Cassie DeNisco

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My Zucchini Pasta Recipe!

I stumbled upon this recipe when I unused Zucchini in my fridge. I was craving pasta and ended up with this delicious summer zucchini pasta recipe.

This pasta is so light and tastes so fresh because you’re really using in season veggies. You can also swap out the protein to your liking but I found the sausage just really makes this great!

zucchini pasta recipe

Ingredients

1 pound rigatoni pasta

2-3 small zucchini diced

1 cup grape tomatoes diced

4 Italian sausages (I slice them open and discard the casing)

olive oil

1 tbsp garlic

red pepper flakes

salt/pepper

parmesan cheese (I used vegan)

Directions

  1. Fill a large pot of with water and boil it to cook your pasta. Follow the directions on the pasta box to cook.
  2. In a sauté pan, add a little olive oil then the ground sausage. Cook until lightly browned (no pink).
  3. Add in minced garlic, diced zucchini and diced tomatoes. Cook until zucchini is soft and tomatoes start to burst open. Sometimes I put the lid on my pan to help steam everything quicker.
  4. Once the veggies are soft, drain your pasta but save 1 cup of the water. Add pasta and pasta water to the veggie pot.
  5. Mix well and add salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Plate pasta and top with cheese and red pepper flakes.

I hope you’ll give this zucchini pasta recipe a try! I absolutely love making this once a week with the in season veggies. It’s literally so delicious and has become a staple in my house. You can even make it without the sausage and it’ll be just as good!

Be sure to check out my other recipes here! And check out my pinterest here for more content!

My Cooking Favorites to Make Life Easy!

For this month’s bonus post, I wanted to share my cooking favorites that make life easy. I kid you not, these products have completely changed the game for me cooking. They help make the process go smooth and not be stressful.

I think for a lot of us 20 somethings cooking seems like such a daunting task. Between prep, cooking, and cleaning, it takes a lot of time. Having products like these to cut down cleaning and prepping time, you’re cooking time can actually become fun!

Our Place Always Pan- Shop Here

cooking favorites

My Always pan has seriously made cooking and cleaning so easy. This is a non toxic non stick pan that seriously does it all. You can boil water, sauté or even steam in it with the steamer it comes with. I absolutely love this pan and honestly it does so much that it has replaced a lot of my other pans!

Rice Cooker/Steamer- Shop Here

I’m not going to lie to you, at first I was like I totally don’t need a rice steamer. Once I got one, I can’t live without it. It seriously makes the best rice ever for whatever you’re eating. It reminds me of the perfect sticky fluffy rice. I also like this one because it comes with a steamer tray so you can cook your rice and veggies at the same time.

Silicone Strainer- Shop Here

I love this strainer for not only cleaning my rice but pasta too. It’s so nice to not have a million pans to clean after you cook so this little gadget is great. You just fasten it on the side of your pot and then pour out the water. It seriously makes life so much easier.

Mini Chopper- Shop Here

Not exactly sure how I lived my entire life with out this but a mini chopper seriously is so helpful. You just have to throw in whatever you want to chop and press the power button. It seriously does it for you and makes cooking faster. I also love this to chop up my onions so I don’t have to tear up while doing it!

Glass Containers- Shop Here

cooking favorites

This was something that I recently invested in but glass containers for storage are amazing. I really love them because you can put them back in the oven to reheat food which I prefer. I also like them because I feel like they keep the food better then the flimsy plastic ones.

Utensils- Shop Here

cooking favorites

My final favorite is new utensils. I think we all look over our utensils because they still function but new ones just hit differently. I have tried expensive ones in the past but find that the cheap ones do the job they need to. We all end up throwing them out anyway so why bother investing in super expensive ones.

With these cooking favorites in your kitchen, cooking will become your new favorite hobby. As with anything, having the right tools makes such a difference. I love cooking on nights when I have the time to make a meal because of these things!

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Healthy Greek Bowl for Dinner!

