Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m in Arizona and New Mexico this weekend for a quick visit with family. Go figure that it’s colder here than in Ohio right now. (Yet another thing to add to the abundance of reasons why I love Ohio so much.)

I know that we’re enjoying a false spring and we’re going to have some colder weather in Ohio next weekend, but the flowers peeking through the ground have been making me grin all week.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Did you know that you can make creamy, rich, and saucy stovetop mac and cheese from scratch in the same amount of time it takes to cook boxed mac and cheese? And it tastes so much better too!

Clearly, my family really enjoys mushrooms, because we shared three awesome mushroom recipes on the sites this week. If you’re a mushroom lover as well, you’re going to be very happy with these dishes.

Hungarian Mushroom Soup is a lightly creamy, rich soup, full of earthy mushroom flavor that is brightened by a squeeze of lemon juice added at the end of cooking. This is one of my favorite soups – and I just don’t make it often enough! This is a bowl of soup simply ideal for a chilly day.

This Steak and Mushroom Stir Fry delivers all the flavors I crave in a great restaurant steak. Lucky for all of us, that steak has been transformed into a quick stir fry that can be made even on the busiest of nights.

Simple and savory Mushroom Rice comes together as the perfect side dish or serves as a meal all on its own. If you’re any kind of mushroom lover, you’ll be hard-pressed not to devour this skillet of mushrooms and rice entirely on your own. It’s that good!

These Oreo Brownies are rich, chewy fudge brownies filled with generous handfuls of chopped Oreo cookies in each bite.

Two kinds of chocolate and real cream make this the best and easiest chocolate ice cream you can make. The deliciously rich chocolate flavor of this recipe comes from the combination of both cocoa powder and melted chocolate chips.

Pecan Sticky Buns are made with soft sweet cinnamon rolls smothered in a sw

Weekly Menu Plan – Mar. 11 to Mar. 17

We are ending the week with one of our favorite St. Patrick’s Day meals! You’re going to love it! Enjoy your weekly menu plan!

Monday: Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday: Swedish Pancakes

Wednesday: Beef Pot Pie

Thursday: Garlic Butter Chicken

Friday: Carne Asada Tacos

Saturday: Crockpot Chicken

Sunday: Sausage Cabbage and Potatoes

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Mar. 11 to Mar. 17

Hungarian Mushroom Soup is a lightly creamy, rich soup, full of earthy mushroom flavor that is brightened by a squeeze of lemon juice added at the end of cooking.

This is one of my favorite soups – and I just don’t make it often enough! This is a bowl of soup simply ideal for a chilly day.

Oh. My. Word. How did I forget just how amazing this soup is?? I’ll admit that with over 1800 recipes on this website, it can be a little tricky at times to remember exactly what I’ve made and when, but wow. Just wow. I remembered enjoying the soup, but this has blown my mind all over again.

I remade it a while back to shoot some new photographs and I could not stop eating it. I had a big bowl for lunch and then had another bowl for dinner when I shared it with my family.

I already have it on our meal plan again. This one is going to be in the regular rotation for a while. If you’re a mushroom lover, this soup needs to be on your must-make-as-soon-as-possible list.

Our friend Joe was a Hungarian American and he was a gift in my family’s life for over 15 years. He passed away 5 years ago, a few months before we moved to Ohio. We were lucky enough to live across the street from him in Phoenix for a few years and I always tried to invite him over for dinner when I was trying a new Hungarian recipe.

Joe’s parents fled from Hungary when he and his brother were just a few years old. The biggest compliment I’ve

Cold Buster Green Smoothie (How to Fight a Cold)

This cold buster green smoothie recipe is packed with fresh fruits and vegetables to boost your immune system, hydrate your body and send those winter colds packing!

Green smoothies were all the rage a while ago and still are, but I never really thought they were that big of a deal. And then I realized that with all of those vitamins packed into a smoothie we would actually be giving ourselves the proper nutrition that we are recommended in getting. So, we started keeping a full supply of spinach and fruits and sure enough, not only did we start feeling better but we weren’t getting sick.

I hate winter. I know, lots of people love it and cannot wait to get outside and enjoy all that the snow has to offer, but I hate it. Strong word? I seriously dislike it I guess. I am learning to really enjoy skiing, but I still freeze to death and cannot last very long out there. But the major reason I don’t like winter is because we all get sick and pass it around over and over again all winter long. I freeze all winter which I’m sure keeps me sick.

You don’t have to pass a cold around all winter. Last year we cracked down and learned how to fight a cold and this cold buster green smoothie was a huge help! Keep scrolling to the end to see other products we love to help us survive winter colds.

What Makes a Green Smoothie?

The definition of a “green smoothie” can be quite ambiguous but the basics of a green smoothie are:

Leafy Greens + Liquid + Fruit

Then, of course, you can add other ingredient to add protein and more nutrients. Keep scrolling below to see suggestions for the best types of leafy greens, liquids and fruits. We also want to highlight what makes this recipe specifically a cold buster green smoothie.

Ingredients in a Cold Buster Green Smoothie

This smoothie is unique in that we chose specific items to kick the cold right where it hurts:

• Spinach: adds great fiber, vitamins and nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K as well as iron, folate and potassium
• Orange Juice: isn’t just about the vitamin C it’s also about staying hydrated
• Orange with Peel: really slam dunk the vitamin C and the peel contains 4 times more fiber than the fruit itself, it has anti-inflammatory properties and may even help reduce harmful LDL’s
• Baby Carrots: great for killing germs in the mouth and helping with digestion
• Banana: gives the body natural energy which is something you are lacking when sick, and it helps the smoothie be extra creamy
• Frozen Pineapple: adds flavor and helps thicken the smoothie when it’s frozen
• Apple: adds flavor and natural sweetness
• Ice: helps thicken the smoothie without adding sugar or extra calories
• Optional: add a scoop of protein so our b

Did you know that you can make creamy, rich, and saucy stovetop mac and cheese from scratch in the same amount of time it takes to cook boxed mac and cheese?

And I’m happy to say that this pasta is infinitely tastier than the boxes of mac and cheese that used to have a home in our pantry.

Creamy Stovetop Mac and Cheese

I’ve tried countless mac and cheese recipes over the years and never found one that I truly loved. This recipe though is absolutely foolproof and it turns out wonderfully creamy every time.

I am so very happy to have a new favorite dinner and my kids are pretty excited about it too. I’ve made this creamy mac and cheese at least a half dozen times over the past few months and we absolutely love it.

The recipe below is loosely adapted from a mac and cheese recipe that I found over on Cookie & Kate. The spices here are the game-changer – adding the garlic, onion, ground mustard, and a pinch of cayenne makes such a lovely difference.

Everyone has their own opinion on the best mac and cheese recipe. For me, the best mac and cheese is creamy as it possibly can be.

While lots of people swear by baked mac and cheese, I’m a stovetop mac and cheese girl for life.

Mac and Cheese with Heavy Cream

Want to make this even easier? Or would you prefer to skip the step with the flour? Replace the milk with additional heavy cream (for a total of 1 ½ cups heavy cream). Skip the flour. Just warm