seasonal : fall

How to Make the Best Tartar Sauce

This homemade tartar sauce recipe with capers, mayonnaise, and a splashy tang of pickle juice is the perfect topper—and dipper—for fish fillets of every flavor.

A naked fish fillet is exactly that: naked. Whether it’s a healthy-ish fried fish sandwich, every kid-at-heart’s favorite fish stick, or a more adult-ish grilled salmon fillet, fish is meant to have a saucy topper, and there’s no more classic a dipping sauce for fish than a tangy tartar sauce.

I’ve shared plenty of times here on the blog that my husband and I met as servers at a seafood restaurant. You could say our fate was sealed while falling in love with each other and the best clam chowder, steamed clams, and tartar sauce we dished out daily to the hungry crowds.

This tartar sauce recipe is the same they still serve at our old stomping grounds of Market Street Grill, and it’s the one we find ourselves lavishing on fish dinners time and time again. continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Tartar Sauce

No-Fail Butter Pie Crust

These are the secrets to making a no-fail, all-butter pie crust that won’t slump or shrink, and turns out tender and flaky every time.

It feels like there are two big pie seasons that hit every year: Spring’s berry pie season and Fall’s Thanksgiving pie season, with all other slices o’ pie falling somewhere in between.

We are smack dab in the middle of prime time pie making and eating and everyone knows that a foolproof pie crust recipe is the make-or-break point of baking an amazing homemade pie. More important than whatever fruity, nutty, or creamy fillings you whip up—the true test is it’s crust. It should be flaky, light, flavorful, and easy to slice through with a fork.

I’m a bit obsessed with baking pies thanks to the over the top pie crusts I’m incessantly inspired by because of the Instagram account of my favorite local pie company.

Now, after much trial and error, I’ve decided this is the only pie crust recipe I’m willing to bet my pie on. And now, everything that I know, you will too.continue to the recipe… about No-Fail Butter Pie Crust

31 Plant-Based Recipes That Aren’t Salads

There’s no need to go fully vegan or vegetarian to take advantage of the benefits of a plant-based diet, and there’s no better time than now to start adding more of them into your diet with gusto.

The two main reasons we as humans eat are a) for health and b) for taste. Food is what makes life possible, and that much better, and so much more tasty and delicious.

But eating for health doesn’t have to mean sacrificing all of the things that make food so enjoyable. But with so many popular elimination diets out there right now (that often contradict each other), balancing this issue can seem complicated.

But it doesn’t have to be!

continue to the recipe… about 31 Plant-Based Recipes That Aren’t Salads

Creamy Avocado Salsa Verde

Avocado makes this simple, no-cook salsa verde recipe extra creamy for the perfect tortilla chip dipper or as a Mexican salsa topping for tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches, taquitos, and everything in between.

I’ve heard many a time of recipes that are deemed the magic sauce, the secret sauce, and of course, awesome sauce.

Well, this avocado salsa verde recipe is truly special, and while it is not necessarily a sauce per se, it is indeed an incredible topping and chip dipper but also makes everything it touches just that much better.

I should know. It’s made an appearance on everything from my favorite taquitos to turkey sandwiches.

And now, it’s high time you found out too.

I first had this salsa when I was on a yoga retreat in Tulum, Mexico and you can bet I made sure the recipe came home with me. Because while I’ve made plenty of salsas here on the blog, there’s always room for more.

The beauty of this no-cook salsa lies also in the fact that there’s minimal chopping involved. Simply toss all of the ingredients in the blender and whirl away.

And then, start dipping.

continue to the recipe… about Creamy Avocado Salsa Verde

How to Set Up a DIY Mimosa Bar

These tips for setting up your own DIY mimosa bar make it easy for the hostess to relax as guests help themselves at your weekend brunch, wedding, bridal shower, or other reason to celebrate.

Unlike cocktail party martinis or game-day beer busts, mimosa brunches aren’t intended to get anyone hammered or be the stepping stone to the dance floor and get the party started. Instead, they’re for those of us who appreciate a barely buzzed, lazy day, bubbly champagne sipper.

I recently hosted my niece’s bridal shower and like any good hostess, my first goal of the party was to keep things easy on myself. I set up a DIY bagel brunch bar with a few salads and desserts so the guests could help themselves.

