Weeknight Favorite Recipes
Salsa Chicken
Quick and easy to make. Short list of ingredients. Tastes great. This flexible meal is destined to become a family favorite! While perusing the magazines at an airport newsstand several months ago, I spied one with a title indicating that all of the recipes had five ingredients or less and could be prepared in 15…
John’s Dilly Beans
This is a simple canning process requiring no fancy equipment. You can even use a stockpot instead of a canner. As I unpacked my older son’s duffle bag after his first summer at camp 10 years ago, I found a small glass jar carefully nestled among the dirty socks and damp towels. When I…
Fruit on the Bottom Yogurt (or Cottage Cheese) Cups
The convenience of store-bought yogurt cups is undeniable, but there are a few good reasons to keep a stash of this easy, homemade alternative on hand. Ready-made fruit-on-the-bottom yogurt cups tend to be more jammy than fruity, and they’re usually a little too sweet for me. Starting with fresh, seasonal fruit adds so much…
Roasted Zucchini and Mushrooms with Feta
This garden-fresh dish is super simple to make and complements most any protein. When tossed with pasta, it becomes a complete meal! At the start of each season, I spend a little too much time pondering how to fill the three months that follow. Sometimes, I have a minor panic that I won’t have…
Peach Melba Overnight Oats
Sweet peaches, tangy raspberries, creamy yogurt, and hearty oats come together quickly in this wholesome, prep-ahead breakfast that’s worth waking up for! Sweet, juicy peaches, tangy raspberries, creamy yogurt, and hearty oats. This is the recipe that sold my kids on oats several years ago–and eating them cold no less! Fruity flavors lead the…
Barbecue Sandwiches
The “Sloppy Sauce” that envelopes the ground beef in these classic sandwiches is quick, easy, and contains less sugar than many traditional recipes. The taste, however, is spot on! Breakfast for dinner is always a hit in our house. Come six o’clock, eggs are conveniently quick and satisfying, and an occasional stack of pancakes…
Piña Colada Smoothie Bowl
As a boy, my Dad was required to take a spoonful of cod liver oil every morning before breakfast. It was one of those oft-repeated stories we heard if we voiced displeasure with what was on our plate. I still have this mental picture of my maternal grandmother hovering over my dad as a young…
Jack’s Favorite Kale Caesar Salad
Luxuriously creamy yet egg- and mayo-free, this Caesar dressing is the star of the show and coats the hearty, wholesome kale beautifully. Don’t miss the optional Polenta Crouton recipe! Three or four years ago, my husband sent me a text while on a business trip in Chicago: “Had an awesome kale Caesar salad for…
Polenta Croutons
Tender on the inside and crispy on the outside, these golden bites are simple to make and add staying power to salads－although sneaky fingers are likely to devour them hot off the baking sheet! When I was growing up, clothes shopping with my mom was purely functional. We had fun, of course, but we…
Pesto Baked Chicken
A short list of ingredients and speedy prep make this healthy, flavorful chicken dish worthy of the weeknight rotation － and it’s as easy to cook for one as it is for a big group! I recently saw a list of the top 10 most popular backyard herbs, and basil sat in the number one spot.…
Mediterranean Zucchini Noodle Salad
Sort of like pasta salad (but not!) this flavor-packed recipe offers all the flavors of an Italian sub but with vegetables taking center stage. Think Italian sub in veggie form. That may sound like a strange comparison (and you might say hoagie, depending on where you’re from), but it’s a pretty good way to sum…
Tzatziki (and a few graduation pictures!)
In addition to the requisite photos of this cool, creamy, perfectly summery sauce, I have graduation pictures for you! As I mentioned last week, the past couple of weeks have been equal parts busy and exciting around here. The main event was last Thursday when John and 699 of his classmates paraded across the stage…
