The Best Ways To Store Bananas

Jul 11 2018

How to Store Bananas! These easy tips will prevent your bananas from turning brown! Food storage tricks includes storing with other fruit, plastic wrap, banana trees, in fridge and how to freeze bananas! Learn the best ways to store bananas and keep them green for longer!

If you guys know me, then you know I love bananas! In fact, there’s a ongoing joke with my Instagram Stories because I’m often carrying a banana! Bananas are my go to breakfast, and my favorite snack. I can’t get enough of them!

I’m picky about bananas though – they can’t be too green and they can’t be too brown. Actually, they can’t be brown. As soon as I see a brown spot on the banana peel (or worse the banana itself!) then I know it’s time to freeze these bananas (hello Banana Smoothie!) and buy new ones.

Using my tips below, learn the best ways to store bananas to keep them PERFECT longer!

The Best Ways to Store Bananas

Bananas. You can use potassium-rich fruit in so many ways and even enjoy it on its own. Bananas are, however, quite fickle. Doesn’t it seem like they’re green one moment and a brown mushy mess the next? Try these methods to store bananas and keep them fresh for when you want them.

May 25 2018

The BEST 100 Cherry Tomato Recipes! This includes EASY to make appetizers, salads, pasta sauces, meat dishes and casseroles! Make sure to save this post for garden season!

It’s almost the start of tomato season – are you as excited as I am? As you start picking cherry tomatoes by the basket, I wanted to share my favorite cherry tomato recipes so you’re prepared!

First, let’s start with my readers favorite recipes: cherry tomato sauce and slow cooker cherry tomatoes. People can’t get enough of these 2! Try these first… especially the sauce, it’s delicious!

The Best Cherry Tomato Recipes

I broke then down into a few categories below: appetizers, basic dinner recipes, dinners with meat, salad and pasta recipes.

Cherry Tomato Appetizers

Caprese Salad Skewers

Cherry Tomato Relish

Vegetable Bowl Cheese Dip

Caprese Bites With Balsamic Drizzle

Greek Opa Dip

Balsamic Roasted Tomatoes

Mini Caprese Bites

Cherry Tomato Mozzarella Salad With Toasted Pine Nuts

Goat Cheese Brushetta

Bacon and Boursin Stuffed Tomatoes

Antipasto Skewers

Guacamole Stuffed Cherry Tomatoes

Chip and Guacamole Bites

Tomato Tulips

May 15 2018

EASY Buttered Rice and Cabbage dinner! One of the best buttered cabbage recipes! This dish uses cooked cabbage and is ready in 20 minutes! It’s a healthy vegetarian rice meal my entire family loves!

Buttered Rice and Cabbage

This Buttered Rice and Cabbage is an easy comforting meal filled with healthy vegetables that I hope you’ll love as much as I do. It’s so easy to make and it involves one of my favorite ingredients – cabbage!

As a girl my Mother would make the best Polish cabbage recipes, so every time I make it I get a smile on my face!

Cooked Cabbage Recipe

I wanted to create a recipe that would be ready in 20 minutes that is still wholesome with fresh ingredients – a meal you’ll feel good about serving the family.

Ingredients for Buttered Cabbage

The main vegetables in this recipe are cabbage and peas, 2 things that we have in abundance right now in the garden.

I’ve always liked cabbage, but this Summer I turned into a real cabbage lover. I can’t get enough of it, especially sauteed and buttered! Yum.

Our sugar snap peas are coming to a end this season, what’s left is those monster peas that are busting through the pods.

May 14 2018

KETO Scrambled Egg Ground Beef Casserole recipe that’s easy to make! This baked casserole is low carb and you can make ahead overnight if you’d like! It’s packed with vegetables and sprinkled with cheddar cheese!

Do you guys know about Joe’s Special? It’s a dish that started in San Francisco in the 1920s that consisted of eggs, ground beef, spinach and garlic. A few places make their own version, including a Brooklyn based restaurant that my husband fell in love with. I wanted to try a modern spin on it, removing the spinach and replacing it with green beans and peppers. The result is a delicious Scrambled Egg and Ground Beef Casserole!

Keto Casserole Recipe

This casserole is keto friendly and low carb, something I’ve been requested to make more of from my readers since I posted my Cauliflower Casserole recipe! It’s made with eggs and ground beef to be high in protein, and a homemade cream of mushroom soup that’s made with almond milk. Did I mention there’s shredded cheese on top to make it extra delicious?

