New favorite recipes

I am in the middle of several projects, and actually have three (three!) knitting projects in the works. I don't usually let myself start a new project until I've finished the last one, so I don't have UFOs cluttering up my house. Alas, I have not followed my own rules, but hopefully soon I will have a knitted lion to share that I'm making as a gift for a mama-to-be at work.

In the meantime though, I thought I'd talk a bit about another hobby I've taken up recently: cooking.  After I got to Atlanta and had a couple of dinners out at somewhat foodie, vaguely hipstery farm-to-table restaurants I had the most basic of revelations: fresh food just tastes so much better. I'm definitely not going to give up Oreos any time soon, but I am trying to eat fewer processed foods.

And so I've begun, little by little, to shift from Pasta-roni to cooking from scratch. In the past few months I've found new food blogs, bought spices, learned how to saute garlic and embraced Greek yogurt. This past week I feel like I hit a turning point when my husband came home from the grocery store and pointed out that the only frozen thing he bought was waffles. Progress!

So here are my favorite recipes of late, collected from around the web:
1. Quinoa Pizza Bites by So Very Blessed via Pintrest

The first time I made quinoa, I was terribly disappointed that such a protein-packed food was so abysmally bland. Luckily, I found some better recipes, and this one is particularly amazing. In fact, we're having it for dinner tonight. I split the mixture and do half turkey pepperoni and half spinach pizza bites.

2. BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad by Iowa Girl Eats

I may have a bit of a girl crush on Kristin from Iowa Girl Eats. Her recipes are easy, healthy and delicious, and she has such a charming blog to boot. The best part of this recipe is the sauce - a 1:1 mixture of barbeque sauce and plain greek yogurt. It cuts the sugar of barbeque sauce while giving it a nice tang. Genius! I've made up some of this sauce on its own to eat as vegetable dip.

3. Sneaky Meatball Subs by Iowa Girl Eats

Another Iowa Girl Eats favorite. These subs are seriously delicious. Two bites in I turned to Brian and said, "We're making these again." Adding zucchini to the ground turkey not only adds a vegetable, but keeps the meat juicy and expands the turkey into more meatballs so you get more bang for your buck.

4. Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese by Confections of a Foodie Bride

This macaroni and cheese recipe substitutes Greek yogurt for some of the cheese. You still get that creamy texture without resorting to a processed cheese like Velveeta. I also mix in a can of tuna and at least 1 cup of peas.

5. Overnight Oats by Kath Eats Real Food

This is such a great breakfast for hot summer days. It's old fashioned oats, milk, yogurt and 1/2 a banana left overnight, topped with whatever fruit, nuts or nut butter you'd like. It's refreshingly cold and completely satisfying.  I've been doing strawberries and blueberries on top, but there are many different options.