ARF/5-A-Day #64

I couldn’t decide what to make for dinner tonight, and leaving plans ’till the last minute doesn’t help. The refrigerator slightly overfloweth, so I was hesitant to make something new, ARF/5-A-Day or not. I decided to be practical and work with what I had in there already, but still managed to make it ARF/5-A-Day worthy.

The other day, I made a batch of Peanut Butter Fudge, and dropped off some of it at The Newlywed Neighbors‘ house. We left with a container of his “famous” spaghetti sauce that he wanted me to try (my kinda neighborhood!). Last night, for dinner, I made No Peek Casserole, an old favorite, and tonight, I used the leftovers of that and added the spaghetti sauce from The Newlywed Neighbor.

To properly taste-test it, I heated the sauce up in a pan by itself first, and then added the leftover casserole to it. I seriously hope his sauce is not one of those “family secret” recipes because it was honestly OMG good and I n-e-e-d the recipe. It was all I could do to stop going back into the pan to sneak another spoonful of sauce. It didn’t have any overwhelming herb tastes; the biggest overriding flavor was hearty meatiness. There were thin slices of sausages in it, as well as some shredded meat, and it reminded me a bit of the Sunday Gravy that my mom makes. A robust, simmer-all-day taste that really packs some punch. With any luck, I’ll be able to finagle the recipe from him and share it with you guys, because we will ALL be missing out if we can’t make it. And because of all the tomatoes, it’s perfect for tonight’s ARF/5-A-Day roundup.

A year ago today… a closed kitchen, but a spot-on prediction for the Food TV Network winner.
Two years ago today… Elvis makes an appearance.

Claire from Cooking is Medicine in Mississippi is up first this week with the very healthy Seafood Gumbo:

Veggielove just might have the reddest tomatoes I’ve seen this side of Summer…

The Cookbook Junkie from Pennsylvania goes back to basics with a Spicy Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry dish from Pampered Chef:

With Zucchini Tomato Relish, Borracho Beans and Southwestern Beef & Bean Burger Wraps
hitting the table at Cook. Craft. Enjoy., I’d say she’s got her veggies covered … and then some!

And now, a few other bloggers with veggie inspiration. Although they didn’t join in the roundup, the dishes are certainly ARF/5-A-Day worthy.

Sam from Becks & Posh in California is dishing up a very unique Artichoke Panzanella:

Over on Food Musings, we have the very divine Strawberry Avocado Salad with Honeyed Vinaigrette:

Dessert First is diving deep into the heart of the season with her bevy of Spring desserts.

Creamy Asparagus Soup from Elise’s Simply Recipes sounds perfect right about now:

And lastly, CookThink with a beautifully Spring-colored Beef, raddichio and green been salad with chile-lime dressing:

Want to join in the fun in our ARF/5-A-Day roundups? You can get all the details right here.