Meals Under 30 Minutes

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,…

Gorgonzola Tomato Salad

Prepare this flavorful dressing ahead and you will have a delicious salad ready in a flash. Perfect as a dip or as a salsa over grilled steak or chicken, I also like using this dressing on Grilled Romaine and Prosciutto Salads.  The use of Greek yogurt allows for a thick, delicious option to your favorite…

Creamed Rainbow Chard and Kale with Prosciutto

When I was a kid, I didn’t much care for dark, leafy greens.  I viewed kale as a bitter garnish on a dinner plate when we went out to a nice restaurant.  Swiss chard hadn’t quite entered the culinary scene and spinach…well…it was fine. As I grew older and heard repeatedly about the health benefits…

Chocolate Mascarpone Spread

The past few weeks have been fun ones in the world of food!  My friend Ann from Sumptuous Spoonfuls has been working her way through the alphabet.  Logically, she began with A.  Each day she chooses a food that begins with a new letter and shares all sorts of recipes from fellow foodies which include…

Pizza with Goat Cheese, Thyme & Honey Lime Chicken

Years ago, a friend who runs a local cooking school called Essen suggested topping a grilled pizza with Manouri cheese, honey, and thyme. Manouri cheese is a Greek goat’s milk cheese with which I was not  familiar at the time.  What threw me, however, was the honey. Honey on pizza?  I like to mix sweet…

Honey Ginger Tomato Salad

Don’t you love it when a friend shares a favorite recipe, or when you come across an idea for a flavor combination that you had never before thought of?  Well, Beth, a friend of The Fountain Avenue Kitchen, did both! The pairing of honey and ginger with the sweet tomato grapes is truly delicious, and…

Summer Tomato and Leek Sauce

A simple, summer sauce is the perfect way to enjoy a bounty of vine-ripened tomatoes and works beautifully as a light pasta or pizza sauce or as a flavorful topping for chicken or fish. My original plan for this sauce was to use red onion, until I saw some baby leeks at market. Leeks provide…

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