Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 45

One Pan Lemon Chicken and Couscous.

This incredible lemon and chicken couscous can be made in one pan. It’s super fresh and delicious, while cozy and comforting at the same time. Tender chicken thighs over lemony couscous with lots of herbs. We love it!

This is for all my lemon lovers!!

This lemon chicken and couscous is an easy one pot dish, with tender chicken thighs, lemony couscous and tons of fresh herbs. It’s light and satisfying and tastes amazing. 

Ah, how I ADORE a lemon chicken dish. 

One pot meals with couscous or rice or orzo are so easy and satisfying. I love having the method on hand for busy weeknights because the dish comes together quick. And it’s always a crowd pleaser.

This is how I make it!

I love to use chicken thighs for this recipe. Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are Eddie’s favorite. And they have tons of flavor, stay super juicy and cook up nicely in the pan. So the first order of business is to brown the chicken thighs on both sides. 

Once the chicken thighs are crispy and golden in color, I remove them from the pan. I stir in some diced shallots and garlic and they pick up all those brown bits in the bottom of the pan. That right there is FLAVOR. 

Once the veggies have softened, in goes the couscous. I toast it for a few minutes and then stir in some chicken stock. (more…)

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Tuesday Things.

1. Making these today!!! 4 giant pumpkin cookies.

2. The new kindles look super cool, but I can’t say goodbye to my oasis with the page turning buttons. I love it so much. I actually get anxious if I leave the house without it!

3. 10 things clutter free people do daily!

4. Reeeeeallly sad that we have to turn the clocks back in a few weeks. I like when it’s dark and cozy, but I wish it was only for, like, four weeks.

5. Dirty sodas are taking over the world. I really want to try the fresca one!

6. TV things!! Ummm, that Tell Me Lies finale was insane. How are all these people so terrible! But, go Diana! And Shrinking!! Love love love.

7. Benefits of an early workout.

8. I have finished almost alllll my holiday shopping which is so freeing! I love to try and enjoy the last months of the year with low stress. I also have started making some of my gift guides on amazon and LTK! I’ll be posting them on the blog with all my wordy thoughts, but in the meantime there is a sneak peek.

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Sticky Cider Salmon Kale Salad.

This sticky cider salmon kale salad is one of my favorite cool weather dishes. Sticky cider salmon, roasted potatoes, creamy goat cheese, toasted walnuts and a delicious spiced vinaigrette come together to make this the perfect satisfying salad.

I present to you my most made salad in the cooler months. 

This winter kale salad is topped with sticky salmon, roasted potatoes, crunchy nuts, creamy cheese and a drinkable vinaigrette. It is a salad that can be cozy and comforting, one you want to make for dinner when you crave something hearty. 

Ideal for the chillier nights that are coming our way (hopefully!). 

I can’t even BEGIN to tell you how good this salad is. I have no other words, other than it’s GOOD. Very delicious. Something you’ll find yourself making over and over again. 

This is a big dinner salad. When you want to get in some greens but have them topped with nourishing and filling ingredients, this is the salad you make. It’s vibrant and warm. It tastes incredible. 

It’s also a really nice dinner party salad. If you’re having friends over in the cooler months, this is an awesome dish to make. There are a few moving parts – you have to roast the potatoes, cook the salmon and assemble the salad. But a few things can be prepped ahead of time (the dressing, chopping of ingredients, etc), making it simpler and a foolproof process. 

There are so many fabulous flavors in this salad – ones that I love so much.

First of all – the sticky cider salmon. This is just like my sticky salmon recipe but I use apple cider. OH MY GOSH. It’s fabulous. So flavorful! 

Next, some roasted potatoes. These roasty toasty little gems melt in your mouth and add so much satiety to the salad. Of course, they also add wonderful flavor and texture too. The potatoes are such a welcome surprise in the kale salad. I like to use them instead of croutons! 

