This is the dish to serve to people who don’t like beets! The citrus vinaigrette mellows the flavor of the beets, it’s delicious! I had the best meal of my life recently at Luna Red in San Luis Obispo. I was working on an article for the June/July 2013 issue for Indulge Magazine on the restaurant and … Continue reading »
I love meals that can be made in under 30 minutes, especially on weeknights. This is one of those simple, one pan dinners that you can pop in the oven, pour yourself a glass of wine and relax and let the oven do all the work. Make sure you have some high quality EVOO to drizzle … Continue reading »
I made these for the first time to pair with Wild Horse Winery’s delicious Zinfandel. They were featured in my weekly Paso Robles Press Food and Wine Column. These stuffed steaks are elegant, perfect for a dinner party, but also kid -and man- approved too. The only fancy tools needed are Kitchen Twine and a Rolling … Continue reading »
Every time I visit the grocery store I see a minimum of two people staring at rows and rows of preservative filled salad dressings. I want to shout out to them “you already have everything to make salad dressing at home.” So put aside the dressings that will stay good for a year and make … Continue reading »
Many of my recipes come from grabbing what I have and working it into an old favorite recipe. My naan pizza was the “old favorite” and what “I had” was turkey bacon and tomatoes. You can get the Naan at Trader Joe’s, it’s all natural as is anything in the store that they put their name … Continue reading »
This recipe is from my monthly column at North County LIFE, a local newspaper. I had requests to share it here, what a wonderful idea! Here for all of you is my newest recipe. Veggie Packed Stuffing The key here is this dish is 50% bread and 50% fruits and vegetables, cutting the calories and … Continue reading »
Many of you have heard me talk about my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious by model turned chef Candice Kumai, this week her new book Cook Yourself Sexy comes out and she has been kind enough to share one of her sexy meals with us! I have not yet received my copy of Cook Yourself Sexy so this is … Continue reading »
It’s that time again! Beverly Jo Noble has provided us with another amazing recipe from her book A Lifetime Of Recipes. Have you gotten her book yet? I LOVE it! It is all about cooking with fresh fruit. The Cranberry Orange Crusted Salmon has become a weekly staple in my house and her Raspberry Bellini has a … Continue reading »
These fajitas are so delicious and easy, my entire family loves them. You can go traditional and fill a tortilla with the fajitas for dinner then make a delicious cold wrap for lunch the next day. You could top some romaine with the fajitas and make a salad, this is also amazing stuffed inside a … Continue reading »
I am very excited to share this recipe, another from Beverly Jo Noble. This is from her new upcoming book Love Thy Veggies, and…. TODAY Beverly is getting married! Thank you Beverly for sharing this with all of us, and as a wedding gift pick up her current book A Lifetime of Recipes. Serves 4- … Continue reading »
I can already hear the question in your voice “can it be done?” yes it can and it’s amazing! We do a lot of barbecuing around here and I am always looking for a new rub, marinade of veggie to toss on the grill. A few months ago I saw a recipe in a Food … Continue reading »
Here is another lovely recipe from Beverly Jo Noble, have you checked out her amazing cookbook yet? A Lifetime of Recipes came out this year and people are talking about it! It’s just fabulous, all cooking with seasonal fruit.. Pick up a copy and see what all the fuss is about. Beverly is getting married a … Continue reading »
The time has come to start doing video demonstrations of cooking. I get tons of questions when it comes to baking a chicken, it sounds hard and is intimidating the first time you bake a whole chicken but once you have done it a few times it becomes the easiest meal ever. I shot this … Continue reading »
This delicious salad is not only fast and easy, it also boosts your metabolism! Spinach and apples boost your metabolism, plus add a lot of fiber to your meal and fiber means fullness. Try out more metabolism boosting meals: Chilli with Homemade Chips for dinner, Apple Cinnamon Pancakes for breakfast or my Day Spa inspired Apple … Continue reading »
You’ve just arrived home from work, you’re too exhausted to cook… what do you do? Whip this quick meal up and pour yourself a glass of wine! It takes 30 minutes, but only about 10 minutes hands on. So get it started when you walk in the door, then kick off your shoes and unwind … Continue reading »
Like most people I have about 50 or so recipes that have their turn in the weekly rotation depending on grocery sales, the season and my mood. I have published over 100 recipes so it’s about time I start tossing in a repeat once in a while. Homemade Margarita Pizza is my most popular recipe … Continue reading »
It’s that time again, Beverly Jo Noble has shared another amazing recipe with us. Check out her cookbook A Lifetime of Recipes. It’s all about cooking and baking with fresh fruit. Each fruit has its own chapter, say I have some extra Strawberries I need to use up I flip to the strawberry section … Continue reading »
This is by far the easiest whole chicken recipe ever! All you need is 4 ingredients and you have a delicious, inexpensive, very impressive meal. I served this with some Homemade Mac and Cheese and some Veggie Bean Salad (upcoming post) and it was delicious. Serve with your favorite sides, or check out my side dish … Continue reading »
Some of you may notice this recipe is similar to my Green and Yellow Salad, it is. I just love this salad so much I keep adding to it and changing it. This blog was created to share what I eat and how I lost 150 lbs and how I keep off the weight all … Continue reading »
Here is another great recipe from Beverly Jo Noble, check out this and more great recipes in her Cookbook A Lifetime of Recipes pick up a copy soon, they are going fast. Once a month Beverly sends me a recipe to share in my blog, always using seasonal fruits and veggies. Thank you again Beverly … Continue reading »