May 03 2018

BAKED Cheddar Cheese Cauliflower Casserole recipe! It’s vegetarian and loaded with cauliflower and corn! This easy to make low carb, keto casserole can be either a side dish or a main dish!

I love Spring because it’s the start of cauliflower season in the garden. Do you love cauliflower? What’s your favorite way to eat it? I love it raw as a snack, roasted as a side dish, and covered in cheese like it is in this Cheddar Cheese Cauliflower Casserole!

Let’s talk Cauliflower Nutrition

Cauliflower is a great vegetable to add to your menu. Not only is it only 29 calories per 1 cup, but it’s packed with vitamin C, Vitamin K, Vitamin E and B complex vitamins!

It’s low in carbs, is a great source of protein and provides calcium, potassium and iron to your daily diet!

What’s not to love about cauliflower?

Now ok, I get it, we’re taking healthy cauliflower and we’re adding cheese on top. And you’re absolutely right we are because it’s delicious! This casserole makes both a great side dish, as well as a main course.

We often have this for dinner with nothing else because it’s so filling (did I mention that it’s really good too?)!

Apr 18 2018

EASY Mexican Arugula Salad with Olive Oil dressing! This simple salad recipe is healthy and includes Arugula, Spinach, Tomatoes, Corn and a Olive Oil/Lime/Cumin dressing to give it a Mexican taste! This is a perfect side salad but could easily turn into a main course if you add chicken to it.

I love this Mexican Arugula Salad! The olive oil/lime juice dressing that coats the arugula greens, tomatoes and corn leaves me craving this salad for lunch and dinner. I love Mexican flavored dishes, so the lime, cumin and dash of red pepper flakes gives this such a burst of flavor making this a exciting salad!

Healthy Recipe

With the weather turning to Spring and Summer (it was 70 degrees this weekend!) I’m taking a step back from hot soups for lunch and instead am craving something fresh and crunchy.

What’s growing in the garden dictates our meals, so I’m looking forward to picking our fresh vegetables, dicing them up and having a big bowl of salad for lunch. And what’s even better is there no time waiting for lunch or dinner to be heated, this Mexican Arugula Corn Salad is made within minutes.

Apr 17 2018

BEST Glazed Carrot Cake Donuts recipe! These homemade baked donuts are made with carrots and taste just like carrot cake! This recipe is easy to make and the donuts are moist and full of flavor!

Do you love donuts? Do you love carrot cake? Then I have the perfect recipe for you!

This Winter we got very lucky with our carrots. We didn’t have high hopes for them but upon one Spring cleanup day we were surprised to find pounds of carrots hiding under the soil waiting for us to find them. It was a giant surprise and it created some giant garden smiles

Fresh Carrots Recipe

Aren’t they just beauties? I just can’t get enough of fresh carrots. There’s nothing like the taste of a carrot that was just picked. Sometimes I nibble on one as soon as I pick it, I just can’t help myself. So I took the carrots down to the kitchen and pondered… What to make?

For dinner I made this Roasted Carrot Soup (by the way, it’s delicious!) but then I also wanted carrots for dessert!

(Reminder: Never throw away your carrot tops! Make this Carrot Tops Vegetable Broth!)

I was going to make carrot cake, but I’ve had a real craving for donuts lately so I decided to mix the best of both worlds – cake and donuts!

CARROT CAKE DONUTS

These donuts taste just like carrot cake with a sweet vanilla glaze on top. Think of a bakery glazed donut + a carrot cake…. all as fresh as possible. The freshness of the carrots really make these donuts something special!

Carrot Cake Ingredients

These donuts basically require the same ingredients as carrot cake.

You’ll need egg, orange juice, melted butter, vanilla, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice. And then you’ll need shredded carrots!

The vanilla glaze on top is a tried and tested recipe that I use all the time! You make it with milk, vanilla extract and powdered sugar.

These donuts are definitely a keeper in my garden notebook now. I can’t wait for our next carrot harvest to make (and devour!) some more Carrot Cake Donuts!

Hope you enjoy these donuts!

Pin for later:

Glazed Carrot Cake Donuts

BEST Glazed Carrot Cake Donuts recipe! These homemade baked donuts are made with carrots and taste just like carrot cake! This recipe is easy to make and the donuts are moist and full of flavor!

