Cheese

Comfort food doesn't have to be unhealthy. This vegetable quinoa casserole has comforting, home-cooked flavor and lots of veggies, too. What gives the casserole its comforting flavor? Cream of mushroom soup, of course!

Other quinoa casseroles you'll love:

Baked Quinoa with Feta and Olives
Baked Quinoa with Tomatoes and Cheddar

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

Why be restricted to herbs when you can make pesto out of almost any type of green? Radish leaf pesto has a mild and pleasantly pungent flavor - even my 2 year old loves it over pasta. In this photo, the pesto is tossed with radishes and white beans. The pesto is also great over roasted vegetables and potatoes.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

Spicy arugula, sharp cheddar and toasted hazelnuts tossed in a sweet and tangy apple cider vinegar & maple dressing. Yum. Arugula Cheddar Salad would've been a perfect salad for autumn if I had thought of it 6 months ago! Oh, well. It's still great in the springtime, too.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

This dish surprised me. I didn't think braised celery would be so delicious. Combined with kalamata olives and feta, braised celery is a unique side dish or bruschetta topping to try.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

I have yet to try the vegan nut-based cheese made by the new company Kite Hill, but the effort they've put into the product is impressive. I recently listened to an interview on the radio show Good Food with one of the chefs involved with the project, Tal Ronnen.

If you've tried the dairy-free cheese from Kite Hill, let me know what you think!

With a crusty loaf of bread, there's nothing better than goat cheese marinated in fresh herbs and olive oil. I can easily make a whole meal out of it. The longer the goat cheese marinates the better. And don't stop at fresh herbs: garlic, red pepper flakes and other spices are fantastic, too.

More marinated cheese recipes:

Homemade Yogurt Cheese Marinaded in Garlic and Basil

Goat Cheese Marinated with Dried French Herbs

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

So this cheese sauce made with tofu isn't necessarily low-fat and it's definitely not dairy-free. But delicious? Most definitely. Flavored with roasted red pepper and smoked paprika, it's a bold and creamy sauce that can be used in many different ways.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

I have an abundance of sage in my garden and my favorite way to use it to fry the sage in butter. Fried sage is a simple but elegant topping for asparagus and other vegetables. The texture of sage fried in butter is so light it almost melts in your mouth. The herbal, earthy flavor is fantastic with nutty brown butter, lemon and shavings of Grana Padano cheese.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

Just accept the fact that you're going to eat at least 2, maybe 3, of these amazing Cheddar biscuits right out of the oven. These Cheddar biscuits also make really delicious breakfast sandwiches with eggs and sausage or ham sandwiches for the lunchbox.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier

How about pumpkin seed pesto for dinner tonight? Serve it over spaghetti noodles with a salad on the side. Easy and really delicious.

© Image 2012 Jennifer Meier