Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna

Mar 05 2019

VEGETARIAN MEXICAN LASAGNA Bake is filled with vegetables, noodles, ricotta and mozzarella cheese! Taco seasoning gives it a delicious Mexican flavor! This healthy meal recipe is easy to make and can be prepared ahead of time for a quick weeknight meal, all you have to do is bake it!

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican food isn’t just about slow cooker tacos or taco casserole – it’s also about lasagna!

We are loving this dish right now in our house because it’s easy to make and filled with garden fresh veggies and comforting cheese. Many times I’ll prepare this lasagna earlier in the day so all I have to do is turn on the oven and throw it in when it’s dinner time. Whenever I make this I text Matthew a photo of the lasagna and he’ll text back hearts and swoony faces.

Back-to- school season is one of the busiest times of the year, and families are on the lookout for easy meals that deliver big on flavor. This is a lasagna that the family will fall in love with.

This lasagna is filled with veggies that go perfect with the “Mexican” flavor. Most vegetarian lasagna recipes use eggplant and zucchini but I don’t. Why? That’s easy. We don’t grow those vegetables, hah. Case closed.

Feb 28 2019

Easy recipe for SLOW COOKER Broccoli Cheese and Potato Soup! This family favorite soup is cooked on high in the crockpot for 4 hours!

Slow Cooker Potato Soup

The end of November brought cold weather and rainy days. Because of the added layers to stay warm and the drizzle of rain it also brought a laziness to the dinner table. I’ve been stuck in a dinner rut the last few weeks making easy and quick meals. It usually gets to dinner time and we’re both too tired to really think of anything new so it’s something simple.

Feb 01 2019

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EASY SLOW COOKER Kielbasa and Cabbage recipe! Throw Beef Kielbasa, Cabbage, Onions and Potatoes in a crockpot and dinner will be ready in 6 hours! I serve this healthy dish over egg noodles with rolls – my family LOVES this comfort food meal!

Kielbasa and Cabbage

I am back with another slow cooker meal! Even though it’s not even Fall yet, I’ve been loving my slow cooker this Summer! It’s been a life safer to have a delicious dinner ready when time management isn’t on my side!

With a beautiful cabbage picked from the garden, I was contemplating what I should do with it. Recently we’ve been loving Slow Cooker Green Beans, so I decided to throw the cabbage to in the slow cooker too! Boom – this Slow Cooker Kielbasa and Cabbage dish was created!

Crockpot Cabbage

Besides cabbage, throw in potatoes and onions to your slow cooker, alongside some beef kielbasa. I’ve made this kielbasa and cabbage slow cooker recipe a few times in the last month and we love adding carrots in it too! The ingredients are incredibly simple, you might already have everything in your kitchen!

Jan 23 2019

BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs recipe that my family loves! Throw these boneless chicken thighs in the crockpot for 2 and a half hours and then serve over rice for a easy complete meal! Keto and low carb recipe.

Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs

You guys! These BBQ Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs are SO GOOD! They’re lick your fingers good! You know how I know that? Because my toddler was licking her fingers after clearing her entire plate!

Why else do I love this meal?

It’s easy! Throw it in the crockpot – aka, my favorite kitchen invention ever.
It’s delicious! Soy sauce, BBQ sauce, ketchup and brown sugar make one heck of a delicious sauce.
It’s fast! This meal cooks in 2 and a half hours.
… and did I mention it’s delicious?

Oct 29 2018

PAMELA’S Slow Cooker Pork Chili is made with BACON and SAUSAGE! This pork chili is one of the easiest crockpot recipes with diced tomatoes and beans! If you’re looking for dinner ideas to make as your family’s favorite comfort food dinners, then this it! Ready in 6 hours on LOW. Serve with shredded cheese and a big piece of crusty bread!

Crockpot Recipes

With the temperatures feeling like single digits, I’ve been craving a nice (big!) bowl of warm chili. But without having to put too much energy into it! That’s when I start looking for dinner ideas that involve my favorite kitchen tool- the crockpot.

I decided to up my chili game one notch and create Pamela’s Pork Chili filled with bacon and sausage! Doesn’t it look delicious? It tastes it too!

