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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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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Something happened this weekend. Perhaps it was the effect of our Saturday picnic on the beach (our first of the year!). Or maybe it was the marked uptick in temperatures that seems to be signalling that spring is really, truly, finally here. But this weekend, I suddenly felt so happy and at peace — more than I’ve been in a very long time. It’s a wonderful thing.

And the signals that spring is here? That’s pretty wonderful too. The winter turned out to be longer and darker than anyone expected (both literally and figuratively), and spring seems to carry with it an overall feeling of hope and joy. We need that. Doesn’t everyone?

I love spring — the sunshine, warmth and gardening weather. It’s when the gardens beckon to be tended to. Garden centers overflow with pretty plants just begging to be bought and planted. And every spring, I entertain visions of exquisite gardens and bountiful veggie patches.

Let’s hope this year that my visions take a firmer hold than the last two years. Seriously.

Spring also means that veggies and herbs will be in season here in New England again. And right now? It’s asparagus time. I love asparagus — how about you?

This nutrient-packed veggie is filled with antioxidants, fiber, Vitamin C and so much more, according to Eating Well (love that magazine). It’s super good for you and may even help boost your brain power (seriously, folate and B12 can really help with that). It’s worth eating not just because it’s delicious, but because it can do amazing things for your body too. Score!

This weekend, this toss together asparagus dish became a new family favorite. Earthy roasted asparagus is smothered with sweet roasted tomatoes. It’s simple — but so, so good (it disappeared before I could get seconds!).

For this dish, you want the fattest spears of asparagus you can find. While I love the delicate thin ones as much as the next girl, it’s the fat ones that work best here — especially since even when they’re tender they remain firm. You also want sweet red and yellow grape-sized tomatoes. None of those tart imposters will do. Oh, and one more thing: season this really well with salt and pepper. Seriously, don’t hold back.

While this dish is undeniably simple, there’s something special about how the flavors mingle. You’ll find yourself going back for more again and again. Swear.

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Hello, my name is Sarah and I am addicted to overnight French toast. But I want you to know that I’ve made an important breakthrough in my overnight French toast addiction — I’ve stepped beyond the confines of my very favorite Overnight Creme Brulee French Toast. (Note to my family — don’t worry, I won’t stop making the other version! But variety is good too!)

This recipe has been in my head for a few years now. Every since I discovered that you can buy dulce de leche in a can, I wanted to try using that as the base layer of overnight French toast. But my family has a fierce devotion to the other recipe, so it took me awhile to get around to actually creating it. But once I did? Well … this version has a lot going for it.

This starts with a layer of sweet, creamy dulce de leche — which you can buy at some grocery stores or online. It’s in the baking aisle near the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. What I love about it is that it’s so easy to work with. Just open the can, spread it in the pan and you’re done. Simple as can be.

Then you press slices of French bread into the dulce de leche, fitting as many as you can into the square baking dish. Pour over the vanilla scented egg mixture and then let it sit overnight. The bread will suck up some of that egg mixture, making it super tender as it bakes.

When you finally bake it the next day, the dulce de leche bubbles around the French toast, literally surrounding it with sweet, creamy, caramel-y goodness. It’s heavenly — especially when you flip the pieces out onto plates with that dulce de leche layer on top. How could you say no?

This is a perfect French toast bake for holidays or special occasions. It’s so simple and easy. And the crowd? They’ll totally go wild for this one.

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Sunday nights are usually a time for curling up with my favorite TV dramas (Maris and I love Revenge, and she tells me last night’s show was amazing). Sometimes, I dig into a little plate of crackers and cheese with a glass of wine while watching too. It’s an event, and one that often involves chatting via technology during the commercial breaks. But last night, I totally skipped out on it all.

I was just too zonked after a weekend spent almost completely outside. I was exhausted in that way where your brain and body practically beg you to just close your eyes and nod off. So I did. In fact, I think I went to sleep before Will. And let me tell  you, going to sleep super early felt really, really good. I was so refreshed this morning.

Tonight, I plan to catch up on my favorite shows — and maybe even dig into a little salsa and chips with a tall glass of ice water. It’s like the healthier version of my Sunday.

