John’s Salted Caramel Ice Cream

Dude, this ice cream is like crack. Plus John winged it without a recipe and used up the rest of my leftover caramels in the process. Recipe by John.

Gong Bao Chicken

I love recreating takeout at home. Particularly if it’s Asian.

I would have liked this to be a little sweeter and a little saucier, but it was still delicious. I used this recipe as a base and added mushrooms and a splash of sherry.

Shortcut Wonton Soup

I threw this together because I knew I was making shrimp chips and I love dipping them in soup. We didn’t have any wonton wrappers or extra shrimp laying around but I did have a few frozen dumplings. The resulting dish is a little Sandra Lee in its semi-homemade-ness, but it tasted good.

Vietnamese Clams with Shrimp Chips

I’m kinda dorkily excited about this recipe. This is a riff on my favorite appetizer at Present, the Vietnamese restaurant down the street. There, you pick up a savory meat and clams mixture with rice crackers.

I made something similar using shrimp chips -  I found the type you fry up in a little oil in NYC’s Chinatown, and have been dying to make them.

We had this with Vietnamese summer rolls and Shortcut Wonton Soup (recipe to follow).

Greek Frittata

It’s been ages since I’ve made a frittata, and I was excited that this one came out as well as it did. Great for using up odds and ends in the fridge. We served this with turkey bacon and tater tots for an unconventional but delicious weekend brunch.

Whiskey Roast Chicken

A tasty, new take on whole chicken, from my all chicken cookbook.

Mushroom Barley Stew

Made this for Meatless Monday. John really liked it; I thought it was ok. Another convenient slow cooker recipe.

Barley Buffalo Stroganoff

One of two crock pot cookbook recipes I made this week. The barley keeps calories down by helping stretch the meat.

Scrambled Eggs with Dill

My new favorite breakfast. Barely a recipe.

Vietnamese Shrimp and Quinoa Salad

I thought this was a great meal. Refreshing, healthy, zesty. A little summery, maybe, but that can be a nice change in January.

I haven’t bought cooked shrimp in years, but decided to do so for this recipe, and it ended up being a nice time-saving shortcut here.  The recipe makes a lot more than it seems to indicate, though I also added a bit more shrimp and veggies than called for.