January always feels like the longest month of the year, so I wanted to share something that keeps us feeling good, even on the 54th day of the month. Soup! Soup is one of my favorite comfort meals, just having it cooking on the stove brings me joy. This month one of my favorites was Ina Garten’s Chicken Tortilla Soup. It’s great to make for a party or a group - keep it warm on the stove, and let everyone add their own toppings. Flavorful, satisfying, and fun!
We’re going through some diet trial and error here at Cassandra’s Kitchen. I was recently diagnosed with Lyme Disease and it was recommended that I eat gluten free to combat inflammation (it's working!!). For the time being I'm eating gluten free and Cindy has been gluten free for years, so it seemed appropriate to share Ina Garten’s incredible Decadent (Gluten Free!) Chocolate Cake (it’s so good, you’ll say ‘gluten who?’).
Chili isn’t usually one of my spring meals, but it hasn’t felt much like spring around here (we still have piles of snow from our latest snow storm). I always like to blog about what we are actually cooking and eating now, and now we are making Ina’s Chicken Chili. This chili is a crowd pleaser and the added bonus is how good my house smells from cooking the onions and garlic. It’s also a great occasion to use my favorite Pillivuyt White Soup Bowls - they're the perfect size.
Does anything warm the soul quite like soup? With all of the crazy cold and snowy weather we’ve been having, I can’t think of another meal more comforting than tomato soup and grilled cheese. Simple and satisfying. Ina Garten’s Easy Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese Croutons puts a special twist on the classic with a bit of cream in the soup and grilled Gruyère cheese for the croutons. I know I say this about a lot of Ina’s dishes but THIS could be my most favorite. I highly recommend committing this recipe to memory and making it often!
Fall is finally in the air!! School and sports are in full swing, so we’re usually home on weekend for the kids’ soccer games, cross-country meets, birthday parties (you get the idea). Lucky for us most of our friends are in the same boat, so we decided to throw together a ‘little’ weekend dinner party. What started small ended up as a party for 16, complete with corn hole (it’s a bean bag toss game) and of course, some of Ina Garten’s great appetizers and side dishes!
To be honest, when I received my set of Cassandra's Kitchen Clear Plastic Containers I wasn't sure how useful they’d really be. I mean, my cupboards overflowed with mismatched Tupperware that worked well enough to store my leftovers. I unpacked them and stacked them neatly next to the rest of the containers with little enthusiasm. Slowly but surely, over the next six months...
During the summer months, we spend as much time outside as we possibly can and because it’s hot outside, our dinners tend to be simpler. This week, we had a few cooler days so I thought I would step out of my comfort zone and try something new that I’d never made before. I flipped through Ina Garten's latest Barefoot Contessa cookbook Cooking For Jeffrey and decided on Roasted Ratatouille with Polenta.
