Category Archives: Mains & Sides

Don’t fear the Quinoa! Crunchy Quinoa Salad.

Quinoa. Pronounced “keen-wah”. What the heck is it? It’s a grain-like seed from Peru that is incredibly healthy (high in protein, and full of amino acids) and quite tasty too! You basically can use it as a healthier substitute most places you would use rice or couscous. I found mine at Trader Joe’s… but if […]

Cucumber & Tomato Summer Salad

Editor’s Note: Republished for our Summer recipe series! This salad is one of my favorites for the Summer, when the cucumbers and tomatoes are in abundance, but it’s great anytime you can get the ingredients and need a reminder of summer! This is a wonderful side salad, or modify it to be a great vegetarian […]

Vegetable Stir Fry with Orange Ginger Sauce

“All of these vegetables need to be eaten before they go bad!!”  Sound familiar?  We went to visit my man’s parents for Mother’s Day and had just gotten my organic produce box the day before we left.   I contemplated taking the whole box with me, but it wouldn’t have fit in the overhead compartment, so […]

Spotlight: Jim’s Pancakes!

Jim’s a guy just trying to make cool pancakes for his daughter… well, he’s succeeding!  I stumbled across this site the other day, and not only does he have some very interesting pancake ideas, but he also has how to videos on making some of them.  Very cool.  Here are a couple of the more […]

Fried Chicken

Fried Chicken is one of my loves, along with chocolate, mint juleps and David Tennant’s Dr. Who.  However, like most things I love, it’s something that I can only have in small amounts. Why is that?  Why do we love that which is bad for us?  Why can’t fried chicken be a HEALTHY meal? That […]

Spotlight: Potato Gnocchi Tater Tots

I ran across this recipe the other day at Deliciously Organic, and had to save it into my ‘to post’ folder! I love this updated take on that old favorite (and guilty pleasure), tater tots. I haven’t had this much fun making a recipe in a long time. I noticed these little treats in Food […]

Simple (almost) Summer Salad

As much as I really wanted to try out Dot’s frank-and-burger loaf recipe for dinner tonight (I mean, yum, right?), I opted to go a slightly simpler and (more than slightly) healthier route. I received some lovely avocados, tomatoes and corn in my produce box this week, and all of them were in need of […]

Waffled Monte Cristo Sandwich

The Monte Cristo is a legendary artery-clogging treat: it’s a breaded and deep-fried ham sandwich served with a side of raspberry jam and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Sounds amazing, but it’s not something I want to serve to my toddlers. Enter the waffle iron: I can make the sandwich fun and kid-friendly by making it […]

Spotlight – Greek Feta Parcels

I’m always on the lookout for easy and tasty recipes, and this one from Foodwhirl reader The Runaway Spoon looks delish. And I love the substitution of puff pastry for phyllo dough in this. Okay, I’ll admit. I have fear of phyllo. I love Greek food and pastries, but I am too afraid, or okay, […]

Roasted Broccoli with Feta Cheese

Things have been so overwhelmingly busy these days, I haven’t had time to even think. About anything. So meals that are simple and quick to throw together are really a must. It’s always easier to come up with a quick fix when you’ve got good ingredients on hand. Luckily, this week I received a bunch […]

Scarborough Fair Potatoes

Scarborough Fair Pototoes are flavored with (of course) Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Thyme!  According to Wikipedia (so take this with a grain of salt!) “Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme may also refer to the pagan belief that together these four spices can be a love charm.”   So pull out the old Simon & Garfunkel records […]

A Southern Girl’s Potato Salad

A big thanks to Heidi for sending us her potato salad recipe! Classic Southern-Style Potato Salad Any good southern girl will tell you that no picnic is complete without a great potato salad.  There are millions of variations of this classic side dish and I have tried most of them.  But my all time favorite […]

Milk Toast

Milk Toast was something my mom always made for me on weekends.  Similar to a Fondue or Welsh Rarebit, Milk Toast is a cheese sauce served over stale toasted (or just toasted) bread.  Unlike Fondue or Rarebit, which are a bit more “gourmet”, Milk Toast is a simple combination of Sliced American Cheese, Milk and […]

Brunswick Stew for two.

