Next time you make a salad, forget the romaine and make this leafless salad instead. It's named after the small cafes in Greece, or tavernas, that serve traditional Greek cuisine. Greek salads usually contain tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese. This version, adapted from the NYT Cooking section, also includes chickpeas, bell peppers, Kalamata olives and capers. It's so filling that you can serve it as a main course for a healthy lunch or light dinner. Want more options? Leav

Texas has become famous for many things, but haute cuisine hasn't been one of them. That is, until 1941 when Dallas department store Neiman Marcus hired chef Helen Corbitt to bring more sophisticated fare to hungry Texans raised on chicken-fried steak and BBQ. Helen had never heard of black-eyed peas when she moved from the East Coast to Texas, but since they were so popular in the South, she decided to combine them with a tart vinaigrette on New Year's Eve and Texas Caviar

I offered crumbled feta cheese to each family member when this was served. When we think of salad, lettuce usually comes to mind. Romaine and iceberg are two popular leafy greens, but nobody is buying them these days for obvious safety concerns. Here's a leaf-free alternative salad made with corn, cucumbers and grape tomatoes. It's refreshing and it takes advantage of one of summer's best vegetables: farm fresh corn. You can use either raw corn in this delightful salad or you

From the NYT Cooking section, a recipe for salsa verde chicken that you can prepare either in a slow cooker or the Instant Pot. Directions for both are below. Think of this recipe is a meal-in-a-bowl that you can change up depending on what you have on hand: add 1 cup of frozen or fresh corn, or a drained 15-ounce can of black beans or pinto beans. (Add them at the end along with the fresh cilantro and scallions.) You can serve the chicken alone or over rice, or use it as a

Lean beef has taken its rightful place on the menus of those of us watching our weight. This recipe, which I adapted from Cooks Illustrated, combines top sirloin with fruits and vegetables, for a delightful summer entree that's low in fat, calories and WW Points. While Juji, pictured above, and my hungry poodle William may not give a lick about the healthfulness of their chow, steak served this way can actually be good for you. Beef! It’s what every hungry poodle, and human,

In our nationwide heat wave, cooking indoors is out of the question. Time to fire up the grill. One mistake many cooks make when grilling chicken is to douse it with BBQ sauce when it first hits the grill. The sauce burns to a crisp before the chicken is done cooking. The trick to delicious, moist and flavorful chicken is to baste the meat when it's almost done cooking. The BBQ sauce cooks to a beautiful golden brown. I love grilling drumsticks because they can be eaten with

Summer has arrived in the form of intense heat waves all across the U.S. and much of the world. Time to fire up the grill and cook outside (in the shade). Here's one of my favorites: grilled marinated chicken kebabs with colorful vegetables, a recipe I adapted from DinnerattheZoo.com. For those who don't own a grill, there are instructions below for broiling. The marinade contains olive oil, soy sauce and honey. It’s really delicious: sweet/salty and savory, similar to teri

Chicken, pineapple and colorful bell peppers combine for a rock-star main dish in this healthy stir fry I adapted from skinnytaste.com. Several of the ingredients--fish sauce and Thai sweet chili sauce--may not be in your pantry now, but you can find them in the Asian section of most supermarkets and they keep for a long time in the fridge. Wondering why this recipe is made up mostly of low fat, low calorie, WW Zero Point foods but has 4 Points per serving? It's the 1/3 cup o

Here's my salad just before I tossed on the mozzarella and dressing. Isn't it colorful? Chopped salads are a convenient way to add lots of colorful vegetables to your meals. You don't even need to use a knife to eat them. In fact, a spoon might be the best way to down this bowlful of veggies. The recipe, from Eating Well, simulates a caprese salad (the summer concoction of ripe tomatoes, mozzarella and fresh basil doused with extra-virgin olive oil and served on crunchy bread