As soon as I tried this for the first time, I knew I had to share this healthy greek bowl with you. This recipe is delicious and so easy to make. I also love it because it is so fresh and healthy, making it perfect for dinner when you’re trying to get back on your healthy routine.

I love bowls because of how customizable they are. You can add or take out whatever you don’t want, which makes this great to feed your family! This meal is plant based but you can easy make a meat protein for it like grilled chicken if you’re someone who needs that!! Here’s the healthy greek bowl recipe!

healthy greek bowl

Ingredients

  • 2 tomatoes
  • 1 red onion
  • 1/2 a cucumber
  • 1 c Bulgur (you can substitute with couscous too!)
  • Hummus
  • Feta Cheese (I use vegan)
  • Olive Oil
  • Salt
  • Peper
  • Garlic Powder

Directions

  1. Dice your tomatoes, onion, and cucumber. Add them to a bowl with a drizzle of olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Mix and set aside.
  2. Cook your bulgur according to the packaging. You want it to have no water left by the time your are done cooking it.
  3. Once the bulgar is finished, assemble your bowl with the veggies, hummus, bulgar, and feta cheese on top.

I literally told you this was the easiest meal ever. I love this because you can also prep it in the morning or even the day before and it sits really well in the fridge. This is such a fresh recipe and something I crave after the holidays when we’ve had a lot of heavy and dense meals.

You also get in all of your veggies and nutrients here too which is a plus! Like I said before, you can make this a little more filling by maybe adding a piece of grilled chicken on top. For me, the hummus really keeps me full and good to go!

If you loved this recipe and want more like it, click here for another easy bowl recipe! Be sure to subscribe here to the blog so you don’t miss any recipes!

The Best Chili Recipe

Fall to me is all about a warm dinner. I love to cook in fall because your meals can help to bring all the cozy fall vibes you are looking for. I actually used to not like chili at all but I am obsessed with this best chili recipe. It is super easy to make and the flavors are so good! This is perfect to pair with white rice or just eat it alone in a bowl.

Here’s the best chili recipe!

Ingredients:

  • 1lb Ground Turkey
  • yellow onion
  • 1 can of Bush’s Chili Beans
  • 1 can of sweet corn
  • 1 can of diced tomatoes
  • 1 green bell pepper
  • 1 tbsp Paprika
  • 1 tbsp Chili powder
  • 1 tbsp garlic powder
  • 1 tbsp onion powder
  • salt + pepper to taste

Directions:

  • Dice yellow onion and add to a big pot with ground turkey. Cook until turkey is browned and onions are translucent
  • Using paprika, chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, and salt + pepper, season the turkey and onion mixture
  • Slowly mix in 1 can of diced tomatoes, 1 can of corn (without the water), and 1 can of chili beans
  • Let mixture sit on low for 30 minutes and finish off by tasting and making sure it’s seasoned to your liking. Sometimes I add more of a seasoning here if I think it needs it!
best chili recipe

This is the easiest recipe I have found for chili and it is literally so good! Like I said, sometimes I’l serve this on top of white rice if I am looking for a more filling meal. I also like to make corn bread on the side of this too because there’s nothing I love more than chili with cornbread!

Let me know in the comments below your favorite fall meal and check out more of my recipes here!

I also am on Pinterest so be sure to follow me!

My BBQ Chicken Salad Recipe

As we head further into summer, I am all about a light and easy dinner. This BBQ chicken salad recipe is delicious and so easy to recreate. This not only is a great dinner, but it’s also easy to prep for lunches for the week. By spending a little time prepping everything on a Sunday, you can have healthy salads all week long that you can mix and match ingredients. Keep on reading for how to make my favorite BBQ chicken salad recipe.

