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Articles by Taylor Kadlec
Grilled Zucchini and Corn Crostini with Lemon Basil Ricotta
I came up with this combination during a summer when the garden was producing more zucchini than I knew what to do with, and I had already made every zucchini bread and stir-fry in existence. The idea was simple: grill it, put it on bread, and figure out what goes underneath. Whipped ricotta with lemon zest and chopped basil turned out to be the answer. It has been on repeat every summer since. The ricotta gets beaten with cream, olive oil, and sea salt until it is fluffy and light.
Baked Salmon Niçoise Salad with Quinoa
Why quinoa in a Nicoise salad? Because it holds the vinaigrette better than potatoes and adds protein alongside the salmon. This version bakes the salmon fillets with sea salt and Herbs de Provence, cooks quinoa separately, and tosses everything with Roma tomatoes, olives, and a shallot-Dijon dressing. The dressing is red wine vinegar, olive oil, diced shallot, Dijon mustard, and dried herbs whisked together. It goes on while the quinoa is still warm so the grains absorb the flavour.
Quinoa Stuffed Endive with Blueberry and Basil
I served these at a dinner party as an appetiser and spent more time making them than anything else on the menu, but they were the only thing people talked about afterward. Cooked quinoa dressed with olive oil, honey, lemon juice, shallot, and garlic, then tossed with fresh blueberries, chopped basil, and crumbled goat cheese. Spooned into individual endive leaves. Each leaf is a single bite.
Triple Berry Quinoa and Spring Green Salad
What is the point of putting three types of berries in a salad? Each one does something different. Raspberries are tart and soft. Blueberries are sweet and firm. Sliced strawberries are juicy and bright. Together on spring greens with cooked quinoa, sliced red onion, and crumbled goat cheese, they turn a green salad into something you actually want to eat.
Goat Cheese and Honey Spread
Two cheeses, honey, and toasted walnuts. Ten minutes. This is the appetiser I make when I cannot be bothered to cook but still want something on the table that looks like I tried. Beat mascarpone and goat cheese together with honey, olive oil, and salt until fluffy. Spread it in a dish. Pile toasted walnuts on top and drizzle more honey over everything. Eat it with crackers, bread, sliced apple, your finger. I do not judge. These don’t last long here. How to Make Goat Cheese and Honey Spread 375F (190C).
How to Make Chimichurri
Making chimichurri at home is ridiculously easy – everything goes into a bowl and gets mixed together. No fancy equipment needed, though a food processor can save you some chopping time if you’re making a large batch. The key is getting the balance right between the herbs and acid, and don’t be shy with the garlic. Step by Step Guide to Making Chimichurri Rinse and roughly chop the cilantro and parsley. Peel and roughly chop the onion. Mince the garlic.
Inexpensive Self Care Ideas (Like Chocolate!) for the Holiday Season
Partner Post: This post is sponsored by Lamontagne Chocolate. Special treats and self care doesn’t have to mean expensive days at the spa. Instead, try chocolate, and these other ideas. Whenever I think of self care, visions of spa days and luxurious baths run through my mind. While these all sound enjoyable, they’re not exactly practical (I haven’t taken a bath in years) or budget-friendly.
Grilled Steak and Vegetable Rice Bowls with Chimichurri Sauce
Featured, Main Courses August 11, 2019 by Taylor Kadlec 0 Grilled Steak and Vegetable Rice Bowls with Chimichurri Sauce are a fun and flavorful way to make grilled steak for dinner. A bright and zippy chimichurri sauce brightens up grilled steak, along with spiced grilled veggies and fluffy rice. It’s no secret that I’m a fan of meals that involve bowls and sauces. I love creating different combinations of grains, vegetables, and meats with fun flavors and of course – sauces.
Grilled Peach, Ham and Burrata Pizza
Bayonne Ham, Featured, Main Courses July 29, 2019 by Taylor Kadlec 0 Sponsored Post: #EnjoyItsFromEurope This post is brought to you by Jambon de Bayonne aka Bayonne Ham, the melt-in-your-mouth charcuterie from Europe. You’ve probably tried cured ham before, but have you had French Bayonne ham? Be sure to enter for a chance to win Bayonne ham here. Pizza is one of my favorite things to grill in the summertime. I love how versatile the toppings can be and that it’s always an interactive meal to cook.
