End-of-Season Cilantro Pesto

Like so many of my recipes, this one begins in the garden. First came an incredible stand of cilantro, the best we’ve ever grown, still going strong in October. Predictions of a frost sent me scrambling to snip and save and give away. I just couldn’t let this gorgeous green go to waste. But IContinue reading “End-of-Season Cilantro Pesto”

Appetizing Apple Chips

Need a garnish to make your table look pretty? Looking for something new to do with all those apples you brought home from the pick-your-own orchard? Want to transform your apples into the perfect backpacking food? Well, here you go. This method of slowly baking sliced apples in your oven is simple and fun. PlusContinue reading “Appetizing Apple Chips”

Ginger Berry Smoothie Bowl

Smoothies are most often an after-school snack at our house. But these smoothie bowls combine the best of a smoothie and a bowl of cereal. They could be a great snack, but make an even better power breakfast. Feel free to mix and match both smoothie ingredients and toppings to keep things exciting and toContinue reading “Ginger Berry Smoothie Bowl”

Easier Than Quiche Quinoa Egg Bake

Quiche is comfort food for me and this one-step-easier dish makes a favorite dinner a little more possible on a busy night. The quinoa makes this meal gluten-free, as well. So, if eggs and cheese and spinach are calling your name, time to stir this up and enjoy! Serves 6 Ingredients 1/2 Tbsp. butter 1/2Continue reading “Easier Than Quiche Quinoa Egg Bake”

Stacking Up a Satisfying Salad

If someone asked my favorite course of a meal, I would, without a moment’s hesitation, tell them: Salad. Not bread, not dessert, not a thick juicy piece of meat. Not even soups or sandwiches or vegetable sides. Nope. It’s salad. I love how fresh and raw most of salad’s ingredients are. I love that soContinue reading “Stacking Up a Satisfying Salad”

Cast Iron Skillet Spatchcocked Chicken

Some time in the last year or so, the concept of spatchcocking your chicken or turkey (think of butterflying a pork chop) has taken off. Why? Just like the Instapot craze, spatchcocking turns whole food ingredients into dinner in a fraction of the time more tried and true methods take. In the case of spatchcocking, it’s easierContinue reading “Cast Iron Skillet Spatchcocked Chicken”

Kale: It’s What’s for Dinner

It is kale season in our garden. I mean big time. We often have a little stand that grows throughout the fall and might stay strong in a mild winter. But spring is when the kale takes off. Which, of course, means it’s kale season at our table. This is not a beloved season at the dinnerContinue reading “Kale: It’s What’s for Dinner”

Scratch-Made Sloppy Joes

If you’re a parent of certain aged kids, you know the drill: From school to swim practice for one kid, a swing by the ballet studio for another and a stop at the track to fetch a third. All this in the crucial 5 to 6 o’clock hour when it would be helpful to actuallyContinue reading “Scratch-Made Sloppy Joes”

Go-To Lentil Soup

This recipe is easy. It’s healthful. It’s a quick dinner that can be pulled together at the last minute. It makes for great leftover lunches. It uses garlic, onions, peppers and stock that I’ve put up from my summer garden or made from my Thanksgiving turkey bones. Do my kids love it? No. But that’s whatContinue reading “Go-To Lentil Soup”

Super Creamy Alfredo Sauce

Why is it that some of the seemingly simplest sauces are the hardest to make? I have been stirring up my own Alfredo sauce going on 20 years but it was very hit or miss. It all depended on the kind of cream I used or how finely grated the Parmesan was or how muchContinue reading “Super Creamy Alfredo Sauce”