Opa! I always thought Spanakopita would be so hard to make, but let me tell you - this is one of the easier appetizers I’ve ever cooked. My mom, a vegetarian who loooooves spanakopita more than most other foods, said it’s the best version she’s ever had, beating out her favorite Greek restaurant in the area. So there you have it. Make this, make your mom happy (and pretty much everyone else).
This pasta salad is super versatile. I made this one with cheese tortellini, but you can switch it out for any type of pasta… and it’s absolutely amazing with quinoa. It’s a healthy crowdpleaser that’s perfect for hot summer days.
Experimenting with food during this quarantine period has been a silver lining for me. And since we haven’t done any takeout, I’m forced to make things I used to have delivered to my door…like this super simple lo mein recipe made with spaghetti noodles. It’s healthy and you can substitute any meat that you’d like for the ground turkey. Hell, you can add whatever vegetables you want to it as well. I wish this wasn’t so good…because now I’m going to be forced to cook one of my fave delivery dishes instead of ordering it.
This is the perfect summer salad, almost like a souped up guacamole. Make it in the morning and allow it to sit in the dressing and meld flavors together all day long. This can be served as a side at a BBQ or the main dish if served with grilled chicken or shrimp. Regardless, there is nothing wrong with this gluten-free, super healthy, vegetarian, but decadent-tasting bowl of joy.
This is the easiest shrimp curry on the planet. Perfect weeknight recipe that’s chock full of veggies, super healthy and legitimately as delicious as any I’ve had at a restaurant. It’s also pretty to look at, and comes off as a very impressive dish.
You guys…this is the best of all worlds. It’s like an enchilada meets taco meets tamale meets cornbread. I made this for the first time in a huge cast iron skillet, and we (meaning just me and my husband) ate almost the entire dish. I hate/love when that happens.
This dish is a slam dunk, and a really easy one-pot wonder. You’d be hard pressed to find someone who doesn’t enjoy this lemony, garlicky chicken dish served over your choice of pasta or grain. It’s easy enough to make during the week, but the butter gives it a little bit of a weekend decadence feel.
I make this dish for my husband once a year on his birthday (sometimes twice if he’s lucky - on Father’s Day) and he coined it “Better Than [Rick] Bayless” enchiladas. As a cook, there’s no greater compliment than that when talking about homemade Mexican food. Although time consuming, this dish isn’t hard, and it’s well worth the efforts. I usually make the salsa the day before (or a few days) and sometimes even the filling. So on the “big day,” all you have to do is compile the dish. Now pour yourself a margarita and enjoy one of our favorite meals.
My mom saw this recipe on Oprah years and years and years ago. She’s been making it ever since. I had a craving for it the other day so I had to give it a try. I have never had a more authentic, refreshing, light, sweet yet tangy Key lime pie in my entire life. The combination of the pie filling and sweet whipped cream with the white chocolate and lime on top is……I can’t describe it. I am not a pie person and would never choose to order it, but this is the full-on exception to the rule.
I’ve been really into breakfast food lately. More specifically, Belgian waffles. So i went out of my way to buy a Belgian waffle maker and scoured the internet for the best, most authentic Belgian waffle recipes. I decided to substitute cake flour for regular flour, and buttermilk for regular milk, and I’m pretty confident I’ve never had a better Belgian waffle in my entire life.
I reviewed about 72 recipes to figure out what I thought would be the best version of the classic Dutch baby pancake. Then I made up my own, and let me tell you….this one is perfect. Sweet or savory, you can’t go wrong. Although lemon on a pancake sounds counterintuitive, the absolute best version in my opinion is simply fresh lemon juice and powdered sugar.
I’ve been eating the same meatloaf recipe my entire life. It’s my mom’s very simple recipe that is pretty much perfect. I’ve adapted it to be a bit healthier over the years by substituting ground turkey instead of beef, but I couldn’t resist making this version when I heard it tasted like a cheeseburger. This is anything but healthy, but wow…it’s every bit as good as it sounds, and I will be making it for my family for years to come.
I love experimenting with at-home pizza doughs. This is by far the easiest one I’ve ever made (thanks, Rachael Ray!). It’s obviously waaaaaaaayy easier to order delivery, but you’ll miss out on all the fun.
I adapted this sauce from Rachael Ray who adapted this sauce from Marcella Hazan (so you know it must be good). I adjusted a few components (and added milk to tenderize the meat) - the result was better than I even expected. My husband said it’s one of the top five pastas he’s ever had in his life… and I’m not bragging, but the guy eats a lot of pasta.
This salad is fresh, vibrant and light, but it also feels very autumn with the honey crisp apples and toasted almonds. I exclusively make my own salad dressings, but my husband says this is the only one I ever need to make again. It’s really that good. I think it’s the miso element, so unusual and so delicious.
This is hands down one of the best dishes I make, and I make a lot of food. Reminiscent of your favorite sweet/spicy dish from any Asian or Thai restaurant, this might actually be better than that (and definitely healthier).
I’ve had many iterations of watermelon and feta salad, but this one is the best I’ve had to date. The sweet and savory juxtaposed between the perfectly ripe watermelon and the salty feta is perfection. Trust me: you cannot have a summer party without serving this dish.
