Easy Spring Salad [+Video]

This is an easy spring salad full of seasonal ingredients like asparagus, radishes, peas, fresh herbs and enhanced with roasted chickpeas, feta cheese, toasted pine nuts, and hard boiled eggs all topped with a bright and tangy lemon salad dressing.

Well, we did it again! We survived winter! And boy was it a doozy here in Utah this year. I have never seen so much snow here and we have lived here a really long time. So the fact that a “spring” salad is even a possibility brings a smile to my face! It is time for bright refreshing flavors and warmer temperatures!

What Goes in a Spring Salad?

One of the beauties of a salad is that they are so versatile, so I’m going to share the ingredients for how we like to make this salad, but keep in mind that you can omit or add ingredients to your liking. Here is what we like…

Dressing

• Olive Oil: the base of the dressing
• Dijon Mustard: adds intense mustard flavor
• Lemon Juice and Zest: adds a bright pop of freshness and acidity
• Shallot: adds mild onion flavor
• Champagne Vinegar: if you can’t find champagne vinegar, you can use prosecco or white wine vinegar
• Salt and Pepper: adds flavor

Salad

• Pine Nuts: adds texture and we toast them for maximum flavor
• Asparagus: remove the tough stem end and then cut it into 1-2″ pieces
• Frozen Peas: let them defrost in a bowl of water
• Baby Salad Greens: this can be any mix of greens you enjoy…romaine, spinach, arugula, chard, etc.
• Radishes: adds a little heat and gorgeous color
• Cucumber: we prefer an English cucumber
• Fresh Herbs: mint, basil, parsley, chives – this blend is so bright and bold
• Feta: totally optional, but we love them saltiness flavor it adds
• Roasted Chickpeas: you can buy roasted chickpeas or roast your own and they add great texture
• Olive Oil: used to roast the chickpeas
• Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
• Hard Boiled Eggs: adds protein and heartiness to the salad

This is meant to just be an overview of the ingredients for this salad. For all the details and measurements, scroll down to the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make a Fresh Spring Salad

I like to start salad recipes by making the dressing. It can be made up to a day or two ahead of time, so it’s nice to get that made and out of the way. For this salad dressing, just whisk all the ingredients together and set it aside.

Other parts of this recipe can also be prepped ahead of time. You can hard boil the eggs, toast the pine nuts and roast the chickpeas up

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole [+Video]

Picky eaters are going to love this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole. Mom called it busy day casserole because it’s a quick and easy dinner.

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole

Alright, this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole recipe is definitely not my norm, but it is who I am and it happens to be a recipe that I get a crazy amount of emails about. I get loads of emails about our fabulous buttermilk pancakes too…have you tried those?! Total comfort food just like this casserole.

A long time ago (and seriously, check out the picture and you’ll laugh your heart out at how little I knew about food photography), I posted a recipe called Busy Day Casserole and it has been one of my top recipes for years now. It never disappears from the most viewed recipes. In fact, a lot of our hamburger recipe ideas are our top recipes. You can find them all here.

People love this cheesy ground beef and rice casserole, and while it’s totally simple I know why. This quick and easy dinner idea with ground beef and melted cheese is in fact the cure for all picky eaters. It’s very dependent on you for the seasoning so for picky eaters it’s perfect, but if you want more flavor season it well or add in more vegetables. If you wanted to try something similar, but with chicken, try this cheesy ranch chicken casserole!

read more: Looking for easy casserole recipes? Try our Pork Chop Casserole with Rice next!

What’s in This Ground Beef Casserole Recipe?

The ingredients you’ll need for this ground beef and rice recipe will vary depending on whether you want to make this casserole completely from scratch, semi-homemade, or if you’d rather throw together something really quickly (i.e. use a few shortcuts). 

If you have the time and energy, I highly recommend making this casserole recipe with ground beef from scratch. Don’t let the longer ingredients list fool you, I bet you already have most of them on hand already!

To make this cheesy beef and rice casserole completely from scratch, you’ll need some butter, onion, garlic, flour, cream, chicken broth, veggies, cheese, white rice, ground beef, and water. Oh, and salt and pepper, of course! 

If you’re look

Chorizo Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Cheesy chorizo stuffed chicken breasts is the chicken dinner recipe you never knew you were missing! Bold flavor in every bite!

Last winter we busted out our queso fundido and as we were shoveling all of that deliciousness loaded onto crisp and salty chips the thought occurred to me: this should be stuffed in chicken.

And so it is. And it’s delicious. The best part is when a little cheese and chorizo spills out into the pan and gets a little crisp around the edges. You’re going to love it!

Ingredients for Chorizo Stuffed Chicken Breasts

You don’t need many ingredients to make this tasty stuffed chicken recipe! When chorizo is involved, you know you’re headed to flavor town! Here is what you will need…

• Chorizo
• Chicken Breasts
• Chihuahua Cheese, or Oaxaca cheese, mozzarella cheese would also work
• Olive Oil
• Taco Seasoning

The measurements for each ingredient are listed in the recipe card found at the end of this post.

How to Make Chorizo Stuffed Chicken Breasts

Stuffed chicken breasts seem so fancy, but it really couldn’t be easier! Here are the basic steps…

1. Cook: Brown the chorizo in a skillet on the stove top, drain excess grease and set aside.
2. Butterfly: Cut each chicken breast in half lengthwise creating a pocket in the side of the chicken breast.
3. Stuff: Fill each pocket with chorizo and cheese.
4. Sear: Oil and season the outside of the stuff chicken breasts and then sear both sides on the stovetop.
5. Bake: Place the chicken in a baking dish and finish cooking the chicken in the oven.

