This Summer Salad Recipe is light enough for a hot day, but filling enough that you won’t feel snacky later on. Oh, and four words: TWO. TYPES. OF. CHEESE.

“I love this recipe and made it tonight since I had most of the ingredients already on hand. I’ll be making this again soon. The dressing is the bomb!!!”

—Cindy

Stay cool with a Summer Salad

As the temperature rises, pretty much all I want to eat for dinner is a cold, crisp salad. I’ve tried many different combinations of ingredients over the years, but this one feels the best for June and July, when strawberries and blueberries are at their best.

The combination of the juicy berries, super creamy goat cheese, crunchy pecans, savory grilled chicken and homemade raspberry vinaigrette is light enough to make it appealing on a hot day, but still filling enough that you won’t feel snacky later on.

And if your family is like mine and doesn’t get through “salad night” without some sort of bread, don’t miss the ricotta toast – crunchy grilled bread topped with ricotta cheese, more of those amazing strawberries, and a drizzle of honey.

Why You’ll Love This Easy Summer Salad

• It’s easily customizable to what you have on hand. Use any type of berry and any type of nut.
• The vibrant colors make for a beautiful presentation. You’ll want to invite company over to show off!
• Four words: TWO. TYPES. OF. CHEESE.

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The perfect salad for Christmas Dinner

No matter what your entree is for Christmas dinner, I’m willing to be that this Christmas Salad will go with it.

It’s a combination of peppery arugula and crisp radicchio, topped with juicy oranges, creamy goat cheese, cinnamon roasted almonds and beautiful pomegranate seeds.

But the thing that sets this salad apart is the zesty orange dressing. It’s creamy but not too creamy, filled with the flavor of fresh orange juice, sweetened with a bit of honey, and made a bit tangy by white wine vinegar and Dijon mustard.

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Easter is just around the corner, and with it, a decision. Are you going to serve Easter brunch, complete with vegetarian quiche and bacon in the oven, or are you going the dinner route with ham with pineapple and roasted asparagus?

My family goes the dinner route for Easter, and then a brunch celebration about a month later on Mother’s Day.

No matter what you choose, this unique charcuterie board idea could come in handy. You can serve it as part of your brunch menu, or as an appetizer before dinner.

An Easter Charcuterie Board is the perfect way to showcase a variety of savory and sweet treats and create a beautiful and enticing spread for the holiday.

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While I’ve shared lots of breakfast recipes on this blog, most of them, like cornbread breakfast casserole and lemon pancakes are considered more of a “special occasion” idea in our household.

But today, I’m sharing a recipe that, along with my orange chicken marinade, gets made the MOST in our house, probably on a bi-weekly basis.

While this particular version is made with sweet potatoes, bacon and goat cheese, this classic breakfast casserole is endlessly adaptable to make with whatever you have on hand.

The primary idea here is simply cleaning out the fridge of whatever vegetables and cheese you have, pouring eggs over it, and baking. The ingredients may differ, but the technique is always the same.

Like my egg muffins recipe, we actually eat this Sweet Potato Breakfast Casserole most often as a meal prep recipe that I’ll make over the weekend, and then we’ll reheat pieces for lunch on weekdays.

This sweet potato breakfast recipe is also equally at home as one of a few brunch food ideas. Adults and the kids alike both love this casserole.

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Feels fancy but so easy, this Baked Goat Cheese Cranberry Appetizer pairs sweet seasonal cranberries with tangy goat cheese, and you can spread it all on toasted bread. Perfect for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

What are your thoughts on Thanksgiving appetizers? I think it kind of depends on what time you eat your main dinner.

I know some families that will do an appetizer lunch earlier in the day, but then have their main dinner with bourbon turkey and grandma’s old fashioned dressing and all the other trimmings later in the evening.

My gathering usually eats our meal around 3pm, so we keep appetizers pretty simple (maybe a very small charcuterie board idea) so that we don’t fill up too much before the main event. I mean, I like to save some room for Thanksgiving salad and Thanksgiving fruit salad, because I’m a weirdo.

This simple baked goat cheese cranberry appetizer for Thanksgiving is a little something to nibble on that won’t fill you up terribly.

Plus, like my cranberry tart pie, this appetizer with goat cheese is a nice way to incorporate cranberries into this seasonal meal if traditional cranberry sauce just isn’t your favorite thing.

