Aside from passing on this scrumptious recipe, I can't take credit for discovering this one. Our friends (she finds the recipes, he cooks-great teamwork) turned us on to The Food Network's Perfect Turkey Burger and it is phenomenal. If you don't trust a dietitian's taste buds, my husband (who loves red meat) and 3 year old son (who is so-so about protein these days) will attest to this statement. In fact, I've never seen my son devour a burger like he did that day (and it h

This time of year is so busy with end of school stress, graduations, work deadlines and summer fun on the weekends that can leave little time (and energy) for meal prep. Enter Gina Homolka's SLOW COOKER SALSA CHICKEN WITH BLACK BEANS AND CORN. It's deliciously cheesy and you probably have at least half of the ingredients on hand. There really is no messing up this recipe. My bag of frozen corn was bigger, I added an extra can of black beans, salsa and chicken so we could e

For some reason I somehow think that I don't like dill, but that couldn't be further from the truth. It's a bright and refreshing herb that pairs brilliantly with fish and chicken. We made salmon the other night on yet another huge snow day and had so much dill leftover that I added it to my husband's tunafish sandwich to combat tuna fish breath while at work. You're welcome Graig's coworkers. It's also a great addition to roasted red potatoes in olive oil. Why this works

I love finding Asian inspired recipes for 3 reasons: They are basically 1 pot wonders if you don't count the pot to boil the noodles, they contain fresh ginger (so refreshing) and include lots of veggies in a super satisfying way. This recipe is adapted from the Best Ever Chicken cookbook by Linda Fraser and is no exception! It's an older cookbook, so if you're looking to add an all-chicken cookbook to your collection I would totally recommend it. You can buy a hardback for

With Thanksgiving on its way, this recipe from Ina Garten is something I'm always thankful for because it's quick, healthy (with some of my modifications) and oh so satisfying. If you're looking to cut out or minimize pasta, spiralized zucchini hits the mark. Why this recipe is a winner. You can have it on the table in 35 minutes or less. It contains protein, vegetables, carbs and seasonings (to boost antioxidant intake), so it's balanced. It's easy clean up. You can modify

I love using our slow cooker because once the food is in there I can pretty much just forget about it-no stirring or worrying it's going to bubble over or burn. I recently checked out of the library Taste of Home's Skinny Slow Cooker. Tons of great recipes! I love getting cookbooks out of the library because it puts a subtle pressure to actually COOK a few of the recipes instead of accumulating more cookbooks to leaf through and "tab for later." This one is definitely wor

Who loves baked cinnamon apples? Or the better question is, who doesn't love baked cinnamon apples? I brought this dish along with plain Greek yogurt to our bookclub (we spend 30 minutes talking about the book and the other 2.5 hours talking about everything else...its the best and I love the fact I'm reading free-reading books again). It makes me feel better than watching TV, so for your health I totally recommend book clubs and/or reading for pleasure-Try it out! Would love

This week we had taco night and I thought how about we give everyone two more delicious recipes we relished at my 3 year old son's birthday party that we themed "Cooper Loves Tacos". Since parties for Cooper are still only family with most being adults we decided to serve up 3 different dishes: basic tacos for the "kid in you" type of taco lover, pork carnitas for the "food truck lover" and shrimp ceviche (the "v" is pronounced as a "b" for those of us brushing up on our Spa

This week's recipe is a throwback my childhood when my Dad made us lunch. My sister and I had to be under the age of six, but I have vivid memories of our excitement when he made his Sloppy Joe's (from a can). The other fond memory is when we rode our bikes to Burger King (on a busy road without a helmet...oh the 80's). Although I honestly can say I never have cravings for a Burger King happy meal, when the weather is dark and chilly and I want something quick and filling t

Now that I have a new little guy to take care of time and simplicity are of the essence! But whether you have 5 kids or cooking for yourself, your time is precious. Read on for my easy, balanced and dare I say fancy Asparagus and Sausage Risotto recipe that drums up a clean bowl from my 3 year old son as well as compliments from our foodie friends. If you're wondering what I mean by "balanced" it's because it incorporates a vegetable, protein and starch all in one pot. And

I was so inspired by the Perfect Turkey Burger recipe which included mushrooms that I thought I'd apply the concept to other dishes too. One of my nearly 3 year old son's (Cooper) favorite dishes are tacos and it also happens to be the main topic of one of his favorite books and a great read for all ages, Dragons Love Tacos. (And you can find matching PJ's! I digress...) So naturally when I want to have a night of guaranteed success at the table, tacos will be the day's spe

Believe it or not I’m going to give you a recipe for roasted chicken. If you’re having thoughts of long and drawn out preparations for your Thanksgiving turkey, trust me, this is different and will not disappoint. For a better part of the year, I’ve roasted chickens in the oven since I’m roasting my own little bun in the oven and wanted options for sandwiches that mimicked the ease of lunchmeat (Why you might want to avoid lunchmeat while pregnant). This entailed brushing o

I love kitchen gadgets (even as a child my Christmas list included requests for a sandwich maker and juicer), yet I was still skeptical about the Spiralizer. I thought it would be tough to use, even tougher to clean and that spiralized veggies would not be a suitable substitution for grains. Fortunately I was wrong on all 3 accounts! My sister-in-law assured me it was easy and actually gifted it to us (so grateful). It's a relatively low cost kitchen appliance (around $30