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Servings 12

Ingredients

1 egg
1/2 cup orange juice
1/4 cup melted butter
½ teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon allspice
1 ¼ cup shredded carrots

For the glaze

2 tablespoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cups confectioners powdered sugar

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Beat egg in large bowl. Add orange juice, butter, vanilla and sugar, beat well.
Stir in flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and allspice and mix till moistened.
Gently fold in shredded carrots.
Fill donut pan up.
Bake for 9-11 minutes. Let cool for 2 minutes.

For the glaze

Combine milk and vanilla in a saucepan and heat over medium heat.
Stir in confectioners powdered sugar into milk mixture. Whisk slowly, until well combined.
Remove from heat and dip each donut into glaze.
Set on rack until cool enough to eat.

Chocolate Avocado Baby Muffins

Apr 17 2018

CHOCOLATE AVOCADO Muffins – baby led weaning recipe! These muffins are so moist and creamy because we use avocado and yogurt in them!

Do you know what I love currently about motherhood? We’re starting to snack together! Looking for a treat that we could both share together I made these Chocolate Avocado Baby Muffins which are a complete hit!

They’re perfect for breakfast and perfect for a snack! After she finishes her dinner at night, sometimes we both sit down and eat a muffin together! So these are great for parents, babies, toddlers or just anyone who is seeking a healthy muffin!

Baby Led Weaning Muffin Recipe

These are healthier than usual muffins because we aren’t using any oil or butter. Instead we’re making them moist and creamy with avocado and yogurt. Remember my avocado brownies? Yup, super creamy! So are these muffins!

Apr 03 2018

DELICIOUS Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions that are easy to make in your Crockpot! This 4 ingredient recipe is the best and will have melt in your mouth onions ready for your favorite dish in 5 hours! Serve them with soups, casseroles, grilled cheese sandwiches, salads, chicken, pasta, burgers, pizza and more – seriously, you can add them to almost anything!

These Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions came at a perfect time since we just planted our onion seeds for Spring, and I was able to use the remaining 3 pounds of last years onions for this recipe. It’s always magical when the timing works out perfect and you can go from harvest to seed without much waiting in between.

These Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions are what dreams are made out of. By slow cooking them we’re bringing out the natural sweetness of the onions as the sugar caramelizes. What starts as a full crockpot of onions is going to turn into a much smaller amount as they melt down.

Slow Cooker Caramelized Onions Recipe

What you’re left with (besides an amazing smelling house that is going to make your neighbors jealous) is savory, sweet onions that are ready for you to add anywhere – soups, casseroles, sandwiches, salads, pasta, pizza – seriously, you can add them to anything! My husband came home and he started to immediately swoon upon the first smell of these sweet onions. On the first bite, his knees buckled and I had to catch him! The man loves his onions.

This recipe will be for sure one that will stick around with us for years to come after we pick our garden onions. I hope you give it a taste – I think you’ll be really happy you did!

Mar 27 2018

CREAMY Lettuce Soup is a delicious, healthy recipe that uses 1 head of lettuce. Combined with heavy cream, chicken broth and spices, this is a great way to add lettuce to your diet! I love using Bibb lettuce in this recipe but Romaine and Iceberg work good too! Who knew cooked lettuce could taste so yummy for dinner – even kids love it!

Lettuce Soup

Hi,

Do you want to come in?

I’m going to make us some soup. It will be delicious.

Oh, what kind of soup you ask?

*LOCKS DOOR, REALLY QUICK*

Lettuce soup.

Roasted Soybeans

Mar 17 2018

Salted Roasted Soybeans recipe using fresh soybeans. This baked recipe is so easy to make! These are perfect for healthy snacking!

A few years ago I learned how easy it is to grow soybeans in your garden. They tend to be one of those plants where you plant a seed, don’t do much else and suddenly you have beans galore to pick.

Soybean recipes

Soybeans can be used in many recipes, including fresh edamame, pesto for pasta/dip. For this harvest I wanted to use some of our soybeans for a roasted healthy snack, something where I can throw a bunch in a bag and enjoy at my desk at work or a road trip. I love guilt free snacking so I love these Roasted Salted Soybeans.

