tomato

Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

A fresh and flavorful Mediterranean tomato salad serves as a salsa when it tops juicy grilled pork chops for a 30-minute, quick and easy dinner or BBQ meal.

It’s finally summer, so who wants to spend all day cooking? Not it. Who’s ready for fast and easy? #raisinghand

One of my favorite secrets to easy, flavorful cooking is to take a basic cooking method and dress it up with a fresh and easy recipe topper. Have you tried my Mediterranean grilled balsamic chicken with olive tapenade? Or marinated flank steak with Asian chimichurri sauce? They’re prime examples of easy to create flavor, just like this fast pork chop recipe you’ll soon be making all summer long.

Does this recipe look somewhat familiar? I hope so! Last week I shared my husband’s mastered and always juicy grilled pork chops plus this recipe for a super simple Mediterranean tomato salad. Today I’m sharing how to make two small tweaks and marry the two.

Together they create one healthy and delicious summer dinner that can be prepped ahead or made on the fly, for a dinner that’s ready in 30 minutes.

This summer is shaping up to be the best flavored yet. Let’s go!

continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Grilled Pork Chops with Tomato Salad

Mediterranean Tomato Salad

This easy, healthy tomato salad is studded with fresh Mediterranean flavors to eat a simple side salad or a topping for chicken, fish, steak or pork. It goes with everything—it’s like the salad version of The Bachelorette.

Through every stage of my calling as a home cook, my love of tomatoes is one thing that’s never wavered. The other could very possibly be my love of anything and everything with a pucker.

Yep. Pickles, capers, olives, and kisses included.

While this Mediterranean-flavored tomato salad is optimal at the height of summer’s tomato season, it’s lightly brined, bright with lemon goodness makes grocery store tomatoes totally acceptable any time of year.

Summer’s simple salads are calling our names. So what are you waiting for?continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Tomato Salad

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

Linguine con Vongole (Linguine with Clam Sauce)

Linguine with fresh clams in a garlic white wine sauce (authentically known as linguine vongole) is one of those dinners that sounds totally chic and fancy but is actually one of the easiest and budget-friendly Italian pasta recipes you can make.

I was recently sent the new Fred’s at Barney’s New York Cookbook by Barney’s New York’s chef Mark Strausman who teaches us how to make some of the famous dishes beloved for years by celebrities and chic shoppers in the fashion store’s Fred’s restaurant.

Flipping through the cookbook there were tons of recipes that looked divine, but when I found this recipe for Mark’s Baby Clams and Spaghetti, fresh clams went directly on my shopping list.

Clams and spaghetti at Fred’s became clams and linguine at my house, and now no matter which pasta you choose to prepare, this recipe is on it’s way to yours.

continue to the recipe… about Linguine con Vongole (Linguine with Clam Sauce)

Mozzarella and Tomato Caprese Flatbread

This caprese flatbread recipe is an easy way to take advantage of the best of the season’s fresh tomatoes, basil, and of course mozzarella, making it the perfect appetizer bite or as an easy vegetarian dinner.

Head to the farmers market this time of year and you’ll see everyone around freaking out over the bulbous beauty of the heirloom tomatoes and just-off-the-vine-still-warm-from-the-sunshine beefsteaks.

I think they’re lovely too. But my fave tomato this time of year are the sweet cherry tomatoes I can pop straight in my mouth like candy.

Awwwww, who am I kidding? I love these baby tomatoes any time of year.

A few weeks ago I photographed the new winter menu of one of my favorite clients, Deer Valley Resort in Park City, UT. If you haven’t yet been to Park City and Deer Valley, it’s a destination to put on your bucket list, not only for winter skiing, but truly any time of the year.

This time around we shot photos for the new menu items for their low-key bar and restaurant The Brass Tag. But where does that name come from? Back in the day aka around 1890, the silver boom was huge in Park City and local miners would hang a brass tag before entering the silver mines to work. When the day was done, if there was tag still hanging on the board, it was time to start a search for the miner. Think of it as the low-tech GPS system of yesteryear.

