You know when you get sucked into the lists on Buzzfeed or the random news stories on Yahoo and you come across a terrifying headline that says “Top 10 Foods You Should Never Eat Unless You Want to Suffer A Painful Death”. Either out of curiosity or panic you click on the link to see […]
I’m coming at you with another soup recipe. Soup always amazes me that you can dump a lot of ingredients into a large pot (portions just a suggestion), add some stock and seasoning and you have a hearty, comforting filling meal. This minestrone pulls in a medley of flavors from the vegetables, but it’s the pesto […]
Vegetarian food sometimes gets a bad rap when it tries to imitate food that is usually eaten as meat. If you try to pretend something is something else it will never taste the same. Zucchini noodles are not wheat noodles, tofu is not chicken and black bean burgers are not hamburgers. Vegetarian burgers are good […]
If you follow my posts closely you’ll notice that consecutive recipes include the same ingredients. It’s no secret I’m cooking for one and trying to use up the food in my house. Sometimes this works great and sometimes it’s like a bad episode of Food Network’s Chopped. I think I spent a week using up […]
You know when you eat something at a restaurant, and it’s so good you can’t stop thinking about it for days? You consider going back to the restaurant just days later so you can order it again. Maybe you even look at the menu and think, I could make this. When you try to mimic […]
Who knew toast would practically become its own food group these days. Every time I turn around I see a new creative way to up the toast game. Classic egg-in-a-hole toast is still one of my favorites – warm toasty bread with runny yolk baked right into it. I didn’t stop there this time. I […]
For several weeks after first making these sweet potato wedges I became hooked and ate them several times a week. The prep work only takes a few minutes and the oven does all of the work. I love the distinct taste of the coriander with the sweetness of the potato. They are just thin enough […]
Making homemade peanut brittle always intimidated me. Temperatures and consistencies are crucial in making candy, and I always figured I didn’t have the patience in the kitchen for it. Over the years of making peanut brittle I’m always pleasantly surprised how easy it is. Sure, not every batch turns out perfect and I’ve had a […]
Holy moly, I recommend you make this dish. It may sound so so, but trust me the flavors are perfect together. I made this for a friend and the two of us could not stop raving about it the entire time. The recipe is inspired by Ina Garten with a few Jacked Kitchen tweaks along […]
Who else fantasizes about light, fluffy pancakes covered in soft butter and sweet maple syrup?? I do just about every day. If somebody would come make me pancakes every morning I would be a happy gal. If you make pancakes often enough you’ve learned that the trick to fuffy pancakes is using buttermilk or a […]
I seriously make a disaster of my kitchen every time I cook. Today I was at a friend’s house and watched in awe as she baked cookies and seemed to have magic little elves following her around keeping everything clean and organized. As I write this and look into my kitchen, it looks like all […]
The first snow of the season arrived today in Chicago. After 10 seconds of saying, “aw, it’s pretty” I was onto counting down the days until summer. I’ll spare you the math….we have a long way to go. Fortunately, winter justifies being the laziest person around. Jack did persuade me to go outside only to […]
Running a food blog has taught me a few things that I was not entirely aware of before the birth of jackedkitchen.com. Let me share.Food photography is difficult.I mean, duh, right? Good photography is not easy. I knew that from trying to snap pictures of my scrumptious looking dinner on my phone only to realize it […]
I think we all go through phases of fighting the meal slump. When nothing sounds good and you are tired of the regular rotation of meals. When the few things that DO sound good just so happen to be the three least healthiest foods in the world. I wish when we were bored with food we […]
Breakfast tacos are just the best. Actually tacos for every meal is best. These roasted veggie tacos are so delectable I’ve been whipping them up a couple of times a week. Roasting the vegetables instead of sauteing them brings out their sweetness and adds a crunchy char to the edges of the asparagus and onions. Add silky, […]
I’ve never been a big fan of deli meat. Back to the days of grade school packed lunches I just couldn’t get myself to do it. Peanut butter and jelly all the way for me. In my older, wiser years I’ve found that there are quality cuts of meat that make a great sandwich, but […]