Oct 17 2018

EASY Halloween Guacamole Dip recipe – perfect for healthy Halloween appetizers and party food! This homemade recipe uses fresh avocados and canned diced tomatoes. Provides DIY tutorial on how to make spiderwebs with sour cream!

Halloween Party Food

Are you looking for a spooky dip for your Halloween party? Look no further! You’re going to love this classic guacamole dip with sour cream spiderwebs on top! And don’t worry – this Halloween guacamole dip is easy to make! I even include a spiderweb tutorial video below to follow along!

Halloween Appetizers

If you’re anything like me, then you love guacamole! This homemade guacamole dip is a classic recipe, made with fresh avocados and diced tomatoes. To make it super easy if you’re low on time, the recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes – some you use in the dip, and some you use to decorate the top. I like using RO*TEL diced tomatoes & green chilies because it gives extra flavor.

Oct 15 2018

Homemade Chinese Wonton Soup recipe that’s authentic and easy to make! The wontons are made from scratch and the dumplings are filled with pork. It tastes just like your favorirte Chinese restaurant soup but much more healthy for you!

I met Matthew during my first few weeks at Art School in Pittsburgh in 2002. Months later, we were dating. Months after that, we moved in (with Essy!). 15 years later, we’ve changed locations, added a few furry and human children to the family, and are still doing out art together. What else do we do together? We cook in the kitchen.

Wonton Soup Recipe (That’s easy to make!)

I would say that I cook the majority of the meals that we eat for dinner, but once in a while Matthew cooks up dinner and it’s always delicious. One recipe he’s really into and made it his goal to perfect was homemade wonton soup.

Wonton soup is a favorite of ours and is one of the most popular things we order from Chinese takeout (besides chicken and broccoli!), but we wanted to make it ourselves, including making the wontons from scratch.

Matthew was on a wonton kick for a few weeks, where he spent many nights in the kitchen rolling dough and trying different filler contents to add to the wontons. I have to say this recipe is the real deal and it receives a 10/10 on the “I Love You!” scale.

Also, it tastes JUST LIKE the Chinese restaraunt – but so much more healthier because it’s homemade!

Oct 02 2018

Slow Cooker Sausage and Cabbage is a easy crock pot recipe ready in 6 hours! Add Sweet Italian Sausage links and vegetables (potatoes, cabbage, carrots and onion!) into your slow cooker for a delicious comfort meal!

It’s Fall! It’s really fall! The leaves are changing, I need to wear a jacket in the morning, I prefer my coffee hot now. What else does Fall mean? Time to bring out the crockpot for my family’s favorite comfort meals!

You guys have been telling me that I need to share more of my slow cooker recipes, since you’ve enjoyed my Cabbage and Kielbasa and Cabbage Roll Casserole. So here I am – now it’s time to share Slow Cooker Sausage and Cabbage!

Slow Cooker Sausage and Cabbage

I love this recipe becase of the ingredients and the directions.

The ingredients are basic, you might have everything in your kitchen already! The stars of the show are Sweet Italian Sausage, cabbage, potatoes, carrots and a onion. Close your eyes. Imagine the smell of your kitchen while this cooks. It’s going to smell SO GOOD!

Whenever I make this, my husband can smell it in our hallway as soon as he steps off the elevator. He gets a little strut in his step because he knows it’s going to be a good dinner.

Aug 12 2018

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FRESH Tomato Salsa made with roma tomatoes straight from our garden! This easy HOMEMADE recipe is made in minutes with tomatoes, onion, peppers, cilantro, and red pepper flakes! Friends BEG for me to make this salsa because it’s everyone’s favorite! Serve with Chips or with your next Mexican meal!

This right here is my go to salsa. This Fresh Tomato Salsa wins hearts, it makes bellies happy. It’s a win win situation. We make this salsa all the time to snack on, it’s also one of my most requested recipes to make to bring to get friends houses during the Summer!

Fresh Tomato Salsa Recipe

I think one of the main reasons why people love this Fresh Tomato Salsa much because it’s so fresh. Every single vegetable in this recipe comes straight from the garden. I also try not to pick the tomatoes, peppers and onions until the day of or the day before to really make it SUPER fresh. Nothing beats the taste of home grown tomatoes!

Btw looking for more fresh tomato recipes? Make sure to try my Stewed Tomatoes and Roma Tomato Sauce!