This salsa combines champagne mangoes (my favorite variety!) with tomatoes, cilantro, lime zest and a serrano pepper. The result is a sweet and spicy salsa that’s perfect with tortilla chips, divine on nachos and amazing on tacos. It’s also delicious on chili cheese omelets, if you are so inclined. But be warned: When I say it’s spicy, I really mean it — so if you like heat in your food like I do, you’ll enjoy it.

Of course, my husband doesn’t do spicy. And most of the time, neither do the kids. That’s totally okay by me though — especially since it means more for me.

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When I saw these portabella mushrooms at a local grocery store, I swooned and my head filled with images of meaty roasted portabellas on a salad. Everything else I had imagined cooking vanished (I had really planned to stuff mushrooms with St. Patrick’s Day leftovers). I just wanted my warm portabellas and cool salad.

We’re mushroom fans here. Through and through.

On a recent evening, I browned cremini mushrooms in a skillet with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and then swirled in a little red wine to finish them off. They were meaty, rich and tender. Then I spooned them over medium-rare sirloin steak served alongside some cheesy tortellini. Guess what the kids dug into first?

We eat mushrooms fairly often since the kids and I really love them. They are perfect for roasting alongside bell peppers, Brussels sprouts and other vegetable favorites to be spooned over rice or mixed into pasta with cheese and a little olive oil. They are sliced on salads and stuffed for appetizers. Sometimes, I will saute them and just eat them like that. And no matter how I cook them, they are always greeted with “Oooh! Mushrooms!” by my kids.

Selfishly, I wish they didn’t love them this much — there would be more for me!

I was recently asked to partake in the National Nutrition Month blog tour sponsored by The Mushroom Channel (aka the Mushroom Council, an organization of fresh-market mushroom producers and importers whose mission is to encourage the eating of mushrooms in a variety of meals), sharing how my family add mushrooms to our menu in a way that suits our family’s tastes and health goals. March is National Nutrition Month and this year’s theme is “Eat Right, Your Way, Every Day.” For us — well, the kids and I, at least — mushrooms aren’t just a great meat alternative, but they are also a versatile addition to a variety of dinners … and lunches too. And from a health standpoint, mushrooms also have a lot to offer — they are rich in antioxidants and have a healthy dose of vitamins B and D.

Now, let’s talk about this bodacious meal.

I don’t think I have ever used the word ‘bodacious’ before, but I think it’s fitting here. Because it totally is. Bodacious, I mean. Anyway …

This salad is perfect for a light lunch. Meaty portabella mushrooms are roasted until tender and then topped with breadcrumbs and cheese and roasted a little more. Then, they are served on a cool, creamy Caesar salad. It takes a good 40 minutes to make — but most of it is hands off as the portabellas roast. It’s a little longer than I like to spend making lunch on a weekday, but it’s so worth it.

Just don’t tell the kids that I’ve been indulging in this without them.

One More Thing …

If you love talking mushrooms, be sure to tweet away with the Mushroom Council at their Twitter Party on Wednesday, March 20^th 8-9 PM EST.  The hashtag for the party will be #MushroomDish. The party will serve as a discussion for everything mushrooms, from their versatile nature to their flavorful umami qualities.

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Disclosure: This post was sponsored by the Mushroom Channel/Mushroom Council. Connect with them on Pinterest, Facebook, and Twitter. All opinions and recipes within this post are my own.

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Dear March, enough with the cold weather. I am so over it. Bring on the warmer temperatures, skin-kissing sun rays and afternoons in the backyard. Seriously, it’s time to let go of the near-freezing temperatures and tuck the bulky coats away once and for all. Please?

Whether or not March complies with my request (and looking at the weather forecast, it’s definitely learning toward not), we’re at that part in the season when the bulky comfort foods of winter give way to lighter (but still warm and cozy) foods of spring. This is when the sun gets a little brighter (or it seems to), reminding us that we’ll soon be digging our toes into warm sand and frolicking in the salty surf.

I can’t wait for those days to come.

