As much as I enjoy acorn squash as a side dish, I like it even more as a complete meal. This recipe makes an easy sweet and savory filling to round out the flavor and make a healthy vegetarian main or side of stuffed squash. Perfect for Thanksgiving but also great all winter long! Ingredients needed Brown rice, cooked Vegetable stock Craisins Seasoned breadcrumbs Pecans Celery Cheese (Monterey Jack, Cheddar, or mix) Spices: onion powder, garlic powder, thyme Acorn squash How to stuff acorn squash with vegetarian filling Mixing the stuffing is very easy, especially if you have some leftover

Acorn squash is a traditional Thanksgiving side, but since your oven is pretty busy that day it’s good to have an alternate cooking method available. Making acorn squash in the crock pot is so easy I doubt I’ll use my oven again! Ingredients needed Acorn Squash Butter Brown sugar How to cook acorn squash in a crock pot The first step, of course, is to cut the squash and remove the seeds and membrane. Before you cut, decide how you want to serve the squash. If you plan to serve a bowl of whipped/pureed squash, then you only need to

I love my veggies, and sometimes I just need a simple way to prepare them. This combination of Brussels sprouts and carrots delivers simplicity and taste. Plus, it’s made on the stove top which is super convenient for those times when the oven is already taken! Ingredients needed Brussels sprouts – 1 pound Carrots – 1 pound Shallot – 1 medium Butter Apple cider vinegar Salt, pepper and water – do these count as ingredients? 😀 How to make these carrots and Brussels sprouts This veggie side dish comes together very quickly. To start, cook the shallot in butter for

If you need a fast and easy side dish to complement any meal (don’t we all?) sauteed mushrooms and onions are an easy choice. They only take about ten minutes and can be served with just about any meal! Ingredients needed Mushrooms – white button mushrooms work fine, cremini work great as well Onion – one yellow, adjust size according to your love for onions Olive oil and butter – for frying Garlic clove Cooking sherry or a sweet white wine Tamari or soy sauce How to make sauteed mushrooms and onions Start with some olive oil and butter in

It’s August and anyone with a garden tends to be overflowing with summer squash by now. So I bring a simple way to make zucchini and yellow squash in the microwave. This recipe will help break up your routine a little, yet it is still easy to make, which is perfect for these hot days of August. Why is zucchini so prolific? Zucchini is considered one of the easiest plants to grow in a garden. In addition, its production is cyclical, meaning the more you harvest, the more the plant will produce (harvestright.com). As my friend Dawn told me, “when

Every time I look at one of Ina Garten’s cookbooks, I think “Now, why didn’t I name myself something like The Barefoot Contessa?” I really think I could’ve pulled it off! Ina has some fun recipes, and one of these is her Fresh Corn Salad, a fantastic way to take advantage of the amazing fresh flavor of sweet corn while it’s in season. A big plus for this recipe is that it can be made ahead of time. You can put it all together and let it chill in the fridge until you’re ready to serve the rest of your

It’s July and it is HOT. So, I’m trying to keep the house cool. That means my grill and I have become best buds as we conspire to cook everything possible on the grill! I especially love to find vegetarian items to grill, such as beets, zucchini or asparagus. In this chapter of Keep the House Cool, we will select the right tomatoes, we’ll stuff ‘em and then grill ‘em. Easy! How do you prep a tomato for stuffing? If you have ever stuffed bell peppers, you already know how it’s done. Cut a slice from the top, scoop out

‘Tis the season! Salad season, that is. Ring in the summer with marvelous fresh fruits and vegetables. For me, cucumbers and tomatoes are tops. Salads are needed for this in-season produce!!! This salad takes inspiration from two others on this site. One is my Greek Cucumber Salad, with its main ingredients of cucumbers, tomatoes, and red onion. And the balsamic vinaigrette dressing is reminiscent of a Caprese salad. Taking these favorite tastes and making a new salad is an easy button for sure. That’s what summer is all about! Ingredients for Balsamic Cucumber Tomato Salad It’s a pretty simple ingredient

I definitely love my veggies grilled: Grilled Beets, Grilled Asparagus, even Grilled Stuffed Tomatoes, and now: Grilled Zucchini! Zucchini is great because it’s so plentiful during the summer, and frankly, it’s our fault if we can’t find different ways to cook it. As you may know, I prefer to grill on a hot summer day rather than heat up the house. And this grilling method has the added “ingredient” of simplicity. As long as the grill is fired up for the main course, why not use it for side dishes, too, right? And don’t mistake this for a one-note dish.

Greek salad: a healthy and easy salad, perfect for summer! I just love a simple Greek salad. Chop some veggies, mix a simple dressing and — done! Only five ingredients, plus spices. Not sure it gets much easier! What’s in a traditional Greek Salad? First, let’s look at what’s NOT a Greek salad. On most of your basic restaurant menus, a Greek Salad will be listed based on lettuce. It’s what we expect of our salads in America. But an authentic Greek salad contains NO lettuce. The ingredients are: Cucumber Tomato Onion Feta cheese Olives (Kalamata) See? No lettuce. No

Many times when I make spaghetti squash, I use only half of it for the intended dish. Ratatouille, for example. Somehow we manage to eat an entire batch of ratatouille and only use half a spaghetti squash to go with it. Half a cooked squash sitting in the refrigerator sticks out like a sore thumb. So, I began experimenting. This spaghetti squash casserole is one of the happy results. Ingredients needed Actually, the combination of ingredients was a result of cleaning out the fridge. Half a box of mushrooms, one zucchini and one green onion? Great combo! How to make

