Roasted Adobo Chicken

With a new baby, we haven’t had much energy to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. More than ever we’re looking towards big, batch cooking options to get us through the week. This weekend, I realized that we had not roasted a whole chicken in a while, and whole chickens are a great way to make multiple meals from one dish. This whole chicken recipe uses our take on the Latin American spice mixture, Adobo. It’s straightforward and delicious. Serve it with Cauliflower Rice and/or sautéed peppers for a complete meal. Leftovers can be shredded for lettuce boats or stir-fried with mixed vegetables.

Garlic Lime Mahi-Mahi

We had some beautiful spring, almost summer-like, weather a couple of weeks ago. It inspired me to make a light and refreshing meal. We happened to have Mahi-Mahi filets and a lime in the refrigerator, and I realized they would be a perfect pairing.

Fish and citrus are generally a great combination, and this recipe did not disappoint. Poaching allowed me to gently cook the fish without needing to watch it carefully. The result was a perfectly cooked, bright and delicious meal that I served with a side of mixed greens. As the weather continues to warm up, we hope you’ll enjoy this recipe as much as we did. I think it will become a regular on our weekly meals as we move into summer!

Pesto Ratatouille

Ratatouille is a French vegetable dish, and an incredibly popular Disney movie. This is not a traditional Ratatouille, and in that vein we took similar creativity in making a pesto. That said, it was delicious and I can’t wait to make it again.

We have had fun experimenting with pesto in the past (you may recall Tomato Pesto SaladChicken Pesto Pasta, and Easy Pesto Egg Bake) and last weekend I was craving vegetables at every turn. I have always wanted us to make a Ratatouille but we have had a lot of tomato-based meals lately; so when Brent suggested we use pesto instead of a tomato sauce, I agreed.

We hope you’ll find this variation on a provincial French classic as fun and tasty as we did!

Homemade Fig Jam

There’s something magical about fruit trees. In our experience, which admittedly is very little, they don’t require much work and reap many benefits. Our fig tree produced a great harvest, more than either of us expected between early August and mid-October. In case you missed our other recipes, we had a lot of fun creating Chicken and Fig Tagine, Cider-Braised Boneless Short Ribs with Figs, Arugula and Fresh Fig Salad, and Fig Coconut Yogurt.

Today, even though we’re away on vacation, we bring you another fig recipe: homemade fig jam. It is great on rice crackers; you might also enjoy it with a soft cheese like brie (if you can tolerate high-quality dairy) or Kite Hill almond-based Cream Cheese Style Spread. Brent’s mom used it with almond butter on sprouted bread (a new twist on PB&J!) and plans to use it instead of store-bought fruit spread in her Linzer cookies for Christmas. Whether you have your own fig tree or find them at the store, we hope you’ll enjoy making and eating this fig jam or any of our other fig recipes. Let us know what you decide to do—we would love to hear from you!

Bacon, Kale & Onion Sauté

When I was a kid, breakfast foods were for breakfast and everything else was for lunch or dinner. As I’ve grown up, I’ve slowly come to find that all foods taste good all the time. I love “brinner” (breakfast for dinner) and dinner foods for breakfast.

This is one dish that can be served any time of day, on its own or as a side dish. I love this recipe for its simplicity and its ability to use in a variety of situations. It’s so fast and easy to make—it’s perfect for a quick meal any time of day. I’ve eaten it alone for dinner and with eggs (scrambled, fried over hard, and even poached) for breakfast. You might also want to serve it as a side with a roast chicken or pork tenderloin or even steak. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do!