Cobb Salad Wraps
It’s everything you’d put in a healthy, nutrient filled salad, but bundled up into a handheld wrap! These Cobb Salad Lettuce Wraps have everything you’d in a cobb salad, wrapped into a lettuce wrap. There’s ham, turkey, bacon, tomato, hard boiled egg, blue cheese, cheddar cheese, and ranch dressing. They are really so simple to put together, and involve just a bit of prep work. The prep work includes cooking the bacon and hardboiling the eggs.
Everything Bagel Breakfast Bake
Breakfast, Featured March 22, 2019 by Taylor Kadlec 0 Eggs, bacon, everything bagels, and cheese are combined in this crowd-pleasing Everything Bagel Breakfast Bake. To say I’m obsessed with Everything bagel seasoning might be an understatement. I eat it almost every morning on my avocado toast (so basic, I know, but SO good!) and have been looking for other ways to use it. So far I’ve put it on my kids leftover macaroni and cheese, used it as salmon seasoning, and have made a chip dip with it.
Winter Citrus Bundt Cake
Being in the middle of a week with negative degree temps (at least for those of us in the Midwest), I thought we could use a slice of cake to cheer us all up. I mean, I’ve grown to enjoy the colder weather that Minnesota has, but -50 degrees?! What in the actual you-know-what. So yes. CAKE. And cookies…but that’s coming on another post! I actually made this Almond Citrus Bundt Cake on a whim. It was 6:00 a.m. and I had already been up for 30 minutes with my younger son.
How to Make Slow Cooker Honey Bourbon BBQ Ribs
Take BBQ rib season all the way into fall with theses slow cooked oven BBQ bourbon ribs slathered in a sweet and savory honey sauce. The challenge with using a smoker for ribs is that it’s a pretty hands-on process. A smoker isn’t a “set it and forget it” tool like a slow cooker. You have to monitor the temperature, add more smoke chips if you’re using an electric smoker, wrap the ribs in foil after a certain number of hours, and manage other tasks that can make it a bit of a hassle.
Cheesesteak Sliders for a Crowd
Featured, Main Courses December 22, 2017 by Taylor Kadlec 0 For your next party or game day, whip up a pan of these glorious cheesesteak sliders. They’re greasy, cheesy, good. If I live in Minnesota, can I really have an opinion on what makes a good Philly Cheesesteak? I mean, it would kind of be like someone from Florida telling us what the best hot dish recipe is or where to go for the best Juicy Lucy. There are just some territories we know not to cross into.
Gruyere and Ham Breakfast Casserole
Breakfast, Featured January 29, 2019 by Taylor Kadlec 0 This Gruyere and Ham Breakfast Casserole can be prepped a night in advance and will bake to cheesy perfection. A perfect weekend brunch. I actually happen to be one of those people who truly loves getting up early for a jump-start on my day, so I typically am not the one who rolls out of bed smelling food already being made. But I can imagine it’s wonderful.
Caramel Apple Rolls
When the air is colder, I itch to bake more. There’s just something more enticing about a pan of warm brownies/bars/cinnamon rolls on a chilly fall day than on a hot an steamy summer afternoon, y’know? Cinnamon rolls are definitely a treat in our house. I would say I typically have more of a savory breakfast palate, so while I love whipping up eggs, bacon, and avocado toast, cinnamon rolls are pretty rare.
Grilled Chicken Gyros
These simple grilled chicken gyros are topped with a cool tomato and cucumber salsa and a homemade tzatziki. It’s a recipe we keep coming back to. Back when we were in graduate school in Omaha, Marc (who, at the time, was my very new cute boyfriend) and I loved to hit up a hole-in-the-wall restaurant called Amsterdam. Obviously he was trying to sweep me off my feet. Not only was the place a hole in the wall but there was no place to sit inside.
Cherry-Balsamic Sauce and Grilled Chicken
Serve your next grilled chicken with a delightful cherry-balsamic sauce that is so simple to make and so flavorful. We recently moved. Our new (to us) house has a beautiful backyard and a great patio. We had a pretty nice patio in our old house but our new one has a much better view, is bigger, and gets great evening light. This makes me want to eat every single meal outside, especially dinner. And if it’s raining we’ll just go in our three seasons porch. New house, for the win.
