Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One.

With strawberry season arriving in the northeast, I am thinking of all the ways I will use strawberries this season. Typically, I make jam, freeze some, make lemonade, eat a lot and slice some into salads. Strawberries have always been my favorite fruit, so I eat as many as I can when they are in season (and sometimes when they aren’t too).

In salads, strawberries pair wonderfully with smooth greens like baby spinach or Boston bibb lettuce — though sometimes it’s nice with romaine lettuce as well. But a salad is more than lettuce and berries … it needs more flavors and more textures to be something truly craveworthy.

This Crunchy Strawberry Salad totally is.

It has it all — sweet strawberries, vibrant greens, sharp blue cheese, crisp sugar snap peas and lightly sweet cereal. I love the way the bite of the cheese mingles with the sweetness of the berries. And also the way the crisp sugar snap peas contrast with the crunchy cereal. It’s a symphony of flavors and textures. And it’s so fast to make — so it’s perfect for any day’s lunch.

When Fiber One approached me about creating some mix-in recipes with their cereals, I was psyched. I love adding crunch to recipes and immediately started dreaming up ways to do that — including a recipe that’s a little more savory because I really love contrasting flavors and textures. Don’t you?

Be sure to also check out the other recipes in this series:

Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad

Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix

Disclosure: I was compensated by Fiber One for creating this recipe. All opinions are my own.

The post Crunchy Strawberry Salad appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One.

I. Love. Fruit salad. Love it. And in the summer, I will often trade a green salad for a fruit salad with dinner — something that my husband thinks is a little odd, but that my kids enjoy.

Fruit salad is also a favorite for me for breakfasts, since it’s so refreshing.

Are you a fan too?

Next time you want to whip up a quick fruit salad, try this spin on it: Top it with something crunchy — like cereal — just before serving (that’s key — otherwise the crunchy bits will get soggy). It really adds new dimension to this classic dish.

Disclosure: I was compensated by Fiber One for creating this recipe. All opinions are my own.

The post Chocolate Crunch Fruit Salad appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Note: This recipe is part of a sponsored series created for Fiber One.

Last fall, Paige started soccer. She’s been watching Will play since she was a toddler, but finally decided last year that it’s time for her to join it too. So on Saturday mornings, we trek out to a damp, dewy field where she plays with other kids her age for an hour.

She loves it. And I love watching the joy she has playing.

What I don’t love is having to be at the field by a super early hour. Did I mention that the field is clear on the other side of town?

On days like that, we keep breakfast ultra-simple. Typically the kids end up eating in the car, so breakfast needs to be fast, easy and hand-friendly. And this trail mix? It’s all that. It takes a mere five minutes to mix up (do it the night before) and then you just need to portion and go.

Couldn’t be easier.

Disclosure: I was compensated by Fiber One for creating this recipe. All opinions are my own.

The post Quickie Chocolate Banana Trail Mix appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Sometimes, you just feel like a little cake. Especially chocolate cake. (Am I right or am I right?!?) And that’s when mug cakes come in so handy. They are fast, easy and tasty — and they totally take care of the cake craving.

To make a mug cake, you stir together a few ingredients in a mug until it’s nice and smooth. Then you pop it in the microwave for a minute or so. Wait for it to sit for a short couple minutes and you have something incredible.

What’s better is that with a little tweaking of the ingredients, you can add nuanced flavors that make the mug cake really special. That’s exactly what I did with this mug cake. I took my favorite mug cake recipe and traded the normal milk added for International Delight York® Peppermint Pattie Creamer, giving it an amazing peppermint flavor. And then I stirred in some white chocolate chips, which created a fudgy double chocolate bottom to the cake.

It’s super easy. It’s delicious. And it’s ready in under five minutes … does it get any better?

Also, International Delight — the sponsor of this post — wants to know “What’s Your Id?” Head over to that link to see the huge variety of flavors available from International Delight. Seriously — the selection is impressive.

What’s Your ID? International Delight is looking for their most passionate flavor fans. Put your ID on the map to enter to win a Magical Trip, play games and discover more unexpected delight. Share your ID flavor at http://whatsyourid.com.

Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of International Delight. The opinions and text are all mine.

The post Quick Double Chocolate Peppermint Mug Cake appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

When the weather warms up, I start thinking about lighter foods. The soups and roasts that hit the spot on frigid New England winter days are forgotten in favor of lighter summer fare like fruit, everything grilled and salads. Dinner becomes an art of combining no-cook dishes (can’t heat up the kitchen!) combined with whatever is coming off the grill.

Honestly, I love our foods of summer — the creative salads, smoky grilled meats and tasty seafood. I think it might be my favorite eating season (you can have a favorite eating season, right?).

What I also love is the contrasts of foods in summertime — the sweet fruits served alongside savory dishes. The cool veggies with warm grilled whatever. You get it.

And this Warm Salad with Grilled New Potatoes is all about the contrasts. There’s the crisp veggies and lettuce with the creamy grilled potatoes. There’s the hot potatoes and cool dressing and salad. And of course, the sweet tomatoes and sharp blue cheese. It’s divine.

