Photo by Christina Uticone

My current obsession: hot tomato and onion salad.

In the kitchen I vacillate between insanely ambitious and incredibly lazy, but "incredibly lazy" wins out most weeknights. I like recipes that require minimal prep, using just a few ingredients, to get dinner on the table in as short a time as possible (or at least with very little work on my part). While I can eat the same thing three nights in a row (seriously), my husband gets itchy if we eat the same thing twice in one week.

Flipping through my recipe book last week, I noticed I have an inordinate number of recipes with five or fewer ingredients. Here are a few of my go-to options, ones even my husband is happy to eat once a week. Warning: lots of tomatoes ahead!

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Photo courtesy of ouritaliankitchen

Italian Easter Pie

For me there are two unfortunate realities of being an "adult" and spending Easter away from my extended family. First, if I want an Easter basket, I have to make my own. (Which I have done and will do this year because I have no shame.)

Second, I will not be able to feast on the fabulous Italian Easter pies made in Hazleton, Pennsylvania. Easter Pie (or "pizzagaina" as we guidos like to call it) combines everything you're supposed to have deprived yourself of during Lent into one deep-dish crust. The exact proportion of fillings varies, but tradition dictates at minimum many, many eggs, multiple meats (ham, salami, pepperoni, mortadella, etc.) and an assload of cheeses (note the plural: we're talking ricotta, parmesan, provolone, mascapone).

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Felicity was my favorite American Girl doll.

I admit, I've got a bit of a copycat streak in me. When I first read Julie and Julia, I was so intrigued with the project I wanted to try it myself. (Me and one million other foodies. Here's hoping Powell believes imitation is the sincerest form of flattery).

But I would repeat with a difference: select my own venerated cookery tome and spend one year making every single recipe. Here are my top five picks.

5. Felicity's Cookbook. Even though I'm officially a Victorianist, I harbor a special fetish for eighteenth-century American culture. Felicity, of course, was my favorite American girl doll and I filled many hours in my youth salivating over the simple meals referenced in her stories. Given that this cookbook is written for ten- to 12-year-olds and contains just a handful of recipes, I sure as hell better be able to go through it within a year. Or maybe even a month.

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Photo by Molly Dunn

Melt peanut butter and nutella for a creamy and chocolatey glaze.

Cupcakes are hands-down my favorite treats: personal cakes with the perfect amount of frosting to cake. Not to mention, they're super cute with pretty piped frosting on top.

However, as much as I love decorating the top of each cupcake with a swirl of frosting and possibly some sprinkles, I have found several ways to decorate your cupcakes with a sweet topping other than frosting.

Here is my top-five list of cupcake toppings you can use to add a sweet finish to your cupcakes.

5. Melted Peanut Butter and Nutella

Instead of making a peanut butter frosting or chocolate frosting, combine creamy and sticky peanut butter and Nutella by melting the two in the microwave.

Once the peanut butter and Nutella are smooth and begin to blend together, spoon a good-sized layer on top of each cupcake. The glaze will spread across the cupcake, creating a colorful blend of dark brown and light brown. You'll definitely need a glass of milk with this stick-to-the-roof-of-your-mouth cupcake topping.

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Photos by Molly Dunn

When the tops stick to the pan, don't freak out.

There's nothing more disappointing than baking a cake and having it stick to the pan as you flip it out onto a cooling rack. You worked so hard to make the perfectly fluffy, moist and delicate cake -- but all of that excitement and joy disappears when the cake comes out looking like crap.

I can't tell you how many times this has happened to me. The first few times I created a terrible cake, I broke down in tears, threw the cake away and sulked for the rest of the day. Being a perfectionist, I might take things too seriously.

I don't know if it is a sense of culinary maturity, or maybe I'm not as neurotic or obsessive-compulsive as I once was when it comes to baking, but recently I took on the task of making a layered German chocolate cake. I have made this cake a thousand times. But unfortunately, this time things did not go according to plan. Instead of my cakes coming out of the pans freely and smoothly, they completely stuck to the bottom of the pans.

My roommates watched me flip the cakes out of my pans with disappointment, expecting me to start crying. But I didn't. I decided to go with a new plan and make cake balls and cupcakes instead.

