GOOD TASTE: Italian Herb Salt

It’s that time of year. Time for the garden to start making it’s way to the table. My herb plants are way ahead of the vegetables and I don’t want to waste them so I’m going to start preserving them. One of the easiest ways is to make spice blends.

CELEBRATIONS: 5 Salsa Recipes for Cinco de Mayo

Happy Cinco de Mayo! In honor of this day, I thought I’d share with you five different salsa recipes – from traditional roasted tomato salsa to unique beet and apple salsa, your sure to find one that suits your taste. And because salsa is so easy to make, you can whip up one or two of these in no time. So get out the chips and enjoy!

GOOD TASTE: Easy Beef Bourguignonne

Don’t let the fancy name fool you. This Beef Bourguignonne recipe is as easy to make as any family stew recipe.

GOOD TASTE: Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies

For Christmas I received the most delicious batch of Cranberry White Chocolate Chip Cookies from my friend Vicky. She always bakes delicious treats and these are definitely one of my favorites. The slightly tart cranberries and the white chocolate are the perfect combination paired with a a traditional chocolate chip cookie batter.

UPCYCLING: Grey Felt Fall Treat Tin

I’m so excited to finally be sharing some real fall projects. First up is this simple treat can. The combination of grey felt, beautiful, crisp  fall leaves and turquoise is quite possibly my favorite fall combination to date.

GOOD TASTE: Asian Plum Sauce

I let the guy at the Farmer’s Market talk me in to WAY too many plums. I only wanted 3-4 and ended up with a bagful of amazing looking plums. The plums weren’t like any we’d had before. They were so juicy and sweet. The kind of fruit that drips down your chin when you bite into it. We happily munched on plums until we reached the day when they either needed to be composted or tossed. Or, of course, made into something. I love dipping sauces for pot stickers and egg rolls and so I grabbed the ingredients I’d need for homemade plum sauce.

INSPIRATION: Stress Buster and Healthy Living Ideas

Hello friends. Last week my day job kept me super busy – busier than usual.. If you didn’t know, I work full time as Senior Marketing Manager. I blog in the mornings, evenings and weekends. It was hard to unwind each night and by the end of the week, I was exhausted. Typically, I create my projects in the evenings, shoot and edit photos on Saturday and write and schedule all my posts on Sunday. Last week I got a little more behind every day and with Easter prep I had no time to catch up, create or shoot photos.

WEEKEND INSPIRATION: Easter Leftovers

Happy Friday everyone. For many of us this Sunday is Easter. I thought I’d leave you with some Weekend Inspiration to make good use of those Easter leftovers you might have. If you’re not celebrating Easter, these are still some great recipes to check out.

Weekend Inspiration: Nautical, Pizza, Seedlings and More

Happy Friday everyone! We crafted, sewed, cooked, baked, decorated and created our way through another week. Hooray! Here are some links I’m thinking about tackling this weekend. How about you? What’s on your creative list?

GOOD TASTE: Game Day Eats (from my kitchen)

Friends, the big game is coming up and if you’re like me, it’s all about the food and snacks. Well, a little about the game but the food is a big part of it. I’ve rounded up some of my very own recipes that I’ve shared here in the past years that make great game day eats. There’s sandwiches, snacks, healthy options, desserts and even a little treat for your four-legged friends. Enjoy the game – enjoy the food – enjoy the fun.

First up is Classic Game Day Eats – a variety of sandwiches to please everyone.

GOOD TASTE: Jazzed Up Instant Ramen Noodles

You know those instant ramen noodles – the ones that come in a compact rectangle with a little powdery season pack? Ya, those. I always keep packages of those in my cupboard. If I do make them with the season pack, I only use about 1/3 of the packet. But I rarely use the seasoning that it comes with. Instead, they’re a great base for leftovers. Beef, pork, chicken, shrimp… just about anything goes with those noodles. Here’s an example of what you can make.

Etceteras: Labor Day Recipes and Décor Ideas

Happy Labor Day to my U.S. friends! Here’s in the U.S. we’re enjoying a 3-day weekend. Just as Memorial Day unofficially opens summer, Labor Day symbolizes the end of summer. Kids are most likely back in school or will be by next week and the evenings are turning cool. Yes, fall is around the corner.

So while I enjoy the last day of “summer” I thought I’d share some Labor Day recipe ideas and as we look forward to fall, some fall décor projects. See you tomorrow for The Inspiration Board Creative Party friends!

Old Fashioned Lemon Bars  |  Quinoa Pilaf  |  Mango Salsa  |  Caprese Crostini Skewers  |  Spinach, Apple & Glazed Pecan Salad  |  Classic Southern Chocolate Pie  |  Pomegranate Lemonade Ice 

A variety of traditional and new food dishes to try. From Classic Southern Chocolate Pie to Quinoa.

BE MY GUEST: Memorable Weekend Tips by Army Wife to Suburban Life

Hello ladies of Carolyn's Homework. I'm Jessica from Army Wife to Suburban Life, and I'm here to share a few ways to ensure an easy and memorable weekend.

