My Therapist Cooks

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Appetizers

Sour Cream Guacamole

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This sour cream guacamole features grated onion and garlic for tons of flavor + no chunks, and lime juice and fresh tomatoes for delicious pico + guac flavor mixed into one. If you love guacamole, you will LOVE this version.

sour cream guacamole bowl

My friend Heather and I have had some pretty extensive happy hours, and over the years we have expanded our "let's just set out some cheese and crackers" offerings to tons of different appetizers, snacks, and spreads. We do breads, cheeses, these tomatoes, fruits and veggies, all in the name of "absorbing the wine." It works for us.  

Once we were having one such important business meeting and she said "I made guacamole!  But with lots of sour cream." And BOY did she mean it. This was a recipe invented out of necessity, she had half an avocado and other flavorful things that didn't quiiiiite make more than a few chipfulls of regular guac, so this dip came about.

Mostly sour cream, some avocado, flavors for eons. We've both been making it for various other people ever since, and it's been a massive hit with everyone who has tried it. So, while I can't take all the credit for this recipe, it needed to be one that you started making right. this. moment. If you hate guacamole you'll LOVE this. And if you love guacamole you're probably already drooling.  

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Homemade Pimento Cheese

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This old fashioned pimento cheese recipe is absolutely perfect! I love to have pimento cheese homemade with lots of storebought ingredients (crackers, cheese, pickles, etc) for an easy cheese board at a party or for a snack plate dinner! This is extra delicious paired with some homemade focaccia for dunking.

bowl of pimento cheese spread

OK SO. 

Let us discuss the glory that is pimento cheese, since it's Master's Weekend and we live in the South. Since I started this blog I've made a LOT of pimento cheese, and have tweaked the recipe over the years to a combination that I absolutely adore.

Other people adore it too, and that's not something I say about a lot of the food I make, because I'm insecure. Pimento cheese homemade, though, is something that people of all walks of life really enjoy when it is good. Back when we used to cater this was one of our most-ordered recipes, hands down.

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Pan Fried Potato Chips

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Favorite pan fried potato chips are so easy to make yourself at home! These are a great lunch side dish or an offering for a summertime potluck. Just one russet potato makes enough to serve four people, and this recipe is done in an under an hour. I like Greek yogurt onion dip with these.

Let's make chips!

how to fry chips in a pan

Because our lunches need a yummy side dish every day, right?

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Buffalo Turkey Meatballs with Smashed Cucumbers

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Gluten free buffalo turkey meatballs served with an easy smashed cucumber salad for a yummy low carb lunch or dinner! The gluten free turkey meatballs have tons of flavor and can be made as part of your meal prep for the week. They're also great meatballs to make in a big batch and keep in the freezer!

Buffalo Turkey Meatballs Low Carb Gluten Free Dinner

I made us lunch!

A really really yummy lunch. No story, really, just a way to showcase the gluten free turkey meatballs and smashed cucumber salad from a few weeks ago together. I threw on some easy "homemade" (not really) buffalo sauce because Buffalo all the things and call me happy.

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Gluten Free Baked Turkey Meatballs

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These easy baked meatballs are gluten free, made with ground turkey, and done in just about half an hour! They can be made in advance for a super easy meal prep, kept in the freezer, and don't have breadcrumbs or any extra binder. These are the yummiest healthy gf meatballs!

Basic Gluten Free Turkey Meatballs for Meal Prep

Gityer balls right here!

I'm sorry let's start over don't x out. I made you a yummy new meal prep entree and I hope you love it.

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Ultimate Mediterranean Hummus Board

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This ultimate Mediterranean hummus board has your favorite cheese board elements with the best ever hummus with spiced meat, grape leaves, pickles, olives, and pita. It's mostly no-cook and make-ahead for the perfect party meal!

IT FEELS LIKE CHRISTMAS MORNING. I just love this so much.

