Cooler weather means one thing: cozy soups on repeat! Our new go-to is this Thai-inspired noodle soup with coconut milk, curry paste, veggies, and your choice of chicken or tofu. It’s creamy, gingery, spicy, nourishing, and SO satisfying!
Bonus? It’s v…
Cooler weather means one thing: cozy soups on repeat! Our new go-to is this Thai-inspired noodle soup with coconut milk, curry paste, veggies, and your choice of chicken or tofu. It’s creamy, gingery, spicy, nourishing, and SO satisfying!
Bonus? It’s versatile, working well with almost any veggies you have around! Simple methods. Big flavor. Let’s do this!
This EASY curry noodle soup starts with soaking rice noodles in boiling water until softened.
This chicken dumpling soup is the ultimate comfort meal with tender chicken, fresh veggies, and fluffy homemade dumplings all simmered in one pot. It’s easy to make, hearty, and ready in under an hour—perfect for a cozy, satisfying dinner any night of …
This chicken dumpling soup is the ultimate comfort meal with tender chicken, fresh veggies, and fluffy homemade dumplings all simmered in one pot. It’s easy to make, hearty, and ready in under an hour—perfect for a cozy, satisfying dinner any night of the week!
This vegan butternut squash risotto is aromatic, creamy, and rich without using any dairy products. The combination of arborio rice, sweet butternut squash, fresh green peas, and the crunch of roasted pine nuts makes it a truly satisfying dish. Risotto…
This vegan butternut squash risotto is aromatic, creamy, and rich without using any dairy products. The combination of arborio rice, sweet butternut squash, fresh green peas, and the crunch of roasted pine nuts makes it a truly satisfying dish. Risotto can be a tricky dish to prepare, but this recipe simplifies the process without compromising...
Homemade chicken noodle casserole is a comforting dish made from scratch with tender chicken, loads of veggies, egg noodles, and a creamy, flavorful sauce. It’s perfect for family dinners and a great way to use up leftover chicken!
Homemade chicken noodle casserole is a comforting dish made from scratch with tender chicken, loads of veggies, egg noodles, and a creamy, flavorful sauce. It's perfect for family dinners and a great way to use up leftover chicken!
This hearty and comforting Slow Cooker Pea and Ham Soup recipe is perfect for chilly days. Made with tender split peas, savory ham, and sweet potatoes, it’s an easy and delicious meal that warms the soul. This recipe has been a family favorite in my ki…
This hearty and comforting Slow Cooker Pea and Ham Soup recipe is perfect for chilly days. Made with tender split peas, savory ham, and sweet potatoes, it’s an easy and delicious meal that warms the soul. This recipe has been a family favorite in my kitchen, and I’m excited to share it with you! Ingredients...
This overnight 7 layer salad features layers of crisp lettuce, peas, onions, and shredded cheese, all topped with a creamy dressing. Crumbled bacon adds a delicious crunch and rich flavor, making it a hit at potlucks and family gatherings.
This overnight 7 layer salad features layers of crisp lettuce, peas, onions, and shredded cheese, all topped with a creamy dressing. Crumbled bacon adds a delicious crunch and rich flavor, making it a hit at potlucks and family gatherings.
Even though my kids are not yet on summer break and even though I, as an adult, do not have a thing called a summer break, I’ve apparently helped myself to one. I’m sneaking off to the beach on weekdays (oops), reading novels, gorg…
Even though my kids are not yet on summer break and even though I, as an adult, do not have a thing called a summer break, I’ve apparently helped myself to one. I’m sneaking off to the beach on weekdays (oops), reading novels, gorging myself on cherries and crisp-from-the-market cucumbers, playing midday tennis like a lady who lunches, and getting vexed when I receive work-related emails and texts. [“Alex, why are they texting me on a Sunday?” “Deb, it’s Tuesday.”]
I went to the small Greenmarket in my neighborhood yesterday with no plan except to buy more cucumbers and cherries and hoped I’d find something inspiring, forgetting that in June, everything is. I was filling my bag with three types of zucchini, peaches, onions, sugar snaps, green and yellow beans, beefsteak tomatoes, and fresh peas when I spotted the chef-owner of a favorite neighborhood restaurant across the table. As I am incapable of not excitedly prattling on about cooking the moment I see the smallest even totally unsolicited opportunity to, I asked what he was planning to do with the romano beans he was bagging (pressure cook, it turns out — so cool!) and I was about to ask him if he’d ever grilled peas in their pods whole and eaten them like edamame… and abruptly realized that I don’t think I’ve ever told you that we should be grilling peas in their pods whole and eating them like edamame. So I rushed home to do just that, delighted to have succeeded in finding something to keep my focus on work for the rest of the afternoon.