For drinks, I thought abut setting up another on of my famous DIY Bloody Mary Bars, but feeling the need for something more refined, I made a DIY mimosa bar with all the makings for the perfect mimosa recipe instead.

Stocked with plenty of chilled and bubbly sparkling wine, fresh juices, and fun fruits to add to the champagne flutes, a DIY mimosa bar for baby showers, Mother’s Day, Easter, or just about any excuse for a holiday is just the right recipe for adding a little fizz to the day’s festivity.continue to the recipe… about How to Set Up a DIY Mimosa Bar

How to Make the Perfect Mimosa

Mimosas made with bubbly sparkling wine instead of expensive champagne adds one more reason to toast “cheers” to lazy weekend brunches or any special occasion.

My best friend Kim is the queen of mimosas. Whether it’s going out for a weekend’s bottomless mimosas brunch, a lazy summer bring-your-own-mimosa-to-the-beach day, or just the ticket for getting though a long flight on an airplane, her recipe for a good time always starts and ends with mimosas.

Bubbly and fizzy, light and bright, mimosas are the perfect champagne cocktail for adding a festive flair to any occasion that’s fit for bubbly. Or basically, Tuesday :).

Mimosas are an essential for bridal or wedding showers, baby showers, Mother’s Day, Easter, Groundhog’s Day…just about any holiday you can make an excuse to celebrate. Lest we forget New Years Day, where they are the best easy eye-opening hair-of-the-dog-sipper that won’t take your breath away.

In my humble opinion, there’s no better way to set up a cheers than with a little bubbly spiked with a little something sweet. That’s why today I’m sharing the perfect recipe for the best mimosas, made with bubbly sparkling wine instead of expensive champagne, making the cha-ching of dollars dropping into your hand just one more reason to toast “cheers” to all the celebrating we’re about to begin.

My little family and I recently visited where legend has it the mimosa was created, at the Ritz Hotel in Paris, so naturally I imbibed. I also took notes on how to make the perfect mimosa, so here we go.continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Perfect Mimosa

10 Ways to Waste Less and Save Money at the Grocery Store

These 10 helpful tips for how to grocery shop smarter will not only save money, but waste less food at home so you’ll eat healthier too.

This post is sponsored by Kroger

I hate wasting food and yet I do it almost every week. I’m one of those shoppers who has grand aspirations to cook every meal, and then life gets in the way, plans change, and I don’t. I see my veggies languish in the crisper or watch bread go moldy in the pantry. I’m guilty of buying too much and not using what I have.

If you’re like me, you’re probably asking how can I spend less money and shop smarter at the grocery store? It starts by answering the question, how can I stop wasting food?

That’s why I’m changing my food wasting ways by thinking about the end result first, before I even start my grocery shopping.continue to the recipe… about 10 Ways to Waste Less and Save Money at the Grocery Store

Vietnamese Dressing and Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)

Nuoc mam cham is a simple Vietnamese dipping sauce made with rice vinegar, fish sauce, and sweetened with sugar that does double duty as a tasty salad dressing.

Just as Italy is known for it’s olive oil with balsamic vinegar, and Greece for it’s tzatziki, every culture has a dipping sauce that makes it’s signature mark. Vietnam is no exception.

This easy recipe for nuoc cham Vietnamese dressing and dipping sauce turns a bowl of rice noodles with raw veggies into a spectacularly slurpable flavor bomb and it’s the last touch of zest when Vietnamese spring rolls pass your lips.

It may take a minute to figure out nuoc cham’s pronunciation when ordering at a restaurant, but once you make it at home, you’ll see this sauce is easy to master.continue to the recipe… about Vietnamese Dressing and Dipping Sauce (Nuoc Mam Cham)

The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese

The combination of creamy gouda and havarti cheese make a silky, cheesy homemade mac and cheese sauce that tastes far better than the boxed kind.

Easy Homemade Mac and Cheese

There are several basic, classic, everyone-loves-them-because-even-when-we-shouldn’t-we-still-crave-them recipes I am driven to master.

The best steak. Check.

The juiciest roasted chicken. Got it.

The best potato salad. Double check and thank you mom.

The best homemade fudge. Ever. End of story. Period.

I’ve made several macaroni and cheese recipes on the blog, one with lobster, another with gobs of cheese and bacon, and yet another loaded with veggies and such, and I’ve deemed each of them a wonder in their own right.

