This Asparagus Skillet is a delightful combination of sweet potatoes, fresh corn, asparagus, and bacon with a drizzle of balsamic.

Asparagus Skillet

This was something unexpected that I pulled together for a dinner side dish a few years ago, using odds and ends from the refrigerator. It was one of those nights where I stood there staring just waiting for inspiration. As if I expected a meal to magically appear.

So I started pulling out things that just need to be used up, a random ear of corn, a few strips of bacon (what were those doing left alone, that NEVER happens) a bundle of asparagus that was looking just a tad sad along with some sweet potatoes on the verge of sprouting.

What resulted was a skillet full of magic. I know that sounds like I am exaggerating but I promise you I am not. This dish is so good it qualifies as a company coming over meal.

Slightly browned sweet potatoes, salty bacon pieces, fresh corn cooked just until warm, and asparagus that is tender and still just a little bit crisp are all tossed together with just a drizzle of balsamic to make this Asparagus, Bacon, Corn, and Sweet Potato Skillet.

I enjoyed the sweet and salty mix of the potatoes and the bacon combined with the crunch of the fresh vegetables. This is a great mix of textures and flavors. My kids liked this so much, that my oldest asked for seconds. Seconds of a vegetable side dish?

While I intended for this to be a side dish because I served it with some grilled chicken that night. This dish has a spot in our regular lineup. And I have been known to double and triple the recipe and call it the entire meal.

Kitchen Tip: I use this skillet, this bowl, and this spatula to make this recipe.

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Sweet and Salty Chocolate Caramel Banana Trail Mix

A little bit of sweet, a little bit of salty and the yummy banana chips you remember from your childhood! This trail mix recipe is perfect for hiking, the holidays or game day!

I was chatting with friend the other day about school lunches, aka the worst part about back-to-school ever and she mentioned that she was so tired of the snack rut. I totally am the same but one little thing has been helping me the past two years- snack mixes and trail mix!

All you do is throw together snacks that hit a few notes like sweet and salty, crunchy and soft and bam, you’ve got a brand new snack for lunch or after school! Sometimes I even mix together cereals and dried fruits, the kids love it!

Ingredients for Banana Trail Mix

One of the best things about a trail mix is that it can totally be flexible to what you have and what you love. This is our favorite combination but feel free to customize it to your liking.

• Dark Chocolate Chips – creamy and chewy
• Pretzels – salty and crunchy
• Caramel Bits – sweet and chewy
• Salted Almonds – salty and crunchy
• Banana Chips – sweet and crunchy

The measurements for each ingredients is listed in the recipe card below.

How to Make Banana Trail Mix

It almost seems silly to even have a section to explain this, but you would be surprised! Dump all the ingredients from the bags into a large bowl and toss together. Now that’s a recipe that anyone can handle!

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Chicken Enchilada Dip is a creamy, cheesy, spicy chicken-filled enchilada dip, a hit with everyone who tries it.

Chicken Enchilada Dip

If I can turn a dish into something eaten on a tortilla chip I am totally in! Chips and dips get to the core of this savory girl every time. Not to mention, whenever you can turn a snack into a meal, everyone is ready to dive in.

Dippable and snackable is how my family would describe chicken enchilada dip. With all the flavors of my homemade enchiladas without the filling and rolling mess, anyone can make this enchilada dip.

Enchiladas find their way to our table quite regularly we eat them with a fork, scooped up on tortilla chips or rolled and stuffed into burritos. I make them with beef, or chicken, or vegetables. We’ve even been known to eat enchiladas for breakfast.

This dip makes traditional enchiladas even easier to scoop up on tortilla chips; the kids and my husband were raving about this appetizer for a couple of days. Hearty enough for a main dish, this was an enormous success for our family movie night.

Start by sauteeing your onions, bell pepper, and seasonings in a skillet. While your onions are cooking cut up the tortillas into small pieces so that you can add them to the onion mixture.

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Hot Buttered Rum Cookies are the happy result of what can I do with the extra buttered rum batter I don’t want to freeze?

Butter and brown sugar are the base of pretty much all of my favorite cookies. So with some leftover buttered rum batter hiding in my refrigerator I couldn’t let it go to waste.

Mixing in some egg, a little flour, and baking soda I had a rich delicious, soft, gingersnap-like cookie on my hands that disappeared almost before they could cool on the pan.

Hot Buttered Rum Cookies

The cinnamon, nutmeg, clove, and cardamom are such a fragrant and flavorful combination combined with butter and brown sugar. These cookies tasted so much like my favorite holiday drink that I would have sworn there was rum in them. But not a drop was used.

After the first batch, I thought maybe I had a happy accident on my hands. It happens. So I mixed up another batch of Hot Buttered Rum batter and made the cookies again.

It was not an accident. Delicious rich, toffee, and spice flavors in a crispy yet chewy cookie. This time I snapped some photos before they disappeared.

One of my favorite things about this recipe is you can make a small batch quick and easily. You are pulling warm tasty cookies out of your oven in no time at all.

If you prefer a Gluten-Free cookie I did test that for you and simply substituted the all-purpose flour for a combination of brown rice and almond flour. It works great.

Hot Buttered Rum Cookie Ingredients

• hot buttered rum mix
• egg yolk
• vanilla or rum extract
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• kosher salt

Rich, creamy, buttery, and loaded with spices, Non-Alcoholic Hot Buttered “Rum” is an unforgettable drink perfect for any cold weather occasion.

Hot Buttered Rum

This non-alcoholic hot buttered spice drink is Hot Buttered Rum’s tamer sister; although truth be told, this version is pretty awesome with a splash of rum added as well.

The first time I made this non-alcoholic version of our Hot Buttered Rum, my kids went crazy over their warm spiced drinks. They’ve declared this treat “better than hot tea, and hot cocoa, and probably better than coffee” (not that they would really know about that one).

I love watching my kids “think” they are grown up. So whenever I can make them an appropriate version of something the adults are enjoying I do it. They instantly become little adults in how they hold their cups and sip carefully. It makes them feel so special and included.

Hot Buttered “Rum” is one of my favorite hot drinks to make. Once you’ve stirred the buttered spice mixture together, you can keep the mix in the refrigerator and stir a cup together anytime you like.

Want a fun tip? The buttery, sugar, and spice mixture is awesome in coffee and hot tea as well as with hot water. I can’t wait to try it in hot apple cider.

I especially love the lightened-up version with Monk Fruit In The Raw. With half the sugar, it has all the flavor and sweetness of the original.

Whatever the occasion, this is a terrific recipe to have up your sleeve whether it’s for guests at a dinner party or a casual night at home.

Hot Buttered Rum Ingredients

• butter
• light brown sugar
• cinnamon
• nutmeg
• ground cardamom
• ground cloves 
• boiling water
• Optional: half and half or heavy cream 

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