This easy to make caprese-style flatbread pizza was just one of the items we shot that day, and after looking at it through the lens, and then taking a bite (okay, maybe more), I knew it was something you guys would love to make at home.

continue to the recipe… about Mozzarella and Tomato Caprese Flatbread

Caprese Pasta Salad with Garlic Marinated Tomatoes

This easy caprese pasta salad recipe steeps cherry tomatoes in a garlic-infused oil that becomes the dressing over any type of pasta with sliced mozzarella, capers, lemon, and basil making it a healthy potluck recipe that’s perfectly ripe for brunch, lunch, or a dinner everyone will love.

This is a re-do of one of my favorite tomato pasta salad recipes I published my first year of blogging. I’ve been making this caprese pasta salad on repeat ever since the clock struck summer, but it’s very likely that many of you haven’t ever even seen it, and that’s a darn shame because it’s just too good to miss.

So after looking at it so many times already this summer, I thought it could use a refresh. And so here it is once again, with a spit shine, some new photos, and a video to show you easy it will be for you to make it too.

I’m a huge fan of summer’s fresh tomatoes, especially when my garden starts producing my beloved cherry tomatoes I pop straight into my mouth like candy. So back in August of 2011 when I spied this recipe on the Martha Stewart Living cover peeking over the others on the grocery store rack, there wasn’t a question whether the issue would be coming home with me.

And that’s why this salad has been in my summer recipe-making-repertoire ever since.continue to the recipe… about Caprese Pasta Salad with Garlic Marinated Tomatoes

Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Broccoli and Tomato

Chicken quinoa bowls have staked their healthy claim on quick and easy meal-prep dinners that are flexible enough to mix and match ingredients for take-to-work lunches that never get boring, too.

This quinoa bowl combines what seems to be my ever-lasting, default flavor combo, inspired by Mediterranean flavors ala Donny and Marie: it’s a little bit Italian, and a little bit Greek goddessness. And it all taste good to me.

Over the years I’ve found myself adopting more and more recipes inspired by the Mediterranean diet to my weekly eating plan. I eat more anitoxidant-rich vegetables and fruits (avocado all day!), healthy legumes and whole grains, and loads of fresh herbs. I don’t eat a whole lot of red meat, but chicken, turkey, and EFA-loaded fish like salmon are my friends and olive oil tinged with lemon is one of my favorite flavorings.

And wine. Yes, wine is heart-healthy too.

I’ve known about the heart-healthy benefits of the Mediterranean style of eating ever since my days designing health and wellness magazines, way back when you had to shop for quinoa in specialty health food stores and when my editors made sure I didn’t sound alike a complete goof when I said “kwin-O-aaa” instead of “KEEEN-wa.” Bless their hearts, they were always looking out for me.continue to the recipe… about Mediterranean Chicken Quinoa Bowl with Broccoli and Tomato

Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

This Mexican-flavored chicken soup is truly chicken soup for the soul, with a warm broth filled with chunky bites of black beans, sweet corn, shredded chicken and tomatoes topped with its namesake tortilla strips and a surprise crispy jalapeño topper.

This recipe is brought to you by French’s

“Honey, what should we have for dinner?”

Gah. The question to end all questions, and the same one that comes up day after day, week after week. But over the years I’ve developed a strategy that serves the family’s cravings and makes dinner prep so much easier, just about every time.

I narrow the choices to get the answer I want.

“Well, I prepped a batch of chicken breasts for the week (even though he prefers steak, we gotta use those chicks up!) and a I have our yummy chicken stock in the freezer (because I’m on a clean-out-the-freezer mission.) So, are you craving comfort food flavors (we all love our Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup) or maybe something with Mexican flavor and spice? You love Mexican…”, I steer him, already knowing that spices and ethnic flavors win at our house every time.continue to the recipe… about Chicken Tortilla Soup Recipe

Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

This hot homemade ham, egg and caprese-flavored breakfast can be in yo’ belly in just two minutes thanks to a quick cook in the microwave. Yes, this is how you can easily cook eggs in the microwave.

