I'm giddy about this ham and bean soup! It's a light and refreshing soup. It really is. You can tell just by looking at it, can't you. This is the flavors of summer meet the flavors of fall. A ham and bean soup meets the late summer harvest of zucchini, spinach and carrots. Toss it all together in a giant pot with some chicken stock, dried herbs and then top it all off … [Read more...]
20 Freezer to Slow Cooker Meals for $160 – 3rd Edition is Here, Just in Time for Busy Back-to-School Season
Have you ever wished you could make enough dinners to last a month in less than 2 hours, and then let dinner cook itself in the slow cooker while you go about your busy day? Let me introduce you to the newest meal plan in the series… With the busy back to school season upon us, I’m here to equip you with a game plan for the dinner hour as you head into these … [Read more...]
Why I Keep My Kitchen Counters Clutter-Free
Yes, this is what my kitchen looks like at the end of every day. Every now and again, I'll get a question/email about my kitchen being so clean and I wanted to share how and why I keep my counters cleared off and decluttered. Let's start with the why. Have you ever cleaned up/out your kiddos play space and then just sat and watched them play afterwards? The play is calm … [Read more...]
Hot Dogs with Homemade Relish
Holy explosion of taste! There's just something about sweet relish that is special. But there's something about homemade sweet relish that is even more special. Well, maybe I should call this a (semi)homemade relish...because it calls for sweet pickles and I didn't can it or make it completely from scratch. But the relish isn't out of a prepared relish jar, so... (Semi) … [Read more...]
Grilled Ground Chicken Burgers
Hello gorgeous. Not only is this chicken burger gorgeous to look at, it's got a gorgeous taste too. (Can you use the word gorgeous to describe how something tastes??? I think so. Don't you.) These burgers call for ground chicken, bits of chopped bell peppers and onion and an amazing set of spices and herbs to kick the flavor to that 'gorgeous taste' dimension. You … [Read more...]
How to Make the Perfect Ice Cream Sandwich
Who knew making a homemade ice cream sandwich could be so simple! I've teamed up with Dollar General and CHIPS AHOY! to show you just how easy it is to make your own ice cream sandwiches at home! It's time we take chocolate chip cookies to a new level of summer-food fun! It looks like this... CHIPS AHOY! Chocolate Chip Cookie Vanilla Ice Cream CHIPS AHOY! … [Read more...]
Sun-Dried Tomato & Parmesan Pasta Bake
Let me tell you where this meal comes from. It comes from the fact that I absolutely adore this skillet recipe (and thought it needed an oven-version!)...AND...the fact that I have a jar of sun-dried tomatoes leftover from the recent 20 Meals for $150 meal plan! I love sun-dried tomatoes and the flavor that they add to a meal, especially pasta. This pasta bake calls for … [Read more...]
Creamy Tomato Soup with Homemade Pesto
So it's hot. And you might think that I'm a little silly for sharing a soup recipe in the summer. But I'm having this soup chilled. Although, you could certainly warm this up. The homemade basil pesto is an absolutely lovely complement to the chilled tomato soup. As I took each bite (do you bite soup? maybe slurp? but that sounds so un-lady like?), I would grab a … [Read more...]
Homemade Mac & Cheese with Bacon and Spinach
Please pardon me while I wipe the cheese off my chin. Um, that was sorta embarrassing there...that cheese all over my chin. But you kinda don't care when your taste buds are bursting with joy and want to leap out of your mouth onto the spoon. It's the cream cheese in this recipe that works the magic. Well, that combined with the bacon. And the spinach, and the Italian … [Read more...]
Paleo Moroccan Chicken
Holy flavor-wow! Who knew that these common pantry staples could transform chicken into a divine masterpiece! There is absolutely nothing expensive about any of these ingredients. Nothing at all. You might have most of them on hand right now. (Except maybe sugar-free raisins/currants. If you aren't strict Paleo, you can use regular raisins.) The cinnamon. The cumin. … [Read more...]