These DIY salad bar ideas are easy to prep for a satisfying meal! Load up a plate with salad toppings…
These DIY salad bar ideas are easy to prep for a satisfying meal! Load up a plate with salad toppings for an easy dinner on a weeknight or feeding a crowd.
Not everyone loves vegetables. But almost everyone can get behind a good salad bar! We love the concept of salad bar for an easy dinner idea—something about calling it “salad bar” makes it more glamorous!
There are certain salad toppings that scream salad bar and make it even more special, like peas, hard-boiled eggs, or cottage cheese (or bacon bits!). Below, we’re sharing our favorite salad bar ideas so that you can recreate this simple weeknight dinner yourself.
Top salad bar ideas
The key to making a salad bar into a filling meal is to offer good protein options. If you’re making a vegetarian or vegan salad bar, use ingredients with plant based protein like beans, legumes, and nuts. Here are our top salad bar ideas for building your own at home (or jump to the recipe):
Greens: Romaine lettuce, spinach, and mixed baby greens.
Hard boiled eggs: With 6 grams of protein each, eggs are also one of the most nutrient-filled vegetarian protein sources around.
Chicken: Make a recipe of pan seared chicken and slice it into strips of cubes.
Cheese: Cheese is a great vegetarian protein: try shredded cheese, cheese cubes, or cottage cheese.
Legumes: Try green peas, cooked lentils (like brown lentils or French lentils), black-eyed peas, and beans, like garbanzo beans / chickpeas, black beans, lima beans, white beans, or kidney beans.
Croutons: Top it all off with crunchy homemade croutons and your salad bar will be a hit.
Tips for prep
The key to making a salad bar at home? Allow some prep time for all the vegetables; it does take a bit of time for cleaning and chopping. We like preparing extra veggies to use for lunches or dinners for days later. If you’re a hard-boiled egg fan like we are, make them in advance or leave enough time for easy prep (about 30 minutes total).
Salad dressings for a salad bar
Another key to salad bar dinner is a good salad dressing! We have a whole collection of delicious homemade salad dressings that are perfect for salad bar ideas. Honestly, we like leaning into classic salad bar nostalgia with ideas like Thousand Island and Blue Cheese! Here are some of our favorite salad dressing recipes to use on salad bar night:
Wash and chop the vegetables; place them in serving bowls.
Drain and rinse the chickpeas or beans, if using.
Make the salad dressing. Serve!
Notes
These salad bar ideas are a meal concept, not a recipe: get creative and customize your toppings based on your preferences and what you have on hand! Add cooked meat for a non-vegetarian option. For a vegetarian option, be sure to include enough protein-filled items to satisfy, like eggs, chickpeas, cheese, and nuts.
This flavorful pasta with peas is a quick and easy meal that comes together in just 20 minutes! It’s got…
This flavorful pasta with peas is a quick and easy meal that comes together in just 20 minutes! It’s got a bright flavor from lemon and a satisfying, creamy texture from mashed peas.
Peas may have been an underappreciated vegetable in the past. But what’s not to love about this bright and beautiful veggie? With all the spring vegetables popping, I’ve been craving a simple way to eat peas. Enter this easy pasta with peas recipe, ready in just 20 minutes with a small handful of ingredients!
Alex and I are excited about this recipe because it’s hard to find a simple pasta that incorporates fiber and protein. This mighty legume does both: and tastes incredible with garlic, lemon, and Pecorino cheese! It shines in spring, but since it’s made with frozen peas you can make it anytime.
What we love about this bright, zingy pasta with peas
This pasta with peas recipe is a simple pasta recipe we created using frozen peas. You’ll mash some of the peas with capers, lemon, garlic, and Pecorino cheese to make a creamy sauce, then add additional peas and garnish with more Pecorino. It turns out fresh, zingy and positively delightful.
To be clear, it’s not pasta e piselli, which is a whole different thing entirely! That’s a traditional Italian dish starring both pasta and green peas. This classic recipe is more brothy, almost like a soup.
We wanted to create a recipe that was more pasta and less soup, and this rendition was born! Alex and I were pleasantly surprised on how fun this concept is and how quickly it came together. (It was his brainchild, so I can’t take all the credit!)
A few ingredient notes
Here are the ingredients you’ll need for this pasta with peas rendition, with some notes on what kind of substitutions work here.
