Weeknight Favorite Recipes
Leftover Mashed Potato Bake
Leftover mashed potatoes can be given new life with a few basic ingredients. You can even top them like a stuffed potato if you like. Whether you’re baking pies and stuffing the turkey right now or hitting the highway en route to family and friends, chances are you’re rather busy and not thinking of adding…
Roasted Veggie & Wild Rice Salad
Roasted vegetables, wild rice, and hearty greens form the base of this colorful salad that comes to life with a flavor-packed vinaigrette. Healthy, filling, and great for meal prep! Entertaining family and friends is supposed to be fun, but it can also be somewhat stressful. Planning, shopping for, and preparing a big meal can…
Crispy Baked Chimichangas
Crispy Baked Chimichangas skip the fryer and use the oven for an easy, healthy approach to a family favorite meal! My hometown of Lancaster, Pennsylvania has an impressive restaurant scene. From an international perspective, the offerings rival any big city. There’s literally something for everyone: Greek, Thai, Australian, Nepali, French, Latin American, Italian, Vietnamese, Korean—the…
Slow Cooked Chicken for the Week (or to Freeze)
Why did the rooster run away? He was chicken! What do chickens serve at birthday parties? Coop-cakes! You’re either laughing or groaning right now. 😂 Either way, chickens have come to define the world of silly jokes as much as they have influenced our way of eating. The ongoing popularity of this lean protein source…
Bacon Roasted Cabbage
Incredibly easy, super satisfying, and a delicious way to get a hearty serving of a wholesome cruciferous vegetable! As a child, I’m pretty sure I never uttered the words, “Yum, cabbage for dinner!” Yet I’ve actually heard similar words when serving this wholesome, budget-friendly vegetable in the following way. For many years, I’d use…
Morning Glory Baked Oatmeal
The warm, spiced flavors of the classic muffin find their way into a satisfying baked oatmeal for a nourishing, make-ahead way to start your day! In October of 2015, Kim asked via email if I happened to have a recipe for morning glory baked oatmeal. Kim mentioned that her brother had purchased something similar…
A-Plus Swiss Steak
A saucy, slow cooker favorite that’s delicious over pasta, polenta, potatoes, or with a crusty roll for mopping up every last drop. And don’t miss the quick and easy way to transform leftovers into a new meal! Ratios, conversions, measuring, multiplying: there’s a lot of math in cooking. Every so often, I even use…
Overnight Oats Breakfast Cookie
This unconventional recipe is essentially overnight oats in cookie form and can be adapted to create different flavors and add protein and various mix-ins. If you’re a fan of overnight oats like I am, chances are good you’re going to fall in love with this clever spin on the traditional method of preparation. I cannot…
Denver Mug Omelet
This super-speedy, protein-rich meal can be customized to taste and enjoyed any time of day! A few days before my older son John was heading off to college and we were checking off the remaining items on his packing list, my laptop started acting finicky. He still needed a new pair of sneakers…
Basic Kale Salad with Options
“Eat more vegetables” is frequently heard advice, and green, leafy varieties are usually ranked at the tippy top of the good-for-you list. Getting the recommended daily servings, however, tends to be far easier said than done, so I have a few tricks to help me get there. Adding a cup of baby spinach to any…
Christine’s Eggplant Supper Soup
Even those who don’t like eggplant seem to love this hearty, wholesome soup! A flavorful balance of filling protein and colorful, fiber-rich veggies means a bowlful will satisfy as a complete meal–and it’s economical too. My friend Dan’s two favorite foods are eggplant and grapefruit. When I started the Fountain Avenue Kitchen in 2012, he…
Elisabeth’s Granola Bark
Granola bark is a cross between a thin, crunchy granola bar and those big clusters of loose granola that everyone digs for. Lightly sweet, it’s loaded with healthy whole grains and protein-rich nuts and seeds. School is back in session, so the lunch-packing factory is once again open for business. Given the amount of…
