Jolene's Recipe Journal

I first tried eggplant back in 2006 and it's been a favorite ever since. When I saw my fellow Taste of Home Community Cook Debbie G's contest winning sliders I knew I had to give them a try. I did make a few changes based on what I already had on hand.

Welcome to Farmer's Market Week! One of my absolute favorite things to do in the summer is take a trip to the local farms and grab up some of the fresh local produce and wares. This particular trip yielded me fresh parsley and basil, beautiful heirloom tomatoes and a locally baked loaf of marble rye bread, along with zucchini, eggplant and carrots which you'll see pop up in my other posts throughout the week.

  I is for Italian Beef Sandwiches! This year I'm participating in a bi weekly challenge with some blogging friends to post recipes using all of the letters in the alphabet.  It can feature a food that begins with the letter of the week or the recipe name can contain the week's letter.

I absolutely love where I live.  Sure, spring is a bit elusive here, and weeks of soggy weather can force you to grill while holding an umbrella, but there are so many wonderful things about New England too.   We have beaches, forests, mountains, plus there's maple season, wild blackberries, apple orchards, and bread baked in a can.

  So happy that the weather is finally starting to turn and I can start grilling more of our meals!  We eat chicken at least a couple of times a week and it can be a challenge to change it up so we don't get bored with it.  One of the best ways I've found to do that is with marinades. 

If someone had said to me five years ago that I'd be hosting an event for National Peanut Butter Day, I'd never have believed it.  My son was EpiPen required peanut and tree nut allergic.  On the rare occasion we had peanut butter in the house for my husband's work lunches, it was like watching a sci fi movie, with haz mat suits, bleach spray and multiple washings of utensils.

Turn your leftovers into a flavorful brunch or snack with turkey, cranberry sauce, and melty provolone layered on toasted bagels. Quick, satisfying, and perfect for that day‑after holiday vibe. I'd marked this recipe to try using leftovers after last year's Thanksgiving dinner and never got around to it.  I ran across it again in my to-try files, and I decided that it would be a great way to use the Maple Honey Cranberry Sauce I'd made.

I've been making this recipe since July 2011, it's a family favorite.  Next to chicken, the thing we eat most around here is ground beef.    My son's an odd duck- he'll eat tacos til the cows come home, but he is 50/50 on eating burgers.    I thought this would be a great meal to please everyone and it really is.

  So excited to be a part of Girl Carnivore's #BurgerMonth event this year! It's a happy day when the snow has finally melted and I can get to the grill again.   This year it seemed to take far longer than usual, so we've been enjoying it even more now that the weather has been cooperative.

And they're off!  Today is the 144th running of the Kentucky Derby, commonly referred to as the most exciting two minutes in sports. While I know nothing about odds and favorites to win the race, I do know that there are certainly recipes that are always found in the Winner's Circle when it comes to Derby Day. 

Oh, how I've been looking forward to #NationalGrilledCheeseDay!  Back in October, I changed my eating habits, and bread was one of the things I've cut back on.   I do allow myself splurges, like pizza every once in a while, and then there was this grilled cheese.

I come from a huge Italian American family, and food plays a huge role not only on holidays, but in everyday life too.  I had a very hard time choosing what I wanted to post today, because I have so many memories associated with certain dishes.   

At the end of October, I made the decision to start eating healthier.  Everyone warned me that it was a terrible time to get started, but my goal was to enjoy things in moderation but try to make better choices too.  Overall, I'm very happy with where I am starting this new year.

Disclaimer- This is a sponsored post. I was provided with a selection of Cabot Cheese in order to create an original recipe.  All opinions are my own.  Being from New England, we are huge Cabot fans.   We've toured the Visitor's Center , and there's always some of their products in our fridge.     It was like Christmas in June when my box of cheese arrived.  I knew immediately I wanted to use the Chipotle Cheddar, but what to make?

  It's Grilled Cheese month!  Grilled cheese growing up was Wonder bread and cheese that you had to peel out of it's single wrapper.   I was not a fan. Thankfully, the different varieties of cheese sold by the slice is fantastic now.   One of my current favorites is a thin sliced sharp cheddar.

  This one is another winner from the Simple & Delicious Cookbook.   I've lost count of how many that makes!  All of the recipes are quick, almost always made from ingredients I have on hand, and, like the name says, are delicious.

I'm still working to get my family back to the table, and Mother Nature decided to help me out in the form of a snow day.   Who says a family meal has to be dinner, why not breakfast or brunch instead?  We were all starving after getting ourselves dug out of the storm, so I put together these Waffle Monte Cristos.

  I ordered this sandwich at Uno's Pizzeria & Grill a while back.   It was so good, I got it the next time I visited too.    I found myself craving it, when no trip to the restaurant was happening, so I decided to recreate it at home.

One of the first things I ever cooked for my husband was chicken parmesan, with ziti and garlic bread.  17 years later and it's still his favorite meal.   Thinking back over all those times, I don't think I've ever served it in sandwich form.

I've wanted to try fried green tomatoes ever since the movie came out in the 90s.   I've never seen them on a restaurant menu here in NH and I managed to miss out on trying them the few times I've traveled south.    While picking up corn at the farm, I noticed they had baskets of big beautiful green tomatoes too.   Score!