But I was missing something. I was missing the basic, homey, comfort food classic of a good old-fashioned baked mac and cheese. But not anymore.

This easy baked mac and cheese recipe, affirmed by all of the “mmm-this-is-so-unbelievable,” “can-I-have-more-please” comments, THIS recipe, with it’s incredibly silky, cheesy sauce, is the best classic yet.

continue to the recipe… about The Best Homemade Mac and Cheese

Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Creamy Ranch Sauce

For this pulled chicken sandwich, pre-made crockpot chicken is shredded and then piled onto a soft ciabatta bread and drizzled with a creamy homemade ranch dressing and topped with sliced avocado and melted Monterey Jack cheese.

Earlier this week I posted a recipe for Slow Cooker Whole Chicken, a recipe I deemed far from sexy. It’s a very useful recipe, and makes having ready-to-use chicken for lunches and dinners super convenient and obviously tasty.

But sexy? Not so much.

But this pulled chicken sandwich? I’d say it’s looming on sexy. In fact, I’d say it’s already arrived to the party.

The inspiration for this sandwich comes from one that I had at one of my favorite Park City eateries, Sammy’s Bistro. It’s actually Smudge’s favorite spot to eat because of their Grilled Cheese and Tomato Basil Soup combo meal. She always pairs it with a caesar salad. The girl’s got taste, what can I say?

Sammy’s Bistro is a simple place with a decent bar to belly up to watch a Sunday football game, a friendly staff, and a surprisingly innovative menu. I usually order one of their salads (the Mahi Mahi Salad with Mango Salsa is a fave) but on my last visit I went for more basic fare and ordered their version of this sandwich, a pulled chicken on ciabatta sandwich, but served with a tomatillo aioli.

As I usually do, I asked our waitress how in the heck they make it so good. The slow cooked chicken is key, along with super soft ciabatta bread (I use buns from Stoneground, a local bakery), and a good slather of sauce. Instead of tomatillo flavors I went with a homemade ranch sauce.

And let me just say, this is one pulled chicken sandwich you’ll want to order again and again.

continue to the recipe… about Pulled Chicken Sandwich with Creamy Ranch Sauce

How to Serve a DIY Bagels and Lox Brunch Bar

Wondering what to serve a crowd at your next party? Make it easy on the hostess with this breakfast and brunch buffet idea: Serve a DIY bagels and lox brunch bar.

Last year when my niece Chandler announced she was engaged, I knew I wanted to host a bridal shower for her. With her wedding date set for early May, coming up with spring shower ideas would be perfect timing.

So this past weekend with 20 to 30 guests arriving for her bridal shower party (why doesn’t anyone RSVP anymore???) something totally unexpected happened, and it pretty much blew my mind.

For probably the first time in my hostessing career, I didn’t freak the freak out while prepping for the party.

Why didn’t I have my usual pre-party hostessing melt down? Because you guys convinced me to make it easy on myself and create a build your own bagel and lox brunch bar as the centerpiece of our day.continue to the recipe… about How to Serve a DIY Bagels and Lox Brunch Bar

Greek Cobb Salad

This Cobb salad with a twist loads all of my favorite Mediterranean salad ingredients plus the best Greek marinated chicken ever into one savage salad to make a complete, healthy meal in one big bowl.

This Greek Cobb salad is like the Woodstock of salads, bringing so much to one place to deliver peace, love, and joy with a trancelike glow that makes an incredible memory for anyone who experiences it. And just like Woodstock, you too will have wished you’d been there to eat it even if you didn’t.

I heard back from so many of you on my email list where I shared this healthier turkey sausage pasta dinner, when you answered my question, do you want more healthy recipes? The answer was a resounding, YES! like this reply from reader Ann, who wrote:

“Hi I would love any help cooking delicious meals “heart healthy”. I must live a low sodium diet/low fat/etc.., but I miss all the yummy comfort foods I loved. Any help would be appreciated!!”

I admit, this mediterranean Greek Cobb salad may not be everyone’s idea of typical “comfort food”—aka fried, buttered, and gooey-leyed cheesed—but to me, anything that shines with my favorite mediterranean flavors is a comfort to my taste buds—and a whole lot healthier too.continue to the recipe… about Greek Cobb Salad

31 Spring Chicken Recipes to Make Now

Seasonal ingredients and fresh flavors have arrived on the spring scene to liven up any weeknight chicken dinner recipe situation.

