seasonal : fall

Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons

This Caesar salad recipe with homemade garlic croutons and a creamy Caesar dressing (with or without anchovies) makes an easy main meal or favorite side salads for a crowd.

The last time I visited Mexico was for a yoga retreat in Tulum. Right on the beach, feeling the yoga burn and subsequent relaxation had every one of us hungry all of the time. Given that the original Caesar salad originated in Mexico, it’s no surprise the resort served an incredible version with nearly every meal.

Some eaters worry about Caesar salad’s calories, but when keeping portions in check, and if you avoid drowning it in dressing, the calorie count can stay within realistic bounds. I mean, if it’s served at a beachside yoga retreat, it feels alright to me.

Here on the blog, I’m not shy about my love of the Caesar. I’ve turned this classic steak house primer into a kale Caesar salad, my daughter’s favorite chicken Caesar salad, and I made sure to share my classic Caesar salad dressing you can make with or without anchovies because some of you aren’t all that fond of the little fish.

Grab your tastebuds, and let me show you how to make a killer Caesar salad.

continue to the recipe… about Caesar Salad with Garlic Croutons

How to Make Homemade Croutons

Nobody’s going to give you the side-eye if you buy a bag from the grocery store, but homemade croutons are so quick and easy to make, they’re totally worth making from scratch instead.

Homemade garlic croutons. They’re the crunchy toppers I crave for my fave tomato basil soup, and an essential part of every classic Caesar salad. And let’s face it, what kid doesn’t pick out all of the croutons from their dinner salad before they even touch the greens? Okay, and a whole bunch of adults too.

Grocery store or salad bar croutons can be dry, hard nuggets that could nearly break a tooth with each bite. But this homemade crouton recipe makes soft on the inside, crisp on the outside flavor crunches with each cube of bread bit bites.

Making croutons at home is super easy to do and takes only about 15 minutes to bake a batch. Baking them in the oven is the easiest way to cook them, but I’m sharing how to make them on the stove top as well. Add your own favorite seasonings and spices—garlic and herb is my favorite—and you’ll find yourself making these bread bites all of the time, too.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Homemade Croutons

How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

This deliciously easy and authentic Caesar salad dressing (made with or without anchovies) gets it’s signature creamy texture from good quality mayonnaise and sour cream with the tang of red wine vinegar.

Homemade salad dressings are some of the easiest recipes any home cook should master. And ironically, it’s just about as easy to whip one up as it is to stand in front of the grocery aisle trying to decide which salad dressing you’re going to like the best. Plus, with homemade dressings there’s no guessing what’s in them because you get to decide which ingredients to include.

When people see an ingredient list that calls for raw egg and anchovies, they can get a bit squeemish about traditional recipes for Caesar salad dressing.

However, this recipe that I use in my classic Caesar salad recipe with homemade garlic croutons omits the raw egg and calls for mayonnaise and sour cream to provide the creamy texture, and you can choose whether to add anchovies, or not. If you’re a garlic fan, you can always toss in another clove if you like.

The power of Caesar is in your hands, and with this salad dressing, you’ll always be the big winner.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Caesar Salad Dressing

How to Make the Best Potato Salad

This classic potato salad recipe, handed down from my grandma to my mom and then to me, has their secret tips that makes it the very best every single time.

It may be a pretty bold to claim, but saying this potato salad recipe is the best is a statement I’ll totally stand behind.

I’ve shared several variations of potato salad recipes here on the blog including my German potato salad, a creamy dill potato salad, my no-mayo potato salad with herbs, a bacon and sour cream loaded baked potato salad, and even more. But this salad is the one that readers have made a top recipe here on the blog, and definitely ranks as my personal childhood favorite.continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Potato Salad

Pasta Pomodoro Sauce

A simple pasta topped with fresh tomato pomodoro sauce couldn’t be more authentically Italian, and like most things Italian, simplicity is key in this 5-ingredient recipe that’s ready in just 20 minutes.

This recipe is brought to you by DeLallo

Pinch me for sure, because I am lucky indeed. I recently visited the homeland of authentic Italian pomodoro sauce, on the Amalfi Coast near Naples, Italy—the hub of authentic Italian pasta manufacturing and tomato farming. It was the trip of a lifetime, complete with amazing views of the dramatic coastal cliffs, white-knuckled winding roads I luckily didn’t have to chauffeur, so much amazing time with friends on the tour, and more real-deal authentic Italian food than I could dream of—so fresh and delicious I never wanted to leave.

