I was introduced to delicata squash by my mom 7 years ago when she brought some to my house after receiving it in her weekly CSA basket from one of her local farms. At the time, both of us didn’t eat a lot of meat and she was excited to share this vegetarian stuffed delicata squash recipe she pulled together with me. My mom has always been good at pulling together meals with whatever she has on hand – I like to think I got those skills from her.

This Stuffed Delicata Squash recipe was originally posted in January of 2011 (see below). Ironically, my mom was here “saving the day” again a couple of weeks ago, just as I picked up a few delicata squash at Trader Joe’s. I love how Trader Joe’s can make an ingredient so popular, especially when it’s a fruit or vegetable. If you don’t have a Trader Joe’s near you, no worries, you can find delicata squash mixed in with the selection of hard squashes (spaghetti squash, acorn squash, butternut squash) at most grocery stores.

The filling in this recipe is made with garlic, onion, spinach and white beans. If you prefer to include meat, swap out the beans for cooked crumbled Italian sausage.

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Click here to Pin these Oven Baked Black Bean and Cheese Quesadillas!

This sheet pan quesadilla recipe was created in partnership with Bush’s Beans.

For the last few weeks I’ve been really making an effort to write out, shop for, and follow a meal plan during the week. It’s worked wonders for us. The question of what to make for dinner is no longer an issue, and I feel more prepared each day. It’s definitely a habit I’m trying to stick with.

At least one night a week we squeeze in a Mexican themed meal. If it’s a particularly busy night I’ll even turn that Mexican meal into a meatless one to save the extra steps involved to cook up the meat. I always have cans of beans on hand, and if it was up to me, it would be my protein of choice on most nights. Mexican nights are the perfect nights for a good, easy meatless recipe if you ask me!

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I shared these baked old bay fries on the blog a few years back but wanted to share the recipe again because they are one of my husband’s favorites. Before my husband and I got together, I honestly don’t think I knew what Old Bay seasoning was. My husband and his family introduced me to the world of Old Bay (through crab cakes, crab and shrimp boils, salmon cakes, shrimp salad and these fries). I’m thinking if you are from the Maryland area you are pretty familiar with it as well. 😉

The best part of these easy baked up french fries (other than the Old Bay)? The splash of malt vinegar right before serving. They make the perfect side to grilled burgers or broiled fish. Enjoy!

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Growing up, my family’s version of “macaroni and cheese” was quite different than the norm. I did not realize this until I was much older. Our go-to cheesy pasta dish always consisted of macaroni with just enough ricotta and lots of Parmesan cheese and I absolutely loved it. Simple Italian comfort food at its best. (Though it wasn’t too long before we discovered and began to love the stuff that came in the “blue box”. ) 🙂

Ricotta was almost always guaranteed to be found in my family’s fridge growing up. We added it to pasta dishes, and even had it as a snack in a small bowl with a little sprinkle of sugar on top. When I buy it now it’s usually to when I’m making baked ziti or lasagna and I often wonder why I don’t pick it up more often to enjoy in other recipes – like this one I created for the McCormick’s Go4Gourmet Challenge.

The Go4Gourmet Challenge challenges you to work with and create your very own recipe using 4 pre-selected seasonal ingredients along with whatever else plays to your tastebuds. I’m always faced with ingredient challenges like this in my very own kitchen when I play the “use it up” game – which happens pretty often – so this was right up my alley. My round of the Go4Gourmet Challenge was to create a recipe using the ingredients pumpkin, cinnamon, Mediterranean Sea Salt and Marcona almonds. I immediately knew I wanted to create a savory pasta dish of some kind and my childhood ricotta pasta dish came to mind and tied it all together.

I incorporated the pumpkin and spices into a creamy ricotta and Parmesan cheese mixture to add to whole grain pasta, topping it with a crunchy Marcona almond, panko and Parmesan crumble. I absolutely loved the crunchy bits of almonds in the topping! And of course we already know freshly grated Parmesan makes everything better…

This Pumpkin-Ricotta Pasta Bake is really nothing like my childhood “mac ‘n cheese”, nor is it even close to my kids’ favorite version of baked macaroni and cheese – my daughter made sure to let me know that. Instead, this pasta is a wonderfully flavorful and comforting seasonal dish that I could not stop myself from eating after it came out of the oven.  It’s unique, in a good way, and if you are a fan of savory pumpkin dishes like I am then I’m sure you’ll enjoy it.

If you were asked to come up with a recipe using pumpkin, sea salt, cinnamon and Marcona almonds, what you make? Better yet, cook up your idea and submit it the Go4Gourmet Challenge here for a chance to win some an amazing assortment of spices and ingredients (each round) as well as a Grand Prize of a Gourmet pantry refresh worth $1000! Good luck and happy cooking!

