Side Dish

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For the 4th of July this year I wanted to make a red, white and blue dish, and I came up with this Beet and Blueberry Salad with Blueberry Vinaigrette.

I got a huge bunch of beets in my CSA share this week, so I figured it made sense to roast them and combine them with blueberries.  So I had red and blue covered, but wasn’t sure what to use for the white. I also received a bunch of salad turnips, and they turned out to be perfect for the salad, both for adding the white color and for taste.

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I have so much zucchini this year it is ridiculous! My husband and I love zucchini, but there is only so much that we can eat in a week.  My mom is visiting this week, so she made her traditional Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread recipe for us, and it is a delicious way to use up some of our abundance of zucchini.

The recipe uses two zucchini, shredded in the food processor, to make the bread moist and tender. This is the same recipe that my grandma made and taught to my mom, with a few small differences.  My grandma always made Zucchini Bread with Raisins, but my mom is not a big fan of raisins. So she made a simple subsitution, and now it is Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread instead.  And while I like raisins, chocolate chips are better!

Last week I received a huge bunch of beets as part of our CSA vegetable share. I had never really cooked with beets, so I wasn’t sure what to do with them! I ended up roasting them, and using most of them in this Beet Gratin recipe, which uses both the beets and the beet greens.

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June is National Seafood Month, and here is a recipe to celebrate – Shrimp and Jicama Salad.

Seafood is perfect for summer meals, because it is so quick and easy to prepare. I know my family is always busy during the summer, running from one activity to another, so we need quick and easy dinners.

Spring Rolls are a great way to enjoy vegetables. There is something about seeing vegetables all sliced thinly and wrapped up neatly that makes them more appealing, and like most Americans I could stand to eat more veggies. So I recently decided I should make Spring Rolls at home, and made these Spring Rolls with Black Bean Noodles.

Once I decided to make the Spring Rolls I turned to Pinterest to learn how. I quickly found this Pin which promised step by step instructions on how to wrap spring rolls. Luckily it isn’t very difficult!

This is the perfect time of year for making winter squash. One of my favorite winter squash is Acorn squash because the size is perfect for our family. This weekend I made this Couscous & Cranberry Stuffed Acorn Squash for dinner, and it was delicious.

Couscous makes a nice base for stuffing a squash because it has a nice nutty flavor which goes well with the squash. I used Israel couscous, which is larger and has a chewy consistency that is closer to pasta. To add to the seasonal nature of the dish I stirred in some dried cranberries.

I am a member of the Balance Your Plate team and helping spread the word about CALIFORNIA PIZZA KITCHEN oven-ready pizzas. As a team member, I receive product and incentives in exchange for participating in brand-related activities.

It is no secret that the average American diet is not very healthy.  But few of us probably realize how bad it is – Most Americans only meet the U.S. Dietary Guidelines for proper nutrition about 7 days out of the year!  That is only 2% of the time, which is quite a disturbing statistic.  And one of the most important things we can do to make our meals better is to include more fresh fruits and vegetables.

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Popcorn is practically a staple food in my house – between me, my husband and our three kids it is a rare night when someone doesn’t decide to make popcorn!  This weekend we had a family movie night featuring spicy Srirach Lime Popcorn.  The popcorn was perfect for enjoying during an action filled science fiction movie!

The popcorn is easy to make using ACT II Butter Lovers’s microwave popcorn as a base.  I have made spicy popcorn before, but this is the first time I have added lime to popcorn and it really gave the popcorn a nice kick, and the mild lime flavor complemented the spicy hot sauce.

This hearty quick bread recipe is perfect for St. Patrick’s Day!

I love cooking with Guinness – whether it is a hearty Irish stew like Instant Pot lamb stew or a sweet treat like Guinness brownies the beverage adds flavor and excitement to many dishes.

This Guinness Bread is packed with flavor, and has an amazing moist texture. Since it is a quick bread you don’t have to mess around with proofing yeast, the carbonation in the Guinness Stout combines with the baking soda to make the bread rise.

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Now that it is January cold weather is really settling in around here!  It is the perfect time to warm up with comfort foods like Marie Callender’s pot pies, which deliver a true sense of homemade.

And to counteract the weather I like to pair my pot pies with a Tropical Fruit Salad – an excellent reminder that warmer weather will come, eventually!  It is easy to put together a fresh fruit salad while the pot pies are baking, and the fruit provides a nice sweet accompaniment to the toasty warm pot pies.