Sweet & Tangy Veggie Kabobs

One of my favorite parts of grilling season is grilled veggies. Marinate them and grill 'em up til they get a nice light char - eating your vegetables has never been so easy. You can plan to spend a lot of prep time on any kabob dish so take this into account when preparing for dinner: you'll need to wash and cut your veggies, marinate them, and then the oh-so tedious task of skewering them. But when it's done, you'll be thankful for such a yummy feel-good dish.

Summertime makes me think of crisp, light white wines. Most of these will pair great with this veggie selection.  Reach for a bottle of Pinot Grigio, Muscadet, or Sauvignon Blanc ... or plan ahead the day before and make a pitcher of white sangria (so you can get your daily servings of fruit, too, of course).

Happy grilling!

Teriyaki Turkey Burgers

Ground turkey is always a better option than ground beef, and I look for 93/7 lean ground turkey breast. The risk with using such lean meat, especially with burgers, is drying out and blandness. These Asian turkey burgers do not have that problem with the addition of tasty teriyaki sauce, chili-garlic sauce, and plenty of herbs and spices to keep them flavorful. Teriyaki flavors pair well with Riesling and Gewurztraminer, and these wines will also meld nicely with turkey.

Slow-Cooked Pulled Pork BBQ

I love making my own sauces, but the problem is when I make a sauce, I'm very much a "little bit of this, little bit of that, little bit more of this" type person. I taste and taste and taste and adjust and by the end of it, I can only guess what my ingredient ratios are. So, my disclaimer is this is my best guess-timate of my delicious pulled pork BBQ recipe. Everybody's tastes are different, so you may need to adjust according to your tastes regardless. Enjoy this comfort food dish!

When I was first reading about the best way to make pulled pork, there was much debate on whether pork butt roast or pork tenderloin should be used. Well, I have tried both and I must say the pork tenderloin was much better, much leaner, much tastier.

Buffalo & Blue Cheese Stuffed Turkey Burger

Buffalo wings are one of my favorite foods, so I though why not figure out how to make a "buffalo wing" burger, emulating the flavors of a basket of buffalo with a cup of blue cheese dressing for dipping. Plus, bacon never hurts the flavor of any dish, especially a burger. Not only is ground turkey breast leaps and bounds healthier than ground chuck typically used for burgers, I think the poultry flavor lends itself to being more similar to buffalo wings. Using low fat blue cheese and low-sodium bacon, you can enjoy this burger guilt free.

Slow-cooked Sweet & Spicy Sloppy Joes

The sloppy joe has been a staple of the budget-conscious family for years, but if you're from a family that grew up with this in regular rotation at the dinner table - have you even thought of making sloppy joes since? It's time for Sloppy Joe to grow up, get a job, enhance his resume. It's time for an adult sloppy joe - a sloppy joe with sweet, savory, and spicy flavors that a sophisticated palate can appreciate. Do not be overwhelmed by the list of ingredients for the sauce, it will be well worth the flavors you'll get from this grown-up 'joe - and keep in mind it will give you a lot of HEAT hidden beneath it's sweet bbq sauce taste.

I love to hide veggies in recipes where they easily go undetected. I've snuck more than 3 cups of veggies into this recipe by using my mini food processor to make them the same size and texture as the ground beef. Covered in this recipe's sweet & spicy sauce, hungry eaters will be none the wiser.

I typically make a lot of sloppy joe and then freeze portions for nights I don't feel like cooking or nights I'm not home so Mr. B. has something to eat. This recipe makes a lot of sloppy joes. Please feel free to cut down this recipe to a half or a third, if you don't have room in the freezer and are only cooking for a few.

Can we just take a moment to remember this amazing sketch from SNL featuring Chris Farley and Adam Sandler? Sloppy, sloppy joes...

Broccoli Salad

You won't have any problem eating your fruit & vegetables when it comes to this broccoli salad. The ingredients will cost you less than $11, and if you opt for pre-packaged real crumbled bacon, you won't have to cook a thing! Plus, you'll have grapes left over to snack on for the next week. This recipe will make about 9 cups of broccoli salad, costing you barely over a dollar per serving. However, if you're my husband, this salad won't last more than 2 days in the house. So bring on the picnic, and prepare to love eating your broccoli.

Mediterranean Pasta Salad

Summer time is approaching, which means picnic, pot-lucks, cook-outs, and bikini season. Don't just go to the grocery store and pick up a pound of pasta or macaroni salad when you can make it at home and know exactly what ingredients are going into the salad and what fat and calories you are keeping out. By mixing distinct flavors of Italy and Greece, you'll have a delicious, fresh tasting Mediterranean pasta salad that's quick, easy, budget-friendly and healthy.

Pepperoncini peppers add a little kick here and there, so add more if you like a little extra spicy-ness and tangy-ness or a little less if that's not for your palate. I am not a fan of olives, but if you are, they would make a great addition to the Mediterranean flavors of this pasta salad. This recipe yields about 9 cups of pasta salad