Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m very much looking forward to a lazy weekend spent mostly at home – this one will be filled with bonus teenagers and an abundance of food too. I love it when everyone is home at the same time these days. 

And seeing how I am as weather-obsessed as ever, I’ll be headed out for a few walks and enjoying the fresh, chilly air as much as possible.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: This is, without doubt, bar none, the best tomato soup I have ever tasted. If you have someone in your family who doesn’t like tomato soup, this three-ingredient crockpot recipe is the one you can use to convince them otherwise. It has made diehard fans of me and my boys.

I’ve been holding out on you, my friends. I first made this ramen egg roll in a bowl over a month ago and I’ve made it four more times since then. It was an immediate family favorite from the very first bite, and right now, I can’t get enough of it.

Sweet and just a little bit spicy, this bell pepper and chicken stir fry is filled with bite-size sticky sweet chunks of honey sriracha chicken and tender-crisp peppers. The whole recipe comes together in under 20 minutes.

Crispy roasted Brussels sprouts with pecans and bacon is a holiday-sounding side dish you can eat any day of the week.

Do you know how easy it is to make taco soup? (You only need 7 ingredients!) This is a hearty chili-style soup made with beef, tomatoes, beans, and corn. It’s full of Mexican flavors and is the perfect thing to make for busy nights.

Have you heard of mac and cheese ice cream? As the creamy, sweet ice cream melts in your mouth, the flavor softens and leaves you with just a hint of savory flavor. Is it for everyone? Nope. But it has been a huge win with a surprising number of people!

With a sweet, buttery, crispy, cake-like topping and a filling of sweet, warm berries, this blueberry cobbler is dessert perfection with a scoop of ice cream on top.

What I’m CRAVING: These Chocolate Mint Dream Bars are dessert perfection, and my family has loved them ever since my friend Lynne first made them for us. My youngest son made them last night and they’re chilling in the fridge now, ready for dinner tonight. I can hardly wait.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this dish brush. I’d apologize for ho

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a gorgeous week for walking outdoors here in Ohio, despite a couple of tornado warnings – those were a first for this desert girl! I’m grateful that we didn’t have any property damage near our home and we’re praying for all of the families in Logan County who suffered so much loss. 

My mom has been visiting this week and we’ve enjoyed the time with her. She’s headed home today, and just in time to keep our house from feeling too empty, my brother and his fiance arrived last night to spend next week with us. (Have I mentioned how much I love having friends and family visit??)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Do you like Reuben sandwiches? If so, you might go a little bit crazy over these corned beef sliders – my family sure did!

Corned beef dip is a creamy, cheesy, slightly tangy dip generously filled with chunks of corned beef along with a bit of sauerkraut and caraway to give it that unmistakable Reuben sandwich flavor.

Hearty meatballs, sweet pineapple, and colorful bell peppers are tossed with your favorite barbecue sauce and simmered in the slow cooker to make these sweet and sour meatballs that the whole family craves.

Gently sauteed in maple syrup and butter these maple glazed carrots are a side dish that disappears fast every time I make it.

Crispy cauliflower, toasted bread crumbs, and nutty, savory parmesan are wonderful together in this scrumptious side. This roasted garlic parmesan cauliflower is snackable right off the pan.

Bursting with the sweet tang of blueberries in every bite, blueberry compote is one of my favorite ways to top a serving of crepes, a no-bake cheesecake, or a bowl of ice cream.

Rum raisin ice cream is full of rum-soaked raisins mixed in custardy vanilla ice cream with a hint of rum. This recipe is a little bit old school and a whole lot of creamy delicious.

What I’m CRAVING: These California roll sushi bowls look so good! They’ve been stuck in my head for a couple of days now. 

My FAVORITE THING this week is this water bottle. Here’s the deal. We own a lot of water bottles. If there’s an addiction to trying new water bottles, I may have it. However, I’m obsessed with this water bottle. I’ve been trying to up my water drinking game and thi

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

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Are you as excited as I am about the sunshine in the forecast this week? I’ve been trying to spend an hour outside every day and the weather has finally warmed up enough to make that a far more comfortable time.

And speaking of time outdoors, if you happen to be a local friend and want to go for a walk one of these days, I’m game. I love having company on my walks.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Crispy potatoes, gooey cheese, and spicy green chile nestle together in warm tortillas to make these easy Potato Green Chile Tacos.

Light and fluffy, absolutely perfect pancakes are a recipe that everyone needs to have in their pocket. I’ve been making this pancake recipe for as long as I can remember and every single person who has tried these pancakes has loved them.

And speaking of pancakes, when I first heard that you could use a package of muffin mix to make pancakes, I simply had to try it. It turns out that muffin mix pancakes are the easiest pancakes ever and they’re a fun breakfast twist.

Rich sausage, hearty potatoes, and tender, earthy green beans come together in this incredibly flavorful one-pot meal. It turns out that cooking sausage and potatoes in the crockpot is one heck of an awesome dinner plan!

Sheet pan dinners are a staple on our meal plans and this chicken thigh sheet pan dinner can be made with any vegetable and/or potato combination that you have on hand.

Cinnamon Crinkle Cookies are perfectly crisp on top and irresistibly soft inside, these cookies are a fabulous blend of warm cinnamon and sweet sugar.

Loaded with Biscoff cookies and positively bursting with rich, nostalgic flavor, each scoop of this Cookie Butter Ice Cream is an ice cream lover’s delight.

What I’m CRAVING: Zuppa Toscana with plenty of garlic bread on the side. I’d completely forgotten about that recipe until a couple of days ago and it’s on our meal plan now. It’s so good!

What I’m LISTENING to: Noah Kahan. My cousin introduced me to this artist earlier this week and I’ve been listening ever since. His folk-rock style of music is influenced by early Mumford & Sons and I am loving it all so far.

I like his music so much tha

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! After a week of gorgeous sunshine-filled weather in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, we woke up this morning in a fresh winter wonderland. Ohio never fails to surprise me. As I write this, I’m watching the snow as it continues to fall outside. I’ll be headed to the gym in a couple of hours, but right now, I’m grateful for a slow start to the day and the time to enjoy my hot coffee.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: The sizzle of perfectly seasoned vegetables is snugly under wraps with oodles of gooey cheese in this golden, crispy Fajita Quesadilla.

Tart lime juice and peppery cilantro infuse the long, fluffy grains of rice with fabulous flavor in this simple Oven Baked Rice.

Fragrant and filling, when Hamburger Cabbage Soup is simmering on the stove, anyone wandering through the kitchen is going to grin.

The crisp crunch of cabbage is elevated with a tangy dressing in this Spicy Pickled Cabbage. With just the right amount of heat, each bite will have you coming back for more.

Smoothie Ice Cream is what happens when strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are blended into a frozen concoction so thick you can eat it with a spoon.

Skip the traditional fried donuts and make these Apple Cider Muffins at home. With a sugary coating reminiscent of their namesake, these muffins offer a delightful twist on a beloved classic.

Tender apples topped with buttery brown sugar streusel work together perfectly when making an Apple Crisp without Oats. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the entire family was scraping their bowls clean and asking if there was any more of the crisp.

What I’m CRAVING: I’m going to make a big pot of this Baked Potato Soup today and serve it with a loaf of my friend Lynne’s Italian bread. (If you haven’t yet tried this bread, put it on your list to make soon, my friends. It’s perfection!)

My FAVORITE THING this week is this sea salt body cream. I’ve been using it for over a year and I still love it. It’s thick, creamy, and doesn’t leave your skin greasy at all. I love the mild scent and how incredibly moisturizing it is. I first tried this lotion as a sample and love