Today is my sister’s 24th birthday. She is a very good cook and always on the lookout for good recipes. So, this recipe roundup is in her honor. Happy Birthday, Laura! Pinteresters, you can find all these recipes on my keepers board.
Beef & Barley Stew with Mushrooms from Simply Recipes was excellent, just what you’d expect from Elise, who is really good with everyday and comfort recipes – elevating them to foodie levels without going overboard. I will certainly make this again.
Cilantro Lime Rice from Skinny Taste was a great side for Homesick Texan’s Slightly Fancy King Ranch Chicken (with a corn and black bean salad as well.) It tastes the way I remember Chipotle’s rice tasting, but I haven’t eaten there in ages.
I may be the last person on earth to try Momofuku’s Crack Pie (via the LA Times). It was delicious. And a hit when I brought it to a potluck.
For variety, I also brought this Nutella Crack Pie adaptation from ShowFood Chef. The voting was split, no clear winner between the two versions. The good news is, the original recipes are for two pies, so it is super simple to make both at the same time. One crust recipe, halved the filling recipes, and I didn’t even wash the bowl between the original and nutella versions (I had scraped it well to get it all in the pie!)
Taziki’s Friday Pasta may be last (alphabetically) but it is certainly not the least. Thank you to the Birmingham News for obtaining this recipe and Taziki’s for sharing. We were craving Friday Pasta something fierce: greens, pasta tossed in vinagrette, grilled chicken, tomatoes, basil and feta. Here’s a picture Michael tweeted of his plate. We were not disappointed. 
Be still my heart! I can’t wait to make the Taziki’s pasta! I miss that SO much! Thank you!
Just reading about the Friday Special makes my mouth water, though my favorite thing there is their Tazikis Sauce and the whole chicken dinner. Sadly for me, I don’t think the special will be a family hit at our dinner table, as my children don’t tend to like vinegar based things. I guess that means we’ll just have to eat at Tazikis, so that I can order my own!!
You are lucky enough to have the option, R! For the record, Kate and Lexi both ate a good amount of the Friday Special, but Lexi avoided the lettuce (typical) and Kate avoided the pasta. I tend to keep serving them the same things as long as they eat enough of it to not starve in hopes that they will get less picky and start eating the whole thing. Sometimes it works.