My daughter loves Chicken Nuggets, there is a reason that there are bags of chicken nuggets shaped like zoo animals in the freezer section of the grocery store. It’s not just that kids love them, it’s because they make it easy for an overwhelmed parent to toss something on the table for the kiddos. We … Continue reading »
Everyone loves Mac and Cheese, here is a casserole you can toss together for dinner tonight and will feed you for lunch tomorrow too! I recommend using left over chicken to make it quick, but if you don’t have any see below for my favorite shredded chicken recipe. I know the jalapeno is an odd … Continue reading »
My husband Chris loves to cook almost as much as I do. Tonight he hit a home-run on dinner, these sandwiches were spicy and hearty, the perfect “Man Meal”. The dip was cool and tangy Blue Cheese goodness, because there is minimal cooking for this meal it took him only 25 minutes. So today, on … Continue reading »
Here is a 100% vegan meal for all of you. Try skipping meat for lunch a few days a week, it will save you money and calories. Or make this for dinner and try out the new “Meatless Monday” craze. “But I need protein” you say, did you know that Quinoa is a complete protein? … Continue reading »
If you’re like me you hard time getting your family to eat salads, but if you put some steak and cheese on top anyone will eat it. I got this vinaigrette recipe from my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious by Candace Kumai. I like to keep a big bag of frozen corn in the freezer for nights … Continue reading »
This spicy, filling meal is perfect for two. It is a little spicy for the kids so if you are feeding it to the whole family cut the spices in half or more. I made this for two but you can just as easily double or triple it for 4 or 6 people, for a … Continue reading »
Here is another amazing recipe from Beverly Jo Noble, her Cookbook A Lifetime of Recipes is coming out next month, make sure to check out her website and pre-order a book. Need a fancy side dish to go with your fancy salmon dish? Try out my Grown Up Mac and Cheese or Easy Spaghetti Squash they … Continue reading »
On this warm February night I wanted to BBQ some steaks. I used a one pound Top Sirloin and cut it into 4 individual steaks to save money. I wanted to make a side to go with the steak that would be great to bring to a friend’s house or a picnic. Because the salad … Continue reading »
If you don’t have a Crock Pot don’t worry you can make this in a large pot on the stove-top too, just read below for cooking times and details. I’m gonna be in trouble once my family finds out that I shared our family recipe brought over on the boat from Italy but I have … Continue reading »
You can have the things you love, you just need to slightly modify them. With tacos I like to add veggies and beans to get “more bang for your buck”. By adding veggies you add vitamins and fiber, as for beans they add protein and fiber and fill you up. Not only will you drop … Continue reading »
When my readers request I do my best to deliver and this one is for you Laurie. I highly recommend making this for a date night at home, perhaps for Valentines Day. I have to give props to the cookbook Pretty Delicious from which I fell in love with this steak rub, it is spicy and … Continue reading »
I made this last night and my Husband is still talking about it. It seems like a lot of work all at once, but who doesn’t love standing over the stove top stirring something delicious while listening to their favorite Pandora station? I would say this took me about 30-45 minutes total, however you can … Continue reading »
Who doesn’t love Mac and Cheese? Most “diets” have this on the no-no list but that’s cruel, so I worked on a low cal version inspired by Candice Kumai’s Platinum Mac and Cheese and came up with a tasty, low cal, high protein version that is great as a main dish or a side dish. My … Continue reading »
I love baking chickens, I bake one up about twice a week just a few changes to the marinade, some new sides and it is a completely different meal. Tonight I happened to be craving El Pollo Loco and so I did my best to replicate the meal. When you see whole chickens on sale … Continue reading »
This is an easy meal, just some quick chopping and mixing and your done. Great for a dinner party or to impress your in-laws. It pairs well with a bold red wine, Cabernet and Merlot are fantastic. Love Meatloaf sandwiches? Make it for dinner and fill the lunch boxes with the sandwiches and save yourself … Continue reading »
This recipe makes 3 pizzas, I thought with the Super Bowl coming up in just a few weeks it was a great time for my favorite game day meal. Are you thinking now, I can just order pizza on the big day… well I like to call this my $3 pizza, because I stock my … Continue reading »
I will give you all another recipe for what we Italians like to call a Sunday Sauce, I usually use canned tomatoes but I found Roma tomatoes on sale and had to try a fresh take on my sauce. I am proud to say that everything I used in this sauce was organic or from … Continue reading »
You can take the girl outa Orange County, but don’t dare take away her favorite salad! We moved out of OC a couple years back and I missed my favorite takeout so much I re-created it, but in a much healthier way! Chicken Dijon delivered to my office and home so often the delivery guy … Continue reading »
A friend once said “Everyone loves a cute girl who can cook” and this is the easiest meal I can think of to impress your friends and family. Talk about puttin’ on the Ritz, this chicken is super fancy and oh so yummy! Make it for a quiet night w/ your honey and have the … Continue reading »
I adapted this recipe from my favorite cookbook Pretty Delicious, it is great with tofu, ground turkey or even left over chicken in it, but I like it with no meat, I find it doesn’t need it. This is an amazing chilli, I have molded it to be my own spicier Italian version and make … Continue reading »