Hi! I’m Heidi and I’ll be serving you today. What can I get you?

One of the recent requests here on le bloggity blog is for more easy recipes for quick breakfasts please!

I totally get it. We all know that a good breakfast is the key to setting up your day for success so if you could create a weekend-tasting breakfast in the time it takes to pour a bowl of cereal, I’m betting you’d totally be into this breakfast that fully supports your snooze button needs. (Have you seen my list of 19 healthy breakfasts when you don’t have time to eat?!!)

And that’s why the microwave is your egg cooking friend.

continue to the recipe… about Microwave Egg Caprese Breakfast Cups

Bacon Double Cheddar Cheeseburger with Caramelized Onions

These beefy burgers deliver bacon and cheese in every bite, with chunks of both mixed into the patty, then grilled and topped with melted American cheese slices for a double dose of cheesy goodness.

This post is in partnership with Cache Valley Cheese

As a kid, my dad wasn’t much of a griller. He was more of the nacho-making guy. Woman-ing the grill was more my mom’s expertise, and let me tell you, she had her burger game down.

Now, as an adult, with not just one, but two grills ready to be fired up at a moment’s notice, my husband and I share the man/woman-ing of the grill. When it’s his turn, you’re likely to see this ribeye steak action happen in all the best grilling ways. When it’s my turn, you’ll usually see me trying out new things like grilled cauliflower steaks, you know, for those times calling for a bit lighter flare.

But where we always meet in the middle is when it comes to grilling burgers, and when it comes to burgers we absolutely do not discriminate. Bison. Turkey. Chicken. You name it, if we can shape it into a patty, we’ll grill it.continue to the recipe… about Bacon Double Cheddar Cheeseburger with Caramelized Onions

Chunky Citrus Guacamole

Chunky with a citrus-ey accent or both lime and orange juice plus a hit of spice and just enough girth to make any chip happy, it’s the perfect combo to welcome some spring weather with a few salty corn chips and a nice cold beverage.

If it weren’t for guacamole serving as my avocado gateway, the jury is out on whether I would ever have become an avocado fan. Now, they’re one of my favorite things to eat, so how could it be there was a time I didn’t like them?

Just like artichokes, it wasn’t until I was in my late teens that I finally gave in to even trying avocados. I have no idea where my aversion stemmed from. Maybe I just had an aversion to fruits and veggies that started with the letter A?

There are as many guacamole recipes out there in the world as there are stars in the sky and we all have our favorite, and this chunky homemade version is mine.

My husband came up with this guacamole recipe years ago and it was one of the first recipes I published here on the blog when I announced the first issue of FoodieCrush magazine along with some of my favorite things. But after making this guacamole time and time again, my photos and this post were in need of an update.continue to the recipe… about Chunky Citrus Guacamole

Greek Pasta Salad with Cucumbers and Artichoke Hearts

During the summer months, I make one variation or another of this Greek Pasta Salad at least twice a month, and because I have the basics down, it’s easy to pull together for get-togethers, potlucks and BBQs.

Just like a signature scent, song, and style, every home cook should have a defining mark that sets us apart from the pack. A signature dish. That one recipe to rely on, to go back to, time and time again. A recipe we know like the back of our hand, to pull out of our back pocket at a moment’s notice and feel 100% confident that THIS dish…this dish will deliver.

Friends, meet my signature pasta salad. My loaded Greek pasta salad.

It’s ultimately adaptable and flexible depending on the ingredients I have—or don’t have—in the pantry or refrigerator. continue to the recipe… about Greek Pasta Salad with Cucumbers and Artichoke Hearts

Tomato Avocado Cucumber and Maui Onion Salad

This simple tomato, cucumber, and avocado salad gets a spicy Mexican-flavor kick from jalapeños and a fresh lime and chile dressing that makes it a terrific side dish for any meal.

