1 |   Main Dish

Eggplant Roll-ups

Eggplant is considered by some people to be a superfood. While it has delicate  fruit, it is also hearty and quite filling, which makes it perfect for a main dish. By adding just a few simple ingredients like mozzarella, basil, pine nuts, and ricotta, grandma will be amazed at this simple meal. Don’t forget to make extra for a quick work week lunch.

3 |   Side

Goat Cheese and Fig Tarts

These tarts are dainty but delightful. I’ve made these as appetizers for parties; I used a 2 inch biscuit cutter to cut the pastry dough. They’re also simple enough to make on a minutes notice. So, if you run out, just layer up a few more and bake them. With rich goat cheese, sweet figs, and a light flaky pastry, you’ll want to share these with family and friends every weekend.

2 |   Salad

Superfood Salad

This super salad requires cutting vegetables, toasting almonds, and mixing a little dressing. Kale, blueberries, tomatoes, almonds, avocados, strawberries, honey, and greek yogurt are all considered superfoods because they have more than just one vitamin or health benefit. All these superfoods make for a nutritious salad mom won’t be able to stop eating.

4 |   Dessert

Rhubarb Sauce with Shortbread Cookies

Rhubarb always reminds me of Minnesota and home. One of my favorite rhubarb desserts is a torte with a crispy crust, rhubarb custard middle, and meringue topping. I read through grandma’s recipe and decided to adjust it so we could make it in less time. This shortbread cookie, custardy ice cream, and rhubarb sauce will give you an idea of how lovely the torte really is.

1 medium eggplant

4 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

1/4 cup chopped pine nuts

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

1 cup marinara sauce

1/2 cup parmesan cheese

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? This is already a delicious gluten-free recipe. To make a dairy-free option use daiya, Follow Your Heart, or GO Veggie! mozzarella style shreds instead of the mozzarella cheese. Leave out the ricotta cheese and use your favorite cheese substitute for the parmesan cheese.

Make ahead option– Follow The Simple Steps 1-4 and refrigerate in a plastic wrap covered baking dish for up to three days. When you’re ready for a special meal, continue following The Simple Steps and bake for 20 minutes before devouring.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚.

2. Slice the eggplant lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick slices. You should get about 8 slices of eggplant. Brush each side with olive oil and place the eggplant on a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes

3. In a small bowl, mix the mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese, pine nuts, salt, and basil together. Remove the eggplant from the oven and spoon some of mixture onto each of the eggplant slices. It’ll be a little over 1 tablespoon per slice. Spread the mixture over the whole slice. Click here to watch a quick tip video on chopping basil.

4. Roll up each slice and place them seam side down into a 9x13 baking dish.

5. Top the eggplant with the marinara sauce and the parmesan cheese.

6. Bake for another 12-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted and bubbly.

7. Serve hot.

1/2 cup sliced almonds

5 stalks of kale

8 medium to large strawberries

6 oz blueberries

1/2 pint cherry or grape tomatoes

2 avocados

Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing:
1/3 cup honey

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon grated onion

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1 teaspoon poppy seeds

juice from 1/2 lemon

zest from 1/2 a lemon

1/2 cup grape seed oil or vegetable oil

1 tablespoon greek yogurt (optional)

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? This salad is completely gluten-free. For a simple dairy-free option, simply don’t add the greek yogurt to the dressing. The dressing will be just as nice.

Make ahead option– The dressing is great on all kinds of salads. Refrigerate it in a container with a tight fitting lid for up to 2 weeks and be sure to stir it before each use. The almonds can be toasted and stored in a sealed container in the fridge for a month. You can also rinse the kale, slice it, and store it in a sealed baggie in the fridge. With the almonds toasted, kale sliced, and the dressing ready to go, this salad is only five minutes from being a quick lunch or tasty side dish.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 350˚. Spread the almonds out on a rimmed baking tray. Toast them in the oven for 5 minutes.

2. Rinse the kale, strawberries, blueberries, and grape tomatoes. I used yellow grape tomatoes in this salad to add another color.

3. Rip the kale off the stem and throw the stems away. Pile the kale together and slice it every 1/4 or so. Kale has a hearty leaf so slicing it thinner helps to make it easier to eat.

4. Cut the stem off the strawberries and slice them length-wise so they look like little hearts. You don’t have to cut them this way, but they look so pretty and it’s just as easy to cut.

5. Cut the tomatoes in half. Cut the avocados.
    • My Method: Cut the avocados in half then hold each half and twist. Hold the half avocado in your hand. Using a knife, slice the green fruit lengthwise and use a spoon to scoop out the sliced fruit. Do the same for each avocado.
    • Click here to watch my quick tip video about cutting avocados.

