This classic Italian Pasta dish is literally composed of it’s name: cheese and pepper pasta. The first time I tried this dish was a few weeks ago at a new restaurant that opened up near our house. I went out with a few girlfriends, and one of them raved about how amazing and simple this…
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Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups (vegan, gluten-free)
Even though these are extremely simple to make, I had to share the post because they tasted great with NO added sugar, and much better than store-bought Reese’s peanut butter cups! The idea for these peanut butter cups came from a family member. I decided to make them for my husband on our wedding anniversary…
Stuffed Mushrooms w/Breadcrumbs (contains dairy, contains gluten)
One night for dinner I felt like having a few different appetizers instead of an entire meal. I had some mushrooms, pecorino cheese, and breadcrumbs so decided to throw together some stuffed mushrooms. They were very simple, quick to make, and tasted really good! I had already popped a few in my mouth right out…
Southwestern Cheese Panini (gluten-free option)
I made this panini for lunch the other day and it turned out great! My husband and I were not in the mood for a traditional grilled cheese sandwich, so I turned to my fridge and pulled out what little ingredients I had that I thought would go well in a panini. Instead of layering…
Brussels Sprouts w/Garlic & Butter (vegan option, gluten-free)
Butter, garlic, salt, and pepper…the perfect combination of spices and seasoning to add on any sauteed vegetable, including brussel sprouts! This quick and easy side dish is tasty, fresh, and easy to make! I usually always use this combination of spices and seasoning with broccoli or squash, but two friends made an amazing dinner for…
Cilantro Rice (vegan, gluten-free)
On a recent trip to Las Vegas, my husband and I ate at a restaurant called Taqueria Canonita at the Venetian hotel. We had the wild mushroom poblano cream enchiladas and they were amazing!! Of course I wanted to try recreating it at home. I looked online for ideas on the recipe and ended up…
Vegetable Jalfrezi (vegan, gluten-free)
I wanted to expand my Indian dishes beyond Gujrati food and decided to make this simple yet tasty dish. I had some cauliflower in the fridge, and instead of making my usual recipe, I adapted this recipe from Show Me The Curry. I made a few changes to the original recipe: I used broccoli, added a lot…
Roasted Brussels Sprouts w/Garlic (gluten-free, vegan)
I would have never thought something as simple as brussels sprouts could taste so great! Just some simple seasoning combined with roasting and you have a great tasting appetizer. I recently went to a restaurant with a bunch of friends and ordered several appetizers. One of them was roasted brussel sprouts with their house hot…
Santa Fe Salad (gluten-free, contains dairy)
One of my favorite salads…the Santa Fe Salad at the Cheesecake Factory (minus the chicken of course). I decided to try and replicate it for our holiday party this year. I found many different websites trying to replicate the salad dressing. This recipe was adapted from cdkitchen. I felt like the original recipe was missing…
Fresh Jalapeno Poppers (gluten-free, contains dairy)
Mexican Food was the theme for this years holiday party! I’ve had the frozen jalapeno poppers from grocery stores many times, but wanted to try making fresh ones myself. I found a recipe for fresh jalapeno poppers from at Simply Recipes and adapted it to fit what I what I was looking for. I added…
Panini Sandwich w/ Portabello Mushrooms (contains dairy, gluten-free option)
Roasted portabello sandwiches, cherry tomatoes, and red onions…my favorite panini sandwich combination full of roasted veggies! This recipe is very easy because the oven does most of the prep work. I typically serve it with a side of Potato Leek Soup. Gluten-free note: I made this sandwich for my brother who has Celiac and used gluten-free bread…
Shiro (contains dairy, contains gluten)
For Diwali this year (Indian Festival of Lights holiday) I decided to try and make an Indian dessert. I’ve never been a huge fan of Indian desserts, but I remember enjoying my moms Shiro when I was young. So I gave her a call for the recipe and decided to give it a try. I…
