Honey Mustard BBQ Chicken

I’m bumping this post up from the archives (2010!). This is my go-to grilled chicken every summer. Feel free to switch up the cuts of chicken – sometimes I”ll use a mix of thin breasts and thighs, sometimes breasts only. Mix it up, go nuts.

Risotto Primavera with Shrimp

Oh, hello there. I thought I’d share a favorite recipe with you just in time for spring. I added cooked shrimp to this at the end, but feel free to omit for a vegetarian option. Or, swap it out for some cooked lobster or crab, if you like – would be yum. This risotto comes together in about 30 minutes start to finish, and oddly enough, I find it to be a relaxing dish to make after a long day.

Three Bean Minestrone with Pesto

I realize I have been MIA from this blog for a long while, but this soup was too good not to document. This is truly a ‘meal soup’, especially when served with a simple prosciutto, baby arugula & provolone panini like we did. So, so good.

Tarragon Mustard Cream Fish and Veggie Foil Packets

Welcome to my new favorite cooking method.  Foil packets on the grill. Wrap up some veggies and some easy, flavorfully sauced protein in some foil, throw on the grill, and dinner is served within 15 minutes from start to finish. I served it with my favorite frozen bread product, Alexia Garlic Bread, to sop up the sauce. Absolutely perfect for summer. This recipe is from Pam Anderson’s awesome book The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great. Let me just say that I LOVE this cookbook. She really encourages as much mixing and matching so that there really is no set recipe per se, but plenty of guidance and ideas…not to mention so many fantastic lightened recipes that don’t feel lightened one bit. I have multiple recipes from this book on my menu this week – this was tonight’s!

Shrimp, Bacon, and Corn Thin-Crust Pizza with Garlic Lemon Cream Sauce

This pizza is so good we made it twice in one week. This was kind of inspired by a pizza I shared with some friends at Posto outside of Davis Sq. in Somerville, MA last week. I mean, I really need no inspiration when it comes to pizza because it’s my favorite food (besides eggs) and I will most likely love anything atop a pizza crust. However, this one is pretty special. I do love shrimp on pizza but the addition of crunchy corn and salty bacon…I mean…

Also, the garlic lemon cream sauce as a base? Awesome.

Chrissy Teigen’s Boursin and Bacon Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Since this is about the 3rd or 4th time I’ve made this chicken, I figured it deserved a spot on the blog. I love Chrissy Teigen – she has a super entertaining Twitter presence, she’s freaking beautiful, and she has an awesome – albeit somewhat abandoned food blog (though I realize that I shouldn’t judge in this category too much). I think I first stumbled upon her blog because it was highlighted in some low-carb spotlight in a magazine, but her enthusiasm for of all types of food really comes through.

This chicken is pretty simple and straight-forward, but so so so good. Check it out!

Eggs with Pesto, Tomato, and Avocado

This isn’t exactly a “recipe”, it’s really just cooking some eggs and assembly. This was my favorite breakfast over the summer when I had tomatoes coming out of my ears. These days, when tomatoes are mostly sad and flavorless, I make this whenever I can find some good looking ones. It’s quick, super flavorful, and pretty darn healthy.

Cauliflower Soup with Crème Fraîche

Who knew you could make crème fraîche at home? Seriously, who did and didn’t tell me?? I went to a cooking class at Stonewall Kitchen in York, Maine not too long ago and my brain exploded when I learned about this. I love crème fraîche so so so much (here’s another good application for it), but I rarely buy it because it is kind of expensive. It’s super easy to make, as is this soup, and it’s wicked delicious together. This might make a cauliflower lover out of haters – it has with us!

Mini Shrimp Calzones

This is the second time I’ve made this recipe and absolutely love it. We’re trying to behave calorically around here – and theses taste positively decadent but clock in just around 500 calories. Next time, I will make a little more sauce to reserve for dipping because the sauce is amazing. Enjoy!

Herby Kale Soup with Chickpeas and Sausage

I am digging this recipe out of the archives because it’s one of my favorites and I make it all the time as soon as the weather dips a little. It’s super simple, hearty, and when served with some crusty garlic bread, makes a perfect meal.

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

This is THE BEST meatloaf ever. The combination of the ground beef + pork, all draped under a layer of streaky bacon…to die for. I’ve made this a couple of times now and it’s just too awesome not to share. Now, I never grew up eating meatloaf so this whole thing is somewhat new to me. But I like it. We served it with some steamed veggies and some frozen mashed sweet potatoes (which are kind of weird and bland, don’t recommend). Perfect Sunday meal. Also! I have fun plans for re-purposing the meatloaf leftovers – stay tuned.

