October 29, 2022

Welcome to the weekend, friends! Are you loving this fall weather as much as I am? I have a whole list of soup recipes to work on over the next few days and I can hardly wait to have the freezer filled with easy meals once again. I’m playing with a couple of new biscuit recipes too, so it’s going to be a tasty weekend.

ON THE BLOG this week: Creamy Turkey Green Chile Soup is loaded to the brim with chunks of leftover turkey and roasted green chile. My husband and boys give this recipe two thumbs up around the table every time I make this.

Cheddar and bacon filled Corn Waffles are great for Sunday brunch or for casual school mornings. I like to triple this recipe and stash them in sandwich bags in the freezer.

BBQ Chicken Zucchini Boats are a saucy, cheesy, deliciously hearty meal that is a refreshing change from the typical sandwiches we usually make with leftover chicken.

Sweet and rich with the slightest bit of crunch from the corn, this creamed corn is made as easy as can be with frozen corn. We enjoy it all year long.

Cheesy, savory, and creamy with a toasted, buttery top broccoli gratin is about to become the most requested vegetable by your family.

2 Ingredient Pancakes have been showing up all over the internet lately. Low carb pancakes that are easy to make, and tasty as can be, we’ve been making these 2 Ingredient Cream Cheese Pancakes for years.

Creamy vanilla cheesecake is poured over a simple graham cracker crust and then topped with a creamy layer of pumpkin to make this Cheesecake Pumpkin Pie. As much as this dessert looks fancy, this is a very simple pie recipe that results in an unforgettable finish for any meal.

Creamy peanut butter fudge filled with chunks of Oreo cookies is an irresistible favorite on any dessert table. The simple peanut butter fudge is made with just four ingredients before being generously filled with Oreos.

What I’m CRAVING: This Fall Harvest Salad by Modern Honey caught my eye and it looks sooooo good! Not only is it gorgeous, but it’s also loaded with so many terrific bites – fresh apples, candied walnuts, dried cranberries, feta or blue cheese, and crispy bacon.

My FAVORITE THING this week is my new waffle iron. I made the above corn waffles in

Welcome to the weekend, friends! It’s been a nonstop week in the kitchen over here and it’s been fun. I can hardly wait to share all of these new recipes with you. I’m getting excited about the comfort foods, holiday sides, soups, breads, and Christmas treats too!

ON THE BLOG this week: Caramelized almonds are a deliciously nutty and easy salad topping with a hint of sweetness and tons of crunch.

Sweet bites of oranges are tossed with crisp lettuce and parsley and then topped with caramelized almonds to create this refreshing parsley salad. Sound weird? Don’t knock this ‘till you’ve tried it. It’s been one of my personal favorites for years now.

This Cauliflower Gratin with a sprinkling of cheese, a light cream sauce, and a crispy buttery bread crumb topping is so so good, I keep dreaming about making it again. (I’ve made it three times already!)

Chocolate Chip Blondies have the awesome texture of a brownie and are loaded with chocolate chips and pecans. They have become a favorite treat.

Crisp tortillas filled with tender bites of steak and plenty of melting cheese create this easy-as-can-be Steak Quesadilla.

Pumpkin Mousse is creamy, fluffy, melt-in-your-mouth perfection and it is my family’s favorite pumpkin dessert. Every year, when I make it, another die-hard pumpkin-hater falls prey to its awesomeness.

Thinly sliced flank steak in a garlicky ginger sauce makes for a delicious weeknight steak and pepper stir fry. I love how easy stir fry dinners can be and they get bonus points for making a small amount of meat go a long way.

Cheese, bacon, and potatoes add up to side dish perfection. Make extra because these bacon roasted potatoes will go fast!

What I’m CRAVING: This Crispy Sesame Chicken by Savory Experiments caught my eye yesterday and it looks so good! There aren’t many things I like mo

Welcome to the weekend, friends! Are you as excited as I am about FALL??? It might as well be my personal Disneyland outdoors right now. I can’t stop gawking as I drive through our streets. I’ve been detouring down side streets everywhere I go lately.

ON THE BLOG this week: Sourdough stuffing filled with sweetly tart apples, chewy sweet cranberries, savory sausage, plenty of herbs, and cubes of toasted sourdough is a sure win for your holiday dinner.

Corn Pudding is beloved throughout my family. I grew up eating my mom’s corn pudding for every holiday and plenty of Sunday dinners in between. My siblings and I have been known to sneak the leftover corn casserole out of my mom’s house and I’ll even admit to “accidentally” bringing home my sister’s share of the leftovers (along with mine) once upon a time.

When I first came across this recipe named, “I Want to Marry You Cookies.” I laughed, the name reminded me of “Marry Me Chicken”. We’ve been calling these “Marry Me Cookies” for years now. This is NOT your average chocolate chip cookie. They are hands down the best Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies.

Boiled Baby Red Potatoes are beyond easy and simple to make. Served with an easy slow cooker roast beef and these roasted green beans, this is a company-worthy meal that only requires a few minutes hands-on effort.

