The Feastie Blog

Remember when "buffalo" only referred to chicken wings and herds of large brown four-legged mammals? Well now you can "buffalo" just about anything! Buffalo wings are traditionally deep-fried chicken wings slathered in a buttery, vinegary hot sauce, served with blue cheese dip - the pinnacle of game day and bar food. There's something about that tangy, salty, spicy hot sauce that people find irresistable - as evidenced by the staggering number of "buffalo chicken" recipes on the web lately. If you're looking for a fun recipe to wow your friends at your next game day party, you're in luck - we've rounded up the top 5 buffalo chicken recipes on the web this week - everything from quesadillas to cheese balls and salads. You don't need a sports game on to enjoy one of these snacks - any time is a good time for buffalo.     

Buffalo Chicken Dip Quesadillas from Chocolate Moosey
Photo from Chocolate Moosey

You know how every once in a while you make something, eat it, enjoy it, and can't get enough of it? Yeah, that's where I'm at with this oven roasted tofu and broccoli. It just hits the spot - every spot - in all the right ways. It's ridiculously healthy, it's delish, and best of all, it's quick and easy, great for a weeknight dinner. The Mr. has been enjoying this with me - although he did make an astute observation the last time we ate this: "You really like eating the same thing over and over until you get sick of it, don't you?" I'm still not sick of this - it's that good. And cheap! So cheap! One block of tofu, 1 bunch of broccoli, wham bam and you're done. This is good enough to make a tofu lover out of a dedicated carnivore - this is a great way to introduce tofu to someone who is skeptical about soy. Of course it's incredibly versatile and you can substitute any vegetable for the broccoli, but there's just something about that crisp, caramelized broccoli with the lemon and parmesan that makes me very, very happy. Oh and the leftovers - divine. I get really excited for lunchtime when I know this is waiting for me in the fridge!

Apparently something about the beginning of spring has people excited about grilled cheese. When we looked around this week for our favorite recipes to feature for Feastie Friday, we noticed the abundance of grilled cheese recipes - how funny is it that it's been almost exactly 1 year (to the day!) since our last Feastie Friday grilled cheese post?! Coincidence? We think not. Although we've said it before and we'll say it again - ANY TIME is a good time for grilled cheese. The sky is the limit - let your imagination run wild (or your freak flag fly, whatever) and see what grilled cheese masterpieces you can come up with. The endless combination of cheeses, meats, veggies and fruits, sauces and jams you can smush together between two slices of bread is truly inspiring - we've seen some incredibly creative grilled cheese sandwiches lately, and we're stoked to try them all and to share our favorites with you. Check out our blog post on 3 Tips for making the perfect grilled cheese sandwich - and get to grilling. But first take a look at the top 10 grilled cheese recipes we've rounded up for you this week - get inspired, get creative, get your cheese and your bread and go to town!

Grilled Gruyere Cheese and Caramelized Onion Sandwiches from From Which Things Grow
Photo from From Which Things Grow

While I do attempt to blog about budget-friendly recipes and meals that are relatively accessible, sometimes I need to take a minute to realize just how lucky I am to have the luxury to choose what I want to eat and when. Millions of Americans don't know where their next meal will come from - and many live on extremely tight food budgets, which gives a whole new meaning to the term "budget friendly recipe". Families and individuals participating in the food stamp program are limited to $3 or $4 per person per day to supplement their food budget. With such limited funds for groceries, many families rely on cheap yet unhealthy options to stretch their food dollar - sometimes the cheapest source of calories isn't the healthiest. Luckily a fantastic group of food bloggers, Food Bloggers Against Hunger, is taking action to bring attention to these issues, and to promote fundamental changes in policy to help these families in need. Make your voice heard and urge congress to support vital programs that prevent Americans from going hungry. Take 30 seconds and submit your name here: No Kid Hungry

Today I want to share a really budget-friendly recipe - something that can be made with inexpensive pantry staples and is a tasty, healthy, versatile option if you're eating on a budget. While canned tuna can be expensive, canned beans are a fantastic and inexpensive source of healthy protein and fiber. This chickpea of the sea sandwich inspired by The Kitchn is a great alternative to tuna salad sandwiches - and it's utterly delicious. It's vegetarian (can easily be made vegan) and while I enjoy it on a sandwich, it's great as a dip for veggies or crackers as well. 

There have been some heavy accusations against granola lately. Granola is the epitome of health - crunchy, healthy goodness - but unfortunately, super processed, pre-packaged granolas have ruined granola's immaculate reputation. Most store-bought granolas are filled with sugar, oil, high fructose corn syrup - not exactly health food. To add insult to injury, a little bag of granola at the store will cost you big bucks - packaged cereal isn't cheap. But luckily you can bypass the expensive junk by making granola and granola treats at home - restoring granola in its rightful place as a healthy, nutritious treat! Making granola at home costs a fraction of conventional grocery store granola - so do your health and your wallet a favor and whip up a batch of granola at home. We've rounded up the top 5 granola treats for you this week, so you can join us in celebrating the deliciousness that is healthy granola. Toss the boxes of junk and stock up on oats!