But why would I expect anything less? I was there with DeLallo Foods, a brand I’ve worked with for many years and shared many recipes using their products here on the blog, and who imports only the best ingredients direct from Italy to the U.S. We were in Italy to visit their pasta factory and learn more about what makes pasta made in the small southern city of Gragnano in the Campania region of Italy, the best, certifiably authentic pasta in the world—and the only way DeLallo produces their delicious Italian pasta.

In addition to learning about how pasta is made, we took a cooking class and learned how to make this classic Pomodoro al Spaghetti from the chefs of the two-star Michelin awarded restaurant Don Alfonso, where among all of their highly regarded recipes, this is their most popular recipe. It may have been the simplest meal we had on the trip, and might be the reason it ended up being my favorite.

I couldn’t wait to get home and master this classic pomodoro sauce myself, and now, you’re about to as well. continue to the recipe… about Pasta Pomodoro Sauce

How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes

With a crispy flour and cornmeal crust, these easy-to-make, golden fried green tomatoes taste sweet and tender and totally addicting when dunked into my simple garlic aioli dipping sauce.

With a short growing season here in Utah, it feels like we just barely get our tomato harvest in full swing when it suddenly stops short.

Before you know it, those plump and juicy red tomatoes we’ve been carefully cultivating for summertime BLT’s and the best balsamic-drizzled caprese salads, are facing the frost of fall.

Why Jack Frost? WHYYY? #shakesfistatsky

Not to go to waste, now you’re left wondering what can you do with the bounty of green tomatoes from your garden?

Oh baby, fry those tomatoes up!

And if you’re like me, this easy southern classic just might have you plucking your green tomatoes well before the late summer harvest, too.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make Fried Green Tomatoes

Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe With Ground Beef

Classic stuffed peppers with rice, ground beef, and a rainbow of sweet red, yellow and orange bell peppers makes the best easy dinner idea any night of the week.

Ever since I was a starry eyed pre-teen, I’ve been a fan of drawing rainbows. Now I eat them.

But as a kid, I wrinkled my nose at the sight those orbed vegetables, and when they showed up on my dinner plate, I plotted how to ditch every single bite in a napkin that was slipped slyly to the dog anxiously waiting under the table.

But just like spending Sunday afternoons lazily visiting with family or friends, or relishing the time to simply sit and read a novel, eating the food you hated as a kid suddenly becomes not. that. bad. as an adult. And sometimes really, really good.

Plus, whenever I can serve a meal in it’s own vessel, it’s bonus time. Enter, stuffed bell peppers.continue to the recipe… about Stuffed Bell Peppers Recipe With Ground Beef

30 Easy Healthy Chicken Dinners Ideas

It’s the weeknight riddle that becomes less and less funny: What to make for dinner tonight? This list of 30 easy healthy chicken dinner recipes is the answer.

This time of year is ultra-busy for everyone – getting back in the swing of back-to-school, treasuring the memories of the last long weekend for a while, and soaking up those warm sunshiny days before Fall’s chill hits – so quick, easy dinner options are a must.

This list of 30 easy chicken dinner recipes makes cooking good healthy meals at home just as easy as picking up or ordering in. From whole roasted chickens better than any you’ll find at the grocery store check out, to the easiest ways to cook chicken breasts, this list of 30 dinner recipe ideas will satisfy every member of your family no matter how picky they may seem to be.

So break out your love of chicken and visit these chicken dinner ideas for tonight, starting now and lasting all year long. continue to the recipe… about 30 Easy Healthy Chicken Dinners Ideas

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese

This easy pasta dish comes together in less than 15 minutes with a fresh tomato sauce made even healthier with whole wheat pasta and spinach that’s topped with ricotta cheese. This is where healthy meets happy!

I’ve grown tomatoes in my garden for years. But the past few seasons have seen a steady downward spiral of yield thanks to my neighbor’s growing trees and some dastardly devilish varmints who snatch up the lessening fruit they finally yield. My tomato crop at the end of summer has turned into a total bummer crop instead of my oh-so-wishful bumper crop.

But I’m not going to let my less-than-stellar farmer skills get in the way of eating fresh tomatoes however I can. Between farmers markets and the farmer down the street, I’m keeping flush with my tomato loving ways.

