I love working as a Community Leader at The Laughing Cow. It nudges me to experiment with their cheeses in fun and new ways! Today I used it for a base in a quick salad dressing. It came out fantastic! And went perfectly with cucumber, tomatoes, and, of course, fresh basil from my garden! Here's [...]

I've been bored in the vegetable department lately. We tend to gravitate towards the same frozen things over and over, especially in the winter. Frozen broccoli, frozen peas and the occasional bag of MIXED frozen veggies for a treat! Note the hint of sarcasm. I'm tired of the microwaved vegetable side dish. So I fired [...]

Did I tell you that the number one benefit of joining a CSA for me has been an increase in leafy green consumption. I gotta be honest, I rarely bought anything but a bag of baby spinach before joining the farm and even then I would just use it for traditional salad or cold like [...]

"Who would have thunk it? I like beets!" -The Husband We did it! We tried beets for the first time tonight and they were a HUGE success. The husband was VERY hesitant and was actually a little upset when I told him I was making them. He had that eye roll, oh God [...]

I've never eaten coleslaw in my life. Is that weird? Isn't that was a cabbage salad is? Anyway, I was armed with the cutest little heads of cabbage from the farm and, yup you guessed it, feta. :) So i decided to combine them together and I'm so glad I did! This was fabulous! I [...]

I have a confession. This summer loving home cook has no grill. :( We HAD a grill at our old house but it became a casualty of the move and now a new one just isn't in our budget. Unfortunately the deck where that grill would love to sit is also out of the question [...]

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 don't know what came over me yesterday. I had this insane craving for soup on a hot summer day. Strange, I know. After wondering around the produce aisle I came up with this idea. a Puree-ed spinach and fennel soup. Light enough for summer and tasty enough for... well... me. lol Both [...]

Sorry I've been MIA this week. I've been feeling a bit overwhelmed and simply sticking with tried and true family meals. No time to experiment which actually gave me the idea to post a simple recipe. I hope it inspires you to remember some of those not to popular vegetables like Brussels Sprouts. :) Surprisingly BOTH [...]

Let me start this post by saying, I didn't even know what Tabouli (Tabbouleh) was about a year ago. I had some at a party last year and the cafeteria at my new job has it all the time. I believe it's traditionally bulgur, parsley, mint, tomato, onion, lemon juice and olive oil. But unfortunately [...]

My mission.... to come up with a new fun way to serve asparagus on Thanksgiving. That's right people, I'm cooking Thanksgiving dinner.. again. I think it's mine for good or at least until the kid grows up and invites his dear old mom over for the holidays. :) Anyway, last year I perfected the mashed [...]

If you read my weight loss blog you may know I've been feeling a bit out of control lately. My house is in disarray as I prepare to move into an apartment wating for my new house to be built. I recently started a new job at a local University and I threw my back [...]

Preparing for the toddler's 4th birthday party I decided to make a new marinade and grill up some chicken. The husband pleaded with me to "go safe." Translation: use tried and true store bought BBQ sauce. BORING I said, "Trust me, let me make something new." :) And I whipped us an Asian inspired glaze/marinade [...]

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 [...]

My mom is going to laugh at me yet again. We've been having conversation about getting older and losing our minds. She's famous for buying gifts, forgetting and then finding them stashed all over the house. I laugh now but I'm bound to do it myself. Actually I have no doubt I will. Case in [...]

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 [...]

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 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 was making the toddler's lunch when I realized I had a pint of cherry tomatoes that were getting a bit overripe. I don't know about you, but I can't eat cherry tomatoes once they get all "wrinkly". For some reason, they gross me out! So I decided to make a little evening snack. Boy [...]

Did I tell ya? Yours truly is cooking Thanksgiving dinner this year. Yup... first time. I have always helped mom but never have I hosted the family here at home for the big day. This will be a first! The head count may be up to 13, THIRTEEN! I don't think I even [...]

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 [...]

Home from the beach and debating what to make for dinner, I decided on some quick burgers on the grill, a side of baked beans and a salad. The salad is a mix of what I have left in the fridge upon my return, a bag of wilting spinach and a jar of roasted red [...]

That's right, I said “pizza” and “salad” in the same breath. I have NO idea where this idea came from. I was driving home from the gym the other day imagining what I could make for lunch and "pizza salad" popped in my head. I often get my best ideas in the car, it's weird. It [...]

I received an “Ask Roni” email the other day from Deanna requesting shrimp recipes so when I saw them at the grocery store tonight, I thought, humpf, Why not? So upon returning from the store I whipped up a quick marinade, let the shrimp sit for about 20 minutes while I put the groceries away and [...]

Tonight I defrosted some turkey tenderloins and planned to grill them but I had no idea what to serve as a side dish. I wanted to make something on the grill (I hate cooking in and out of the house at the same time. If I'm grilling I'm grilling everything). So I pulled out every [...]