That’s a Wrap: Highlights From The SOS Series

This series has been such a complete and total joy project for me.

As a whole, this SOS series has far exceeded my hopes and expectations. But mostly YOU have far exceeded my expectations. Your comments, your photos, your emails and comments and DMs about what this series means to you in your REAL ACTUAL LIFE… wow. What an honor to have a place in your kitchens, not only when things are awesome and inspired and fancy, but even moreso in the stressful, hard, and struggle-y SOS moments of life.

It actually makes me get a little teary (lol) because a) this is just who I am as a person! fun! and b) I know what a lifeline delicious, EASY food can be, and c) emotion usually points to truth. And the truth is: this series has been both fun and really meaningful for me.

I am so grateful for every minute you spent here, reading, making a recipe, watching a video, leaving a comment or a review, sharing your experiences of cooking through all the ups and downs of life. ♡ What a joy to share this food with you.

With that, here’s a look back at the highlights from the SOS series.

What You’ve Made

Okay, well, in summary, you’ve made A LOT OF RECIPES.

There’s too much to even capture in one blog post. You’d be scrolling for a long time. But here’s a quick sampling of all the deliciousness that came out of your kitchens during this series. Just makes me feel proud and happy and a little bit hungry.

What You’ve Said

You’ve also sent us a lot of BIG LOVE for this series and we are sending that BIG LOVE right back to you. The personal stories of why SOS-style cooking is important to you right now have just been so relatable and honest and I’ve loved getting a glimpse at not only what your kitchen life is like, but just your regular real life as a whole. ♡

Here’s a sampling of what you’ve said.

I love this series!!!! My husband is an orthopedic surgery resident and I work full-time outside the home plus take care of a 3.5 and 1.5 year old. We are living off of these meals! You do so much more than just publish recipe, you help people like me, thank you thank you thank you!

Molly

No energy, baby crying unless held, dog also wants attention, 20 other things on the to do list. Thank you for such a wonderful idea!

Lily

I AM LOVING the SOS series! I have a two year old and a 4 year old and lets just say I have good intentions for dinner but by 5:30 after daycare pickup I am just looking for something asap. Thank you thank you for these recipes!

Jocelyn

My Personal Favorite Recipe:

Hard to pick a favorite, but if you’re going to force me…

My heart really belongs to the Chipotle Orange Shrimp with those zippy cucumbers.

Something about the flavors and textures just really spoke to me. Shrimp cooks so fast, and it’s kind of light and warm-weather friendly, but that sauce is still creamy and luscious enough where it can work in a rainy-day comfort-food context. And even though it’s creamy and rich, it has BIG flavor and some smoky chipotle heat, and a little sweetness from the orange, and the cucumbers are just a match made in heaven with the whole thing. It was a little surprising and a lot delightful and I just loved it so much.

The Top-Rated Recipe:

Our top rated recipe in the series was the Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta!

I mean, you’re not wrong. The flavors in this recipe are nothing short of amazing thanks to that spicy harissa and the salty, tangy whipped feta. This beauty gets a solid 5 stars from all of your reviews. @bonappetitbyaditi, working in that cauli rice is genius. Love it.

The Most Talked-About Recipe:

The most talked-about recipe in this series was the Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Lime Slaw!

Maybe it’s because it’s so ridiculously easy (hello, three ingredient filling) or maybe it’s just because crispy tacos are fun. Either way, this was our most buzzy recipe – between comments, emails, and even just real life family and friends, this was the one where people most frequently told us, “we made this and we loved it!” @sydney.gough, your sous chef deserves at least 5 tacos, and that baby bouncer in the living room is giving me some very relatable vibes.

The Most Popular Recipe On Social Media:

The most popular recipe on social media during this series was the Black Pepper Stir Fried Udon!