This warm pasta dish is one of my favorite simple lunch or dinner recipes, and one reason I’m bound to this end-of-summer crop. It’s a bit like a caprese pasta but uses ricotta cheese instead of mozzarella.

The “sauce” is made with fresh tomatoes steeped in olive oil and garlic then added to the warm pasta so there’s hardly any cooking to do at all. It’s the perfect recipe for when you’re short on time but still want real good, real food on the table.

continue to the recipe… about Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese

Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

Your slow cooker does all the hard work for you in this pork green chili recipe. Hatch green chiles are the star of this soup, but jalapeños can be used if needed!

Searching for Hatch Green Chile Recipes

Here is the thing about eating seasonal: You eat it while it’s fresh and you eat it ’til it’s gone.

I’ve pretty much been living this mantra all week long thanks to a batch of Hatch chiles I was gifted that resulted in an unofficial Hatch chile week in my kitchen, on my dinner table, and here on the bloggity blog.

I was gifted these pretty little peppers by my friend Amanda, who brought them to me from New Mexico where Hatch chiles are authentically grown. Because it’s hard to get them fresh and locally here in Utah, I was thrilled! What a great hostess gift for a heat seeking foodie, don’t you think?

With so many options of how to put these chiles to work, I took to my Facebook page and asked you what recipes you wanted to see. Along with the favorites chile-topped cheeseburgers, chile rellenos, and enchiladas, here’s what you had to say:continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

Thai Quinoa Salad

This easy Thai quinoa salad combines protein-rich grains with healthy nutrients from fresh veggies, for a lime-infused flavor bomb with crunch in each bite.

This easy Thai quinoa salad combines protein-rich grains with healthy nutrients from fresh veggies, for a lime-infused flavor bomb with crunch in each bite. It’s great as a side for potlucks and as a main when you add chopped chicken. It’s also an easy and complete weekday lunch too.

I remember being at a Weight Watchers meeting where a woman emphatically stated that she did. NOT. like. quinoa. There was no changing her mind. But in my head I couldn’t figure out why she was putting up the quinoa roadblock.

Quinoa is one of my favorite protein sources, probably because it’s so unassuming. Like a seventh grade girl, it takes on the flavors it’s paired with.

For this quinoa salad, that means the salty flavors of a limey Thai dressing with plenty of veggie crunch. It’s the perfect side dish or main meal if you’re feeling the hug of your waistline just a little too much.

Quinoa is a bona fide super food. It’s gluten-free, packed with protein, fiber and flavonoids with studies showing it as an anti-inflammatory. It’s also loaded with antioxidants to keep those free radicals at bay.

continue to the recipe… about Thai Quinoa Salad

Easy Yogurt Fruit Dip

This easy Greek yogurt fruit dip recipe is made with just 3 ingredients and makes eating fruit dip with apples, strawberries and more seem like a party.

For after school snacks or on weekend playdates, my daughter and her friends were always on the lookout for any opportunity to partake of a snack. As a mom, you know I wished said snack would be healthy. So instead of pulling out a box of this or a bag of that, a platter of bites to snack on became their go-to fave.

The girls called them pupu platters. I called them peace of mind. Knowing these kids were eating good for them snacks made it that much easier to whip them up on a whim. Easy is the name of this game.

This pupu platter has fruit of every color and with a centerpiece of sweet and healthy yogurt-based fruit dip. It’s great to serve on a platter for breakfast or brunch, or take to a potluck with fruit skewers.

With just three ingredients to whisk together, you won’t waste any time making it yourself.continue to the recipe… about Easy Yogurt Fruit Dip

Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)

This easy spicy Thai Basil Chicken recipe infuses authentic Thai flavors into a coconut sauce that’s dynamite over rice or noodles for a fast dinner you will literally find yourself craving.

When my stock of summer’s sweet basil is ready for harvest, I make a mad dash for caprese salads and homemade pesto. But my love of basil roots don’t stop there.

Each spring I go beyond the bounds of planting traditional sweet basil. In my garden, I always make room for at least 3-4 Thai basil plants, just so I can have them to make this Thai basil chicken recipe. It’s creamy, spicy, and when using rice noodles, it’s gluten-free.

In high school, my sister Holly spent a year in Thailand as a foreign exchange student, and our family’s taste buds haven’t been the same since. Holly originally introduced me to the traditional recipe of Pad Krapow Ga. Then my mom found a variation to this Thai Basil Chicken recipe in an old issue of Sunset magazine.