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Goat Cheese Salad

A dish that’s a combination of sweet fruit, savory vegetables, creamy cheese and fresh herbs is a delicate balance.

The ingredients are beautiful, but you need to know how to combine them in the right way and the correct amounts so that everything shines rather than competes for attention.

I’ve been making salads like this for years. I know that strawberries pair really well with goat cheese, and that avocados pair with strawberries. And basil and honey and balsamic vinaigrette pair with all of those ingredients!

This fried goat cheese salad recipe is so perfectly balanced that you’ll want to make it again and again. It’s decadent while still somehow tasting light and fresh, which is just magic.

Why you’ll love Goat Cheese Salad

• The flavor contrast between the creamy tang of the goat cheese and the juicy sweetness of the strawberries really can’t be beat!
• Despite it’s restaurant-quality gourmet appeal, it’s really quite straightforward to make.

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These Phyllo Cups make the perfect appetizer

My favorite shortcut to the easiest appetizers that also seem the fanciest are store-bought phyllo cups.

You can find these in the freezer section of the grocery store (although sometimes they are sold at room temperature around the holidays), and all you do is open the box up and fill the cups to your liking.

But because they are so dainty and pretty looking with their fluted edges, any appetizer made with these cups automatically ends up feeling super fancy.

These Phyllo Cup Appetizers have a filling made with salty bacon, sweet apple, tangy goat cheese and melty Gouda cheese. They’re so good that a batch will disappear quickly, so you might want to make a double batch!

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While my knowledge of baking with yeast has improved in recent years, and I enjoy my quick yeast rolls quite often, it’s still always easier to make bread without yeast.

My family has been hooked on this no yeast flatbread pizza recipe for awhile now. Whenever one of us gets a craving for fresh, warm bread, we know we can turn to this recipe.

You don’t need yeast, or a special type of flour. It can be made entirely with things we always keep on hand, so it’s something we can decide we want spur-of-the-moment and be standing around a skillet, waiting for fresh bread to be cooked 30 minutes later.

Eat this on its own as the most delicious snack ever, dunk it in a bowl of soup, or make a homemade flatbread pizza. You can’t go wrong!

Why you’ll love this Flatbread Pizza Recipe

• It’s a fun little project that gives you a since of accomplishment without being TOO labor or time intensive.
• Because this recipe doesn’t call for yeast, there’s not even any rising or proofing time (just 10 minutes to rest the dough after you knead it).

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This simple Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup cooks in just 6 minutes! Finishing with goat cheese adds a special touch that makes this a restaurant-quality dish you can easily make at home.

Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup

While I used to be all about long-simmered stovetop or crockpot soups, the Instant Pot has become my favorite way to make soup in the past few years.

The intense flavor that pressure cooking creates is just mind-blowing. It’s almost like the pressure is squeezing out extra flavor? Or melding the flavors together more intensely? I don’t know how to describe it, but you have to try it to believe it.

This Instant Pot Butternut Squash Soup doesn’t require any pre-cooking, celebrates fall in the most nourishing and satisfying way, and is finished with a bit of goat cheese for special, restaurant-inspired touch.

Why You’ll Love Butternut Squash Soup with Goat Cheese

• The addition of the goat cheese elevates this soup to tasting like something you’d eat at a high-end restaurant, but it’s still simple enough for a weeknight.
• Packed with vitamins, fiber and antioxidants from the squash.
• The sweetness of the squash and the creamy texture of the soup appeals to kids, encouraging them to eat more vegetables.

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When it comes to pasta salad, the options are endless, and it’s almost always good.

Growing up in the 80’s in the Midwest, my pasta salad experiences revolved around baby back ribs (hopefully with the best dry rub for ribs on them) paired with my mom’s classic mustard/mayo/celery/onion macaroni salad (I haven’t yet shared that recipe here, but maybe someday), and old school Italian dressing pasta salad.

You know the kind I mean. And it wasn’t along the lines of something updated like Asian cold noodle salad or acini de pepe pasta, or fancy like pasta seafood salad.

Today, I’m sharing a gourmet take on a classic: pasta salad with goat cheese dressing. It’s perfect alongside steak lettuce wraps, and it’s one of my very favorite ribs side dishes.

I’m also sharing a simple tip to make the best pasta salad ever.

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