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I’ve mentioned this before on the blog, but when my kids go back to school, I get back what I refer to as my special lunchtime meal. Cooking for your family is obviously part of a mom’s job, yes, but it’s so nice to have the chance for one meal to be entirely yours every now and then. Lunch during the school week is that meal where I can really have whatever I’m craving or wanting and not worrying about who likes what and who will eat what. It can be a treat, really.

Avocado toast is one of my favorite lunches. It’s quick, easy, healthy and tastes absolutely delicious (if you are an avocado lover of course!). The last time I made avocado toast for lunch I decided to play around and change things up a bit. I gently added a little crumbled feta to the smashed avocado and sprinkled it liberally with my new favorite seasoning za’atar (last year I was obsessed with lemon pepper, apparently this year that obsession has evolved into za’atar). The toast was topped with slices of ripe summer tomatoes that turned this into one of my most favorite lunches ever!

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In just a couple of months, I’m going to be counting on seriously quick and easy meals to put together for dinner. I’ve never been a big make-ahead-freezer-meal type of person, but lately I’ve been thinking of ways to get some shortcuts together for myself to keep in the freezer to make things a little easier for when the baby comes. One shortcut that has worked for me in the past – when I’ve taken the time to do it – is pre-cook ground seasoned ground beef or turkey for Mexican or Italian recipes. I cook up a big batch, seasoned up as I want, and once cooled, store enough in separate baggies (labeled!) for a couple of meals. I did the same with chicken a month ago, and I have to say, having a bag of already shredded chicken to throw into quesadillas or soup has come in really handy the last few weeks. I usually feel like doing this after a shopping trip to Costco since I can buy in bulk and boy does it feel good when I’m done.

Recently I froze up leftovers from a big batch of homemade enchilada sauce – same concept, I just portioned it out into meal sized containers to use for our next enchilada night. The rest of this enchilada dinner came together extremely easily since all the ingredients – like Bush’s Black Beans, tortillas and cheese – were ones I typically always have in the pantry or refrigerator. I kept these Cheesy Black Bean and Corn Enchiladas as a vegetarian recipe, but if you had some precooked shredded chicken or ground turkey in the freezer, that would be a great addition as well.

I would be happy to hear any make-ahead meal ideas or shortcuts you have – I need all the help I can get! Leave me a note in the comments!

In the meantime, enjoy this recipe for enchiladas for dinner. You can honestly never go wrong with black beans and cheese, these were a total hit and no one (my husband) missed the meat!

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Life seems to happen when you least expect it. Two Sundays ago my son and I were on our way to church together with the plan of hitting up the grocery store with a shopping list full of recipe ingredients my family brainstormed that morning to cook up that afternoon and throughout the week (we were inspired the night before while watching Masterchef). Within the hour instead of to the grocery store, I was turned around and driving like lightning to the town I grew up in to see my grandfather in the ICU who took a turn after being admitted into the hospital for pneumonia two days before. I can’t even begin to tell you the heaviness I felt in my chest as I took that drive.

After a long, emotional roller coaster week, I am so thankful and happy to say that my sweet grandpa is on the mend. He is still in the hospital, and the road to recovery is still in front of him, but he is well on his way, thank God. He is a strong as an ox man that “can’t wait to get home and cook again” (his words yesterday). We can’t wait either.

It only felt right to share with you today a recipe for Ricotta and Spinach Fritters that my mom and grandparents have always made for us over the years. The last time I was home to visit, my mom had a plate of these “fritelli” (though made with swiss chard from the garden) sitting on the counter and my daughter and I pretty much polished off the entire plate during our visit. Growing up, it was not uncommon to have a plate of these out most afternoons for snacking. They are even delicious cold and straight out of the fridge. They are reminiscent of these summer squash and zucchini fritters that we also love and make often, but with the addition of some rich and creamy ricotta.

Enjoy.

