Loaded Baked Sweet Potatoes with Vegan Queso

When I'm not sure what to make for lunch or dinner, many times I'll bake a sweet potato or a Russet potato and load it with toppings. It's quick, nutritious, and so satisfying. I discovered the recipe for an awesome Vegan Mac N Cheese from VegNews a while back, made the original recipe with pasta, and…

Robin Robertson’s Chipotle Corn Chowder

I pulled out one of my favorite recipe books, Fresh From the Vegan Slow-Cooker, from Robin Robertson and rediscovered this family favorite. Yes, I realize it is "summer," but we've been having cool, foggy mornings with mild days on the coast which always mean slow-cooker meals to me! Since I'm recovering from knee surgery, the family…

Mango Macadamia Overnight Oats

Here's another idea for overnight oats: Tropical mango-macadamia! Simply layer the sweet fruit, old-fashioned oats and nuts and then pour in the almond milk. Assemble this breakfast in just 3 minutes and let it sit for at least 4 hours, and preferably overnight in the refrigerator. There is no need to cook these oats, they…

5-potluck dishes for the 4th

Ok - before we talk about the 4th of July I have to share a couple of photos with you. We had the cutest visitors the other day! Our neighbors have fairly young chickens and they came over when I was watering our tomato plants (by the way, these are the sorriest looking tomatoes -…

Lemony Dill Potato Salad

We eat our fair share of potatoes around here (except for my daughter - somehow the potato-loving gene skipped her!) ...Baked, roasted, hashbrowned, in potato salad, etc. So, when a friend of mine brought me a beautiful bag of her homegrown dill and other herbs, a fresh potato salad came to mind. Anthony loves to…

Vegan Sloppy Joe’s

Hi Everyone! We've been busy over here with work and cheering the kids on in their softball and soccer games this Spring. So, I haven't had much chance to look for exciting new recipes to try. Now that the semester is wrapping up, I'll have more time to look for new dishes to share. I'm…

Trick to Painting Crisp Stripes

I'm taking a break from the kitchen this week to bring you a painting tip! Maybe you already know about this secret, but there is a pretty cool trick to painting those crisp wide stripes on the walls that grace the pages of home magazines and Pinterest posts. The first time I tried to use…

Simple Strawberry Salad with Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette

The local strawberries at Monday afternoon's Farmer's Market looked so beautiful so I brought home a 3-pack for the family. We usually devour 1/2 of them with Monday's dinner, and then enjoy the rest on breakfast cereal, green salads and as snacks during the week. Here is a very simple salad for spring and summer with an…

Semi-Homemade Chili Mac with Cashew Sour Cream

Here is another one of our busy-night semi-homemade dinners. Honestly, this staple recipe came about by accident when I had no idea what to prepare for dinner, and virtually no time to make it (since I was going out for the evening and the kids would be on their own for dinner). I grabbed some vegetables, beans,…

Artichoke Sun-Dried Tomato Chickpea Salad Sandwiches

We went out to lunch at Urbane Cafe recently (before seeing the new Star Wars movie) and my daughter and husband each had The Californian vegetarian sandwich - with artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, avocados, etc. Since they loved it so much, I thought we'd recreate it at home - adding in some chickpeas for additional protein.…