Thai Rice Noodles (gluten-free, vegan)
Brown sugar, soy sauce, and corn starch…three of the most basic ingredients I use in many of my Thai dishes. Here is a simple yet tasty rice noodle dish with some veggies and basil. The best part of this recipe is that you don’t need any special ingredients for the sauce. I made this dish…
Tomato-Basil-Mozzarella-Avocado Stacks w/Balsamic Reduction Sauce (vegan option, gluten-free)
My mom recently gave me a bag of home-grown tomatoes which were AMAZING! I wanted to use the tomatoes and make something fresh and uncooked to savor their taste. When I saw the basil and mozzarella in the fridge, I decided to make stacks for lunch as a side along with the Balsamic Marinated Tofu. …
Tofu Scrambe (Mexican Style) – UPDATE
Sorry for all the updates, but this one I had to share. If you’ve ever tried the original recipe, I say to crumble the tofu. Recently I cubed it (as I would for a stir fry) instead, and it turned out much better! When eaten alone or with tortilla, it just tasted more filling and…
Sweet Balsamic Marinated Tofu (gluten-free, vegan)
This dish is perfect as a light meal or as a side, especially for a hot summer day! Recently I’ve been a huge fan of slightly reduced balsamic vinegar as a drizzle to go along with different salads, marinades, or dipping sauces. This marinade takes a simple reduced balsamic vinegar to the next level. The…
Phyllo Pesto Pizza w/Smoked Mozzarella (contains dairy, contains gluten)
It was Wednesday night, 7:30pm, and I still had NO idea what to make for dinner. I was searching through my fridge when I saw the Phyllo Sheets and some pesto I had made earlier that week. At that point, I remembered reading a Phyllo Pizza recipe in some magazine and decided that was going…
Portabello Mushrooms over Quinoa & Peppers (vegan, gluten-free)
One of my favorite side dishes to make is portabello mushrooms sauteed with some white wine, garlic, pepper, pine nuts, and green onions. I had some left-over Quinoa after making my sons lunch, and decided to make my favorite side dish into a healthy meal by cooking the quinoa with some peppers and serving it under…
Corn, Zucchini, and Green Chile Burritos (gluten-free option, vegan option)
Burritos are categorized into ‘quick meals’ at our house when I simply don’t have the time to make anything else. I usually stuff the burritos with beans, spinach, corn, cheese, tomatoes, and avocado. But this week, instead of having our traditional burritos, I decided to make this recipe from Vegetarian Times. It seemed simple enough…
Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (vegan, gluten-free)
I always shy away from making recipes with roasted peppers because I don’t like the taste of them from the jars at the grocery store. So finally I decided to try and roast my own red peppers at home, and what better way to use them than in some hummus… Serve the hummus with some…
Fresh Summer Rice Wraps (vegan, gluten-free)
If you’re looking for something light and refreshing to eat for lunch on a hot summer day, these rice wraps are perfect! For this version, I used what I had in my fridge…tofu, mushrooms, avocado, and romaine lettuce. I lightly pan fried the tofu and mushrooms with soy sauce and chili sauce for some extra…
Mod Monkey Chocolate Cake w/Buttercream Frosting
My son turned ONE!! So of course I had to make a cake for his first birthday. I decided to go with the Mod Monkey theme and searched for a few cake decorating ideas online. I quickly found myself wanting to make a cake with a monkey face, and realized in order to make it…
Baked Shell Pasta w/Cherry Tomatoes (gluten-free option, contains dairy)
My son and I just picked over 100 delicious cherry tomatoes from our backyard! Besides just popping them in our mouths, which we did plenty of, I decided to incorporate them into a baked pasta dish. This recipe was adapted from 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian. To enhance the flavor of the simple pasta sauce, I…
Buttercream Frosting (vegan, gluten-free)
For those of you who dislike the creamy taste of butter in your buttercream frosting recipe, here’s another version that uses a high ratio shortening called Sweetex. I recently took a cake decorating class and came across this recipe which is very easy to make, colors well, tastes great, and is easy to work with….