Homemade Pop Tarts
PARTNER POST: We’ve teamed up with Bonne Maman to bring you the best homemade breakfast and brunch recipes to show Mom you care this Mother’s Day and all spring long Ditch the packaged stuff and recreate your own homemade pop tarts. This version is better than the original and stuffed with cherry preserves made with simple ingredeints.
Strawberry Cream Pie in a Pretzel Crust
Desserts, Featured May 14, 2018 by Taylor Kadlec 0 This frozen strawberry cream pie in a sweet and salty pretzel crust is about to become a favorite warm-weather treat. One of the most nostalgic desserts that I can think of from my childhood, aside from my grandma Esther’s bunny cake and my grandma Patsy’s Coca Cola cake, is the strawberry jello dessert with a pretzel crust. Also can we just appreciate, for a second, that this dessert is widely known as Strawberry Pretzel Salad?
Cream Cheese and Carrot Bundt Cake
Perfect for spring, make a pan of this carrot bunt cake covered with a sweet cream cheese icing. When spring rolls around, my frame of mind for desserts shifts from rich, chocolate desserts to lighter flavors like citrus and fruit. I also tend to think of carrot cake as a spring dessert. I am a huge fan of carrot cake! It took me three tries to get this carrot cake recipe just right. The first try the texture just wasn’t right.
Rich Potato Leek Soup
PARTNER POST: Reinvent potato recipes to be fresher and lighter in the new year. Make it your resolution to try these dishes as nutritious packed lunch ideas. Made without a drop of cream, this rich potato leek soup is surprisingly smooth, silky and a warm delight. By Taylor Kadlec Is anyone else still frozen? It reached -30 degrees yesterday and is actually still below freezing here in Minnesota today which means what? It’s time to make soup, of course.
Beer Cheese Macaroni
Take your next batch of creamy macaroni and cheese up a notch by tossing it in a homemade beer cheese. I always knew before I had kids that I would feed them boxed macaroni and cheese occasionally. But can I say that I vastly underestimated just how often I would do so. I had no idea it would be a staple on my grocery list every single week. True confession: I eat it for lunch with him at least once a week. With a side of kale because, balance.
Chocolate-Loaded Mississippi Mud Brownies
As my most frequent dining buddy, Marc got nominated as my official taste tester. It doesn’t sound like a rough job, but for a guy who thinks food is “good” or “okay,” sometimes it’s hard getting a lot of feedback from him. Our typical conversation after eating the first couple bites of something I made usually goes something like: Me: “So, what do you think?” Marc: “It’s good” Me: “No, what do you really think? Does it have enough flavor? It is too dry?
Zucchini Boats Stuffed with Buffalo Turkey
Did anyone set a New Year’s resolution this year? I did not. Actually, I don’t think I have set any resolutions for the past few years. They just seem so…..cliche. And just begging to be broken. While I typically do feel an urge to start fresh at the beginning of the new year, what does that even mean? Start a diet? Clean out my closet? Take up a new hobby? To be honest, I don’t want to diet. I have lots of other things I’d rather do than clean my closet. And I don’t need a new hobby.
Caramel Apple Tea Scones
Did you recently go apple picking? Do you have a hefty harvest of fall apples in your kitchen? Easily make a batch of these caramel apple tea scones with the seasonal produce. After our trip to the apple orchard a couple of weeks ago, I was then faced the challenge of figuring out what to do with all those apples! I made a couple of batches of pressure cooker applesauce and a second batch of my Salted Caramel Apple Pie Bars, and still had a huge bowl left of apples.
Horseradish and Grilled Steak Sandwich
While we are more burgers and brats type of people when it comes to grilling (and give me ALL the sides!), we do like to grill steaks a few times every summer. Paired with some grilled onions and mushrooms, an ear or two of corn on the cob, and an ice cold beer and I am one happy lady. Since I tend to overdo it on the sides, I pretty much always have leftover steak.
Funfetti Cake - No Box Needed
Make a soft white funfetti cake complete with celebratory sprinkles that is way better than the box version. I wish that I could sit down with each and every one of you and have a slice of my birthday cake and tell you how much it means to me that you read what I write. It truly is one of my biggest passions and I feel so lucky that I get to do it.
