Oh pesto. Pesto, pesto, pesto. Pesto just tastes like summer, doesn't it?! I don't make pesto too often because pine nuts are expensive and I can't always get them into my budget...but I found some on sale this week and made my own pesto! Because, enjoying pesto-laced pasta is like taking a bite out of summer. I've written the recipe below with store bought pesto, … [Read more...]
Homemade Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Spinach
Please pardon me while I wipe the cheese off my chin. Um, that was sorta embarrassing there...that cheese all over my chin. But you kinda don't care when your taste buds are bursting with joy and want to leap out of your mouth onto the spoon. It's the cream cheese in this recipe that works the magic. Well, that combined with the bacon. And the spinach, and the Italian … [Read more...]
Creamy Chicken, Sun-Dried Tomatoes & Pasta Skillet Dinner
Holy flavor explosion. I made this two days in a row last week. Once for my husband and I (and the non-dairy allergic boy!)...and again for our neighbors because they had a recent surgery and needed a warm home cooked meal after a few days of hospital food! But I confess that the reason I made this for them is because I wanted to sneak a few bites, in the name of quality … [Read more...]
Weeknight Spinach Lasagna Skillet
Welp, I couldn't not include a skillet lasagna recipe in this month's 31 Days of Skillet Dinner series. So here it is. I adore lasagna. While my mom isn't known for her skills in the kitchen, she can make a mean lasagna! I adore her lasagna. I adore any lasagna. I should clarify...I adore the taste of lasagna. The pasta with the flavorful tomato sauce and richness and tang … [Read more...]
Skillet Macaroni with Swiss Chard
Don't think your family will eat chard? Then they haven't tried this skillet macaroni yet. (Seriously, you have to make them try it. Or if you think they will adamantly refuse, you can substitute spinach for the chard. And if they refuse that, then I can't help! ;) ) But I find masking it in a delicious pasta, topped with some Parmesan, shouldn't garner too many complaints. … [Read more...]
One-Dish Chili Mac
Wanna know what your new family favorite recipe is going to be? Not only to make, but to eat too! This chili cooks all in the same pot...and if you toss in some chopped up carrots and/or spinach, it could be a complete meal in the one-dish. Talk about a winner! Our family loves this Chili Mac and I'm working on a slow cooker edition for it too...stay tuned... Oh, … [Read more...]
Vegetable Alfredo Sauce
Have you ever made your own Alfredo sauce?! If not, I implore you. Challenge you. Demand you. (hehe!) No, I really think you should try it! I love playing with homemade white sauces, and in this case an Alfredo sauce with veggies. Creamy, cheesy, salty and delicious over pasta! For this Alfredo sauce, I decided to save myself a few calories and used whole milk instead … [Read more...]
Southwest Macaroni ‘n Cheese
This is a creamy, creamy and delicious version of mac n cheese with a little zip and zest mixed in! Balance the zip and zest with some black beans and corn and you've got the perfect one dish dinner! So many homemade mac 'n cheese recipes call for making your own cheese sauce. This can be intimidating, I know. Which is why I created this recipe for you...no homemade cheese … [Read more...]
Pasta Salad with Artichokes, Olives, and Feta
I love how the Mediterranean flavors whisk me away to another place. I'm not sure that other flavors do that...but these flavors put images of far away places into my mind. A friend recently visited Cinque Terre in Italy and boy-oh-boy were her photos beautiful. Perhaps one day. One day. But for now, I'll keep enjoying these flavors of the region! This pasta salad … [Read more...]
Best Tips for When to Add Rice & Pasta to Slow Cooker
Making some meat or chicken with a sauce in the slow cooker can make for a wonderful meal. But cooking the rice or pasta “on the side” is not always necessary. With many recipes, you can add the rice or pasta right in and let it cook during the last bit of cooking. However, adding rice or pasta in at the beginning with the meat means you are going to have a mushy mess at the … [Read more...]