Smokey, spicy homemade barbecue sauce is perfect with chicken or pork. There's no reason to use bottled sauce when you can make your own! Served alongside grilled vegetable succotash, this is a great healthy summer meal.

This recipe is inspired by a fantastic dish eaten in Las Vegas. It was probably the highlight of the trip. Spicy, and juicy with a flavorful roasted garlic sauce. This chicken isn't quite the same as the dish served at Mesa Grill in Las Vegas, but for an introvert it's perfect. Prepared in my own kitchen, without the glaring lights and noise of the Vegas strip. Vegas, sadly, I don't think we'll be back. But thanks for the inspiration for this great chicken!

What do you do with an excess number of jalapeños? Poppers might be the logical route, but they're not my favorite appetizer. Jalapeño jelly would also be a good option, but I did not have any canning jars on hand. I did however, have a whole chicken and some potatoes. Roasting the chicken with diced jalapeño spread under the skin and folded into mashed potatoes used up a few of the peppers I had on hand and the result was a mildly spicy chicken with really great jalapeño flavor. If you don't like spicy food, this recipe is still for you. It is barely spicy, I would rate it a 1 or 2 out of 5 on a spice scale.

Coconut milk and chicken stock become the poaching liquid for boneless chicken breasts. Seasoned with a hint of lime and jalapeño, this chicken is full of flavor but light and fresh. A hint of sweetness from the coconut, some acidity from the lime, and a touch of heat from the jalapeño, the chicken is moist and perfectly balanced.

I don't know about you but I've eaten my way through the holidays and I need a break. Something fresh, light, but still filling. This salad fits that bill. Crisp napa cabbage, warm chicken, and a slightly spicy dressing. It's a salad robust enough for dinner yet a great departure from the heavy comfort food we've been buried under the last few weeks.

Confession; I watch a lot of Netflix. Since moving to Seattle, I have not been working during the day, and other than bothering the cats there's not much to do in our small apartment except binge watch full seasons of my favorite shows on Netflix. I'm currently in the fifth season of Dexter (no spoilers please!) but I'm hooked on all my favorite Food Network shows. Particularly Cutthroat Kitchen. What an entertaining show! The contestants have to cook a specific dish but have the option to purchase sabotages to pass along to a competitor. Anything from not being able to taste their food to having to build a campfire to use as the sole cooking heat can be a sabotage. Bonus, it's hosted by Alton Brown, one of my favorite Food Network personalities.

I love a good hearty chili. Vegetarian, traditional, or this white chili it doesn't matter. I also love one pot meals. Hearty and satisfying; easy to throw together and heat up well for leftovers the next day. White chili is Ryan's favorite, and I've been working hard on a recipe that lives up to his expectations. I think I've finally got it.

For me, a perfect roast chicken has been elusive. I never particularly loved poultry as a child, as most of what was served was overcooked and tended to be on the dry side. When I started learning to cook I was following a vegetarian diet, and thus never learned to roast a proper chicken. In the past year as I have incorporated meat back into my diet, I haven't had many occasions to cook an entire chicken. It's a lot of meat for just two people!

There's a really great Peruvian restaurant in my hometown, Kalamazoo Michigan. My mom and I stumbled upon it one day, looking for a late lunch. Wanting something different than the standard small town, chain restaurant, fare, I spotted the small sign advertising El Inka in a strip mall across the parking lot. It was wonderful. Had I not been so engrossed by the meal, I would have snapped a few photos with my phone.