Robust Recipes

Healthy, Flavorful Food

Winter Kale Salad

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Hi everyone, welcome to 2016! I can hardly believe we're here already! It takes me about 2 months to get used to speaking/writing a different year. Please tell me I'm not alone on this! Of course, leave it to me to share a healthy salad on the first day of 2016. So cliche and typical. Listen, I am simply trying to help you stay healthy and on track for 2016! You're welcome. If you're anything like me, you will not want to touch desserts for about a million years after overindulging on … [Read more...]

Slow Cooker Sweet and Spicy Cranberry Sauce

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Happy Thanksgiving week, friends! Can you believe that Thanksgiving is only a few short days away? Are you excited? I am looking forward to cooking without taking pictures, spending time with family and friends in Wisconsin, and of course eating a lot of food. Paul and I are being a little crazy this year; we are getting up early on Thanksgiving morning to run a 5k at 7 am. Yes, I do agree, we’re crazy. Especially for wanting to run outside in the cold Wisconsin November weather. Guess what, … [Read more...]

Healthier Stuffing

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I don’t know what it is about stuffing at Thanksgiving time that is so appealing. Don’t get me wrong, I love the stuff too, especially when it’s drenched in my mom’s homemade turkey gravy aside some freshly cooked turkey meat. But let’s just think about what stuffing is for a moment. It’s some dried or toasted bread that has been soaked in chicken broth and baked in the oven with some spices and a few veggies. Somehow it is magically enticing and one my favorite Thanksgiving side … [Read more...]

Pumpkin Scalloped Potatoes

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The Halloween decorations are coming down, all of the Halloween candy has been devoured, and with that the Holiday season has officially begun. Ready or not, here it comes! Is it too early to start planning Thanksgiving recipes, you ask? The answer is a big fat NO! Thanksgiving is only 3 short weeks away. Although I have yet to host a Thanksgiving feast of my own, being a food blogger, I know that recipe planning is a must for any stress-free cooking week. The same goes for Thanksgiving; I mean … [Read more...]

Roasted Sweet Potato Fig Soup with Crunchy Chickpeas

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As a food blogger I get inspiration and ideas for recipes from all sorts of places, but eating out at restaurants is a huge one. If I order something I really enjoy I immediately begin to think of how I can re-create it at home. It’s a blessing and a curse, because I have to resist the work-mode-trance when it’s a Saturday and we’re supposed to be relaxing. This is when my trusty phone comes in handy. I make a note of my ideas and then it’s out of my head, but the recipe idea is there on my … [Read more...]

Homemade Applesauce

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We are fortunate enough to have this little apple orchard not too far from us. Every fall since we have moved to the area I have enjoyed going to the apple orchard to stock up on apples for a few weeks. I seem to have a problem of buying way too many apples when I go to the orchard. All of the apples look so beautiful, fresh, and juicy that I get really excited. I find it hard to stop loading up my bag. I keep wanting more apples. Before I know it, I have purchased 6 pounds of apples when I … [Read more...]

Corn and Zucchini Chowder

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With Iowa’s bountiful supply of corn I have been wanting to make a corn chowder all summer long. There was one tiny problem. With the heat in my no-central-air-heat-trap of a kitchen my desire to make or eat soup was pretty much non-existent. As the temperatures have dropped slightly and the humidity isn’t as thick as butter, I knew it was the perfect time to make my Corn Zucchini Chowder. We are nearing the end of our sweet corn season here in Iowa. The time for soup making is now! Corn … [Read more...]

Gluten Free Jalapeno Cornbread Muffins

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CORNBREAD MUFFINS!!! Yes, I am so excited about this recipe that I had to type it in all caps! If there is anyone out there who doesn’t like cornbread, especially in muffin form, and especially slathered with butter and honey, then I’m sorry but we can’t be friends anymore. KIDDING! But not really. In my very humble opinion corn bread should be fine in texture; use the fine ground corn flour. Cornbread should be tender; you don’t want it so dry that it gets stuck in your throat as you’re … [Read more...]

Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Creamy Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing

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With the approach of fall just around the corner I simply had to sneak in one more summery salad recipe! If baby spinach, strawberries, cucumbers, and Creamy Lemon Poppy Seed Dressing don’t scream summer, then I’ve got it all wrong! During the summer I always have a huge container of organic, pre-trimmed, pre-washed baby spinach leaves in my fridge just waiting for me to make use of it in a salad. Being a huge fan of whisking up my own salad dressing, I have been playing around with creamy … [Read more...]

Baked Coconut Shrimp with Two Dipping Sauces (GF)

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This past week I was on my family vacation, in South Carolina. Actually, as you are reading this, I am on my way home right now. By now I have officially enjoyed the lifestyle of a beach bum for a week. I will be rested up, hopefully I will have a nice tan (and not be burnt), and I will have had plenty of time to catch up on my summer reading list. Oh, and yes, of course I will have enjoyed visiting with my family. Especially the ones that I only see once or twice a year. Isn’t it a wonderful … [Read more...]