It’s spring! With the warming sun begging for baskers to break out of the house and go to the park and play, who wants to be inside cooking all day? Cooking a full-blown, multi-course dinner can be a challenge to fit into spring’s busy days when soccer practices, kite flying, and garden-prepping take center stage.

If there’s one request I get time and time again, it’s for new recipe ideas using everyone’s favorite protein staple, the almighty chicken. Just like your favorite basic white t-shirts, you can never have too many simple-to-prep chicken dinner recipes on hand. continue to the recipe… about 31 Spring Chicken Recipes to Make Now

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

I’ve searched for the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe forever. Perfectly fluffy and slathered with a buttery cream cheese frosting, this is it.

The BEST Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Finding the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe has been my mission for more years than I can count on two hands.

Strike that.

Finding the best homemade cinnamon roll recipe and actually making it, now THAT is what has been my mission for that number of years.

I’ve Pinned hundreds of recipes on Pinterest, and liked all of them on Facebook. I’ve torn out every recipe from every magazine that’s shared cinnamon rolls deemed fit to bake. And it seems that just about every week of Friday Faves has one more recipe for the perfect cinnamon roll included in it.

Not that I’ve ever made any of them.

For some reason, the notion of baking homemade cinnamon rolls has always intimidated me. I blame it on my childhood. That’s when my early cinnamon roll baking adventures relied on using the pre-made dough from the can that came out of the oven tasting like they’d been baked 3 days before and then quickly turned into 5-day-old rolls as soon as they cooled.

It ruined the notion of cinnamon rolls for me until I had a REAL cinnamon roll from a true blue bakery and realized just how many light and fluffy pillows from cinnamon and brown sugar slathered with glaze bundles of heaven I’d been missing out on all those years.

Now THOSE rolls are the ones I want to bake. The homemade cinnamon rolls I want to be known for. The rolls that when family and friends take one bite they blissfully roll their eyes in satisfaction as they slowly absorb each sweet, flaky bite, and then look to one another in agreement and say, “Heidi makes THE BEST cinnamon rolls.”

And now, I have that recipe.

continue to the recipe… about The Best Cinnamon Rolls Recipe

Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Rosemary Garlic Butter

This perfectly tender and juicy whole oven roasted chicken gets brushed with a fresh lemon rosemary garlic butter and stuffed with aromatics for extra flavor. It’s perfect for Sunday dinner, but easy enough for a weeknight!

Whole Roasted Chicken Recipe

Searching through cookbooks, leafing through food magazines and trolling through food blogs proves one fact over and over again: cooks love making recipes with chicken.

While the boneless chicken breast seems to be the star in most recipes, the whole bird cannot be ignored. There’s nothing quite like a juicy hen, perfuming the whole house, to get the salivating started.

This whole roasted chicken recipe is like a butter infused invitation to belly up to the Sunday dinner table. But it’s so easy you could totally make it any day of the week.

Chicken on the bone. Chicken with skin. Those two things give chicken a flavor all on its own.

But when you layer that baby bird with the soft, buttery mix of garlic, lemon, and rosemary a totally new flavor permeates our chicken-little under, and over, the skin.

And that skin, oh that lovely, golden skin. Butter baby. It does the trick.

continue to the recipe… about Oven Roasted Chicken with Lemon Rosemary Garlic Butter

Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Peas

This healthy recipe for pasta with turkey sausage and peas makes a fast Italian skillet dinner for any night of the week.

This recipe is brought to you by DeLallo Foods

My dad loves sausage. My husband loves sausage. I love sausage. What is it about the comforting flavors of sausage and pasta that feels like a big family hug in a bowl?

But sometimes that big sausage-ey hug can feel a little too tight, a little too snug; just like my jeans. That’s why I’m lightening things up where I can and making small changes toward a healthier diet. For me, my husband, my dad, and you.

Subbing ground turkey for pork sausage is an easy switch to make, and it’s one that’s not even noticed because I have the secret to losing the fat but keeping all the flavor, and it’s all thanks to adding the same herbs and spices to ground turkey that make regular sausage taste so good.continue to the recipe… about Pasta with Turkey Sausage and Peas

Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Almonds

Roasted asparagus gets a leg up on the basic side dish with a drizzle of nutty browned butter and the crunch of buttery marcona almonds.