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Spiced Ground Meat and Hummus

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Yummy spiced ground meat (use beef, lamb, pork, or even venison!) that goes over hummus for a protein-packed, savory appetizer or main dish. Use this for dipping, to stuff into pitas, or to make yummy grain bowls!

Spiced Ground Meat with Pine Nuts over Hummus Recipe

Spiced ground meat with pine nuts and hummus, just so ya know.

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Easy Homemade Baked Chicken Tenders

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My favorite kid-friendly meal prep dinner! This recipe for healthy baked chicken tenders has just a few ingredients and is super easy to make. Bonus, you can freeze the breaded tenders and bake them right before serving for a quick + fun weeknight freezer meal!

THEY'RE JUST LIKE FRIED.

Ha. Ha. No, no they are not. Sorry, not here to lie to you.

Here are the ways that easy homemade baked chicken tenders are not like fried chicken tenders:

  • they do not stink up your house with oil smell or cause third degree burns.
  • they have fewer calories.
  • they are done quickly and are great for meal prep, freezer meals, or leftovers.
  • they have a parmesan coating that is just YUM but no batter to get all over everything.

So, what I'm saying is that MAYBE baked chicken tenders are better than fried chicken tenders? In like 3 cases, but I'd say that at-home no-frying situations are preferable from a mess standpoint FOR SURE.

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Chicken Larb Lettuce Wraps + Minty Cucumber Salad

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This Thai chicken larb recipe is so quick and easy thanks to the use of ground chicken. We love making this for meal prep with extra dressing and using it on salads or in rice bowls all week. It's gluten free and wildly delicious thanks to a fish sauce lime vinaigrette.

IknowIknowIknow.

Maybe not the most inspired thing to do for our first 2020 recipe, but inspired is not what we're attempting here. Delicious is. Chicken larb is delicious.

Jay usually does some kind of January ... eating thing ... which, is fine. I could go on and on about how I don't do things like that for a variety of reasons that I feel strongly about, but I'm also happy to support people in my life that try to make healthier choices. 

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The No-Cook Holiday Party {with fresh market}

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Super easy no-cooking holiday entertaining is here! This post is in partnership with The Fresh Market, opinions and ideas for hosting are mine.

I recently heard someone say on Instagram, "I'm opting out of everything this holiday season," and, 1. I get it, 2. it made me a little bit sad.

Sad because our culture has gotten to the point that things are SO bonkers that we can't do anything at all. I get it, but I also still crave holiday fun: parties, handheld stuff, bubbly things to drink, all of it. Our kitchen is in zero position to be crafting anything fancy at the moment (we're moving, it's a lot), but that doesn't stop my regular "tis the season" desires.

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Best Ever Chorizo Bean Dip

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Hello and HI, Happy Halloween if you're into that sort of thing, happy end of October, happy fall, all of the happy.

It's a really busy week so I'm thinking if I just type HAPPY over and over it will be come true?

Maybe I'll get lucky. What does NOT require luck, though, is the super simple ultimate refried bean dip we have here before us.

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Crispy Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

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Don't leave me. It feels good. Embrace it. The garlic butter, that is. 

Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes Recipe

Hello and welcome to your new favorite side dish! These smashed potatoes are YUMMY, a word that honestly should be used to describe as many of your foods as possible. You only live once, potatoes are a vegetable, and garlic butter is the savory icing on the potato cake that we all need to use whenever we possibly can. 

I wrote on Instagram yesterday how much I love this Southern-style cabbage for a quick weeknight side dish. These garlic butter potatoes, I'd argue, go perfectly with said cabbage, add some fish and chicken and here we go not sorry about two side dishes that use butter, know what I mean? These Crispy Garlic Smashed Potatoes are simple to make in just a few steps and the end result is a fluffy-on-the-inside, crispy-on-the-outside cross between mashed potatoes and french fries that is REALLY yummy. Trust.

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Grilled Shrimp with Avocado Pico

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Oh hi, stereotypical summer meal!

