Dinner with Kirsten

When I buy groceries, I like to pick at least two or three types of meat for weeknight meals, and I usually don’t have a clue what I’m going to do with them. But I never thought that my Trader Joe’s pork chops would end up floating in noodle soup.

[Read more →]

No matter how elaborate a feast my sister and I prepare every Thanksgiving, there are those in our family who will mutiny if there are any traditional dishes (like green bean casserole) missing. Unfortunately for them, my sister and I love to experiment (and hate using cream-of-anything soup). So I’m always on the lookout for […]

[Read more →]

I love minestrone soup, and this version is quick, easy and healthy, making it a perfect weeknight meal. You can mix and match different seasonal vegetables and make it with or without meat, but don’t leave out the kale.
I didn’t even realize I liked kale until I tried this recipe. This member of the cabbage […]

[Read more →]

My family lives life one October at a time – always working towards it, somehow surviving through it, and recovering after it. My parents own a pumpkin farm in Nebraska. For two years after college, and then on-and-off since, I worked as a food and beverage manager at Vala’s Pumpkin Patch, developing the 14 or […]

[Read more →]

My family always used to have Sunday suppers at my grandparents’ house when I was young. I remember the smell of roast pork, sour kraut and dumplings washing over me as I stepped into their house. “Sunday is family day,” my Mom would say, whenever I wanted to plan weekend activities with friends. But I […]

[Read more →]

I’m somewhat of a cooking snob, but when a friend recommended Cooking Light as a great recipe resource and the opportunity to buy a discounted subscription came along, I jumped on it. The magazine has been delivered to my apartment monthly since June, most issues languishing neglected in my magazine wrack. But the October issue […]

[Read more →]

I eat zucchini as part of almost every meal, especially in the summer. Geoff is getting tired of it. But this stuffed version is a great change from my normal steamed or sautéed dishes. A meatloaf-like filling is piled into the hollowed-out squash and baked until the topping is crispy and the zucchini is tender. […]

[Read more →]

I’m so proud of this dish that I’ve rattled off instructions on how to make it to a handful of people, including the check-out guy at Trader Joe’s. It’s one of those golden main courses that can be made a million different ways, depending on the ingredients you have handy and what you feel like […]

[Read more →]

I love hamburgers, but, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve been trying to eat healthy. So, I’ve been making turkey burgers about once a week for months. Faced with yet another package of ground turkey meat in the fridge, expiration date ticking down, I turned to epicurious.com for inspiration.
I’ve become a Sriracha addict, so I […]

[Read more →]

My idea of a “diet” is eating more apples than donuts on any given day. But it’s swimming suit season once again, that time of year when winter’s excesses are destined to be displayed for fellow beach-goers, making me wonder if I had to eat quite so many cookies and burgers this year. So anyway, […]

[Read more →]