Fruits and Veggies

Make a homemade version of the Chicago-based Portillo’s Chopped Salad. The recipe is a great combination of tastes, flavors, and textures.

I think one of my very favorite things about summer is the abundance of delicious fresh fruit. I wait for it all year and crave fresh berries, watermelon, peaches, and pretty much any other fruit you can think of. I absolutely refuse to buy our usual stand-bys of apples and oranges during the summer. It … Read more

My husband laughed at me when I first told him I had this idea. He thought “pasta salad on a stick” was the craziest idea he’d heard in a long time. But I just knew it would work, so I didn’t let his laughter dissuade me. And I’m so glad I didn’t because these came … Read more

I was recently contacted by the culinary school at Baltimore International College asking me to make one of their recipes. I read through the list and there were several things that appealed to me. I finally settled on Puree of Squash Soup for several reasons. Upping my experience with different squash recipes is still a … Read more

We are all longing for spring around here. It just can’t come soon enough! Eric has been asking for me to start incorporating spring type meals into my cooking. I definitely know where he’s coming from. So when I was writing out the grocery lists for our monthly shopping trips this weekend, I made sure … Read more

Growing up, I always had a love-hate relationship with Brussels sprouts. As a child, I was never really a fan, but as an adult, I’ve been on a mission to learn to love the foods I once rejected. One by one, I’ve conquered my fears, and my list of food foes has dwindled to a … Read more

Smoothies used to be a daily treat at our house. We’d have them with breakfast or as a snack and they were always devoured. But that was when we homeschooled and had a little more time in our days. Now, smoothies fall in the rotation just a few times a month. So lately I’ve taken … Read more

I wanted a quick corn side dish to go with our dinner tonight. We all love our usual skillet corn, but I wanted something with a bit more substance. So I started with the same basic dish and just bulked it up a bit. I turned out so great and we all loved the new … Read more

We love fruits of all kinds in this house. Unfortunately, this sometimes means that our eyes are bigger than our stomachs sometimes. This means we buy huge containers of strawberries or 29 pound watermelons. And sometimes, although very rarely, we aren’t able to finish up all that fresh fruit before it starts turning that corner … Read more

These green beans are surprisingly simple to make and they are so good! They work great as an appetizer or as a side dish. Typically when I make these at home, we have them as an appetizer, or my husband and I have them as part of a homemade samplin’ platter for an at-home date … Read more