Dani Spies

With football season kicking off this weekend I wanted to give you guys a little game time meal that you could feel good about eating!  These Buffalo Chicken Butter Lettuce Cups are the perfect dish!

Like all QuickBites, this is a seriously simple recipe that comes together very quickly! 

I wanted to shoot a video using leafy greens in one of the simplest ways I know how (which is a quick saute).  This recipe is the perfect demonstartion of how easy it can be to get power foods on the table in about twenty minutes!

I'm not really a winter girl. Although I love a good snow fall for the most part I'm not a huge fan of being cold... but with that being said, sometimes I like it. Which brings me to my point. If I had to choose one month that I most relate to it would have to be March.

*Updated 

This is not a new recipe but it is my favorite when it comes to Irish Soda Bread! 

But let me pre-warn you, I like my Irish Soda Bread on the "drier" side... kinda like a big fat scone.  So if you like a more cake like, moist soda bread, this is not the recipe for you.  On the flip side, if you like a more scone like soda bread, get out your bowl and get to work because this IS the recipe for you!

Happy St. Patty's Day!

Okay, so I got a little distracted with Valentine's Day (Chocolate Covered Strawberries can do that to me) but I haven't forgotten this months Food Focus... Quinoa!  

I've got more Quinoa recipes coming your way, starting with my Black Bean and Quinoa Pita Pockets! 

*updated from last year. 

Before you run out and spend two dollars per chocolate covered strawberry for Valentine's Day this year, watch this video to see how easy it is to make them at home for a quarter of the price! 

No joke guys, Chocolate Covered strawberries are one of the easiest (and yummiest) things you can make for Valentine's Day and I'm gonna try and persuade you to make your own with my top ten list!

Drum roll please.......................

It's cold and rainy here in So.Cal, so I was in the need of some comfort food.  I wanted to use up some Kale and so here's what I came up with...  Let me know what ya think!

*updated from the archives.

As you may know, I am a big fan of "whole foods" and I think that whole eggs are a perfectly delicious and nutritious food.  I love adding them to just about anything; breakfast, lunch, or dinner. But anytime I am trying to pull back on my calorie intake a bit without pulling back on flavor, I skip the yolks and stick to the whites. 

I mean basically I just pick a pie, think of all of the flavors and ingredients that go into it and then SIMPLIFY!! 

Hey, did you guys notice the new box over in the top right hand corner of the page?? 

The one that is titiled "Food Focus"??  Let me tell you all about it... cause I'm really excited!

Basically, here's the deal:

I'm headed out of town and won't be making any Post-Thanksgiving leftover meals this year so I pulled this one from the archives. It's a yummy way to create a completely different meal using your Turkey Day leftovers!

I like topping it with some left over Cranberry Sauce!

Only one week til' Thanksgivin and then the Holdiay Season really kicks in (I love the holidays)!

I wanted to make a video showing an alternative dish for Thanksgiving dinner, so I chose a Stuffed Turkey Breast.  (If you want to see how to make a traditional holiday turkey, you can watch me make one here).

These Mediterranean Cod Pouches are the best of all worlds... they're quick, simple, AND there's practically NO clean up involved!!  Now what could be better than that? 

This recipe was inspired by a blog that I often read, Kalyn's Kitchen. 

So as you may have noticed, food makes me really excited, and the truth is that if you are reading this right now, it probably makes you really excited too. 

So let me tell you why this recipe is so darn exciting!! 

Coleslaw is one of my favorite sides to eat with any kind of sandwich.  I especially love to pile it high on top of a sandwich... yum!! 

Try serving this Peanut Slaw with my Tuna Burgers, they're a match made in heaven!

With Memorial Day right around the corner, it's just about time to break out those grills (or grill pans).  These Ahi Tuna Burgers are the perfect way to kick off your summer

Try enjoying these burgers with my Peanut Slaw!

When it comes to eating out, Mexican is my all time favorite food!  If I had to pick a last meal it would be margaritas with chips, salsa, and guacamole! Yum... just thinking about it makes me happy!