Mar 12 2018

PARSLEY PARMESAN PASTA takes 15 minutes to make! This healthy meal using fresh parsley costs less than $4! Blend the parsley with other simple ingredients to make a nut free pesto sauce and then pour on top of pasta! It’s delicious and easy to make!

The answer to the question “What the heck do I make with a bunch of parsley” I was asking myself while standing in the kitchen is this recipe!

You’ve been there. You buy fresh parsley because you need 1 tablespoon for a recipe and then the rest sits in the refrigerator. Well I’m here to help you out! You want to make this Parsley Parmesan Pasta!

This delicious pasta meal takes less than 15 minutes to make so it’s easy! It’s a budget friendly meal costing less than $4.00.

And oh yeah, it’s delicious. Like really really really delicious!

Feb 28 2018

100

Baked Spinach Chips is a healthy snack made with fresh spinach! This baked recipe is so easy to make! It’s a healthy alternative to potato chips!

You are probably familiar with kale chips but are you friends with spinach chips? If not, I hope this post will change that. With a overabundance (understatement) of fresh spinach I was trying to come up with unique ways on how to use these beautiful leaves. Then I thought… kale is kinda like spinach in texture.. I wonder if I can make spinach chips?

Healthy Spinach Chips

Let me tell you, you can! And honestly, I think these are better than kale chips. The chips just melt in your mouth. I am totally guilty of just wanting to eat a few, then I come back and get a entire bowl’s worth. But it’s spinach so it’s a guilt free snack! I love guilt free snacking, don’t you?

Feb 25 2018

HEALTHY Tuna Cucumber Tomato Salad with olive oil dressing! This super easy salad recipe is a Summer favorite! I love using fresh tomatoes, cucumber and onions from the garden! It’s completely dairy free too! This is a sponsored post written by me on behalf of Blue Harbor.

This Tuna Cucumber Tomato Salad is the perfect fresh Summer salad. Or if it’s not summertime, then it’s the perfect close your eyes and pretend it’s Summer salad! It’s one of my favorite picnic side dishes! It includes a few garden favorites; tomatoes, cucumbers, red onion and fresh parsley so it’s ripe with flavor. It also includes Albacore tuna which has a delicious, mild and clean flavor. Trust me, you’re going to love it!

Tuna Cucumber Tomato Salad Recipe

It’s still Winter here in NYC and I feel like we’ve had a colder than average last few months. I’m sick of wearing my big Winter coat and pushing the stroller through the windy streets. To comfort my need for wishing for a warmer day, I made this Summer feeling salad that has me dreaming of picking tomatoes in our vegetable garden.

Feb 20 2018

119

Chocolate SPINACH BROWNIES with Peanut Butter Frosting recipe. This is a EASY way to get kids or adults to eat their vegetables. You won’t believe how delicious these brownies are! They’re also made with the best peanut butter frosting recipe ever!

The color green. What do you think of?

In many people’s minds, the color green isn’t something you usually think of when you think of sweet desserts. I hear that little kids fear their green vegetables so sneaky parents have to find ways to incorporate it into their meals. Well I don’t have a little kid, but I still like being sneaky, even if it means just being sneaky to myself.

Spinach Brownies.

Feb 20 2018

Easy recipe for the best tri color pasta salad! This is the perfect Summer time salad that uses Italian dressing and fresh vegetables!

The great thing about pasta salad is once you have the basics of pasta, salad dressing, herbs – the vegetables are really up to you. There needs some type of tomatoes (I prefer halved grape tomatoes). There needs to be celery chopped up. What else? Well that’s up to you. You can add carrots. You can add onions. You can add broccoli. You can add chopped up cauliflower. You can can add black olives (yum!).

Mushrooms are always a hit too, especially when they get marinated by the salad dressing. Peas, corn, sundried tomatoes, chopped up kale – throw in whatever you like. To finish it all, you need some type of cheese to sprinkle all over, I like to add some shredded mozzarella. How do you like your pasta salad?

You can make your pasta salad with a wide variety of noodles, so use what you like. I’ve been making our pasta salad with tri color rotini pasta. The extra color kick of this pasta makes it special in my opinion. Bow ties and penne pasta are great too!

Finally, pasta salad is a favorite because you can make it advance. You want it chilled, so all the pasta and vegetables pick up that salad dressing taste. Plus when it’s a hot summer day, a little chilled pasta salad will bring your spirits up. You can make this a few hours in advance, or even the day before. If I have leftovers, I will eat it for a few days after. The celery stays crunchy, I love that.

