I bought a bag of kale instead of a bag of spinach this week. My plan was to figure out ways to get this power house vegetable IN me and hopefully IN my family, although unless I hide it, they aren't game. According to NutritionData.com, Kale... [...]

How come 'Beans and Cheese' doesn't have the same ring as 'Macaroni and Cheese'? I'm going to be honest here and some of you, maybe most of you, are going to think I'm absolutely insane but I've never, never EVER liked Mac 'n' Cheese. Not even as a kid! Is that un-American of me? I [...]

Ok, so I went a wee bit nuts on the produce this weekend. Literally all I see when I open my fridge is vegetables. Don't get me wrong, that's a GOOD thing, BUT I'm worried about some of it rotting before I get a chance to eat it. *Cue vegetable soup* Soup is a [...]

Today called for chili. It really did. But I had zippy time, nothing defrosted and no desire to CHOP anything. So I hit the pantry. Keeping cans of beans in stock is a must for me. I also have bags of dry beans but to be honest, I rarely plan anything that far in advanced [...]

Sometimes I make things and wonder -- Am I the only one who would like this? Maybe my tastes aren't as picky since I'm the chef. Last night I had 20 minutes to whip together dinner before running errands with the family. I had fish defrosted and I wanted a rice based side dish. I [...]

My initial idea to use the remaining leftover Thanksgiving turkey was a white chili, but then I realized I didn't actually have any chilies, or peppers for that matter. So I'll call this a "stew" instead. Whatever it is, it was GOOD! I knew I'd be the only one eating it so I decided to [...]

In the fall I could make a chili every weekend but unfortunately the husband isn't a fan. I know, crazy... right? I mean WHO doesn't like CHILI?!? Especially on a cool fall day! This drives me nuts as chili is the ultimate comfort food for me. I don't care if you make it with beef, [...]

I'm so glad I noticed the aging mango on the counter this morning. It's what totally inspired this dish. I was hungry and I thought it would be fun to build a meal around the mango. SO I dug through the pantry and fridge. First I remembered I still had some fresh herbs from [...]

Sorry for my absence. I was living it up in NYC at BlogHer! Of course what does the husband want to have for dinner my first day back? Pizza. ugh. My solution... Order a small to minimize leftovers and make a simple salad on the side. Genius right?!? Sorry.. patting myself on the back for [...]

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 [...]

I had a hankering for soup. Sure, I could have just grabbed a can of condensed soup from the pantry but where's the fun in that?!? :) Instead, I took an old time favorite, tomato soup and made it into a satisfying meal by adding a few additional ingredients and spices. Speaking of... Did you see [...]

The title says it all. I had boneless chicken breasts, a few cans, a splash of seasoning and FINALLY a home cooked meal! Unbelievably the husband and toddler both ate this! I will make it again as an official recipe with Nutritional Info and all. For now you get the quick idea. Remember... just take [...]

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 [...]

This is one of those "here's what I whipped together" type of ideas. Here's the situation... It's lunch time, I have a 20oz package of ground turkey defrosted to make a double batch of Southwestern Turkey Burgers (I like keeping them in the freezer) which will leave me 4 oz leftover. (Why they only package [...]

I don't know what came over me this afternoon. I had a half pound of ground beef in the fridge, an empty stomach and a hankering to whip up something new. So I fired up the old interweb and saw this. Now I'm not going to claim I know anything about Moroccan food. [...]

I don't know WHAT came over me yesterday. I just felt like cooking ALL day. It started with the Tropical Pineapple Core Smoothie. Then the toddler and I made some Homemade Whole Wheat Thin Crust Pizza Dough for lunch. And the whole time I had this soup on the stove. I knew I was only [...]

I totally don't know what came over me this morning. I was hungry but I didn't have a big desire to cook yet i wanted something homemade, warm and satisfying. So I whipped this up with what I had on hand. Notice it required no produce prep. :) You could replace some of the spices [...]

I knew I would have NO time to make dinner tonight so I grabbed a few cans and turned to my trusted Crock Pot. I have to admit, this is my new favorite veggie chili idea. I just threw everything in the pot and walked away. Next time I'll have a few more veggies [...]

I made this dish for a friend. That's right, I have sought out others to cook for since the husband is overall... BORING! I kid, but you know what I mean. I know his likes, and dislikes and it's fun considering someone else's. I guess you can say I'm food cheating. That's right [...]

Did I ever tell you guys how much I love bean dip. I mean really I LOVE it. I don't know if it's the texture or the spicy kick that gets me. All I do know... sit me down with a bag of tortilla chips and a jar of bean dip and I'm good for [...]

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. [...]

I LOVE chili! It's like pizza for me, even bad chili is good chili. ;~) (well... unless it's from a can) This chili I purposely made mild to TRY and get the husband and the toddler on board with my chili obsession but alas, I failed. The husband didn't try it, he's just not interested in [...]

“Can you make this every weekend?” “You really hit this one out of the park!” “Now this is RIGHT up my alley!” Yes, ladies and gentleman, those all quotes from the husband! Apparently all I had to do was shove a beer can up a chicken's a$$ to get him excited about [...]

This may be one of those things that I only like. It truly is the result of... 1.)Being hungry, 2.) having NOTHING is the house, and 3.) wanting to experiment. I was just going to make some homemade hummus but upon inspection of my almost barren cupboard I discovered no Chickpeas. Just an old can of [...]

A lot of you know I’m a HUGE McDonald's Southwest Salad fan. It’s, by far, my favorite fast food salad.  The flavors are perfectly combined and, in my opinion, no dressing is necessary. So I set off to make a knock off home version. I wanted to for a while and [...]