Click Here to Pin this Broccoli Salad recipe.

Whenever we get together at my parent’s house with my family for a barbecue during the summer, you can usually count on my mom making this broccoli raisin salad. It’s one of our favorites. My mom’s friend Trish first brought it over years ago and since then my mom has made it several times for our family.

What I love about this dish is it’s simplicity. It’s filled with just a handful of wholesome ingredients and can be made ahead, which makes it great for summer picnics, barbecues or pool days. It’s the perfect combination of flavors from sweet carrots and raisins (have you tried the Jumbo Raisin Medley from Trader Joe’s? Game changer.) to crunchy walnuts – and of course, plenty of broccoli.

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Since the new year began, I have been really making an effort to cook more healthy meals at home to avoid eating out. Sometimes that is easier said than done. With trying to cook more at home, I am also trying to add some variety to our meals – as much as we love them, we have been getting a little bored of our go-to dinners.

This Orange Walnut Crusted Salmon was pretty effortless and the entire meal was ready in just under 30 minutes. It’s a light, high in protein, low in carb meal and with all the omega-3s in the salmon and walnuts, it’s heart healthy too. It’s pretty much a winner all around in my book.

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This post is sponsored by Fisher Nuts.

Every time I walk past the seasonal squash display in the produce section I have to grab a couple of something. Until I cooked up this Stuffed Acorn Squash recipe a couple of weeks ago my counter was filled with a family of acorn squash, delicata squash and old reliable, spaghetti squash. It’s a good thing they have a pretty decent counter life because I’ve been more of a collector than a cooker lately so it took some time to finally getting around to baking them up.

I knew exactly what I wanted to do with the acorn squash though. I have prepared Stuffed Acorn Squash before and I absolutely love it. This stuffing is filled with crumbled Italian chicken sausage, kale, walnuts and grated Parmesan cheese – so simple and so delicious when you scoop up a bite with the sweet squash. Sausage and kale are a match made in heaven and adding crunchy walnuts to the mix just put it over the top. I’m very texture driven so I loved the crunch from the walnuts, along with the earthy nutty flavor.

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Years ago, I discovered this Green Bean Salad with Feta recipe in a Southern Living magazine and made it pretty much every time there was a family get together or pot luck. I was obsessed with it and it became my signature recipe (at least in my mind). I love green beans, more so in a salad form than any other way. Especially in the summertime.

I decided to turn my beloved Green Bean Salad into this Lemony Green Bean Pasta Salad, making it more of a meal. I don’t know about you, but I appreciate pasta salads during the summer because it means not having to really cook if you aren’t in the mood for anything too heavy. This green bean pasta salad is simple but filled with so much flavor. It includes veggies, walnuts, feta and whole wheat pasta so it is filling and substantial in the best way possible. I made the switch to whole wheat pasta over 10 years ago and it’s all my family eats now, but feel free to use your favorite type of pasta.

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Click here to pin this Strawberry Almond Oatmeal Bites recipe!

I can’t believe this is my first post of 2017! I decided I needed a bit of a breather in January, some time to regroup after a month of helping my littlest guy recover from a tonsillectomy and my biggest guy (my husband) recover from a shoulder/rotator cuff surgery. I’ll admit, it was nice to take a break from worrying about picking up my camera and just focus on cooking for my family. My head is always spinning with new recipe ideas, as well as trying to figure out what to make for dinner that I honestly enjoyed just making recipes from cookbooks, friends and my blog without thinking too much of it.

One of the things I’m trying to get better at is making healthier snacks available for my kids to take in the car on their way to basketball or volleyball practices. We are full on entrenched in sports right now and spend many afternoons and evenings trekking back and forth between gyms. It seems like my kids are ALWAYS hungry and I’ve been trying to be more mindful about what they are snacking on and making sure they are eating more than just pretzels or crackers (it’s hard!). One thing I know for sure, anytime I make snacks like these oatmeal bites, quinoa bites or egg muffins, they are the go-to snack and don’t last very long. Seeing my kids choose those first is motivation enough to get myself into the habit of making quality portable snacks more often.

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Whether we are ready or not, we are heading into the second week of December which means Christmas is right around the corner. Lots to think about and plan for – getting the house decorated and festive, shopping for gifts for the kids, getting together with family and friends and most importantly food. Planning holiday food is always on my brain.

