Enjoy your favorite pesto in these healthy Recipes Using Pesto. Each summer, I grow basil, mint, cilantro and parsley in my container garden. I love making fresh pesto using these herbs and often add leafy greens such as kale and Swiss chard. Traditional pesto is made with basil; however, I love adding leafy green vegetables…
Air Fried Spicy Chinese Eggplant
Air Fried Spicy Chinese Eggplant is a light version of a traditional Chinese dish where the eggplant is typically deep fried. This is one of my favorite home-style Chinese dishes. I used to make this eggplant dish quite often, but didn’t like all the oil needed to fry the eggplant. Thankfully, I have an air…
Tomato Peach Salad
This Tomato Peach Salad features summer tomatoes and peaches at their peak juiciness and sweetness. There’s nothing more delicious than freshly picked tomatoes and peaches in the summertime. Each Saturday, I look forward to our local farmer’s market. Although this year we have limited vendors and we can’t handpick our own fruits and vegetables, I…
100+ Summer Salad Recipes
Brighten up your summer meals with this huge collection of Summer Salad Recipes. Fresh lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, zucchini, and so many more vegetables are at their peak now, so take advantage of all the fresh produce and try a bunch of these recipes. When summer produce first appears at the farmer’s market, I’m always excited…
College Move-In Checklist
This College Move-In Checklist will help make sure you have everything you need for your dorm. My youngest son is going to college this Fall, and I’ll officially be an empty nester. I’ve been shopping for everything he’ll need for his college dorm, as well as digging through our house for any extra items he…
Favorite Kale Salad
This is my Favorite Kale Salad. I’ve been making this kale salad almost once a week the last couple of months, and it has become a staple in our house. Massaging the kale leaves makes for a tender salad – no more prickly edges. The first time I had massaged kale salad, I was intrigued…
Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes
Choose from this collection of Healthy Summer Side Dish Recipes to round out your summer dinners, barbecues and picnics. I love going to the weekly farmer’s market to see what fresh produce is in season. By mid-summer, the stalls are full of fresh tomatoes, corn, cucumbers, potatoes, zucchini and more. This summer, I’m growing a…
Mediterranean Pasta Salad
This Mediterranean Pasta Salad is easy to make and perfect for summer barbecues or picnics. Juicy, sweet, farm fresh tomatoes are featured in this vegetarian friendly pasta salad. Our church provides a unique community feel, despite its size. One of ways I like to serve is cooking meals for people and families who are going…
Baked Zucchini Tomato Summer Squash Goat Cheese Gratin Recipe
This Baked Zucchini Tomato Summer Squash Goat Cheese Gratin is so elegant, it’s perfect for potlucks and entertaining. I love farm fresh summer vegetables. The most bountiful seem to be zucchini and tomatoes. Although I don’t have a garden, I do plant tomatoes and herbs in containers on my patio. In addition, I visit our…
Sourdough Focaccia Art
Sourdough Focaccia Art is a fun way to let your creative juices flow. The end result is a beautiful and delicious bread you can share with your family and friends. Let your imagination guide you as you design your own unique focaccia art. I’ve been making sourdough bread on a weekly basis, and today’s sourdough…
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough Recipe
Sourdough Discard Pizza Dough makes a light and crusty pizza crust for your favorite pizza toppings. If you have sourdough starter and feed it regularly, you will be left with “sourdough discard,” which is basically just sourdough starter that you have chosen not to keep feeding. Instead of throwing it out, I use the “sourdough…
Crusty Sourdough Bread Recipe
This Crusty Sourdough Bread recipe produces a loaf of bread as good as any artisan sourdough bread I’ve had. I started making sourdough bread last year, using sourdough starter I bought from King Arthur. However, you can just get some from a neighbor or friend who has sourdough starter. I’ve been sharing my sourdough starter…
Healthy Pantry Meal Plan #1
This Healthy Pantry Meal Plan is designed to help you cook more efficiently, using fresh, dry and frozen pantry items. Stocking a healthy pantry can make weekday cooking easier. It just requires a little planning. This week’s pantry meal plan will hopefully help reduce the amount of time it takes for you to make dinner…
Turkey Shepherd’s Pie Recipe
Turkey Shepherd’s Pie is the ultimate comfort food. I crave comfort foods in times of trouble and uncertainty. For me, these foods are cozy meals like this shepherd’s pie, macaroni and cheese, and pot roast. I first featured this recipe on my blog in October of 2012 when we got hit with Hurricane Sandy and…
Healthy Pantry Recipes
This post contains 50+ Healthy Pantry Recipes for everyday meals. Cooking is made easy when you have a well stocked pantry. A well stocked pantry includes not only dry staple ingredients, but also fresh and frozen foods that keep well. A well-stocked pantry is useful for everyday living. Buying in bulk can save money and…
Crockpot Cuban Black Bean Soup Recipe (Frijoles Negros)
Crockpot Cuban Black Bean Soup is a simple, healthy and delicious soup that can made using pantry items. Dress this soup up with fresh chopped red bell peppers, onions and scallions. Serve with hot sauce on the side for spicy food lovers. Three of my boys love black beans so now that my oldest son is…
Korean Oxtail Soup Recipe
Korean Oxtail Soup is an Asian bone broth that is perfect for bone chilling winter weather. The chili sesame scallion topping brightens up this hearty oxtail soup. I remember my mom making oxtail soup once in a while during the winter. There’s something about the gelatinous meat of oxtail that I love. It’s an acquired…
Slow Cooker Greek Lentil Soup (Fakies) Recipe
This Slow Cooker Greek Lentil Soup is so simple, yet so satisfying. You’ll be reaching for a bowl of this on a cold winter day. 217 calories/2 Freestyle points per serving. I’ve been sitting on this recipe for way too long so I’m finally getting around to sharing it. The weather has definitely turned cooler…
Spicy Korean Beef Noodle Soup Recipe
This Spicy Korean Beef Noodle Soup is made with rich beef bone broth and spiced up with Korean red pepper flakes ~ it will warm up your belly. It was just 15 degrees one day last week (3 degrees with the windchill factor) and this Spicy Korean Beef Noodle Soup was calling my name. I…
Vietnamese Beef Pho Noodle Soup Recipe
Learn how to make Vietnamese Beef Pho Noodle Soup on the stovetop or pressure cooker, and what to serve this traditional noodle soup with. I love shopping at ethnic markets, and although there aren’t a lot near where I live, I’ve managed to find markets of all kinds within a 45 minute radius, including a…
Chinese Smoked Chicken Recipe (Instant Pot)
Chinese Smoked Chicken is tender, delicious and fragrant. One of my Dad’s specialities used to be his smoked chicken. He grew up in Beijing and recently, I learned that smoked meats were quite popular in that region when he was growing up. I found a recipe for Chinese smoked chicken in my late aunt’s Florence…