If you’re not a fan of fish or can’t find the fish you want, try these with cubes of chicken or beef filet.  So good!

Not wanting to grill?  No worries.  These go equally well in a stove top grill pan.  Even a standard large skillet will do in a pinch.

The ingredient quantities here are up to you  depending on how many skewers you’re making and substitutions are encouraged.  This is for roughly 16 skewers, estimating 2 per person.
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16 wood skewers soaked about an hour in water or metal skewers (which are great at conducting heat)
4 mahi filets (swordfish or other firm white fish works well also), cutting each piece in 4 cubes
Cubes of chicken or beef filet also work equally well.
16 (approx) small new potatoes that you’ve microwaved for about 4 minutes with a bit of olive oil and then let cool to room temperature
16 mushrooms, cleaned and stems removed (I used baby bella, but button mushrooms are fine)
1/2 to 1 jar pesto or about 3/4 c homemade pesto
1/2 bulb fennel, cut in cubes
1/2 large zucchini, cut in half moon shapes
1/2 onion, cut in half again and peeling apart the “petals” of the onion
1 red pepper, cut in cubes (optional, but really good in this)
salt
1 small lemon for squeezing over at the end (optional)

Place all the cut up vegetables and toss in a large bowl with some of the pesto and salt to taste.  Place the cubes of fish in a separate bowl and toss those with pesto and salt to taste as well.   Be generous with the pesto and you may want to set a little aside to serve with the skewers.

Let the assembly begin!  I always start with a mushroom on the bottom and begin stacking them stem side up on the skewer. Follow with the remaining veg and mahi, alternating according to how you want your skewers to appear.  I have about 2 pieces of mahi on each skewer.

On a hot grill, place the skewers and let sear on one side about 3-4 minutes.  Flip and sear on the other side about the same amount of time until the fish is cooked through and the vegetables begin to soften and char.

Pull off the grill and serve with some extra pesto alongside.  A squeeze of fresh lemon over the skewers right before serving enhances the flavor if you happen to have a lemon on hand,

“Kapow” condiment hint ;-).  You can combine a couple tablespoons of the pesto with 1/2 c of mayonnaise for a great quick remoulade (sauce)  for your skewers.  Add a squeeze of lemon to thin it out if needed.

As a grandparent, I keep snacks & goodies on hand for the grand kiddos that I typically don’t eat myself.  Hot Cheetos was one of those things that I was buying for our grandson Alex, who happens to be 21 now.  He still loves Hot Cheetos.  They definitely do satisfy a crunch & spice craving.

Chicken tenders are loved by most kids so I thought why not make a crispy Hot Cheetos coated chicken tenders.  Anyone that can handle a bit of heat is gonna love these.  The spicy, crispy coating, tender chicken and cooling avocado crema to dip them in is a perfect combo.

I start every day off with a delicious, nutrient dense smoothie, and while I change up the contents frequently, this is one of my tried and true favorites.  Definitely Tim's favorite.  Just what your body (and your taste buds) need to kick off a busy, demanding day, all coming together with the help of a blender.  I love my Ninja Foodie blender.

There’s something magical about the slow, fragrant simmer of a tagine — the way the spices bloom, the sauce thickens just so, and the whole kitchen fills with a perfume that can only be described as Morocco on a sunny afternoon. Even if you don’t own a traditional clay tagine, this dish — Chicken Tagine with Peppers, Sweet Potato & Onion — brings all that soul and comfort right to your table.

This is so simple.  You don't even have to have a tagine.  It just makes for a tender, tasty dish and pretty presentation.    I love my tagine with chicken, sweet potatoes, sweet dried apricots, red pepper and salty, briny olives.  A gorgeously heady spice, Ras El Hanout, give this dish the most amazingly unique flavor.  Bonus for this dish?  It's healthy, beautifully colorful and super adaptable.

Also try roasted pear, maple syrup and cardamom in a tagine with a lovely dollop of whipped coconut cream to top it off.  Chef's Kiss!! 
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These are adventurous small batch cookies with a fun spin on the traditional Snickerdoodle recipe.  Each batch makes about a dozen and can easily be doubled or tripled.  While I started with Cardamom Doodles, I ended up loving my Rose Doodles with the essence if rosewater (very prevalent in Middle Eastern Cuisines).  Also being that I adore all things Matcha (a beautifully green powdered tea), I had to make a Matcha Doodle batch.  Definitely fed my matcha love.

What unique flavor combinations will you come up with?  See my suggestions below, but I'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Necessity is the mother of invention.  I “needed” a dessert, but not a trip to the store that currently requires mask and gloves accompanied by a post trip decontamination chamber. I “invented” a super quick and easy, yet luscious dessert that requires no more than 3 ingredients.



