Pineapple Juice & Clove Poached Pears

I never realized how easy it is to make delicious poached pears until I gave this recipe a try. This is an old family recipe that my mom has had for over 30 years. She got the recipe from our family friend's mom who has been making this even longer. This is just the recipe for the pears, but they would be delicious served with vanilla ice cream, custard or cream.

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Simple Italian Style Pasta Bake

I was having friends over during the week and was looking for a quick and easy dish that I could make after work. I wanted something I could prepare ahead of time that would be a crowd-pleaser for all my guests. I found a few pasta bake recipe and wanted to give it a try with my own twist (and to make it simple). This was a very easy dish which I prepared the night before and baked prior to my guests arriving. Everyone loved it and it made for a great, quick weeknight main course.

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5 Layer Dip

Five layer dip is one of those tried and tested appetizers that I have loved for decades. You can easily put your own spin on it by adding additional items (I sometimes like to add black olives) and adjusting the amount of each layer to meet your preferences. I tend to love a lot of guacamole and sour cream, but I kept the ratios a little more traditional in this recipe. This is a very easy dip to whip together, and you can cheat by using pre-made guacamole to make it even simpler.

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Strawberry Lemon Spiral Cookies

With the weather getting colder, baking has finally resumed in my kitchen. I was looking for a recipe for a bright, flavorsome cookie and came across this recipe. It does have a few steps involved where chilling the dough is required, but is otherwise fairly easy to make. You can also make these ahead of time and freeze the dough once you have rolled it in to 2 logs. If you have a big crowd coming over I would suggest doubling the recipe since I made about 32 cookies from this recipe.

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Roasted Vegetable Couscous Salad

I had friends come over for dinner and I wanted to make a few dishes ahead of time since I was hosting them right after work, leaving me with 2 hours before they arrived. I have always loved pearled couscous and knew I wanted to add roasted vegetables to it. I tend to love all types of grains mixed with roasted vegetables. This recipe can be made a day ahead of time, just let it come to room temperate before serving. You can skip the fresh thyme and rosemary if you don't have them on hand and this will still be a great dish.

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Moist Apple Crumb Cake

With autumn hang just begin, it's that time of year for apple recipes. This crumb cake is a delicious autumn recipe that is easy to make. After baking this I decided I'd even love the cake without the sweet and crunchy crumb topping. The cake itself is fantastic and the recipe's name does not lie. It is very moist, even on day 2. Though I made this as a dessert, I enjoyed leftovers with a cup of tea the next morning and it was just as delicious. This cake is great on it's own, or serve it with vanilla ice cream or custard sauce.

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Easy Chicken Quesadillas

I had some leftover rotisserie chicken at home and wanted to make something with the leftovers since I'm never a fan of reheated rotisserie. I often go from my green chile and chicken enchiladas but wanted to try something new. I found this recipe and had everything on hand already. This is a very easy recipe and leftovers can be reheated in a toaster over the next day for an equally great meal. Serve with your favorite condiments, such as guacamole, salsa and sour cream.

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Chocolate Rugelach

It's Jewish holiday season, so there's no better time for some rugelach. I made these for Rosh Hashana and although it takes a bit of time to make the rugelach (you have to chill the dough 2 times), the recipe is pretty easy to follow. My family loves all chocolate desserts, so these were a hit. You can prepare these ahead of time by making the dough and letting it chill overnight and making the cookies the following day.

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Garlic Mustard Glazed Chicken

My sister had made this recipe a while back and we more or less inhaled this chicken. This is a delicious, easy dinner that can be prepared ahead of time and grilled later. The marinade packs more flavor than I anticipated and it was a great surprise when I first tried it. I've since added this recipe to my rotation of summer dinner and I am sure it would taste great broiled as well. The original recipe calls for chicken skewers, but I take the easy way out and just use the marinade on chicken thighs.

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Rice with Fava Beans and Dill (Baghali Polo)

I was looking for a quick and easy side dish recipe to make for dinner the other night. I knew I didn't have much more than 30 minutes and wanted to make a rice dish. I remember having a delicious Persian rice with fava beans and dill as a child and began looking for an easy version of this recipe. I wanted to stick with simple ingredients and didn't want to go as far as making tahdig (a crunchy, delicious crust on some Persian rice dishes). After searching through a few recipes, I found this one which had a simple ingredient list and sounded reminiscent of the rice I had enjoyed as a child. This side dish did not fail. I am sure this is not 100% authentic, but the flavor is fantastic. What I love about this variation as well is that your prepare the rice separately, then add the other ingredients. This way I can keep some plain rice on the side for any picky eaters in the group. Enjoy this rice wish some Persian chicken kabobs or just about any meal.

