This soup is exceptional.

Exceptional!

It’s so good that every fall for the last four years, we’ve remembered it and had to have it again. You know how rare it is for me to make a recipe twice.. so I think this is going to be a Herr family favorite.

There is nothing more satisfying than a creamy soup on a cool night, am I right? The roasted garlic in this thing is no joke- so, so good- do not skip that step! If it weren’t for the garlic breath, I would eat a head of roasted garlic every. single. day. (TMI?)

The soup is filling as a meal all it’s own, but makes a great starter for a holiday spread as well. And I just love the roasted cauliflower florets on top with their cheesy, herbaceous flavor. Great presentation for company, but also a perfect supper to share with your family.

We planted potatoes in our garden again this year.

A LOT of potatoes.

Anyone want some potatoes??

I feel like I’m saying “this-is-what-we-are-doing-with-our-garden-surplus” over and over again on this blog, but it’s usually when we have giant piles of produce on our counter that I have to be creative and come up with new recipes.

With a big pile of spuds staring me down, I got a craving for some baked potatoes. We planted Yukon golds in our garden, which are lovely in taste and texture but not excellent for baking, so I had to come up with another plan.

Here’s the procedure: steam the potatoes and broccoli, fry the bacon, cook the onion and garlic, combine it all with some spices and cheese and bake until nice and bubbly. Pretty straight forward. Don’t forget the smoked paprika- it takes the dish to another level, trust me.

This would be a great side dish, but we actually ate it as our main meal. We should have added a salad to make it a more balanced dinner, but let’s face it: we just wanted to stuff our face with gooey, cheesy, bacon-covered potatoes. And hey! The broccoli’s in there- that’s good for you. You can leave it out if you want, but then you should definitely eat a salad. I mean, really.

This isn’t exactly health food, but it’s way better for you than say, a baked potato from Wendy’s. So I think you can still feel good about it. I mean, I do. I’m all about some good fat. I better end this post before I go on a grass-fed, pastured meat tangent or talk about how you need lots of good fat to make better breast milk. You guys are just here for good food.

And this stuff is good.

You know you’re a mom when not only do you a) have a favorite chicken nugget recipe, but b) you have a favorite baked chicken nugget recipe.  What’s that you see in my driveway? A minivan? Someone save me before I buy any mom jeans!

Just kidding! I love motherhood. Wouldn’t trade it. My house is often filled with little ones, and chicken is usually something you can bet at least half of them will like. (Coincidentally, my toddler decided to boycott chicken the last time I made these.) I think most moms would say they prefer baked recipes instead of fried ones, even though usually the fried stuff tastes so much better (check out this CFA knock-off recipe, it looks amazing). But behold, a tasty baked chicken nugget recipe!

This is my go-to chicken nugget recipe for play dates, parties, snack time and easy dinners. If you keep Panko breadcrumbs on hand, you probably have everything you need to make these in a pinch. If I’m serving them for a group, I like to provide ketchup, honey, barbecue sauce and honey mustard for dipping. Kids (and most adults, right?) love dipping sauces, so they’re a must to have on hand.

Finally, a kid-friendly nugget recipe you can feel good about.

Now excuse me while I go adhere a family of stick figures to the back of my van.

(Just a joke! Love to all the mamas out there with van decals.)

Let’s start this with a .. YUM.

Reasons to try this recipe: It’s full of healthy greens. 
Dark, beautiful, curly kale and a little family-friendly broccoli. I like greens on their own, but when you add pasta and cheese? That’s a win.

It’s freezable.
I made the full recipe; baking up half of it for our meal and freezing half of it for a future dinner. I love that I only had to cook once, but I get to eat it twice (and not as leftovers).
 
It’s tasty.

Big bites of pasta, creamy ricotta cheese, perfectly moist chicken and dark, flavorful greens.  Pair it with a salad and you can feel great about what you’re feeding your family.This is a solid weeknight meal- try it soon.
(And do not fear the kale! It’s your body’s best friend, I swear.)

 I’m thrilled she asked me to pinch-hit for her while she soaks up some quality time with her new bundle of joy, Lucy, but I have to be honest: she left me with some very large oven mitts to fill; Natalie simply rocks in the kitchen. I wracked my brain figuring out what to share with you, but then, as I made this dish for the umpteenth time, I realized it would be perfect.

 This is what I’d take over to her family one night if I still lived near her so she wouldn’t have to worry about dinner. It’s actually what I’ve been taking to all the new parents out here—it turns out Italy is the place to have babies.

