Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m reveling in a momentary break from the crazy humidity here in central Ohio this weekend. The cool mornings for the past couple of days have been an absolute gift. My youngest and I pulled together his school supplies this morning, and it’s a little hard to believe how soon school will be starting. Fall is definitely on the way, and I’m pretty excited about it.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  If you enjoy making your own salad dressings (and you already know that I do!), this honey dijon vinaigrette is a great one to keep on hand. It’s made with simple ingredients from the pantry and fridge, it’s quick to make, full of terrific flavor, and works with just about anything—from simple side salads to grilled chicken or roasted vegetables.

Tender, garlicky shrimp, creamy avocado, crisp vegetables, and a tangy-sweet dressing combine in this irresistible shrimp and avocado salad. Every bite makes me grin when I’m eating this salad.

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.

Rich, savory, and hearty, air fryer kielbasa is a tasty addition to many different recipes. There are a whole lot of adjectives I could use to describe kielbasa, but flavorful is the best one of all.

Sweet dried cranberries, salty bacon, sharp red onion, crunchy pecans, and creamy cheese come together in an awesomely flavorful and texture-filled way to make this broccoli salad.

Heath bar cookies start with a chocolate chip cookie dough base, but in addition to those melting semi-sweet morsels, these rich buttery cookies contain the toffee-tastic magic of Heath bars.

Creamy and sweet, this grape ice cream is an unexpected delight on a hot summer afternoon. If you enjoyed grape popsicles as a kid, this ice cream is a nostalgic flavor bomb.

What I’m CRAVING: These Asian BBQ chicken wings caught my eye a couple of days ago, and now I need to make them. I’m also craving the spectacular Asian Salmon Salad I shared a few months ago. I have the salmon marinating now and I’m looking forward to making the salad for dinner tomorrow night. Can’t wait!

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these reusable pla

Greek Chicken Recipe (30-Minute)

Our 30-minute one-pan Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice dinner is packed with so much flavor you’ll be shocked by how easy it is! This healthy Mediterranean recipe uses lemon rice, chicken, spinach, grape tomatoes, feta cheese, and classic Greek spices. It’s an easy, one-skillet chicken and rice recipe that is healthy, gluten-free, high-protein, a great source of fiber, and can be easily made dairy-free.

My family said that this One Pan Greek Chicken and Lemon Rice is the best chicken and rice recipe they’ve ever had, and we hope you love it too!

Ingredients for Greek Chicken and Rice

Here’s what you’ll need to make this flavorful Greek Chicken and Rice dish. Most of these ingredients are pantry or fridge staples, making it easy to pull together any night of the week.

Greek Chicken Thighs

• Chicken Thighs: Juicy, flavorful dark meat that stays tender and moist during cooking.
• Dried Oregano: A staple Mediterranean herb with earthy, slightly peppery notes.
• Dried Thyme: Adds a warm, woodsy flavor that complements the other herbs.
• Paprika: Brings a subtle smokiness and beautiful color to the dish.
• Garlic Powder: A quick way to add mellow, savory garlic flavor throughout.
• Kosher Salt: Enhances the natural flavors of the chicken and rice.
• Red Pepper Flakes: Adds a subtle kick of heat to balance the lemon and herbs.

Greek Lemon Rice

• Olive Oil: Used to sauté and add richness to the rice and toppings.
• Grape Tomatoes: Sweet, juicy bursts of flavor that roast beautifully.
• Garlic: Freshly min

Creamy and sweet, this grape ice cream is an unexpected delight on a hot summer afternoon. If you enjoyed grape popsicles as a kid, this ice cream is a nostalgic flavor bomb.

I mentioned a few weeks ago, when I shared the Nerds Ice Cream with you, that I was working on a recipe for grape ice cream. And thanks to a suggestion from an awesome reader, (Hi, Tim!) I have a terrific new ice cream to share with you at last.

After attempting to make a grape-flavored ice cream using grape juice, soda, and even snow cone syrup, and not loving those ice cream attempts much at all, I made this batch of ice cream with a simple packet of grape Koolaid. And what a difference it made!

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!

Grape Ice Cream

This ice cream tastes like grape candy turned into ice cream, and I’m thrilled to tell you that even this non-grape-flavor-loving girl enjoyed it. And the grape candy lovers in my life? Oh man, this ice cream was an enormous hit.

I’d started doubting we’d ever find an ice cream in this flavor that we would like enough to share with you, but this one? It’s a huge success. If you enjoy grape-flavored treats, you’re likely to flip for this ice cream.

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Tender, garlicky shrimp, creamy avocado, crisp vegetables, and a tangy-sweet dressing combine in this irresistible shrimp and avocado salad. Every bite makes me grin when I’m eating this salad.

Shrimp and Avocado Salad

It takes just a few minutes to cook the shrimp, and the rest of the time required here is spent just prepping the vegetables. You can make this one ahead of time, too, if you want to make it even easier at dinner time. Just add the avocado and toss with the dressing right before serving.

The salad base is made with crunchy lettuce, spring mix, cucumbers, tomatoes, bell peppers, carrots, and fresh parsley. If you haven’t yet tried a salad with an abundance of fresh parsley in it, you’re missing out.

Parsley brightens savory flavors similarly to the way lemon brightens the flavors in countless sweet and savory dishes. The vegetables in this salad are tossed in that honey dijon vinaigrette I shared earlier this week. It pulls all the flavors together perfectly.

Avocado Shrimp Salad

The shrimp are cooked in a bit of butter with garlic and then drizzled with a little lemon juice, leaving them super juicy and full of flavor. Pairing that shrimp with creamy avocado, crunchy crisp vegetables, and a simple vinaigrette adds up to a salad that’s anything but boring.

Whether you’re making this for yourself or serving it to friends, it’s a salad that looks great and tastes even better. It’s one of those meals that leaves you feeling satisfied and full without being too heavy.

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If you enjoy making your own salad dressings (and you already know that I do!), this honey dijon vinaigrette is a great one to keep on hand. It’s made with simple ingredients from the pantry and fridge, it’s quick to make, full of terrific flavor, and works with just about anything—from simple side salads to grilled chicken or roasted vegetables.

Honey Dijon Vinaigrette

All you need are a few basic ingredients: olive oil, vinegar, honey, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Everything gets added to a jar and shaken until it comes together. That really is it. There’s no whisking, no blender, and no mess.

The flavor is tangy from the vinegar, a little sweet from the honey, and just bold enough thanks to the mustard. You can adjust the honey if you want it to be a bit sweeter or use a little more Dijon for a stronger kick. I usually use white balsamic vinegar because it’s smooth and a little sweet, but apple cider vinegar works great too.

You already know that a homemade honey mustard vinaigrette is going to taste so much better than anything you can grab off the shelf at the store. However, I honestly can’t think of a single homemade salad dressing for which that isn’t the truth.

You’re certain to find several homemade dressings in my fridge at any given time. From classic ranch dressing (with almost 2,000 comments and 5-star reviews!) to this smoky, slightly spicy blackened ranch, dill pickle ranch dressing, or this spicy green chile ranch (just like Dion’s – for those of us who live too far away to keep it on hand) there isn’t a ranch dressing or dip that my family doesn’t love.

Whatever you’re craving, th