The Jets are playing Sunday night football this evening and the weather has started to resemble fall.  It all adds up to a perfect opportunity for comfort food and so I decided upon chili dogs.  I also know there’s nothing about “chili dogs” that sounds healthy, so I compromised and made them with the turkey kind you can buy at Trader Joe’s (and elsewhere) and topped them with turkey chili.  I’ll be honest.  They’ll taste better with Nathan’s kosher beef dogs and beef chili, but this here chili … [Read more...]

I made this Thursday night but didn’t have a chance to share with y’all.  I’ve tried several recipes for black bean soup and, over the years, just put together my own with pretty good success.  This is a slow-cooker version so it’s incredibly useful if you’re out and about during the day and can’t leave a pot on the stove.  Also, I wrote on Thursday about saving a dollar here and there and when you use dried beans instead of canned, not only does it taste more authentic, it’s cheaper. I’ve … [Read more...]

Today, I was in the mood for a cookie, and not just any cookie.  I couldn’t quite decide what my taste buds wanted, but I knew they needed a cookie. The weather here in Los Angeles has been teasing us of late.  It rained on Monday, but then today in the sun it felt awfully warm.  We’re desperate for autumn, even as the stores have moved Halloween out and Christmas in.  The husband made pumpkin and apple pies Tuesday night with the girls and today, I decided to put cranberries in my cookie … [Read more...]

Indian food is delicious even if I know knew next to nothing about it.  On the rare occasions when I went to an Indian restaurant, I was a follower, not a leader.  I ate what someone else ordered, as long as it wasn’t lamb, and always enjoyed having to blow my nose after.  Spicy food is good for you and all Indian food is spicy. My ventures into cooking Indian went as far as Trader Joe’s.  I’d sear roast some chicken and throw their Masala or Korma sauce over the top, serve it with basmati … [Read more...]

These days, I need meals I can either make ahead or put together in minutes.  We get home from our athletic endeavors in the evening and we’re starving, yet I’m still too much of a food snob to sacrifice taste for convenience.  This pasta dish is so easy it’s embarrassing, and I can’t for the life of me remember where I got the recipe.  It’s scribbled on a piece of paper from my recipe binder, in my own handwriting, so I’m taking partial credit.  It’s easily something I would have made up anyway … [Read more...]