Making the potatoes is so simple. This is ideally made with new potatoes — little red potatoes that are about one-inch in diameter. But larger red potatoes can be used too (just cut them into a 1-inch dice). You simply combine the potatoes with a drizzle of olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper in a foil packet. And then you grill them until they are all soft and tender.

Once that’s done, you assemble your salad on plates. Because of the potatoes, this is a pretty filling salad. But if your family has a big appetite, you could also serve it with grilled chicken.

Drizzle it with your favorite vinaigrette … and it’s ready to be enjoyed.

 Have you had potatoes on a salad like this?

PS – Did you know that Betty Crocker (who sponsored this post) now sells fresh potatoes in the produce section? Betty Crocker Fresh Potatoes come in red, yellow, white and russet varieties. The red potatoes would be perfect in this dish.

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Disclosure: I am being compensated by Betty Crocker for creating this recipe. All opinions are my own.

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New England summers have always meant copious amounts of seafood for me. And this year is no different — so as soon as the temperatures hit that comfortable level where grilling outside can be accompanied with eating outside, we picked up some littleneck clams to grill.

Our local butcher shop, which also features a nice selection of fresh fish, had piles of clams in the display case when the kids and I stopped in after soccer practice on a recent Saturday. We were buying burgers for dinner, and house-made hot dogs for lunch. But when the kids said, “Mommy, can’t we get some clams too?” I didn’t hesitate for a second. It’s seafood time!

I love making clams on the grill. You heat the grill up, and put the scrubbed-clean clams directly on the grates (always remember to wash your clams to remove sand and grit from the shells!). Sometimes, I will also put a pan of beer to infuse them with a little steamy ale, but you don’t have to. Then you wait for them to cook. It’s so incredibly simple and when the clams open, they are ready to be removed to a serving plate.

As they near completion, you can also whip up a quick garlic butter sauce that’s amazing with the salty, meaty littleneck clams we prefer. It’s magical.

My kids are huge clam fans too. They are the first in line to swipe a fried clam from my plate when we head to a favorite seafood shack in the summer. And if you put a plate of clams out, they will both reach for them instantly.

It’s good. I love that they enjoy seafood as much as I do.

Are you a fan of clams?

The post Grilled Garlic Butter Clams appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Six weeks, four days. That’s a mere 46 days — or 1,104 hours, if you prefer. Though it’s probably slightly less than 1,104 hours.

What’s the countdown? It’s the number of days until the school year ends and the kids and I can officially — really and truly — head off the shoreline for a summer of sand and surf. I can’t wait for every salty, breezy, sunny moment of it.

In the meantime, a few friends and I discovered our official beach cocktail of 2013 (not to be confused with the kid-friendly summer drink of 2013). We were sampling a variety of Gallo Family Vineyards Moscato wines (more on that in a minute) when we decided to muddle a berry into a glass and add ice cold Pink Moscato. It was heavenly — sweet, with a hint of bubbles.

I’ve dubbed it the Strawberry Moscato Sparkler. It’s so, so simple, but also super tasty. Especially when the Moscato is ice cold.

So what is this Moscato? It’s a variety of wine that’s a little different than anything you’ve had before. I think of it as a dessert wine, but it can be enjoyed with spicy food too. Moscato is a sweet, slightly carbonated wine that is best served ultra-chilled (stick it in the freezer to get it as cold as can be). I was introduced to Moscato last year in a project I did with Gallo Family Vineyards so when they asked me to join a similar project this year, I couldn’t say no. I am kind of a Moscato groupie.

I love a project that teaches me new things… And this one did just that. Turns out that there isn’t just one variety of Moscato — there’s three. Gallo was kind enough to send over a bottle of each, so, I gathered a group of friends and had a quickie tasting of Pink, Red and the traditional white Moscato.

We sipped and slurped and compared all three varieties, commenting on them as we passed them around. Moscato has a nuanced sweet flavor. Some varieties, like the Pink Moscato have a hint of berries in the finish. While others, like Moscato (the white variety) have hints of peach and citrus. Gallo Family Vineyards’ Pink Moscato was our absolute favorite. I think it might have bad something to do with the group fantasy of watching the sunset on the beach with a glass of Moscato while writing some new fiction.

Hey, a girl can dream, right?

Celebrate the Second Annual National Moscato Day

Gallo Family Vineyards created the first National Moscato Day last year, and they are ready to celebrate big this year on May 9. As part of that, there’s a fab Twitter party happening.

Gallo Family Vineyards (@GalloFamily) will be hosting a National Moscato Day Twitter party from 9-10pm EST. To join in, use hashtags #MoscatoDay #gno.

Will I tweet you there?

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Disclosure: I am being compensated by Gallo Family Vineyards and Mom It Forward for my participation in this campaign. All opinions are my own.

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When my husband and I bought our house nearly nine years ago, one of the first things we did was to buy a shiny new grill — a good one. We were young and excited and spared no expense on our appliances or grill — and that’s something I am very glad for. We made some really good decisions, even if they weren’t the most sensible ones.

