Thai Pineapple Fried Rice...

This Thai Pineapple Fried Rice was one of those dishes that the minute I saw it on Pinterest I knew it was going to be a keeper and one that our family would love. There are so many great flavors and textures in this dish. I've tried a couple of dishes from Closet Cooking now, and both have been incredibly delicious!

It's also a great dish to add or substitute vegetables based on your family's preferences. For example, instead of using peas I added a large head of broccoli since our family prefers this vegetable. I also omitted the red chili as I didn't want the dish to be too spicy for my toddler. We add a bit more pineapple than the recipe calls for and use brown rice.

This dish is amazing and another leftover that we love to eat the following day!

Beautiful and delicious...this is one you've got to try...

Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice...

This Quinoa Veggie Fried Rice by Damn Delicious has quickly become one of our favorite weeknight dinners! It is so easy to throw together; the hardest part is just slicing up all the veggies you want to include and rinsing the quinoa before boiling. Otherwise, once you have everything prepped it's simple and comes together in 15 minutes!

Also, if you've never tried quinoa I strongly encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and give it a try. It's cooked very similar to rice and is so nutritious and also gluten free. If you don't believe me about all the health benefits of quinoa check out this article. I just made it for the first time myself about a year ago and our whole family loves it! 

She's right, this is seriously damn delicious...

Tip from Rebecca's kitchen: We've made this a few times now and typically use whatever veggies are our favorites and what we have on hand. This is definitely a dish you can substitute and include whatever vegetables you and your family prefer. It's a perfect dish to use veggies from your garden or a trip to the farmers market this summer.

I typically just make a few small changes when we make it. I slice one onion instead of chopping as the original recipe suggests. I also double the amount of carrots and slice these as well. I don't include the corn and peas and add extra broccoli too as we prefer the the carrots and broccoli.

Another way that I try to keep this recipe simple is instead of grating fresh ginger I just add 1/2 teaspoon of ginger spice. I really don't want to go to the trouble of grating the fresh ginger so this is my simpler substitute.

We also love this leftover the next day, it's good both cold or heated. I've taken it with us for a picnic the day after and it's perfect for on the go! 

Blackened Tilapia Baja Tacos...

This recipe is an old favorite we've had in rotation at our house for several years now! It's one of those we find ourselves commenting on how much we love it when we haven't made it in a while. So if you're a fan of tilapia I'd definitely suggest you try these Blackened Tilapia Baja Tacos...it's a great summer dish!

We change it up a little from the recipe. Instead of combining the first four ingredients in a food processor we just mix them up and put them on the tacos as is because, let's face it, food processors are a pain to clean!!!

YUM....

Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies...

I've been a bit behind in posting these, I made them during our last snow storm and it's now in the high 80's! Anyway, I'm a huge fan of salted caramel drinks and desserts so I knew when I saw this recipe for Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies on Pinterest that I was going to have to try them. They were so delicious and I loved her tip that adding cornstarch to the dough makes the cookies soft! I'm still learning in terms of baking and had never tried this before; will definitely try to remember this for future cookie recipes!

Spaghetti squash with feta, dried cranberries and green onions....

I had actually never tried spaghetti squash until a couple of years ago. It was one of those unknown foods in terms of preparation but I'm so glad I tried it because we love it, and it really is easy to prepare! This is one of our favorite ways to enjoy spaghetti squash, with the delicious combination of feta, dried cranberries and green onions in this recipe!  I actually prefer if without the rice vinegar/EVOO dressing but my husband likes a little of the dressing so I typically serve it on the side. This makes a delicious side dish and can be served warm or at room temperature!

Tip from Rebecca's kitchen: If you don't want to heat up your oven you can also just cook the spaghetti squash in the microwave. Just poke holes in it with a fork all over and then cook it for around 15min. Cut it down the middle when done, remove the seeds and then take your fork to twist out the squash noodles.

Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac n Cheese...

This is another dish from Iowa Girl Eats, and let me tell you this Chicken Cordon Bleu Mac n Cheese she came up with is delicious comfort food!

Didn't get a great pic because we totally just dug in and forgot to take one until after...ha, ha! It's another great left over dish and one that is both kid and adult friendly.