I’m not a chef. I’m a home cook. But many of my recipes are inspired by dishes I’ve enjoyed that were created by real life chefs. It’s one of my favorite reasons for eating out, to get new inspiration for le bloggity blog.

I had a rendition of this simple tomato salad at a restaurant called Monkeypod Kitchen while vacationing in Maui. A friend of mine who lived in Maui for a time messaged me while we were there that we MUST make it a point to eat at Monkeypod, it was one of her favorites.

Friend recommendations are always the best.

The menu was full of delicious, fresh fare, and being the tomato caprese salad lover that I am, once I spied this salad with a flavorful twist on their menu, I was immediately intrigued. continue to the recipe… about Tomato Avocado Cucumber and Maui Onion Salad

Avocado Toast with Tomato and Hard Boiled Egg

Healthful, nutritious, and filling, this avocado toast with hard boiled egg is an easy to assemble open faced sandwich ready for eating on the go.

Are you over the “put an egg on it” movement yet? I know. Me neither. It seems like it’s the mantra for making any favorite recipe a little harder to resist.

It’s the most popular way to sexy things up. Simply top whatever you’re making with a golden drippy yellow yolk that oozes down the edges of whatever it’s topping and BAM! You have one Instgrammable dish. I’m certainly a fan of the egg drip over anything and everything, but it can be a bit of a mess, and far from being hand-held fare.

To make my egg topped avocado toast a little less napkin-needy, I’ve taken to topping it with the simple but mighty hard boiled egg. And this time around, this egg gets a shave. continue to the recipe… about Avocado Toast with Tomato and Hard Boiled Egg

A Healthier Meatloaf With Tomato Glaze

This lightened up turkey and beef blended meatloaf keeps all the classic flavors intact but lightens it’s caloric load thanks to a few easy ingredient swaps no one will ever notice.

Meatloaf. Like tuna noodle casseroles and deviled eggs, meatloaf is one of life’s ultimate comfort foods that had it’s hey day in the 50’s, but since then, has become one of those dishes eaters rarely cop to craving—at least in public.

But just like most things favorited as retro, what’s old often becomes new again. Over the past few years—like many of our favorite comfort foods—meatloaf has made a comeback and can be found on even the most haute restaurant menus and is one of today’s comfort food Cinderella stories.

Only this baby isn’t going to turn into a pumpkin at midnight.continue to the recipe… about A Healthier Meatloaf With Tomato Glaze

Thai Chicken and Cucumber Salad

My favorite Thai flavors are lightened up in this chicken and cucumber salad with almond coconut blend almond milk subbing in for full-fat coconut milk.

This post is in partnership with Almond Breeze

When my sister was in high school she spent her season year on a year-long foreign exchange school program with a host family in Thailand. She was just 17. And ready to expand her horizons. That’s only five years from how old Smudge is right now. Looking back I wonder if I could let Smudge go to a foreign land like my mom did with my sister?

My mom made it through that year (barely) and since then we’ve all been back to Thailand with my sister Holly, and thus the whole family has become enamored with Thai food. So this year when my sister and her family came home to spend the holidays with all of us, it was far from shocking that one very important item on the agenda was going out for Thai food.

My mom has a favorite restaurant she frequents for her favorite Thai chicken salad. After “borrowing” just one bite, I was a fan too. And I knew my version of that chicken salad was destined for you here on le bloggity blog.continue to the recipe… about Thai Chicken and Cucumber Salad

Greek-Style Panzanella Bread Salad Recipe

This simple, healthy Tuscan bread salad recipe gets a Mediterranean makeover with the addition of kalamata olives, roasted red bell pepper, capers and feta cheese.

This post is in partnership with McCormick.

The first time I heard the word “panzanella”, I thought it was a dessert.

I mean, doesn’t it sound like something fabulously decadent you could only find in a European bakery with those cute little tables sitting outside on the sidewalk? Made by a chef in a white toque (fyi, that’s what they call those Chef Boyardee hats) with mounds of sugar, the sweetest butter and the flakiest crust, intended to be nibbled slowly through the afternoon side by side to a steaming cup of the most perfectly poured espresso?

