Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta

Cheesy Butternut Squash Pasta - an easy to prepare one-pot meal or side dish that is ready for the table in about 40 minutes. 

The butternut squash in this pasta dish, combined with the Parmesan cheese, adds so much creaminess that there is no need for added milk or cream to create a sauce. The cheese and the squash, along with the pasta, do all of the heavy lifting. 

Chayote with Roasted Tomatoes and Chiles

Chayote with roasted tomatoes and chiles is a wonderful and easy vegetarian side dish. 

I received product samples from Melissa's Produce to aid in the creation of #FreakyFruitsFriday recipes. All opinions are mine. 

This dish with chayote, roasted tomatoes, and chiles is wonderful as a veggie side dish. It has a delicious hint of smokiness and is totally flavorful.

Cannellini and Fennel Soup with Tomatoes and Kale

The flavors in this Cannellini and Fennel Soup with Tomatoes and Kale are incredible. This soup is so easy to make, and the Italian flavors totally shine.

This Italian white bean soup with fennel, kale, and San Marzano tomatoes is flavored with garlic, crushed red pepper, basil, and smoked paprika.

Delicata Squash Fries with Chipotle Garlic Dipping Sauce

These Delicata Squash Fries are roasted in a hot oven until tender crisp, and then served with an awesome Chipotle Garlic Dipping Sauce. You won't be able to stop eating them.

Have you ever cooked with Delicata squash? I had never tried cooking with it until I made these "fries."

Homemade Minestrone Soup

This recipe for homemade minestrone soup creates a hearty and warming bowl of vegetables in a delicious vegetable broth. The soup is delicious the day it is made, and even better the next day, when all of the flavors have a chance to meld.

This soup recipe as written is really tasty, but you can customize it to make it your own. While I used this vegetable broth as a base for the soup, you can use store bought vegetable stock, or even water to make this soup.

Cuban-Style Black Bean Soup {Vegan}

This Cuban-style black bean soup may look like a simple bowl of soup, but it is much more complex. The ingredient list is long, but the flavors in this soup make it worth the fuss.

Along with the black beans, this Cuban-style black bean soup is flavored with bell peppers, onions, jalapeños, garlic, cumin, oregano, and Manzanilla olives (the kind you put in martinis).

Carrot, Spinach, and Rice Stew

This spinach with rice and carrots is so nutritious, and it's such an easy and simple weekday side dish. 

The recipe for this spinach with rice and carrots illustrates how three large bunches of fresh spinach wilts down during the cooking process into a side dish for four.

Six Onion Pizza

This Six Onion Pizza recipe is both sweet and savory at the same time. It's the perfect pizza for your spring onion bounty.

"Six Onion Pizza?" you ask! Yes, six onions: white onions, leeks, shallots, red onions, scallions, and chives, all on a super thin crust and topped with Pecorino cheese.

Crunchy Iceberg Salad with Homemade Creamy Roquefort Dressing

This crunchy iceberg salad with homemade creamy Roquefort dressing is the perfect first course for a small dinner party.

One of my favorite things to do is have good friends or family over for dinner. While I don't get to do it as often as I'd like, when I do, I love making something elegant, but fairly easy to prepare. This way, I'm not too stressed out when our friends arrive, nor am I stuck in the kitchen.