I adore meals that make me feel like I’m dining at some little café see we sat outside and enjoyed this with a glass of wine, it was perfect!   

Originally galettes crust was made from Buckwheat, the crust of this dish is simplified with my super simple pie crust dough.

And the pie crust is versatile and can be used with many dishes such as these Mini Strawberry Pies, or if you want a different take on this galette, you could try this Tomato Galette which uses fresh tomatoes and parmesan cheese. If you want a heartier meal make some Chicken Pot Pies!

I love how simple this soup is and how this turkey meatball spinach tortellini soup.

Meatballs are one of my favorite starts to a simple and filling dinner. They are so easy to make, using inexpensive ingredients that I usually already have on hand. If you aren’t into ground turkey, you can easily use ground beef, chicken, or pork. Have kiddos that need some veggies snuck in? Grate some up and add them to the mixture meatball mixture before rolling – meatballs are super versatile like that! 

What I love about the meatballs in this particular recipe is that they are cooked in a simmering broth, giving them great flavor and a melt-in-your-mouth texture. 

It’s filling enough to be a meal in itself, but you can pair it with your favorite sandwich for some extra deliciousness.

I love soup, and if you do too be sure to check out my other inspired Italian Soups

• Italian Wedding Soup
• One-Pot Spaghetti Soup
• Low Carb Zuppa Toscano
• Italian White Bean Soup

I made the meatballs in this soup with ground turkey, this soup is also delicious with ground beef meatballs, or ground chicken meatballs.

Eating “real” foods will not only fill you up, it’ll help you to not overeat, which is great if you can’t resist snacking like me!

And this recipe is great if you’re eating low carb too. I’m always looking for things to snack on that are healthy and delicious and this wins on both counts.

This gives “eat your veggies” a run for its money!

This hummus dip is made of VEGETABLES, then you add in all those colorful vegetables to dip into it and it’s a healthy snack everyone will want.

The “hummus” is a delicious low carb option to the traditional chickpea version. This is made out of roasted cauliflower and fresh spinach, the spinach gives it that GORGEOUS green color. 

Let’s talk BACON, 

oh, so many options!

Let’s face it, the classic BLT is amazing and delicious and the contrast of salty and crispy with cool sweet tomatoes along with the crunch of lettuce and some creamy mayo with salt and pepper is undeniably great, (be sure to check out my homemade mayo HERE)

but how about some NEW BLT recipes to kick things into high gear!

I love THICK cut bacon, baked up really crisp. Yes, baked take a look HERE for all the detail on how to cook bacon in the oven.

This portobello mushroom and egg stacked up with spinach looks fancy but is very easy to prepare and tastes amazing.

 I enjoy making breakfast with a twist, I get tired of the same old thing.

I try to incorporate more vegetables into meals and this is not only full of vegetables it’s filling and is a great low carb breakfast.

Portobello mushrooms are a tasty and healthy base for all the delicious toppings in this recipe.

These make a fabulous brunch entree as well because they’re so elegant and colorful. Heck, we love it so much around here, we serve it for breakfast, brunch, lunch or dinner, it’s that good!

More mushroom recipes:

• Hot and Sour Soup this is an easy and delicious soup you can enjoy as a meal and ready in under 30 minutes.
• Tortellini with Red Wine Sauce a delicious meal with a delicious sauce!
• Mushroom Baked Ziti a vegetarian dish that is filling and super tasty if you’re a real meat eater add some cooked sausage.

BLT Macaroni Salad

Don’t miss one delicious recipe and get my FREE e-cookbook click here!

It’s no secret how much I love pasta and there are so many reasons this will be making it’s way too many get-togethers for MANY years to come.

Most macaroni salads as  you know are mixed with mayonnaise, this one is a little different.

There is mayo in this dish, I made it homemade, it’s really easy and here is my post on how to make homemade mayo I did adjust a few things instead of lemon juice, I used lime juice and I added a bunch of basil, oh it’s so delicious!

There is fresh spinach, tomatoes and of course bacon.

Continue reading: BLT Macaroni Salad

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I am a pasta girl through and through,

It’s no wonder then, that frying raviolis have been on my mind, right?

This is one easy and delicious appetizer that you can whip up and it sure is great to have a hot and tasty appetizer in minutes.

The feta and basil dip is super easy and WOW is it tasty, it goes really well with the spinach ravioli.

My husband asked, “what are you going to make for dinner?”

I don’t even think it was 10 AM.

Really, I thought. What are you thinking about dinner for?

Did he think I wasn’t going to make dinner?

I always make dinner! Really?!

I told him I have chicken in the fridge to make,  and I have lots of potatoes, so I will make something with them.

His response, “chicken and potatoes, don’t go together. Chicken goes with rice”

I started laughing and told him oh well, I’ll just have to come up with something with chicken and potatoes, because I ran out of rice the day before. So potatoes it was going to be.

Can you believe it?

