Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s a muggy, warm Saturday here and I have a fairly blank day on the calendar. I enjoyed my yoga class this morning, then a church breakfast with friends. After I send this newsletter out, I plan to hit the couch with a book and turn myself into a vegetable for the rest of the day. Fortunately, the fridge is packed with leftovers and there will be no need to cook anything tonight. 

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Craving something quick, flavorful, and just a little spicy? This ground beef and cabbage stir fry comes together in minutes—with crisp vegetables, savory beef, and a subtle heat that keeps you coming back for more.

Frito pie casserole is the large scale, crowd-friendly version of walking tacos; seasoned taco meat with beans topped with melted cheese and crunchy corn chips. If you want to make it a meal in one, top as you would a taco with lettuce, tomatoes, peppers, onions, and cilantro.

This brown sugar salmon recipe uses the air fryer to cook a piece of salmon to seasoned and subtly sweet perfection in mere minutes. And while I stand firm that the air fryer rocks salmon, I understand not everyone has one handy, (or you might need to cook for a larger crowd!) so I’ve included the instructions for cooking it in a standard oven.

Creamy ham pasta with tender sweet peas comes together in less than 30 minutes for this pasta night favorite. Whether you start with leftover ham or grab ham specifically to make this, everyone will love it!

Give your tuna sandwich a high octane upgrade with this spicy tuna salad recipe. A little bit of hot sauce and some jarred jalapeños bring the heat to this anything-but-boring tuna salad. You’re going to look forward to lunch all morning long.

Homemade pie fillings taste infinitely better than store-bought! And to make things as easy as can be, you can make this cherry pie filling recipe with fresh or frozen cherries.

I have a well-established love of ice cream, with over 150 ice cream recipes here on the website, and yet I still make this simple ice cream recipe at least once a month. There’s a reason why we call this the easiest (and best!) ice cream you will ever make or taste.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Rebeca’s crispy bang bang salmon bites are screaming my name. I’m borderline obsessed with salmon bites lately and that recipe and s

7 Min Crispy Air Fryer Salmon Bites w/ Mango Salsa

This easy 7 minute Air Fryer Salmon Bites recipe with Strawberry Mango Avocado Salsa are so crispy and so good! Crispy on the outside, tender inside, our salmon bites are an easy recipe, with healthy salmon tossed in a smoky-sweet spice blend with a vibrant mango, strawberry and avocado salsa!

In under 10 minutes you can be eating this air-fryed to crispy perfection salmon recipe, because we all know hangry happens.

Listen, fish isn’t for everyone, previously myself included, but I’m working so hard to change that and it’s slowly becoming one of my favorite proteins! It’s light and flaky, always tender, and cooks SO fast. I thought I had a few good salmon recipes, but this is the best salmon I have literally ever had.

I love that it’s high in protein and when baked in the air fryer it’s texture is heavenly! One of my new FAVORITE recipes for salmon is our smokey salmon bites with a fresh mango salsa! They are perfectly tender and caramelized bite-sized salmon pieces. So GOOD! I could eat these salmon bites every day!

Two Years of Testing…

I’ve been testing our air fryer salmon recipe for over 2 years now and I’ve discovered the absolute best dry rub recipe that takes this salmon from delicious to down right addicting. In fact, it is the best easy summer dinner recipe ever!! Yes, it is possible to make salmon in the air fryer without drying it out and yes, even our kids, the seafood haters love it!

Fresh Strawberry Mango and Avocado salsa

Our fruit salsa takes a regular salmon rice bowl from good to amazing!

This fruit salsa is the kind of sweet topping even picky eaters love!

No oven, no mess, and totally weeknight-friendly! This is a quick, healthy dinner that doesn’t feel like just getting something on the table.

Ingredients for Salmon Bites

All you need are simple pantry staples to make this dry rub for salmon.

In the next section, you can see all the ingredients you will need for the mango salsa– you will want to hit the produce section for those ingredients. Here is everything you will need:

For the Salmon

• Salmon– Look for skinless salmon filets to save yourself time on skin removal then just cut them into evenly sized, small cubes !
• Brown Sugar– A hint of sweetness, but it also helps to caramelize into a mouthwatering crust on the salmon.
• Spices– Smoked Paprika, Chili Powder, Garlic Powder, O

I have a well-established love of ice cream, with over 150 ice cream recipes here on the website, and yet I still make this simple ice cream recipe at least once a month. There’s a reason why we call this the easiest (and best!) ice cream you will ever make or taste.

