Risotto with blueberries, thyme, asiago cheese, and a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.  I just love how the blueberries turned the rice a beautiful shade of purple.  I gobbled up this ultra-creamy risotto with a few small pieces of grilled chicken and a cool, crunchy salad.  It was the perfect summer meal and one that I would highly recommend to anyone.

Here’s the recipe if you’d like to give it a go!

Savory Blueberry Risotto

Ingredients

• 1 cup fresh blueberries
• 1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• butter and olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4-5 cups warm chicken broth
• 1 TB chopped fresh thyme
• 1/4 freshly grated asiago cheese
• 1/2 tsp lemon juice

Instructions

In a medium pot over medium heat, sauté onions in a bit of butter and olive oil until translucent.  Add the rice and stir for about a minute.  Add the wine and simmer over low-medium heat until the rice has just about absorbed all the wine.  Ladle in the first cup of chicken broth as well the blueberries and thyme into the rice. Stir constantly until nearly all liquid has been absorbed. Keep adding the broth, a cup at a time, until the rice is tender.  After the last cup of liquid has been absorbed, sprinkle in a bit of salt and black pepper as well as the asiago cheese and lemon juice.  Serve piping hot! Makes 4-6 servings.

I’ve discovered the holy grail of pancake recipes.  And trust me, I would never call any recipe the holy grail of anything unless I absolutely, 100%, beyond any shadow of a doubt believed it to be true. And these, my friends, are the holy grail of pancakes: thick, fluffy, and unbelievably delicious.

Can you spot the secret ingredient?

Flour, an egg, baking soda, and a container of Greek yogurt are the only ingredients you’ll need to whip these up in 10 minutes flat.

That’s right— you only need 1 bowl, 4 ingredients, and 10 minutes to make the best  pancakes ever.

I’ve made these Greek yogurt pancakes about a bajillion times and they’re virtually foolproof.  I most often use 0% vanilla Chobani, but have also tried mango and strawberry banana flavored yogurt with fantastically delicious results as well.

Try these! You’ll love ‘em.

Greek Yogurt Pancakes

Ingredients

• 6 oz of your favorite Greek yogurt
• 1 egg
• scant 1/2 cup flour
• 1 tsp baking soda

Directions

• Open the yogurt container and stir the yogurt until it’s smooth and creamy.  Crack an egg over the yogurt and stir to combine leaving.  The resulting mixture should be pale yellow in color and have a few lumps here and there.
• In a separate bowl, mix together the flour and baking soda.
• Pour yogurt/egg mixture into the bowl with the flour and baking soda.  Stir to combine.  The batter will be extremely thick.
• Spoon the batter onto a sprayed griddle or pan heated to medium-high. I usually make four big pancakes, but you could also make 8 smaller ones.
• Flip the pancakes when they start to bubble a bit on the surface.  Cook until golden brown on both sides and serve with butter, syrup, fruit, Nutella….anything! Enjoy!

For lower-calorie Greek yogurt pancakes, use nonfat yogurt and an egg white instead of the whole egg.  Equally delicious and easy to prepare.

My slight basil surplus turned out to be a good thing.  A very, very, good thing.

I made pesto! Basil, parmesan, garlic, olive oil, walnuts.

Not content to just toss my freshly-made pesto with some pasta, I turned to an old-favorite— twice-baked potatoes.  Seriously— is it even possible to dislike twice-baked potatoes? Yeah, didn’t think so.

I ditched the traditional sour cream/cheddar/bacon combo and went for some Italian ingredients to give these homely lil’ taters a gourmet flair.  I mashed the potatoes with some fresh mozzarella, a sprinkle of grated parmesan, and lots of ricotta.  I added some bacon (I didn’t have any pancetta. Boo.) and swirled in a few generous spoonfuls of pesto, as well as some dried oregano and rosemary. Diced tomatoes marinated in balsamic vinegar and Italian spices poured over the potatoes after baking served as the perfect finishing touch.

These potatoes are good ‘ol fashioned comfort food loaded (ha.) with flavor. I don’t have an exact recipe for you, because these really are made to taste, but here’s some of my notes if you’d like to make these for yourself!

Italian Twice-Baked Potatoes

Mix-In Ideas

• Cheese— I used parmesan, mozzarella, and ricotta.
• Pesto. A must.
• Pancetta or Bacon
• Drizzle of olive oil
• Your favorite dried herbs— I used oregano and rosemary. Maybe try an Italian seasoning blend?
• Roasted garlic

Bake up some potatoes until they’re nice and soft on the inside.  I baked mine at 400 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes.  Remove the potatoes from the oven and cut in half. Scoop out the insides and set aside in a bowl to combine with your mix-ins. Once you’ve incorporated your mix-ins of choice, re-fill the potato skins and bake again until warmed through, and cheese has melted.  I baked mine for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.  Top with balsamic marinated tomatoes, or some more pesto or….both. Delicious.

See, I’ve been doing some soul-searching.  Up until…oh, two hours ago, I believed that peaches were meant for one thing and one thing only—dessert. Peach pie, peach cobbler, peach crisp, etc. etc. etc.  Any peach that crossed my path was destined to a sugary fate of pastry and ice cream.

No longer.  Perfectly ripe summer peaches and…sharp cheddar cheese.  I also tossed in a few slivers of caramelized onion and a few snips of chives from my ridiculously overgrown herb garden.  These quesadillas had that wonderful sweet and salty flavor goin’ on.

Here’s how to make ‘em!

Cheddar Peach Quesadillas

Ingredients

• 1 tortilla, cut in half
• 1  small peach, cut into thin slices
• 1/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
• 1 TB chopped red onion
• Butter/oil

Instructions

1. In a saucepan, melt a small amount of butter or oil over low/medium heat.  Stir in chopped onions and cook until soft and slightly caramelized.
2. In a separate pan, heat butter.  Add half of the tortilla.  Layer half the shredded cheese, peach slices, and caramelized onions.  Sprinkle with the remaining cheese to ensure maximum gooeyness.  Place the other tortilla half on top of the cheddar peach mixture.
3. Cook on both sides—until golden brown and slightly crispy. Cut into wedges and serve with a side of plain yogurt or sour cream. Enjoy!