Seasonal Tastes: May 2014 – Asparagus with Bell Pepper and Manchego

Finally!  The weather has changed and that means there is new produce in season.  Asparagus is a great veggie to use right now.  You’ll probably see it everywhere this month from soups to pastas.  I find that when something is in season, it requires very little fuss to turn it into a great dish.  In this…

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Quinoa Breakfast Bowl

I’m working very hard to start eating breakfast in the morning.  Usually that means a croissant or an english muffin with cheese…maybe some sort of egg dish on the weekend.  But last week I set my sights on a quinoa breakfast bowl; and on a weekday, no less.  I know, it seems aggressive.  I, too,…

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Snickity Snack: Endive Dippers

After my curried yogurt with beet and sweet potato chip post, I decided there was a hole in my food blogging.  I post big dishes all the time but I rarely ever write about snacks.  We all indulge in ‘tween the meal munching but there’s usually little variation.  I, myself, am partial to white cheddar Pirate’s…

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Taquito-lada Casserole

I’ve been looking for a good enchilada casserole recipe for a while but even the easiest ones seemed to take a little too long for a weeknight meal.  I didn’t want to have to cook the meat first, then assemble, and then start cooking the whole thing in the oven.  Thankfully, Trader Joe’s had me…

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Pasta with Smoked Salmon

I recently wrote about making pasta with crème fraîche, just like I learned in France.  If you read that post, you may recall that my first crème fraîche pasta experience was when my French Mom served it with smoked salmon.  This time, I decided to take advantage of the beautiful Spring weather we had on…

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Beet and Sweet Potato Chips with Curried Yogurt

I’ve been in a snack rut lately. Every time I reach for something to munch on between meals I’ve ended up with popcorn or hummus. I wanted something new so I did some googling and found a list of quick and healthy snacks on realsimple.com and found this winner. Just mix fat free Greek yogurt…

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Chicken Sausage with Grilled Veggies

One of the things I love most about Trader Joe’s is their sample station.  It’s rare to find samples in grocery stores in the first place so it’s a nice treat mid-shop.  At the Union Square location, the store is so packed that you actually shop the outside ring of the store while you’re waiting…

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Tortellini with Goat Cheese Sauce

I had been snacking on my latest cheese purchase, a goat cheese rolled in smoked paprika (I think) but decided I wanted to do something more with it than put it on crackers.  The paprika gave it such a unique smoky flavor (one I don’t associate with the tang of goat cheese) that I thought…

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Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole

Since we went out on Friday night and were waking up very early (7:30 AM) on Sunday to start watching/celebrating the half marathon, Albert and I decided to make Saturday night date night.  We lined up some quality tv programming and I cooked a meal.  Albert can be tough to cook for.  I wouldn’t exactly call him…

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Greek Salad Skewers

I remembered on Monday night that I had book club on Tuesday.  (That’s the day after in case you’ve been working the kind of hours I have resulting in days that bleed together.)  I was right near Whole Foods so I cruised Pinterest for an easy appetizer while I walked to the store.  I found…

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