Dani Spies

I know I left you guys high and dry this Labor Day weekend but the truth is I didn't do much cooking.  I'm headed to Jersey later this week to spend a week down the shore with my family so I was laying pretty low this weekend.  But I did get to make this Whole Wheat Penne w/ No-Cook Tomato Sauce and White Beans!

Balsamic Glaze is just a fancy way of saying reduced down Balsamic vinegar.  It's a super simple way to add lots of flavor to a dish with out adding lots of extra calories or fat.

Gotta love the mango... sweet, hearty, creamy, cooling and overall d'lishes!  I mean really, what's not to like?! 

And it just so happens that I've got mangoes coming out of the wazoo...

Have you ever had a week when things just didn't go as planned??  Yeah, well welcome to my last week!

My family was in town... the whole gang; my Mom, Dad, Sis, and bro-in-law.  It was great to have them all here together and we had lots of fun, but I guess you could say I sorta got "distracted". 

Just made this for dinner along with a very simple Teriyaki Tuna that I threw on the Foreman Grill (actually my husband did the "grilling... what is it with guys and the grill?).

This is definitely one of my go-to side dishes. 

There's a million and one different ways to throw a twist on traditional cranberry sauce.  This gingered-pecan version is hands down one of my favorite.

It's about that time of the year when basil starts handing itself over in abundance, which means it's time to make pesto... lots and lots of pesto!!

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!