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Breakfast Egg Casserole with Croutons

Every now and then I get excited by breakfast foods. Typically I am more of a lunch and dinner person, but I have been loving this breakfast casserole recipe and have made it a few times this year. It's so easy to make and you can modify the recipe to sit your taste. I've made this with bacon, but if I am short on tie, I'll just throw in some ham cubes and it's delicious too. I like to sprinkle Trader Joe's "everything but the bagel" spice mix on top of this. Feel free to experiment with this recipe and enjoy the great breakfast dish!

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Quick and Easy Lemon Cake

I woke up before my alarm the other day and had lots of time to kill. I decided to bake, but had limited ingredients on hand. I knew I had a few lemons in my fridge so I began looking for a lemon cake recipe that I could make with what was in my kitchen. I stumble upon this recipe for a vegan cake and decided to give it a try. I used regular milk as opposed to a vegan option, and made a few more adjustments. The end result was a very lemony, most and slightly dense cake. It turned out much better than expected and I will definitely keep this recipe on hand as a great base. I brought it to work and the cake was gone in a few hours. I was expecting there to be some leftover cake and planned on taking a nice picture at home, but that obviously did not happen.

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Italian Sausage with Peppers and Onions

I recently had a backyard barbecue where (as usual) I had too much food. I threw a few things in the freezer and decided I wanted to make something with the Italian sausages I had left over. They were the Trader Joe's chicken Sicilian sausages and they worked great in this dish. I always loved peppers and sausage  and this recipe is very easy, hard to mess up and the leftovers are still delicious. I had 2 red peppers at home when I made this, but feel free to use whatever variety you prefer.

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Corn and Zucchini Orzo Salad with Goat Cheese

I was looking around for a recipe for a quick and easy weeknight dinner idea. I am loving all the summer produce available right now and wanted to incorporate that in to my meal. I wanted to keep it simple and luckily stumbled upon this recipe. The orzo salad makes an amazing side dish. I grilled some shrimp and added it on top to make a main course out of it. Just toss the shrimp (about 1/2 pound) with the zest of one lime, juice of half a lime, 1 tablespoons olive oil and salt and pepper and grill until cooked through. If you own one, a grill basket will make this step even easier.

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Shawarma Marinated Grilled Chicken

Grilling season is officially in full force and I have been looking for some new recipe ideas for quick weeknight dinners. I pretty much love all Middle Eastern and Mediterranean flavored food and started looking for a chicken shawarma marinade. This one is a delicious option. I only had time to let everything marinate for about 45 minutes and it was still delicious. I made this with grilled veggies and a salad. But I have also served it with pita, hummus and zhoug (a spicier Middle Easter green chili sauce). This would also be great with a yogurt sauce with some garlic and seasoning. I pretty much always grill chicken thighs, but feel free to use whatever cut you prefer.

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Lighter Chicken Korma

I absolutely love Indian cooking and am a huge fan of anything with a sauce that can be poured over rice or mopped up with naan. Traditional Indian recipes tend to be on the heavier side with lots of cream or butter. I found this recipe and decided to give it a try. It's not as rich as a traditional korma, but the flavors are fantastic and this is a great recipe for the days you want Indian food with a lighter approach.

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Greek Style Chicken Souvlaki Bowl

I always enjoy "bowls" as a dinner option since you get your protein, starch and veggies in one place. I haven't been making them lately, but recently went looking for a souvlaki bowl recipe. If you've never had souvlaki, it's originally Greek dish, which means the marinade is fresh and flavorsome. This recipe is really only "souvlaki" like in that the chicken is marinated in Greek flavors and there's a tzatziki style sauce involved, along with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. This is a great and easy to make dish and the leftovers taste just as good.

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Coconut Curry Chicken Soup

My sister first made this soup a couple of years ago and my whole family loved it. It has been on rotation ever since then and is an easy, delicious Thai inspired soup. Your can make this recipe even simpler by using rotisserie chicken instead of cooking chicken yourself. This recipe and be adjusted to suit your flavor preferences and will still be great! We've had version with less chilies and have had to omit the fish sauce as well for dietary restrictions. Any way we've had it, this soup does not fail and the leftovers are just as great as day 1. My photos don't do this justice as I skipped the garnishes this time around, but trust me, this is delicious!

