9 Layered Summer Salad! Salads are my most favorite thing to make. I love the mix of all the fresh vegetables that can be added to a salad and the taste of a salad is out of this world in my opinion. Especially if the salad is made right! For the past few years when ever there is a potluck I am always asked to bring the salad. It is the one thing that I always seem to get right when it comes to cooking! Super simple and delicious!   Ingredients: 16 oz bagged salad mix1 bundle radishes diced1 small purple onion diced6oz frozen peas6 oz shredded cheese10 oz cherry tomatoes 16 oz baby corn diced1 4oz container bacon bits16 oz artichokes drained and diced Directions:  1.  First I start off the salad with 1-2 handfuls of lettuce out of the bag mix. Of course you will want to make sure your hands are clean ;) You will also need to layer this salad in a see through bowl so that you can really see the effect of the layers. 2. Next I layer … [Read more...]

Sliced Baked Potatoes With Cheese We are a potato loving family. It helps that my cousin's family owns a huge potato farm and we get the most delicious potatoes ever! One of our favorite ways to prepare them is by baking. It is a healthier option for us and keeps us away from the fryer. Recently I saw a picture somewhere around the internet (I think one of my friends posted on facebook) of Sliced  Baked Potatoes that someone baked. I thought this was a brilliant idea and we decided to give it a try. We decided when making our sliced baked potatoes that we wanted something more in them then just salt and pepper so we layered each slice with cheese! Ingredients: PotatoesCheddar Cheese Sliced (about 1/8 inch thick)2 tbs olive oilsalt and pepper to taste  Preheat oven to 400 degrees 1. Slice each potato about 1/4 inch thickness. Do not slice all the way through. Leave about another 1/4 inch at bottom that is not sliced. 2. Place sliced potatoes on baking pan. 3. … [Read more...]

Eggplant Parmesan Fingers I used to dislike Eggplant. It was one of those vegetables that I really wanted to like and I used to try it out in all kinds of recipes that would just later get trashed because I could not stand the taste of the eggplant. I was discussing this with my cousin (who runs FarmersWifeRambels.com) and she let me in on her amazing eggplant recipe. I must admit that I could not wait to give this a try as it did not only sound simple and easy but very kid friendly! Ingredients: Eggplant crushed croutons - any flavor1/4 c Parmesan cheeseMarinara Sauce for dipping 1.Use vegetable peeler to peel purple skin off eggplant. Slice Eggplant into thin strips much like french fries. 2. Add crushed croutons and Parmesan cheese to a Ziploc bag. 3. Add sliced Eggplant to Ziploc bag and shake until eggplant is coated with crumb mixture. 4. Dump contents of Ziploc onto baking sheet (I used a cookie sheet). 5. Bake at 350 degrees for about … [Read more...]

Easy to Make Homemade Coconut Chips! I am a sucker for chips. I don't care if they are potato, tortilla, beets, kale, salad savoy, or anything else! Chips are just amazing. Ok so the truth is, I think I am more addicted to the salt then anything which I know is not the healthiest but that's ok. At least if I am getting my 'chip' fix in a healthy way I guess that should count for something. Recently I came across a recipe for Coconut Chips. I have never, ever seen coconut chips before but since I have been on the coconut fix I knew I had to give them a try! Remember that if you need help getting into your coconut you can read my tutorial here! Ingredients: Coconut thinly SlicedSalt  Directions Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place thinly sliced coconut on baking sheet (I used cookie Sheet), Lightly salt. Bake until golden brown on ends about 10 minutes! The coconut chips were very simple to make and they were a huge hit at my house. I love having this low calorie … [Read more...]

Healthy St. Patrick's Day Mac & Cheese! St. Patrick's Day is my favorite holiday. I know that sounds crazy and I am not Irish so I don't even have that as an excuse. I just love that it is a fun holiday that is not yet taken over by store sales and media. I love the thought that if you don't wear green you will get pinched and I loved all the amazing St. Patrick's Day traditions I had as a child. My Mom used to have a St. Patrick's Day 'pin collection' and every St. Patrick's Day my brothers and I would get to choose what 'pins' and such we would wear to school that day. It was fun choosing my green socks and doing my hair in funky green colors. It was just an all around great time. Now that I am older I still love St. Patrick's Day. Each year I try to make the month of March leading up to the 17th special for the kids. Recently that entailed making healthy green Mac & Cheese. Ingredients: Box of Mac & CheeseMilkBundle Spinach (about 3 cups) - make sure you … [Read more...]

Garlic Lemon Spinach Hummus Recipe! I can't get enough of these Bountiful Baskets. I love all the great produce I get each week at such a low price. Recently I had two bundles of spinach to use up. My family told me they wanted me to get creative with it so that is exactly what I did. I decided that spinach hummus was the perfect idea. Not to mention that it would also help me use up all the other veggies I had on hand like tomatoes and cucumbers. My family don't usually like hummus so I knew I was going out on a ledge with this idea. But I decided to take that chance anyway knowing that I at least would enjoy it. The hummus turned out to be exceptional and the whole family went back for helping after helping. It was a great dinner idea and it turned out to be super easy to make thanks to my Magic Bullet! Ingredients: 1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained 4 cloves garlic, peeled 3 tbsp. dried cilantro 1 bundle spinach (about 3-4 cups)  lemon juiced 1/4 cup … [Read more...]

Roasted Curry Cauliflower! Cauliflower is one of those veggies that I like but I prefer to eat it cooked. Recently I came across this recipe for Roasted Cauliflower and I must say this is a new hit at my house. It was absolutely delicious!! I could not get enough and neither could my family! Ingredients: 3 Tbs olive oil 1/2 tsp garlic powder 1/4 tsp onion salt 1 head of cauliflower - washed and sliced 1 1/2 teaspoon curry power Sea salt Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. 2. Add olive oil, garlic powder and onion salt into small bowl. 3. Spread cauliflower on baking sheet. 4. drizzle olive oil mixture over cauliflower florets. 5. sprinkle with curry powder and sea salt. 6. Bake at 400 degrees F. for 30 minutes or until golden brown in color. I got the inspiration for this recipe from, From the Mind of Laura! … [Read more...]

 Cheese Stuffed Green Chilis Recipe! My family loves Green Chili's and one of my favorite recipes ever is when my hubby grills up cheese stuffed chili's! This is a recipe that he made up himself a few years ago and since then it has been a staple in our home. Ingredients:Green Chili'sCheddar Cheese The first thing you will need to do with your Green Chili's is wash them off and cut off the tops. After the tops are cut off I carefully remove the seeds and try not to split the pepper down the side. After the tops are cut and the seeds are removed you can place sliced or shredded cheese inside of your peppers. After the cheese is inside each pepper you will want to take them outside to the grill! We like to grill them about 5-7 minutes per-side or until cheese is melted and peppers become soft. Serve and eat! Yum! … [Read more...]