Frozen blueberry waffles, thawed
eggs
Vanilla creamer of choice.  I like dairy free Vanilla half and half like Natural Bliss 



The formula is as follows:
One waffle serves 2, using 2 ramekins that are about 3 inches in diameter.
For each waffle you need 1 egg and 1/2 c of the vanilla creamer.  In the video I made 4 servings which uses 2 waffles, 2 eggs, 1 c vanilla creamer/half & half


Preheat the oven to 400.
Butter 4 ramekins.
Tear a half of a waffle into each ramekin
Whisk together 2 eggs and 1 c Vanilla creamer/half & half until well combined.
Pour evenly over the waffles into the ramekins and let them sit about 15-20 minutes so the liquid gets absorbed into the waffles.
Create a water bath by pouring very hot tap water into a baking sheet pan to about 1/4 inch deep and carefully place ramekins in the hot water bath.
Bake for about 35 minutes or until the custard is set but slightly jiggly in the middle.
​Serve warm with a bit of whipped cream or a drizzle of maple syrup.  A fried egg over the top would make a creative and interesting breakfast dish. 
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Beautifully golden "crab" cakes at a fraction of the cost using delicious imitation crab, blended together with some flavorful ingredients.  These are one of my family's favorites.

Quantities depend upon the size of your salad, but the jar of tuna is enough for 4 smaller portions, or 2 very large portions.

For the Salad
1 jar Italian Tuna packed in olive oil
greens of choice -like field greens and butter lettuce blend
10 or so cherry tomatoes, sliced in half lengthwise
1/4 c corn - either frozen that has thawed or fresh cut from the cob
1/4 c kalamata olives, pitted & chopped- or your olives of choice



Place greens on a platter then artfully arrange tuna, tomatoes, a sprinkling of corn and kalamata olives.  Drizzle with vinaigrette.


For the Lemon Vinaigrette ( a staple I use several times a week)
1 lemon
olive oil
small amount of honey, perhaps a teaspoon or to taste
salt & pepper
Squeeze the lemon into a jar with a tight fitting lid (or use a bowl to mix) being careful to catch any seeds in your hand or use a citrus juicer.  Drizzle in an equal amount of olive oil.
Squeeze in a bit of honey to taste to lessen the tartness of the lemon.
Sprinkle in a tiny amount of salt and as much pepper as you like, screw the lid on tightly and shake away until thoroughly combined or whisk in a bowl.

Drizzle over the salad and enjoy a taste of southern Italy,

I made a huge frittata on Mother's Day intended to feed 10+ people.  I've scaled the quantities here for half that amount.  I've given the very general guidelines, but I doubt I've ever made the same frittata twice.  Try this amazingly versatile dish with what you have on hand.

6 eggs
1/8 c cream, coconut cream or milk
dash of cayenne pepper or hot sauce (optional)
Whisk together the eggs and cream until light and fluffy with a bit of pepper.  Hold the salt for later.
Add in the hot sauce or cayenne if using.


olive oil to saute
salt & pepper

Heat the oven to 400.

Add in ideas:
frozen hashbrowns thawed or diced roasted leftover sweet potatoes
tomatoes, sun dried tomatoes or roasted red pepper
onion, scallion, shallot, olives
spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cooked broccoli, or other greens
chicken sausage, sausage, chorizo, soy chorizo, smoked salmon
cheese such as goat cheese, cheddar or fontina 

Over medium heat in a nonstick skillet add some olive and saute first the heavier ingredients.  I like to get a little crusty sear on my chicken sausage and potatoes.  Once those are toasty and any protein is cooked through, add in any greens, tomato, chopped olives or whatever your heart desires and cook for another minute, adding a bit more salt if needed.  
Pour over the eggs.  Add any additional salt and pepper.
At this point add any cheese you're using then pop this in the oven until the middle is just set.  This may take 10 or so minutes depending on the density of the frittata an how much additional ingredients you've added to it.

Once done, you should be able to easily slide it out onto a cutting board or serving platter.
Slice in wedges and enjoy.  This doesn't have to be piping hot.  It's also great at room temperature which makes it great for entertaining at brunch.

My favorite combos:  
Asparagus, goat cheese, smoked salmon (making my mouth water)
Soy chorizo, tomatoes, olives, any Spanish sheep's milk cheese
Chicken sausage, sun dried tomatoes, spinach, goat's milk cheddar

If you ever wanted to have a tofu recipe that could win over a bonified tofu despising carnivore, I present to you my  Crispy Hot Honey Tofu.  With great trepidation I served this to my Beloved.  He ate the 2 slices I gave him and I thought perhaps he was feeling politely obliged to finish his plate, but then he turned to me and asked for another helping.  What? Has the world gone mad?  Did this just happen?

Yes.  I won Tim over to the tofu side.
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I am such a fan of chocolate and dark chocolate especially.  I love to keep a supply of my homemade dark chocolate bark on hand for all those chocolate craving moments.