Over the years I’ve added this and that to make the recipe my own, and come late summer, it shows up nearly every week on our dinner table, taking full advantage of that sweet but savory, homegrown Thai basil.

continue to the recipe… about Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)

Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

When the garden overfloweth, it’s time to heat up the grill for a turn-eth on the coals-eth for an easy side dish of grilled zucchini topped with creamy goat cheese and pine nuts.

Zucchini are the David Copperfield of the vegetable kingdom.

One minute you’re gazing upon 3-inch still-room-to-grow zucchini when BOOM! with the slight of mother nature’s hand that cute little mini squash has suddenly turned into a 4-pound gargantuan with enough flesh for 324 loaves of zucchini bread or 41 pepperoni stuffed zucchini boats.

That’s veggie magic folks.

And this zucchini side dish is magic too. It’s healthy. It’s easy. And like the Italians do, it can be plated and set on a table to be ,served warm or at room temperature so it’s perfect for serving at a potluck or party.continue to the recipe… about Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

20 Caprese Recipes You’ll Go Crazy For

From the best caprese salads to caprese skewers and the classic caprese sandwich, this list of 20 favorite tomato, mozzarella and basil themed recipes will have you going crazy for caprese.

You know those quizzes you see all over the internet touting, “Choose your favorite XX and we’ll tell you your personality type”? Well, if I had to choose, my favorite-salad-personality-clone would be the caprese salad.

There’s not much you can’t do with the basic ingredients of the classic caprese salad, from the classic caprese salad to caprese skewers to caprese-topped chicken dinners, all you need to get started is:

fresh and creamy mozzarella (any shape or size, and ultra-creamy burrata makes things even that much better)
the season’s best tomatoes (hopefully still warm from the garden)
spicy basil that smells of summer
the best fruity olive oil your wallet can afford
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for that hit of spice we all need in our day

Alone as a preamble salad or served as a potluck side dish that will be the first to disappear, a classic caprese is pure love on a plate, in a bowl, or on a platter. But take those classically fresh Italian ingredients and add a dose of inspiration and you have so much more: a topper for chicken, or spritzing up toasts, or making breakfast eggs even more of the best way to start your day. The caprese personality is one everybody will love.

The season is now to capture the rapt ripeness of the best tomatoes. Get them before the getting’s gone. It’s time to get your caprese on.

Start with this list of 20 caprese recipes to crush on now.continue to the recipe… about 20 Caprese Recipes You’ll Go Crazy For

The Best BBQ Chicken

The best BBQ chicken breast recipe doesn’t call for complicated marinades or rubs. It’s all about this easy on-the-grill or in-the-oven cooking method sweetened with BBQ sauce for moist and juicy barbecue chicken breasts every time.

BBQ chicken, whether cooked on the grill or baked in the oven, is one of those dinners nobody at the table will complain about. Unless it’s dry and overcooked. But that is NOT this recipe. It’s a basic anyone can easily master, so that they too can claim their BBQ chicken is the best on the block.

This recipe is simple and it’s ready quick. There’s no extra time needed for marinades or fancy rubs. All you need is good quality chicken breasts, a hot grill or oven, and your favorite BBQ sauce to slather.

Grab the napkins my friends. Let’s cook us some barbecue chicken.continue to the recipe… about The Best BBQ Chicken

Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

This hybrid of roasted and mashed potatoes is literally a mash up of cooking techniques to create a creamy potato on the inside with the crispy edges everyone craves on the outside, and it’s all made extra good thanks to garlic, butter and rosemary flavored smashed potatoes.

Easy side dishes should be a dime a dozen but I keep hearing from you guys that this is one of the most challenging parts of putting the finishing touch on your dinner time meal.

The beauty of a simple side dish like potatoes is they go with pretty much any main dish. Personally, I could eat them as the main dish all on their own.

So why mash when you can smash?

Because smashed red potatoes that are crisped with garlicky butter and rosemary like these smashed rosemary garlic potato babies here are the sure cure for your dinner-finishing cravings.

continue to the recipe… about Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

The Best Buttery Parsley Potatoes

Boiled potatoes get an infusion of butter and parsley to make this super easy, three-ingredient side dish. This is one of my all-time favorite side dish recipes for any meal!

Buttery Parsley Boiled Potatoes Recipe

This is one of those recipes that comes so naturally, without much thought, that I didn’t really think about sharing it.

Until someone asked for it.

