I can hardly believe I am saying this, but it is time to think about easy weeknight dinners for school nights. It doesn’t seem possible that the start of school is barely two weeks away! This is a good time of year to review some of your favorite family dinners and find a bunch of new recipes to try. Adding new recipes to the repertoire keeps everyone at the dinner table interested in trying new foods, while weaving in family favorites lends element of comfort to your routine. To help you get started, here is a great new recipe we love that uses naturally delicious Arla Dofino Gouda cheese. It is a fun twist on everyday macaroni and cheese and comes together with ease on a weeknight.
Summer vegetables are always my inspiration when I start composing salads for friends and family. This time of year, they are so fresh and bursting with flavor that I am always sure to include as many as possible whenever I prepare a bowl. Lately, I’ve been trying to take my salads up a notch, making them even more flavorful and exciting. This summer, my trick has been to add a generous shower of creamy, natural Arla Dofino Havarti with Dill. The cheese has a delicious, mild dill flavor which adds a wonderful dimension to the salad.
In case you’ve been missing all my announcements, or if you are new the site, I just thought I’d mention one last time that you can catch me on The TODAY Show on NBC this morning, July 30th, around 9:45am. Yay! I am so excited for my first (and hopefully not last) segment cooking on TODAY. In this case I’ll be no-cooking since the whole segment is on no-cook meal ideas for summer.
In the mean time, here are a few more notes on me and my site so we can get better acquainted:
{one} I send out an awesome, and brief, weekly newsletter and you can sign up for it immediately to the right. I never sell addresses so I promise you won’t get spam. Enjoy!
{tw0} I am a recent convert to Instagram and you can follow me here.
{five} You can find lots of my work on Babble, Momtastic, and Lifetime Moms. I write for all of these outlets every month and love reaching all of you through them!
{seven} Last spring I started working with Arla Dofino Cheese as their national spokesperson. I love their naturally delicious cheeses and you can read more about my work with them here.
{eight} If you want to work with me or read more about me check out the menu bar on the upper right!
I hope to keep seeing you around these parts. Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions!
Sometimes I like a new recipe so much that I make it a little too frequently. That is what happened with this simple ham and cheese tart. The first try was such a resounding success that it quickly took center stage in my weekly dinner repertoire. I admit it is a bit decadent for an everyday dinner. But, we are all sold on it, so I’ll keep making it until something new comes into play. The genius of this dish is in the simplicity of the ingredients: quality Dijon mustard, creamy Arla Dofino Havarti cheese, thin slices of smoked ham, all insulated by buttery puff pastry.
As we gear up for the Fourth of July weekend, I am writing up my final list of easy entertaining recipes. For the main courses, we’ll be grilling our favorites like chicken skewers and hot dogs. We might even grill up some vegetables. On the side, I plan to whip up a few of these easy and delicious caprese-style cheese tartines. I use deliciousArla Dofino Creamy Havarti cheese, slices of the fresh beefsteak tomatoes we’ve started finding in our local markets and basil snipped from the garden.
I was never really into flavored cheeses until I started working with Arla Dofino. There cheeses are the first ones I’ve ever tried with actual natural flavors like real peppers or dill incorporated into the cheese. There is nothing artificial about them! The cool thing about naturally flavored cheeses is that can give new life to tried-and-true dishes. For example, a regular grilled cheese can be transformed if you use Pesto Gouda instead of cheddar. Quesadillas take on a whole new life with Chipotle Gouda, and salads taste amazing with a sprinkle of shredded Dill Havarti. Last week my in-laws were visiting so I used the Jalapeno Havarti to make an easy summer entertaining dip.
Working with Arla Dofino has given me the best education on cheese. I’ve always loved (LOVED!) cheese and done my best to buy only the highest quality cheese I can afford for my friends and family. Naturally, this means avoiding processed cheeses since they are known for not being as healthy. However, up until now I didn’t really know why processed cheese wasn’t so good for me.
Many moms, like myself, are choosy about the milk they give their families, but I find it surprising that not as many are concerned about the cheese they serve. It makes sense that we should be aware of what’s in the cheeses just as much as the milk we are putting on the table.
Arla Dofino is one of our favorite household cheeses now because their cheeses are made with a few, natural ingredients, and taste great because of their attention to quality. But what does this all mean, exactly? Here is the skinny:
