’d love to make everything from scratch or nearly scratch (you probably won’t catch me boiling up some seafood to make seafood stock either way).  But I’m…

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  • Spicy Cream Tomato Sauce @ bestwithchocolate.com

    spicy cream tomato sauce pasta;

    July 24, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    This recipe came from one of those long-week, long-days, need to throw something together evening meals.  But it was surprisingly tasty and actually elevated, and not at all “from-a-jar”.  And it really only takes a little bit of cream!  Well, not quite.  I’ve mentioned it before, but even as a self-proclaimed “foodie”, I feel like canned and jarred items have their place.  They’re perfect when you’re tired and lazy, or can’t get up the effort to run to the grocery store.  Don’t underestimate those easy cheats!  They come in handy when you’re having last-minute company, or you need to impress the…

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  • Softbatch M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies @ bestwithchocolate.com

    softbatch m&m chocolate chip cookies;

    July 20, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Sometimes I’m skeptical of advertised “softbatch” cookies, because I’ve had hit or miss experiences with whether they actually turn out as advertised.  This recipe really was a good softbatch cookie recipe though!  They weren’t quite as puffy as I usually prefer, but they were soft, and definitely a good chewy. The original recipe from Kim on The ChocolaTess uses pudding mix, and typically I’m a huge fan of using this secret ingredient in cookies.  Just see my pudding sprinkle cookies, and my cookies and creme cookies recipes from some ah-mazingly tasty examples.  However, since this recipe didn’t specify using a whole packet, I decided to…

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  • greek rice (spanakorizo);

    July 4, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Happy Fourth of July!  I know you all will probably be spammed by social media with red, white, and blue galore!  So here’s some green to mix it up!  =D  I wanted to share this because it’s an easy recipe to make for company!  If you prep the ingredients before cooking and then just add to a pot to simmer away, it works quite nicely.  Let me know if you try this method!  I am in Chicago for a family vacation until Wednesday, so I wanted to make sure I shared a recipe at least and didn’t leave you all hanging.…

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  • Jalapeno Popper Stuffed Bread @ bestwithchocolate.com

    jalapeno popper stuffed bread;

    July 1, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    This bread is ooey, gooey deliciousness.  And I really do mean that, so watch out for some falling dip when you’re stuffing your face!  My friends and I had a splat or two on the floor by the time we were done!  But it was gobbled up in pretty much no time flat, let me tell you.  It really is a quintessential appetizer recipe, and wouldn’t be a horrible pot luck recipe if you had access to a toaster oven, but it’s not really a make-and-carry recipe.  It’s definitely better warm and fresh from the oven.   We did another “Pokewine”…

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  • Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars @ bestwithchocolate.com

    peanut butter pretzel bars;

    June 17, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Cooooookies in bar form!  My desire to make this recipe really came from the fact that peanut butter cups were on sale, and I loooove me some fresh PB cups.  Have you ever had the really old PB cups that are like dried out and crumbly?  It’s not the same.  Have you ever had fresh off the Hershey’s press PB cups?  I actually have, and they’re AMAZING.  The peanut butter is creamier and as sugary as ever, and did I mention–it’s amazing?  I did a summer program called Institute of Leadership, Technology, and Management (ILTM) my junior year of college, and got…

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  • Marinated Kabobs @ bestwithchocolate.com

    marinated kabobs;

    June 9, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Today, T made dinner!  Like whole hog, from shopping to marinating to grilling.  I mean, to be fair, I guess I made a rice side from a bag, but it was the kind where you just add water and boil.  So it doesn’t count, and this meal was suuuuper tasty!  Super flavorful, and not too hard.  T estimated he spent less than 30 minutes total working on this, though start to finish is a little longer, since you have the marinating time in there. I will say that we did forget to throw in a few extra vegetables.  We did only…

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  • Mediterranean Dip @ bestwithchocolate.com

    mediterranean dip;

    June 5, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    So today was game day!  D&D Sunday as they usually happen to be, and instead of going all out to make all of the food, we did a potluck!  It was wonderful–worked out perfectly.  Zack made jalapeno poppers, Matt made quiche, and Dustin brought brownies!  Tyler got away with nothing because he’s dating me, and I provided this awesome mediterranean dip!  Plus he’s the DM so he has more work to do than the rest of us when it  comes to preparing for D&D. This mediterranean dip recipe stems from Dara’s Healthy Mediterranean 7 Layer Dip over at Cookin’ Canuck, with a…

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  • pecan crusted rainbow trout with spinach and rice

    pecan crusted rainbow trout;

    May 19, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Originally posted May 19, 2016. Updated May 23, 2021 for content and clarity. So Tyler and I had date night! One of those impromptu date nights where we ended up cuddled on the floor watching Castle and feeling really full. The best kind of night. =) And the star of the night was pecan crusted rainbow trout! It all stemmed from high fish prices at the grocery store–I was actually looking for cod and thinking about fish and chips. But everything was more expensive, and I saw the rainbow trout and just had to buy it on my way out…

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  • gyros;

    April 29, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Last weekend we had a feast!  My parents and my godparents were in town, and we made enough food to feed a small army!  I made lamb kebabs (check out the recipe here), roasted broccoli, naan, rice, and then my key lime pie bars and oreo brownies (I have yet to post the recipe!).  I ended up making gyros tonight because I had extra lamb, and the recipe I found on pinterest from food.com looked surprisingly easy!  That and we picked up our adopted shiba inu Kenichi today!!!!  Squeeee!  So T and I wanted to spend as much time as possible with him, and I…

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  • Tamale Pie @ bestwithchocolate.com

    tamale pie;

    April 14, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    Corn bread, and beef, and cheese, oh my! This is a great make-ahead meal!  We had a game night with a friend coming over, and I was going to try to not actually be in the kitchen making dinner for like half of his visit (like I usually am most times when people visit for dinner).  I do love our current place for the fact that it has an open layout, and I can actually be in the kitchen talking to other people in both the living room area and the dining room area, and the kicker–NOT in my kitchen.  It’s the…

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  • Mediterranean Pinwheels @bestwithchocolate.com

    mediterranean pinwheels;

    April 2, 2016bestwithchocolate@gmail.com

    These Mediterranean pinwheels are a perfect, EASY appetizer.  This is one of our go-to’s because T likes them, and I like them, and he’s less likely to eat half the cheese and salami before they go in the oven.  Though maybe more likely to eat half of them coming out of the oven.  Plus there’s the added benefit of a short grocery list.   There are only 6 ingredients (I’d really say 5…if you don’t have olive oil, you’re doing the kitchen wrong), and all the steps are simple.  It’s even better to get some help, especially if you’re making these…

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