This salsa took me some time to get perfect over the years. Sometimes I would make it and it would be too runny, too chunky, the peppers would be too mushy, the tomatoes would be too whole, the tomatoes would be too smooth. But after summers of practice, I got it. I perfected this Fresh Tomato Salsa recipe! And now I’m here to share it with you!

Aug 07 2018

EASY Crockpot Salisbury Steak With Cream of Mushroom Soup! This Slow Cooker recipe is easy to make and is ready in 5 hours! It’s made with dry onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup to make a comforting gravy your entire family is going to love! I always serve on egg noodles or with mashed potatoes! This is one of my favorites simple weeknight meals!

I hope you had a great weekend! This past Sunday we cheered the runners on outside our apartment during the NYC Marathon! The weather was chilly and the raindrops were falling so I knew we were going to have a comforting slow cooker Sunday night meal!

I made this Crockpot Salisbury Steak with Cream of Mushroom Soup and it was the perfect dish to say goodbye to the weekend with. This Slow Cooker meal is creamy, comforting, hearty and just warms the heart in the way that home cooked meals should.

EASY Salisbury Steak Recipe

Salisbury Steak has been one of my favorites since I was a child but I wasn’t in the mood to do a baked salisbury steak, instead I wanted something to throw in the Slow Cooker and make dinner easy.

I love creamy slow cooker meals, like Meatball Potato Casserole, and Sweet Potato and Ham Soup, so I gave this a extra creamy gravy made with cream of mushroom soup!

The actual Salisbury Steak patties are easy to make. Throw ground beef, dry onion soup mix, bread crumbs and milk in a bowl and mix around with your hands, and then form the patties.

Salisbury Steak Made With Ground Beef

A helpful hint: use lean, less fat ground beef. If you don’t use a lean beef, it’s going to make your creamy gravy more on the greasy side. This can totally be made with non lean beef, but I think it overall tastes better with a 90/10 blend. After you shape your steak patties then roll around in a dusting of flour.

Jul 20 2018

BLUEBERRY Thanksgiving Stuffing recipe! Traditional homemade vegetarian stuffing with sweet blueberries added in! This comes from a Grandma’s vintage cookbook so you know it’s going to be the best! It’s easy to make and you can make it ahead of time to freeze!

I’m back with another stuffing recipe! So many of you have loved my Amish Potato Stuffing recipe so I decided to share with you another favorite, Blueberry Thanksgiving Stuffing! Obviously it doesn’t need to be Thanksgiving to make this stuffing, but it is the perfect Thanksgiving side dish!

Thanksgiving Side Dish

This is the perfect side stuffing to accompany a main meat, like chicken or turkey. It’s also the perfect vegetarian side dish because it doesn’t involve any meat products or broths (it’s made with vegetable broth).

This is a vintage stuffing recipe that I have tweaked over the years to fit with our taste buds. It originally appeared in a old cook book that my husband’s Grandmother gave me. The original recipe included a minced meat that even Google couldn’t tell me what it meant, so I decided to change the meat ingredient to pecans.

Pecans in a stuffing recipe is great because it adds a crunch! Everytime I serve this stuffing recipe, everyone wants to know what the crunch is because they love the small surprise. And just to note, it’s not a overwhelming crunch, it’s subtle as the recipe only calls for 1/2 cup pecans.

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 15 2018

DELICIOUS CROCK POT Corned Beef Brisket with Vegetables recipe! This slow cooker recipe cooks a 4 pound corned beef brisket with cabbage, carrots, potatoes and onion to create a amazing dinner! Use the leftovers the next day for the best BBQ sandwiches!

When it was my first time buying brisket many years ago, I didn’t know where to look for it at – with the meats on the shelf? Behind a refrigerated door?Is it at the meat counter? And what does it look like? I had no idea. So after a google image search and phone in hand, there I found it in the meat department on the top shelf all the way to the left.
My first thought- yikes, that is expensive.

My second thought – they had point cut and flat cut. What is the difference? Again… to Google I went in the meat department. Point cut has more fat content but is more tastier. Flat cut is less fat, less tender. Also to note Flat cut is about twice the price (twice the yikes).

Best type of meat for Brisket

So when I saw a reviewer saying “If you want taste, go with the Point Cut” that was it. I wanted the flavor and texture, I wasn’t about to take that away for less fat. If this is a special meal you have a few times a year, do the point cut – just do it.

