Time for a new part of the Using the Garden series!  Today's topic: green beans!  There is nothing better than fresh grown green beans.  I can eat them raw!  With all of the troubles I've had with gardening, green beans seem to be the easiest for me to grow.

Happy Deal, Happy Day has shared a fresh green bean side dish:  Green Beans with Nutmeg & Lemon dressing.  YUM!  Sounds like a simple summer side dish!

If you're looking for another way to use green beans, check out my healthified green bean casserole, using fresh beans instead of frozen.

What's growing in your garden?

Using The Garden Veggies: Kale

It's time for a new addition to the Using the Garden Veggies series!  Today, it's all about kale recipes!

Five years ago, I didn't even know what kale was!  Green smoothies weren't even on my radar back then!  Now, everyone has gone loco for kale--for a good reason: it's full of nutrients!  My favorite brand is Earthbound Farm baby kale...perfect  in stir fry or smoothies!  I had kale growing in my garden, until some animal ate it.  Again and again.  So sad!

Ashley at Coupons for Wisconsin has a tasty grilled kale recipe to share for the swap.  Bacon + Kale sounds like a perfect combo to me!

Here are some of my favorite kale soup recipes:

• Lentil + Sausage Soup
• Turkey Meatball Minestrone

Another great combo: Italian sausage & kale on PIZZA! It's amazing!

What do you do with kale? Are you growing it?

Using the Garden Veggies: Spinach

I'm so excited to be part of a fun new series: Using the Garden Veggies!  Every week, there will be new recipes featuring a different garden vegetable.  Time to fill up your Pinterest with some tasty new ideas! Here's the group board: Using the Garden Veggies.

This year, my garden is growing SO well.  I'm hoping that it actually produces some veggies!  I cannot wait for some fresh tomatoes, peppers and zucchini.  Tonight for dinner I was able to go out on the patio to grab some thyme for our chowder. 

Today's recipe is from Laura at A Frugal Chick, sharing an amazing spinach salad with bacon and mushrooms.  YUM!  I've never grown my own spinach, but I always grab it at the farmers market. 

I love spinach in my morning smoothie with PB2 and almond milk....even Ricky is loving my green smoothies now!

Here are some more ideas for spinach:

• Lasagna Shells
• Spinach + Feta Dip (My go-to summer BBQ dip!)
• Super Green Smoothie

What's your favorite spinach recipe?  How's your garden growing this year?