Back to Basics 28 - Herbed Veggies

This is a great vegetable side to make when you're in a hurry or too lazy to cook. All you need to have on hand is some frozen vegetables and herbs, ANY herbs!

Cream Cheese

Homemade cream cheese is pretty amazing. It doesn't taste like store-bought at all. It's a little tangier which might take you a while to get used to, but I love it! It's also creamy and fresh-tasting. You can make cream cheese at home. I KNOW you can! It's a lot easier than it sounds, you just need a few key things for it to turn out perfect. I got this recipe from an awesome book called Make the Bread, Buy the Butter.

Hamburger Bun

I know a few people who have been waiting for this recipe. I recently made these and brought them to a cookout and they were a hit! The buns are soft, egg-y, a little sweet and DELICIOUS! This is also one of the easiest dough recipes I've ever made. Honestly, try them out!

BBQ Sauce

I got this great BBQ sauce recipe from Skinny Taste, it's an awesome blog! This sauce is thick, sweet and a little spicy. Perfect for pulled pork. Then, while you're at it why not make some coleslaw too? You can also put it on pizza dough and make BBQ chicken pizza. I just want you to eat really really well ok? That's what friends do. This sauce is really easy to make, let me show you.

Back to Basics 27 - Coleslaw

I'm kind of picky about coleslaw. I don't like coleslaw that's swimming in mayo and the veggies are limp and lifeless, I also don't like coleslaw that barely has anything and it just tastes like cabbage salad. The worst though, is watery coleslaw. UGH. This recipe is perfect. The cabbage is crispy, there is enough mayo to coat all the veggies and it's also gorgeous! This goes great alongside some pulled pork with homemade BBQ sauce.

Homemade Mayonnaise

Making mayo at home is not as crazy as it sounds. I feel like that's a pattern on this blog. Many things sound super complicated but when you actually found out how to make them, they're super easy. I decided to make my own because of the same reason I make everything else, I wanted real food. It's also really cool to see how it's made and it's a lot fresher. The taste of fresh mayo does not even compare to store-bought. This recipe is from Alton Brown, who is a culinary genius! If you cross Mythbusters with Food network, you get Alton. You don't need any unusual equipment to make mayo, all you need is a whisk and a bowl.

The only thing I will say about the homemade mayonnaise is, there is no way to make this "low-fat". Once you see what ingredients go in mayo, you will question just how they can sell it in a store and call it low- fat or even fat-free. There's gotta be some crazy science behind making mayo only 10 calories per tablespoon. So, I would suggest using the real thing, but just use less of it.

Back to Basics 26 - Spicy Broccoli

I'm always looking for sides recipes. I can make grilled chicken breast and I know right away what grains I want to make with it (Quinoa with pine nuts, brown rice, farro with pistachios). Same goes for steak, fish or meatloaf. But I'm at a loss for the veggie side. Well, this recipe has saved many dinners! It's quick, nutritious, delicious and easy. I always have everything in my pantry, including the broccoli which I keep in my freezer. You don't even need to defrost it, just pull out the amount you need and add it to the skillet. Just omit the chicken stock or add a tiny bit.

Back to Basics 25 - Meatloaf

This is my go-to recipe for meatloaf. It makes A LOT of meatloaf, it's tasty and it has so much nutrition! The bulgur and mushrooms allow you to decrease the amount of fatty ground beef, while not taking away any of the flavor. In fact, it adds to it! This recipe does have a few steps so let's get right to it!

Back to Basics 24 - How to Cook Chickpeas

"Why would you cook chickpeas when you can buy canned?"-you ask
Well, #1 it's fresher. Who knows how long those chickpeas have been in that can? Plus the can might contain BPA which we don't like.
#2 it's cheaper! You can buy organic chickpeas, or any bean for that matter, and it will be cheaper than the organic canned beans or maybe even the conventional ones!
#3 you get to choose the consistency you want for your beans. You can cook them for longer, or add different spices and herbs to flavor them.

Plus it's really not that hard! You barely do any work. I'll show you.

Better Onion Bagels

Soooooo I've given you guys a recipe for onion bagels in the past (click here). This one is infinitely better. It's softer and chewier and it has the perfect amount of onions. It was taken from this awesome book called "Make the Bread, Buy the Butter", it teaches you how to make all this great stuff at home and answers the questions: is it worth it? Is it cheaper? So, give this a try! It's really not that hard to make!