Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I hope that wherever you are the weather has been as glorious as our weather here in Ohio this week. We’ve had warm rain and plenty of sunshine and the world around us is brilliantly green and flowering. I’m soaking up every possible moment outdoors right now.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Garlicky and mildly spicy, mushroom spinach pasta is a study in flavorful simplicity. Perfect al dente pasta is tossed in a light pan sauce of white wine or chicken stock, onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.

Tender, succulent Dutch oven roast pork is a comforting, homey, simple method to prepare an economical cut of pork. Whether you serve this with cheesy mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, or on buttery, fluffy dinner rolls, you’re going to love this meaty main dish.

Fresh lemon, garlic, and black pepper combine to make lemon pepper asparagus simple and simply irresistible. Make this just once and you’ll build meals around it throughout asparagus season.

Inspired by the Korean beef with rice that my family loves so much, these Korean beef noodles were a huge win from the very first bite. Loaded with umami, this one-pot dish is a guaranteed, family-friendly hit!

Bright and colorful, this flavorful Asian cabbage salad is full of freshness and crunch. You’re going to turn to this again and again during grilling season.

Chewy kitchen sink cookies are a fun surprise every time we make them. My cookies are typically made with whichever sweet or salty bits and pieces are left in the pantry from other baking adventures. They might be studded with chocolate and butterscotch chips, chopped candy bars, pretzels, nuts, potato chips, and more.

Inspired by the above cookies, this week’s ice cream is jam packed with toffee bits, cookie pieces, coconut, peanut butter cups, pecans, and more, creamy vanilla kitchen sink ice cream is bursting at the seams with deliciousness.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Jenn’s Apple Cider Donut Cake is making my mouth water! Doesn’t it sound amazing?

My FAVORITE THING this week is my air fryer. I’ve been using it more than ever

Jam packed with cookie pieces, toffee bits, coconut, peanut butter cups, pecans, and more, this creamy vanilla kitchen sink ice cream is bursting at the seams with deliciousness.

Kitchen Sink Ice Cream

The other day, while making a batch of Kitchen Sink cookies, my friend Lynne asked if I’d tried making a Kitchen Sink Ice Cream. Challenge accepted, my friend, and THANK YOU for the suggestion!

This is fully loaded, couldn’t cram more in there, exploding with awesomeness, creamy vanilla ice cream as filled as can be with cookie pieces, toffee bits, toasted coconut, peanut butter cups, pecans, and whatever else you might possibly want to add.

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

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Inspired by the Korean beef with rice that my family loves so much, these Korean beef noodles were a huge win from the very first bite. Loaded with umami, this one-pot dish is a guaranteed, family friendly hit!

Korean Beef Noodles

We love this Korean beef so much that it makes regular appearances on our dinner menu. We typically serve it over rice, but last time I made it I was craving some old-school ramen noodles. I combined the two and this was the happy result. The whole family gave it two thumbs up!

And while I used ramen noodles, glass noodles and rice noodles work just as well in this dish. Use whichever of those three you have on hand or like best!

Korean Beef Noodles Recipe

To whip up this fabulously fast meal-in-one dish, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• ramen noodles
• sesame oil
• ground beef
• fresh garlic
• fresh ginger
• brown sugar
• cornstarch
• soy sauce
• chili paste
• kosher salt
• frozen peas
• green onions

As mentioned above, you can swap in rice noodles or glass noodles for the ramen. In a pinch, you could even use spaghetti noodles! It’s a very forgiving recipe.

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Strawberry Cucumber Salad with Honey Balsamic Dressing

Bright, juicy strawberries meet crisp cucumber slices in this refreshing summer salad, tossed with fresh mint and a tangy-sweet honey balsamic dressing for a vibrant, mouthwatering bite this strawberry cucumber salad is as beautiful as it is delicious.

Our quick and easy salad using 5 simple ingredients will be the star of any summer bbq or dinner. We use fresh strawberries, cucumbers, and an easy honey balsamic dressing and some fresh mint is the perfect light summer strawberry salad.

I don’t know about you, but the unstructured and unscheduled summer days absolutely destroy my dinner routine so recipes that are quick and easy are musts! This simple salad recipe comes together in just a few minutes and makes the perfect side dish for any meal. I’m going to include a section below with some of our favorite main dishes to eat with this salad. Keep scrolling for some ideas!

What You Need to Make Strawberry Cucumber Salad?

You won’t find an easier salad than this one! The homemade dressing has only 2 ingredients and just 3 ingredients are needed for the salad. Here is everything you will need:

• Balsamic Vinegar: Adds acidity.
• Honey: Adds natural sweetness.
• Strawberries: Wash and hull the stems.
• English Cucumber: These have thin skins and almost no seeds so no need to peel or remove the seeds. Persian cucumbers would also be a great option.
• Mint: Adds freshness.

The measurements for each ingredient can be found at the end of this post in the recipe card.

How to Make Cucumber Strawberry Salad

This salad can be tossed together while the chicken is on the grill! You could even prep and chop the cucumber and strawberries ahead of time to make this even faster. Here are the quick and easy steps:

1. Make the Dressing: Combine the balsamic vinegar and honey and whisk together in a small bowl.
   • OPTION: You can also add both ingredients to a mason jar and then shake to combine. Then extra dressing can be stored in the jar in the fridge.
2. Assemble the Salad: Add the strawberries, cucumbers and julienned mint leaves to a large bowl and drizzle the dressing over the top. Toss to combine.

The dressing perfectly glazes the fruit with a balance of sweet and tangy goodness. Keep scrolling to the end of the post for the complete recipe card.

How to Keep Cucumbers Crunchy in a Salad

My best suggestion for keeping cucumbers crunchy is to eat them quickly. The longer cucumbers sit, the more they will lose their texture. Cucumbers contain a lot of water. If you know you aren’t going to be eating the cucumbers fo

Bright and colorful, this flavorful Asian cabbage salad is full of freshness and crunch. You’re going to turn to this again and again during grilling season.

Asian Cabbage Salad

Different from the ever popular ramen cabbage salad that has crumbled ramen noodles in it, this is a fun variation on the classic. This multi-colored riff has no ramen, but still packs plenty of texture and fun.

Asian Coleslaw

This recipe makes use of classic Asian flavors to create a slaw that is terrific with a multitude of options.

I use this salad much as I would a standard coleslaw addition to almost any meal. It is an excellent accompaniment to grilled chicken, fish, pork, and beef.

But don’t stop there! It’s great with sub sandwiches or fried chicken or fish, too!

Cabbage Salad Recipe

To make this summer staple salad, you’ll need the following ingredients:

• Napa or green cabbage
• purple cabbage
• carrots
• green onions
• sliced almonds
• sesame seeds
• Sweet Sesame Dressing

The versatile sweet sesame dressing used is the same one that goes into our Asian Salmon Salad. You can even use some of it to marinate fish or chicken to grill to go with this salad!

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