Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip with Honey & Pistachios

No need to like cottage cheese for this – I sure don’t! This dip is smooth, the way it should be. There’s honey and crunchy pistachios. Swap in hot honey or any nut or seeds.

Whipped Cottage Cheese Dip with Honey & Pistachios
Ingredients: (serves 4)

1 cup cottage cheese
2 tablespoons honey
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
dash of red pepper flakes
1/4 cup pistachios, chopped

Directions:
Add cottage cheese, half the honey, olive oil, and chili flakes to a food processor or blender.
Blend until smooth.
Spoon into a bowl and top with honey and nuts.
Serve with crackers. Enjoy!

This is so good. It hits all the marks for texture, subtle spice, and sweetness.

Greek Chicken Hot Wraps

I love to burrito-ize all my favorite flavors and it worked great for a Greek twist! I took grain-bowl ingredients and made it into another hot wrap – like these others that have come before: Buffalo Chicken Burritos; Chicken, Bacon, Ranch Burritos; Thanksgiving Hot Wraps; French Onion Burritos; and others.

Greek Chicken Hot Wraps
Ingredients: (for 2)

2 burrito size wraps
1/2 cooked cup rice/grain
1 teaspoon oregano or zaatar or mixed spice
1 cup roasted chicken
1/3 cup chopped tomatoes
1/3 cup chopped cucumbers
1/4 cup feta cheese
~3 tablespoons creamy Caesar dressing
2 tablespoons Greek dressing/Italian dressing/oil & red wine vinegar

Directions:
Warm the grain and the chicken, if not already warmed through.
Chop & mix the veggies with the cheese.
Assemble the burritos with rice on the bottom, then chicken, then dressings, and veggies.

Preheat a skillet with olive oil or non-stick spray to medium heat.
Fold the sides in and roll the burritos tucking the filling in.
Pan sear to crisp the outside.

Slice & enjoy!
I loved this and will 100% make them again. The cucumber is still crisp but it isn’t cold so proceed knowing that. Swap with greens or olives or red onions or anything you’re happier with when slightly warm.

September Recap 2024

September brings a lot of big feelings. I love the start of fall, but the anxiety of new routines is a lot. We celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary, got back to soccer and fall baseball. I’m ready for some fall temps after some summer-like days. I had a great time cooking a bunch of Italian-ish dishes this month:

First, I made a Pizza Burger and the pepperoni ground into it makes it.

Next I was into a Caprese Quiche after my quiche take out lunch was never delivered at work. It was really simple but great flavors and so helpful to freeze a few slices.

Then, I chopped an Italian Sub and loved every bite.

Finally, I gave the Italian Grain Bowls a little refresh from 2017 and this time it was based on some tomato orzo (which the little eaters gave mixed reviews but both ate).

October brings a little calmness as we’ve all settled and aren’t still sweating! I’m thinking about a few apps and a quick dinner option for the nights we’re fitting in practices. I can’t wait to see what they pick for Halloween!

The Big Kid:
He’s starting trombone lessons for band at school! We were so excited and I loooove seeing him try new things. Fall baseball is….interesting – we like a more chill/less serious chance to play but there are so many kids in different combos each week that the coaches don’t know names. He’s loving 4th grade and being the bigger kids “on campus”.

The Littler One:
She FINALLY has a wiggly tooth! We are eagerly awaiting first tooth fairy visit. She’s starting to settle at school but doesn’t know many kids yet and she’s tired of being new again. Soccer has been great to see her be fully into it – running the whole time, ready, being aggressive, and she scored!

Goals for this year:
Year of small businesses/artisans/writers: I got some acrylic hoops from Etsy
More meatless meals: quiche!
sandwiches and salads: The chopped Italian was perfection.
a focus on going to new or places we don’t get to all the time: we stopped by Natick Community Farm to see the rabbits and loved it!
redo photos – the Italian Grain bowl was originally from 2017 and was a good facelift as meatballs are an easy dinner.
what I’m reading: I read All the Beauty in the World by Patrick Bringley and thought the writing was fantastic – my mind wandered occasionally but it is a good no-stress book. I read Happy Place by Emily Henry and loved the friendships and vacation spot but the romance was secondary to me. Our bookclub one was The Woman in Me by Britany Spears and I listened to it – being a celebrity sounds awful, but the audio performance by Michele Williams was phenomenal. I read the Great Divide by Cristina Henriquez and will remember it for such a long time – which doesn’t always happen for me!

Italian Grain Bowls

{originally published in 2017 and updated in 2024}

We have loved grain bowls for a long time. The customization and variety make these really great meals for us. I go for a carb base (orzo, or swap for risotto or rice or beans) + a protein (meatballs, or chicken or rosemary white beans, and cheese) + raw veggie (tomatoes or arugula) + a cooked veggie (parmesan broccoli, or swap for roasted asparagus or zucchini or mushrooms) + drizzle (pesto, or tomato sauce, or alfredo)!

The kids mostly ate everything separate to dip in pesto – their dreams come true.

Italian Grain Bowl
Ingredients (for 4)

1/2 pound orzo (half a box, or use grain of choice)
1-2 heads of broccoli
1 tablespoon parmesan cheese
meatballs
1 tablespoon tomato paste or tomato sauce
1 cup fresh mozzarella
2/3 cup pesto sauce
1 cup tomatoes

Directions:
Roast the broccoli in the oven (375-degrees) or air fryer until roasted and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and parmesan.
Cook the orzo (or any grain).
While veggie and grains are cooking, warm the meatballs and chop the raw veggies.
Drizzle with pesto and enjoy!


One kid let me know they like orzo better with just butter and parmesan – I mean, they still ate it, but this is only a slight deviation for pasta-obsessed kids and it is true we most often have orzo pretty plain. I’m always laying the groundwork for them to see foods all different ways. The same one remembered how much they like roasted broccoli while the other only likes it raw.

The leftovers are great, or let this be the use for leftovers. I love build-your-own situations for groups so people can customize and hit all the dietary needs.


We love all the grain bowls – take your fav flavors and serve it in this grain bowl format (chicken parm! burrito bowls! Egg roll bowls!) and everyone will be glad they can make it their own.

Chopped Italian Sub

This chopped sandwich trend is the best – every bite is perfection! To continue this month of Italian-inspired dishes, I made this chopped Italian sub and loved the balance. 

Chopped Italian Sub
Ingredients: (serves 2)

2 sub rolls
~4 slices mortadella
~4 large or 8 mini slices of salami
~4 slices of pepperoni 
~2 slices of provolone
lettuce
1/2 green bell pepper or cucumber
1 small tomato
2 tablespoons deli dressing or red wine vinegar/olive oil + 1/2 tsp dried oregano
salt & pepper
optional: red pepper flakes, pickles; olives; hot peppers; onions

Directions:
Chop the meats, cheese, and veggies into a fine chop. 

Mix with dressing/oil & vinegar and seasoning. 
Serve on rolls.

This is so so good. Make one or make a bunch! Each bite balances the salty meats with fresh veggies. I love this sub-dressing we get near the deli to drizzle right onto a sandwich (or mix into mayo if packing the sandwich). That oil/vinegar flavor takes it from sandwich to like take out. 

I made a Chopped Avocado BLT one last year and loved it too!