The Daring Kitchen hosts two monthly challenges, The Daring Baker’s Challenge and The Daring Cook’s Challenge.  Participating in the challenges is a great way to be exposed to new recipes and techniques.  Not being quite daring enough to try the Baker’s Challenge I signed up for the Cook’s Challenge instead.  If you’re interested in the […]

Picnic Fare: Make Cuban Sandwiches

Here in Atlanta where I live, there are fun neighborhood festivals pretty much every weekend in April.  We’ll be going to several in the next few weeks, and these are great sandwiches to toss in the cooler for snacking that is healthier, and cheaper, than your typical greasy festival food! These Cubans are a great […]

Coleslaw

Here’s some trivia for you:  The term “coleslaw” arose in the 20th century as a partial translation from the Dutch term “koolsla”, a shortening of “koolsalade”, which means “cabbage salad”.   In the US, most coleslaw is made with a mayonaise-based dressing, but this is a recipe that has been a favorite in my family for […]

Traditional Deviled Eggs

One of the things I love about Easter is eggs!   And what better to do with hard boiled eggs than deviled eggs.   We are going to an Easter/Birthday Party today and this is one of the dishes I’m taking.  Everybody loves deviled eggs and I’m sure they will disappear quickly!   These will be great alongside […]

Easter Brunch: How about a Quiche?

Here are a few ideas! Mini Veggie Quiches at Christina EATS Quiche Lorraine Scones at Good Life Eats Pear and Camembert Quiche at The Creative Pot Ham, Asparagus, and Gruyère Quiche at My Kitchen Addiction Or this one, a Rosti Quiche… I love the idea of using potatoes… “Rosti” Quiche! When my kids were little, […]

Quick & Easy Lemon Pasta

Spring is in the air and I’m starting to crave “summer” flavors but it’s still cold enough that I want something warm and filling as well.  This Lemon Pasta fits the bill perfectly, and it can be whipped up super quick. Here’s what you’ll need: 3 lemons, zest and juice 3 cloves of garlic, minced […]

Carrot Souffle

[ed- Easter’s coming!  Dawn brings us a great idea to get your kids to eat Carrots!] I am NOT a fan of cooked carrots.  Never have been.  A few years ago my Step-mother hipped me to the Carrot Souffle at our local chain Cafeteria and I’ve been hooked ever since.  In the past I’ve just […]

Spotlight: Stuffed Poblanos

Although I mentioned our Facebook group and Twitter feed this weekend, I forget to mention that we also have a Flickr group. I love Flickr – it’s a fabulous place to share pictures…especially pictures of delicious recipes. I found this lovely recipe from Teenie Cakes in the Foodwhirl Flickr group, and wanted to share it […]

Garlic pie

This would be a great dish for Easter Brunch! Hi everybody!  We’re Chica and Jo and we’re here to tell you that we love garlic.  I mean we REALLY love garlic.  You have to love it to even consider something called Garlic Pie, right?  Yes, garlic is a great accompaniment to many meals, but sometimes […]

Corned Beef and Cabbage: Part 3 of 3(corned beef hash with basted eggs)

Who’s sick of hearing about corned beef and cabbage?  Well, I promise, this is the end of this fascinating series.  I just want to make sure you’ve got some options for all those yummy leftovers (4 lbs of beef is a lot, and unless you’re throwing a party, I’m sure you’ve got some extra). This […]

Corned Beef and Cabbage (or how I got lucky): Part 2 of 3

After a week of brining, my beef brisket is finally ready to come out of its spice bath and be rinsed and cooked. It sat in the fridge all week, and I turned it two or three times to make sure all sides got equal time in the brine. It smelled pleasantly of pickles every […]

How to Cook Greens……for St. Patricks Day!

Ok, I’m from the South, what can I say…. I love greens!   I got Kale in my Gaia’s Greens box last week, and Collards this week so it was time to cook up some greens!  And then when I realized it’s almost St. Patricks Day and Greens are, well….Green, I knew for sure that this […]