I bet we had these potatoes at least once a week when I was growing up. They’re the ultimate pairing for any and all comfort food because they’re so insanely simple to add along to any main. And so intensely delicious.

Baby red potatoes are the simple cook’s dream side dish. They’re creamy in texture. They cook quickly. You don’t have to skin them. And they’re easy to prepare no matter what your method. Roasting. Grilling. Smashing. And like here, with your basic quick boil in water.continue to the recipe… about The Best Buttery Parsley Potatoes

My Favorite Pumpkin Roll Recipe

This pumpkin roll recipe is a favorite you’ll make year after year. It’s easy to freeze and serve, or perfect for holiday neighbor gifts.

As if the world needed yet another pumpkin roll recipe. But in this case, it really, truly does.

This is the second recipe that made me fall in love with pumpkin-flavored everything. The first of course being the classic pumpkin pie. I mean, what 8-year-old doesn’t love pumpkin pie?

(*Note to self: Share pumpkin pie recipe on bloggity blog. Because yes, the world does need another pumpkin pie recipe, too.)

My mom always made this recipe to welcome in fall and it was a popular neighbor gift for the holidays. As soon as we could smell the combination of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin wafting from the oven, we knew the leaves would soon begin falling from the trees.

My mother-in-law recently gave this pumpkin roll cake recipe a try, too. She baked it without nuts (and you can too) and as you hope when mother-in-laws try anything of yours, she gave it her stamp of approval as well.

But then I knew she would. Because the world DOES need another pumpkin roll recipe.continue to the recipe… about My Favorite Pumpkin Roll Recipe

Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale

A clean, herb-infused broth makes this slow cooker tortellini soup with Italian sausage a favorite to keep in your weekly meal plans.

This post is in partnership with McCormick.

“Oh babe, this is so good. Hey! Don’t eat all the broth! That’s mine.” My husband. He’s usually really good about sharing. “Oh. This is really good.” Until it comes to soup. He LOVES a good soup. And he wants it all for himself.

I’ve said it here before. My man is a soup aficionado. And if you can spell aficionado without having to hit dictionary.com, you are one swell spelling bee winner, because I can’t. But back to the crockpot tortellini soup…

Not only does the slow cooker create a broth for this tortellini soup that tastes flavorful and ultimately craveable, but the perfumed scent of sausage, onion, celery and garlic that wafts from the kitchen as it cooks will also have you wishing you could give that lid on the slow cooker just a crack to dip a spoon in for juuuuuust a bite for taste testing.

Or better yet, dip in a big old slice of sourdough. Fancy that. We’re a family of dippers.continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale

Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

This simple hamburger soup is loaded with vegetables and is an incredibly easy weeknight comfort food dinner because more than likely you’ll have all of the ingredients on hand and ready for soup thanks to your pantry, fridge, and/or freezer.

The first time I had this totally solid, totally comforting hamburger soup was when my mother-in-law made it for a family gathering of which I was not yet part of the family. My husband and I had just started dating and it was dinner at mom’s house and I was invited to go.

No pressure. Nope. None at all.

One of the things I learned that night—along with the fact that as a teen my husband used to wear a nylon over his head so his wet curly hair would dry straight—is that getting friends and family together to share a meal doesn’t have to be over-thought or overdone.

Good food means good times, and that’s really all you need.continue to the recipe… about Easy Hamburger Vegetable Soup

Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers

These tangy and oh-so-simple-to-make sweet and sour Asian pickled cucumbers take only about 5 minutes to make, and are one of our favorite snacks. They’re also so good served as a cooling side or a crunchy, puckery salad all on their own.

I’ve never met a pickle I didn’t like. And when a quick pickle recipe does double duty as a tangy salad or a puckery snack, I look like that little emoji girl with my hand held high 🙋. Actually, my hand is more likely IN the pickle jar instead of being raised even though my mom ALWAYS told me, “USE A FORK!”

When will I ever learn to listen? Asking for my mom, because, you know, she’s still wondering.

This quick pickled cucumber recipe is exactly one of those recipes I will disregard all of my mom’s Emily Post etiquette teachings for. It’s the perfect topping on a sandwich or burger (like my Korean BBQ Burgers), or served alongside my Grilled Chicken Satay, or for simply snagging from the fridge for a little afternoon cure-all snack. Fork, or no fork, it’s totally your choice, but I bet you know how I’ll be digging for them.continue to the recipe… about Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers

Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

When your main dish recipe needs a decadent side dish sidekick, there’s nothing like a creamy, thyme-infused cheesy potatoes au gratin recipe to do the job, and to do it easily too.

Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe

There are few side dishes that are more comforting than those made with potatoes. Creamy mashed potatoes. Buttery parsley potatoes. The best potato salad ever. Smashed, twice baked, and roasted potatoes, and so many more.

But au gratin potatoes hold a special place in my food loving heart. They’re creamy, cheesy, and no matter how you slice, spoon, or stack them, they fit in just right alongside both special occasion main dishes or simple weekend burgers.

Creamy on the inside with crisped bites along the edges, these potatoes au gratin don’t call for a floured roux or canned soup, instead letting the potatoes, cream and broth combine to do their creamy thing they do so well.

And here’s the final fact of this potato act…whether you make homemade au gratin potatoes for a crowd of one or a crowd of many, they’re going to be a crowd pleaser every which way.continue to the recipe… about Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

The Best Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

Crispy oven roasted potatoes are an easy, healthy side dish for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner. No matter what time of year, they fit every meal.

The Best Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

Forget feeling all the feels, lately I’ve been feeling all the sides. Maybe it’s because when I make up my weekly not-a-plan-flexible-meal-plan (subscribe to my newsletter and I’ll send it to you each Saturday for FREE) I realize there are so many easy side dishes I make that I haven’t yet shared here on the blog.

Or maybe it’s because if I had my druthers, my plate would be composed of a taste of this and a bite of that. Variety is my friend.

These crispy oven roasted potatoes will also add variety to your plate, with a variety of herbs, and served at a variety of times, these taters are at the top of my easy side dish list. And now, they are about to shoot to the top of yours. continue to the recipe… about The Best Crispy Oven Roasted Potatoes

How to Make Easy Basil Pesto

Homemade pesto is one of the quickest ways to brighten any dish from caprese chicken to pizza and even to macaroni and cheese. This is my tried and true method to make the perfect basil pesto recipe every single time.

I’ve made homemade pesto many times and totally loved it. And just as many times I’ve totally screwed it up. Why? There are likely several reasons, but it’s mainly because I veered away from my perfected proportions and added too much garlic or not enough olive oil or didn’t season my basil pesto sauce nearly enough.continue to the recipe… about How to Make Easy Basil Pesto

Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil bring summertime flavors to a classic dinner of Shrimp Scampi Pasta.

Fresh tomatoes, garlic and basil. Three ingredients that magically transform into very special recipes when a few simple additions are made. Add toasted bread and you have Bruschetta. Add mozzarella and you’ve just made a classic caprese. This recipe for shrimp scampi pasta takes those simple, classic flavors and with a twirl of a fork wrapped around slinky angel hair pasta puts the fresh taste of summer smack dab on your dinner table.

When the summer temps hit 95 degrees and up, as they do from July through August since I live in the desert mountains of the West, you won’t usually find me in the kitchen cooking over a hot pot on the stove. I’m much more of a grill girl when it comes down to dinnertime in the summertime.

Correction: I’m much more of a watching my guy grill when it comes to dinnertime. That’s why if we’re having shrimp, it’s usually been seasoned and skewered and lit up on the charcoals. But a summer of grilling isn’t always what I’m craving when I’m chilling.

The essence of summer was what I was craving when I saw shrimp at the grocery store and had a bunch of ripe tomatoes on my counter. Toss in some fresh chopped garlic, a handful of basil from the garden and I was on my way to a summer dinner wonderland.

I made this with low-carb pasta, which requires less time to cook than traditional pasta, making it an even quicker cook than usual. Getting me out of the kitchen and back to summertime chilling.continue to the recipe… about Shrimp Scampi Pasta

Easy Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

This easy and flavorful healthy chicken gyro recipe starts with a simple 5-ingredient yogurt lemon marinated chicken that can be pan-fried, baked, or grilled, and is topped with a simple cucumber and dill tzatziki sauce. It’s as easy as that.

Creating This Chicken Gyro Recipe

I’d have to say I’m just like 97.99% of the rest of the home cooks out there. We’re busy. Our days are full. And that makes our nights even fuller. It’s the reason why one of my most often heard of requests is for more meals that are easy to make, don’t take a whole lot of time or a laundry list of ingredients, but still have that from-scratch, seasonal-eats quality.