Yeah, I was so wrong.

Panzanella is a traditional Tuscan salad made with the summer’s juiciest tomatoes, and get this: day-old, definitely-not-soft, hearty bread. Since our family is a family of bread dippers, the addition of bread in this salad makes it really popular—no additional dipping required.

To switch things up from the traditional Tuscan way this salad is prepared, I added a few Mediterranean-inspired flavors to our usual bread salad mix.

Yeah, and this time, I am so right.continue to the recipe… about Greek-Style Panzanella Bread Salad Recipe

Smoky Roasted Salsa with Not Your Mama’s Canning Book

This authentic smoky salsa is wonderful on its own dunked with chips, used as a sauce for enchiladas or poured over meats or chicken cooked in the slow cooker.

Rebecca Lindamood is a something of a renaissance woman. She’s a cook, recipe developer, cooking instructor, pilates and barre fitness instructor, and a freelance writer who runs the successful blog Foodie With Family, she’s a mom to five boys (who she homeschools), and she’s got a heck of a sense of humor. Basically, she’s a woman after our own hearts. And we love that we can always rely on her blog as a source of inspired creations, complete candor, and lots of laughs.

If all that weren’t enough, Rebecca just released her first cookbook, Not Your Mama’s Canning Book: Modern Canned Goods and What to Make With Them, and ever since we got our hands on it, we’ve been elbow-deep in Ball jars, farmer’s market produce, and tradition. Needless to say, we’re bonkers for this book.

Not only does Rebecca’s book feature canning basics and tips, as well as a slew of canning recipes, but she also conveniently includes almost 40 recipes for dishes to make with your canned goods! Curry Cauliflower Pickles or Brown Sugar Bourbon Peaches, anyone?continue to the recipe… about Smoky Roasted Salsa with Not Your Mama’s Canning Book

Easy Italian Spaghetti Pasta Salad

Classic Italian flavors make this super easy spaghetti pasta salad with pepperoni, veggies and dressing a potluck favorite everyone will love.

Picky eaters. Just like dust bunnies and crumbs dropped and forgotten (or ignored?) in the corners of the kitchen, there’s always a few in the room.

This salad is made for picky eaters. Minus the onions, maybe. Because who doesn’t love spaghetti? And pepperoni? And olives doused with a tangy Italian dressing?

I made this pasta salad along with this Broccoli Salad for a potluck dinner a few weeks ago. I knew there were picky eaters in the crowd, and I knew there was a very slim chance those eaters were going to be partaking of broccoli, especially in a salad.

This was my offering for them. A crowd pleaser was in the house.

continue to the recipe… about Easy Italian Spaghetti Pasta Salad

Tomato and Hearts of Palm Salad

This light and healthy salad takes just 10 minutes with a sharp knife for a little slicing and chopping to pull together and is the perfect addition to any potluck barbecue.

Yes, I’m a meat eater—minus my 8 month stint as a wanna-be vegetarian a few years back. But for me, weekend barbecues aren’t really about what side of red meat is going to be charred to perfection on the bar-B. Instead I like to get little (or big) tastes of lots of different dishes, and sides are my favorite—creamy, crunchy or tangy.

A BBQ-side-dish-smorgasbord is more my style.continue to the recipe… about Tomato and Hearts of Palm Salad

Caprese Avocado Toast Plus 10 Avocado Toasts You’ll Love Forever

Cottage cheese subs in for mozzarella in this healthy and simple avocado toast that’s perfect for a favorite breakfast, lunch and snack, plus 10 more toasts to try.

Does the world really, Really, REALLY need another avocado recipe post?

Likely, not.

I mean, the recipe isn’t really even as much a recipe as it is a formula. Toast. Avocado. Extra stuff you put on top depending upon your cravings and whatever is in the fridge.

And flaky salt. Always flaky salt.