If social media is any indication of what the people love, then we can clearly see that the people love spicy, steamy, saucy stir fried noodles. I loved seeing your variations – added ground meat, different veggies, etc. Truly working that SOS recipe style into your regular life and your regular fridge with your regular groceries that you already have and love. @becccading, your protein situation with the ground meat in there is looking mighty fine. I am here for it!

The Most Photographed Recipe:

The recipe we saw the most photos of during this series was the Pineapple Pork with Coconut Rice!

Is it the crispy onions on top that makes this so photogenic? I mean, who can resist a good photo to the gram when you’ve got the green cilantro, the caramelized pork, and those little crispies up on top? @neesnoms, I salute you for those (accidental but awesome) additions of pickled jalapeno and pickled ginger. Go big or go home!

What’s Next?

We’ve gotten so many questions about (read: hardcore requests) to keep going with the SOS series. GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT! People meaning also… myself! 😂

I have loved the SOS series so much, and while it’s ending for now and we are transitioning back to “normal” recipes that may or may not have more than the SOS-required 7 ingredients, the SOS recipe lifestyle is not completely going away.

We’re already working on some NEW and AWESOME ways to make your SOS-cooking joyful and delicious, and I can’t say more than that yet because you know we bloggers gotta maintain a little mystery to keep things interesting.

For now what I can say is… I hear you, I want more SOS, too, and stay tuned!

If you’re not already on our email list, sign up so you don’t miss anything.

Want To Find All Your SOS Favorites In One Spot?

We compiled links and photos to all of the recipes in this series in our SOS Recipes That Will Save Dinner post. Or you can also see the full listing here:

• Pineapple Pork with Coconut Rice
• Crispy Black Bean Tacos with Cilantro Lime Sauce
• BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches
• Sheet Pan Shrimp and Cauli Rice
• Instant Pot Chicken and Dumplings
• House Favorite Brussels Sprouts
• Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta
• Beet and Burrata Salad with Fried Bread
• The Absolute Easiest Spinach and Artichoke Pizza
• Black Pepper Stir Fried Udon
• Basic + Awesome Chicken Quinoa Salad
• Spicy Salmon Burgers
• Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
• Chipotle Orange Shrimp with Cilantro Rice
• Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes

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Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes

Baked potatoes are just there for us, ya know?

They come out of the oven hot and steamy, with the crisp skins and the super comforting potatoey insides, and they can shine with nothing more than butter and salt.

But why stop at butter? Let’s make them REALLY shine, like glitter and neon lights style.

Let’s Bring These Baked Potatoes To The Next Level

These loaded BBQ baked potatoes are filled with a creamy garlic herb spinach and potato mixture and then loaded with BBQ chicken, caramelized little pan roasted mushrooms, bleu cheese crumbles, crispy onions, and chives. Ho-lee-smokes. Crunchy. Saucy. Creamy, tangy, sweet. So filling. The flavors, the textures… if a minimalist baked potato is your dream, you may have to look elsewhere. This one is more of a maximalist situation for those of us who like their baked potatoes to go big, messy, and borderline excessive.

So even though, technically yes, this is a really intense BBQ baked potato situation, it is actually quite easy to put together because SOS times don’t allow for lots of tinkering in the kitchen, ya know? If it’s possible to be both maximalist and low-key, this is that.

Here’s What You’ll Need To Get Cooking

Here is our short ingredient list:

• potatoes
• chicken
• mushrooms
• garlic herb spreadable cheese, goat cheese, etc. (maybe you have some leftover from this recipe?)
• spinach
• BBQ sauce

And then the rest of the toppings are up to you: crispy onions, chives, bleu cheese, one or all of the above. (A STRONG VOTE IN FAVOR OF ALL.)

How To Make These Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes

You’re going to bake the potatoes (easy).

Then bake the chicken and mushrooms (easy).

Then mix the potato / spinach filling (easy).

Then assemble (easy and fun).