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This morning I’m playing total catch up. I spent the weekend up the road with my family and a bunch of blogger friends at Walt Disney World attending Food Blog Forum for the third year in a row (here’s last year’s recap). To say we had a great time would be an understatement. From Friday until late Sunday, I got to play in the parks with my family as well as connect with and get to know better other food bloggers that I have known virtually for years, as well as ones I met for the first time this weekend. My mind is processing it all this morning, absorbing all the notes I wrote while in sessions Saturday, as well as reliving all the moments I was able to have with people I talk with almost daily but only see in person maybe once a year, if that. It’s mind boggling sometimes. But as always, after a conference like this, I’m home feeling refreshed, revived and so thankful for what I do, write and share here on my blog. It’s truly evolved and grown over the years, starting as a fun creative hobby and now giving me the opportunity to work at home part-time while my kids are still young, exactly how I’ve always wanted it. Sometimes in the busy-ness of it all, it’s good and necessary to stop and really appreciate it all the way it should be appreciated. On that note, I have to say, I’m always so grateful for all of you who pop over here to read my words and see what I’m cooking in my kitchen. My goal with this blog has always been to share my love of g00d food with others, and to hopefully inspire someone to cook a meal for their family or try something new or different – in the same way I’m always inspired by others with the same passion. Needless to say, when I hear from a reader (or friend!) who’s made something from this blog and enjoyed it, well…that just puts a huge smile on my face and completely makes my day.

Today’s little salad is not necessarily a recipe. I always struggle with the feeling of having to share real “recipes” here, but in reality, most of the time I’m throwing together stuff on a whim – and if it works and I think it’s absolutely delicious, well, then I want to tell you about it, real “recipe” or not.

It’s hard to really say who the star of this salad is. This mixed greens salad mix I have been making is definitely key but the avocado and crunchy spring radishes really make a statement too. What pulls this combination together though, in a way that makes you want to have the same salad the next day, is the oil I’m using. I picked up this Roasted Almond Oil one day while shopping at Home Goods (they have such a great foodie section, don’t they?) and I have to be honest, for a while it just sat on my counter unused. I finally decided to give it a taste one day, and I was completely blown away by the truly delicious roasted almond flavor. I’ve been drizzling it on my salads ever since – no vinegar, just a light drizzle of this fragrant oil along with a pinch of coarse salt and pepper

I haven’t used the oil it for anything else really, but when I do I’ll be sure to let you know. I imagine it would be a wonderful finishing oil to freshly steamed or roasted green beans or to use in cooking a light fish dinner. I would be pretty happy dipping a chunk of bread in it too. 😉

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Did all the moms out there have a great Mother’s Day? I know I did. My husband and kids treated me with a relaxing day that started with a delicious French toast and fresh fruit breakfast. The rest of the day was very low key and poolside, my favorite kind. I actually got a ton of reading in, which is what I was hoping for, finally finishing up a book I had been reading for a couple of weeks and starting up a new one. And I didn’t have to wash one dish all day. 😉

(me with the little guy who first made me a Mom…at his 2nd grade class’s Mother’s Day Muffin Breakfast on Friday – it was honestly the sweetest thing ever)

I almost didn’t post this recipe for you, because it’s embarrassingly simple. For me, “simple” seems to be becoming a reoccurring theme in the kitchen – and really, sometimes it’s hard to mess up simple when you have good fresh ingredients like this. Let’s face it, that kind of simple just tastes GOOD.

I had a pile of produce that had to be used up the other night. When I mean pile, I mean random stuff like a whole jicama, some carrots, a mango and limes. There were probably a few other friends in this random pile, but these guys jumped out at me when I was struggling with what to put on the side of some bean and cheese quesadillas I was making for dinner. Well, the answer was right in front of me – and this fresh little salad happened.

I think you’ll love it.

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For those of us that observe Lent, no meat on Fridays can sometimes throw us for a loop if we’re not prepared. I remember my grandparents always cooking lots of fish on Fridays. If fish wasn’t on the menu, well then we had cheese or some sort of veggie pizza (let’s keep in mind that my family has owned a pizza shop since I was 4 years old, our pizzas got very awesome and creative at times).

Pizza and fish are definitely standby’s during Fridays in Lent, but there are so many other options now that “meatless” has become a little more norm for us. This past week, we celebrated Ash Wednesday – the start of Lent – and one of our no-meat days of abstinence. I wasn’t in the mood for preparing fish, and didn’t want pizza on Wednesday (secretly saving it for the weekend!) so I fell back on another meatless old reliable – Mexican food. Thanks to beans, cheese, tortillas and this awesome homemade green sauce that is so easy to whip up, we enjoyed a fantastic Mexican dinner that was happily eaten up by everyone in my family. Phew. Those kind of meals are hard to come by sometime. I will disclose, my son hasn’t come around to beans yet. My daughter, however, was asking for seconds! Loved that.

I first posted these Cheese & Onion Enchiladas with Verde Sauce back in May of 2011 and didn’t realize that I never followed up with my Quickie Black Bean recipe until a reader recently asked me for it on Facebook. So here it is. It’s simple, and a great way to add plant-based protein to any meatless meal you are cooking up. If you end up with leftovers add them to a tortilla with a little cheese and toast it up in the oven for a tortilla “pizza”.

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