Curried Pumpkin Pot Pie
Now that the weather is turning cool and it feels like fall, it’s time for all the cool weather foods. Soups, stews, chilis, and casseroles have been all that I have been wanting to cook. While I don’t cook pot pies very often, they really are the perfect comfort food: a flaky biscuit crust with a warm creamy filling.
Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Bars with Oats
These Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin Bars with Oats are a hybrid dessert. They’re yummy enough to be considered dessert but also somewhat healthy enough, being loaded with oats and pumpkin, to snack on through out the day. The bars are thick and chewy from the oats and whole wheat flour and I love the combination of pumpkin spices and chocolate.
Salted Caramel Butterscotch Blondie Bars
My sweet tooth has come back with a vengeance the past couple of weeks. Gummy worms, frozen yogurt, Junior Mints, cherry dipped cones, you name it. I want it. I had a craving last week for a rich bar dessert, and these salted caramel butterscotch blondie bars with brown butter certainly fit the bill. Anything with brown butter AND salted caramel AND butterscotch just screams ‘rich’ right?
Grilled Harissa Chicken with Herbed Yogurt Sauce
Smoky, spicy Harissa chile paste gives these chicken skewers a delicious kick on the barbecue before being cooled down with a creamy herb-yogurt dipping sauce. By Taylor Kadlec When I started seeing recipes using harissa, a spicy sauce typically used in Moroccan dishes, I figured I would try a pre-made version to see what it was all about. It was pretty good, but I wasn’t blown away by it like I thought I would be.
Mushroom-Spinach Strata with Dill Havarti
PARTNER POST – Get creative with any of Castello’s uniquely crafted cheeses. Click here for a $1 off coupon to create your own gourmet masterpiece. A perfect breakfast or brunch to make ahead with leftover veggies, old bread, and delightful dill cheese and eggs. Wake up and throw it in the oven! By Taylor Kadlec We all need a solid egg bake in our lives to fall back on, right?
Sweet and Spicy Thai Chicken Wings
These Thai flavored chicken wings are so good that I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to go back to regular chicken wings anytime soon. Unlike a lot of Thai dishes which have a lot of specialty ingredients, these wings have pretty standard items aside from the Thai Sweet Chili Sauce which can be found at pretty much any grocery store.
Aged Havarti and Mushroom Flatbread
This post is part of “The Art of Cheese”, a partnership between Honest Cooking and Castello Cheese. Mushrooms sautéed in butter, garlic, and sherry wine with Castello Aged Havarti Cheese in one delicious puff pastry flatbread. By Taylor Kadlec This flatbread is simple and so good. The mushroom are cooked in butter, shallots, garlic, sherry Wine. That’s it, folks.
Cream-less Corn Chowder with Bacon
If there’s one thing I absolutely, positively, no doubt about it, MUST have every summer, it is corn on the cob. There’s typically a good few weeks where I make sure corn on the cob is part of the menu at LEAST 3 nights a week. Not wanting to waste one precious kernel, I spent an entire afternoon cooking, blanching, cutting kernels off the cobs, and freezing the corn…minus the four cobs we ate right away…three for me, one for him.
Chilled Peach Soup with Granola
Have you ever had a chilled soup before? Chilled soups are perfect for summer, which is why gazpacho’s are always popular, and you’ll likely see chilled cucumber or chilled tomato soups popping up on menus. I figured I could continue the chilled soup theme with something a bit sweeter and came up with this peach soup.
Blueberry and Almond Breakfast Oat Bars
The ingredients are short and simple, and include no flour and no refined sugars. I used just a little bit of honey to sweeten the bars and then oats, chopped almonds, and flaxseed to bulk them up. At the end I threw in a heaping cup of fresh blueberries. The texture of the bars is pretty dense from all of the oats, with a bit of crunch from the almonds and some bursts of sweetness from the blueberries.