Grilled Shrimp with Avocado Pico De Gallo

I've been cooking more low carb meals recently, and a struggle I have is finding meals that feel like a whole meal, not like there SHOULD have been mashed potatoes on the side of this steak, you know?

This is that. It's the most perfectly light but complete low carb/gluten free meal, and it's full of huge flavor to boot.

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Ten Side Dishes For Memorial Day

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Ohhhhhhhh long weekend, I am so excited for you. 

We are in a weird busy all the time but standing still because of house stuff place. It's messing with my mind, I think, and I'm seriously ready to be done with all of it. BUT. This weekend is a long weekend! I'm so ready to be home to do lots of cooking, eating, and playing with my babies. ...

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Pepita Salsa

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It is three and a half weeks until Cinco de Mayo. And, in very inappropriate cultural appropriation, I'm super into this holiday for zero reason besides I REALLY like Mexican food. Like, top three flavor profiles for sure. Indian food ranks too. 

Pepita Salsa with Chips and Cilantro

It's also, of course (not to most people, I know), Master's week, and snacks for this weekend are an absolute must. This pepita salsa is gluten free and vegan (if you eat honey or use agave) so can appeal to a ton of people, but has huge flavor and SPICE because we use a whole jalapeno, we don't take the seeds out, and we live for it, JVN style. 

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10 Things to Make For the Super Bowl

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We have a plan for this Sunday.

We are going to come home from yet another travel weekend, put on comfy clothes, clean exactly enough so that we can function on Monday, make some cozy food, and watch the sportsball while ignoring each other on our phones and willing Will to sleep.

It's going to be the greatest ever.

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Buffalo Chicken Lettuce Wraps

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Oh good, the first Monday after Christmas break and there's a big football game tonight and honestly WHY ARE WE EVEN HERE?

I know it's not this way everywhere, but people around here are pretty dang excited for the National Championship tonight. I don't give a hoot, but Jay and I both went to Clemson and our neighbors are Alabama fans BUT we are adults so they're coming over for Korean beef bowls made with fake beef.

Naturally.

And in case you need some fun-but-healthy food to keep your resolutions in check tonight or for any upcoming snacky events, I give you this: buffalo chicken lettuce wraps, seasoned with ranch flavors, super flavorful and spicy, with minimal-but-necessary butter to keep everything together. I use ground chicken to make things go quickly, so less than 30 minutes to your new favorite bar food!

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French Onion Fillo Bites

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Omg Baby It's Cold Outside and also the controversy about that song. Currently not ok and also historically fine because that's how people used to be/talk/sing, I think. I've noticed that people have a really hard time with two emotions coexisting, probably will be a theme of mine in 2019, talking about that more. 

So how are you? We had an awesome-but rainy birthday weekend for Beck, and then the snow wrecked havoc on our little city because we aren't really equipped to manage it. Lots of people lost power for over 24 hours and we are on day three of no internet, which is NOT IDEAL for 1. TV watching and 2. working from home, which we both do. But we are managing, thanks to severely reduced expectations and mobile hotspots. 

Tonight, though, we are GOING TO SEE HAMILTON. And also it is going to be 50 degrees and we are going to have a fabulous dinner beforehand. I have been looking forward to this night for so very long, and I've already heard great things about the tour we're seeing. It feels like an awesome time of year to get to see such a special show - chilly and decorated downtown and everything feeling so very festive. Festive like these! French Onion Fillo Bites, and get off me about how to spell it. There are three (maybe more) spellings used interchangeably on the internet and the box of pastry cups I used say Fillo, so that's what we're going with. These are super simple and involve a wildly delicious caramelized onion filling topped with sharp cheese. That is stuffed into premade pastry cups (that I love using this time of year) and baked, and everything gets ooey gooey and just makes the most delicious one-bite snack. I love these for parties or as a starter to a fancier meal, and honestly keeping some of the onion mixture around to spread on crostini wouldn't be a terrible idea at all. ...

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