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Winter Green Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

This fresh and healthy winter salad recipe with spinach, romaine, mushrooms, apple, and almonds features the best citrusy honey mustard dressing.

‘Tis the season to embrace balance.

It’s the time to do the dance and fancy footwork when toeing the line between giving into each and every one of your holiday mouth cravings (hello to Mom’s homemade fudge) and listening to your head—and often times your bloated belly—and take a side step to the lighter side of everything bright, fresh and joyful that winter’s produce forks over.

Literally.

It bears repeating that salads should never, ever be bastioned to only spring and summer eats. Let the cucumbers and tomatoes wait for their day in the sun because winter is the time to really play with our produce.

This salad is one of my everyday favorites. In fact, it was one of my normal weekday lunches that after I put it together made me thing, “Geez, that’s a great salad. I should make that for the blog sometime.”

Duh.

Why I think that the way I eat on a simple, everyday level isn’t blog worthy astounds me sometimes. Because good food doesn’t have to be fancy, or ironic or always Pinterest perfect. Nope, not at your house or here at mine, either.

continue to the recipe… about Winter Green Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Apple and Pear Chocolate Hand Pies

Valentine’s Day. Just knowing that someone loves you should be enough. But…if that’s the case…then why is it so much fun to give, and get, a little love?

I vividly remember my 3rd grade Valentine’s Day. My doily and construction heart decorated valentine’s box eagerly awaited a valentine, any valentine, from the debonair, brown haired, almost as tall as me, Kendall.

To my relief, his valentine to me was deposited in my gussied up shoebox, along with the same valentine to the other 28 in my class, and it was just about as special as the carbon copy sentiment he gave to everyone else.

It was my first lesson in love: You have to put in the effort to make it special.

This year I’ve already received a warm-up Valentine’s Day Gift Basket from my friends at Harry & David. Once again they’ve proved that they are the experts at knowing how to make the recipient feel special. I wish they’d been around to talk to Kendall…

continue to the recipe… about Apple and Pear Chocolate Hand Pies

Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese

Grilled Cheese Sandwiches. They’re not just for lunch anymore…and National Grilled Cheese Month continues.

This past weekend was a rainy one, where the clouds hugged the mountains and raindrops fell in sideways sheaths thanks to the whipping wind and fast moving storm. There is pretty much nothing I like better than a rainstorm, except for a thunderstorm. Or an epic snowstorm. Cocooning. That’s my idea of a good day.

With Smudge’s soccer game cancelled we had an unexpected opportunity to slow down from our regular weekend schedule filled with postponed errands, playdates and soccer games. Yep, the life of a parent is rarely your own. But its pretty damn awesome.

It was too wet to wander out for brunch, so we were definitely eating at home. And what did Smudge request? Grilled cheese. I don’t know why I was surprised—what kid doesn’t request grilled cheese as their go-to meal? But for breakfast?continue to the recipe… about Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese

pear

Winter Green Salad with Orange Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

Apple and Pear Chocolate Hand Pies

Sweet Pear and Rosemary Honey with Havarti Grilled Cheese

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