Fresh pesto is quick and easy to make, and has much better flavor than store bought jars of pesto. What’s more, it’s a great way to use up any basil from the garden before the temperatures get any colder.
‘This recipe omits tree nuts, an ingredient typically found in pesto. For those with allergies, tree nuts [...]
Posts under ‘recipe’
Pesto Perfection - or, how to use up the rest of your basil before winter sets in
Fish sticks with homemade tartar sauce
Last night we had fish sticks for dinner. I know what you’re thinking: I am quite the gourmet cook, right? We all need a break, and last night was my night. However, fish sticks are not complete without a side of tartar sauce for dipping and, since we have never met a tartar sauce that [...]
Easy homemade chicken noodle soup
When a nasty cold hits, nothing soothes and comforts like soup. Most times, we simply open a can of Campbell’s and heat it on the stove top, but a recent epiphany (not to mention the frozen whole chicken taking up way too much room in the freezer) led me to make my own chicken noodle [...]
Easy strawberry rhubarb jam
I used to grow rhubarb, but when we moved, decided it was too much of a hassle to uproot and move with us. Fortunately, our neighbors grow rhubarb by the bushel and are generous with it — we exchange rhubarb for asparagus, and everyone’s happy!
Last week they brought over 5 lbs. of the ruby red [...]
Espresso rub
It’s no secret that I love espresso. But espresso combined with red meat seemed a little, well, weird. Until I tried it. At a fancy little steakhouse, the hubs and I decided to try an espresso rub steak, figuring that since we like espresso and like steak, why not try both? And it was absolutely [...]
Savory lemon and herb marinade
We love using marinades as an easy way to add flavor and zip to grilled or baked meats - they are so easy to whip up, and can even tenderize a tougher cut of beef. Just mix the ingredients in a zip top bag, put the meat in, and refrigerate for a few hours to [...]
Springtime asparagus salad with fresh vinaigrette
Nothing says spring to me more than asparagus. The first vegetable to pop up out of my garden, those tender green stalks of goodness are a welcome change to the winter vegetables we’ve been enjoying. Always looking for a new way to enjoy the potently delicious veggie, I decided to whip up a light vinaigrette [...]
Simple guacamole
With spring comes outdoor grilling — and what better to grill than burgers? Looking for something different to use to top our burgers, we whipped up a batch of simple guacamole to dress up the burgers with a new flavor.
Use a microplane or garlic press to get the garlic minced small enough that no large [...]
Pot roast
As the new owner of a shiny new Dutch oven, I immediately went through my stash of recipes to try out and found this one for an easy pot roast. The meat is browned in the Dutch oven, then the other ingredients are added and the entire thing is cooked for a few hours, leaving [...]
Oatmeal surprise cookies
These are not your typical oatmeal cookies.
As some of you may know, there is a new man in my life. Our son was born a few weeks ago (hence the somewhat sporadic posting as of late), and consequently things have been quite hectic here at chez Icebox. Not as much cooking or baking is being [...]