There’s nothing better in cooking than to take an easy, basic recipe and give it just a little twist to move it up a notch.

Basic oven-roasted asparagus is one of my meal-making staples. It’s fast. It’s easy. It’s delicious.

But sometimes I’m craving just a bit more flavor. So when I’m feeling flush and lush, browned butter made even more nutty is my asparagus drizzle got-to.

continue to the recipe… about Roasted Asparagus with Browned Butter and Almonds

Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Oven roasted asparagus is a healthy, fast and easy side dish that goes with just about anything on your table. And it’s even good for snacking straight from the fridge!

No matter what type of diet you follow, asparagus is a good addition to it, and obviously good for you too. It’s high in fiber, loaded with nutrients, and won’t spike glucose levels like carrots or potatoes can after you eat it.

But the even better part about enjoying asparagus is that it’s an incredibly easy side dish to prepare with a quick roast in the oven.

One of my favorite ways to enjoy roasted asparagus is to roast a batch of it for eating all through the week. I add it to salads, breakfast toast, grilled cheese sandwiches, and veggie bowls.

And of course it’s a great side dish to any main meal dinner, making it a simple side dish work horse everyone loves.continue to the recipe… about Roasted Asparagus Recipe

Easy 3-Minute Blender Hollandaise

Homemade blender hollandaise is a quick and easy classic sauce any French cook would declare très bien.

Classic hollandaise sauce is one of those lush additions to a dish that immediately elevates the stature of whatever it drizzles or lathers. I mean, an Egg Benedict is really just an Egg McMuffin until it gets the hollandaise treatment.

However, from scratch hollandaise can be a tricky recipe to master and feel like one of those recipes only a trained chef can carry off.

Not the case monsieur!

Unlike traditional hollandaise that requires whisking and tempering over a water bath and a fair amount of practice to master, this blender hollandaise is incredibly easy and fast with no cooking involved, and can literally take just about 3 minutes to whip up.continue to the recipe… about Easy 3-Minute Blender Hollandaise

Greek Salad Dressing

This easy Greek salad dressing with olive oil, red wine vinegar, garlic, and dried herbs is one of my favorites to dress any salad and tastes so much better than store-bought.

Home cooks are too often conditioned to grabbing a bottle of store-bought dressing off the supermarket shelf. Where in reality, making a homemade salad dressing truly couldn’t be easier, takes hardly any skill, and is more economical too.

This traditional Greek salad dressing is a multi-functioning super hero. It’s amazingly good on simple greens and sliced onions for an everyday dinner salad. Or soaked into crisped veggies and tossed with feta in a Greek pasta salad. And it works wonders as a marinade for garbanzo beans, chicken, pork, or to drizzle on grilled vegetables or shrimp.

Honestly my husband’s favorite is simply drizzling it on slices of crisp cucumbers, and I’m partial to marinating blocks of feta in it. Yum.

This is the easy salad dressing that’s about to become a secret weapon to always keep on hand.continue to the recipe… about Greek Salad Dressing

Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

You can cook it fast or cook it slow, but either way this corned beef and cabbage creates tender, fall-apart chunks of beef thanks to braising it in the crock pot or Instant Pot with beer and vegetables for an unbelievably easy and delicious one-pot dinner.

When asked whether corned beef is actually good for you, I say it may not be something to eat each and every day of the year, but I feel it’s totally fine when you eat it just like everything else you should—say it with me—in moderation!

But is corned beef actually Irish or not? Sure it’s traditionally served in the U.S. each and every St. Patrick’s Day and while you won’t likely find it served at the local pub in Ireland, it IS Irish-American.

I make corned beef and cabbage every single year around St. Patrick’s Day. Because like many of you, it’s a tradition that just can’t be ignored. It’s a ritual. And I’m good with that.

In fact I will cook a whole corned beef just so I can make my favorite Reuben sandwiches loaded with sauerkraut, that delicious sauce and melted cheese piled high on grilled rye bread, because seriously…who can say no to a killer reuben??

continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker + Instant Pot Corned Beef and Cabbage

Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

This lemon chicken recipe makes juicy, bone-in chicken thighs with the Mediterranean flavors of white wine and artichokes for an easy chicken dinner ready in 30 minutes.