Coconut-Mango Granola Bars from Lawfully Wedded Wife
Photo from Lawfully Wedded Wife

I'm on an oat bar/oat square/granola bar kick. First it was these fig crumble oatmeal bars - delish. Then it was soft pumpkin butter granola bars. Now it's soft cherry butter oat squares! This is basically the same idea as the pumpkin butter bars - but since pumpkin butter is hard to find these days, I went with cherry butter instead. Any kind of fruit butter will work here - apple butter, apricot butter, cherry butter - whatever you've got. These little squares are so satisfying - they're a great snack, not too sweet, but they still hit the spot when you want a sweet treat. Made with oats, coconut oil, and pecans, these bars are on the healthy side, too - they're not sugar-free, but compared to the bars you'll find in a shiny wrapper in your grocery store, they're health food. Store these wrapped individually in the fridge - they're great any time of the day (yes, even for breakfast). 

We've rounded up the top 5 recipes for the week ranging from the traditional Easter ham to a natural way to dye eggs. If you're looking for ways to use up all those dyed eggs, there's a plethora of creative deviled egg recipes on the web. There's also endless varieties of Easter themed desserts, recipes for ham, lamb, and spring vegetables.

Glazed Easter Ham from The Pioneer Woman
Photo from The Pioneer Woman

I love fried rice. Who doesn't love fried rice?! I love the little bits of egg and the shrimp and all the saucy rice - so good. SO NOT GOOD FOR YOU, though. I've been in a stir fry-ish mood lately, putting all manner of veggies and proteins into a wok (okay, a large saute pan) and going to town. The Mr. and I don't eat a lot of white rice, so we usually have brown rice hanging around from one or another stir fry dinner - what to do with leftover brown rice? FRIED RICE. But even brown fried rice isn't healthy fried rice - I wanted the best of both worlds, something healthy and satisfying that doesn't necessarily taste healthy. Something that will make me toss my Chinese take out menu out the window and scream, "BE GONE WITH YOU!" This recipe for cauliflower fried rice from Cupcakes & Kale Chips is brilliant - there was definite menu-tossage! And get this - The Mr. *thinks* he HATES cauliflower. He has gone as far as to call it his "nemesis" at one point (I'm not joking). When I plated up this fried rice for us, I was anxious to see what his reaction would be. He loved it! He even said, "Wow...this has all the flavors of fried rice. This is excellent." I waited until we were finished with dinner to break the news to him - that it was full of CAULIFLOWER - and all he said was, "Hmm. I didn't taste it. I like it." If that's not a testament to how delish this veggie-filled healthy cauliflower fried rice is, I don't know what is. Maybe the fact that we ate it for dinner 3 nights in a row? And never got sick of it? This is incredibly tasty and hits all the right spots for your fried rice craving - but in a really healthy, guilt-free way. 

Did you know there are approximately 14,000 varieties of mushrooms? While we advise that you avoid the psychedelic variety, we encourage you to try one (or more) of these delish recipes that feature mushrooms. Mushrooms have tons of health benefits - they're full of good stuff like B vitamins and minerals, and low in fat and calories. And while raw mushrooms are great, cooked mushrooms are even better - they supply even more antioxidants when cooked in a healthful way (i.e. deep-fried mushrooms don't count). They're also a great way to add umami to a dish without relying on MSG or other salty condiments. We've rounded up the top 5 mushroom recipes on the web this week to give you a little inspiration, but don't stop there - toss some mushrooms in your breakfast eggs, or into a sandwich at lunch, even on your pasta. Don't pass by the 'shrooms at the grocery store without picking up a few varieties! 

Shiitake Bacon from Olives for Dinner
Photo from Olives for Dinner

I've been meaning to do a blueberry muffin post for a l.o.n.g. time - I looooooove a good blueberry muffin. Key word here - GOOD. A mediocre blueberry muffin isn't worth the calories or the energy it takes to chew it - I'm talking dry, crumbly, heavy, blueberry-flavor-less muffins - to be frank, they suck. Unfortunately, there are more bad muffins out there than good ones - very rarely do I stumble across a heavenly blueberry muffin in the outside world. I have a fantastic sour cream blueberry muffin that I make relatively often (sour cream is like, the best thing that ever happened to muffins), but I wanted to try something a little different. I was craving a little lemon action, some streusel or crunch on top. And then I came across these blueberry muffins at The Little Kitchen. These are in fact a Cook's Illustrated recipe - meaning that they were destined to be good. To blow the blueberry flavor into the stratosphere, you make a blueberry jam-type-thing and swirl that into the muffins - brilliant. Topped with crunchy lemony sugar, these babies are the ultimate in blueberry muffins. Bursting with blueberry flavor, crunchy on top, tender and soft inside (but not too dense or cakey), these definitely qualify as a good blueberry muffin. They're excellent, in fact - and freeze really well. Because there was no way I was trusting myself with a dozen of these babies in the house - 11 of them went promptly into the freezer to be enjoyed at a later date. Excellent blueberry muffins on demand, straight outta the freezer, into the microwave, and steaming hot onto your plate to be enjoyed with a hot cup of tea - heavenly.