Well here is one recipe 97.99% of you and more are going to love. It’s simple. It’s fast. It’s practical with just a few simple ingredients. And it’s totally flavorful thanks to its Mediterranean roots. continue to the recipe… about Easy Chicken Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Mascarpone Pumpkin Mousse Cups

This easy pumpkin dessert is made by layering crunchy amaretti cookies, homemade mascarpone pumpkin mousse, and whipped cream. Tastes like fall in a glass!

Creating This Pumpkin Mousse Cups Recipe

Like my Smudge, my nephew doesn’t care for birthday cake. Like her, he’d rather have pie with candles than a three tier, frosting laden, light and crumby old cake.

If you have one of those kind in your home, you need to check out my hybrid Yellow Cake Pie with Chocolate Mousse that was a rip-roaring success for Smudge’s birthday celebration. In fact, it was so successful I’ve been commissioned by three of her 8-year old friends to make it for their 9-year-old birthdays.

My nephew’s 13th birthday inspired me to get into the birthday pie biz once again once the shock that my husband’s youngest brother has a teenager in the house and the realization that in just a few short years I will too. Oh great, hormones. Just what this house needs more of.

Usually my mother-in-law makes him a special pumpkin pie for his big day, but she wasn’t able to make the trip for the party this year. Knowing I could never substitute my mom-in-law’s perfect pie, I plotted to give him a surprise with a pumpkin cake. But then I started watching the Cooking Channel. And when I start watching the Cooking Channel I usually get sidetracked from craving a Pad Thai recipe to homemade Pot Roast.

This time was no exception. As I started watching an episode of Extra Virgin with Debi Mazar—who makes me miss Entourage so desperately that I just might be sleeping out to be in line for the movie—and her cute husband Gabriele, I made a quick left turn from my aspirations of creating my initial plan of pumpkin cake to instead adapting their recipe for mascarpone cups.

With all of the pumpkin recipes floating about, my craving for pumpkin recipes has been in overdrive. The amaretti cookies give a yummy crunch to the smooth pumpkin and mascarpone cheese creaminess. I’ve used amaretti cookies for a sweet almond flavoring in Butternut Squash Lasagna so I knew it was a great add-in for squash.

So what did my nephew think of the Pumpkin Cups? He never did have a taste. For the first time ever he bypassed pumpkin pie and shocked us all by choosing red velvet cake as his celebratory sweet of choice. Whaddya do? He’s a teenager now.continue to the recipe… about Mascarpone Pumpkin Mousse Cups

German Potato Salad

Hot red potatoes dressed in a warm bacon, mustard and vinegar dressing are what make this traditional German potato salad a family favorite.

I can taste the pucker now. It’s the telltale sign of the ultimate German potato salad. That vinegar punch mixed with spunky, grainy mustard in a bacon-studded dressing. The unexpected zing that makes me wonder who could possibly pass up a mayo-less ‘tater salad?

Not this German girl.

Although when I just asked Smudge her opinion on which photo to use as the main for this post, she said, “That’s potato salad? I didn’t know it was potato salad when we have it. I always thought it was just hot cooked potatoes.”

I suppose hot potato salad served in a frying pan threw her for a BBQ-side-dish-loop. Surprise is good for her. And for all of us when it comes to giving traditional dishes a try. Leave it to the Germans who originated Christmas, Legos, Nutella and the VW bug to hand down yet another classic.continue to the recipe… about German Potato Salad

20 Potluck Side Dishes for the Classic Summer BBQ

This list of my top 20 classic potluck side dishes are he favorites everyone at your summer cookout will love and are easy to make and to take.

It’s summer, when you’re very likely to be invited to a backyard bbq, or hopefully even host one yourself. Summer’s main dish offerings for a crowd can be pretty standard fare with baby back pork ribs, burgers, and hot dogs likely taking center stage. Where things can go wily in summer cooking’s Wild West is in the side dish area of the party game. There’s so many options, how do you choose what to bring to a potluck?

This list of make-ahead, classic potluck side dish recipes is made up of all the old-time favorites I’ve shared here on the blog that still top my list of those I most often crave. While it’s fun to show off your amusingly inventive recipe creations, sometimes it’s best to just go with the classics, the tried-and-true, the favorites you know everyone at the party will love.

I’m sure I’ll be adding more to this list as the summer goes on, but for now, you know I’ll be sharing these sides on my summer picnic table, and hope you will too.continue to the recipe… about 20 Potluck Side Dishes for the Classic Summer BBQ

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