When it comes to entertaining or hosting dinner over the holiday season, I try to keep things simple. The reality is, I have 3 young kids and most of my friends are in the same boat so we don’t have much time to go over the top when it comes to cooking. Maybe it’s because I’m Italian, but I love making pasta for family and friends, or honestly even hosting a pizza night if we are getting together with our kids and going the super easy and casual route. It’s just nice to get together this time of year, so sticking to whatever you are comfortable with is important in my book. No pressure, no fuss, just enjoy.

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Hope everyone had a great Fourth of July holiday weekend!! My holiday started last Thursday when my friend Kristen flew into town for a visit. We planned a fun couple of days earlier this year with tickets to Justin Bieber (we are closet Beliebers) and a day of eating and drinking around the world at Epcot with our friend Julie. Music, food, drinks and friends – doesn’t get much better than that!

Before we started getting ready for our night out with JB, I wanted to make something to snack on while we sipped some wine and got ready. I literally whipped up this Strawberry Basil Goat Cheese Spread with Walnuts in minutes, with ingredients I almost always have on hand.

It’s fun cooking for friends and I was excited to experiment with an appetizer idea that had been in my head for a while. My daughter and husband approved as well!

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This Whole Wheat Pasta with Ricotta, Zucchini and Walnuts was made in partnership with Fisher Nuts in honor of my mom for Mother’s Day. This dish is a twist on a classic recipe my mom made me all the time growing up!

One dinner I always remember eating when I was younger was pasta with ricotta. It may seem a little different to you, but to me it was basically my family’s Italian version of your everyday blue box mac and cheese. Total comfort food in my book.

My mom has always been the Queen of pulling together fast dinners with whatever is on hand. I like to think I inherited this quality from her – dinner on the fly is something that I can pull of when I need to, it’s something I take pride in being good at (thanks Mom!). It seems that ricotta was one ingredient my mom always had in the fridge because we ate it constantly growing up, stirred into pasta like this for dinner or just scooped into a bowl with a little sugar sprinkled on top as a snack (or in cannolis for dessert!). In fact, I was inspired by my childhood consumption of ricotta when I created this recipe for Honey Almond Ricotta Spread just last year.

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The recipe for Asian Almond Slaw Salad was developed in partnership with Fisher Nuts.

Anyone have Spring Fever yet? I think it’s safe to say always have spring fever, for the most part. Our weather situation in Florida is nothing to complain about but I cherish the small pocket of time it feels like spring here, which is right about now. I spent most of this last weekend in the yard trimming landscaping and planning for flowers. Cleaning up my herb pots is next on the list. Nothing feels as good to me as a few hours of work in the sunshine (when it’s not sweltering hot).

This is the time of year that I am also ready to get back in the salad. I say that all the time but January is just not a big salad month for me, and I have to be honest, I’m missing raw, crunchy veggies in my life right now. I pulled together this Asian Almond Slaw Salad in honor of getting back in the salad and sharing a heart healthy recipe with you since February is American Heart Month. I think it’s safe to say you already know that fresh fruits and veggies are considered heart healthy foods, but did you know that nuts are too?

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The week between Christmas and New Year’s is my favorite week of the year. I always feel more relaxed, refreshed and ready to take on whatever lies ahead in the start of the new year. I love looking back on the blog while writing posts like this and seeing what I’ve cooked over the last 12 months. For someone who didn’t’t know what to make for dinner more than half of the time, I didn’t do half bad.

I can’t thank you enough for visiting Aggie’s Kitchen for recipes, this blog fulfills me more than you know and I appreciate all my readers, friends and family who have supported it and me over the years. Hope you are enjoying the holiday and I wish everyone the best in the upcoming year. Bring on 2016!

Here are the Top 15 Most Popular Recipes on Aggie’s Kitchen from 2015: 

1. Creamy Avocado Lime Dressing

2. Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

3. Mexican Slaw Salad with Black Beans

4. Slow Cooker Asian Citrus Pork Tenderloin

5. Honey Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

6. Slow Cooker Pesto Chicken Melts

7. Strawberry Grapefruit Ginger Smoothie

8. Apple, Celery, Walnut Salad with Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

9. Roasted Red Peppers with Pesto and Goat Cheese

10. Greek Village Salad

11. Almond Peach Kefir Smoothie

12. Taco Turkey Black Bean Rice Bowls

13. Spring Beet and Goat Cheese Salad with Walnuts

14. Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Brussels Sprouts with Pecans

15. Kale, Red Pepper and Goat Cheese Frittata

From the past:

Best of 2014 – My Favorites and Yours

Best of 2013 – My Favorites and Yours

My 12 Favorite Meals of 2012

Bye Bye 2011

Top 5 Favorites of 2009

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