But when I made my breakfast the other day and stopped myself mid-bite to get a snap of it for Instagram, realized that this hum-drum and routine breakfast for me is indeed a blog-worthy recipe/formula to share.

Because often those routine recipes are usually the best. Even if they’ve already cycled through the trend scene.

continue to the recipe… about Caprese Avocado Toast Plus 10 Avocado Toasts You’ll Love Forever

Classic Gazpacho Plus 5 More That’ll Make You Say “WOW!”

This classic, refreshing no-cook gazpacho is a mix of fresh veggies and store-bought tomato based vegetable juice for a perfect blend of smooth and chunky textures.

Why am I standing in the closet talking to my phone at 11:30 at night? My husband’s in bed. My Smudge has been tucked in for hours.

And I’m talking into my phone.

He probably thinks I’m crazy.

Or that I’m cheating on him with someone else on the line.

But I’m not either of those two. Or at least not the latter.

I’m dictating a blog post as I get ready for bed. Because something popped into my head, and Lord help me, if I don’t write it down, or talk it into my phone, the thought will disappear as quickly as my dog eats her dinner as if she hadn’t been fed for days. Oh…this brain of mine.

continue to the recipe… about Classic Gazpacho Plus 5 More That’ll Make You Say “WOW!”

Grilled Halibut with Tomato Avocado Salsa

Flaky halibut filets are simply seasoned and grilled, then topped with a fresh and easy tomato avocado salsa in this healthy and fast, three-step recipe.

Halibut. Swordfish. Salmon. I’m always drawn to these dishes on a restaurant menu. But the truth is, I rarely order fish at restaurants simply because I know I can make it better at home.

Knowing how to grill fish is something every home cook should master. The thing is, it really isn’t that hard. It’s simple, it’s fast and it’s healthy.

But let’s get one thing straight. Just because a recipe is simple does not mean it should go flavorless. With halibut’s mild flavor, the fresh addition of sliced tomatoes and avocado with a touch of light balsamic is all that’s needed for a truly tempting summer meal.

Unless you want to give my mango salsa a try :).

This recipe is part of my Weekend Eats series, where I’m sharing a seasonal recipe idea for what to have for dinner come Saturday and Sunday, with the occasional breakfast or brunch thrown in. Rounding out the posts are a few suggestions of what to pair with my main dish, recipes from other food bloggers at the bottom of this post.

continue to the recipe… about Grilled Halibut with Tomato Avocado Salsa

Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

This easy to make recipe is made with deli ham, smoked gouda, fried egg, tomato, and arugula, and it’s everything you want in a breakfast sandwich!

I once had a boss who had a habit for emphasizing the sensational.

He gauged quality and effectiveness by his gut, his intuition. By his visceral reaction. With a squint of his eyes, he’d push his glasses back up his nose, clench his hands and fist pound the air in front of him as he said the word visceral. “Back when I worked at [insert company name here], we created x, y, z product to get consumers to respond with a VISCERAL reaction.” You always knew he meant business when the word visceral spit out of his mouth with an extra dramatic paused slur in the middle of the word.

After pulling this sandwich from the grill, I had a flashback to those days of hearing that statement over and over. This sandwich. I had a visceral reaction to it. Visceral! My gut, my intuition, it all said that his sandwich, even before tasting it, was a fist-pump-in-the-air success.

My former boss would be proud.

continue to the recipe… about Ham and Smoked Gouda Grilled Cheese Breakfast Sandwich

Caprese Zucchini Salad with Ali Maffucci of Inspiralized

An interview with blogger Ali Maffucci of Inspiralized, about her new cookbook, plus a recipe for Caprese Zucchini Salad.

I bought my first spiralizer for a photo shoot 15 years ago at a Japanese market. It was green, looked a bit like an pterodactyl and I couldn’t read the instructions on how to use it. But I thought, “What a cool gadget.”

I’m all about the gadgets.

In 15 years, I used it once. I’ve since misplaced the blades to make thinner or thicker spiraled vegetables. It’s stuck on one setting. And now, after receiving Ali Maffucci’s cookbook Inspiralized, it might be time to upgrade.

