Jessica Merchant's Blog, page 67
April 23, 2024
Tuesday Things.
1. The best cinco de mayo recipes!
2. Why does it feel like I have to clean out my kids clothes every few weeks?! They grow like weeds.
3. 16 of the best snacks at Trader Joes. I mean, I want to get excited over this, but as soon as I do they will probably discontinue what I love.
4. Current favorite snack: sourdough toast, cottage cheese, strawberries, black pepper, pistachios. YES.
5. TV things!! Still watching Palm Royale, The Gentlemen and just starting Under the Bridge. Oh and of course we are all watching Bluey!
6. How to break dependence on your phone. Eeeeep. Need it.
7. One month until my summer reading list drops!! Very excited for the new Emily Henry today!
8. I’m still so overwhelmed with things we need to do in our new house! One of you told me to stick to one room and finish it completely and I try but then my brain sees something else and I move on. Interior design is my least favorite thing.
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April 22, 2024
Garlicky Burst Tomato Pasta with Chickpeas.
This burst tomato pasta with chickpeas and spinach is one of my weeknight staple meals! Easy to make, loaded with flavor, leaving a bunch of leftovers for lunch the next day. We love this meal!
Easy weeknight pasta is the name of the game today!
A pantry dish that comes to get ridiculously quickly is a staple in our meal plans. This burst tomato pasta is filled with spinach, chickpeas, basil and parmesan. It’s such a great recipe to have in your repertoire.
I have these ingredients in my home at all times which is one of the best parts of this dish. When I’m not sure what to make, this is it! No questions, throw it together, serve it alone or alongside some grilled chicken.
So simple.
See, this is one of my favorite things to make for dinner. A super easy pasta skillet, filled with vegetables and beans, tons of garlic and all the flavor.
It comes together incredibly fast and leftovers are great for lunch too.
Plus, it’s a perfect vehicle for lots of parmesan!
My favorite.
It’s SO easy to make.
This is how I do it!I throw some cherry tomatoes and garlic with olive oil in a hot skillet. While the tomatoes burst and cook down, I boil water and cook a short cut of pasta. Something like shells or elbows or even mini rigatoni.
When the tomatoes are burst and saucy, I throw in lots of fresh spinach and a little of the starchy pasta water to help it cook down.
Next, I add in the chickpeas! You could use any variety of beans here. I like it with cannellini beans too. Creamy, white beans are my love language.
I toss in the cooked pasta and then add lots of parmesan. And I do a mix of finely grated pecorino romano and shaved parmesan cheese because I’m extra.
I love how the chickpeas hide in the shells here. It’s one of my kids’ favorite things too! Fun to eat and easy to make. (more…)
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April 21, 2024
A Week In The Life, Vol 17.
How are we nearing the end of April?!
This week was all sorts of fun!
Always searching for puddles.
And finding the best ones! We had a ton of rain this week.
Some BBQ chicken thighs I made for dinner one night.
My blurry little baseball girl!
My mom and I had a show this week! We saw Company!
Dinner before…
And I got this pretzel margarita that honestly… was terrible. Do not recommend.
The show was good!
The rest of the week we did some party prep because we hosted my niece’s first birthday this weekend.
Her theme was her “berry first birthday”… so strawberry lanterns were necessary!
Also heading into baseball season full swing.
Some bird watching for Jordan.
This made me so happy! I walked into Max and Emilia playing this after school with my mom. I used to do the same thing at my grandparents house!
Best part of baseball for us is hanging with friends!
Little baseball runner.
He looks so old here to me. He looks like Eddie. And my dad!
Then we had Lucy’s first birthday!!
I mean can you even handle the cuteness?!
My SIL got the most adorable cookies.
And we had a blast.
This morning Emilia and I made another big batch of sourdough waffles. Look at her concentration in cracking the egg!
She is such a great helper. Seriously helps me do so much throughout the week and loves it.
Max started a new summer hockey team… how cool is his jersey?!
Jordan was being extra quiet and I couldn’t find him and there is where I found him. #thirdchild.
And a sunny batch of cookies for the week!
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What To Eat This Week: 4/21/24.
I’m loving everything about our meals this week!
What’s on your menu?!
What To Eat This Week
Skillet ricotta pasta with broccoli
Garlic butter chicken and orzo
Roasted chickpeas with sweet peppers
The post What To Eat This Week: 4/21/24. appeared first on How Sweet Eats.
