I made this salad the other night and it came together so beautifully and it was very very tasty if I do say so myself. I made it with grilled chicken and bacon but if you want to keep it vegetarian you can . You can also serve chicken and bacon on the side if you’d like. It’s a yummy chopped up salad with lots of tasty items that I love together. The lemon vinaigrette dressing has a bit of kick but you can easily leave out the crushed red pepper. I used fresh butter lettuce but any lettuce will do .

Enjoy!

*this served 4

Salad Ingredients:

8 slices bacon — I used microwave bacon and cooked for 3 minutes and cooled it off and crumbled it. Of course you can use any type of bacon or omit — up to you

app. 1 pint blueberries

1/2 cup crumbled Feta or Goat Cheese — I hate blue cheese but if you love it use that

1 handful small cut up basil leaves

app. 4 cups farmers market lettuce or any lettuce you like — I used a soft butter lettuce this time–I tore it into small pieces

3 corn on the cobs kernels removed — leave it raw — it’s sweet and delicious

1-2 avocados — depending on the size of your avocados — I used 2 small ones

Grilled Chicken:

I used about 4 chicken breasts — small ones and brushed some olive oil and salt and pepper and a little dried oregano and grilled them on the grill for a few minutes on each side till done and set aside with aluminum till ready to serve salad and then cut up chicken into small pieces.

Lemon Vinaigrette Dressing:

I made salad dressing in my mini chopper — Perfect and easy if no mini chopper just mince garlic by hand and whisk all ingredients together adding olive oil in last slowly.

3 garlic cloves, finely minced

2 Tablespoons Dijon Mustard

1/4 cup Champagne Vinegar

3 Tablespoons fresh Lemon Juice

2 Tablespoons Honey

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt — more to taste — didn’t need it

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil

I used my mini chopper and started with the garlic and put all other ingredients and added the olive at the end slowly.

Taste for salt and pepper but it was fine by me.

• 1/2 teaspoon or more or less crushed red pepper flakes –we like kick and so did our guests so you may or may not want to use this which is fine

In a large salad bowl add in lettuce, chicken , blueberries, cheese, basil leaves, crumbled bacon, avocado and corn. Drizzle with the vinaigrette or serve salad and let your guests dress their own — up to you. Once salad is dressed serve immediately. I

I made this for the Fourth of July and it was so very pretty and pretty yummy too. I honestly didn’t care how good it tasted because it looked that good! Very easy to make and no baking involved. Perfect for the Fourth or Labor Day or really any old time . Actually this would be lovely made with all blackberries , all strawberries and just serve it any old time if you’re not feeling the Patriotic theme. It’s delicious and an easy solution for dessert for those summer bbq’s.

You’ll need a Trifle Bowl — worth the investment.

Ingredients:

1 store bought angel food cake

For the syrup:

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1/4 cup water

1/4 tsp. Almond Extract

Whipped Cream Cheese:

2/3 cup sugar

1 lb. Cream cheese , at room temperature

2 cups Heavy Cream, at room temperature

Fruit:

2 pints blueberries

2 pints strawberries, hulled and sliced

Directions:

Heat 1/4 cup sugar, lemon juice , and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Remove from the heat and stir in the almond extract.

Cut the pre made angel cake into 1 ” slices

Brush both sides of the sliced cake with syrup — I put on a rimmed baking sheet to do this

Cut the slices into 1″ cubes

Beat 2/3 cup sugar and the cream cheese with a mixer with paddle attachment on medium speed until smooth and light. Add the cream and beat on medium-high speed until smooth and the consistency of whipped cream

Arrange half of the cake cubes in the bottom a 13 cup trifle dish. Sprinkle evenly with a layer of blueberries. Dollop half of the cream mixture over the blueberries and gently spread

Top with a layer of strawberries

Layer the remaining cake cubes on top of the strawberries. Then sprinkle with more blueberries

Top with remaining whipped cream and finish with the remaining strawberries and blueberries, arranging them in a decorative pattern. Cover and refrigerate for at least a few hours. Overnight is perfect and what I recommend.

Like I said any berries will do , it’s a lovely dessert.

Light and easy — Cucumbers and Avocado Salad with a light lime dressing. This side salad will disappear very quickly and you’ll be wanting more.

I made it without the green onion so feel free to add it or not it was just as yummy without. Just happen to have avocado and cucumber in the house and no green onion .