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Homemade Garlic Naan

My sister's family and I recently made an Indian feast for dinner. We had some of the usual suspects, like chicken tikka masala and raita. But this time my brother in law was brave enough to try making garlic naan. I should preface this post by saying that he did all the legwork in making this naan and the rest of us simply got to enjoy it. But it was a fun process to share a kitchen with someone dabbling in naan making. We quickly discovered some group favorites. When the naan is fresh, everyone preferred the garlic naan, but on the next day, the few plain naan pieces we the winners as the garlic didn't taste as good on day 2. My brother in law also played with cooking temperatures for a bit before finding the ideal naan cooking setting. This will vary in each stove so experiment with what works best for your naan so it still browns and bubbles, but doesn't burn.

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Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have always loved a soft baked chocolate chip cookie, but had never baked one that I loved. Recently my niece requested to bake chocolate chip cookies so I looked in to a few different recipes. I found this one and decided to give it a try. This instantly became my new go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe. They turned out wonderfully. Everyone who tried them was pleasantly surprised by how good they were (clearly my chocolate chip cookie reputation was mediocre prior to this). These turn out soft baked and thanks to the instructions, you actually know when to take them out of the oven to keep that chewiness of a soft baked cookie.

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Spinach, Mushroom and Zucchini Quiche

Quiche is one of those great foods where you can use whatever vegetables you have laying around and still have a fantastic end result. I recently had a handful of mushrooms and half a bag of spinach sitting in the fridge and decided a quiche would be the best way to go. Feel free to use whatever vegetables you have on hand.

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Traditional Indian Raita

I serve raita with almost any Indian dish I cook. I personally love it and can eat it plain by the spoonful, but it's also great to serve if you have some guests who don't have much of a tolerance for spicy food. The yogurt definitely helps cool things down. I think is complements pretty much any Indian dinner. It's extremely easy to make and will last a few days in the fridge.

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Cream Cheese Frosting

When it comes to frosting, cream cheese frosting is one of my favorites. This is a really quick and easy recipe for a great cream cheese frosting that pipes easily and holds it shape. Use this on chocolate cake, carrot cake, or any other cake you enjoy. This is very hard to mess up, so it's a great go-to frosting recipe when you want something homemade.

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Mesir Wat (Ethiopian Red Lentils)

With the cold winter we've been having I have been on a lentil stew kick all season. I have tried a few different Indian ones and came across this Ethiopian recipe which I was very curious about. I have always loved Ethiopian food, but had never tried making it since I wasn't sure where to start. This recipe is easy to follow and create a filling, flavorsome dinner. I served this with a side of rice for a hearty meal.

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Mostly Homemade Garlic Bread

I am a huge garlic bread fan. I can easily finish off 5 pieces in a sitting, if not more- and this is usually on top of the main course and other sides being offered. One of my dear friends has always made her own garlic bread and once I realized how easy and delicious her technique was, I was hooked! The bread is store bought in this recipe, but the garlic butter spread is homemade. Serve this with any pasta dish, but it's especially good with a homemade bolognese (like this Swiss Betty Bossi one).

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Crispy Speculoos Cookies

I originally came across this recipe while looking for a Biscoff Lotus cookie copycat recipe. My family and I love these cookies, but I wanted to try making them myself. Though this does not truly taste like a Biscoff cookie, it is a delicious speculoos cookie with fantastic flavors and a great texture. This cookie is now one of my go-to cookies that I know everyone in my family will enjoy. The dough can be difficult to roll if it gets too warm since it has a lot of butter in it, so chilling the dough prior to rolling is very helpful.

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Paprika Chicken Thighs with Brussels Sprouts and Delicata Squash

I have recently discovered just how delicious and easy sheet pan dinners can be. With a little bit of prep work, this comes together for an easy weeknight dinner. I prepared the vegetables a day prior and covered the chicken in the marinade the morning before making this dish to save on time at night. Either way you approach the recipe this is a great, complete meal that comes together easily. Feel free to add more veggies or chicken to suit your preference.

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Green Cabbage Salad with Cilantro

This salad recipe is one I have been making for years and love how easy it is to make. Being a cabbage salad, I love that you can still enjoy this on day 2, unlike most salads. The ingredients in this salad are light and refreshing and can be adjusted to your flavor preference. You can feel free to add more heat, adjust the citrus level and add as much cilantro as you like. The recipe comes from a family friend, who has been making this salad since I was a kid. It is still delicious many years later and I appreciate the fresh, light flavor this salad produces.

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