Mediterranean Avocado Spaghetti with Shrimp

Today was a very important day in our household.  It's the last day of April, and therefore our final day before launching into Meatless May.  Now you can either cheer or laugh at that last sentence, but we decided to go vegetarian for a month.  We're keeping eggs and dairy, but goodbye meat.  For me it's not a big deal...I went through that collegian-vegetarian phase that so many Portlandians experience.  But it's my hub's first attempt at a meat-free diet.  We're looking forward to 31 days of alternative protein sources....but only after enjoying one final day of meat.  Naturally, today was filled with our favorites.  In parting, we supped on one of our best easy meals - Mediterranean Avocado pasta.....with lots and lots of shrimp.

Slender Cinnamon Roll Pancakes

Whenever the hubs wants a sweet breakfast treat, he requests cinnamon roll pancakes.  They are his absolute favorite.  When I first made the original version from Recipe Girl, he though he had died and gone to breakfast heaven.  Deliciously sweet and fluffy pancakes topped with cream cheese frosting...what's not to love?!  Um....how about the half stick of butter?  Yeah...not so much.  As he began requesting them more and more, I began slowly but surely slimming them down.  The end result is this delicious Slender Cinnamon Roll Pancake recipe.  It has the great flavor of the original recipe, but with a third of the fat and almost half the calories.

Grilled Brussels Sprouts & Strawberry Salad

I am a huge fan of a hearty, healthy lunch of fresh fruits and veggies.  On a lazy Saturday, it's the perfect recovery meal after a decadent breakfast of sugary carbs, evening out the playing field before dinner rolls around.  During the week, it receives envious stares from co-workers as they attempt to microwave life into their frozen entrees.  This is one of those dishes that fill you up (not out) and leave you feeling completely satisfied.  Easy to make for a quick bite or pack in a picnic basket, Grilled Bussels Sprouts and Strawberries is a winner of a combo.

Grilled Vegetable Tzatziki Salad

Nothing says SUMMER quite like dinner from the grill.  After all that cold weather, it's nice to give your burners, oven and broiler a little break and get back to those glorious grill lines.  In our home, the hubs is King of the grill, capital K intended.  I may assist in the protein preparation, but I depend on his magical internal BBQ-clock to cook it to perfection.   While he reigns as King of the meat, I rule as Queen of the veggies.  From artichoke to zucchini, I grill them all.  Who says that your barbecue side has to be a fresh salad or coleslaw?  Grill while the grilling is good.  This recipe is one that I make over and over again....(and again, and again.)  Incredibly easy and tasty, this one is sure to wow the flip flops off your friends at a cookout.  

Caramel Corn Cookies

This has been the most bi-polar weather week I've ever experienced.  We've had temperatures in the high 70's, washed away by power outages due to thunder storms, snuggled up next to a freeze warning.  And as I look out the window with the pups by my ear (she likes to lie on the back of a couch like a cat....good thing she's small) we have glorious sunshine again.  I wish nature would pick a season and stick with it!  To go with this unusual weather, I decided to make an unusual cookie that I've been dying to try ever since I first read it in my Smitten Kitchen cookbook.  Popcorn cookies!  What a delightful concept!  

Single Serving Honey Baked Oatmeal

Do you ever have those days where you wake up and just don't want to take off your pajamas?  A morning where you feel tempted to call in sick, snuggle up in a blanket and watch trashy tv on the couch?  Yeah, me too.  Unfortunately, I am a card-carrying member of the working-class society, which means when these mornings occur outside the weekend, I must resist.  It's mornings like these that I go for my Honey Baked Oatmeal.  If you have to get out of a cozy bed, this is the perfect breakfast to keep you warm and snuggly...on the inside.

Grilled Tilapia with Strawberry Salsa

Strawberry season is upon us!  Pull our your oatmeal, bust out the shortcake and grab a pint of vanilla bean.  It's the time of year to garnish everything with these deliciously sweet, bright berries.  Brillant, juicy and fresh, I will eat them on any and everything sweet or savory.  One of my absolute favorite things to make is spicy Strawberry Salsa.  Incredibly flavorful and delicious, this is a perfect garnish over a fillet of simply grilled tilapia for a delicious, nutritious and fruity-licious dinner.

Poppy Seed Thumbprint Cookies

Spring has finally sprung.  For the first time this year, we had a week with no snow, three consecutive days of sun and temperatures over 40 degrees.  After a the bleak cold of winter, I am wild with delight about wearing lightweight jackets, eating lunch outdoors and rollerblading with the hubs and pup (don't worry, we're spandex-free).  So naturally, it's time to bring the Springy-ness into our cooking as well.  With their bright, lemony flavor and sweet crumbly texture, Poppy Seed Thumbprints are a perfect way to welcome back the sunshine.

Individual Crustless Tomato Quiche

The past two weeks have been a delicious spree of baking my favorite Easter dishes, trying new recipes and indulging in old favorites.  Basically, it was a test to see exactly how much food our fridge could hold (it passed, but barely).  So now it's slowly shedding all that leftover weight...into us.  But it's ok because a) it's delicious and b) we tend to have healthy foods lying around (with a few notable exceptions).  One such leftover were fat free refried beans from chilaquiles one morning.  So I decided to bust out one of my favorite savory egg dishes and serve it up with a little Mexican flair.