Ingredients:

bbq chicken salad recipe

1 Red Onion

2 Tomatoes on the Vine

1 Can Corn (I roast mine on top of the stove until blackened)

2 Cups Rotisserie Chicken

2 Hard Boiled Eggs

1 Cucumber

1/2 Cup Shredded carrots

Greens of your choice

Barbecue Sauce

Ranch Dressing (I love this Boathouse Greek Yogurt one!)

Assembly:

I love to grab a big bowl and put my greens down first. I always pick a mixed greens with baby spinach but that is totally up to you. Next, I just throw everything in the bowl and finish off with a drizzle of barbecue sauce and then some ranch dressing. My top trick is to cover your giant bowl and give everything a good shake so it all gets covered.

As you can see, this BBQ chicken salad recipe is so quick and delicious. It makes the perfect summer dinner or lunch recipe and is great for meal prep. Salads aren’t always my top choice but when you have so many yummy toppings, it helps you not even realize you have greens in it!

Let me know your favorite salad combo below!

Click here to check out my other salad recipes.

My Quick Dinner Recipe

quick dinner recipe

I’m back with a super yummy quick dinner recipe. This is probably one of my favorite meals for fall and winter because its a one pan meal. This means you literally chop it all up and then put it on a pan in the oven and you have a meal in no time. This quick dinner recipe can be made vegetarian. You also can easily swap out any of my ingredients for something that you love. I love meals like this that you can easily swap out ingredients for whatever is in season. It helps to make healthy eating that much easier. Let’s get into my favorite quick dinner recipe.

Ingredients for Quick Dinner Recipe:

Brown Rice

Sweet potatoes

Carrots

Broccoli

Brussel Sprouts

Chicken breast

Olive Oil

Directions: (it’s literally so easy!)

  1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees
  2. Start by chopping everything up into cubes or just smaller pieces.
  3. Place veggies on one side of pan and the chicken on the other. Sprinkle the olive oil over just the veggies.
  4. Put it in the oven until the chicken is fully cooked and the veggies are to your liking. It’s usually about 25-30 minutes for me.
  5. Plate with brown rice and top with salt, pepper, or any other seasonings you love.

Guys I wasn’t joking when I said I had a recipe by Chef Cass. I’m so so obsessed with making this because it makes great leftovers. This quick dinner recipe also can be meal prepped on a Sunday night and used throughout the week. I absolutely love this recipe because it’s so yummy and easy to make! Let me know if you have any other easy one pan recipes that you are obsessed with in the comments below!

Check out my Pinterest for more recipes @cassiedenisco !

Click here for my last post!

My Go To Fall Dinner Recipe

With fall right around the corner, my dinner recipes start to be quicker and easier to make. With getting back into the routine of working at night, I like to make sure that whatever I’m having for dinner is easy enough to either prep before I go to work or something that I can easily throw together once I get home. Today I’m sharing with you the easiest teriyaki chicken and veggie recipe for a fall dinner recipe!

Ingredients:

Chicken Breast (Cubed)

Soy Vay Teriyaki Sauce

Stir Fry Veggie Packet

Brown Rice

Directions:

  1. Marinate the cubed chicken breast for 1 hour in the Teriyaki sauce
  2. Once marinated, cook chicken in a large pan on top of stove on medium heat. Cook until the pieces have turned white.
  3. Add the veggie pack to the cooked chicken in the pan and add 1/4 c of the teriyaki sauce on top.
  4. Make your rice (I used the Trader Joe’s Freezer bag brown rice, click here) and you are ready to eat!

I wasn’t lying when I told you this recipe was so fast. I like to prep the chicken before work and then once I get home I throw it all together and I have a pretty healthy meal. I also sometimes make this recipe without the chicken so it’s perfect for my vegetarian friends too. You just have to be careful about this teriyaki sauce and the amount of sodium you’re intaking but this meal is so yummy! This fall dinner recipe is perfect for on the go nights or a cozy night in. Hope you enjoyed this quick little recipe, don’t forget to check out my Pinterest for more recipes or my latest recipe on the blog! @cassiedenisco

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