Or what I really want to call, the I-don't-have-enough-of-any-one-ingredient lasagna. Here's the story, I had a pot of homemade sauce I made a full days ago. Normally we go to town and just have pasta for like 4-5 days in a row. The Little Guy and I stick with varying shapes of whole grain and [...]

I whipped this up the other night for dinner in a bit of desperation. I really haven't grocery shopped since before Thanksgiving and even then I was only buying stuff for the holiday. So my stocks are down. Once the leftovers were gone I really had nothing left to make for dinner. I scoured the [...]

I'm a total pesto newbie. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE pesto, but I just never make it. I always thought it had to be made a certain way, with pine nuts, tons of oil and fresh basil. Well, pine nuts are outrageously expensive, I don't like to go overboard on oil, and fresh basil [...]

Believe me, I never thought I would put those three things together either. Pumpkin? Sausage? Spinach? But Oh.My.Word! So yummy! I saw Rachel Ray make something similar a while back and I think she used fresh sage and nutmeg. So those are the flavors I stuck with. Of course starting with a base of onion [...]

This idea just popped into my head when I started thinking about what to make for dinner. I gotta be honest, I haven't gone grocery shopping since coming home from the beach. I just haven't been in the mood and I decided to use what I had on hand until my trip to the CSA [...]

Confession time... I have NEVER eaten Chard. Ever. I've seen it and always thought the colors where amazing but what in the WORLD do you do with it? I mean it's a big leaf for heavens sake! I knew joining a CSA would be a good way to get me over the hump [...]

This was a quick lunch I made yesterday based on Mom's Pasta Fagioli (we pronounce it pasta faz-oo.) Mom never made it as a soup, although I've seen it that way plenty of times. I always thought of it as the quick pasta meal when we didn't have meat or sauce prepared. I love the [...]

I can't believe I pulled it off!! A few weeks ago I saw this awesome post on Noble Pig with a recipe for Pasta Pie and I knew immediately had to make it. Of course I couldn't leave it alone, I HAD to give it my own spin. What can I say? it's a [...]

Have I told you about the toddlers obsession with Chinese food? He LOVES Low Mein and Chicken with Broccoli. He even attempts to eat with those kid chopsticks they hold together with a rubber band. It's totally cute. So for lunch yesterday I thought, why not make a homemade version with what I had on [...]

As I say in the video this is my meatball version of a beef-a-roni classic. My goal was to get the toddler to eat a bit more meat and I succeeded! He loved this. It was the first meal in a long time where he didn't make a face when we sat down. Even [...]

I can't take the credit for this idea. I got a wonderful email from Mary that said... Roni, I love your recipes! I wanted to tell you about my roasted cherry tomato adventure! I made the roasted tomatoes as per your instructions. I roasted them a bit longer so they [...]

I don't know what I was thinking. I had a rough day. I probably shouldn't have recorded but I did anyway. For some reason I knew it would make me feel better. And it did. :) Now let me tell you [...]

Yup, I'm at it again. Messing with those Ramen noodles (Click here to see my other Ramen ideas). Here's the deal, it's Friday, I'm in desperate need of a grocery shopping trip. I just got home from a 2 hour workout with an awesome trainer who kicked my butt and, dude, I was HUNGRY. [...]

This was a quick idea after having nothing ready for dinner. I was fighting off the urge to order in and I needed to please both the husband and the toddler. Now that's no easy task! :~) Somehow I succeeded! The only thing the husband said was it could have used [...]

I have a confession. It may be a culinary no no to admit but I don't care! :~) One of my favorite school lunches growing up was beef-a-roni. You remember it, right? Overcooked elbow pasta, grade F meat in some kind of tomato base. I don't know when the concept of “comfort” food begins [...]

A few months ago I discovered a healthy version of an old college favorite of mine, the RAYmen noodle. I admit it, I still love them. There is just something about the noodle texture and salty flavor. :~) Well today was another perfect day to make a quick lunch. I have a sick toddler on [...]

The toddler and I came home HUNGRY today.  I had no plan, nothing defrosted, and all I wanted to do was EAT.  I still wanted something good, healthy and fast, NOT takeout or fast food. So I perused the pantry and found this… Yup! That’s all you need to make a quick homemade [...]

Not having enough leftover sauce for pasta night, I came up with this idea to make it stretch a bit. Mom taught me well! :~) The husband was happy, he loves anything with pasta and sauce (and he didn’t even complain about the whole wheat pasta). The toddler even picked out a [...]

A quick video of the toddler and I making lunch today! We were planning on something else (as I say in the video) but had to make due with what we had on hand. The lunch was just for me, the toddler had a sandwich and about 2 whole peppers by the time we [...]

Christy gave me this idea after she watched my Zucchini Pizza Bites Video. I have to admit, I’m new to polenta. I actually bought it for the first time to try this idea a few weeks ago. Tonight, after work and then grocery shopping the toddler and I hit [...]

I posted this way back when on the weight loss blog but wanted to archive it here. Originally, I was hesitant to post this idea being the kind of person who makes it a little different each time. If I have fresh ingredients I use them if not, dried [...]

I’m a HUGE dark meat turkey fan. I know, I know, it’s not as lean as the white stuff but it’s SO delicious and just as good for you nutritiously. Plus what are you going to do, throw it away?!? As I was cooking this tonight, the husband walked by the [...]

Click here to see the toddler and I make Simple Beef-A-Roni with Peas in a video post You come home from work, no plans for dinner and your in the mood for comfort food. What do you do? What DO you DO?? This may solve the problem! It only takes a few minutes to prepare (especially [...]