Ever try something that is so perfectly ready for adaptation that you instantly begin dreaming of ways to make it better?  A chocolate chip cookie leads you to a dark chocolate cherry cookie.  Or a piece of pumpkin pie leads you to spiced sweet potato pie.  Well, that was my experience with zucchini boats.  So versatile.  So healthy.  So easy.  So many possibilities!

Zucchini makes a perfect vessel for a variety of fillings.  The insides of the zucchini are easy to scoop out, leaving a sturdy shell that is just asking to be heaped full of delicious goodness.  Choose from an Italian filling with tomato sauce, peppers and topped with mozzarella cheese or a Southwestern filling with black beans, green chilies and topped with cheddar cheese (and sour cream!).  With all these flavor combos, you will never again be screaming “What can I do with all this zucchini?!?!”

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I wish I could say that I’ve always been confident when it comes to cooking fish at home.  I wish I could say that, but I can’t.  For years I’ve been terrified of working with fish at home.  Fish is delicate, hard to handle and liable to go awry at any moment.  Leave the fancy seafood to the fancy restaurant chefs.  Fortunately, in an effort to be fearless and incorporate this healthy protein into my diet, I have debunked the myth that fish is too finicky for home cooks.  You too can be a fancy seafood chef, amazing your family and friends alike.

A miso-based ginger glaze coats this tender salmon fillet.  Pairing sweet agave nectar with salty soy sauce and the tang of fresh ginger, this is a flavor packed meal that will impress even the most skeptical dinner guests.  Salmon has a remarkably fast cooking time (less than fifteen minutes), which makes this gourmet meal a viable candidate for your weeknight schedule.  Weeknight seafood gourmet?  Go on …

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Something about a warm, soft pretzel is utterly irresistible.  The crisp, salted crust hiding a perfectly chewy center.  Something this delicious must be insanely difficult to make.  There is no way that I could possibly replicate that perfection in my tiny, amateurish kitchen.  First big surprise of the year: Pretzels are ridiculously easy to make.  Dangerously easy.

Using this simple base recipe, you can make pretzel dogs, pretzels stuffed with garlic and cheese, cinnamon sugar coated pretzel twists and other endless variations.  Like the baked corndogs, these are perfect party food.  They are addictive, filling and will be devoured quickly.  Serve them with a variety of flavored mustards and you will be the talk of the town.  Let’s just say that you may have to scrape a couple jaws off the floor when people say “You made these?!?!”

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Oh people, I hate to do this to you.  I really do.  I know that it’s just a few weeks after New Year’s and we are all still running with that whole resolution mentality … but I simply can’t wait to share this mind-blowing pasta sauce with you.  I know, it’s not very nice. In fact, it may be downright mean.  But if you are going to stray from those resolution for a minute (which, let’s face it, we all will at some point) let it be with this pasta sauce.  Trust me.  The indulgence is sooooo worth it.

Just to give you an idea of what this deceptively simple looking bolognese sauce is bringing to the table, I give you two words: Bacon. Fat.  Oh yea, I said it!  And oh mama, is that some good stuff!  Throw in some tomatoes, white wine, nutmeg, oh my!  The complexity and depth of flavors in this sauce is far beyond the time commitment involved. In my house it has been renamed The Best Pasta Sauce Ever Made.  Clearly, we aren’t terribly humble around these parts.

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Let’s face it, lentils are not sexy.  If all the cool foods like Dulce de Leche and Creme Fraiche got together for a party, Lentils would not be invited.  They are boring looking and even the name lentils sounds like the weird girl in the corner that no one wants to be seen talking to. Lentils are the nerdy, socially awkward, bowling ball-shaped runts of the food world.

To make up for their lack of social prowess, lentils are forced to bring many health benefits to the table in order to get noticed.  They are high in fiber, low in calories (and on the glycemic index!), extremely filling and will soak up the flavors of whatever liquid you decide to cook them in.  Paired with fresh spinach, smoky kielbasa and a mix of fresh mushrooms this lentil soup will quickly become your best friend while helping you stick to your new, healthful resolutions without having to sacrifice flavor!

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People, I have to apologize in advance about this dish.  I have been making this bowl of deliciousness every week for the past month and it’s taken me this long to share it with you.  I’ve been a recipe hog.  If we were in kindergarten I’d be given a time-out for not sharing.  Don’t worry, my guilt over keeping this truly perfect weeknight fall/winter dinner recipe to myself is punishment enough.

I hope that after diving into a bowl of this warm, comforting Italian stew you will find it in your heart to forgive my selfishness. If that isn’t enough, hopefully after you discover that it takes literally 30 minutes to make this entire, one-pot meal (30 minutes including the time it takes to chop the onions and the peppers!!) you will begin to understand why I’ve been making it every week. If even that isn’t enough, I suspect that after your family begins to ask for this stew every week without fail, you will come back and thank me.

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Football food is not known for being beautiful.  More often than not, it falls into the Roll-Up-Your-Sleeves messy category and comes with a side of napkins.  This dish turns the tables on the traditional football fare: Buffalo Hot Wings.  These inside-out, fork-and-knife wings may still require a side of napkins but they certainly up the ante on traditional game-time wings.

This more refined version of traditional wings is also considerably healthier.  While most wings are fried and coated with sugary sauces, these babies are baked and can be topped with a hot sauce that contains as few as 5 calories (my personal favorite is Frank’s Red Hot Sauce).  Old fashioned hot wings have become a football food you don’t have to feel guilty about enjoying!

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