I’ve always been obsessed with chicken tenders–served with lots of ranch, of course. Growing up, my brothers and I ordered chicken fingers every time our family went out to dinner…every time. But one night at dinner, my mom forced us to order something else on the menu. We had no idea what to get!

A few years ago, my mom fed my obsession and sent me a three-ingredient recipe for homemade chicken strips. Since then, these chicken tenders have been my go-to recipe for game day appetizers or dinner parties; that was until I found this recipe for quinoa crusted chicken strips. Although more labor intensive than the other recipe, these chicken strips were incredibly flavorful and delicious, especially when paired with the slightly sweet BBQ honey mustard.

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I’ve had this honey walnut shrimp recipe filed away ever since Joanne from Fifteen Spatulas posted it a while back. So, I apologize for the non-seasonal post, but I felt it was time to finally make the dish. I’m so glad that I did. Seriously, go make it right now, it’s incredible! Sure, your kitchen might stink of oil for a few days (or maybe that’s just me because I don’t have a deep fryer/backyard), but it’s nothing a little Febreze and open windows can’t fix. :)

My thoughts and prayers go out to those in Colorado. x

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With Thanksgiving seemingly right around the corner, menu planning and day-of preparation are in full swing. Every year, we attend our family friend’s house with 20 plus other people. The day is complete with mass amounts of food, from delicious appetizers to various side dishes to giant gravy boats to three, yes three, turkeys. We obviously have to have a smoked turkey!

The sweet potato-pecan casserole is one of my favorite dishes every year (I still need to figure out who brings this dish). So, I decided to try replicating the casserole. Although my dish didn’t quite rank with the one on Thanksgiving, it held its own and was still delicious.

Note: If you want your casserole to have that bright orange color, use yams, which are often used in ‘sweet potato’ casseroles.

Check out Linda’s Thanksgiving check-list over at Savoring Every Bite if you’re worried you might forget something this year. :)

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