You can eat these deconstructed, which is convenient for toddler, or piled high, which is convenient for people who like to post pictures of their meals (it me), or just pick and choose which elements you want on which nights and somehow you might end up with two or three different meals out of this whole thing – leftover BBQ chicken on a salad, potato skin remnants tossed into a breakfast skillet, things like that.

They’re creamy, packed with flavor, loaded with feel-good veggies, like spinach and potato and mushrooms, perfectly spicy-sweet thanks to the BBQ sauce, and just begging for you to sink your teeth in with lots of mess and zero shame. Loaded BBQ baked potatoes FTW.

Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes: FAQs

How can I make these vegetarian-friendly?

Sofritas instead of chicken would be just *chef’s kiss*!

Not a big bleu cheese fan over here. Any other cheese suggestions?

Good ol’ cheddar cheese would be great!

This look great! Any other BBQ recipes you recommend?

Both our Korean BBQ Style Cauliflower Lettuce Wraps and our BBQ Jackfruit Sandwiches are so good and SOS approved!

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Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 10 minutes
• Cook Time: 60 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour 10 minutes
• Yield: 2 servings

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Description

We’re taking these Loaded BBQ Baked Potatoes to the max! Perfectly overstuffed with a creamy garlic herb spinach and potato mixture and loaded up with BBQ chicken, pan-roasted mushrooms, bleu cheese crumbles, crispy onions, and chives. 

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Ingredients

Units

• 2 russet potatoes
• 8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 lb. chicken thighs or chicken breasts
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup barbecue sauce
• a sprinkle of garlic power, onion powder, salt, and pepper
• 1/2 cup garlic herb spreadable cheese, or garlic herb goat cheese
• a handful of fresh spinach
• optional toppings: chives, crunchy onions, bleu cheese crumbles

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Instructions

1. Bake Potatoes: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Poke potatoes with a fork; place on a sheet pan and roast for 60 minutes.
2. Bake Mushrooms and Chicken: Place mushrooms and chicken on a sheet pan. Toss with olive oil and sprinkle with spices to taste. Roast for 30 minutes. Shred chicken. Toss both with BBQ sauce.
3. Mix Filling: Cut potatoes in half. Scoop out some of the flesh, but leave a thin layer around the outside skins so the potatoes will still stand on their own. Mix potato flesh with garlic herb spreadable cheese and spinach, until creamy and spinach is wilted. You can add a little oil, water, or milk if you need to thin it out a bit. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Load Em Up: Use the spinach filling to fill the potato skins back up. Top with mushrooms and chicken, more BBQ sauce, and any toppings you love (like, all of them).

• Category: Dinner
• Method: Baking
• Cuisine: Tex Mex

Keywords: baked potatoes, stuffed potatoes, bbq baked potatoes

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Potatoes! Potatoes! Potatoes! We Love Lil’ Spuds!

• Caprese Chicken with Smashed Potatoes (golden and crispy perfectly smashed potatoes with fake-fancy chicken? YES PLEASE!)
• Homemade Gnocchi (potatoes turned gnocchi pasta friend? here for it!)
• Healthy Chipotle Sweet Potato Skins (another loaded up potato fave)
• The Best Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes (the absolute easiest side dish)

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Chipotle Orange Shrimp with Cilantro Rice

Holy yummm.

I love all of the SOS series recipes but I REALLY LOVE THIS RECIPE, all caps necessary.

First of all, juicy, tender, sweet, and delicate shrimp is just automatically really SOS-friendly because it’s so fast to cook (like, five minutes fast) and tastes like you live at a fancy restaurant. So there’s that.

But secondly, that creamy chipotle orange sauce. WUT. It’s so good. Who even knew?! It’s creamy and smoky and sweet – the flavor combination of fresh orange zest and a bold chipotle pepper is a total surprise and yet feels comforting and familiar at the same time. It packs some heat, for sure, but it’s also really luscious and cozy because heavy whipping cream takes everything to the next level (♡) and also because a pile of hot steamy rice will never not be comforting. The zippy cucumbers wake the whole thing up and cut through the richness of the sauce with a little zap and zing and crunch, and just, wow. I love this recipe. Did I say that already?

