- Page 24 of 75 - Wholesome Recipes Made for Sharing

April 28, 2016

Swiss Chard, Fennel, and Sausage Pasta

Pasta makes an appearance at our dinner table usually about once a week, mostly because it’s simple and also because my kids make me feel like a hero whenever I announce pasta for dinner. I still remember the time when I served pasta tossed with a plain old jar of store-bought marinara sauce and my son declared it “my best meal EVER”. (Oh why do I even bother sometimes?!)

This pasta, while not quite as easy as opening a jar, has minimal preparation and comes together quickly on busy weeknights . I used some homemade tomato sauce that I still had frozen from last summer’s tomatoes, but you could easily substitute any purchased canned or jarred tomato sauce. Ricotta and parmesan mellow out the acidity of the tomatoes and the seasonings from the chicken sausage help to further flavor the sauce. I like my pasta heavy with vegetables so there are two whole bunches of swiss chard along with a large fennel bulb, although in the end I probably could have used even more after the vegetables cooked down. It’s a simple dinner, I know, but delicious just the same and it’s these one-pot meals that get me through the week.

April 18, 2016

Walnut Torte with Coffee Coconut Cream

It had been a rough day, the kids were finally in bed, the house was quiet, and Ryan and I wearily sat down for a quiet moment to ourselves. All of my earlier efforts making dessert were paying off now that we could sit in peace and ease into uninterrupted conversation. After reading Ashley’s Date Night In book, we’ve been trying to be more deliberate about the time we spend together, and one evening a week we put everything aside to focus on each other. Sometimes it’s dinner together after the kids are in bed, other times it’s just dessert. It’s requires a bit of extra thought and preparation, but the investment has been worth it. In the midst sibling squabbles, the constant flurry of after-school activities, and now homeschooling, I often forget what Ryan and I were before we had kids. Going out is always fun, but dating in the calmness of your own home is also fun and intimate in a different sort of way.

April 7, 2016

Spring Hummus Toasts

One thing I look forward to with the arrival of Spring are the carefree meals with more simple assembling rather than time-consuming preparation– meals that require no more than just beautiful platters of ingredients so everyone can arrange their own plates or bowls. Hummus toast is a common springtime lunch for us and much like avocado toast, we never seem to tire of it. After a generous smear of hummus on a toasted pita, we pile on all sorts of fresh vegetables and seeds and finish it off with a drizzle of good olive oil. There are so many possibilities and it’s so much fun to play around. Perfect for leisurely picnics and also great for a quick lunch at home.

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