Tomatillo Salad

This tomatillo salad is bright flavored and refreshing. It's made with a combination of fresh tomatillos and butterhead lettuce and dressed with a creamy tomatillo ranch-style dressing. 

Fresh tomatillos are not actually tomatoes despite their appearance and their name. They come in a loose husk, and the skin is slightly sticky. They are actually related to gooseberries (aka golden berries).  Typically they are cooked and used to make stews such as pozole verde, enchilada sauce, and chile verde, as well as salsa verde. 

Fried Rice with Crab and Peas

This fried rice with crab and peas takes only 20 minutes to make, especially if you have some leftover steamed or Chinese takeout white rice. 

It makes a great lunch or dinner with a salad. The ingredients are easy to find and the dish is a lot of fun to make. 

Banana Apple Coffee Cake Muffins

These banana apple muffins, with a layer of cinnamon and brown sugar through the middle and a crunchy buttery topping with sugar, flour, cinnamon, and vanilla, are like little single serving coffee cakes! 

These banana apple coffee cake muffins are exceptionally moist. After all, they include yogurt, oil, and butter. In addition, there are two bananas and one apple all pureed together and added to the batter. The contrast between the super moist crumb and the crispy topping is just like you'd expect from a slice of coffee cake. 

Pear Fritter Loaf Cake

This pear fritter loaf cake combines all of the goodness of a fritter in an easy to make quick bread. 

This pear loaf cake is loaded with fresh pear chunks along with vanilla bean paste, a brown sugar cinnamon swirl, and finished with a vanilla glaze. The cake is super moist too. 

Apple Streusel Cookies

These apple cookies, with a spicy oat streusel and a cinnamon glaze, are moist and filled with chunks of fresh apple. They are a great for a snack or dessert. The apple flavor is enhanced by the flavors of fall, including cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and brown sugar. 

These cookies are easy to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to cool and then for the glaze to set. Everyone who tried these loved them and immediately asked for the recipe. 

Sear Roasted Steak

Sear roasting is a great way to prepare a steak, especially when you are unable to grill outside. By searing the steak on the stove top and then transferring it to a hot oven for just a few minutes, you end up with a steak that is charred on the outside and evenly cooked on the inside. 

We enjoyed this steak with French fries and green beans with shallots and tomatoes. It was a tasty meal. 

Easy Clam Chowder

This easy clam chowder is wonderful when the weather gets cooler and you need something warming and easy to put together. 

This chowder fits the bill. The broth is a combination of clam juice and the juice from canned tomatoes, and the soup is loaded with goodies such as clams, potatoes, onions, and herbs. Plus, this chowder comes together in about 30 minutes or less.