April 20, 2024
Currently Crushing On.
Hello weekend!
This week on the blog, I shared these crispy potato taco bowls. I also shared these roasted chickpeas with sweet peppers, a ton of my favorite taco and margarita recipes and this chopped italian salad on garlic butter baguettes.
There’s a new weekly menu up and a peek at a week in our 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.
xoxoxo
WHAT I’M LOVING THIS WEEKLemon curd muffins sound amazing.
I want to try making this seafood gumbo.
Black bean salsa for the win!
These crispy pork noodles are delish.
Raspberry white chocolate cookies! Yum.
Everyday brown butter cake. OMG.
Spicy watermelon salad. Can’t wait for this.
Making this marry me chicken pasta.
Chocolate chip cookie cups! Whoa.
Craving this blackberry coffee cake.
Better than anything cake. THE BEST.
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April 19, 2024
Italian Chopped Salad with Grilled Garlic Baguettes.
This Italian chopped salad is so easy and ridiculously satisfying. It’s super flavorful served over this grilled garlic bread, all toasty and golden and warm. Makes for a lovely dinner, happy hour snack or party appetizer!
Get ready for the most flavorful meal!
This Italian chopped salad can be served as a lunch or dinner, a party appetizer or even a happy hour snack. The salad is super flavorful, the bread is crunchy and toasty. Combined, it’s a delicious bite of heaven that is satisfying and simple!
And the best part: you can assemble the salad ahead of time. Always a win.
One of my favorite meals to make in the warmer months is grilled bread piled high with some sort of salad. I love it! It’s easy and versatile, can be a great clean-out-the-fridge meal and can be customized to whomever you’re serving.
Oh and it can serve a crowd or you could even dial it back and make it an easy dinner for two.
I can’t even tell you how often I make a version of this in the hot summer months. Not having to turn on the oven? Dinner gold.
Of course, you CAN turn on the oven if that’s how you prefer to make your garlic breads. Whatever works for you!
Salami
Fresh mozzarella
Smoked provolone
Cherry tomatoes
Roasted red peppers
Chickpeas
Thinly sliced red onion
Shredded iceberg lettuce
Radicchio
Sliced banana peppers
And the zestiest, most delish Italian vinaigrette ever.
This little chopped salad is fabulous on its own. You’ll be eating it out of the bowl as you’re preparing it. But it’s even better with some bread!
Warm and golden and toasty garlic bread, grilled so it has a touch of smokiness.
Meals like this never seem like a big deal but they taste AMAZING. Loaded with lots of flavor and texture, they are one of those meals that makes dinner time FUN. It’s easy, yet it feels like a restaurant quality meal.
And obviously, you can add in anything or leave something out, depending on what you love. This is a garlic lovers’ paradise. Garlic bread, a garlic-heavy dressing, all tangy and zesty with a bite. You can change that up if you wish or even do something cool like add in spicy peppers. (more…)
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April 18, 2024
30 Of My Favorite Tex Mex and Margarita Recipes!
Sharing 30 favorite tacos and margaritas here! Lots of delicious tex-mex options with tons of delicious margaritas for the side!
Tacos and margaritas coming in hot today!
Today I’m sharing over 30 of my favorite tacos and margaritas! A bunch of delicious tex-mex options, all paired with some of my favorite margaritas that I’ve made here on the blog. Since anything tex-mex is basically a staple of our weekly menu, I have tons of dishes that I absolutely love. Some days we do tacos, sometimes it’s enchiladas, often it’s a version of a burrito bowl and I can always go for a sheet pan nacho situation.
I mean, who wouldn’t?!
And! I’m a bit partial to the bubbly jam margaritas below but also ADORE my classic margarita recipe that I’ve been making for over a decade. It’s just so darn good. Scroll down and let me know what your pick would be! I’m thinking bang bang cauliflower tacos for tonight…
25 Favorite Tacos and Margaritas
Sheet pan roasted shrimp tacos
Weeknight baked ground turkey tacos
Our favorite ground beef tacos
Sheet pan lime shrimp fajitas (more…)
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April 17, 2024
Roasted Chickpeas with Sweet Peppers and Feta.
I love these roasted chickpeas with tomatoes and sweet peppers. They are savory, sweet and so delicious – super satisfying when served with pita, in salads or on top of grain bowls. Easy, versatile and perfect for leftovers!
Hello, best dinner ever!
