some of my go-to recipes

The other day I brought dinner to a sick coworker. I debated on what to bring - apparently he's been getting a lot of pasta and also needs something hearty to help him regain weight. I also heard rumors that other folks in his household might be lactose-intolerant. To top it all off, I needed something that would reheat nicely since I needed to bring it into work with me. So what to make?

I ended up going with a bit of a Moroccan feast with a slow-cooker chicken tagine as my entree. I've made this recipe at least a half a dozen times and always have leftover so I know it's reheating capabilities. Bonus is that it's made with hearty chicken thighs and is pasta- and dairy-free. Of course, then I paired it with couscous (tiny pasta) and made a fig compote to go on top of ice cream (dairy) for dessert, but hey - at least the bulk of the meal was right! I also bought some hummos and pita for an appetizer. A three-course meal for a fabulous person going through a really tough time and it took me about 45 minutes on-hand time to make (prep + packaging it up for transport, actual cooking time was about 2 1/2 hours, but I was able to do other things during that time). Not too shabby. And unless he's lying to me, it was a hit.

So then I was thinking about it - what are some of my other go-to recipes? And why don't I share them with the world all in one post? I love recipes. I'll reread my cookbooks over and over again, imagining the possibilities. Some recipes I make so often I don't even need to reference the cookbook - or I've adapted them enough that they don't bear much resemblance to the original and thus referencing wouldn't do any good anyway. Others, like the tagine, I adapt slightly, but overall am pretty faithful to the recipe. And that's okay with me. I don't feel the need to muck around with a recipe if I trust the source. My creativity is expressed in what I pair with the dish and to whom and how I serve it.

I don't normally do jumps, but this is going to be a long one. So here are the recipes you'll find after the jump:

Chicken tagine in a slow-cooker
Spinach pie
Warm pasta salad
Salmon with tomato relish
World's Best brownies (my title, not my recipe)
Rosemary sweet potatoes
Red wine vinegar chicken sautee