Pesto Tortellini Salad
Pesto Tortellini Salad ~ easy 5 ingredient cold salad made with cheese tortellini, tomatoes and fresh mozzarella tossed with bright, herby pesto. Perfect for parties; easy enough to make any night. For meatlovers, add prosciutto or soppressata!
For me, Memorial weekend kicks off the start of summer even though the calendar says otherwise. Barbecues, swimming and the beginning of a whole new menu that includes some cold salads I haven’t seen in months.
My 9 year old neighbor insists summer starts on the last day of school. Long days playing outside, watching for the ice cream truck and staying up a later at night. Who could argue with that?
For a foodie, the return of some favorite foods is like an old friend, especially this Pesto Tortellini Salad. Even though I haven’t seen it in months, we pick up right where we left off.
Sauteed Corn with Bacon
Sauteed Corn with Bacon ~ cooks in 10 minutes ~ sweet corn, crispy bacon, bell peppers and fresh basil for an easy summer side dish.
Once corn is ‘in season’ here in the Midwest, it’s literally everywhere. Driving up north you’ll come upon one roadside stand after another selling this delicious piece of summer for literally pennies an ear. You can’t beat it.
This side dish incorporates sweet corn with crispy salty bacon and fresh herbs in an easy corn recipe you can enjoy all summer.
Italian Pasta Salad
Italian Pasta Salad ~ this easy recipe combines cheese-stuffed tortellini and bursting with flavor from all your antipasto favorites: salami, pepperoni, cheese, peppers, olives and onions dressed in a simple homemade vinaigrette.
Even if the weather hasn’t officially said summer, this salad does. We’ve had our fill of cold days and plates loaded with comfort food.
It’s time for summer fare, dips in the lake, toasted s’mores, staying out after the streetlights come on and Italian Pasta Salad with tortellini and the BEST Italian salad dressing.
Au Gratin Potatoes
Au Gratin Potatoes ~ easy classic recipe for tender sliced potatoes blanketed in layers of creamy, cheesy sauce and a golden, slightly crispy top.
If you’ve already started planning your Easter menu a big high five to your organizational skills. To the rest of us frantically scrolling through Pinterest the day before the holiday, we’re kindred spirits. We’re not alone and I have us all covered.
There’s no better sidekick to that Easter ham than pretty much anything blanketed in layers of creamy, über cheesy sauce. Enter: Au Gratin Potatoes or if you got an instant pot for Christmas and are still waiting to take it for a spin, how about the BEST Mac and Cheese.
Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes
Mashed Potatoes ~ creamy, buttery bursting with smoked Gouda cheese flavor. The ultimate side dish for the holidays.
For a foodie, it doesn’t get much better than the Wine and Food Festival in Epcot at Walt Disney World but if you think it’s nothing but ‘park food’, think again.
Disney rolled out a foodie’s red carpet as only Disney can do. Inspiration was everywhere. We paced ourselves sampling so many delicious dishes but still weren’t able to taste everything we wanted to. I guess that’s the best reason to go back.
My favorite dish was lick-your-plate good: Smoked Gouda Mashed Potatoes that served as a base for fork-tender, Beer Braised Beef served in ‘Belgium’. When I got home I couldn’t wait to make both.
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes ~ rustic, creamy, cheesy ramped up with the flavor of fresh sage and brown butter. Seriously delicious. The best mashed potatoes you’ll ever eat.
There’s no denying fall is here and it’s not just because of All Things Pumpkin (you know what I mean). It’s in the cool crisp air too which means sleeping with the windows wide open (at least for now), swapping out summer clothes for the heavy winter stuff and packing away summer recipes for some good, fall comfort food.
Brown Butter Mashed Potatoes are at the top of my list ~ creamy, goat-cheesy plus that delicious nutty brown-butter flavor. They’re (sigh) epic (some may say lick your plate) good. . . and just in the nick of time for not just fall, but major holiday entertaining. Oh yeah – and you can make them a day ahead which means entertaining just got easier.
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts, skillet seared and cooked until tender with crispy bacon all in a maple syrup-Dijon mustard glaze.
Brussels sprouts used to be the vegetable people loved to hate. I even told people I didn’t care for them when in fact, they had never actually passed my lips.
Once named the Most Hated Vegetable in America, they’re enjoying a new-found popularity.
Maple Bacon Brussels Sprouts are pan sautéed, infused with the flavor of Applewood smoked bacon, then tossed with a maple syrup-bacon-French mustard glaze. They’ll win over even your pickiest eater.
Baked Sweet Potato Fries
I was a bit slow jumping on the sweet potato bandwagon, but now that I’m on it, especially with these Baked Sweet Potato Fries – I don’t want to get off. . . ever. My daughter makes a Loaded Baked Sweet Potato topped with black beans, sautéed chicken, bell peppers and onions, cheese and salsa ~ a meal in itself. Sounds delicious, right? I wish she had learned to make this when she was younger and lived at home, right?
Tomato-Goat Cheese-Pesto Side Dish
Here where I live in Michigan, we’re starting to harvest our tomatoes. Which is a good thing. . .until it isn’t. Let me explain. Sometimes those tomatoes come in so fast and furious you can’t process them before they go bad ~ a cardinal sin among gardeners – letting your crops go bad. So I sought to create a unique side dish with some of my harvest, Tomato-Goat Cheese-Pesto Side Dish which turned out to be really delicious.
Easy Cheesy Jalapeno Corn
Monday on the blog I promised two super easy side dishes and this is the second, Easy Cheesy Jalapeno Corn, a slightly spicy, slightly cheesy fresh corn off the cob side dish that goes perfectly with steak, chicken, pork or fish. Cooking time just 5 minutes. How can you beat a delicious, fresh side dish in just 5 minutes?