These sheet pan roasted chickpeas and tomatoes with sweet peppers is something I am making on repeat. It’s delicious. Super roasty, savory, topped with tangy crumbled feta and is SO good scooped up with warm pita bread.
I could eat it every single day.
This meal is funny, because it doesn’t exactly look like anything special.
But it tastes AMAZING.
When I tell you that I could make a pan of this and enjoy it for the next few meals, it’s no exaggeration.
It’s savory, sweet, can be eaten in a multitude of ways and tastes incredible.
Plus, it’s pretty easy too! You throw everything on the sheet pan, roast it and then top it with some creamy feta.
I mean, oh my gosh.
The original recipe comes from the NYT and it focuses on big pieces of feta. I like to add in sweet peppers (we are obsessed with them, using them in every way possible) and top everything with crumbled feta instead. This spreads out the cheese so every bite gets some.
Spread the love! Of the cheese.
When I had this in mind for dinner, all I could think of was my warm, fluffy pita. I LOVE making this and it’s super simple to do.
BEST decision ever.
Scooping this up with warm pita is incredible. You can eat it taco-style or even use the pita as a flatbread. Or! You can use the chickpea vegetable mixture as a dip and drag is through the sheet pan, because the flavors on that pan are out of this world.
Trust me!
Throw the following things on a sheet pan:
Whole cherry tomatoes
Sliced sweet peppers
Sliced shallots
Chickpeas (from two cans, that you’ve drained and rinsed)
That’s it! I drizzle on olive oil, lots of salt and pepper and even a little garlic powder.
Then I roast the heck out of them. Yes, the pan is crowded. Yes, the vegetables will sort of steam instead of get crispy – but in this case, it’s a good thing. The tomatoes burst, the peppers get soft and sweet, the chickpeas take on ALL the flavor. (more…)
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April 16, 2024
Tuesday Things.
1. Definitely need this brown butter banana bundt in my life.
2. Leopard print is my favorite neutral. Which is probably why I have such a hard time decorating the house.
3. Fridge organization tips! I need all of these.
4. Also now that we’ve been in our house for six months and I’ve really USED the fridges we have daily, I can tell you that I bought True Residential fridges and I am next level obsessed. They are incredible.
5. On that same note, my new outdoor furniture is coming today! You guys gave me so many great suggestions – I ended up getting a few things from yardbird and from polywood. I’ll keep you posted.
6. TV things!! Last night I started The Gentlemen!
7. The most important areas in life to simplify. Love this.
8. Also very into the one hour cleaning method. I do this all the time!
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April 15, 2024
Crispy Potato Taco Bowls.
We love this crispy potato taco bowls for an easy dinner! Crunchy, roasted potatoes, ground turkey taco meat, cheese, guacamole, lettuce, tomato and all the toppings. Make it your own and it’s a weeknight dream!
I will never pass up a taco bowl!
These taco bowls are made with a base of crispy roasted potatoes, topped with ground turkey taco meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickled onions and tortilla chips.
They are super filling and super easy.
I love a meal like this! It’s a perfect weeknight meal, especially when you’re super busy and not sure what to make. The bowls are customizable based on what you enjoy (or let’s be real – what your kids want to eat) and you can use whatever you have in the fridge.
I like to use a base of ground turkey taco meat, but beef works, as does chicken or even just beans. This can be meatless or meaty – your choice.
These bowls are inspired by one of my favorite tacos that we get on vacation every summer. That taco itself is unique and has loads of flavor and texture, and I put my version of the recipe in my next book. (!!!!!)
But the potatoes stuck with me! Potatoes were my favorite food when I was a kid and most days I will choose them over rice. Especially this way.
I love using the crispy potatoes as a base for taco bowls. They work in addition to rice or in place of rice! And they add such a wonderful crisp bite.
I roast the potatoes first. This is simple! Olive oil, salt, pepper, maybe some garlic powder.
While the potatoes roast, I make the ground turkey taco meat. I use my own seasoning blend and have for years. But you can use your favorite spice pack too.
Next, I chop everything I need! Tomatoes, lettuce, jalapenos, cilantro. Grate some fresh cheddar. Make some guac!
When the potatoes are crispy, I like to top them with a bit of cheese and stick them back in the oven until it melts. You can do this for the entire pan or even just one or two servings.
Finally, time to make the bowl! I put the potatoes in the bowl first, then top with meat and cheese. Next, all the toppings I can grab.
Life is all about toppings! (more…)
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