As spring is finally coming around here in Minnesota (I can Finally see my grill after a record breaking snow fall last month). I decided to celebrate by making a this extremely health, but delicious salmon and farro salad. There is something about fresh grilled vegetable that make them taste great, and the lemon glaze on the salmon make it  great tasting fish even better. Topped with the lemon thyme vinaigrette and sliced almonds is the prefect way to finish the dish.

​Farro is a great ancient grain that is making a comeback. It is not gluten-free since it is derived from wheat. Farro is a great source of fiber and protein and has a great nutty flavor. It is a great substitute for rice, barley and other grains in salads, side dishes and soups.

With a lot of family super busy throughout the week it is sometimes hard to find a dish that is easy and still has a great amount of flavor. This mexican-style pasta skillet is a great option for an easy dinner since there is only a few ingredients and very easy to find ingredients at the grocery store. The chipotle peppers add a great smokey flavor and a bit of heat that isn't over powering but transforms the dish to what it is. The whole meal can be made pretty much in the time it takes to make the pasta. Check out the recipe below

Some of my favorite recipes to cook are the meals that take time cook slowly over a few hours and fills your house with the sweet smell of what is coming out of the oven or slow cooker. I am not sure if the food just tastes better or just the hunger of me waiting for the food to be ready. I like to believe it the the first part. These easy glazed korean short ribs are nothing but great tasting. The sweetness of the brown sugar and honey mixed with the acid of the soy sauce with a bit of heat from the chili paste just make a great combination that the whole family will love. All of the cooking liquid in crusts the meat so it comes out tender and juicy. Check out the recipe below.

Right now Mardi Gras is happening down in New Orleans and Fat Tuesday being this coming Tuesday. I decided to make one of my favorite dishes from the area, a shrimp po boy. My favorite part of the shrimp po boy is how how simple but delicious the sandwich is. It is a classic sandwich that consist of lettuce, tomato, pickle, mayonnaise based sauce with meat, typically fried seafood. My recipe is close to the version that you could get down there, but I have added my own touches like adding additional spice to the standard remoulade sauce that would normally go on the sandwich to give you a bit of a heat which goes great with the fried shrimp.

As the weather here in Minnesota keeps dumping more and more snow, it makes me want to hide inside and have some great comfort food. This  crockpot shredded pork chili is a great alternative to the standard beef chili. The best part of this recipe is that each spoonful had tender chunks of pork. You can easily  add jalapeno in place of the green chilies if you like to have a bit more spice to the chili. Check out the recipe below.

For valentine's day this year, I made my wife this wonderful scallop picatta. Scallops is one of those dishes she always leans to when we go out to eat and did her eyes light up when she saw them for dinner. For this scallops picatta recipe you can feed your whole family for the price it would cost for one scallop meal at a restaurant and have similar result with not much effort. The acid from the lemon juice and the richness from the butter that is use to thicken the sauce goes perfect over the scallops. Check out the recipe below.

Like most families, it is a struggle to find a healthy and flavorful meal for the typical busy week night that the whole family can enjoy. Unlike the classic chicken cacciatore, which is a long braising of chicken with mushroom and peppers in a red wine and tomato sauce this recipe can be done within 30-40 minutes and still pack a great flavor and tender chicken. The key is the sauce that is cooked down into a thick tomato-wine sauce that makes the chicken cacciatore. Check out the recipe below.

For Superbowl Sunday, instead of ordering the number one food for the day, pizza I decided to make a big batch of beef stew.  Beef stew to me is one of those meals that makes you feel all warm inside and with the freezing cold temperatures here, it was a perfect fit. This recipe has all of the classic ingredients with a few changes that I have adapted over the years. Please check out the recipe below and feel free to leave comments below if you have tried my recipe.

Soy-Braised pork comes out really tender and is packed with flavor. the Braising liquid is great with any cut of pork and even other kinda of meat. The mix of the soy, brown sugar and cinnamon mix very well and come out as a delicious blend . Check out the recipe below.

My two favorite hoagie style sandwiches are a meatball and a italian sausage sandwich and with this sandwich you get the flavors with it.  For this meatball sandwich, the meatballs are simple to make and are juicy and full of flavor and the simple tomato sauce is something anyone can do.