The other day, Metropolitan Market had artichokes on sale 2 for 1…so I wound up with more than what I would typically by for a veggie side dish. I decided to try stuffing the artichokes with sausage. It was a great main dish. The flavors from the sausage and tomatoes drip through the artichoke – no dipping sauce needed! It was also a fairly easy dish to make. I began with prepping the artichokes. After rinsing the chokes off, I...

My apologies for how dusty this blog has become… my “day job” has kept me pretty busy and we recently finished a complete kitchen remodel. The kitchen remodel includes a combi-steam oven and I also recently picked up an Instant Pot…let’s just say I have plenty of things to share on this blog so watch for future post. Here’s a picture of my old kitchen. You’d have to zoom close up to see that the cabinets...

Our friends made the most amazing smoked pork nachos to munch on while watching the Seahawks game… it was so tasty, I’m amazed we had left overs. They were too delicious to toss so we wrapped up them in foil to make migas for breakfast. This was my first attempt and it turned out great. In fact, I will probably make too much nachos for now own just knowing we can have migas in the morning! Again, this is one of those recipes that...

Around the holidays, my sister Nikki was raving about the breakfast cups she was making that her (picky) kids love. I decided to give them a try and let’s just say this is up there with Huevos Rancheros for his favorite breakfast request. This recipe is simple, tasty and flexible with ingredients you have on hand.  I wish I would have known about this recipe back when our kids were in school because the egg cups reheat beautifully for a...

I love a “good” pea salad and I decided to make one for my contribution to our Easter Brunch.  I think cold pea salads sing of sunny Spring. Since we’re going to be having ham, I opted for a recipe without (gasp!) bacon.   This recipe is a variation from one I found at Simply Recipes, which I doubled for our brunch and substituted canned water chestnuts for sweet red peppers. I Quickly rinse salt of two 6...

 Okay… this is my take on Food & Wine’s Peruvian Steak and Potato Stir-Fry. I don’t feel like I can call my version of this recipe “Peruvian” when I’ve made my tweaks.  I have been carrying this recipe around saved up in Evernote just waiting for a opportunity to make it.  Metropolitan Market had New York Steaks on sale… I couldn’t resist – here’s my chance… BUT...

This dish represents a couple attributes that I love in a meal: one pot cooking and using up leftovers. I’m giddy when I’m going through my fridge and finding half a shallot that will work perfectly and may have otherwise gone to waste…that’s why I love all types of hash…even for dinner! Plus, it’s darn tasty.   Salmon Hash I didn’t have to make a trip to the store for this dish. You can make hash...

We met with friends the other night for a Merlot tasting party. The main dish was grilled salmon and I was tasked with bringing an appetizer. I decided to bring prosciutto wrapped prawns. It was a beautiful hot summer evening and I wanted something that was quick, easy and would compliment the wine and our dinner. I’ve made this recipe by wrapping prosciutto, pancetta or even thinly sliced bacon – it’s all good!  I was...

 I’ve recently moved my main blog The Mortgage Porter over to WordPress… and I’m slowly moving my other blogs, like this one, over ot WP too. In doing so, I also picked up a new address: www.sipnsimmer.com for this blog since I like to not only share my favorite recipes — I also like to share wines that I think are nice every day drinkers. I’d love your feed...

The other day, I decided to toss our broccoli on the Big Green Egg to accompany the rib eye’s I had just finished grilling. Everyone loved them – even my step-son! The flavor is amazing and it’s very simple. I’m making grilled broccoli again tonight so I can share this with you. Wash and chop (bigger pieces) your broccoli and toss it into a large plastic zip-lock baggie. Drizzle olive oil. Add fresh sea salt and...

Here's one of the dishes I made for my son's graduation party. It's a crowd pleaser that can be made a day or two ahead of time.  If you're serving it right away, just mix it all up and enjoy! NOTE: I'm getting ready to make this for a Mother's Day potluck.  I'm happy to see that I started this post almost a year ago…and now I have an opportunity to finish it.  Happy Mother's Day to all...

I'm not sure if these are shrimp or prawns – but I do know they're fresh because my husband and his buddies just plucked them from the Puget Sound with the beginning of shrimpin' season. I'm following a combo of this recipe and my own paella experiments for cooking this tasty dish on the Big Green Egg. Begin with simmering 4 cups of chicken broth with a generous amount of saffron. Saute onion and red bell pepper until soft...

Last night, we had dinner with a group of friends for a "blind" wine tasting of cabs. Everyone brought wine, which was later "bagged and tagged" for the tasting, and a dish.  My dish assignment: appetizers. And since the main dish was a delishous prime rib, beef was out of the question for my dish.  I would up deciding two bring two dishes…in hindsight, for our group of eight, just one of these appetizers...

My neighbor has been raving about Big John's for years. She loves the cheese selection and great prices on imported foods. After the chef who was the instructor at the ravioli class I took at Sur La Table in Kirkland this weekend mentioned we could get "00 flour" for an affordable price, I had to stop by!  And I wish I would have listened to my neighbor sooner (but don't tell her that!!!) this place is a gem! Big...

This recipe is from Barney Louck's a Real Estate Broker with John L. Scott in Federal Way. This time of year the pears are so sweet, that we cut the top and bottom off, hollow out with melon baller, stuff with oatmeal, brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter, and bake at 375 for 45 minutes to an hour, till a knife tip slides in easily…served warm with Greek yogurt sweetened with agave...

[Editors Note: LIVE POST!] I've attempted smoking a whole turkey on the Big Green Egg once before. This time, after enjoying a fantastic turkey on Thanskgiving at my little sisters home that my brother in law brined, I decided to do the same.  I have a 10 pound turkey that has been soaking in this brine just shy of 24 hours from one of my favorite cooks, The Pioneer Woman.   This is a fresh bird – it has not...

Cut one jalapeno in half and remove the stem and seeds (carefully!) and add to food processor with a bunch (roughly a cup) of cilantro leaves. Chop for 10 – 20 seconds in food processor. Add juice of one lime and some salt and pepper to taste and give a couple pulses to mix.  NOTE: the next time I make this salsa, I think I'm going to finely grate some of the rind off of the lime to add to the salsa. Add 5 medium tomatoes roughly...

This is a very easy, delicious dinner and I only dirtied two pans!  It's a treat that I like to make when the kids aren't home for dinner. First I start with boiling the yukon golds or your choice of potatoes in salted water. I prefer yukon golds for mashed potatoes because they're so creamy and I leave the peel on.  I often make extra mashed potatoes so we can have potato pancakes later. While the potatoes are boiling, I...

We are so lucky to have a bounty of tomatoes from our patio garden this year! After a few summers of dismal results, we are determined to not let any tomatoes be wasted. We always enjoy bruschetta but now my new favorite thing to make with our tomatoes is jam! I actually posted this first on Facebook "live" and I've been tweeking the recipe a little every time I make it. I used small canning jars that have been cleaned and...

I've had this vision of watching Napoleon Dynamite and serving gourmet tator tots.  Well that combo hasn't happened yet…but last night, when we were having a couple of New York steaks for dinner and I forgot to pick up a side at the store, I had my chance to create my gourmet tots. Embarassingly easy and very tasty! I start with: ORE-IDA Tator Tots Crispy Crowns.  I sprinkled them with some truffle salt and fresh...