Happy spring everyone! Doesn't it feel good? With two big holidays in the month of May, here are ideas for both Mother's Day celebrations and Memorial Day cookouts. Plus! If you have an air fryer, the next recipe I'm working on is a super easy turkey burger. Delicious and juicy. What else am I working on? Let me share...

Mother's Day Recipe Ideas

Whether it's breakfast, brunch, lunch, or a Mom's Day dinner, I've got lots of ideas for you. From pancakes and waffles to my mom's favorite seafood salad, the California classic Shrimp Louie, and plenty of dinner ideas, like this terrific pork tenderloin with a creamy Dijon mustard sauce or simple springtime favorite, steamed salmon.

If you are planning breakfast or brunch, these are not your typical pancakes, because they are made with buckwheat flour. Never tried it? Hearty and nutty, buckwheat is naturally gluten-free and makes terrific pancakes.

And with lots of beautiful berries available right now, choose your favorite to top these delicious pancakes. And to reduce sugar (always a good idea), drizzle with warm sugar-free maple syrup made with monk fruit. It's all I use!

Waffles are another favorite and hold well in a warm oven if made a little ahead of time. Serve with softly scrambled eggs on the side for more protein, add more berries or a fresh fruit salad for a terrific way to treat mom.

Memorial Day!

With summer right around the corner, are you ready to get grilling? I am, especially after my grill cleaning service comes. It's so worth it at the start of the season. Speaking of grills, what do you grill on? Gas grill? Pellet grill? Please hit reply and let me know. This is the grilling season for me to finally get some of my pellet grill recipes out for you. From my 3-2-1 fall-off-the-bone baby back ribs to simple bone-in chicken breasts, both with my all purpose dry rub recipe.

​If you love ribs, try my tried-and-true recipe that starts them in the oven and finishes them with a brief stint on the grill, or under the broiler.

If burgers is more your style for Memorial Day, try these ideas for terrific side dishes: a lemony pasta salad, Mediterranean-style herbed potato salad, or a chilled green bean salad with tomatoes, corn, and feta cheese. Sounds like a crazy combination but it's terrific!

What I'm Working On: Air Fryer Turkey Burgers!

Speaking of burgers, one of our go-to lunches is now turkey burgers in the air fryer. I make anywhere from 4-6 ounce patties adding salt, black pepper, garlic and onion powder, then just a little worcestershire sauce. Mix gently with your hands, shape into patties, flatten them out, and air fry.

Spray the rack with a little avocado spray and air fry for about 9-10 minutes at 400°F. They need to register 165°F for food safety. Skip the turning and get a golden brown top on them. You'll never see the underside. They taste terrific, are easy, fast, and a great high protein lunch (or dinner).

Today I topped them with jack cheese and a dollop of leftover homemade mint and basil pesto. If you make them, they do puff up in the air fryer, even if you make flat burgers. Don't press on them our they lose tasty juices.

I've found that fresh ground dark (93%/7%) turkey works best. Once frozen and thawed, turkey gets kind of sticky (it is naturally anyway), but you can play with this recipe yourself until I mess with it a bit more and get it published. They sure taste good!

Other air fryer recipes that have become weekly go-to's (I will publish soon) are air fryer mahi mahi filets and sweet potato wedges. So good. While I resisted buying another gadget, I am sure glad I finally got an air fryer. It's found a permanent place on my counter. Do you have one yet? Here is the model I got after research.

Recipe Recipe Updates

You may not see many recipes arriving in your inbox on Fridays for a few weeks. I am updating recipes on the site but unless I "republish" they do not go out to you automatically. Here's a few that I've updated:

• ​Strawberry yogurt smoothie - great for spring.
• ​Celery cucumber juice - refreshing and hydrating as we head into warmer weather (finally!).
• ​Salsa verde chicken breasts - one of my go-to quick dinners for weekdays, use homemade tomatillo sauce or a jarred brand like Trader Joe's (but homemade is tastier, super easy, and freezes).

If you've made any of my recipes, would you take a moment to leave a comment and please give them a star rating. It's on the recipe card area (and I hope they are 5 stars).

Signing off for now, happy cooking (and eating!). However I can be of help you in the kitchen or with shopping, menu planning or anything else, please let me know. I am here to help.

Sally