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zuppa tOscana sOup

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Zuppa Toscana Soup is the perfect weeknight dinner for a cold day.

Adding just a hint of red pepper flakes gives a subtle extra bit of heat to the broth that warms you from within. Combined with the white wine to deglaze gives a depth of flavor that is out of this world. I’m not sure how I ever went without this soup…I for sure never want to be without it again! This recipe has become a regular in our dinner bowls for sure.

When adding the kale it may seem like a lot but I promise you it will cook down. Not only is it oh so good for you but it tastes just as good.

On a side note- if you want a little extra heat, add a bit more red pepper flakes (it helps with a stuffy nose).

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bacOn macarOni and cheese

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I was watching Kelsey Nixon make her “Baked Tomatoes Stuffed with Creamy Stovetop Bacon Mac and Cheese” on tv and caught myself drooling and knew I had to make it.

My husband Jason however, doesn’t like tomatoes. So I adjusted the recipe a tad and put them in some soup ramekins.

Now, I’ve made mac & cheese many times and always had the issue that Kelsey mentioned in her program of having a “gritty” texture to the cheese. This recipe’s claim was to not have that grittiness due to the combination of Muenster and Cheddar cheeses. I admit I had never tried Muenster in my mac & cheese…and now I am sold!

Talk about creamy! There wasn’t any grit at all-no cheese separation. I did, however, cringe at the amount of bacon fat used…and I almost changed it to all olive oil-perhaps next time I will….who knows, maybe a little bit of sauteed onion too? Recently I have had to adjust my diet to be nitrate free for health reasons…but I can still enjoy this every so often by using uncured bacon. Uncured bacon still contains some nitrates even though the packaging says “nitrate free” but it has natural nitrates such as celery powder instead of chemicals like sodium nitrate. So fear not if you have restrictions- you can still partake in this gooey delight!

I really would like to try it in a hollowed out tomato the way Kelsey did next time for myself. I did add a cut up cherry tomato from my garden to my bowl and it was so yummy!

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key lime macarOOns

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Flaky, sweet, and a little bit tart; these key lime coconut macaroons are sure to give you in a tropical vibe.

With one bite you will begin to hear the sounds of seagulls squawking, and waves lapping at a sandy shore. Close your eyes and savor the flavors as they hit your tongue and imagine the warmth of the sun on your face as you enjoy every last little flake of coconut. 

Not only are the flavors of these macaroons divine but the texture is soft and chewy on the inside but crispy on the outside. The perfect little treat to help you to unwind and take you to another destination all from the tip of your tongue.

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fruit salad with lemOn and hOney dressing

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Spring is here and the tastes of summer are right around the corner.

The light and fresh taste of this fruit salad are exactly what you’ve been waiting for!

Sometimes it can be hard to tell if pineapples are ripe or not, so here are a few tips to remember when selecting your fruit at the market:

Smell: Find the perfect pineapple for this salad and the flavors will explode! Don’t go for the canned pineapple but rather a nice juicy fresh one. The scent is the most important aspect of choosing the right pineapple…the bottom end of the fruit should have the distinctive “pineapple” scent if it has no smell it is not yet ripe. If it smells overly sweet or fermented then it is probably overripe and you wouldn’t want to chose that one. 

Sight: A pineapple should not be all green or all brown. The coloration at the bottom should be yellow and be greener at the top and have healthy green leaves. 

Feel: The perfect pineapple should be heavy and solid with a slight give when you squeeze it but not be soft.

Truly the only one you need to worry about is the smell here….it’s never let me down…if it smells good then you 99% of the time have a good pineapple. I smell all the fruits and vegetables that I buy to tell the freshness….including a bag of potatoes! Your sense of smell will never fail you in this case!

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mOunds Of jOy pie

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Need a dessert where you don’t have to turn on the oven?

Me too! Not only is summer coming and it’s nice to not to have to reach into a hot oven but my stove recently has started to die on me. I’m currently trying to decide which stove is right for me before I make the big purchase. The burners on my stove work fine but the temperature in the oven has become 75 degrees cooler than what it should be, and other times it’s more…or spot on. So I continuously have to check the temperature and things are underdone or burnt…time for a new one.

While I’m trying to decide which new oven I want, it’s nice to have some recipes that don’t require a lot of baking. 

This recipe does have you toast the coconut in the oven, but you can eliminate the oven altogether by toasting the coconut in the microwave in 30-second bursts until desired “toastiness”. See both ways to toast in the recipe below.

I’ve never been much of a pie fan, but this is definitely my kind of pie!

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stuffed peppers

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I used to hate green peppers as a child, and the only way I would eat them was when my mother would make these stuffed peppers.

As an adult, I grew to love them and will eat them in anything, but one of my favorite ways to enjoy them is still this recipe which has been handed down from my grandmother to my mother and now to me. I’ve increased the amount of rice and chili powder from what my mother uses but that’s what makes recipes great-making them your own!

I encourage you to make these and change up the flavors by adding your own spice blend or adjusting to your liking. You really can’t go wrong when shoving something into a pepper. I especially like to add a chunk of cheese to the middle so that when you cut into it you get this gooey bit of heaven in the center.

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