He didn’t think I could make a good dish out of chicken and potatoes.

Boy, was he wrong…

Print

Chicken with potatoes, rosemary and blue cheese

Author Diane Schmidt - createdbydiane.com

Ingredients

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 4 large potatoes or 6 medium
• 2 oz crumbled blue cheese
• 2 tablespoons dried rosemary
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• olive oil
• 2 tablespoons butter
• salt and pepper
• 10-12 oz. fresh spinach

Instructions

• Cut chicken into pieces about 1 inch squares,
• Heat a tablespoon of oil with butter in frying pan and saute chicken until cooked and browned. Don't over crowd the pan, or it will steam instead of brown.
• Microwave potatoes until tender, cut into chunks.
• Toss potatoes into pan with chicken add crushed garlic, an additional tablespoon of oil with rosemary, salt and pepper. Heat all thoroughly then stir in fresh spinach. Toss until steam wilts spinach.
• Place everything on a foil lined baking sheet, place blue cheese on top. Place under the broiler for 3-5 minutes until it's all crispy and blue cheese is melted.

The funnies part was at 6 PM I looked at he clock and thought UGH, really. I didn’t even give dinner a second thought after this morning. So I quickly microwaved the potatoes and started cutting up the chicken without a plan as to the rest and I just LOVED that this dish came out so well.

He not only loved this dish he said it so many times that day and the next. I’ll be sure to make this one again.

So much for chicken and rice being the perfect combination.

I just love to make my husband eat his words!

The post Chicken with potatoes, rosemary and blue cheese first appeared on Created by Diane.

These fun heart-shaped pies are filled with spinach and goat cheese…yummy!

I purchased the mold from Williams-Sonoma I liked to it if you want to see what it looks like.

You could use a cookie cutter to make them like I did when I made these

Raspberry filled mini pies

if you don’t have a need to get the mold.

As soon as I saw they had a heart shaped mold, I grabbed it and started imagining what I would fill it with first.

Mini Savory Pies with Spinach and Goat Cheese

In a food processor blend:

one package frozen spinach (thawed)

2 oz. goat cheese

2 scallions

1 clove garlic

salt and pepper

I used refrigerated pie crust, rolled it a bit to stretch it out, then cut it with the mold as directed. I filled each pie with 2 tablespoons of filling, brushed them with an egg wash and baked them for 18 minutes at 400 degrees. They were golden brown and delicious.

I had enough filling to make 5, but the pie crust I used allowed for 4 so I will most likely put the remaining filling in an omelet

I’m looking forward to making more pies soon!

The post Mini Savory Pies with Spinach and Goat Cheese first appeared on Created by Diane.

Summer is filled with lots of running around if your trip includes a day at the beach, a picnic, or just a fun lunch with friends. This is a great sandwich.

It can be prepared a day or two before, which is great for getting out of the house quickly to enjoy all summer has to offer!

Peppered Salami (Salame as Columbus calls it), pesto, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, and Jarlsberg Cheese……oh yes this is a sandwich to sink your teeth into. It’s full of delicious flavor!

It all starts with a Ciabatta bread, sliced twice.

Ingredients:

• Ciabatta bread
• Peppered Salami
• Jarlsberg Cheese
• pesto
• spinach
• sun-dried tomatoes

Load up the yumminess, as you can enjoy a small piece and feel satisfied.

Spread pesto on the underside of the top and middle pieces, then begin to pile on the Peppered Salame, (I love Columbus Peppered Salame)

and top it off with fresh spinach.

Pile on sliced Jarlsberg Cheese and it’s OK to try a few pieces to see how delicious it tastes, or at least that is how I make a sandwich.

then add a layer of sun dried tomatoes.

Wrap the sandwich all up in plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator with a heavy weight on top to press the sandwich down, I placed a small cutting board on top of the sandwich and a 5 lb weight. I love how this can be made a day or two ahead of time.

When you unwrap this and you begin slicing it you can see every layer so nicely pressed into one another, now all you need is a sunny day a towel, an umbrella to enjoy a great picnic or day at the beach!

other great flavor combos to use in this style sandwich are:

• turkey/havarti 
• roast beef/provolone
• ham/swiss
• add jalapenos, and pickled veggies, use mustard instead of mayo
• some great additives are pickles, olives, 

make the sandwiches with french bread, long baguettes, or other firm bread so it’ll press nicely and evenly while not going completely flat.

More great sandwiches to try:

• Grilled Goat Cheese and Avocado Sandwich
• Eggplant Sandwich
• Italian Chicken Cutlet Sandwich
• Peppered Salami Pressed Sandwich
• Grilled Eggplant & Mozzarella Sandwich with Lemon Artichoke Spread
• Shrimp Roll with Lemon Basil Aioli
• Chicken BLT Sandwich
• Cornbread Waffle Turkey Sandwiches with Cranberry Aioli
• and don’t miss this: Breakfast Toast, so many simple ideas

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