Face feasts

Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad features uncooked Ramen noodles – yup, that 49 cent package! – crushed up directly into a salad for a delicious crunch! With rotisserie chicken (or tofu), vegetables, and peanuts, it’s all tossed in a ginger soy dressing. This is a one-bowl, no-cook, 15 minute, full-meal dinner salad with delicious flavor and texture! My mother used to make this when I was growing up, and believe me, I was skeptical at first too. It might sound strange, but crunching uncooked ramen noodles into a salad is actually delicious! It’s crunchy – but not TOO crunchy – adding substance and a crouton-like texture to this east Asian-inspired salad. Rotisserie chicken, lettuce, tomatoes, corn, green onions, and chopped up peanuts make up the rest of the salad. Everything is tossed in an easy honey soy ginger dressing that you probably already have the ingredients for. So toss that seasoning packet (and its over 1500 mg of sodium – eek!) and put that 49 cent package of ramen noodles to good use in this easy, hearty, healthy salad. The perfect no-cook dinner for a hot summer’s day! ...GET THE RECIPE for Crunchy Ramen Noodle Salad!

This Cucumber Melon Salad with basil and fresh mozzarella is dressed in a simple olive oil and lime juice dressing. It’s cool and refreshing, perfect for a hot summer day, and takes mere minutes to prepare! This salad is a love letter to my millennial girls. Was anyone else OBSESSED with the “cucumber melon” scent from Bath and Body works? Well, now you can eat it, haha! While this salad doesn’t have that same intoxicating aroma, the combination of cucumber and melon is absolutely delicious and so refreshing in this summer salad. I used a Tuscan style cantaloupe for this, but you can use any melon you want – honeydew, watermelon, etc. Cut it up, add some cucumbers, fresh mozzarella balls, fresh basil, lime juice and zest, olive oil, salt, and pepper, and you have the easiest salad ever! Now the question – do I need a recipe designed around the “warm vanilla sugar” scent? Enjoy! Ingredients and Substitutions Melon – I used a Tuscan Cantaloupe, but a regular cantaloupe or honeydew would work well. See below for some notes on watermelon. ...GET THE RECIPE for Cucumber Melon Salad!

This tart and sweet Rhubarb Upside Down Cake is an absolute showstopper of a dessert perfect for spring and summer. It’s baked with olive oil and Greek yogurt, with cardamom in the batter for Scandinavian-inspired flavor. It’s super fun – and surprisingly easy – to make with just one bowl needed! I love baking with olive oil! It may sound unusual, but it’s common in Mediterranean baking. The earthy taste of olive oil is a wonderful complement to sweet flavors. Many of you know I’m of Greek descent and love cooking Greek food, so it’s not surprising I use olive oil with abandon! The other half of my descent is Norwegian, and I also love dabbling with Nordic cooking. Scandinavian desserts are some of the best in the world! Sour cream and cardamom are two staples in Nordic baking. So this recipe is a marriage of baking traditions from my two halves – the cardamom is absolutely delicious in here with the sweet, tart rhubarb. And instead of sour cream, I’m using Greek yogurt, which acts almost the same but with more protein and less fat. ...GET THE RECIPE for Rhubarb Upside Down Olive Oil Cake!

This bright and cheery Lemon Ricotta Pasta has only five ingredients and takes 20 minutes total! Sautéed zucchini and fresh basil are added to pasta tossed in a creamy, lemony sauce. You can use other veggies if you want. When you don’t know what to cook, make this! I recently got back from a weekend getaway in Vermont. Usually I love eating out when traveling, but we stayed at such a nice AirBnB, I knew I wanted to cook at home at least once. This was the perfect simple recipe to make while traveling. I didn’t need to bring a ton of ingredients and spices – just 5 basic ingredients. Add this to your list of recipes to make when you’re tired, traveling, or just need a super simple and fast thing to feed your family! Ingredients and Substitutions Pasta – any shape you want. I used a fancy one from an Italian market called Creste di gallo. Ricotta cheese – I prefer whole milk. Lemon – you’ll use both the juice and the zest in this. ...GET THE RECIPE for Lemon Ricotta Pasta with Zucchini and Basil!

Tuna and White Bean Salad is such a delicious and healthy way to enjoy tuna, with added fiber from the cannellini beans! This tuna salad has no mayo. Instead, we’re using oil-packed tuna, and adding some of the oil from the can into the dressing of the salad (along with tangy red wine vinegar and herbs). You’ll love this 10-minute, 5-ingredient, high-protein recipe made from pantry ingredients! You can serve this tuna white bean salad any way you normally would enjoy tuna salad – on a sandwich, with crackers, in a lettuce wrap, or even use it for a tuna melt. I sliced up some good bread and toasted it in a skillet with olive oil, then topped it with the tuna salad for an open faced sandwich. Or just dive in with a fork! Delicious! Something that makes this extra delicious is we’re macerating the red onions briefly in the red wine vinegar before mixing in the other ingredients. Letting the cut onions soak in the acid for just a few minutes helps take the bite out of them and bring out their natural sweetness. So you don’t get that super strong raw onion taste, you know? ...GET THE RECIPE for Tuna and White Bean Salad!