30-Minute Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

Easy chicken dinners are always at the top of FoodieCrush readers most requested recipe list. Healthy, flavorful, and fast to make slides right along into that list too.

Guess what friends? I’m right there with you. And if a chicken dinner doesn’t make the flavor grade, what’s even the point?

I’m happy to report, this lemony chicken thighs with artichokes recipe ticks all those fill-in-the-blank boxes and then some.

While this skillet lemon chicken recipes is an easy one to make, there are definitely a couple of tips to follow for success every time.

Let’s skillet to it.continue to the recipe… about Lemon Chicken Thighs with Artichokes

31 Days of Healthy Snack Recipes to Make Now

Healthy snacks for adults and kids, weight loss, work, and on the go can literally be at hand with these easy recipes.

Healthy Snack Ideas Any and Every Time

Snacks are the key to keeping good nutrition habits on track, and the first thing to totally derail our best intentions of the day.

Keeping a stash of healthful snack ideas for every situation makes it a whole lot easier to pass right on by the sabotage of the dastardly vending machine, and makes it so much easier to just say no to that tub of Ben & Jerry’s in the freezer.

This month long list of 31 healthy recipes makes it easy to snack any time, for:

healthy snacks for weight loss
healthy snacks for work
healthy snacks on the go
healthy snacks for adults and for kids

They’re sure to become your new go-to to stave off the 3pm slump at work, or even just a late night indulgence that you can still feel good about in the morning.continue to the recipe… about 31 Days of Healthy Snack Recipes to Make Now

Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice

This easy Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice dinner has just the right amount of spice from jalapeño and ginger to flavor this creamy coconut sauce for a simple all-in-on meal.

Thai Comfort Food: Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice

“Make it with extra sauce!” my husband always says.

Those are the words I hear ringing in my ears every time I cook any of my Thai recipes made with coconut milk like Shrimp in Thai Coconut Sauce or Slow Cooker Thai Chicken Soup. He’s a saucy kind of guy and simply can’t get enough of the Thai flavor-infused coconut flavors. And since every month those two recipes are in the top 10 recipes readers make from my site, it’s obvious you love them too.

The sauce is one reason why this creamy ginger and coconut chicken recipe has been a favorite of ours literally for years. I originally tore it out of a 2006 issue of Real Simple magazine, and like any magazine addict who also has a penchant for ~~saving~~ hoarding, I’ve kept it all these years.

The recipe page is now a little kitchen war-torn and splattered so it was high time to add it to the blog so I could refer to it more easily. See, this blog isn’t just a place for me to make recipes for you, it’s a place for me to keep track of my many favorites.

And hopefully like this Thai chicken recipe, you’ll love ’em and make them all as much too.continue to the recipe… about Thai Coconut Chicken and Rice

15 Air Fryer Recipes to Try Right Now

If you’re wondering if the air fryer is worth it and hesitant to jump on the trend, this list of 15 air fryer recipes proves this cooking appliance is more than just a lot of hot air for making fried food without the added fat.

Every now and then new kitchen appliances come out that promise to make our lives easier, only to get used twice and put into storage. I’m finding this isn’t the case with my air fryer.

The air fryer is a great option for anyone who craves the crispness of french fries, chicken nuggets, and melty crisped mozzarella sticks but wants to avoid the guilt and calories from the extra oil and fat the deep fryer or seems to sadly miss the mark when baked in the oven.

But, there’s even more reasons to hop onto the air fryer oil-less cooking trend.continue to the recipe… about 15 Air Fryer Recipes to Try Right Now

Garlic and Herb Rub Pork Tenderloin

Fast dinners don’t come together much quicker than this garlic and herb rubbed pork tenderloin recipe that’s seared on the stove then finished in the oven for a lean and juicy main dish cooked in just 30 minutes.

How to Cook Pork Tenderloin

Low-fat and healthful meals are my jam. And when they’re simple to prep with minimal steps to follow or time to allow, it’s even easier to add them to my weeknight recipe rotation.

This pork tenderloin is the latest addition to my stash of dinners that can be ready in a flash and fits right in with my love of flavors in the Mediterranean diet where pork can become the main protein.

The other bonus of this recipe is it leads a double life of looking a whole lot fancier than it its humble roots, making it a reliable recipe to prepare for a party of two or twelve.

