Kitchen24 is quickly becoming one of my favorite restaurants in West Hollywood.

It has a lot going for it – it is within walking distance, has a great outdoor patio and a whole list of fun, creative drinks. Oh, and the food is delicious. (Although, I just discovered this past weekend that they have very few appetizers which is too bad – I love appetizers).

Richie and I went for breakfast on Easter Sunday, I was there for lunch a few weeks ago with a friend from yoga and then we visited with my friend (and baby!) who were visiting last weekend for an early evening snack. So far, everything has been great. The California Eggs Benedict was ridiculous and the Cahuenga Chopped Salad was everything I wanted it to be.

I tend to go through salad phases – I’ll make and eat a salad until I get sick of it and then I’ll have to move on. So this chopped chicken salad, inspired by the one at Kitchen24 has been my latest phase.

All of the flavors and components I need in a salad are there: a combination of greens, salty feta, briney olives, protein-rich chicken, flavorful bacon, crunchy cucumbers and apples all tossed in a tangy balsamic dressing.

I was visiting some friends at Intelligentsia (super cool coffee shop) a few weeks ago and I decided to stay and work through lunch after they left. There was a farro salad on the menu which sounded amazing.

I normally don’t order grain salads when I’m out, but the Warm Farro & Artichoke Salad on their menu sounded too good. As luck would have it they were out, so I had the pear salad (also delicious) but I couldn’t get the Farro & Artichoke Salad out of my mind. And when that happens, I usually find myself needing to make it the following day.

You may be wondering – what is farro? It was certainly my first time cooking with farro and I’m not even so sure that I had ever eaten it before! Farro is a whole grain that is similar to barley. It has a nice chew to it – like al dente pasta – and is related to wheat. Nutritionally speaking, farro has 100 cal, 27 g carbohydrates, 3.5 g fiber, 4 g protein per 1/2 cup cooked. More fiber than quinoa and almost as much protein!

This warm grain salad, with marinated artichokes, shallots, leeks and parmesan was just the salad I was craving. And it was really good. Really good! I packed it in Richie’s lunch (yes, I pack his lunch), I ate it for lunch, I ate it for brunch with wilted arugula and a fried egg on top (amazing!) and we ate it alongside vegetables for dinner.

Food was the main priority at our wedding. Well, I guess you could say our priority was that our guests have a great time, and to me, that means eating and drinking well.

We didn’t have a sit-down meal, but instead had stations – each station had a few different items (salad, entree, sides) with lots of passed hors d’oeuvres. One of the sides that our catering planner strongly suggested was angel hair pasta cakes. She said that they were a big crowd-pleaser and while I thought it would go over well with kids, I really didn’t think adults would be into it. I cut the order way down, but somehow she convinced me to order more and I’m so glad we did. Everyone loved them. It was actually one of the only things I ate that night and even I thought they were delicious.

Sometimes the simplest foods are the best.

When you combine the pasta with an egg, some cream and parmesan, it bakes into portable little cups that can work as an appetizer, main meal or packed in a lunch. I served our spaghetti cakes with some roasted tomatoes (tomatoes + olive oil + s & p), but marinara or a drizzle of pesto would be delicious as well.

This fall I had my first experience with creamed kale. It was amazing. And life changing. I’ve always been a big fan of kale (raw, cooked, as a chip, etc.) but this took it to a whole new level.

Since my first bite, I’ve wanted to add some artichokes to it, bake it until bubbly and slather it on some good bread. (Or vegetables if I must)!

I’m not sure what I’ve been waiting for, but finally, I decided to just do the damn thing.

Please remind me to never wait so long ever, ever again.

It was just as delicious I had hoped and now I want to eat it every single day.

Please remind me not to.

I tried to lighten it up a bit and leave out the shredded cheese, but it just isn’t the same, so I don’t really recommend it.

I’m always on the lookout for new salad inspiration.

And let me tell you, California has some really good salads.

You can get your burger on a salad (which I find absolutely annoying because I’m never the one doing it) and literally every single restaurant has a list of decent salads. Even Asian take-out restaurants! Then there are restaurants that serve only salads, like greens up in Santa Monica.

I had been working at greens up a few weeks ago, and spent a significant amount of time drooling over their menu.

For some reason the salad that contained dates and corn – two things that are not my favorite – sounded  really good. So I brought home two salads and we celebrated Valentine’s Day with salads and wine. The salad ended up being so good that I decided I needed to make it a few days later.

The flavors are perfect – sweet dates, creamy cheese, flavorful corn – all over dressed greens. I thought the salad was pretty filling, but if you really want to make it into a meal, add some cooked turkey or chicken for protein!