Spiralizing veggies is all the rage, and I have a feeling that Ali has helped propel it into the mainstream because of her blog by the same name as her cookbook, Inspiralized.

Giving Ali all the credit for popularizing this cooking trend would be a little heavy handed, but since her decision in 2013 to dedicate an entire blog to one single cooking method, she’s garnered a legion of fans who are visiting her blog (over 2 million page views a month) and putting their own spin on healthy eating too.

So maybe more than a little credit should go to this 28 year old entrepreneur.

Hailing from the fine state of New Jersey where she currently lives with her fiance, Lu, this former vegan’s introduction to spiralizing came from where many of us learned our cooking secrets—from her mom. But her mother wasn’t simply trying a new food trend. Instead, she was saving her own life by changing her eating style, then shared this new way to prepare vegetables and fruits with her daughter.

Breakfast, lunches, dinners and yes, even desserts, can be spiralized. Ali’s recipe for Caprese Zucchini Salad is just one of the 80 in her new book and it’s the one I’ll be sharing at the end of this post.continue to the recipe… about Caprese Zucchini Salad with Ali Maffucci of Inspiralized

Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup

All you need is 4 ingredients to make this simple, 3-step roasted tomato soup recipe with tortellini, fresh basil and mozzarella, and it comes together in minutes.

This is a sponsored post on behalf of DOLE Garden Soups and the Mom It Forward Blogger Network.

As a mom of an only child, I’m that mom who is constantly lamenting that my little baby is growing up way. too. soon.

The fact that my little girl is turning into a young teen has snuck up on me. Every other month I notice how I have to raise my arms a little higher to make that red-headed top knot in her hair. When she’ll let me. This year ever since school started she’s no longer coming into mom and dad’s bed for her usual morning snuggle. It’s killing me. And she pays no heed when I suggest what she should wear to school these days. The girl knows what she likes, when she likes it.

But it isn’t all bad. She’s become totally self-driven in getting her homework done, feeding the dogs and OMG! she’s even started making her bed without being asked.

One of the best things about her becoming more independent is she’s totally into making her own lunch, and this girl’s favorite thing hands down for lunch, snack and dinner is soup, soup, soup.

continue to the recipe… about Tomato Basil Tortellini Soup

Quinoa Tabbouleh with Chickpeas and How to Become a Kitchen Knife Slayer

Dull knife = Dull life. And lots of band-aids at our house.

We’ve spent a small fortune on cutlery in our home. We’ve tried lots of different brands and every various style. Chefs knives, carving knives, vegetable cleavers and santoku knives. They each have their place in the sun. But only if they’re sharp and only if you know how to use them.

Because Smudge had a hankering to help me cook in the kitchen and because this recipe for Quinoa Tabbouleh with Chickpeas requires a lot of chopping, I took advantage of the need-for-knife-education situation and put my girl to school. Let’s kill two birds with one stone, am I right?

Smudge has proven her place in our kitchen. She’s seen what cooking means to her mom and dad and she’s ready to graduate from cracking eggs and spreading butter on toast to wielding her way with the most savored utility in the kitchen. The home cook’s trusty sword. The extension of her right arm, or left if that’s your preference.

As Smudge comes around to her 10th birthday in 4 weeks (YIKES!) she’s ready to get into the good stuff, to graduate to the big guns. The knives that do damage. So before she does, she’s going to be schooled by the pros. And that’s where this lesson begins.

continue to the recipe… about Quinoa Tabbouleh with Chickpeas and How to Become a Kitchen Knife Slayer

Arugula and Prosciutto Egg Benedict with Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Why is it there are some recipes that are justifiably deemed for brunch? Take for example the egg benedict, or more specifically my Arugula and Prosciutto Egg Benedict.

