Dinner Planner – Week of May 6, 2024

Happy Weekend!  If you take my monthly cooking class, the May class has been uploaded and it is a brunch theme!  I love the menu! 

Almond Croissant French Toast Casserole

Market Salad with Parmesan Ranch Dressing

Quiche with Breadcrumb “Crust”

Rice Pudding Parfait

Walnut Streusel Baked Oatmeal

Check last week’s dinner planner for Cinco de Mayo ideas and this week I have some delicious inspiration for Mother’s Day.  Tip: Tell your family early what you’d like.  For those of you who will be without your moms on Mother’s Day, I am holding space in my heart for you.  I know it can be a tough day.   Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Sheet Pan Veggie Quesadillas Recipe

This is a crazy-easy way to make quesadillas for a crowd and I found that this method makes them even crispier than a skillet!!  This is more of a concept than a recipe, so please do not get attached to the exact measurements here.  They are just guidelines because tortillas are all different sizes and you may need more or less filling based on what tortillas you use and what pan you use.  The strategy is to cover the bottom of the sheet pan with tortillas but be able to fold half of the tortillas lining the edges to fold up and over.  Plus, leftovers reheat well in a toaster oven.  Fill them however you like. I did veggies, beans and cheese here, but I often use leftovers in quesadillas.  PLUS, you don’t have to use cheese if you don’t want to!  Keep reading…..

Continue reading

Dinner Planner – Week of April 29, 2024

May gives December a run for its money as far as being a very busy month.  Everyone is trying to cram stuff in before summer, and there’s Mother’s Day and graduations and making sure summer plans get finalized.  It’s all exciting but it can feel overwhelming.  I have a great Mother’s Day gift guide in my newsletter this coming Monday which will give you a lot of excuses to treat yourself!  Also, this week, my annual breakfast/brunch-themed cooking class will be uploaded on May 1.  This a fantastic class!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Grain-Free Blueberry Scones Recipe

I am neither gluten-free nor grain-free, but I like diversity in my diet and I also find that almond flour-based baked goods have a bit more protein and spike my blood sugar less. If I eat traditional grain flour baked goods in the morning, especially on an empty stomach, I tend to feel super tired afterward. NOT the way I want to start my day!  These grain-free blueberry scones are not too sweet, tender, a little craggy on the outside like regular scones, and perfect for breakfast, brunch or a Mother’s Day treat!

Continue reading

Dinner Planner – Week of April 22, 2024

For those of you observing Passover on Monday evening, I hope you are able to spend the holiday with loved ones.  If you are cooking or contributing to a seder, please check out my Passover roundup for some inspiration.  Although truly almost any recipe can be made Passover-compliant.  If you take my monthly online cooking class, I am hosting live “office hours” on zoom this Wednesday, April 24th at noon PT.  Check your email for the link!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Passover Roundup!

Passover is coming up and if you want to save time searching high and low for recipes that are seder-worthy, here’s a great roundup of my tried and true Passover-friendly recipes.  Most any recipe can truly be tweaked to be Passover-compliant.  Feel free to leave a question below if you need help swapping out an ingredient.  Please note, you can generally NOT sub a nut flour (like almond) one-for-one with a grain flour (like wheat, oat or a GF flour blend.) 

Appetizers

  1. Passover Popovers (everyone goes wild for these!)
  2. Deconstructed Deviled Eggs (from Quicker Than Quick) on Matzo
  3. Crudites with Lemon-Cashew Dressing from Quicker Than Quick
  4. Vegan Queso with Grain-free Tortilla Chips

Mains

  1. Onion-braised brisket
  2. Baked chicken with artichokes
  3. Easy No-fail Whole Roasted Chicken
  4. Orange-rosemary Glazed Chicken (use coconut aminos in place of shoyu/tamari)
  5. Pistachio-Crusted Salmon (sub finely chopped pistachios for the breadcrumbs)
  6. Poached Salmon with Cucumber Yogurt Sauce
  7. Spatchcocked Honey-Lemon Glazed 
  8. Matzo Polenta with Mushroom Ragout 
  9. Matzo Lasagne

Vegetables & Sides

  1. Cauliflower Mashed Potatoes
  2. Asparagus Mimosa or simple roasted asparagus
  3. Roasted Sweet Potatoes and Leeks with Roasted Garlic Dressing
  4. Sweet Potato Casserole (I subbed flaked coconut for the cornflakes)
  5. Puree of broccoli
  6. Roasted rutabagas with balsamic
  7. Maple-Mustard Roasted Vegetables
  8. Zesty Lemon Quinoa

Soups

  1. Dairy-free Creamy Asparagus Soup (sub potatoes for the oats)
  2. Spring Green Minestrone
  3. Cauliflower and Roasted Garlic Soup 

Salads

  1. Salad with oranges, radishes, avocado
  2. Asparagus Salad with Mint Vinaigrette
  3. Perfect Spring Salad
  4. Quinoa and Spinach Salad with Feta and Dill

Desserts

    1. Lemon Ice Torte 
    2. Grain-free Carrot Cake with cashew cream frosting or traditional cream cheese frosting is my usual )
    3. Coconut macaroons 
    4. Cashew cheesecake
    5. Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies
    6. Flourless Chocolate Cake
    7. Nut-free Flourless Fallen Chocolate Cake 
    8. Chocolate Zucchini Cake
    9. Healthy Chocolate Fudge 
    10. Strawberry Mounds Bars
    11. Grain-Free Strawberries and Cream Cookies 

Dinner Planner – Week of April 15, 2024

I know some of you will be celebrating Passover on Monday, April 22nd.  I will be posting a Passover recipe round-up on Wednesday to give you some more ideas since this week’s dinner planner doesn’t cover the holiday.  I had a really fun IG live this past Monday with my friend and interior designer extraordinaire, Nathan Turner, and I *might* have another special guest join Hubs and me this coming Monday.  Stay tuned!  Here’s your dinner planner for the week:

Continue reading

Spatchcocked Honey-Lemon Glazed Chicken Recipe

I love coming up with a new twist on roasted chicken because it’s the perfect cozy dinner and I love serving it for holidays too.  This would be fabulous for Passover.  Honey and lemon are a natural pairing and I like adding thyme for an herby element. I have really come to favor cooking a spatchcocked (backbone removed) chicken (and turkey for that matter.)  It’s such an easy way to cook a whole chicken and it’s easier to carve. You can definitely use these bones for stock too.  The honey is not noticeable.  You can also use this flavor combo on bone-in, skin-on chicken pieces.

Continue reading