Mexican Quinoa Salad with Shrimp

Here's an easy recipe for a light and refreshing quinoa salad with sauteed shrimp.  This can be served warm, chilled or at room temperature.  Here's how to make it:

Onion Soup

This is a really easy soup with very few ingredients.  It makes a lot and leftovers are great.  Make sure you serve it with some crusty bread!  Here's how to make it:

Chicken Parmesan Subs

Happy Birthday, Drew!  He loves Chicken Parmesan but I think it can get a little boring sometimes!  I wanted to make him his favorite food for his birthday but put my own twist on it.  We're both big fans of a good sub, so I decided on Chicken Parmesan Subs.  This recipe serves 2-4.  Here's how to make it:

Garlic and Herb Mashed Potatoes

Mmm, mashed potatoes!  Everyone has a recipe for them...or a few!  Garlic mashed potatoes are my favorite!  Here's how I make mine:

Easy Sesame Noodles

These sesame noodles are soo easy and quick!  They are one of my favorite things to make because they are simple and satisfying.  They are even good leftover the next day, straight from the refrigerator.  Here's how to make them:

Chicken Noodle Soup with Orzo and Lemon

Cold and flu season is definitely here.  I've been battling a cold the past few days and couldn't think of anything I'd rather eat than chicken noodle soup.  I add a whole rotisserie chicken and lots of lemon juice to give it a nice tang.  It's easy and delicious.  Here's how to make it:

Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Gnocchi!  It's so good and a great change from regular old pasta.  Gnocchi are little dumplings that are made with potato.  I had some sweet potatoes laying around and thought it would be fun to make sweet potato gnocchi instead.  It's easy to make and is stored in the freezer which makes it great for a quick dinner.  Here's how to make it:

 

Buffalo Chicken Mac and Cheese

Fall is here and that means comfort food. We had some friends over on Sunday to watch the Panthers game.  What better dish to make for a crowd than a big batch of mac and cheese?  Buffalo chicken mac and cheese sounded perfect for a football game.  I've been wanting to come up with a recipe like this for a while.  Blue cheese is one of those things some people just really hate, so I didn't want this dish to be overpowered with Blue cheese.  I used Gorgonzola cheese because it is a little milder than regular Blue cheese. Everyone agreed that it was subtle and really good!  Here's how to make it:

Taco Salad

Taco salads are one of my favorites!  It's not the healthiest salad for you, but it's really tasty and flavorful and really satisfies.  This recipe uses my Taco Seasoning and my All Purpose Taco Meat.  The rest is just adding some of your favorite toppings!  Add anything you'd like.  It will turn out great!

Spaghetti Squash with Marinara Sauce

Spaghetti squash is a great substitute for pasta!  It might not sound like it, but it really does have a similar texture to spaghetti.  It doesn't have much flavor on its own, but if you mix it with your favorite pasta sauce it really mimics pasta.  It's simple to make, it's filling, and it goes great with any sauce.  It is also great to use in chilled pasta salads.  This time, I decided to mix mine with marinara sauce.  Here's how to make it:

Potatoes on the Grill

So here is the last thing I made for my Labor Day cookout.  Potatoes on the Grill!  Potatoes are one of my favorite things.  I love finding new ways to cook them.  They are so versatile!  You can flavor them and cook them in so many different ways.  I wanted everything I cooked for our Labor Day meal to be cooked on the grill, so I made little foil packets of potatoes.  I've seen a lot of different people use this method but I hadn't done it before so I wanted to give it a try.  How hard can it be?  You just throw everything in packet and sit it on the grill!  It's easy and there is barely any clean up.  I served these with Citrus Marinated Shrimp and Veggie Skewers.  Here's how to make them:

 

Citrus Marinated Shrimp

Happy Labor Day!  Time to grill!  I was excited to be off work this Labor Day so we decided to grill out by the pool.  These shrimp are really easy to make and perfect for a hot summer day.  I love any food you can eat with your hands.  With these shrimp I also made Veggie Skewers and Potatoes on the Grill.  I hope everyone had a great Labor Day!