Happy New Year! Anyone want to admit to a New Year’s resolution? One of the most common relates to dieting. My version: I want to weigh what it says on my driver’s license. 🤪 I am coming off a couple months, several months, oh let’s be honest, a whole year a stretch of over-indulgence, and it’s time to reset! Therefore, I will be focusing on low-carb choices this month, and spaghetti squash is one of my favorites for this. There are many ways to make spaghetti squash. The fastest by far is the microwave. I’ve tried this two ways: cut

If you’ve ever made bread before, particularly the old fashioned way, you know you’re going to need this no-knead bread recipe. Throughout history, this food staple was a basic necessity, but it was labor-intensive. I have memories of my mom spending all day making bread. Lots of steps involved. It seemed like she was forever kneading the dough, covering it, letting it rise and then kneading it again. Now, there’s no “knead.” (See what I did there?) A scale and Dutch oven make this bread easy This recipe, courtesy of New York Times Cooking, is very easy. It does not

Thanksgiving is coming and an easy button would be handy for some sides. This grape salad recipe delivers: simple and delicious, it can be assembled in advance. No need for the Break Glass and Pull in Case of Panic switch. The ingredient list is short. Starts with – you guessed it – grapes! I like a mix of red and green grapes, just for appearance’s sake. There are different ways to handle the grapes. Some like the grapes whole, which certainly makes prep time a snap, but I like the approach taken by Country Living, which is to cut at

Don’t delay – you must try this salad I’ve had today’s recipe on my radar for a long time. Finally, I tried it and my very first thought was – “Why did I wait so long?” followed by “How soon can I make this again?” It’s filled with the fresh flavors of just picked sweet corn and tomatoes paired with the creamy, healthy goodness of avocado. So easy and so amazingly delicious! Credit for this Corn Tomato Avocado Salad goes to skinnytaste.com How to make Corn Tomato Avocado Salad Begin by steaming the corn. I use the microwave for this

The fresh flavors of Caprese in a pasta salad I love the fresh flavors of a Caprese salad: mozzarella, basil, and tomatoes, drizzled with balsamic. So “old country.” A pasta salad version couldn’t go wrong. Did you know? Caprese salad is a simple Italian salad, made of sliced fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, and basil, seasoned with salt and olive oil. It is occasionally paired with arugula. The usual presentation is an arrangement on a plate. Like “Pizza Margherita, it features the colours of the Italian flag: green, white, and red. In Italy, it is usually served as an antipasto (starter), not

Only 6 ingredients needed Time for a great summer chickpea salad that provides plenty of protein and needs no cooking. Even better, it requires only 6 ingredients, plus spices. As a vegetarian main or a side dish, this salad delivers your veggies in a delicious package! This is another recipe from one of my favorites: The Complete Mediterranean Cookbook. It features chickpeas, arugula and carrots, plus Kalamata olives and a lemony dressing. Growing arugula in pots Since this salad uses arugula, let’s detour a minute to my backyard. This year I decided to grow a few greens in some leftover

With summer coming isn’t it nice to have an “easy button” to throw together last-minute salads? This Quinoa Edamame Salad is something I quite literally THREW TOGETHER, using .. whatever .. in my fridge and freezer. I liked it so much, I make it regularly. On purpose! Both quinoa and edamame provide a protein punch. Corn gives hints of sweetness, and grape tomatoes provide a mild tang. I’ve also used cooked carrots and peas with success.  The possibilities are endless! Edamame vs. mukimame One note about edamame: when I find a package labeled edamame in the freezer section, it is

I was raised on a farm where we grew our own asparagus, so for me this vegetable always shouts “Spring!” Luckily, due to the marvels of modern growing and shipping practices, we have access to this vegetable almost year round. But let’s face it: Asparagus is still best in the spring. Sometimes all you want to do is steam your asparagus and have it on the side with fish or even steak. But other times, you want something different. And for that we go to one of my cookbooks from America’s Test Kitchen. And this Asparagus and Cannellini Bean Salad

Summer is potato salad season Does anything say summer more than potato salad? (Okay, maybe ice cream, popsicles, shorts, sandals, suntan lotion – you get the idea…) I have a true love affair with potatoes and therefore potato salad. Also, I believe that everyone should have at least one “go to” potato salad recipe that they love and can rely upon. (I have three, at last count) There are many different potatoes and ways to make the dressing, and you might have your own preferences, but here are mine: Ingredients for Homemade Potato Salad Potatoes: I use red potatoes, baby-sized

for Buddha bowls and more This week, we make quinoa to celebrate Buddha’s birthday.  We have to pick a week because apparently there’s no agreed-upon date for his birth (or “name day” for you Game of Thrones fans).  So, if you are using the 8th day of the 4th month in the Chinese lunar calendar, the 2019 day is May 12. If you’re using the full moon day of the Vaisakha month of the Buddhist calendar, then it’s May 19. Yeah, I’m confused too. Try Wikipedia, they explain it in great detail. What’s a Buddha bowl? But that brings us

Mexican, Vegetarian Brown Rice and Bean Bake Today, I am continuing the countdown to Cinco de Mayo, and this time, I am making Brown Rice and Bean Bake. It’s hearty enough to be a main dish for vegetarians and perfectly suited to be a side dish for carnivores. There are plenty of rice-and-bean dishes out there, but most start with white rice, something I try to avoid.  White rice is not a whole grain; all the most nutritious parts, like the bran and the germ, have been removed.  This process removes most of the vitamins and minerals, as well as