Brown Butter S'More Rice Krispie Treats
Rice krispie treat are going outdoors. Mixed with graham cracker crumbs and layered with chocolate and burnt marshmallows, these brown butter treats are a sure sign of summer. By Taylor Kadlec Theses s’mores are amazing. First, you start with browning butter. We’re all familiar with and aware of the magic of browning butter, right? Good. Then you make rice krispies like ya do except you’ll add some crushed up graham crackers too, and you put half of that into the pan and top it with chocolate.
Coconut, Coffee, Chocolate Chunk Ice Cream
Taylor Kadlec Taylor Kadlec is a lover of all things food including… Strong coffee flavor and coconut extract make this ice cream bold and rich. Add chocolate chunks or flakes for a sweet addition. By Taylor Kadlec I know the combo of coffee and coconut might seem a little strange but seriously – TRUST ME on this one. It’s delicious! The ice cream itself has both strong coffee and coconut extract along with shredded coconut to amp up the coconut flavor.
Mango Curry Grilled Chicken
I made this mango curry marinated grilled chicken for my mom and I over the weekend after a long day of shopping for stuff for the new house and doing some gardening. I have to admit – neither of us were really excited to cook, as we’d been on our feet and busy all day long, but thankfully this chicken (and the yummy veggie we cooked with it – recipe coming later this week!) could not be easier.
Blueberry Scones with Crumble Topping
An outside crust with a soft inside, these lemon and blueberry scones are the perfect match for a cinnamon crumble. Warm them up, grab some butter, jam, and tea and start relaxing.
Crispy Tofu and Broccoli Bowls with Spicy Hoisin Sauce
It contains three new obsessions of mine that make up one big obsession, which is this dish. First: crispy tofu. Second: noodles. Extra thin, preferably. They cook super fast and I love how they just soak up every bit of flavor you throw at them. I also love their texture and being a big texture person, this is huge for me. Third: spicy Hoisin sauce. Super flavorful and super yum, which is super important when those said noodles are soaking it all up. So there ya have it.
Mini Strawberry Shortcake Trifles
Roasting strawberries creates a fruit more magical than can be found on the plant. The intensified strawberry flavor layered with a lemon angel food cake make for a rich trifle that’s perfect for individual servings. By Taylor Kadlec Aren’t they the cutest little things that you ever wanted to stuff in your face? If you haven’t tried roasting strawberries yet, hopefully this dessert will give you one last big kick in the rear to do so because it is pure magic.
Sausage, Feta, and Almond-Parsley Pesto Pasta
The pesto recipe makes a little more than what you need, but pesto freezes beautifully and you’ll have parsley pesto ready to go whenever you want. Another recipe note – in my directions I talk about saving the pasta water and adding some in at the end. This naturally thickens any pasta sauce, which really meant that a little bit of my pesto went a long ways. Add the pasta water gradually, until the pasta is coated in the pesto to your liking.
Blueberry Lemon Coffee Cake
A tender lemon flavored coffee cake, speckled with blueberries and drizzled with a lemon glaze. Perfect for breakfast, brunch, or dessert. For the cake 2 cups all-purpose flour 1 1/2 tsp baking powder 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature 3/4 cup sugar 2 large eggs 1 tsp pure vanilla extract 1 tbsp lemon zest (zest from 1 lemon) 1/2 cup buttermilk 2 cups blueberries (I used frozen) For the drizzle 1- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar juice from 1 lemon Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce
Sweet Potato Quinoa Salad with Spicy Peanut Sauce clock icon cutlery icon flag icon folder icon instagram icon pinterest icon facebook icon print icon squares icon heart icon heart solid icon Hearty and healthy, this vibrant salad is packed with flavor. The spicy peanut sauce adds a delicious kick.
Citrus and Rosemary Roasted Olives
Citrus & Rosemary Roasted Olives These are super easy to make and if you like olives, you will love them. I added a dash of crushed red pepper to them, so they have a little bit of a kick. The roasting really deepends the flavors of not only the olives but the citrus and rosemary as well. Use non-pitted olives, as they have more flavor with the pits and they’re more fun to eat that way.
Green Bean Casserole
From the cream sauce to the fresh green beans and right down to the homemade fried onions, this Thanksgiving staple gets a culinary update.
Pumpkin Spice Rice Pudding
This recipe offers a range of sugar for you to adjust the level of sweetness so this seasonal treat can be an indulgent breakfast or a decadent dessert.
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