Country Green Beans

I was really in the mood for some "country cooking" the other night.  I was born and raised in the South, so it's food I'm used to.  And I can't get enough of it!  I limit how much of it I eat because Southern food is full of fat, but that's what makes it so good!  I've been making these green beans for years.  They are satisfying and super tasty.  I love the crunch that the fresh green beans give, the saltiness of the bacon and the tang from the red wine vinegar.  Here's how to make them:

 

Herb Roasted Baby Potatoes

This is great recipe for a quick side dish.  I love potatoes because they are so versatile.  My favorite way to have them is roasted in the oven with a lot of herbs.  The combinations are endless.  This is a recipe I came up with a few days ago using herbs from my garden.  I threw in some onions and garlic for extra flavor.  It's really easy and really tasty!  Potatoes are awesome because they are a natural starch.  It makes me feel healthier to eat some potatoes instead of pasta or bread.  Here's how to make them:

Cream of Broccoli Soup with White Cheddar and Bacon

"Uhh, what is the Soup du Jour?"
"It's the soup of the day"
"Mmm.. that sounds good.  I'll have that."
-Dumb and Dumber


Soup!  I love making soups.  There are so many different kinds and most are so easy to make.  And not to mention everything is in one pot!  I love one pot meals too.  They make life easier.  At work a few days ago, I needed to make a soup for service.  I decided on cream of broccoli because it's simple and delicious.  I also love broccoli cheddar soup, so I decided to combine the two.  It turned out great!  My co-workers and our guests really seemed to like it so I quickly tried to write down everything I put in it.  I've cut this recipe down a bit because I made several gallons for the restaurant!  Here's the recipe: :)

Buffalo Shrimp Salad with Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette

I love a big, hearty and filling salad.  I also love buffalo sauce on anything and everything.  This recipe combines a lot of my favorite things.  The colors are really vibrant and beautiful, which to me, is always a huge plus.  This salad literally has every color of the rainbow.  You eat with your eyes before your mouth!  I have always heard the more colorful your plate, the better it is for you.  This one salad has everything you need all on one plate.  Packed with protein and fresh vegetables, this salad won't let you down!

Tilapia Lettuce Wraps with Napa and Apple Slaw

Fish tacos!  One of my favorites.  They are very trendy right now, you see them everywhere!  They can be so healthy, but also sooo unhealthy.  I love both though.  Sometimes it's nice to have some beer battered fish tacos but I love healthy tacos with a crisp slaw just as much.  I tried to make these tacos extra healthy by eliminated the tortilla and using romaine lettuce to wrap everything up instead.  For the slaw for these tacos, I used my recipe for Napa and Apple Slaw with Honey Lime Vinaigrette.  Delicious!

Salmon topped with Guacamole over Cilantro-Lime Rice

This might seem like a weird combination, but it is so so good.  One of my favorite ways to eat salmon is with a panko breadcrumb crust.  For this recipe, I decided to crust it with crushed up tortilla chips since they go great with guacamole of course!  Also, aren't the colors in this recipe beautiful!?

 

Cilantro-Lime Rice with Black Beans

I love rice.  It is one of my favorite ingredients.  You can use it in soo many different ways.  It never gets old because there is always something new you can do with rice!  I never cook rice the old fashioned way.  Bringing water to a boil, add rice, simmer 20 minutes... snoooore.  It's just boring and not for me!  I'm always looking for ways to make plain rice more flavorful.  This cilantro-lime rice with black beans is one of my favorites.  I'm not a huge fan of cilantro, but I do think it belongs in certain dishes.  You can use as much or as little cilantro as you'd like.  I don't use much at all!  Too much of it tastes like dish soap to me..blah! I just use enough to get the flavor of it but not to over power the whole dish.