Fajita or Burrito Bowls are a super simple, healthy, and filling dinner that come together in little to no time!  I personally like how tasty and customizable they are.  You can make them ahead of time, double the recipe to have leftovers, add and any vegetables or toppings you choose. My version of a Fajita Veggie Bowl is incredibly easy to make!  You start by making a batch of rice, either white or brown, whichever you prefer. While the rice is cooking, slice a few bell peppers and a large onion.  I like to use 2 different colors of bell peppers and a white onion.  Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add the peppers and onion and sauté until tender. Add a packet of fajita seasoning to the skillet along with 1 cup of water.  Stir to combine and bring to a simmer to allow the liquid … Continue reading

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Valentine’s Day is a week away and I’m sure you’re busy making plans.  Whether you opt for a nice homemade meal or dinner at your favorite restaurant, you can’t skip dessert.  Calories don’t count on holidays, right?  Regardless of where we eat on Valentine’s Day, we always have dessert at home.  You can kick your feet up, snuggle up with your loved one, and gorge on delicious sweets 🙂 Your local Festival Foods will have a variety of desserts and chocolates ready to go! 5-inch Round Classic Chocolate or White Vanilla Bean Curly Cakes Abdallah Assorted Chocolates Frosted Brownies Chocolate Dipped Long Stem Strawberries Mini Sweetheart Devil’s Food Cakes (available in 3 varieties) Cream Puffs Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes Ice Cream Valentine’s Day Themed Candy …and more! We like to make a few desserts of our own as well as get a few desserts from the store to have throughout the … Continue reading

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Creamy Hummus Pasta with Sun Dried Tomatoes is something we tried recently.  We both like pasta and we both like hummus, so why not try them together, right? It’s savory, delicious, and light.  You’ll be satisfied without the heavy feeling of being too full.  The hummus replaces traditional pasta sauce, so you have a creamy and slightly nutty flavored sauce.  The sun dried tomatoes are roasted with garlic so they are tender and give off great flavor.  This recipe is a winner in our house! The recipe can be found here. Start by bringing a large pot of water to a boil and cooking the pasta according to package instructions.  Reserve 1 cup of pasta water before draining, then set the reserved water and noodles aside. In a large skillet, heat the sun dried tomato oil over medium heat.  Add the sun dried tomatoes and garlic, and sauté for about … Continue reading

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We’ve been eating a lot of meatballs at our house lately!  Our idea was to take traditional dishes and turn them into meatballs.  The idea is you get the same great taste but in bite-sized morsels.  The recipes I’m going to share with you today are easy to assemble, wonderful weeknight dinner options, crowd pleasers, and make great leftovers!  The fight at our house is no longer “what’s for dinner” but “which are we going to make first” 🙂 Orange Chicken Meatballs are everything you love about a classic takeout meal!  The flavor is incredible – you will think you are eating orange chicken from your favorite Chinese restaurant but with fewer calories and fat.  I like to serve the Orange Chicken Meatballs on top of Cilantro Lime Rice.  You could serve these with rice, noodles, or as is. The recipe can be found here. Start by preheating the oven … Continue reading

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Are you ready for some football?  The Super Bowl is right around the corn and I’m sure you’re busy getting ready to host a party or determine what you are going to bring to someone else’s party.  It’s always fun to plan food that’s themed for a special event and try to make something unique. When I host an event, I like to have a variety of snacks to choose from; something warm, something hearty, grab-and-go type snacks, and at least one dessert item.  This year for the Super Bowl, we are providing the following food options to our guests: Buffalo Chicken Dip with Tortilla Chips Fresh Popped Popcorn from Lauri’s Pop-Corner Pepperoni Pizza Rolls Mini Loaded Potato Skins Ranch Snack Mix Football Cupcakes   The Buffalo Chicken Dip is available from the deli at your local Festival Foods.  You can always order online ahead of time to guarantee availability.  … Continue reading

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Looking for a warm, healthy, and filling breakfast on a cold winter morning?  Look no further than Instant Pot Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal!  It cooks up perfectly in little to no time, only takes one pot, and will leave you feeling very cozy 🙂 It’s the perfect combination of warm and fluffy oatmeal, apples, and cinnamon.  Even better, the recipe is vegan, if you lead a vegan lifestyle. The recipe can be found here. Start by chopping the apples into small pieces.  You essentially want to dice the apples.  A portion of the apples are going into the oatmeal to cook in the Instant Pot.  The rest of the apples will be used as topping. Add the oats, almond milk, 2 of the chopped apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, cinnamon sticks, and nutmeg to the Instant Pot (this is where the one-pot concept comes in).  I use old fashioned oats, but you … Continue reading

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Ratatouille (pronounced rat-tuh-too-ee) is an incredibly colorful and healthy dish!  Ratatouille is typically a stewed vegetable dish that’s packed with fresh product; anything from tomatoes, eggplant, zucchini, squash, bell pepper, onions, etc.  You can include all of the vegetables listed above or just a few.  Personally, I like to use onion, zucchini, yellow squash, and tomatoes. The recipe can be found here. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly spray a 6×9 baking dish with olive oil spray and set aside.  You can also use an 8×8 baking dish if you don’t have a 6×9 baking dish.  The shape of the pan really doesn’t matter, just pay attention to cooking times because it will vary by a few minutes if you use a larger pan that listed in the recipe. Slice the tomatoes, zucchini, squash, onion, and basil (and whatever additional vegetables you are using).  You want the sliced to … Continue reading

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Vegan Vegetable Pot Pie is my new favorite dish!  It’s a great comfort meal that’s packed with vegetables and a wonderfully flaky crust.  Very cozy and delicious 🙂 The recipe can be found here. Start by making the Vegan Pie Crust.  The recipe can be found here. Add the dry ingredients to a food processor and pulse a few times to mix together.  Then add the butter and shortening to the food processor and mix together for about 10 seconds.  The dough will be pretty flaky at this point. Slowly pour in the cold water while the food processor is running.  The dough should start to clump together.  Remove the dough to a flowered surface and use your hands to form the dough into a ball.  Use a rolling pin to roll out a piece of pie crust large enough for a 12-inch pan. Place the crust in a pie … Continue reading

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Air Fryer Chicken Potstickers are super flavorful and surprisingly easy to make!  Plus, they are super versatile because you can fill them with anything you want.  Potstickers cooked the traditional way are amazing, but have you ever considered cooking them in an air fryer?  It’s a great way to get a crispy crust without too much added oil. The recipe can be found here. Start by combining the ground chicken, water chestnuts, green onion, minced onion, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger in a bowl.  Stir until well combined or use your hands to combine (this is almost easier to blend everything together). Place 16 potsticker wrappers on the counter.  You can also use wonton wrappers if you don’t have potsticker wrappers, they will work just the same.  Add a scoop of the chicken mixture to the center of each potsticker.  You should have enough to add a small … Continue reading

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We recently purchased an air fryer to see what the hype is all about – it’s pretty awesome!  Our first meal consisted of Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings and Air Fryer Homemade French Fries. Both the chicken wings and french fries were crispy on the outside and tender on the side.  Plus, they are so easy to make! You’d never guess you could have delicious chicken wings and french fries for a fraction of the oil traditionally used to cook these items.  That’s because air fryers require less oil than when frying food, making it a great appliance to use to cut calories and fat.  Generally speaking, air fryers product healthier alternatives to fried food.  Give it a try! Air Fryer Lemon Pepper Chicken Wings have great flavor in each bite!  The lemon flavor really stands out without being overpowering and the skin becomes crispy, creating a nice crunch.  … Continue reading

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