Rustic Apple Oven Cake

On a lazy New Years day at our friends homestead we lounged around playing games and making all sorts of amazing food. Wonderful for breakfast or dessert, this was the belle of the ball.

Creole Black-Eyed Peas

As we have done many times before, we started out this new year with Black-Eyed peas. I strayed from the traditional ham hock in favor of something a little bit different (and healthier). The result was fantastic and I'm excited to share it with you.

Peppermint Bark

This is my daughters favorite treat around the holidays.  It is incredibly easy to make and it's always a crowd pleaser!

Tabbouleh Salad

I love the simplicity of a basic tabbouleh, especially with some hummus and fresh pita, but as I continue on my quest to fill my arsenal with fresh tasting whole grain salads I wanted to come up with something that could stand alone. This is nothing more than a dressed up tabbouleh, great as a side dish yet also good enough to stand alone as a meal.

Healthy Granola Bars

These granola bars are soft and chewy. They're not your typical sugary treat, but they make a good snack. I have a feeling kids would gobble these down without so much as a clue that they're a healthy snack.

Basic Hummus

This is basic hummus. Simple. Good. Food.

Sriracha Garlic Hummus

I'm a slave to the hummus. It's the truth. One of my favorite meals to take to work is a bunch of chopped up vegetables with whatever hummus we have around for dipping. It's light and fresh, and since I work nights it's important my dinner doesn't bog me down and put me into an unwanted food coma. If you know me, you know I love spicy food so it was only a matter or time before this concoction made it's way into my life. Now I'm in love. This will always have a place on hummus making day.

Kalamata Hummus

My husband is a fiend for olives. While I was on a recent hummus making mission he requested a Kalamata Hummus, and this is it, flavorful without being overbearing.

I'll send him your thanks. 

Roasted Red Pepper Balsamic Hummus

We love the hummus. Seriously, when I buy a container it's gone in a day, two days max. I hate spending $5 or $6 on something I can make for a couple of dollars in ingredients so I'm writing off store bought hummus, with the exception of the rare, but very real, hummus emergency of course.

Zucchini Muffins

I love zucchini bread, so why not zucchini muffins? They're appropriately portioned and portable, what more can I ask for?! Well, if you were going to say they should also be moist, delicious, and full of flavor then we've hit the proverbial nail on the head.

Chocolate Chips Ahoy!

For days I was craving something sweet and I just couldn't quite put my finger on what was going to satisfy. Of course it was sometime around 3am when I realized what it needed to be, and this was it. The picture is bad, but these cookies are awesome! They have great flavor and remain soft yet crisp. It's too bad they're gone, because I could really go for one right about now!

Cranberry Currant Granola

Granola.

Not just for hippies anymore.

Brown Rice Salad With Soy Ginger Dressing

I thought this would be another delightful cold salad I could keep in the refrigerator and pack for lunch several days in a row. Then I put it out onto the dinner table to see if I could get the family to try it. Well, let's just say this was a definite success in our new foray into a plant based whole foods diet. Most of it was gone the first night and what was left disappeared sometime in the early morning hours the following day. I'm not complaining.

Soy Ginger Dressing

This dressing is so awesome I put it on everything for a straight week and I'm still not tired of it!!

Sundried Tomato Polenta (Slow Cooker)

I certainly do love me some polenta. This is super easy and uses the slow cooker (a.k.a my new best kitchen friend) so I'm extra excited about it. I made this quite awhile ago so it's veggie, not vegan, I'll update you when I have a dairy free alternative.

 

 

Curried Quinoa Salad

I've been working so much lately that keeping these grain salads in the refrigerator has been more helpful than I ever would have thought! This is a simple Quinoa salad, the first of many I'm sure. I enjoyed this over a bed of baby spinach for dinner every night this week!

Farfalle with Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

This roasted red pepper sauce is simple and subtle with plenty of flavor. It comes together really fast and would make an excellent weeknight meal.

Veggie Veggie Dip

I know this looks like guacamole, but it's not. It's beans! That's right, I said beans. I'm pretty excited about this super simple edamame bean dip. It's simple and would make an easy throw together item for a potluck or work function.

Farro's Garden

Farro is a pretty cool grain, This was my first time using it and I'm very excited about the results and the possibilities. It cooks up to a great size for a cold salad and has a subtle nutty flavor. This salad is really just a bunch of things I like thrown into a bowl, but it's definitely something I'm happy to eat several days in a row.

Greek Rice Salad

In an effort to stick stick to my guns about  keeping quick healthy meals in the refrigerator this awesome brown rice salad was born.