Can anyone ever turn down a scoop of rich and creamy homemade ice cream? With just a handful of ingredients, this vanilla ice cream is beyond easy to make and it’s adaptable for whichever add-ins you’re craving.

While ice cream is a staple in our freezer year round, the add-in potentials for this particular ice cream are endless. I’ve filled this ice cream with chunks of brownies, bits of cookie dough, pieces of oatmeal cookies, and swirls of salted caramel sauce.

I try to keep a stash of crumbled cookies, brownies, and other treats in the freezer so that I can toss in a few handfuls whenever I’m churning a batch of ice cream.

I’ve also topped this ice cream with warm chocolate sauce, salted caramel sauce, or my favorite of all, this simple berry sauce. There has yet to be a combination that we didn’t love.

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Homemade Strawberry Shortcake with Biscuits Recipe

Forget those little store-bought fake-cake shortcakes! This is the most delicious strawberry shortcake recipe we’ve ever made! We layer our buttery, flaky homemade biscuits with irresistible sweet strawberries and whipped cream to make homemade strawberry shortcake completely from scratch!

This strawberry shortcake is so simple that you can make it within the hour, and so satisfying that it will easily become your go-to summer dessert.

For me, the moment that marks the beginning of summer is when I bite into my first strawberry of the season. Is it even a lazy summer day if it doesn’t end with juicy berries piled on flaky biscuits and a big dollop of freshly whipped cream?! Homemade strawberry shortcake is the essential dessert for summer!

Gardening with Mom

I grew up obsessed with strawberry shortcake! Not only was it my favorite, it was a reward for hard work. 

Every summer, we’d plant the biggest garden, and by “we,” I mostly mean my mom. I remember Dad tilling the soil, and my 4 siblings and I “helping” for what felt like hours (it was probably 30 minutes). We’d dig through tomato vines and hunt for huge spiders with colorful patterns and potato bugs, then rush back to the house with dirt in our shoes and under our nails.

Fried Chicken, Jojo’s and Strawberry Shortcake

After a hot shower, we’d all pile around the table for fried chicken, JoJos (if you’re from the Pacific Northwest, you know), and to finish the day: strawberry shortcake. Always from those little spongy packages, always stealing the bits stuck to the white cardboard, and always – always – a big scoop of Cool Whip on top.

From Scratch Biscuits for Strawberry Shortcake

These days, unlike the little packaged angel food cakes, we make our shortcakes with from scratch flaky, buttery biscuits as a nod to BurgerVille (a PNW classic).  But the berries? Still done the way Mom taught us: 

How to Make Fresh Strawberries for Strawberry Shortcake

What’s the secret to Mom’s extra sweet berries?

Smash a few, slice the rest, sprinkle on a little sugar, and let them sit! That’s the secret to extra-juicy, syrupy strawberries – and trust me, they are heavenly.

Tips for Perfectly Flaky Biscuits

• Use a food processor or pastry cutter to cut in extra cold butter, jus like you would for a pie crust.  
• Use unsalted butter to control the salt of the biscuit. 
• Don’t over mix as this will lead to a tough bis

Give your regular tuna sandwich a high octane upgrade with this spicy tuna salad recipe. A little bit of hot sauce and some jarred jalapeños bring the heat to this anything-but-boring tuna salad. You’re going to look forward to lunch all morning long!

Spicy Tuna Salad

I have always loved tuna salad, but sometimes I just feel the need to change it up. This zesty tuna can be as hot or as mild as you’d like it, depending on the oomph your jarred jalapeños pack.

Many major brands label their canned peppers as mild, medium, or hot, so choose accordingly! And if you -like we do- love some fire, use “hot” canned peppers, go for it with the hot sauce, and add the optional cayenne pepper.

Whatever you do, don’t skip the crunchy celery and onion! The texture they bring to the party makes this tuna salad hard to stop eating! And the cilantro adds a burst of freshness that really makes you want more.

Spicy Tuna Fish Salad

My first thought after eating a giant serving of the salad plain was that it would make a killer pasta salad and boy was I right! To turn this into a pasta salad, double the dressing and add 8 ounces of bite-size pasta.

Spicy Tuna Salad Recipe

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