My favorite recipes:

I have always enjoyed good food, and since having kids, the quest to search for the perfect balance of easy, healthy and affordable recipes has become a mild obsession of mine. I am far from being an expert in the kitchen, so I like to keep things relatively simple with a focus on fresh ingredients and whole grains whenever possible.



Below are links to some of my favorite recipes, which I will update as I find new favorites. Enjoy!




Breakfast Recipes:

• Sausage, Fontina and Bell Pepper Strata (Bon Appetit) - This is so easy and ALWAYS a hit when we have people over.
• Lemon glazed banana scones with ginger (Fine Cooking) - Scones are deceivingly easy. I like to pair this with the Strata recipe.
• Banana Chocolate Yogurt Muffins  - These muffins are soooo moist and delicious and I love that they use olive oil and greek yogurt instead of butter.
• Baked Oatmeal (My Berkeley Kitchen)
• Banana Bread (Cookie and Kate)
• Zucchini Bread (Cookie and Kate) 

Grain Dishes:

• Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Gouda...(Fine Cooking) 
• Greek Salad with Barley (Cooking Light) - I substitute the Barley for the Harvest Grain Medley at Trader Joes and often use organic sprouted tofu instead of chicken to make things easier.
• Whole Foods Quinoa Salad Copycat - I leave out the onions and tweak the proportions on the add-ins...but always a winner for healthy weekday lunches!  
• Quinoa with avocado, toasted almonds, dried fruit... 
• Sweet Potato and Farro Salad (Cookie and Kate)
•  Quinoa with avocado, toasted almonds, dried fruit (Fine Cooking)

Dinner:

• Butter Roasted Tomato Sauce (Bon Appetit) - an easy alternative to canned tomato sauce! Saute some ground beef and zucchini to add to the pasta when you want to jazz it up. 
• Slow Cooker White Bean Chili (YummyMummyKitchen) - Takes 10 minutes to prep and so good!
• Slow Cooker Creamy Chicken Tortilla Soup 
• Pasta Salad with Arugala and Sun-dried Tomatoes (Fine Cooking) - great for picnics!
• Roasted butternut squash pasta and bacon casserole 
• Baked Ziti 
• Avocado Pesto Sauce 
• Split Pea Soup - I substitute half the water with vegetable or chicken broth
• Sun-dried tomato and Chicken with Quinoa (Pinch of Yum)

Salads:

• Sweet Potato Arugala Salad with wild rice (Pinch of Yum) 
• Caprese Spinach Salad with Salami 

Sides:

• Toasted Corn, Cherry Tomato and Edamame Salad - Big hit with friends. Great for picnics. You can use frozen corn for convenience. 
• No knead dutch oven bread  - This bread recipe is crazy easy! 3 ingredients and some warm tap water, no kneading, no fuss. Just mix it all together, let it rise overnight and pop it in the oven when you wake up. Check out a pic of when I made it here!

You can also see my favorite recipes on my Recipe Winners pinterest board.