13 Bean Soup with Chorizo (slow-cooker)

My slow cooker. I’m really starting to love that thing. Especially when it welcomes a pile of raw ingredients and, while I’m at work, turns it into something awesome. Something dinner worthy and that justifies a long-ass Monday. This soup is definitely going to be a stand-by, which is a good thing, because this makes a BIG batch. I plan on banking the remaining 8 servings in the freezer for a couple more effortless meals. Win win.

Sausage, Pumpkin, Potato and Halloumi Bake

This is fall cooking. This is what I’m talkin’ about. Roasted acorn squash (use any seasonal squash/pumpkin you like), buttery yukon gold potatoes, sausage, tomatoes, and squeaky and salty halloumi cheese. Homey and comforting and the best thing I’ve had this fall. And not just because ‘fall’ just officially began today, either.

Spaghetti Squash Chicken Pad Thai

Um, this dish is amazing. I’m so excited about it that I  feel like that’s all I can say…but I’ll try to expound a little. Roasted and shredded spaghetti squash perfectly imitates those mushy pad thai noodles. The sauce is perfection and made from ingredients that are probably in your cabinet. This is such a healthy and hearty dish because of the sheer mass of vegetables. New favorite dinner, hands down.

Mediterranean Rice Salad

This is a great summer dish to feed a crowd. Bring it to your next BBQ or potluck – people will love it!

Lemony Rigatoni with Broccoli and Sausage

We had Brian’s 13-year old son, Rob, as a last minute dinner guest tonight so our original plans to go out got scratched and I was left looking for a dinner idea that was Saturday-night worthy (easy, comforting, a little naughty) but also somewhat nutritious. When the kids spend the weekends with us I really try to make an effort to make sure they have good, home-cooked food with actual vegetables involved. It just so happens that Rob is a huge, huge, huge, broccoli fan, which tends to make my job pretty easy. I had just pinned this recipe this week so it was still pretty fresh in my head. I love that it includes “grown-up” ingredients such as hot italian sausage and anchovies (if you think you don’t like anchovies, please keep reading…if a 13-year old boy goes back for seconds, all hope is not lost), but also reads as super kid-friendly. Pasta. Broccoli (sub any veggie you/your kid likes). Sausage. Lemony and garlicky sauce. Did I tell anyone there were anchovies in it? Nope. Did everyone gobble it? Yup. Boom.

Blueberry Pie Oatmeal

This is one of my favorite breakfasts. I usually make a big batch (double this recipe) on Sunday to put into 8 individual containers for Brian and I to take to work with us for breakfast. Reheating for a couple of minutes in the microwave makes the blueberries warm and sweet and tasting exactly like blueberry pie.

Italian Stuffed Artichokes

I like when Brian is a little scared when I am making something he is unfamiliar with. I get a sick joy out of semi-convincing him that what he’s about to eat may or may not be edible or may or may not be poisonous. That was definitely the case with these stuffed artichokes.

When I was cleaning the artichokes, I jokingly asked him what the first person who decided artichokes might be edible was thinking. He replied by saying that he wasn’t really sure that they were still, and repeatedly asked me, “you really ate these growing up??”. We did grow up eating artichokes in their whole form, enjoying scraping the “meat” from each tender leaf. I stuffed these artichokes with toasted breadcrumbs seasoned with a ton of garlic, nutty anchovies, and fresh parmesan cheese. Delicious.

Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Herb Frittata

I suck at making omelets. They inevitably always end up as a “scramble” because I can’t flip an omelet to save my life.  A frittata is basically the answer to that because it requires NO FLIPPING. And, it will serve as a fantastic breakfast on the go for me all week long.

Grilled Sausages with Broccoli Rabe and Roasted Corn Polenta

It happens every year without fail: the summer cold. I know I’m not alone in this as a bunch of people in my office are also sick (I blame you), but is there anything worse? Waking up this morning feeling like crap, I knew I would want something comforting but easy for dinner. Brian grilled up some hot italian sausages (I par-boiled them first to make sure they were fully cooked without getting too charred on the grill), while I stayed in and whipped up super-quick sauteed garlicky broccoli rabe and 3 minute instant polenta. I threw in some defrosted roasted corn (love this product from Trader Joe’s) to add some texture to the polenta. Now, excuse me while I bury my face in a box of kleenex and sip on a digestivo of NyQuil.