A few weekends ago, we visited Short Order for some burgers.  Short Order is Nancy Silverton’s newish LA restaurant focusing on a local, organic and artisan burgers.  We had some delicious cocktails but unfortunately the burgers were pretty disappointing.

All was not lost however as we spotted a Breakfast Cobb Salad on the brunch menu and I knew instantly that it would be on our plate some weekend morning very soon.

It isn’t out of the norm for us to have side salads with breakfast, but I’ve never thought of making it the main event.

I have no idea why…

It was delicious. Satisfying, yet light and felt like the perfect combination between breakfast and lunch. I have a feeling it will become a regular weekend breakfast for us.

Full of greens, healthy fats and tons of flavor.

Why not?

Chicken Fajitas were a staple in my house growing up, my brother and I loved them.

My Mom served up grilled chicken, sauteed peppers and onions along with salsa and sour cream (and maybe some guacamole) with this delicious carrot and rice dish on the side.

It’s no wonder we loved them, they are flavorful, easy to throw together and who doesn’t love a Mexican meal mid-week?

Fajitas are great because not only are they a healthy meal, but they come together really quickly and a lot of the components can be prepped or done ahead of time. The leftovers make great lunches or quesadillas as well.

Here’s how it goes down.

Simple & Healthy Fajitas: 

• Grill, broil or saute your protein – chicken, beef, shrimp or tofu. (This can be done a day or two in advance).
• Prepare the peppers and onions: In a medium saute pan, heat 1 Tbsp of oil. Add 1 onion, sliced and 2 bell peppers, sliced. Saute until soft. (This can also be done a day or two in advance).
• Prepare the toppings: guacamole (if you are making it, you can also just top with chunks of avocado), diced tomato, shredded lettuce, shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.
• Heat up tortillas and spread everything out on the table!
• Let everyone build their own fajitas according to taste – but always including a few vegetables!
• You could also serve as a burrito bowl, with brown rice or a salad, over lettuce.
• Side dish: black or refried beans, tortilla chips, or more veggies.

Fajitas – simple, healthy and delicious!

I don’t even like dates.

I mean, I didn’t like dates until yesterday. Somehow though, when they are stuffed with creamy goat cheese and wrapped in salty bacon, I kind of changed my mind.

The sweet, salty and creamy flavors all come together perfectly for an easy, yet fancy appetizer that clocks in at about 100 calories per date.

They can be assembled ahead of time and baked when you need them, perfect for a fun party appetizer or you know, an afternoon snack for one.

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Pesto is one of those staples that everyone should always have on-hand. It comes in handy for so many things and adds such fresh flavor to everything it meets!

While homemade pesto is usually better, I rely on prepared pesto from the store a lot. Here are some of the ways I use it:

• Tossed with pasta (tortellini is my absolute favorite, but any pasta is good)
• Spread on a tortilla, topped with a little cheese, rolled up and microwaved for 30 seconds
• As a sauce for pizza
• Thin with a bit of olive oil and serve with roasted vegetables
• As a sandwich spread
• On meat, chicken or fish
• Blend into white bean dip
• As a crostini topping with parmesan or goat cheese
• Mixed into shredded chicken with a touch of mayo (recipe)
• Tossed with a grain, topped with goat cheese crumbles

What is your favorite way to use pesto? 

Surely you can only be thinking one thing by this title…

Sandra Lee.

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Quick run-down on Sandy if you aren’t familiar with her (ahem, Mom): she often makes a meal on her food network show out of various packaged foods. Think cookies with cake mix (I’m guilty of that one), risotto with condensed soup (definitely not guilty, ew) and martinis called white knight-ini. Many people have a strong dislike for her, and while I’m not really a fan, she’s pretty harmless.

I saw “stuffing mushrooms” at Trader Joe’s and immediately thought about how easy stuffed mushrooms are to make. They always seem like such a treat too! The easiest way to make them would be to stuff them with one of the many spreads they have at Trader Joe’s and pack it with a little spinach so I did just that.

So you combine the spinach and a spread (I went with the Blue Cheese & Roasted Pecan), stuff it into the mushrooms and bake. So easy it’s kind of ridiculous and definitely considered semi-homemade. I almost went with the frozen spinach artichoke dip since it would be even easier, but I thought I’d mix it up a bit – choose your favorite spread! If you had some bread crumbs in the cupboard, I’d sprinkle a few on top of the mushrooms, but they definitely aren’t necessary.

Sometimes, semi-homemade is just right.

Spill it: Are you a Sandra hater or do you appreciate her “semi-homemade” recipes?