So go ahead, let’s make it feel like summer and make some tri color pasta salad.

Feb 13 2018

HEALTHY Roasted Vegetable Sandwich is a hoagie filled with roasted veggies! This easy, healthy recipe includes mushrooms, green peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and green beans thrown on a sub roll with melted cheese on top! Make this simple meal for dinner, lunch or cut up into mini sandwiches for appetizers!

What I love about roasted vegetables is that it’s plug and play. I am using mushrooms, green peppers, jalapeno peppers, tomatoes, potatoes and green beans in this recipe because they’re my favorite and they’re in season veggies from the garden but you do you. Want to add onions, broccoli or squash? Go for it. Ready to get your hoagie on?

If you loved my Italian Ham and Turkey Sliders, you’re going to love these Roasted Vegetable Sandwiches!

Best Vegetables to Roast

Feb 07 2018

Easy Vegetarian Collard Greens recipe. These greens are simmered in a brown sugar vegetable broth making them full of flavor!

With lots of greens to pick in the garden we are having a side dish of collard greens weekly at the dinner table. I love these collards so much I’ve been making a big batch to take to work to eat for lunch a few times a week (partnered with some cheese/crackers because I love a mismatched lunch).

Vegetarian Collard Greens

So many Collard Greens recipes call for chicken broth or ham hocks, but in this recipe I’m using vegetable broth to make it Vegetarian friendly. I’m adding a little bit of brown sugar into the vegetable broth to balance out the natural bitter flavor that collards give, but not making it too sweet.

Years ago I had some of the best collard greens in North Carolina at a Mom and Pop style restaurant. I was shocked to find out these weren’t made with meat so I made it a goal to come up with a equally delicious recipe I could make at home!

Jan 29 2018

EASY & CREAMY Cauliflower Pot Pie Recipe! This easy Vegetarian Pot Pie uses frozen pie crusts to make a delicious dinner! The pot pie is made with cauliflower, carrots and peas filling in a creamy sauce! It’s a healthy, vegetable friendly solution to homemade chicken pot pie!

I have a confession. I wasn’t going to post this recipe. Not because I didn’t think it was delicious and that your family would love it. No, quite the opposite! This is one of my most popular recipes to make that often leaves friends asking “Can you give me the recipe?”. But I wasn’t going to post it because I was ashamed of how it looked. I had pot pie embarrassment.

I am not a expert pie maker. I cannot make perfect crust. I am not Marie Callender! What my pot pie lacks in beautiful crust makes up for in taste, and that’s how I feel about this Cauliflower Pot Pie!

DELICIOUS Vegetable Pot Pie!

I know this Cauliflower Pot Pie is not the most beautiful pot pie you’ve ever seen. The crust is uneven, it has caved in spots, heck it even has a crack down the middle of the pie. But goodness gracious, this pot pie is DELICIOUS! AND EVERY DELICIOUS POT PIE DESERVES A DAY TO SHINE!

So here I am. After attempting to photograph it 3 times but putting away my camera every single time, I came back to it before the sun went down. I googled photos of “pot pie” that looked perfect. They were magazine cover beautiful. And then I laughed. Who am I kidding? I will never make the most beautiful pot pie that has intricate leaf designs cut out of it. That’s not me. That’s not my style. I’m Pamela. I make messy casseroles and blueberry muffins that sometimes fall apart.

Jan 26 2018

252

HALUSKI aka POLISH CABBAGE AND NOODLES is a quick and easy recipe to make! This recipe is a authentic Polish recipe passed on to me by my Polish Grandmother! Your family is going to love this traditional bowl of noodles and cabbage for dinner!

During the 1800’s women in Europe had an average of six children during their lives, with many families having more than that. Many of these families from Eastern Europe were poor and needed a simple and cheap dish that could feed the entire family (and keep them full). One of their favorite dishes that Polish Grandmothers (babcia!) and Mothers made was haluski.

Haluski is a dish that my mother would make as a kid very often. It’s no surprise that her mother came from Poland so this was a hand me down recipe. The dish is essentially a easy noodles and cabbage dish that is made in about 15 minutes. If you calculate the ingredients, you’ll see that it’s about a $5 meal and can serve 6-8 people. This makes a very bargain friendly dish that is delicious too. Don’t you love that?