Friday Favorites – Episode 7

It’s Friday again, which means it’s time for my favorite blog posts of the week!  Time really does fly – it’s hard to believe this is my seventh week of Friday Favorites. When I started this blog back in January, I had no idea that it would be this much fun or that it would lead to the discovery of so many wonderful food blogs!  Seven weeks later, I am still having trouble picking just a few blog posts for my Friday Favorites…  There are so many great food bloggers out there coming up with creative and tasty recipes! Here are just a few (ok, so maybe six isn’t a few…) of my favorites from this week:

• After a week of temperatures in the 90s, the weather here is turning cooler and rainy for the weekend.  So, when I saw this recipe for Dreamy, Creamy Tuscan Soup from Cinnamon, Spice & Everything Nice, it immediately caught my attention.  Served with garlic bread, it looks perfect for a cozy evening at home!
• I enjoyed this blog post about Pizza and Lysol from Chef Wanabe this week.  I, too, saw the Oprah episode about flesh-eating bacteria and MRSA and had a similar reaction!  Super bugs aside, the butternut squash pizza recipe at the end of the post looks fantastic.  How can you go wrong with roasted butternut squash and caramelized onions on delicious pizza dough?
• Anyone who reads my blog on a semi-regular basis has probably figured out that I love avocado.  So, it will not surprise you that this Tuna Avocado Dip from Bread + Butter is one of my favorites this week.  As Jenn mentions, this would be delicious with chicken if you’re not a big tuna fan.  I’m saving this recipe for later – I’m sure it will come in handy the next time I need some fresh appetizer ideas!
• If I had to pick my favorite type of cuisine – it would be a very (very) tough decision between Italian and Mexican. This recipe for Wild Mushroom Agnolotti with Lemon Butter Sauce from Evil Shenanigans tips the scales a bit in the Italian direction.  It is garnished with parsley, parmesan, and pancetta – can’t beat those three.  The recipe serves 2, so if you are looking for a nice romantic dinner idea, I think this would be fantastic!
• Lately I have been trying to come up with salad ideas that don’t use lettuce. For some reason, I just got really sick of eating lettuce, so I have been trying to mix it up a bit.  This Asian Cucumber Salad from Savory Sweet Life is exactly what I’ve been looking for.  Even better, it uses Thai garlic chili sauce – one of my new favorite condiments!
• Last, but certainly not least, is this recipe for Curried Cauliflower and Chickpea Stew from Spork or Foon.  I know I’m not alone in my efforts to prepare both healthy and tasty dishes.  This one looks like it meets both criteria, and I’m looking forward to giving it a try!