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.

Jan 07 2018

4 HOUR JUICY Slow Cooker Meal for a 6 Pound Whole Chicken! This easy recipe makes the entire meal in the crock pot, including potatoes and other vegetables! You’ll love how simple it is to cook a HEALTHY Rotisserie Chicken meal! This is one of my favorite Crockpot dinners!

Slow Cooker Whole Chicken

I’ve been really big on Slow Cooker recipes lately. Just last week I shared with you my Slow Cooker Bread, and this week I’m sharing the main course to go with it – a whole chicken! This chicken is juicy, full of flavor and is so easy to make!

This recipe makes a 5-7 pound whole chicken in the slow cooker in about 4 hours on high. Alternatively you could set it to 7 hours on low.

The key to making a juicy chicken in the slow cooker is that you want to give it some liquid to become moist, but you don’t want it to sit in the liquid. The solution is that you cut up a bunch of vegetables so the chicken has a “bed” to be placed on, keeping it above the liquid for the majority of cooking time.

For the liquid I used chicken broth, to keep the flavor in the right pallet. You could however play around with it! Do you want a citrus zest? Add some orange juice. Apple juice will add some sweetness. Just remember your veggies are cooking in it as well.

What that also does is provide you a full meal, so you have your whole chicken and vegetables! I cut up potatoes, celery, carrots and onions to place in the bottom of the slow cooker.

It’s good to use thick, dense veggies so that they don’t get too soft and mushy sitting in the crockpot for hours. Thinking about a low-carb option? Use cauliflower instead of potatoes.

Jan 05 2018

206

CREAMY No Mayo Potato Salad that doesn’t require potato peeling! This loaded, easy to make potato salad recipe has the classic taste you grew up with and is ready in 20 minutes! It’s made with ranch dressing (no mayo!) to make it extra creamy! Enjoy this warm in the Winter or chilled in the Summer! It’s a must have your next grilling session!

Potato salad is a family staple at so many events, especially at picnics. Maybe it’s for a graduation, or a family get together, or a bbq; most likely there is a big bowl of potato salad there. I love how versatile potato salad can be. When chilled in the summer, it’s the perfect food to cool off with next to your hot dog. In the winter time, you can serve it right off the stove to warm you up.

CREAMY Ranch Potato Salad that doesn't require potato peeling! This loaded, easy to make potato salad recipe has the classic taste you grew up with and is ready in 20 minutes! It's made with ranch dressing (no mayo!) to make it extra creamy! Enjoy this warm in the Winter or chilled in the Summer! It's a must have your next grilling session!

20 Minute Potato Salad – so easy!

This potato salad is made in 20 minutes and only uses 6 ingredients. And what a bonus, no peeling potatoes, we’re just washing and cubing these red potatoes up! With every bite you’re going to get a nice crunch of vegetable with the help of celery and onion.

No Mayo Potato Salad

To make it super creamy we’re going to smother it with Ranch Salad Dressing – this is a no mayo recipe!

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CREAMY No Mayo Potato Salad that doesn't require potato peeling! This loaded, easy to make potato salad recipe has the classic taste you grew up with and is ready in 20 minutes! It's made with ranch dressing (no mayo!) to make it extra creamy! Enjoy this warm in the Winter or chilled in the Summer! It's a must have your next grilling session!

Creamy Ranch Potato Salad

CREAMY No Mayo Potato Salad that doesn't require potato peeling! This loaded, easy to make potato salad recipe has the classic taste you grew up with and is ready in 20 minutes! It's made with ranch dressing (no mayo!) to make it extra creamy! Enjoy this warm in the Winter or chilled in the Summer! It's a must have your next grilling session!

Course Side Dish

Servings 8

Ingredients

2 pounds red potatoes – washed and cubed
2 stalks celery
1/2 cup green onion or yellow onion
¾ cup Ranch Salad Dressing
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
salt + pepper to taste

Instructions

Bring pot of water to boil and add potatoes. Simmer the potatoes for 20 minutes.
Drain potatoes.
Put all ingredients in bowl and gently toss.
Serve immediately or if preferred chilled, put in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Slow Cooker Kielbasa, Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes

Nov 30 2017

FAMILY FAVORITE Slow Cooker Kielbasa, Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes! This healthy dinner is so easy to make as it only takes 5 hours in the crock pot! The meal cooks in a beef broth brown sugar mix that is amazing! It’s one of my family’s favorite comfort food recipes for a Winter night! We love serving it over egg noodles or rice!