6. In a medium bowl, place the kale and toss it with the dressing. Then top the leaves with the blueberries, sliced strawberries, avocado slices, tomatoes, and toasted almonds. Serve the salad and enjoy!

For Creamy Poppy Seed Dressing:
1. In a small jar, whisk the honey and vinegar together. Click here to watch a quick tip video on measuring sticky liquids.

2. Add the grated onion, salt, mustard, and poppy seeds and blend it well.

3. Stir in the lemon juice and zest.

4. Whisk the mixture and slowly pour the oil into the dressing.

5. If you’d like a little extra creaminess, stir in the yogurt. This makes about 1 cup. If you deicide to plate each serving, be sure not to use more than one tablespoon of the dressing per serving.

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 medium onion

prepared puff pastry

4 oz goat cheese

4 dried figs

1/4 teaspoon salt

pepper

Benefits of figs– Dried figs have more calcium per serving than milk! They are low in sugar and high in potassium and magnesium. When buying them, keep in mind that unsulphured dried figs are more nutritious and will taste better because they are preservative free.

Make ahead option– Bake the pastry shells for five minutes and store in the freezer in a sealed container for up to a month. The onion can be cooked up ahead of time too. Keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 5 days.

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. Lightly oil a baking sheet or line the baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Place a medium pan on low to medium-low heat. Thinly slice the onion. Add the olive oil and onion to the pan and allow the onion to cook slowly for 10 minutes. If the onion starts to turn brown, turn down the heat. While this is cooking, go on to the rest of the recipe.

3. Roll out the room temperature pastry dough so it's approximately 10"x 12". Cut the dough into 8 rectangular pieces. Score the pastry about 1/2 inch in from the edges. Place the rectangles about half an inch apart on the baking sheets.

4. Chop the figs into 1/4 inch chunks.

5. Once the onions are soft and golden in color, divide them, the figs, and the goat cheese evenly onto each piece of pastry. Keep all the filling inside the scored area. Drizzle each tart with olive oil and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

6. Bake the tarts for 12-15 minutes or until the pastry is crisp and the cheese is melted. Serve warm. These can easily go in the oven at the same time as the eggplant roll-ups.

Shortbread Cookie:
1 cup flour

6 tablespoons powdered sugar

1/2 cup butter

1 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons powdered sugar

Rhubarb sauce:
2 cups chopped rhubarb (4-5 stalks)

1 cup sugar

ice cream

Want to make this dairy or gluten-free? Use your favorite gluten-free flour like King Arthur Gluten-free Multi-Purpose Flour or make your own mix with 12 oz white rice flour, 4 oz brown rice flour, 3.5 oz potato starch, 1.5 oz tapioca starch. Store the left-over flour in a airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 months. For this recipe, use 1 cup of this flour mixture and 1/2 teaspoon xanthin gum then continue with the recipe as normal. For a dairy-free option, use coconut oil instead of butter. Also instead of ice cream use your favorite dairy-free frozen dessert like Tofutti Premium Pints, Rice Dream, or SO Delicious Dairy Free.

Make ahead option– Store the cookies in a sealed container on the counter for up to one week or in the freezer for one month. The rhubarb sauce will keep in a sealed container in the refrigerate for two weeks. Just think, if you double this recipe, you’ll have plenty to have this quick dessert ready in minutes!

The Simple Steps...

1. Preheat the oven to 400˚. 

2. Cook the rhubarb by adding it and the sugar to a medium pot on medium heat. Then cook it for 12 minutes, stirring it occasionally. The rhubarb is ready when it’s tender and falling apart. Remove the pot from the heat and allow it to cool.

3. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, butter, and salt together. This will be a stiff dough, but it should come together once it's mixed well. One teaspoon my seem like a lot of salt and it is, but with the sweetness of the custardy ice-cream and tartness of the rhubarb the salt balances out the dessert.

4. Roll out the dough on a floured surface until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

5. Use a 2 inch biscuit cutter or ring to cut out the cookies. Re-roll the dough as needed. You should get about 16 cookies. 

6. Place the cookies on a sheet tray and bake for 8 minutes. Remove them from the sheet tray, place them on a wire rack, and dust them with the 2 tablespoons of powdered sugar.

7. Layer your dessert together by serving up ice cream then topping that with a tablespoon or two of the rhubarb sauce. My husband breaks the cookie into small pieces over the sauce. I like to leave the cookie whole and take a bite with every spoonful.