Category Lunch ideas

Lemon Shrimp Pasta

Lemon Shrimp Pasta

I first made this lemon shrimp pasta on a Wednesday that felt heavier than most. The kids had been cranky, the dishwasher was broken, and I had precisely twenty-seven minutes to pull something—anything—together for dinner before everyone’s patience (mine included)…

Chicken Fajitas

Chicken Fajitas

There’s a memory I come back to every time I make chicken fajitas. It was a Tuesday evening—nothing fancy about it. The kids were in that after-school, pre-dinner haze, papers and backpacks scattered across the kitchen table. My husband was…

Avocado Toast

Avocado Toast

I can’t count how many mornings I’ve stood in my kitchen, barefoot and quiet, slicing into a perfectly ripe avocado. It’s become my version of meditation. No rush, no noise—just the hum of the toaster and the soft give of…

Grilled Peaches

Grilled Peaches

I never used to think much of peaches. I liked them fine—tossed into a fruit salad or eaten over the sink in August when they were too ripe to resist—but I never thought to cook them. That changed one summer…

Shrimp Tacos

Shrimp Tacos

There’s a kind of joy that only comes from eating something with your hands—something fresh, messy, and just a little indulgent. For me, shrimp tacos are that kind of joy. I first started making them on Friday nights when the…

Chicken Quesadillas

Chicken Quesadillas

I still remember the first time I tried to make chicken quesadillas. It was a late Thursday evening, and I was standing in my small, slightly-too-warm kitchen, hungry, a bit tired from the week, and staring at half a rotisserie…

Chicken Nachos

Chicken Nachos

Some recipes sneak into your life when you’re just trying to survive a Tuesday night—and then they stay with you forever. That’s how these chicken nachos became a staple in our house. I still remember the first time I threw…

Cucumber Tomato Salad

Cucumber Tomato Salad

There’s a small wooden table in my backyard that catches the late afternoon sun just right. It’s nothing fancy—just two chairs, a chipped ceramic pitcher I found at a flea market, and in the summer months, usually a bowl of…

Caesar salad

Classic Caesar Salad

There’s something about Caesar salad that brings me back to my early days of hosting dinners in our first little apartment. The kitchen was barely big enough for two people to pass without bumping elbows, and the oven door squeaked…

Grilled Chicken Tenders

Grilled Chicken Tenders

It started one late summer evening, when the house smelled of cut grass and the sun refused to set on time. My kids were darting in and out of the kitchen barefoot, leaving tracks of laughter on the tile floor,…