Make this easy, summertime salad for dinner tonight. Add on some roasted chicken or salmon for a more hearty meal. The perfect salad for lunch too.

A recipe inspired by my culinary hero's-Julia Childs and Ina Garten.

The Yellow Notebook is a treasure trove of recipes that my mother compiled for me many years ago. While going through it recently, I stumbled upon a delicious Chicken Chili recipe that my sister Lynn learned from her friend in Virginia Beach. This traditional chili recipe has a unique twist, thanks to the addition of a jar of picante sauce and salsa. As I cannot wait to try it this year, I am excited to share this recipe with you. Read on to learn more about this mouth-watering Chicken Chili recipe.

In our family we called it “The Casserole”, an easy and delicious chicken dish filled with almonds, broccoli and covered a tasty sauce. It was the dish my Mom took to her work pot lucks and the meal that I loved the most. She always made two, one for work and one for dinner. A popular 80’s dinner and one that I make today for mine. Serve with a salad for a easy dinner tonight.

The Hot Brown is an open-faced sandwich of turkey breast or turkey breast and ham and bacon, covered in creamy Mornay sauce and baked or broiled until the bread is crisp and the sauce begins to brown. Covered in Cheddar Cheese sauce. This is my Mom's recipe which includes mushrooms.

Scrambled eggs are the most popular preparation of eggs at least in our family. We think of the eggs as a perfect canvas, a place to discover new flavors and experiment. So why not add Pimento Cheese to eggs, it the perfect match. Serve with Buttermilk Biscuits and Broadbent bacon, you will not be disappointed.

Southern Style Pickled Shrimp is a great addition to your menu. Serve as part of the main course or as an appetizer alongside crispy crostini’s.

Mediterranean flavors are some of my favorites and at the top of the list is the gyro pita. I can find the sliced meat at Trader Joes but I do not want to have to depend on having it in our freezer when I have a craving my favorite flavors.

Out of that craving the gyro meatball was created and has become a family favorite.

Dinner is easy tonight.

Creating hearty meals for my family is always the goal even though I can sometimes opt in for cheese and crackers and be happy. This recipe gives my family all they need to for a healthy dinner. I use lean beef, my preference is Laura’s Lean Beef along with high quality rice and fresh vegetables for garnish.

We have some amazing Korean restaurants where I live in Kentucky and am always inspired to take away the flavors and incorporate them into meals I can easily make and this recipe checks all the boxes.

Guinness Beer adds a deep, rich flavor to the perfect stew for St. Patricks Day. The weather here in Kentucky is not warming up so tonight we are celebrating with this Southern Irish girls version of Irish Stew.

What ever kind of BBQ you are serving its fine by me.

There are some foods that are so polarizing and BBQ is certainly one of them.

The states that surround me have stacked a claim that their BBQ is the best. Even in Kentucky, we celebrate Western KY’s finest. I have tried all types of BBQ and for me they are al winners.

A elevated version of a favorite lunch time sandwich .

A tuna salad sandwich and potato chips is one of my favorite go to lunch time meals. This recipe takes a favorite and elevates it with Olive Oil Poached Tuna, tossed with Lemon Caper Aioli. Enjoy.

A classic salad that always has a place on my table.

Salads are a great meal for lunch or dinner. However, I enjoy them when someone else makes them for me. Craving a hearty salad I decided to take on the challenge and tackle this classic salad for myself. More salads at home are in my future. So glad I accepted to challenge.

Why make an ordinary salad when you can have Nicoise Salad with Olive Oil Poached Tuna, I love a good challenge. The results were perfection, a fresh and substantial salad that will not leave you hungry but satiated. This salad can be a hearty lunch or a lighter dinner.

Salmon serves up a hearty and healthy bite.

New year means a renewed focus on eating better. I have always struggled with the word diet, its so limiting. What is not limiting is to serve good, healthy food with flavor.

To cook and eat better means you have to take the time and shop for the high quality ingredients. If it is made from a box then you are not getting a nutrients that your body needs to fuel itself.

Buying whole foods will serve you long term, food taste better and the benefits outweigh any time that you may think is saved by using a convenience item or heading through the drive through.

My Mom would make Vegetable Beef Soup for our family at the end of a week when she had enough leftover vegetables to get the soup started as she would say. She shared that these veggies were perfectly seasoned to make for a great base. All she would have to do then was add in more fresh vegetables and canned tomatoes. To make it a hearty meal for my growing brothers, she added stew meat and beef stock.

My daughter Lily grew up to be a vegetarian, taking inspiration Mom’s version, I have created a recipe that has the flavors of my past yet serves the needs of my family today.

My first memory of enjoying Italian Wedding Soup was at a restaurant in Lexington KY. As I recall, my family and I went to Lexington for back to school shopping and my parents wanted to make sure we had a hearty meal after a big day of shopping.

Not recalling the name of the restaurant but I do remember the red checked plastic coated table cloths with wine bottles and a single red candle in the center of the table. Even though it was August and not a typical time of year to eat soup I ordered it anyway. Not one for following the status quo at an early age even.

Start the New Year with our Good Luck Hoppin John

Inspired from my favorite soup at my favorite restaurant in the Asheville, North Carolina. The Crab Chowder is warm, creamy and full of lump crab and flavor.

Inspired by my Grandmother and the pitchers of sweet tea she would have ready and available for her visitors. An expert hostess with a heart of gold.