This isn’t a dish one would much consider ginning up on a Wednesday morning when the alarm didn’t go off (why does it always seem like it happens on a Wednesday?) and you’re prying the covers off of your sleeping daughter who pulls the perfect caterpillar move to create the tightest of duvet cocoons all the while racing the clock to not miss the first school bell because why didn’t anyone make her lunch the night before??

No, that’s the day for a microwave egg and veggie bagel sandwich.

Which is why I suppose those restful weekend lallygag brunches are indeed all of what they’re cracked up to be.

A few weekends ago I upped the ante on the traditional egg bene because the simple ham just wasn’t putting the lock in my blocks. Maybe that’s why I make this salmon and bagel egg benedict so often.

But with a blender just begging to be used for something other than the weekend’s margaritas, we put the breakfast making skills to work by adding a few Italian flavors to the traditional benedict.continue to the recipe… about Arugula and Prosciutto Egg Benedict with Blender Hollandaise Sauce

Heirloom Tomato Caprese Frico Cups

Simple, summery and a great little appetizer with a salty parmesan bowl of its own, these Heirloom Tomato Caprese Frico Cups make singing the swan song to summer a little easier.

With the long days turning shorter and my summer escapes coming to a quick end, I’ve been weaning my cravings for simple summer recipes and tank top wearing tan lines and replacing them with thoughts of long oven braises and pulling an ear hugging beanie over my chilly head as I search through my closet for those knit gloves I bought last year that have the touchy things on the tips of the fingers so I can still use my iPhone once the weather turns cold. Those things are genius.

Fall flavors are giving summer bounty a bit of a shove off and I’m not sure how sad I am about it.

Maybe that’s because my garden SUCKS this summer. With a capital S.U.C.K.S.

My stringy and nearly leafless heirloom tomato plants—the ones I was so excited to cultivate so I could pluck juicy mater orbs straight from the vine and take a big old bite out of their still warm flesh—are as lifeless and lilting as a 6 foot, 95-pound fashion model prepping for her fall debut on the catwalk.

Straight up sad I tell you.

And what’s worse is no matter how hard I try, my tomato loving cravings for recipes like Heirloom Tomato BLTs, Pasta with Marinated Tomatoes and my fave weeknight freshie of Avocado, Onion and Tomato Salad have not ebbed the tide. And last year’s post of 55 Fresh and Tasty Tomato Recipes? This year, it’s been a question if I would make it to 56.

Until now.

The thing I love about heirloom tomatoes is how imperfect they are. Let’s just say I can relate. Some are on the pudgy side with a too-tight-in-the-jeans muffin top, some are are cracked and crooked. And for most the color is never quite the same so slicing them to see the rainbow of color inside is always a fun surprise.

continue to the recipe… about Heirloom Tomato Caprese Frico Cups

Grilled Caprese Skewers

Summer grill time certainly shouldn’t be limited to meats and burgers, bring on the tomatoes and sturdy halloumi or bread cheese for my Grilled Caprese Skewers.

“Books serve to show a man that those original thoughts of his aren’t very new after all.”

~ Abraham Lincoln

and

“We are all feeding from each other, all the time, every day.”

~ Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius

I’m not usually one to pepper my blog with inspirational quotes from famous/infamous people. And you absolutely won’t see me write, “According to Webster’s dictionary…” when I’m stumped on how to introduce a post, when the creative juices simply aren’t flowing. It’s just kind of the cheater way out in my opinion, but hey, I’m not judging. And besides, doesn’t everyone use Wikipedia now?

But for the reasons I have today, I thought these quotes fell into the appropriate category because they indeed describe the lack of originality, or at least the increasing commonality, of how recipes come about and how they’re shared.

I mean, how many different ways, really, are there to cook a burger or make a classic chicken divan casserole? And what about pound cake? Prime example of how ingredients can’t be copyrighted. It’s all in how you describe the process that makes it your own.

It’s one reason why this summer I’ve been posting more basic recipes, favorite recipes, because it’s summer and I for one am craving a little simplicity. Let’s blame it on the heat.

continue to the recipe… about Grilled Caprese Skewers