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Hello, lover...

Oh my gosh, you guys. Up until last week, I never knew my life was missing something. I've found a new love; a real love. It makes me feel warm and fuzzy and fills me with...joy. It's really the only thing that makes sense anymore. It's spaghetti squash.

I first fell in love with it when I used it to mimic noodles in a chicken pad Thai dish. It was easy, spicy, nutty and incredibly satisfying. It was also a bit like crack -- days later, I was still thinking about it. I needed more squash in my life. Enter baked squash and cheese: a lighter, vitamin-packed version of bad-as-shit-for-you mac 'n' cheese.

Now I know the possibilities are endless, but here are two healthful, addictive recipes to get you started (or keep you going) on your spaghetti squash journey.

It's One Squash, Two Ways:

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Photo by Damien M.

Tomorrow is National Irish Coffee Day. And who doesn't like when it's completely acceptable to put a little extra somethin' in your drink in the daytime. I may or may not be doing it right now. What? It's just coffee.

To celebrate this very special holiday, here are five boozy and delicious Irish coffee recipes:

1. The Classic

As legend has it, the original Irish coffee was created at an Irish airship port in the 1940s. On a particularly cold night, the head chef at the port's restaurant added a little kick to a group of American passengers' coffee to keep them warm. When one passenger asked if they were drinking Brazilian coffee, the chef replied, "No, that's Irish coffee."

A special thank you to the chef, Joe Sheridan, and to the American passengers for being so annoying and bratty that he felt the need to give y'all a buzz.

The classic Irish coffee is made by stirring together fresh brewed coffee, brown sugar and a jigger of Irish whiskey, and topping it all off with thick, heavy cream. Try lightly whipping the cream and pouring it over the back of a spoon for that perfect layering effect.

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Photos by Christina Uticone

Start with a humble dough--white or wheat, depending on your preference.

There are less than two weeks until Christmas, and I'm done. Exhausted. Beat. I've baked cookies, bought and wrapped and shipped presents, made travel arrangements, made dog-boarding arrangements, and gone shopping and wrapping and shipping again. I've gone over the edge, and I don't mean Lady Gaga's Edge of Glory. It's the Edge of Time Management, the Edge of Sanity, the Edge of Holiday Enjoyment ... and I've descended into madness.

Cooking is one chore that has fallen by the wayside. I usually only cook once or twice a week, but even my husband has been too exhausted to whip up a meal, so we have been relying on some old, easy favorites and a few new tricks to get us through this last stretch until our Christmas vacation. One welcome addition to our routine is the use of frozen pizza dough -- like the ones I found, and loved, at Trader Joe's -- to shortcut our way through many a dinner.

After the first few pies we got pretty pizza'd out, but being the carb-lovers we are, we knew there were more uses for this freezer-friendly favorite. Here are a few ways frozen pizza dough has saved us lately.

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Photos by Molly Dunn

Cream cheese is an excellent "frosting" for dog cookies.

I am officially home for the holidays, so Christmas cookie baking has begun. But who says your dog can't enjoy Christmas cookies this year? I always make sure to buy my dog a couple of holiday treats to enjoy on Christmas morning, but when I came across a few Christmas cookies for the dog on Pinterest, I decided to make cookies for my dog this year instead of buying them from the store.

Try making these cookies for your dog this Christmas so he or she can enjoy the holiday festivities, too.

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Photos by Molly Dunn

This little fruitcake was perfect for testing this recipe.

Fruitcake is one of those things that you either love or hate. I just so happen to really enjoy a slice of fruitcake (although it must be a small slice or my teeth will rot).

As a child I never understood why my grandma would force me to eat a slice each year -- I only ate desserts if they were made with chocolate, so fruitcake was out of the question. However, I have recently reacquainted myself with this dense, sugary dessert and man, oh, man I sure do love me some fruitcake.

After reading this month's Food Network magazine, I saw an idea for making French toast with your fruitcake. This idea intrigued me, so I decided to visit the Collin Street Bakery in Waco to grab some fruitcake and give this recipe a try.

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