I watched Michael Symon make this on TV the other day (RIP The Chew) and couldn’t stop my mouth from salivating all over my computer. I decided it was the perfect Saturday meal for my meat-loving husband. I was right. The spice rub on this pork loin crisps up in the oven and is slightly crunchy and salty and complements the sweet cherry bourbon sauce perfectly. And believe it or not, this is a pretty easy one.
I first saw this recipe on The Chew (I can’t believe it’s being canceled!). Clinton Kelly’s version, however, was made with cream and dumplings and although delicious (I tried that tantalizing method first), this tastes just as good and is way healthier. I stuffed it with even more veggies, and added rice for a starchy component. I promise, you won’t even miss the “good stuff.” It’s officially one of my family’s favorite soups.
This shrimp, chorizo and chicken thigh paella is definitely a labor of love, but it is well worth it. The smokiness from the chorizo (I actually used soy chorizo - click into the recipe to read why as it's obviously an odd choice, especially for me), the fat from the chicken thighs and the light, beautiful shrimp mesh together perfectly in this dish. And the saffron, one of my all-time favorite flavors, just pushes this over the top. Spend a Sunday afternoon drinking wine or sangria while cooking this and you will be as happy as I was last weekend.
My sister told me this is the best cake she's ever had. And believe me, my family knows cake. Generally when I crave something sweet, it's your typical birthday-type cake with a chocolate base and buttercream frosting, or white cake with chocolate buttercream icing. But this bundt-style coffee cake has officially made my top dessert list. It's decadent, extremely heavy, and even good for breakfast.
On a whim, I created this vegetarian, gluten-free frittata for brunch for Easter (which also happened to be Passover weekend). Don't be fooled by the vegetarian/gluten-free thing - this is NOT healthy. I made this for my whole family and everyone agreed it was the best frittata they ever had. This is cheesy, delicious, gooey and a seriously good alternative to pizza, especially for breakfast.
When my mom made these for Super Bowl, I honestly didn't know if I was going to like them. I've never eaten a chicken wing in my entire life (and have no desire to do so - too labor intensive), and I am so over the cauliflower craze. That being said, I could not stop eating every. last. bite. The great thing about these is that you don't have to be vegetarian to love them (although any vegetarians in the room will be thrilled). You can also use gluten-free breadcrumbs and you've got the least gluten free-y, veggie dish I've ever tried. You would never know this was (sort of) healthy. Make for a party, nosh on it at home, or place it in front of you while watching TV. This is a crowd pleaser - even if the crowd is just you.
My husband made this for me for the first time. I fell in love (with the pasta; was already in love with the husband). I decided to make it for myself while adding more veggies and changing the marinade on the shrimp. You don't have to follow my directions for the veggies or protein though - mix it up and create whatever you'd like. As long as you have the sauce and pasta, you've got this dish in the bag. It's super easy, better than take-out and you can double the sauce recipe to freeze for another time. This dish is the gift that keeps on giving!
I used to have two go-to homemade salad dressings: my mom's Caesar and my mom's Greek. Now I have three. I HATE Ranch dressing, but I had a craving for some version of a Cobb so I whipped up this from-scratch honey mustard dressing and it is seriously heaven. I've made it three times this past week alone. You be the judge, but I'm confident you'll love it.
I am NOT a vegetarian. In fact, I prefer to add meat to pretty much every thing I eat. But this is hands-down one of my favorite pasta recipes of all time. So whether you love meat or are a full-fledged veg, this is a great option for you. You can also use gluten-free pasta; therefore, this should pretty much satisfiy everybody...even Italians.
Every time I eat this soup at a Greek restaurant (which is every time I go), I want to replicate it. I was always afraid to though because I figured it was one of those dishes for which you needed a Greek grandma's recipe. Wrong. Once I learned that it was thickened with egg, I knew I had to make it. This is a super versatile dish that is gluten-free and can easily be made vegetarian. Although usually made with chicken, I concocted this dish out of all Thanksgiving leftovers: homemade turkey stock and shredded turkey.
This soup tastes like fall in a bowl. Since my apple picking trip last weekend, I've now made two different dinners with our apple bounty. I also plan to make my famous apple cake this weekend. A little goes a long way. Anyway....this butternut squash soup is one of the best out there; slightly sweetened with apples yet savory because of the roasted squash. You'll want to eat it all day long as it simmers on the stovetop for hours....
I look at cooking in two distinct ways these days: as a luxurious, lengthy, therapeutic session that results in a fabulous, interesting, lovely meal for my family; or as a way to simply put food on the table so we don’t starve to death. Usually the former wins, but this recipe definitely reps the latter. You’ll appreciate the seemingly complex and “whoa, this is incredible” result, but the very easy prep.
I know I’m a good cook, but I don’t often say about dishes I make that they’re better than any other version I’ve ever had anytime or anywhere in this entire world in my whole life. I say that about this Pad Thai, however (and that’s saying a lot because I have eaten my fair share of the noodle dish from pretty much every hole in the wall or fancy Thai restaurant in Chicago). I was always intimidated to make this because I thought it would be soooooooo complicated and never as good as my favorite take-out. I was wrong.