Meals Under 30 Minutes
Honey Orange Roasted Carrots (Parsnips Optional)
Usually, the mention of cooked carrots doesn’t elicit cheers of excitement in my house. Everyone tolerates roasted carrots but would really prefer them raw. Until this recipe! While making a smoothie recently, I realized how beautifully orange juice and zest pairs with pumpkin. I figured this winning flavor combination would translate to other orange vegetables,…
Spinach, Mushroom and Fontina Frittata
If you are an egg fan and haven’t yet tried making a frittata, I highly recommend you do! Not only are frittatas easy and quite versatile — allowing for the incorporation of a wide variety of vegetables, cheeses, herbs and protein — they are economical and so very satisfying. I think this savory egg dish…
Nutty Coconut Pumpkin Smoothie
Stocked with fresh pumpkin puree and having recently made pumpkin pancakes, muffins, and baked oatmeal, my mind turned to smoothies. My first thought was to combine pumpkin and fresh orange juice to keep the color bright and add natural sweetness. But guess what? No oranges. No orange juice either! We have been on a cider…
Baked Pumpkin Pancakes (Grain/Gluten Free)
Pumpkin and almonds hold a special affinity for one another. Generally speaking, combining these two ingredients has the potential for greatness. Yet the concept of combining them to create a gluten-free pancakeโbaked in the oven, no less–had the potential for epic failure! I remember well the first time I made this recipe. The batter tasted…
Salted Lime Baked Corn Tortillas Chips
The salted, lime-infused crunch of a favorite store-bought tortilla chip is easy to recreate at home with a short list of ingredients and in minimal time. My family adores the store-bought “hint of lime” tortilla chips. As I was making my Tex-Mex Chopped Salad one evening, which includes a crunchy element on top, I realized…
Tex-Mex Dressing
This is a super simple dressing I created for my Tex-Mex Chopped Salad. While you can use your favorite store-bought ranch, I like this easy-to-make and healthier version. It is delicious and, combined with the salsa, offers a bit of a kick and just the right flavor to enhance a variety of southwestern dishes. Use…
Eastern North Carolina Barbecue Sauce
We are usually the tomato-based barbecue sauce type in this family. However, a very dear Southern friend shared her favorite vinegar sauce with me a while back and it was a complete hit! Her recipe has just the right amount of tang and makes for one delicious sandwich. I asked my friend, Lisa, if…
Indian-Spiced Broiled Salmon
Many people have mentioned to me over the years that they don’t cook seafood because they can’t tell how long to cook it. While it is difficult to give an exact time to cook fish — as this will vary depending on the thickness of the filet and one’s desired degree of doneness — I…
Pesto Pasta Pizza
A combination of cheeses adds great flavor to this novel crust. Add your favorite pizza toppings and serve with extra sauce, if desired. A few months ago, I started experimenting with “crusts” made from pasta. I tried various binder combinations of eggs, cheese, milk, and olive oil until I hit on this version. …
Sunshine Smoothie
Every Tuesday, Project Healthy Ever After hosts a smoothie party and invites people to share their favorite blended combinations. Today, I used one of my kids’ favorite smoothies, a Mango-Peach Smoothie, and added a bit of pureed watermelon to the top, just for fun. The colors were beautiful and reminded us all of a sunny day–on…
Savory Breakfast Quinoa
Luckily, I had more than the serving pictured above because, no sooner than I snapped this photo, I knocked the plate over and sent quinoa, veggies, and egg flying. Broke the plate, too! My dog recently hurt his leg so even he didn’t run to my rescue and help with the clean up! But back…
Grilled Steak Salad
Leftover steak makes quick work of these satisfying dinner salads, which are easy to customize with a variety of refrigerator and pantry staples. One of my go-to “fast food” meals is this grilled steak salad. Typically, I use leftover flank or flatiron steak, purchased from a grass-fed beef stand at our local farmers market. Recently,…