I also add toasted walnuts and goat cheese. Like most salads, the goat cheese gets super creamy and spreads throughout the salad. I love this about goat cheese in a salad. It’s so tangy and creamy and a perfect complement to the warm potatoes and salmon.  (more…)

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A Week In The Life, Vol 43.

43 weeks into the year!

Max even said to me last night, “mama this year feels like it’s going so fast!”

No kidding.

Never not searching for the fall leaves.

Just a little friend.

Post school movie snuggles.

Made my fire roasted chicken tortellini soup one night.

Little Halloween mantel. And first fire!

School drop off.

Recipes!!!

Post school legos.

Jordan’s new favorite thing is jumping up for piggy back rides.

They just run with it!

Favorite girl.

Hockey all weekend!

Very excited to be back in the season.

Post game smiles!

We made a halloween candy salad for friends coming over.

It’s her favorite thing!!

More flag football.

He loves it.

Snax.

More snax.

S’mores cookies.

More hockey!!

Super Jordan.

First broken finger! Shockingly it did not happen at any of the above sporting events.

And sliding into a new week!

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What To Eat This Week: 10/20/24.

Give us all the cozy meals!

What’s on your menu this week?!

What To Eat This Week

Sweet potato chowder

Maple sheet pan smoked sausage

Pumpkin burrata baked ziti

Crispy honey lemon salmon salad

Butternut squash tortellini skillet

Creamy tomato orzo with parmesan chicken meatballs

Chickpea salad with dilly croutons

Apple butter oatmeal breakfast cookies

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Currently Crushing On.

Hello weekend!

This week on the blog I shared this easy butternut squash tortellini skillet. I also shared parmesan meatballs with creamy tomato orzo, a bunch of my favorite fall salad dressings and oatmeal apple butter breakfast cookies!

I also shared some of my amazon favorites – the best I’ve ever bought.

You can find all my favorites in my amazon store front and LTK shop! I started a few gift guides too.

There’s a new menu for the week and a new peek inside our everyday life.

You can join The Everyday Dinners cookbook club right here! If you have a copy of the book, request to join the group. If not, get one here!  Ready to start on fall! It is such a wonderful community and an amazing place for recipe ideas.

xoxoxox

WHAT I’M LOVING THIS WEEK

These pumpkin conchas look amazing!

Caramel apple muffins are so cute.

The most stunning fall charcuterie board.

Chocolate monster cookies!

Craving this chicken skillet lasagna.

Braised beef stew is the best.

An edible halloween terrarium!

Butterbeer cheesecake. My kids would flip.

OMG. Autumn salad with pumpkin bread croutons!

Brown butter sugar cookies – have always wanted to make these.

Love these crispy baked chicken wings.

Baked polenta with tomatoes sounds so good.

Making twice baked potatoes forever.

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Apple Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies.

I love making these apple oatmeal breakfast cookies for meal prep each week! Made with apple butter, maple syrup, almond butter, grated apple and spices, they are hearty, crunchy, nourishing and satisfying. The best breakfast or snack!

Oh how I love a breakfast cookie!

These apple butter breakfast cookies are incredibly satisfying and so delicious, perfect to make for the week ahead. Nothing like a good breakfast meal prep to get the week started off right! 

Never did I ever need an excuse to have a cookie for breakfast. But this is a good one.

A good excuse that is. And a good cookie.

Breakfast cookies can be tricky! 

It’s hard to find one that doesn’t taste like cardboard. It’s difficult to make one that is actually worthy of the cookie name. There are breakfast “cookies” that are just mounds of oats and bananas smashed together and labeled “cookie.” It’s blasphemous! 

I have a few recipes that I really enjoy, but this new one might be my favorite. Think melty almond butter, oats, grated apples, chopped walnuts, maple syrup – dreamy!

These are so crunchy and the texture is perfect. The flavor is even better. They are hearty and filling and taste like a spiced fall day. 

These breakfast cookies kind of remind me of my granola scones. It’s not like they are a chewy gooey cookie. It’s a fairly healthy recipe after all. But they aren’t dry either! They are crumbly and crunchy without falling apart. They are nourishing without being heavy or super sugar laden. 

