This has become my go-to picnic recipe, stolen from a marina friend who brought them to a dock party! Incredibly easy and a definite crowd pleaser, they are a mini-meal unto themselves. They can be made a day in advance and require no utensils. I put the skewers in a plastic container with a lid and it’s ready to grab from the fridge and go.
I’ve served them with watermelon/feta/mint skewers drizzled with honey balsamic vinegar and a cold rose wine. Yum!
Variations: You can change up the ingredients for different flavor profiles and easily make them vegan by eliminating the salami. Try marinated artichoke hearts or mushrooms, bell peppers, green or stuffed olives, cucumber chunks, fresh basil leaves, feta or other cheeses, etc. You can also substitute any vinaigrette salad dressing (or make your own) and a variety of tortellini types. Use your imagination! You’ll find all the ingredients regularly stocked at our local Grocery Outlet.
This quick sweet uses two ingredients and takes all of 5 active minutes, plus 10 of baking and another hour for cooling. Of course you can find these at a huge discount at our 
To be honest, hubby and I aren’t fans of chicken breast. We prefer thighs which are juicier due to the higher fat content. But every now and then I feel like doing something fancy with chicken and opt for breasts especially when stuffing. Using olives marinated in olive oil kept these moist and flavorful.
My husband and father-in-law love sweets and dessert is always highly anticipated after I’ve made a nice dinner. I often make complicated baked goodies but in my pursuit of eating healthier I’ve been working on new ideas. This one satisfies the sweet tooth and is so easy to whip up in minutes. Better yet, all ingredients are readily available at our 
Tofu: You either love it or hate. I have always hated it. And really, for no reason other than I had an iguana and that’s what we fed him, so why would I want to eat reptile food? Plus it has a look, taste and texture that is just weird.
This is a delicious, hearty vegan breakfast that is made the night before and ready to eat right from the refrigerator. I’ll make this when we are at sea in warm climates and the crew needs a quick meal going on/off the sunrise shift.
I served as “chef” at a recent Writer’s Retreat and many of our attendees had a variety of food preferences and needs. To please everyone, I created this vegan version of “meat in a lettuce cup” and also made a version using ground turkey in lieu of the chickpeas (also known as garbanzo beans). I served it for lunch with sides of tortilla chips and salsa and a tray of raw, bite-size veggies. The pans were empty, so I’ll take it as a hit!
This is one of those dishes that was inspired by a special at the market; I see a sale on a protein and build a menu around it. I’ve had veal piccata at restaurants but never tried cooking it myself. Traditional veal piccata is made without mushrooms, white wine is used instead of stock, and paper thin lemon slices are cooked on top of the cutlets in the oven while the sauce is made. I like a good challenge, so did a little research and came up with this recipe using ingredients and flavor profiles that we enjoy.
We always have leftover buns when we do a hot dog or sausage barbecue with friends. And not being big bread eaters, they sit until I either feed to the ducks in the marina, throw away or make into bread pudding. All of these ingredients are available at our local 