There are a few elements at play here which makes it rank just a little higher on the SOS scale – similar to the Harissa Meatballs with Whipped Feta. But never fear: nothing is difficult. Nothing is overwhelming. Our ingredient list stays short and sweet.

• shrimp
• orange
• chipotle
• cream
• cilantro
• cucumbers

A few pantry staples like salt, garlic, oil, and vinegar round it all out into a complete and total spicy shrimp miracle.

If you need even more shortcuts – skip the cucumbers in favor of an easy no-cutting-board-required side salad. Or use cauliflower rice or pre-cooked rice. But if you can spare the extra five minutes to slice up a cucumber and cook your own rice, you will not be sad about it.

I could cry tears of joy just looking at this saucy, creamy, spicy goodness.

Treat your people! Treat yourself! I mean, because seriously. This one is a TREAT.

Source notes: I got this idea from my old beloved Cooking Light cookbook Fresh Food Fast which now feels so retro! But man, I love that old thing. There’s a recipe for chipotle orange shrimp in the book – I made a few changes based on some of my preferences, but the flavor idea came from that cookbook. Thank you, CL!

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Chipotle Orange Shrimp with Cilantro Rice

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 15 minutes
• Cook Time: 15 minutes
• Total Time: 30 minutes
• Yield: 2-4 servings (I can definitely eat half of this by myself)

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Ingredients

Chipotle Orange Sauce:

• 1 chipotle pepper (or half of one pepper, for a less spicy version)
• 3/4 cup heavy cream
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• zest of one orange

Shrimp and Rice:

• a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 pound uncooked shrimp, tails removed
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin
• 1 1/2 cups white rice (I like jasmine rice or just plain long grain rice)
• a big handful of chopped cilantro
• optional, for serving: salad, slaw, zippy cucumbers (see notes)

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Instructions

1. Sauce: Blend sauce ingredients together until mostly smooth.
2. Rice: Cook rice according to package directions. Stir in cilantro and salt to taste (+ add lime juice, or the juice of the zested orange, if you want some citrus goodness in there).
3. Shrimp: Heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the shrimp and sauté for 2 minutes on each side, sprinkling with the cumin, plus some salt and pepper.
4. Finish: Add the sauce and simmer for another 5 minutes or so. Serve shrimp over rice, with a salad or some fresh zippy cucumbers.

Notes

Zippy Cucumbers: Thinly slice a few small cucumbers. Toss with a little olive oil, salt, sugar, and white vinegar. Tada!

The shrimp is also good with a pinch of sugar added to it for a little sweetness, or the juice of the orange squeezed in!

• Category: Dinner
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

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Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

This recipe is sponsored by DeLallo

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ALERT ALERT ALERT! Only a small amount of time and a few ingredients stand between you and a skillet full of creamy, garlicky, flavorful, romantic, and dangerously good pasta. Tender sun-dried tomatoes, maybe some spinach, creamy sauce, bouncy noodles, and a heavy dusting of Parmesan. This is an urgent matter. I think you understand.

A few important things for your review before you take a swim in this creamy, luscious pan of pasta:

First of all, can you ever go wrong with garlic, white wine, and cream in a sauce? Hint: no. It’s just a cheat code for greatness. It makes short ingredient lists everywhere very, very happy.

Secondly, spirali is the most fun pasta shape of all time and I won’t debate with you about this. It’s a skinny little tube, like bucatini, but it’s wound into a tight spiral, so you get a spiraly shape that is very subtly voluminous and airy at the same time. Spring gift to yourself: an order of specialty pasta to make your weeknight cooking into a fun adventure. File under things you say after age 30.

Bringing You a Very Simple Ingredient List

Okay, your star players in this recipe are:

• pasta (spirali, spirali, spirali! it’s too much fun)
• garlic
• white wine
• cream
• sun-dried tomatoes
• Parmesan

And… the rest is kind of up to you. You can throw in a handful of spinach and some sliced chicken sausage if you want. Make it a one-pot meal.