Over the years, our grill has resided on three different sides of our house. It’s been bruised and beaten by weather and seasons, and has had parts replaced — including the hood after the original was crushed. But over the years it has remained as reliable as the day we bought it. Still, when I went to turn it on last fall and couldn’t even get the starter to click, I was concerned that our grill was nearing its end time. I mean how many lives can a grill have?

Thankfully, after a long winter of rest and with a fresh propane tank, it’s back to fabulous grilling. Heating it up and tossing dinner on the grates is like a rite of passage in the springtime — a symbolic gesture that formally says goodbye to winter and hello to the warmth and joy of spring and summer. I am so happy to be grilling again.

And these days, I am grilling something super fun. Like “hey, kids, mama’s the coolest” fun.

Grilled Raspberry Cheesecake Turnovers.

Seriously. Dessert on the grill is the best. And in this case, it’s also wildly craveworthy. These tender, flaky turnovers grill up with a note of smokiness. And they are literally stuffed with creamy vanilla-tinged cheesecake and sweet raspberry filling.

My goodness, they’re good.

Not a speck was left from these babies when I handed them over to the kids and Shawn. Not a single speck.

Dessert on the grill?!? Come on, that’s a smart summer grilling move. And just think how awesome everyone will think you are if you make these while dinner’s cooking.

What are you grilling these days?

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Disclosure: I was compensated by Pillsbury for creating this recipe. All opinions are my own.

The post Grilled Raspberry Cheesecake Turnovers appeared first on Sarah's Cucina Bella.

Things change. Opinions. Ideas. Directions. Plans. And you kind of just roll with it and see what happens. Still, I am always a little caught off guard by change — especially change that involves my kids taste buds. And boy, have they caught me off guard recently by enjoying some foods with a nip of spiciness.

Not that these Veggie Bean Enchiladas are spicy per se — but they have a little kick to them and the kids love them. Score one for the spicy-loving mama. And for the creamy, cool avocado that offsets the nip of spiciness really nicely.

These Veggie Bean Enchiladas take about 35 minutes to make — but let me warn you: it’s a bit of quick-fire, hands-on cooking, so be prepared for constant motion for the first 10-15 minutes. You start by whipping up a super easy sauce using salsa, vegetable stock and flour — it takes about 30 seconds and is made totally in the blender. Easy as can be.

Then you make part of the veggie filling for the enchiladas while also filling the tortillas with the other part of the filling — refried beans and baby spinach. (Note: I was hired by Old El Paso to create this recipe, so I used their beans in this one.) Once all that is done, you spread sauce in the pan, finish filling the enchiladas and roll them, pour over the rest of the sauce and the cheese. Finally you bake.

It all happens fast.

But, hey, it’s all worth it when you dish out these warm, creamy, cheesy enchiladas with a bite and serve them with cool sliced avocado. Seriously. Worth every single second of work.

Serve these with a big salad.

Disclosure: I am being compensated by Old El Paso for creating this recipe through my partnership with Platefull. All opinions are my own.

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April is National Grilled Cheese Month. (Pausing for appropriate swooning … Don’t worry, I’ll wait. Okay, good now?) I don’t often get excited about food holidays but this is different. Grilled cheese is the thing that happy childhood memories are made of, right?

When I bite into a gooey, melty grilled cheese, I can feel the cane seats of the stools in my grandmother’s kitchen pressing into my legs. With every crunch of the buttery bread filled with creamy American cheese, I can feel the smooth Formica countertop, and picture the stone-like design in earthy red tones of the linoleum floor. Food memories like this are as close to traveling back in time to those happy days of childhood as you can get.

I seriously adore grilled cheese. Anything with cheese, really. So when KitchenPLAY asked me to join in the fun creating a new grilled cheese recipe for the “30 Days of Grilled Cheese” event sponsored by Land O’Lakes, I couldn’t say no.

A few years ago, I discovered Land O Lakes^® Deli American Cheese, which is available in the deli counter. It’s like the cheese I grew up on, but better since it’s freshly cut. And when you melt it inside a grilled cheese, the smooth cheese melts in your mouth with its creamy deliciousness.

For this grilled cheese, I started with a thin bagel turned inside out. I love grilled cheeses on inside out roll-type breads — it adds a new dimension. And thin bagels are a great way to get the feel of that favorite bread without the heft of it. The bagel is buttered, giving a familiar toasted buttery exterior.

Inside this Roasted Portabella Mushroom Grilled Cheese, slices of freshly roasted portabella mushrooms are sandwiched between slices of creamy, gooey melted American cheese.

Say hello to deliciousness.

And one more thing … there’s a pretty awesome thing going on with Land O’Lakes on Pinterest. Here are the details:

Pin a Meal. Give a Meal. From now until May 1, Land O’Lakes will donate $1 to Feeding America every time someone pins or repins a Land O’Lakes recipe on Pinterest. That’s eight meals for a hungry family when you pin a recipe—and eight more every time anyone else repins it. Giving goes viral. Find your favorite Grilled Cheese recipe to pin on landolakes.com.

Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Land O’Lakes as part of the Kitchen PLAY Sidecar series. All opinions given are my own.

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