Look, I’m not saying all people from the Midwest love Slow Cooker meals filled with meat and vegetable (especially potatoes) but that’s totally what I’m saying. My husband, a man raised in good ol Ohio, raves about my Slow Cooker Kielbasa, Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes. I could give him the option of having a fancy schmancy French cuisine or Slow Cooker Kielbasa for dinner and there would be no discussion – it’s Slow Cooker Kielbasa, Brussels Sprouts and Potatoes all the way!

This easy slow cooker meal has everything you need for homemade comfort food – meat, vegetables and enough broth to pour it on top of egg noodles! The meat is beef kiebasa, cut into bite size pieces. The vegetables are potatoes, celery, brussels sprouts and onion. The broth is a savory beef broth.

Oct 30 2017

CREAMY SLOW COOKER Sweet Potato Soup recipe! This easy Crock Pot meal includes ham and sweet potatoes in a creamy cheesy broth! Even my kids love this soup!

Sweet Potato Soup

This Sweet Potato soup is the real deal. Your entire family (kids and adults!) is going to declare this meal the best! This soup is creamy, comforting and packed with vegetables (sweet potatoes, celery, carrots, red pepper, corn, onion and white beans!). What’s not to love?

And yes – you heard me correct, your kids are going to love this soup too! If you’re looking for ways to introduce them to sweet potatoes, then this soup is the way to do it. Even my 1 year old gladly picks the sweet potatoes up out of this soup and gobbles them down!

Over the weekend I was itching to make something with sweet potatoes so I decided to make a classic Fall recipe – Sweet Potato soup! We love sweet potatoes so much, we might have to start growing our own sweet potatoes soon!

What I love about cold weather soups is that they can be creamy (and cheesy) but you pack them full with vegetables! As I mentioned so many times before I’m in love with my slow cooker, so you’re going to love how easy this is!

Oct 23 2017

CHEESY Chicken Tomatillo Casserole recipe! This easy dinner Mexican casserole uses 1 pound of tomatillos to make a creamy sauce that is layered with tortilla chips, chicken, black beans and cheddar cheese! I love to make this simple dish when my garden tomatillo plants give me too much and I’m left asking asking “What to do!”.

I’m back with another tomatillo recipe! With another 20 pounds of tomatillos picked from the garden I’m trying to think more outside the salsa verde box and wondering what to do with them! For dinner I wanted to make a easy casserole that included chicken breasts, tomatillos, black beans and cheese so this Cheesy Chicken Tomatillo Casserole was born!

If you love Mexican casseroles I think you’re going to like this dish! The tomatillos are thrown into the food processor with a onion, green pepper, jalapeno pepper, cilantro and spices to make a creamy simple sauce. By the way check out my tip on how to store fresh cilantro!

Oct 18 2017

Creamy CELERY and Egg Noodles Soup recipe! This easy vegetarian soup is filled with vegetables and served with egg noodles for a hearty, healthy dinner! You can even add chicken in it for more protein! It’s a simple and delicious way to eat your vegetables, even kids like it! Whenever I ask myself “What should I do with a head of celery?” this soup is always the answer!

We’ve had good success with growing celery in the garden for the first time this year. With the end of garden season in sight I’m left with a few beautiful heads of celery hanging out in my refrigerator. This leads me to the question of the week “What should I make with lots of celery”?

Sure there’s the easy route of cutting celery up and dipping it in peanut butter for a delicious snack, but I wanted to throw my apron on and come up with something new for the celery. It was the first day where it felt like Fall, the weather was crisp and chilly and so I was craving something warm. Ta-da, Creamy Celery and Egg Noodles Soup was born!

This soup is creamy, delicious and is filled with enough vegetables to make this a healthy comforting soup! This soup uses 1 whole pound of celery. Most recipes call for just using the celery stalks but I wanted to use everything, so that’s what I did – celery stalks, leaves, everything! The leaves have so much flavor (and scent!) to them that they deserve to be enjoyed too!