 This Chicken Parm Bake is unbelievably easy and so delicious that I almost don’t want to let the secret out. I love that there’s virtually nothing to clean up, it can be put together in no time, and even though it’s baked it has more flavor than some chicken parms I’ve tasted in restaurants. True story.

Truth be told, you can guestimate and just wing-it with the measurements (enough oil to cover the bottom, half a jar of sauce, plenty of cheese to please, etc.), and if I’m making it for someone else I use a foil container so it can go straight from the oven over to their house.

Mmm.. I am having good memories of this lasagna.

Are you ready for cool weather comfort foods?  I’m sure you northerners are.  I’m getting in the mood myself, but the southern weather is getting in the way!  This lasagna is a great way to transition into fall- not too heavy, since there’s no meat involved.  Some vegetarian lasagnas leave something to be desired, but I really love this version- very filling and you don’t miss the meat at all.

I want to tell you more about this lasagna, but there’s a crazy, silly toddler making it difficult to hear myself think. So you’ll just have to trust me on this one!

Tell me, though- what cool weather dishes are you looking forward to?

Can you believe I got off my pregnant behind (well, I guess I’m still on it) to write you a post today?  Things have been nuts/bananas around here lately- pregnancy drama-rama, busy schedules, all of that. I have sort of lost my cooking mojo lately, to be honest. I joined a little freezer co-op a few months ago and we get so much freezer food that I hardly ever cook anymore.  I’m starting to really miss the kitchen.. I think I’m going to quit the ol’ freezer co-op soon so I can get back to my roots and start sharing with you again.

I’d like to say I made this recently, but it’s been waiting for you in the archives for quite some time. I love these flavors and I’m really getting in the mood for autumn (though that season is still weeks/months away here in GA).  There’s no real skill to making this- all you have to do is compile the ingredients at your leisure. There’s lots of flexibility here- I’d encourage you to use whatever’s in season and make it your own. Maybe you prefer a different type of squash or you want to sub pears for apples.. in which case you might want to use goat cheese or Gorgonzola. See how easy it is to switch it up?

And PS- if you’re reading this, I think you’re awesome for hanging in there with me and checking in on Oven Love, even when I’m inconsistent. Thanks for respecting me and my priorities (family and real life before blog land).  Now go, my loved ones- be healthy and eat salad!

It’s been quite a month over here.  Lots of vegan and vegetarian recipes, some personal, vegan-related drama and some probably not veganize-able (what?) Nutella cookies.  I’m closing out all of this nonsense today with a recipe that can work for all diets; carnivores, vegetarians and vegans alike.

I’ve made this recipe twice in the recent past.  If you asked, my husband would tell you that’s pretty rare around here.  I like to experiment.. almost too much, sometimes.  These dumplings were so good and such an excellent use of our garden chard that I had to do a repeat.  They’re also very popular with the little guy.

The directions look horrendous and long, but I think it’s worth the effort.  This would be a good weekend meal, or something to make when you have extra hands to help in the kitchen.  When you bite into the dumplings, what you taste most is the bacon/pancetta.  You’ll never know you’re getting all of those vitamins and minerals from the chard.  I haven’t tried making them vegetarian or vegan, but I believe they’d still taste excellent that way.  Please let me know if you try it and how it works out.

This dish has a garden/fresh feel to it that I think you’ll enjoy during the warmer temperatures.

And if you don’t remember, May is all about pies in the Great Food Adventure!  I can’t wait to dig in, find the perfect crust, and share all of those luscious summer pie recipes with you.  If you have any favorites from around the web, feel free to link to them in the comment section!

Before I dip into the vegan recipes, let’s warm up with something vegetarian.

Let’s keep the cheese and cream for just a little while longer, shall we?

This dish feels like something you would make if you lived in Italy, went to market, saw a beautiful head of broccoli and just came home and put dinner together on a whim.  It’s a picture of simple Italian-style cooking.  If only every dish was this easy.

Preparation here is low-maintenance.  The pasta and broccoli are cooked in the same pot and the sauce comes together quickly in the meantime.  All you have to do next is toss the pasta with the sauce and add your cheese and you’ve got a lovely dish.  It’s also an easy introduction to vegetarian cooking.  The recipe calls for a little anchovy paste (don’t freak out- it’s not gross, it just adds a salty flavor), but that can be replaced with a little extra salt to make the dish truly vegetarian.  Most kids will go for it, too (you don’t have to tell them about the anchovy).

If you’re cooking for a pickier/non-veg crowd (little ones or men used to eating more meat), you can easily add a little grilled chicken or some crisp bacon to the dish.

While you give this one a try, I’ll be busy daydreaming about Jess making me this dish when I come to visit her in Italy..