Strawberry Sauce

I got this recipe from Ellie Krieger, she's a nutritionist and cook. I found out about her from watching Food Network and Cooking Channel, she has some amazing recipes. This is definitely one of them. This strawberry sauce is so versatile and delicious. My favorite way to eat it is with some fluffy buttermilk pancakes. You can use fresh or frozen and thawed strawberries so this can be used all year-round. It's also very fast!

Back to Basics 29 - Whole Wheat Buttermilk Pancakes

These pancakes have become my new favorite. They are fluffy, sweet and filling. They're also a great blank canvas so you can add anything inside or on top of them.

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 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!

Yellow Mustard

Today's recipe is a good one. It takes you about 10 minutes to do and everybody will think you're a chef when they learn you made this. The humble yellow mustard!

Whole Wheat English Muffins

I was looking online for a recipe for whole wheat English muffins that were mostly whole wheat flour without being too dense, and I'm pretty sure I found the perfect one. It uses 5 cups of whole wheat flour and only 1 of white all purpose flour. If you find that it's still too dense for you, you can always substitute all purpose for the whole wheat until you reach the perfect density. English muffins are surprisingly easy to make. Give'em a try!!

Greek Pasta

This pasta recipe is pretty interesting. Instead of using the typical tomato to make a sauce, we use jarred roasted red peppers; instead of Parmesan, we use feta. It's an especially perfect recipe for Meatless Mondays because it's so quick! First of all, you don't miss the meat. Second: Mondays are hard! Nobody wants to spend hours in the kitchen after coming home from work and you can work on cooking the pasta while the sauce is being made. You also proooobably have most of the ingredients in your pantry right now. That being said, if you do want to add some meat, chicken, tuna or shrimp would be a great addition.

Back to Basics 22 - Stuffed Shells

So here's a cool thing I did recently... I MADE CHEESE!

Guys, I'm a cheesemaker now. Sort of. I made cream cheese and ricotta which are 2 of the easiest to make but still, I made it happen.
It's a really cool feeling to know that you are able to make something with your hands in your own kitchen. It's so rewarding to watch something as ordinary as milk transform into this thick, creamy and rich deliciousness. I highly recommend it. Especially if you are slathering the thick creamy cream cheese deliciousness on your own hot homemade onion bagels.

It's definitely something to write about in your diary: "Dear diary, I'm a badass. That is all."

Anyway, I made ricotta so I could stuff it into some pasta shells with spinach and homemade tomato sauce. This recipe does not disappoint. Trust me.

Cinnamon Apple Pancakes

I love love loooovveee this pancake recipe. It's just so dang good with the fluffy pancakes, the sweet and crunchy apples and the warm and comforting cinnamon. There are no words. It's seriously scrumptious.

Banana-Chocolate Chip Pancakes

This recipe is my go-to for easy pancakes. I always have bananas in the fruit bowl and chocolate chips in the cupboard so I know I can whip these up in no time at all. They're easy, fast, delicious and sweet enough so you don't have to add any maple syrup on top.

Onion Mushroom Mac & Cheese

Mac and cheese will get me every time. It doesn't matter how it's made or what goes into it, I wanna eat it. This mac and cheese recipe happens to be the best I have ever eaten. The pasta is ooey and gooey, the middle layer is sweet and savory, and the top is crusty and golden. I have a very similar recipe on the blog, the only difference is that the middle layer is spinach. I made this as a side dish to go with some grass-fed filet mignon for my Valentine's Day dinner with my boyfriend. It was heavenly.

Back to Basics 20 - Roasted Brussels Sprouts

If you're not sure about Brussels sprouts, this is the recipe you want to try out. Roasting makes almost anything taste better. And adding bacon and garlic will make rocks taste good! Not that I would know from experience. Ew. Anyway....recipe!

100% Whole Wheat Bread

I love making bread at home. It's just so fun and it makes your house smell like the most amazing bakery. It's also really really easy if you have a stand mixer, I use my Kitchenaid and it's the best appliance I own. Another reason, of course is that you know what's going in the bread. Most "whole wheat" breads you buy at the store are not 100% whole wheat. This one is aaaalll whole wheat. That might actually scare you because you think it'll be dense but as long as you know the secret trick, your bread will come out fluffy and easy to slice.