Ingredients:

2 English Cucumbers — I scoop out seeds and cut into 1/2 moon slices– Slice Cuke in 1/2 — scoop out seeds and slice

1 large avocado pitted, peeled and cut into chunks or slices whichever you prefer

*1/3 cup green onion , chopped

2 Tbsp. Lime Juice from 1 medium lime

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil

1 tsp. Kosher Salt or Sea Salt

1/8 tsp. black pepper

Directions:

In a medium sized salad type bowl, combine sliced cucumbers , avocado and if you’re adding green onions.

Drizzle with lime juice, olive oil and season with salt and pepper to taste. I sliced cucumbers and dressing earlier than right before I served it added the avocado so it wouldn’t brown. The lime juice should prevent it from turning brown though.

That’s it and very delicious side salad .

Rainbow Slaw–Homemade Cole Slaw

This couldn’t have been easier and it was very tasty and a definite switch up to store bought cole-slaw. I used about 1 1/2 bags of pre made cole- slaw found in the produce section of most markets . Whole Foods has a rainbow slaw which is a mix of different cabbages and it’s perfect. You may even be able to use 2 bags ( 12 oz. bags) but I started out with 1 and added another 1/2 . There are ingredients you can add which would give this some extra kick like jalapeno and that’s totally up to you. I have listed them below.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

1/4 cup lime juice — about 3 fresh limes — I use an electric juicer

1/4 cup Olive Oil

1 Tablespoon Honey

1 Tablespoon Dijon Mustard

4 cups Slaw Mixture or 2 cups Red Cabbage and 2 cups White Cabbage — the bags are easy and readily available almost everywhere — if using 12 oz. bag use 1 -2 bags. If you can find 16 oz. bag that should be sufficient.

Kosher Salt to taste — I think I used about 1/2 teaspoon

Freshly Ground Black Pepper — app. 1/4 tsp.

These are the additional ingredients which are your optional additions

• 1/4 cup chopped red onion or 1 small shallot minced
• 1/2 cup cilantro chopped
• 1 jalapeno , seeded and minced
• sunflower seeds — sprinkle app. 1/4 cup for some extra added crunch

Directions:

In a large glass bowl, whisk lime juice, oil , honey, mustard and any other ingredients you may be adding. Add in the cabbage and if you’re using cilantro add that as well. Taste for Salt and Pepper and add that as well to your liking.

That’s it — Serve room temp. or make ahead and serve.

This is an easy dinner with perfectly seasoned roasted chicken with lemon flavor , potatoes and string beans all on one sheet pan. This recipe is good for 3-4 people depending on your eaters. Feel free to double up and make more and you can even use 2 sheet pans — just adjust oven racks accordingly.

If you don’t have a rimmed sheet pan you can use a 13 x 9 baking dish.

We loved the flavors and the chicken cooked up perfectly . I used smallish thighs so it cooked perfectly in the time frame I wrote up. If you have larger thighs you’ll want to cook a little longer till meat thermometer reads 160- 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken.

Enjoy!

Ingredients:

5 small bone-in skin on chicken thighs — app. 2-3 lbs.

1 1/2 lbs. small potatoes ( I used a medley of colored potatoes) cut into bite-sized chunks — see pics. If you have a larger potato just cut into chunks– I used small ones so I cut in 1/2 and placed cut side down

1/4 cup Olive Oil and 1 Tablespoon for string beans

1 average size lemon zested and juiced

3/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

3/4 teaspoon dried oregano

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic powder

1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 average sized lemon sliced

6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole

1 small yellow onion cut into chunks — or 1/2 a large sized onion

3/4 lb. green string beans trimmed

Salt and Pepper for string beans

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees

Spray a rimmed large baking sheet with cooking spray

In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, rosemary , oregano, garlic powder, salt and pepper

Pat chicken pieces dry first ( this is important for a crispy skin) Arrange chicken and potatoes on the prepped baking sheet. Pour the olive oil mixture over the chicken and potatoes and gently toss with clean hands. You can also place in a larger bowl and pour mixture over and coat chicken and potatoes.

Place potatoes cut side down, tuck the garlic cloves under the chicken pieces, place lemon slices and onions around the chicken

Roast in the pre-heated oven for 20 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, I prepped the green beans . Toss clean trimmed green beans with a tablespoon of olive oil and sprinkle with some salt and pepper.

After the initial 20 minutes I added the green beans and roasted for an additional 20 minutes or until juices run clear and a meat thermometer reads 160 – 165 degrees in the thickest part of the chicken. Veggies and potatoes should be tender.

