Strawberry, Goat Cheese and Pickled Apple Avocado Toast

If you could see beyond the borders of any of these photos in this post you would see our house is getting pretty chaotic. We've just sold our house and we're in the process of making a move to San Antonio, Texas next month. We're definitely excited but I detest even the thought of moving and so I can't wait for all of this to be over.

Caramelized Onion and Smoked Paprika Hummus Wontons

Let's celebrate National Hummus Day! You know it's one of my favorite holidays and I'm not quite sure why we still have to work. I'm in favor of everything closing down each year and we just sit in our homes and eat hummus.

If you're in for celebrating with me, I've got two things for you today. First is a coupon for your hummus supply. Check out Sabra's homepage for the details and a coupon that's only available TODAY!

The Unofficial Meal with Sabra

Weekends around here usually mean game nights for us. We love to get together with friends and play cards, board games or now that it's finally nice outside, lawn games and grilling.

Salmon Croquettes

I'm all for the traditional Super Bowl snacks like chips and dip but sometimes you just gotta step it up a bit and go a little fancy. That definitely doesn't mean it has to be complicated though, and you can just add a fancy name like croquettes instead of patty and you're golden.

Lemon Twist Hummus and Zucchini Bread

The kids are back in school, after school sports are in full swing and we seem busier than ever. We're still trying to enjoy every second of the summer weather though and our garden is finishing up from a great harvest. We're typically not as good about preserving things from the garden, but this year we tried to stay on top of it and we've got rows and rows of freshly canned tomato soup, pickles, jalapenos, carrots, onion and zucchini in our food storage. The zucchini is still growing and we shred and freeze as much as we can.

Meat Loaf

In terms of comfort food, meat loaf is a strong contender for first place. It's essentially a huge, juicy hamburger that you've decided to not even waste time on a bun with. It's got so much flavor packed into it that you just squirt some more ketchup on top and dig in. And I'm sorry, but if you don't put ketchup on meat loaf, you're not doing it right.

Hummus and Greek Yogurt Lettuce Wraps

It's the time of year when a quick healthy dinner is a critical part of daily life. We have soccer games or practice every night among a variety of other activities. We tend to get in a rut and make the same stuff over and over and I like to try and find some fresh new things to throw in the rotation.

Salsa, Beef and Cheese Chiles Rellenos

 

Happy Cinco de Mayo! When you hear of Sabra, most of you probably think of their amazing hummus, but did you know they also have an amazing assortment of salsas and dips? I absolutely love their salsa and I am always amazed at how fresh they taste. They have 8 varieties that are perfect for any party or event you have coming up and are always made with vine-ripened tomatoes and perfectly selected vegetables .

Greek Yogurt Marinated Smoked Chicken Lollipops

I'll be the first to admit that I don't spend a lot of my time watching football but that definitely doesn't mean I can't eat all the food that's associated with traditional tail-gating and game days. I'm the type of person that can make an entire meal from appetizers and be perfectly happy.

I'll also admit right off the bat that I love the look of these chicken "lollipops" but they definitely take some work and I'd only do them for special occasions where people can actually admire my hard work. Yeah, I'm that vain. I love making food for my family but they don't fully appreciate the intricacies of creating these things and ate them all in about 10 seconds flat without even a second glance.

Homemade Hummus Flour Tortillas

Here's a fun and simple recipe that pretty much anyone can make; Flour tortillas! These are so simple and you'll end up with tortillas that taste so much better than anything you can get at the store. And by using Sabra hummus, you can essentially make them any flavor you want. I used their Chipotle variety in this batch but I can't think of any of their flavors that wouldn't make an excellent tortilla.

Mango and Peach Salsa Burgers

It's summer and for my birthday last month I treated myself to a new grill and smoker. I love smoking meat but I wasn't a huge fan of the electric smoker I purchased a few years ago so I didn't use it much except for a turkey at Thanksgiving. My new grill is a Traeger and it smokes as well as grills and I've been experimenting with it as much as I can. My favorite thing so far has been the huge pork butt I smoke a few weeks ago. We used it for over a week and had everything from sandwiches to tacos with the meat. My mouth waters even now when I think about it.

Wild Rice and Hummus Burgers

I don't like the idea of veggie burgers more for the reason that people are typically trying to use them as a substitute for a real meat burger. And there is no substitute. Period. But if instead you just want to have a really good sandwich and it happens to not have any meat in it, I'm all for that. And honestly with these Wild Rice and Hummus "burgers" I'm OK with them not having any meat. I almost topped them with some bacon though. And that would have made them just that much better.

Hummus Stuffed Sweet Peppers

Renovation is still in full swing around here so we're doing many quick and easy meals, things in the crock pot and definitely grilling. Grilling means no mess in the kitchen and no stepping over wires and holes in the floor for the duration of the meal.

I love the creativity that the grill opens you up to as well. You don't have to just grill burgers on it. Throw on fruit, veggies or any number of other things and you're sure to come up with a fun meal. Last year I recreated these jalapeno peppers that we had experienced at the state fair. As I was thinking of new ways to use my Sabra hummus and the sweet peppers I had in the fridge, those state fair treats came right back to me.

Hummus and Edamame Pasta with Caramelized Tomatoes

This dish was the last meal that we made in our kitchen before we tore it out. On Saturday morning our old kitchen looked like this:

Now it looks like this:

We've got a lot of work to do but I can't wait to share the progress with you and hoping it turns out as great as it is in my head!

Hummus Stuffed Chicken Breast

I'll admit, before a week or so ago, I had only had hummus once in my life. It was almost embarrassing when Sabra contacted me to say that they've never seen me write about hummus before. I really even didn't know much about it. So they sent me some samples and I can now say that I am much more educated and we are definitely in love! My wife wouldn't even wait for me to get home on the day the box came. She had it opened and already had a favorite before I even walked in the door from work.