I love a great Pasta Salad! Pasta Salad is the perfect dish to make for either a Summer side dish or a meal. Jimmy loves this pasta salad too! This Pasta Salad recipe is flavorful and refreshing with the delicious tastes of fresh herbs, lemon, and feta, with lots of spinach! You can make this Pasta Salad on a food prep day and enjoy it all week! It would also be a big hit at a party or picnic! I know you will love this Pasta Salad as much as we do!
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 1 hour
I love making different variations of Hummus! I also really love caramelized onions! I thought it would be a great idea to put them both together for a delicious Hummus treat! Turned out that I was right – this is amazing! This Hummus tastes great with grilled pita bread.
Ingredients:
- 2 large red onions coarsely chopped
- 2 T olive oil
- ½ teas salt
- ½ teas black pepper
- ½ cup dry white wine
- 1 15.5 oz can of chick peas drained and rinsed
- ¼ cup tahini
- 3 T lemon juice
- 1 cup of water
- ¼ cup cilantro leaves
- 1 T olive oil
Directions:
- On medium-high heat in frying pan, sauté olive oil, onions, salt and pepper for 5 minutes (make sure you stir so the onions don’t burn).
- Reduce to medium and sauté for 10 more minutes (stirring occasionally – every few minutes).
- Add wine and reduce for 5 minutes (stirring occasionally).
- Reduce to low and let it continue to caramelize for 30 minutes (stirring occasionally).
- When onions are done, then add the onions and all ingredients to blender or food processor. (Vitamix makes the perfect Hummus!)
Notes:
I find that Hummus is best served at room temperature. After you keep it in the refrigerator for a while, take hour about a half hour before you want to eat it. Or if you can wait that long, you can pop it in the microwave for about 30-45 seconds.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: N/A
This Hummus Recipe is an Italian twist on the classic Hummus Recipe! This Hummus Recipe tastes great with Fresh Italian Bread (mine was from my favorite Italian bakery – Aversa’s in Brigantine, NJ). I also had some fresh parsley and oregano that I used in this recipe, that came right from my sister Becky’s garden in Brigantine! This recipe makes a lot, so you can use this Hummus Recipe to make for a crowd! Or this can be great to include on a Meatless Monday to use throughout the week for snacks, sandwiches, wraps and lunches throughout the week! If you have a Vitamix – I would say definitely use it to make this recipe – it is absolutely perfect for making Hummus!
Ingredients:
- 1 15.5 oz. can of garbanzo beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 15.5 oz. can of great northern beans (rinsed and drained)
- 1 teas fresh parsley
- 1 teas fresh oregano
- 2 T lemon juice
- 2 T olive oil
- 3 T tahini
- ¼ teas black pepper
- ¼ teas crushed red peppers
- ½ teas salt
- ¾ cup water
Directions:
- Place all ingredients in a blender or food processor (I recommend the Vitamix).
- Blend until smooth and creamy
- Transfer to a serving plate and garnish with olive oil, parsley and crushed red peppers (if desired).
- Serve with bread, pita chips, veggies, crackers, etc., or use in a sandwich or wrap.
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 20 minutes
Last weekend, I visited my sister down at the Jersey Shore and we went to the Brigantine Farmers Market on Saturday morning to buy some Jersey Fresh produce. I picked up some Jersey Fresh tomatoes, asparagus and basil. I was excited to use these Jersey gems, so I created this dish to feature these tasty treats! The juice that is produced from roasting the veggies and especially the tomatoes will make your mouth wanting more!
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of asparagus (with hard ends cut off / removed)
- 5 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 T olive oil
- 2 T Sherry
- ¼ teas salt
- ¼ teas black pepper
- 1 tomato sliced then halved and quartered
- 5-6 pepperoncini peppers with stems removed and chopped
- ¼ cup shredded asiago cheese
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/8 teas crushed red peppers (optional)
- 2 T of chopped fresh basil
- Juice of a lemon
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 400.
- In a small mixing blow, whisk together olive oil, sherry salt, and black pepper.
- Then in a large mixing bowl, combine asparagus, garlic and contents of the small bowl from the above step.
- In a large glass baking pan, spread out the asparagus.
- Then evenly drizzle the remaining dressing / garlic from the mixing bowl over the asparagus.
- Then evenly place the tomatoes and pepperoncini peppers on top.
- Then evenly sprinkle the cheese.
- Then sprinkle the crushed red peppers on top (if you would like a bit of a spicy kick).
- Roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven, top with fresh basil and finish off with lemon juice.
Prep time: 2 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

There are so many easy vegetarian recipes out there, but this one tastes so amazing that you will forget that it’s vegetarian! It is super easy, super quick and super delicious! If asparagus is not your favorite, no worries, this will change your mind!
Ingredients:
- 1 bunch of asparagus (with hard ends cut off / removed)
- 4 cloves of garlic chopped
- 2 T olive oil
- ¼ teas salt
- ¼ teas black pepper
- ¼ cup shredded asiago cheese
- ¼ cup shredded parmesan cheese
- 1/8 teas crushed red peppers
- 1/8 teas dried parsley
- Zest of a lemon
- Juice of a lemon
Directions:
- In a large mixing bowl, combine asparagus, olive oil, salt, black pepper, lemon zest, garlic.
- Line a baking sheet with foil
- Spread out asparagus mixture on foiled baking sheet
- Top with cheese
- Sprinkle crushed red peppers and parsley on top
- Roast in oven at 400 degrees for 15 minutes
- Finish off with lemon juice