This is a sweet and spicy homemade bbq sauce with just enough heat to linger in your mouth. I’ve been slathering this sauce on darn near everything in my kitchen for a few weeks now!

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Meseidy’s almond crusted french toast filled with peanut butter, banana and honey is one of the best looking, best tasting, French toast breakfasts you can make. (I made this years ago, and I just put it on our Sunday brunch meal plan.) If you like sweet, crunchy and gooey you’re going to absolutely love this french toast.

My FAVORITE THING this week is my new colander. I know, I know. It’s a colander. What could be so great? Actually a lot! I have been using a cheap little $3 colander for years and it finally bit the dust. So I fell into my usual “read way too many reviews” and “overthink all the things before just buying what you need” kind of shopping.

I stumbled on this OXO colander and oh my word. Over a thousand 5-star reviews wer

Welcome to the weekend, friends! I’ve had a great time catching up with family and friends in Phoenix for the past few days, but I have to admit that the jeans, boots, and jackets in the closet at home are calling my name again. Bring on the fall weather, please! I can hardly wait to be back in Ohio. (Fingers crossed for no travel delays today!)

ON THE BLOG this week: Strawberry Banana Smoothies are simple, easy, and refreshing as a snack or even a meal all on their own. This smoothie is delicious with only four ingredients!

I’m not exaggerating when I say this Peanut Butter Fudge is one of the best fudges I’ve ever tasted. Rich, creamy, over-the-top fudge that is so easy to make, you might laugh.

While we’re on a peanut butter loving roll here, Peanut Butter Ice Cream tastes like the inside of a peanut butter cup, transformed into cold and creamy homemade ice cream.

Tender green beans, baby potatoes, smoky bacon, and sweet onions are perfectly combined in this irresistibly classic southern side dish.

Walnut Cookies are tender buttery sweet cookies with a center of chewy brown sugar, walnut, and sour cream filling. Not a fan of walnuts? Try them with pecans. However you make them, these cookies are likely to be a new holiday favorite.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Sue’s banana oat bread with a warm maple walnut glaze caught my eye last week and I can’t stop thinking about it. I definitely need to make it this fall.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this cozy heated throw blanket. As the days start cooling off, this is a great way to stay warm and cozy without heating up the whole house. I ordered another one as a gift for a friend this week and was thrilled to see that a few of the colors are on sale for 40% off.

What we’re READING: Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness by Susannah Cahalan. After asking on Facebook for a few new book recommendations, several of you suggested I read this one. As soon as it was available from my library, I inhaled it.

This is the true story of a 24-year-old woman who woke up strapped to the bed in a hospital room, unable to control her movements or even speak, with no memory of

Welcome to the weekend, friends! I did a double-take when I wrote today’s date for the newsletter. Much like Anne Shirley, “I’m so very glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.” The pretty leaves, the cooler weather with a promise of fall and winter activities, cozy fires (we lit the first one last night!), mugs of tea and cocoa in the afternoon, I love it all.

And not that I’m rushing things one bit, but I can hardly wait for the first snowfall. (Sorry, native Ohioans, that will never not be exciting for me!) I’ll be in Phoenix this week, and while the sunshine and visits with family and friends are always lovely, I can tell you now that I’ll be counting down the days until I’m back home to enjoy all the awesomeness that is fall in Ohio.

ON THE BLOG this week: Full of spiced ground beef and covered in tangy tomato sauce, cabbage roll casserole is a hearty stick-to-your-ribs meal. With all the flavor of the more labor-intensive Cabbage Rolls with a minimum of effort, this is a dinner-time win.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip is simple and slightly sweet, perfect to enjoy with apples, pretzels, or anything you can dip into it. Judging from the fact that at least 4 people requested the recipe the first time I made this, (and I nearly couldn’t stop laughing when I told them how simple it was) I’m calling this a success. What’s not to love about an appetizer that takes about 3 minutes to throw together?

This fully loaded Chicken Potato Broccoli Casserole starts with fluffy mashed potatoes that are mixed with tender bites of broccoli and chicken, then generously sprinkled with bacon and cheese. The result is an absolutely irresistible dinner.

Pumpkin muffins filled with melting chocolate chips and bursting with autumn spices – is there anything more quintessentially fall than the smell of pumpkin spices drifting through the house?

Baked oatmeal, loaded with summer berries and lightly sweetened with brown sugar is a great way to start the day. Berries are a mainstay in my refrigerator. The other day I had a few things that needed to be used up and baked oatmeal was the perfect way to make sure those berries didn’t go to waste.

What I’m CRAVING: These Cinnamon Coffee Twists caught my eye this week. They sound fantastic and I don’t know when I’ve seen a prettier cinnamon roll.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these inexpensive little jar openers. Nothing makes me feel older than when I can’t get a jar open these days. Seriously though, what’s the deal with feeling like