Or you can just dive in headfirst.

You’ll Need Delicious, Quality Pasta Here

Truthfully, one of my favorite SOS hacks is keeping versatile, good-quality foods on hand at all times.

DeLallo is the source of many of my favorite items in this category.

Their website is FULL and I mean really FULL of fun made-in-Italy products that can ship right to your door, and we have a large selection of all of these things at our office kitchen since we’ve been working with DeLallo for like, 8 years? Longest standing brand partner on POY because we love them and so do you. ♡

In my home kitchen, however, space is tight, so I have to reduce my stash to just a few of our most beloved favorites:

• rigatoni
• whole wheat orzo
• gnocchi
• tomato sauce
• sun-dried tomatoes
• and now, spirali

Whatever kind of noodle you use, it’s just a fact: pasta in a creamy white wine garlic sauce, speckled with tender bites of sun dried tomatoes and a handful of fresh herbs makes any SOS weeknight just a little less SOS-y and a lot more wonderful.

Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read?

Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta: FAQs

Any other veggies or protein that would go well in this?

Good news is this recipe is super customizable! Go ahead and add anything else you want in there – sliced chicken sausages, spinach leaves, peas, etc!

I can’t find sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil. Will dried sun-dried tomatoes do the trick?

That should work – you’ll just need to add a bit more olive oil to the pan and the dish to bring all the flavors together well.

What kind of dry white wine do you suggest here?

One of our team members, Jasmine, knows the ins and outs of wine pairings. She recommends a white wine from Italy, like a Pinot Grigio, Soave, Gavi, or Verdicchio here. 🤓

Source notes: The idea for this recipe came from my friend Angela! She texted me about it one night after she made it, with a photo, and it was my lunch the very next day because, like I said at the beginning, this is an urgent matter.

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Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta

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• Author: Lindsay
• Prep Time: 5 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 25 minutes
• Yield: 4 servings

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Description

You are thisclose to enjoying Creamy Garlic Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta! Garlicky spirali noodles and tender sun-dried tomatoes in a creamy, luscious sauce with a heavy dusting of Parmesan cheese.

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Ingredients

• 8 ounces DeLallo spirali pasta (okay, you don’t have to use spirali, but it is SO FUN)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup DeLallo sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, sliced or chopped
• about 1/3 cup dry white wine
• 2/3 – 3/4 cup heavy cream
• up to 1/2 cup reserved pasta water
• salt and pepper to taste
• a big bunch of chopped chives or parsley
• parmesan for serving

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Instructions

Video

1. Cook the pasta: Cook the pasta according to package directions.
   
2. Sauté the good stuff: Heat a skillet over medium heat. Use a little bit of the oil from the sun-dried tomatoes to sauté the garlic and sun-dried tomatoes until soft and fragrant, 2-3 minutes. 
   
3. Make the sauce: Add the wine; let it sizzle out and reduce so the flavor gets real good. Add the cream; bring to a simmer. Season with salt and pepper. 
   
4. Finish: Stir in the cooked pasta, adding the reserved pasta water as needed to help coat the noodles in the sauce. Finish with chives and Parmesan and a top-up on your glass of wine. SO GOOD.
   

• Category: Pasta
• Method: Stovetop
• Cuisine: American

Keywords: pasta recipe, sun-dried tomatoes, garlic recipe

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Thank you to DeLallo for sponsoring this post!

We Love, Love, Love To Eat Pasta! See?

• Creamy Red Pepper Pasta with Blistered Tomatoes (totally vegan!)
• Garlic Parmesan Shellbows (another cutie noodle here)
• Ridiculous Baked Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce (little pillows of pasta in every bite)
• Lemon Herb Pasta Salad with Marinated Chickpeas (so lemony and springy)

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