Mexican Quinoa Salad

This Mexican Quinoa salad is full of fresh ingredients and has a zippy jalapeno vinaigrette!  Perfect for a side or main dish.

Spring has arrived and I'm so in the mood for lighter food with brighter colors that are full of flavor.  That is where this Mexican Quinoa Salad comes in.  It's full of fresh ingredients and has a zippy jalapeno vinaigrette that perfectly helps marry the salad together.  I guess it is just that time of year where I'm looking beyond comfort food and start incorporating some lighter fare.  I've been craving lots of veggies so this salad helps with that and the addition of quinoa keeps it on the healthier side.  I couldn't wait for the photo shoot to be done so I could enjoy it for my lunch.  I'm pretty sure I'll be bringing it to work tomorrow (if there is any left!)

Ten Delightful Spring Desserts

It's Spring week here at Cooking on the Front Burner and I'm sharing these 10 spring desserts that are going to tempt you to head to the kitchen and whip some of these up!  And with just a couple days to go for Easter, there is still plenty of time to make one of these tasty desserts.  You will be happy, your guests will be happy, and you could even make them all if you are so inclined :)

Lemon Glazed Sugar Cookies

Hooray-Spring is in the air!  It officially arrived a couple days ago and I think we need to celebrate with these Lemon Glazed Sugar Cookies.  Sound pretty good to you?  I'm ready to move forward, forget winter and enjoy getting outside again. The house needs to be opened up, aired out and since I forgot to take the screens off last winter, I'm ready to do that too :)  What do you look forward to the most in the spring?  I love seeing the daffodils come up, the trees starting to bud and seeing the neighbors again!  We all hibernate in the winter, so the warmer days are great to hang outside and see what everyone has been up to.  It's a refreshing time of the year just like these lemon cookies!  Hmmm - I'll need to make another batch to share with them soon.

Red Velvet Milkshake

TGIF with a totally kid friendly (and adult) Red Velvet Milkshake!  I've had this one in the vault for a bit and I'm pulling it out today because, well, I haven't been feeling up to par this week and haven't been up to doing a whole lot!  You may remember my post a couple days ago where I made muffins and it took two tries since I messed up the recipe the first time.  I originally thought I just had a bad cold but ended up going to our employee clinic and found I have pneumonia.  That is definitely a first for me on that one but I'm on the mends now with some antibiotic medications.  Luckily I have this recipe to share with you because right now I could definitely go for one of these!  It is cool, creamy, tasty and calling my name and hopefully yours too!

Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins

We've all heard the saying "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again", right?  Well, today's recipe - these Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins resembles that remark!  It's my day off from work and I haven't been feeling so great this last week with a nasty cold but I was excited to make these muffins.  Mostly because this past weekend, I was down and out!  I had no energy, did no cooking and pretty much just hung out on the couch and watched TV - not a lot of fun.  I was really anxious to get back in the kitchen so late morning, I made these muffins and they totally flopped!  Major fail!

Sweet Potato & Sausage Hash

How does brunch sound to you?  The weekend is here, it's the 12th and the #12 blogger group is here with savory breakfast dishes!  There are so many dishes to choose from and I'm sharing this Sweet Potato and Sausage Hash.  It makes a great side dish, and to enjoy it as a complete meal, top it with an egg of your choice.  Pretty tasty, right? Keep reading to see what the others made this month. I think these recipes are calling your name!

Egg and Ham Puffed Pastry

Rise and shine sleepy head!  I know you will love waking up to this Egg and Ham Puffed Pastry Tart.  If this doesn't get you out of bed, I don't know what will!  You will enjoy the flaky pastry (and if you know me, you know I have a love affair with puffed pastry), ham and cheese all topped with a sunny side up egg.  Just grab your favorite juice and you will have a complete meal.  So rub that sleep out of your eyes and be sure to head over to Real Housemoms where I'm sharing this recipe for this month's contributor post.

Creamy Limoncello Martini

Yay TGIF!  The long week is over and it's time to kick back, put your feet up and relax.  I think we have all earned it so I've created this Creamy Limoncello Martini for you to enjoy this weekend.  I'm thinking it is more of an after dinner type drink but feel free to enjoy it any time because it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?  It's cool, refreshing and a reminder that spring is around the corner and summer will follow faithfully!  It may be March madness month but for me that means that hopefully we can watch winter slip away and look forward to the next seasons.  I'm ready, are you?

Steph's Irish Soda Bread

Get your Irish on with this easy Irish Soda Bread.  Nope I'm not Irish - not even one little bit but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy some of the tasty foods this time of year.  I'm all for Irish stew, pasties, potatoes of all kinds, Guinness, Bailey's Irish Cream, Irish coffee and even McDonald's shamrock shakes (do they count?  I hope so!)  I do pass on corned beef/hash and bangers/mash though.  And I'm definitely having a few slices of this soda bread.  In fact, I ate about 3 when I was taking pictures.... and I wonder why I can't loose any weight.  Oh well, I be better tomorrow - or at least TRY!