Start your morning with this easy weekend brunch recipe, celery scented cream pots with poached eggs.

GOOD TASTE: Thanksgiving Recipes

I had to shuffle my schedule around and the project that I was going to share with you today isn’t quite ready. But since I was meal planning with my mother for our Thanksgiving dinner and going through my recipes, I’d thought I’d share some of our favorites with you. Some of these make a regular appearance on our Thanksgiving table. The spinach apple & glazed pecan salad, cranberry conserve, cheesecake bars and pecan mini tarts are always requested. A few others are new recipes that are also perfect for Thanksgiving.

GOOD TASTE: cooking with leftovers {cook once, eat twice}

I really do love cooking. I especially love the satisfaction of making something yummy and presenting it as a pretty dish. Except in real life…  The images above are all dishes that I prepared for this blog. In real life, I rarely have time to to make it extra pretty. The schedules of work, school, activities, responsibilities and obligations collide every day and leave little time for meal prep.

Don’t get me wrong – I cook almost every night but it’s taken me years to be able to multi task my meal prep and not waste food by using leftovers. Now I usually cook three times a week and reinvent the dish for three additional dinners.

Be My Guest: The Taylor House

Friends, I’m away for a few days and have some wonderful guests lined up to share fantastic crafts, décor, recipes and more with you. And what better way to start off than with chocolate! Please welcome Chrissy from The Taylor House.

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Hi, everyone! It’s Chrissy from The Taylor House! I am so excited to be sharing some of my family’s favorite Chocolate dessert recipes with you today. I have picked ten of our favorites that range from brownies to hot chocolate and all of them contain our favorite ingredient – Chocolate!

I love trying new recipes or creating my own new chocolate version of a recipe for my family. My boys love it when I make desserts and they seem to always be requesting desserts with either chocolate, peanut butter or caramel. So, I have quite a list of chocolate dessert recipes in my file and have tried to share them with my readers and fans. I think that it is my mission in life to make as many delicious looking and tasting recipes as I can!

What are your favorite dessert recipes? Do you always make them the same or do you change them up and try new things? Does your favorites include chocolate or do you prefer peanut butter or maybe even fruit? Do you prefer a cookie type dessert or more of a cake type dessert? 
 

Etceteras: simple rope bowl cozy

The weather is still a bit chilly and we’re eating a lot of cozy, comfort food like soup and pasta. I have a set of these plain white bowls that I use all the time. So I’m making a set of bowl cozies to use with them.

Good Taste: baked ravioli with pesto dipping sauce

Today I’m sharing with you Baked Ravioli with Pesto Dipping Sauce. Doesn’t it look fancy? Here’s my secret – it was super easy to make. 

Good Taste: quinoa pilaf

Have you heard of or tried quinoa? I’ve seen a few recipes floating around but never thought to try it. When the nice people at Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil sent me a recipe for quinoa pilaf and some of their wonderful extra virgin olive oil, I whipped up a batch.



Here’s what quinoa looks like uncooked. I know… sort of like birdseed. The reason is that quinoa is actually a seed. Here’s what I found out about quinoa.

Over 5,000 years ago, high in the Andes mountains, the Incas began to cultivate quinoa (pronounced keen-wah) as one of their staple crops, believing that it gave power and stamina to their warriors. In the 1980s, two North Americans stumbled upon this ancient, super-nutritious food and began cultivating it near Boulder, Colorado. Since then, quinoa's popularity has exploded worldwide. 

 

Although it is cooked and eaten like a grain, quinoa is technically a seed, and is related to spinach, chard and beets. The seeds are round, about the same size of millet or sesame seeds, and come in a rainbow of colors, from red to purple to green to yellow, but the quinoa that is most commonly found in stores is an off-white color.

Source: Livestrong

 

To make this quinoa pilaf, you start by washing the quinoa. You need to use a really fine strainer because those seeds are really little.



I made a printable recipe card with the recipe that Carapelli Olive Oil sent me in case you want to try making this dish. The recipe calls for leeks, sugar snap peas or shelled fresh peas, artichoke hearts and pine nuts. All of which I forgot to get at the grocery store.



I improvised and used frozen peas, brown onions and toasted almonds and the results were wonderful. I wasn’t sure if I’d like quinoa but it was really good.
Here’s more information about quinoa:

Quinoa is a complete protein, which means that it contains all the amino acids necessary for our nutritional needs. Complete proteins are rare in the plant world, making quinoa an excellent food for vegetarians and vegans, or for anyone looking for healthy protein source. It's also high in iron and calcium, and is a good source of manganese, magnesium and copper, as well as fiber. Quinoa is naturally gluten-free, making it an excellent food for celiac patients or other people following a gluten-free diet. Quinoa flour is great for baking cookies, breads and muffins, and quinoa flakes are a perfect substitute for oatmeal.

Source: Livestrong

Thank you so much Carapelli Olive Oil for challenging me to make and try something new.

Thanks for visiting.

Carolyn

I link at the wonderful parties listed here

I received samples in order to create this project but no monetary compensation. All opinions are 100% mine.