Fiesta Quinoa Salad

I Love Quinoa. If you take a look at my recipes page you can see there are a ton of quinoa recipes. If you haven't heard the facts yet quinoa let me tell you a little something. Quinoa is a sort of super grain. Quinoa has a nutty taste and a ton of fiber. I was on a brown rice kick for awhile, but after reading the benefits of quinoa I have broken up with brown rice like a bad ex boyfriend. Quinoa has anti-inflamitory properties, high in protein, and has some omega 3 fatty acids so if you haven't tried it yet, try this recipe! 

Garlicky & Parmesan Crispy Smashed Potatoes

My husband now refers to these taters as "smooshed spuds." And smooshed they are. They are also delicious. Honestly, there was so much going on with these potatoes I didn't know what the heck to call them. There was garlic. There was Parmesan. There was truffle salt. Do I need to go any further?

Baked Buffalo Zucchini Fries

I love french fries. I love french fries more than many things in this world ( no, not my husband.I love him more.)I prefer thick cut steak fries, curly fries and most of all tater tots. I hate shoe string fries. Ugh, gross. Unfortunately, my thighs hate french fries. They probably scream every time I bite into the hot, crispy spuds. My thighs will forever be grateful for this creation. Baked zucchini fries are a great alternative to french fries because like their potato counterparts they are crispy on the outside and soft and pillowy on the inside.

Best Summer Side: Mexican Street Corn

Want to transport yourselves to the streets of Mexico, Does Equis in one hand ear of corn in the other?  The season for sweet corn is approaching and it is my favorite time of year. Rhode Island has a ton of local sweet corn that is super sweet and buttery. Sometimes making corn on the cob gets a bit... boring? How many ways can you possible make corn on the cob? Well, here is one more!

Moroccan Carrot-Chickpea Salad

Ever wanted to be transported to a Moroccan bazaar in ten minutes? Cue in this amazing and quick salad from Rachael Ray. This recipe is so versatile and you can whip it up in ten minutes or less! Can it get any better?

(Healthy) Chunky Blue Cheese Dressing

Blue cheese dressing is one of those guilty pleasures for me. It is so thick and creamy and I can eat it with anything. It is a perfect pairing for sandwiches, salads, wings, and pizza. Hold up- Pizza? Does anyone else dip their pizza in blue cheese? I learned this delicious habit in college and have not looked back. Providence College grads, I know you dip your Golden Crust pizza in blue cheese.

Tangy Grilled Potato Salad

Carb lovers rejoice! A have found yet another potato salad recipe that is simple to prepare, but is different than your usual run of the mill potato salad. I saw this recipe on the Chew last week and I could not wait to fire up my grill! The grill will give this salad another layer of depth and flavor so try not to skip the grilling if you can. I even got more excited when I went to the market and found purple potatoes! I figured in addition to the potato salad being delicious it would also be beautiful!

Cheddar & Jalapeno Corn Bread

Sweet, Spicy and delicious. That is what these muffins are. I ate these delightful cheesy muffins with my sweet potato chili, and they were a great accompaniment. You can totally make these into corn bread, I just happen to really like these in muffin form. They are like perfect individual servings that you can pop in your mouth without the need to cut the pan for another serving.

Make Your Own(Healthy) Ranch Dressing & A Giveaway!!

Ranch lovers rejoice!!! I have discovered a fast and easy way to make ranch dressing and I swear to you- you will never buy bottled full fat ranch dressing again!Hooray! Secondly I was asked to try out an amazing salad spinner from OXO and they gave me an extra one to giveaway to one of my readers. Hooray #2!!

Garlicky Hasselback Potatoes

So I have been wanting to make hasselback potatoes for awhile and let me tell you, you need to make these immediately. These are like simple baked potatoes, but with an outside that is super crispy and delicious. I took these to another level by adding chopped garlic,olive oil, and truffle salt. These look semi-fancy, but they are actually really simple to make.

Recipe Swap: Giada's Roasted Stuffed Tomatoes

It's recipe swap time! Big thanks to Sarah from A Taste of Home Cooking for hosting the swap! This week's theme is recipes from celebrity chef's recipes. Well, let's just say it was quite easy to compile a list of recipes from celebrity chefs. I have about two million cookbooks from the likes of Mario Batali, Rachael Ray, Bobby Flay and even the Top Chef Cookbook! I always love watching  Giada De Laurentiis because she makes cooking look effortless and well she started off on Everyday Italian and I am about as Italian as they come. Part of me is jealous because of how beautiful ( and skinny) she is and she eats so much of her food. Oh well, I won't complain.

WIAW & Crunchy Avocado Fries

Oh hello avocado fries! You are my new favorite snack!I once read an article that said Mayan's thought avocados held mystical powers. Well folks, after eating these babies, the Mayan's have made me a believer! Ok, stop salivating.First, let's recap some of my highlights of what I ate this week for WIAW!

Cheesy Cauliflower Puree

So I have tried cauliflower as "mashed potatoes" a few times now and have never been that impressed. I always used a potato masher after they were boiled and the consistency always felt weird. I decided to try it today with my food processor since I had it taken out for a few other recipes I was making( God forbid I take it out for one dish.) Again, as I mentioned yesterday, I am lazy.

Best Ever Truffle Parmesan Potato Wedges

Potatoes are one of my favorite foods. I actually never really met a carbohydrate I didn't like. Potatoes and pasta are by far my favorite things to eat. Thick cut french fries are my favorite fries to eat by far. I absolutely hate those shoe string fries. The thicker, the better. I ended up getting this amazing aged Parmigiano Reggiano on sale at whole foods and I knew what I wanted to do with it.I know alot of celebrity chefs give truffle oil a bad name, but I happen to really like it. It bumps up the earthy flavor of whatever you are cooking. Bottom line, if I had their money I would go to Italy and get really expensive truffles, but on my salary, I will have to settle with truffle oil.

Recipe Swap: Potato Dauphinois

Can I tell you all how happy I was to hear that the recipe swap was potato themed!Potatoes are one of my favorite things.. ever. Mashed potatoes are my favorite, but let me tell you these potatoes may be dethroning them! A big shout out to So Tasty, So Yummy for giving me this recipe. When I saw the picture for these potatoes on her blog I got really nervous, hoping that I could recreate. This dish is perfect for a dinner party because it is so fancy, but is made with such little effort! That is my kind of side dish!

WIAW& The Best Addition to Any Dish: Pickled Onions

So it is love your veggies month.Well, I love veggies so that should not be a problem for my WIAW post. I eat veggies probably every day. My favorite, as you saw in my post from last week is brussels sprouts. I could literally have them every day. Today I wanted to give you a sampling of what I ate Tuesday ( WIAT??) and give you a veggie recipe to take away! Double Whammy.