What makes your signature dish uniquely yours?

We want to know! We all have that one signature dish that everyone loves. What ingredients do you add to make it special? I like to add a touch of sage to my Salisbury steak. When I was a kid, my stepmother made "frozen in gravy meals," and her Sage Salisbury Steak was one of my favorites. So these days, adding sage to my recipes brings back fond memories. Join the conversation in our Facebook group or email me. Can’t wait to see the responses.

Hello, Fresh!

The Fresh From the Garden contest is open until September 28. There are so many gorgeous fresh fruits and vegetables available right now. Tour your favorite farmers market and grab your favorites, then create your winning recipe. There’s still plenty of time. Winners will be selected and notified on or about December 21, 2017. To improve your chances of winning, see tips on creating and submitting recipes below.

Speaking of fresh, we are taking a break from On The Side and switching to a more healthy focus. The new Fresh in 30 is just what it sounds like: fresh, good-for-you recipes ready in 30 minutes or less. We’re giving you three “meat” options to help you create your own recipes:

1. Shrimp:

Ideas to mull over include curry shrimp couscous with tomatoes and eggplant, Thai green curry with shrimp or shrimp-and pineapple-stuffed poblano peppers with cilantro sauce. I hope that gets you started.

2. Chicken Tenderloins:

Possibilities include Cordon bleu ham bundles with chicken tenders or roasted Swiss and asparagus balsamic chicken tenderloin with fingerling potatoes, radishes and artichokes (roasted radishes are amazing, try them!). Foil packets are fun, too. Toss some chicken tenderloins in foil with some navy beans, grape tomatoes and maybe some broccoli rabe for something new.

3. Portobello Mushrooms:

Go Southwestern with portobellos stuffed with verde sauce covered in melty cotija cheese, or marinate and grill them with a fruity pineapple chimichurri. Or since the season's best tomatoes are available now, try Caprese portobello stacks with fresh basil and mozzarella.

Submit your creations to Fresh in 30 on the submission page.

Here are few tips for creating recipes:

We know that creating recipes can be time consuming (and sometimes pricey). We want to make sure your efforts are worthy of your time. Before you take the time to create a recipe, search Taste of Home.com first. If we have 15 macaroni and cheese recipes with ingredients almost similar to yours, there’s a good chance we’ll skip your submission. Don’t be afraid to ask me to help look! I’ve been steeped in Taste of Home recipes for over six years, so I’m happy to help you maneuver the site.

And remember cans sometimes can't. Canned beans, stock or tomatoes are fine, but no soups, canned vegetables or canned/jarred cheeses. If you must use processed cheese like Velveeta, keep it to a minimum. Our readers are really asking for recipes with as many fresh ingredients as possible.

And a few tips for submitting recipes:

When entering ingredients, do not break up the ingredients with an empty line space because our system will think something is wrong with the format and won’t show it to the food editors. However, you CAN break your ingredient sets with words like crust, filling and topping, similar to how we do it on TasteofHome.com. I didn't know this was a concern until a few weeks ago, so I figured I’d share that tidbit with you guys.

If you enter a recipe in a contest, you should not enter it into another one until the winners are chosen for the original contest. I know it is sometimes hard to keep track. One way I've found to prevent multiple entries is to make a note that includes the recipe name and the winner notification date. You’ll find this information in the Contest Rules linked to each contest description. This ONLY applies to contests with prizes. Regular recipe submissions can be entered into multiple categories.

Get ready to share! #TasteOfHomeRecipe

Our social media team wants you to share your photos! Whenever you make a great Taste of Home recipe, snap a photo of it. When you upload it to your favorite social media platform, use the hashtag #TasteOfHomeRecipe. You can also use #TOH or #TasteOfHome. They can’t wait to see what you’re cooking! Your photo might be selected to star on our official pages. Fun, new things are happening on our social media sites every day! Don't miss out!

You can find us using the addresses and platforms below:

• PINTEREST: https://www.pinterest.com/taste_of_home
• FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/tasteofhome/
• TWITTER: https://twitter.com/tasteofhome
• INSTAGRAM: https://www.instagram.com/tasteofhome

Happy cooking, my friends!

Sue Stetzel

sue.stetzel@tmbi.com