Cooking with a Wallflower

Entree Farmer's Market Gluten Free Healthy Quick and Easy Recipes Salad Spring Cravings Summer Cravings Vegetarian

Summer Zucchini Noodle Salad with Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing

Zucchini noodles topped with chopped almonds, dried cranberries, diced tomatoes and sliced red onions then tossed with honey Dijon mustard dressing. This zucchini noodle salad with honey Dijon mustard dressing is the perfect meal for those warm summery days.

Summer Zucchini Noodle Salad with Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing | Cooking with a Wallflower

This zucchini salad. omg.

What can I say? It’s the perfect summer salad.

Look at the gorgeous colors and the simple and fresh ingredients. How can you not fall in love with it?

Summer Zucchini Noodle Salad with Honey Dijon Mustard Dressing | Cooking with a Wallflower

I don’t know about you, but we’re feeling the heat here in California. And when the weather is hot, and occasionally strangely humid, which almost never happens in SF until recently, I really really don’t want to step into the kitchen to cook. Turning on that oven? Insane. Turning on the stove? No thank you. I’d be so uncomfortably hot.

So a delicious fresh salad like this one is the perfect solution for me.

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Bread Breakfast Quick and Easy Recipes Summer Cravings Vegetarian

Blueberry Bread

Moist buttermilk bread filled with fresh blueberries. A thick slice of this blueberry bread is the perfect way to start your morning.

Blueberry Bread | Cooking with a Wallflower

I have tons of blueberries sitting in the fridge.

What can I say? They were on sale. Which is how I ended up with several pounds of blueberries.

Since I had so many blueberries on hand, I thought it would be a great opportunity to make a fresh loaf of bread with them.

Blueberry bread is so easy to make with just a few ingredients. All you have to do is mix the ingredients together and your oven will do the work for you. I love that each bite of the bread is bursting with sweet blueberries. The bread itself is moist and slightly sweetened. An entire loaf can last a couple days. Unless, of course, you’re sharing, then it might not even last until the end of the day.

Blueberry Bread | Cooking with a Wallflower

I like cutting thick slices of this bread and bringing it with me to work. It’s really the perfect breakfast for when you’re on the go. Or if you have time, you can savor each bite with a mug of hot coffee.

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Life of a Wallflower

Life of a Wallflower, 26 – Napa Valley

You guys, you guys, you guys!

I have so many photos to share with you. And when I say so many, I mean like dozens.

You have no idea how excited I was about this two day trip to Napa Valley.

Napa Valley | Cooking with a Wallflower

I’ve been so exhausted trying to keep up with working 4-6 days as a dental hygienist and writing for my blog every other day. As much as I love doing what I do, I needed a break to regroup and become inspired again. Although I’ve lived in San Francisco my entire life, minus a few years while I was away at school, I have never been up north where the wineries and vineyards are. It’s really only an hour, maybe an hour and a half away with traffic, but we just never went.

So of course, we had to remedy that. My cousins, sisters, and I did a group trip to Southern California last summer. However, this year our schedules were too different. So we decided to take a short trip to wine country for a little mini getaway. Rather than go during busy weekends, we took two days off of work and went on a Tuesday.

Now I want to share this amazing trip with you through photos. I rarely take my camera out of the house so bear with me while I learn how to adjust the settings to take these photos. Some are amazing and others not so much. But it was a great way to learn how to use my camera. So a fair warning, this post will be heavy with photos.

And if you get the chance, you should really really go. I highly recommend making this a vacation destination.

Napa Valley | Cooking with a Wallflower

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Chocolate Desserts Quick and Easy Recipes Snacks Strawberries Vegetarian

Chocolate Covered Strawberries S’mores

Fresh sweet strawberries covered with melted chocolate and marshmallows between graham crackers. These chocolate covered strawberries s’mores are the ultimate summer treats.

Chocolate Covered Strawberries S'mores | Cooking with a Wallflower

This post is actually prescheduled while I’m vacationing in Napa. Super excited to see wine country for the first time. A little sad considering that I live like an hour away. I’ll be sure to share pictures when I get back. In the mean time, you can see updates by following me on Instagram. =)

How can summer be complete without s’mores?

Chocolate Covered Strawberries S'mores | Cooking with a Wallflower

Actually, is s’mores an American thing? I’ve always thought that peanut butter and jelly was a common thing, but after I posted my Peanut Butter and Jelly French Toast recipe, I realized that it’s not. Is it the same with s’mores?

Anyway, I can’t even begin to tell you how in love I am with this version of s’mores.

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Entree Quick and Easy Recipes

Chicken Piccata

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #CampbellSavings #CollectiveBias

Slightly crispy chicken cutlets cooked in a garlicky lemon butter sauce and topped with salsa. This chicken piccata is delicious and ready in less than 30 minutes.

Chicken Piccata | Cooking with a Wallflower

With summer coming to an end, back to school is just around the corner. While I’m not in school, both my sisters are. And sometimes figuring out what to eat for dinner can be a pain.

After a long day, I really feel uninspired to spend the rest of my night in the kitchen making dinner and have extra to pack for lunch the next day.

That’s when simple delicious recipes like this Chicken Piccata are perfect. Using just a few ingredients, you can have a cheap weeknight dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes.

Chicken Piccata | Cooking with a Wallflower

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Entree Pasta Quick and Easy Recipes Salad Sides Vegetarian

Easy Pasta Salad

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #ChooseSmart #CollectiveBias

Penne pasta tossed with sweet tomatoes, salad mix, dried cranberries, and sliced red onions then seasoned with Italian seasoning, a pinch of salt, and ranch dressing. This pasta salad is easy to make and the perfect dish for potlucks.

Easy Pasta Salad | Cooking with a Wallflower

I’m going to let you in on a little secret.

Some recipes are classics. You just can’t go wrong with them.

Some recipes, like this particular one, are ones that I always come back to when I need something quick and delicious. Hopefully, this will be yours too.

Easy Pasta Salad | Cooking with a Wallflower

My friends like to plan potlucks because they’re just so convenient. I mean, if every guest brings a little something to share with everyone, there would be plenty of food. And I know whenever we’re asked to bring something, it’s tempting to volunteer to bring utensils, drinks, or dessert. How much easier can it get?

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