Frozen peas: Frozen peas are a freezer staple that is easy to access all year long. If you have access to fresh green peas, this recipe would be fantastic! Simply boil the fresh peas for 1 minute before making this recipe, since frozen peas are blanched before flash freezing.
Olive oil: Extra virgin olive oil helps to sauté the garlic and make a creamy sauce.
Pecorino Romano cheese: Pecorino has the best salty, aged flavor and is worth seeking out (you can find it at most grocery stores in America!). Substitute Parmesan plus a few more pinches salt, or vegan Parmesan cheese and additional salt for vegan.
Garlic: Fresh garlic makes the flavors sing.
Capers: Capers are sold in thin jars near olives in the grocery store. They add a briny pop of salt to the recipe and are important to include.
Lemon zest: The zest brings a citrusy zing to this recipe: it’s another required element!
Short pasta of choice: You can use any type of short pasta. We love it with cavatelli, which means “little hollows” in Italian (shown below). Other short pasta shapes that work well are orecchiette, penne, rigatoni, or fusilli.
Pro tip: save that pasta water!
In many Italian pasta recipes, you’ll use some of the pasta water to create a creamy sauce: but we often forget and drain the pasta without thinking! A good trick for remembering to save out the pasta water? Once you start the pasta, place the strainer in the sink and a liquid measuring cup inside the strainer. It will remind you before you drain the pasta!
A few more notes for making the recipe
Here are a few notes for when you go to make this recipe:
This recipe requires mashing the peas with a potato masher to create a chunky sauce. For a creamier texture, you can blend the peas in a processor before adding them to the skillet. Feel free to adjust the amount of lemon juice and zest to your liking, depending on how bright and citrusy you prefer the dish.
Don’t forget the garnish here! Another drizzle of olive oil adds richness, and garnishing with a bit of Pecorino helps to bring that cheese flavor forward. It’s important for achieving the final flavor.
Leftover storage and serving size notes
This pasta with peas recipe is best made right before serving, because the flavors most fresh and zingy right away! As the pasta cools and after storage, it starts to lose a bit of the flavor and texture.
You can store leftovers if you have them: they last up to 2 days refrigerated. Reheat leftovers in a skillet with a drizzle of olive oil, another pinch of salt, and more Pecorino cheese.
A few more peas recipes
Did you try this recipe? Let us know in the comments: we hope you love it!
There are so many fun ways to use green peas! This underappreciated legume adds both protein and fiber to meals, making it great for serving with pasta. Here are a few more peas recipes to try:
This flavorful pasta with peas is a quick and easy meal that comes together in just 20 minutes! It’s got a bright flavor from lemon and a satisfying, creamy texture from mashed peas.
Ingredients
8 ounces short pasta (we like cavatelli)
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 garlic cloves, minced
2 ½ cups frozen peas, thawed for about a minute under warm water, divided
Cook the pasta in heavily salted water until al dente, according to the package instructions (check a few minutes before and taste to assess doneness). Reserve ½ cup of pasta water before draining**.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the garlic for 30 seconds. Add 1 ½ cups of the peas, capers, dried thyme and ¼ teaspoon kosher salt, and sauté for about 3 minutes until they’re bright green and tender.
Turn off the heat. Add ¼ cup of reserved pasta water and use a fork or a potato masher to lightly mash the peas in the skillet, creating a chunky mixture. Add the remaining 1 cup peas and stir until warmed through.
Once the pasta is cooked, drain and add it to the skillet with the Pecorino, lemon zest, lemon juice, capers, and kosher salt and black pepper. Toss to combine, adding a splash of the reserved pasta water if needed to achieve a creamy consistency.
Season with salt to taste and freshly ground black pepper to taste. Serve warm, garnished with a drizzle of olive oil (required) and additional grated Pecorino cheese (optional). Leftovers last up to 2 days refrigerated, but it tastes best fresh.
Notes
*Pecorino has the best salty, aged flavor and is worth seeking out. Substitute Parmesan plus a few more pinches salt, or vegan Parmesan cheese for vegan.
**A good trick for remembering to save out the pasta water? Once you start the pasta, place the strainer in the sink and a liquid measuring cup inside the strainer. It will remind you before you drain the pasta!
Notes:For a creamier texture, you can blend the peas in a processor before adding them to the skillet. Feel free to adjust the amount of lemon juice and zest to your liking, depending on how bright and citrusy you prefer the dish.
Add ins: This recipe can be easily customized by adding other vegetables, such as sautéed spinach or asparagus, or by topping with crispy pancetta or prosciutto for a salty, meaty flavor.
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