In our house, that means stepping away from the homemade macaroni and cheese, and focusing in on veggie-packed dishes like this one. This glorious bowl of flavors and textures.

Veggie and Bean Rice Bowls with Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette is a tangy, sweet, crisp, creamy delight. The Lime Cilantro Vinaigrette is a tart dressing infused with cilantro — with this,  you don’t need cheese or anything else to make it truly sing. And sing it does — like a bowl of fabulous, Southwest-inspired goodness.

Now, what are you waiting for? Go make this!

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Disclosure: I am being compensated by Old El Paso/General Mills for the creation of this recipe. All opinions are, as always, my own.

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There’s something about a warm, toasty, stuffed quesadilla that just says comfort. With all the melty cheese, the crisp outside and … well, whatever you stuff in it. It’s a definite favorite of mine. And I especially appreciate how simple, fast and easy quesadillas are — even when you get a little fancy with the fillings.

And sometimes, biting into comfort food is a little like taking a deep breath. It’s refreshing and calming all at once — both good things that we all need a little more of.

These Veggie Overload Quesadillas are literally stuffed with sautéed veggies — lots of them. It’s a good thing.

To make these, you start by sautéing a bunch of veggies together until they are crisp-tender. Then you slather butter all over the tortilla and stuff it with cheddar and those delicious veggies — and avocado too. Then you cook it until it’s all golden on the outside with warm melty goodness on the inside. That avocado? It adds such an amazing note of creaminess too.

Then you devour it. With salsa, hopefully.

One more little note. I used Land O Lakes® Butter with Canola Oil for this and discovered how amazing it can be for dishes like this. It’s made with three simple ingredients (sweet cream, canola oil and salt) and comes out of the fridge ready to spread — which means that there’s no waiting to spread it all over the tortillas or any threat of ripping them up when you spread the butter on. That kind of rocks. Really. I think I might be a little in love with the ease of this spread — especially since it still tastes like butter.

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Disclosure: This recipe was sponsored by Land O’Lakes via Platefull. All opinions are (as always) my own.

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Once upon a time, I was a brooding teenage vegetarian who wrote way too much dark poetry. I wrote short stories too, but it was poetry that I would escape to when I needed to process whatever high school drama had me all twisty-turvy. And whilst being a brooding teenage vegetarian, my parents were sweet enough to cook vegetarian meals a few times each week, which meant basically I ate well at dinnertime. Breakfast (what? a pot of coffee isn’t breakfast?) and lunch were a totally different story, but one out of three isn’t so bad, is it?

Then I went to college and became a hungry, busy young adult vegetarian with few cooking skills. The poetry and I soon parted ways as I focused on my studies and having fun and all that college in a major city brings. And I tried to stay fed, which was a challenge with those few cooking skills. I had a slow cooker that I would make soups in, but they always seemed to taste the same — no matter what I put into them. But really, the honest truth is that I ate a lot of take out, occasionally would declare chicken okay and didn’t eat a ton of vegetables — unless you count the freeze dried ones in the Thai ramen noodles I fell back on when my wallet was empty. Eventually, my lackluster eating habits caught up with me and my doctor gave me a choice: take iron pills or eat meat. I chose the latter. It seemed easier.

Now, if I’d known a little bit more about cooking back then, things might have been different. I had no idea how simple a good vegetarian stew could be to make. Nor did I realize how breaking out of my seasoning comfort zone could totally change dishes into something new, exciting and craveworthy.

These days, I still eat meat but often have meat-free days. And when I do, I love to whip up a really flavorful dish like this Curried Chickpea and Vegetable Stew. It’s a little spicy (okay, maybe more than a little spicy, but the rice offsets the spiciness), which means my kids aren’t big fans but that’s okay — more for me. Whipping up a pot of this on Sunday means lunch for the week for me (score!).

This vegetable stew has some of my favorite flavors — creamy potatoes, sweet carrots, meaty chickpeas and that twist of curry that transforms the tomato base into a warm, fragrant Indian-inspired dish that’s perfect served over rice.

I think my inner brooding teenage vegetarian would approve.

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