The complete instructions can be found in the recipe card down below so keep scrolling for all the details.

What is Chorizo?

What is chorizo anyway? Good question!!

Chorizo is just pork sausage that has been heavily seasoned and tastes sooo delicious! It’s most common in Spanish and Mexican cuisine, so chances are you’ve already had it. Ok, there are two different methods to make chorizo, so let me break it down:

The Mexican style of chorizo is made from raw pork and what you’ll see in the stores the most. Spanish chorizo is often smoked and a little more tricky to find.

That means that the Spanish version Is more like a sliceable sausage whereas Mexican is like a ground meat. For this recipe, we will use Mexican chorizo.

Where to Buy Chorizo

When you head to the store, where do you find Mexican chorizo? I buy chorizo in the butcher or meat department. In our local grocery stores they are in two places.

1. The first being the regular meat department usually at one end or the other.
2. The second, a specialty Mexican cooler that has salsas, Mexican cheeses, tortillas and chorizo.

If you can

The Flakiest Savory Beef Pot Pie

Savory indulgent beef pot pie that is loaded with vegetables and topped with flaky, golden puff pastry! It’s pure comfort food!

I mean, it was bound to happen. Our readers are in love with our chicken pot pie, and in fact it’s one of the most popular recipes on our site. But with all of you requesting a few more beef recipes I couldn’t resist a savory beef pot pie recipe. Is it possible to have too many pot pies?

I think not!

What started out one way ended up an entirely different way and I’m ridiculously pleased with the results. And no one is happier than Cade, he says it’s one of his new favorite dinners. 🙂

Ingredients for Beef Pot Pie

You’ll start by pulling your puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and letting it thaw slightly. The rest of the ingredients you will need are here:

• Puff Pastry – found in the freezer section of the grocery store by the pie crusts
• Beef Roast – chuck roast is my preferred cut, but a top sirloin or round roast would also work, you could even use ground beef for a budget friendly option
• Salt – flavor
• Pepper – flavor
• Yellow Onion – adds so much to the depth of flavor, see section below for using onions if you are not a fan of onions
• Garlic – flavor
• Carrots – go with real carrots that you peel and slice, no baby carrots
• Celery – flavor and texture
• Peas – I love these bright pops of flavor and color. They get added right before adding the filling to the baking dish so they don’t get too mushy.
• Flour – thickens the filling
• Rosemary – fresh is best, but you can use dried if you need to, 1 sprig fresh = 1 teaspoon dried
• Bay Leaf – adds so much flavor, remove it before adding the filling to the baking dish
• Thyme – fresh is preferred, but if you need to use dried, 1 teaspoon fresh = 1/3 teaspoon dried
• Beef Broth – the base of the gravy that the meat and veggies will simmer in and become the delicious filling
• Balsamic Vinegar – add sweetness and tanginess to the gravy
• Worcestershire Sauce – our preferred brand is Lea & Perrins and it is essential! It adds great umami flavor!
• Dijon Mustard – adds to the depth of flavor in the gravy
• Whole Milk – used for the egg wash
• Egg – used for the egg wash that will make crust beautifully golden

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.

What If You Hate Onions?

I heard you all loud and clear on instagram, you either love or absolutely hate onions and there’s not really any who are in between. So can you substitute onions in a recipe? Well, in my personal opinion, no.

Delicious Peanut Butter Chicken Recipe [+Video]

Looking for a new and tasty chicken recipe? Look no further! This peanut butter chicken dish is easy to make and full of flavor. Try it out tonight!

I kind of have this thing for peanut sauce (hello, Thai peanut noodles with chicken!) and it’s grown even greater in my life because of my friend Kerri! She makes the most amazing peanut chicken with this mango cucumber salsa over the top and we might totally have to convince her to share the recipe on the blog because I can’t stop making all things peanut butter sauce after eating dinner at her house.

So this chicken recipe is totally different than hers. It’s kind of a fun takeout Feik out that even your pickiest of eaters should love. Heck it’s like a peanut butter sandwich, or I guess not. I mean it is chicken, but you see what I’m saying.

Introduction: Why is This Recipe a Must Try

Peanut chicken is great for busy weeknights because you can have dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

The peanut sauce is to die for! The flavor is so addicting!

Peanut chicken is super family friendly. The flavors are familiar for children but elevated at the same time to satisfy adult palates.

This recipe is perfect for meal prep. You can make the chicken and then portion it out into containers with rice or noodles to eat for lunches or dinner all week.

Ingredients for Peanut Chicken

Sometimes when I see a recipe that leans in the direction of Asian cuisine, I get worried that the ingredients are going to be random and hard to find. This is not the case with this recipe! All the ingredients are easy to find, affordable, and pantry friendly so once you get them, they will last forever. Here is what you will need:

For the Chicken

• Chicken Thighs: boneless, skinless
• Soy Sauce: low sodium
• Canola Oil: or olive oil works great too
• Garlic: fresh and finely minced
• Ginger: fresh is preferred

For the Sauce

• Peanut Butter: we had the best results with natural pb
  • PRO TIP: If you have a peanut allergy, almond butter works great in this recipe too!
• Hoisin Sauce: thick, sweet and salty and found by the soy sauce at the grocery store
• Crushed Tomatoes: we love the brand Cento but any brand works great
• Chicken Stock: helps thin out the sauce while adding flavor
• Sesame Oil: gives that signature Asian flavor to the dish
  • PRO TIP: Don’t use sesame oil to sauté the chicken. The flavor will be too overpowering. Sesame oil is best in small quantities!
• Honey: adds natural sweetness
• White Vinegar: adds acidity and flavor
• Ground Cumin: adds flavor
• <