So who’s ready for dinner? Let’s cook.continue to the recipe… about Garlic and Herb Rub Pork Tenderloin

Healthy Caprese Breakfast Sandwiches

Healthy breakfast sandwiches you can make fast at home can be the saving grace when you don’t have time to eat at the start of your day.

This recipe is brought to you by Dave’s Killer Bread

We’ve all lived in that split-decision moment of choosing whether to make your healthy breakfast at home, or say there’s not enough time and instead do the drive thru cruise to pick up a bagel and coffee or a not-always-so-good-for-you breakfast sandwich on the go.

The thing is, you can totally have the best of both worlds.

Breakfast sandwiches don’t have to be exclusive to the drive thru and are one of the easiest solutions to your morning meal dilemma—and a healthy one at that.

Whether it’s a make-ahead freezer breakfast sandwich, egg and avocado toast on the fly, or an egg sandwich cooked in the microwave, breakfast sandwiches made at home (or at the office) are the quick and easy way to get breakfast on the go.continue to the recipe… about Healthy Caprese Breakfast Sandwiches

10-Minute Maple-Crusted Salmon

In this maple glazed salmon, a spicy sweet rub tops salmon fillets that are broiled then drizzled with maple syrup to create a caramelized crust for a healthy, easy dinner ready in under 10 minutes.

Featuring a lifestyle that’s a little bit healthy with a whole lot of clean eating, we’ve been smitten with the pint-sized Boston blogger Lexi Kornblum of Lexi’s Clean Kitchen ever since we enjoyed a girls weekend in her hometown of Boston, MA where we were immediately drawn to her her ambition, passion and throaty, deep-voiced laughter that puts Scarlett Johansson to shame.

For Lexi, what started out as a spur of the moment Instagram account to document the changes she made in her diet to combat chronic health issues has evolved into a full-fledged blog where we can’t get enough of her healthy, beautifully photographed, and approachable recipes that work for everyone in the family (try her Slow Cooker Thai Curry Chicken), and it’s looking good that you’ll feel the same.

“I truly believe in the power of food,” Lexi writes in her new cookbook. And that motto shines bright on each and every page with recipes just like this fast to the table 10 minute maple salmon you’ll find at the end of this post.continue to the recipe… about 10-Minute Maple-Crusted Salmon

How to Make a Bouquet Garni

How do you make a bouquet garni and what do you use it for? This little fresh herb packet is all part of the flavor building game for soups, stews, stocks and more.

A bouquet garni is literally a bunch (or bouquet) of fresh herbs and spices wrapped in a piece of cheesecloth and tied with twine to make into a little purse or bag.

Used as a flavoring for soups, stews, stocks, and roasts, bouquet garnis are used for recipe you want to add fresh herbs and/or spices for flavor but don’t want to fish the spent herbs out of the finished dish one by one once the cooking is done. These herb purses keep your spices all in one place and can be added to a recipe whole so no extra work of chopping, mincing, or grating involved.

It’s really as easy as 1, 2, 3, 4 :).

Here’s how to make a bouquet garni.continue to the recipe… about How to Make a Bouquet Garni

The Best French Onion Soup

This traditional French Onion Soup recipe has a rich, decadent broth loaded with caramelized onions and topped with everyone’s favorite part: the toasted bread and melty cheese.

Rich and Delicious Homemade French Onion Soup

If there’s one soup I absolutely cannot resist, it’s french onion soup. I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to F.O.S., so don’t bother with that watery broth or get stingey with the onions. And please, make sure that cheese is plentiful and melty and creates a serious cheese pull.

As an expert french onion soup taster, I’ve narrowed down my very most favorite versions. There’s that one from that French Bistro in San Francisco, and the one I first had when I was probably 11 or 12, shopping with my mom at Trolley Square with lunch at The Pub, now known as Desert Edge Brewery, where they still serve a very good version. I seriously thought I had hit adult hood with our special lunches out.

But my new number one favorite French Onion Soup is from Nordstrom Café Bistro. It’s where my mom and I usually stop for a bite when we go shopping together, which in all honestly is actually our excuse to get this french onion soup. I loved it so much after eating it so many times that I asked them for the recipe, and surprise, surprise, they said yes. It’s now replaced my original french onion soup recipe here on the blog because it really is so much better.continue to the recipe… about The Best French Onion Soup

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