I love making guacamole when friends come over because it's a fun food! Plus everyone loves it and it's always the first thing to go!

Can you really go wrong with garlic, basil, olive oil, salt, and potatoes... I mean c'mon, I really don't think so.

I call this dish "Rustic Pesto Potato Salad" because it has all of the ingredients that you would use to make pesto but instead of mixing everything into a sauce, I just give them a rough chop and toss it all together so it has a rustic feel.

You wouldn't think that a mushroom could have so much "sticking" power that it would actually serve as a meal, but this Portabella Mushroom Burger definetely does the job!

I mean really, who would of ever thought that a big fat mushroom could be so good?! 

When it comes to the old school classics, there are only so many variations you can make.  I mean they're classics for a reason, you know what I mean?

Even though I am in Los Angeles and my Mom is in New Jersey, I still wanted to come up with a Mother's Day meal.  It's kind of like a virtual Mother's day meal.  This is what I would make if my family and I were all spending Mother's day together.

You may or may not have noticed this about me, but I tend to repeat myself. If I really like something or something specific really makes me happy, I tend to express my feelings over and over and over.

So in case you don't already know... I love Mexican food!! Love it, love it, love it!

Sometimes nothing hits the spot like a big bowl of good old fashion Spaghetti and Meatballs! For this QuickBite I take an old time favorite and add a twist.

Dark greens are hands down one of the most nutrient packed ingredients you can add to you're meal (not to mention they're absolutely delicious)!

For this QuickBite, I cook up a simple piece of cod fish to top off a big pile of kale sautéed with raisins and pine nuts. 

In my mind, I always think of March as the beginning of spring, but in reality it's more like the end of winter. After all, you know what they say, "March comes in like a lion and out like a lamb."

So with that being said, I decided to make some cold weather comfort food... good old American meatloaf. The only difference is, I make them into mini's so you can get them on the table in half the time!

This dish is too good to be so easy, and the truth is, there really isn't any cooking involved (other than cooking up your soba noodles... but does that really count?).

I'm a huge fan of dark greens...afterall, they are considered a power food, so what's not to love?

If you aren't familiar with the variety of dark, leafy, greens that are out there, this QuickBite is a great way to introduce them into your kitchen.  This recipe calls for Dandelion greens, but you could easily substitute kale, swisschard, or even spinach.

This recipe for Roasted Pepper Bruschetta is one my favorite "last-minute-no-brainer-go"-to appetizers. It is one of the simplest recipes I know and it's SO delicious!! 

What is it about baking that seems to freak people out?? I mean, all you have to do is pop some ingredients in a bowl, mix em up, and stick them in the oven!

As promised, here is a great dish to go with that Cinnamon Spiced Rice from a few days ago.

Although this Okra Bowl goes great with just about any grain (brown rice, couscous, barley, etc.) I really like the way it pairs with the flavors in the Cinnamon Spiced Rice.

This dip goes great with chips, veggies or even as a simple sandwich spread so give it a shot and don't forget to spread plenty of love with the bubbly.

Happy New Year everyone!

Chicken Parmigiana is an old Italian classics that I grew up on. So naturally, it's one of those "go to" meals I can always rely on.  I find that baking this dish not only lightens it up a bit, but it makes for a lot less cleaning as well!

Who says making home made tomato sauce has to be an all day affair?  My 20-minute tomato sauce literally only takes... 20 minutes!!  I'm telling you guys it's great!  You throw a handful of ingredients into a pot and voila'... home made tomato sauce!

With all the eating I did over the long Thanksgiving weekend I'm ready to lighten things up a bit.

This salad is the perfect meal... fresh, crunchy and YUMMY!

Shrimp Scampi is a perfect example of a recipe that seems like it would be tricky to make, but in fact it's just the opposite.  It's so quick and simple! 

Nothing hits the spot like a cool, crunchy Butter Lettuce Salad on a hot Summer day!

This particular salad is really refreshing... try serving it along side some grilled meat or fish at your next BBQ, or better yet, enjoy it solo for a light and satisfying lunch!