This one received raving reviews at a recent family meal. A must-try side dish, this lentil salad is flavorful, satisfying, and nutritious. The recipe calls for sweet potatoes but play around with other options — any roasted veg will do!

I make this with yellow carrots plucked from my garden. It’s an easy and impressive side for any meal. Assemble your ingredients a day ahead and let the flavors marinate overnight. This tasty dish gets better with age!

Green Beans, Ham, and Potatoes

A perfect, warming dish for the transition from Fall to Winter!

I recently celebrated my 27th anniversary with my husband, Barry. In true McNeill-Schlimme fashion, we celebrated farm-style with a farm-to-table meal: green beans, potatoes, and ham served alongside cornbread. And for dessert? Persimmon pudding.

Nourishing Meals by Mackey McNeill

Eggplant Parmesan

Garlic Mustard Pesto

Garlic mustard grows wild and comes up each spring in abundance. It is one of the first green plants to dot the roadside. It grows round, scallop-edged leaves on a tall stem.

Omelets

A wonderful omelet made on top of your own stove: it’s the simplest (and tastiest) fast food there is. Omelets are a great way to clean out your leftovers. And if you’re new to cooking, they’re the perfect introduction to creativity in the kitchen. Omelets are a blank canvas just waiting for you to test out what you like and what you don't like.

Oat Scones

Perfectly decadent for Sunday mornings, this basic scone recipe can carry a variety of flavors. These are best right out of the oven. And personally, I find it awfully hard to eat just one. My four favorite variations are below.

Several years ago, I traveled to Ireland for a women's retreat. One of the highlights? Several visits to Avoca, a fast-casual restaurant with some of the best deli-inspired meals I’ve ever tasted. The restaurants serves fresh soups, made daily. Naturally I had to order one. It was so incredible, I continued to order soup for every subsequent visit.

Nourishing Meals by Mackey McNeill

Curried Butternut Squash Soup