I am probably making no sense, but they are worthy of the breakfast cookie name. 

And the fall flavor!

Apple butter, maple syrup, grated apple, cinnamon… oh it is so good. I LOVE the flavor of these. They remind me of the apples and cinnamon instant oatmeal packets I adored when I was a kid. 

These come together so easily. Just like a basic cookie. Scoop, bake, eat. They freeze well. A batch will last all week.

The ideal meal prep. (more…)

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Six Fall Salad Dressings You Should Add To Your Menu.

These are the best fall salad dressing recipes! Add them to your menu for the week to spice things up and make your salads more exciting. These are some of my favorite recipes to use this season. 

We’re going to spice up your salads today!

The funny thing about having a food blog and sharing recipes is that sometimes the best recipes are inside another recipe! Case in point: all my salad dressings. I touched upon this in my post about my obsession with signature house salads, but dressings are my FAVORITE.

In fact, I have an entire portion of Everyday Dinners dedicated to my favorite dressings and sauces that you can make for the week to elevate your meals and add variety to your life. A good salad dressing is EVERYTHING.

And that’s hilarious, because growing up I hated most salad dressings. To this day, I still don’t like most bottled dressings. That means I am always making my own and have perfected them. These ones below are a dream for fall and will make every salad taste so much better!

Six Fall Salad Dressings

(more…)

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Parmesan Chicken Meatballs with Creamy Tomato Orzo.

My chicken meatballs with tomato orzo make the ideal meal. Cozy and comforting, the meatballs are tender and juicy served over creamy parmesan tomato orzo pasta. It’s a great weeknight meal that comes together fast.

New favorite meal is on the menu. 

These parmesan chicken meatballs are tender, juicy and filled with lots of fresh herbs, served over a creamy tomato orzo. It’s the kind of weeknight meal that I grew up with – all cozy and comforting and perfect to enjoy after a long day.

When I think of meals that everyone loves, this is on the list. And those are the best kind! 

Remember when there was a time… like ten years ago… that I used to make every single dish and flavor into a taco, burger or pizza? It was even a chapter in my first book! 

Well, now I feel that way with meatballs. I will make almost anything into a meatball. And I don’t even LOVE meatballs. But everyone around me adores them. Which means I make meatballs constantly.

Which, actually, does make me enjoy them more!

Riddle me that. 

This is a lovely little weeknight meal. Pleases everyone, tastes familiar and delicious, is satisfying and easy to make. I like to serve it with parmesan broccoli. 

And before you ask me if we could have too much parmesan in a meal, just know that the answer is always no. 

Always. 

This meal is parmesan to the max! Because it’s also in our orzo. Woohoo. 

My parmesan orzo is quite possibly my most made side dish (or at least it’s one of them!) and this is a wonderful tomato spin on that. It uses tomato paste, just like my homemade spaghettios and even this tomato soup – which brings such a rich, silky flavor to the dish. 

I make the orzo the same way, which is a great 15 minute side dish – but one that is so filling and comforting. In this version, I stir the tomato paste right into the toasted orzo. The tomato paste gets a little caramely and this ends up having such a ridiculous amount of flavor. (more…)

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Tuesday Things.

1. The ultimate monster cookie. These look SO chewy.

2. My inner forever 13 year old self is very excited that sequin season is upon us.

3. Stanley Tucci’s kitchen organizing hack. I’ve done this for years! Sits by my stovetop.

4. Fireplace weather is also here. I could not be more excited when the temp said 46 today.

5. Wild how people are using their bundt pans!

6. I am now thisclose to putting up some christmas trees in the kids rooms.

7. TV things!! I’m rewatching Dexter. I don’t know why! It kept coming up on Netflix and I got sucked in.

8. How to reduce stress in the morning.

9. I put ceramic ghosts on our mantel and Jordan asked me why I put “toilet paper guys” up there. Ha.

10. How to break your loops and form better habits. This is good!

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