*depending on the size of your chicken thighs it could take longer .

Remove from the oven and let rest for a few minutes before serving.

Perfection on a plate .

This is one of those perfect sheet pan meals easy to assemble and delicious to eat. Although I usually make this recipe on the stove-top I decided to experiment with it in the oven and all on one pan. Since I used white meat chicken breasts I cooked for about 13 minutes because you want to make sure not to dry out the chicken which is pretty easy to do. You can use dark meat chicken — thighs ( skinless and boneless ) if you prefer . I may use them next time out. Just make sure you spray the sheet pan with cooking spray or you’ll have a hell of a time cleaning that pan. It’s very tasty served over any rice you’d like or no rice , I used brown rice this time.

I have to say this is a perfect any-night meal.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

6 Tablespoons Honey

2 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar

2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil

3 minced garlic cloves

2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger

2 Bell Peppers cut into chunks ( see pic) I used a Red and an Orange but you can use whatever colors you like

1 Red Onion, cut into chunks ( see pic)

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch chunks ( use thick breasts) or use boneless skinless thighs

1 cup cashews — I used roasted unsalted cashews don’t use salted ones you can also use raw unsalted cashews

Chopped fresh scallions and sesame seeds for topping — you can toast the sesame seeds in oven for about 7 minutes if you’d like or in a toaster oven — totally optional

*Rice — optional — any rice you like

Directions:

Pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees

In a bowl , whisk together the soy sauce, honey, vinegar, sesame oil , garlic and ginger

Place the peppers and onions on sprayed rimmed baking sheet and pour 1/2 the sauce over it and mix it well.

Roast in the oven for 15 minutes.

Place the chicken in a bowl with the remainder of the marinade.

After the first 15 minutes, remove baking sheet from the oven , move vegetables around so there is room for chicken , add the chicken and the cashews.

Roast until the chicken is cooked through– 12-15 minutes depending on the size of your chicken.

Toss everything together on the sheet before serving.

Serve over rice and sprinkle with scallions and sesame seeds.

Now you all know how very much I love a sheetpan meal. So very easy to prepare and cook and so delicious to eat. This is what I did. You can substitute sweet potatoes if you’d like. I used Broccolini but you can use regular broccoli, cauliflower or asparagus or any veggie you like.

I really slather on the mustard because I love the strong mustard flavor but feel free to add less or more depending on your own taste.

Enjoy!

*this recipe is for 2 people feel free to double up for more — there’s no exact science going on here so feel free to swap in or out what ingredients you prefer

Ingredients:

4 fingerling potatoes or any potatoes you’d like I used yukon gold this time because that’s what I had in the house

app. 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil in total but if you feel you need more– be my guest

Kosher Salt and black pepper to taste

2 Salmon Fillets or 1 piece of Salmon app. 1 lb. ( I used a 1/4 lb. for the two of us and had some left over)

3- 8 Tablespoons Maille Old Style Mustard — I just slathered the top of the salmon

1/2 cup cherry or grape tomatoes

small bunch of Broccolini or it’s equivalent for another vegetable

Directions:

Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and pre-heat to 400 degrees. I sprayed a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Place potatoes in a bowl and drizzle with 2 Tbsp. Olive Oil and a little kosher salt and black pepper. Stir to coat and arrange the potatoes cut-side down . Bake for app. 15 minutes . Obviously yukon gold or sweet potatoes you’ll just arrange on baking sheet since you can’t do cut-side down.

Meanwhile pat salmon dry and brush with Mustard.

Toss the broccolini and cherry tomatoes in a clean mixing bowl with 1 Tablespoon of Olive Oil and sprinkle with Salt and Pepper. If it doesn’t look like enough oil add a little bit.

After the initial 15 minutes, remove tray from oven and push potatoes to edges of pan, creating enough room for salmon in the center of baking sheet and arrange the broccolini and tomatoes around the salmon. Using tongs flip over potatoes to cook evenly .

Bake for about 15 minutes depending on the size and thickness of your salmon. If veggies are getting to burnt use tongs and remove and put on plate and cover with foil. It should only be a few more minutes for salmon to be done and I didn’t remove my broccolini because I like it charred.

If you don’t want potatoes you can just cook salmon and vegetables and use rice or nothing . It’s delicious and since I made a little extra salmon it was delicious the next day for lunch.