Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Sean and I spent the past week on an Alaskan cruise and I’m feeling rested and refreshed as we head home today. (But first, we get to spend time with a precious friend here in Vancouver!)

I’ve gifted myself the last weeks of our summer work-free – and I’m pretty excited about it. I’ll be back with new recipes to share in a couple of weeks. In the meantime, there are thousands of recipes already on the websites – check them out and find something new to try!

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Not a single new thing from me, but my friends have been sharing all kinds of deliciousness. Check these recipes out for inspiration this week!

Holly’s Cherry Tomato Pasta is a terrific example of the way that the simplest ingredients can come together to make the best meals.

Rebecca’s Crockpot Spaghetti Sauce is exactly my speed as we head home from a week of vacation. And it gets bonus points for making the house smell amazing all afternoon.

Nicole’s Vietnamese Spring Rolls need to happen soon. With crisp vegetables, tender grilled pork, and perfectly cooked shrimp, all wrapped up in a rice paper wrapper – I can’t wait to try them.

Courtney’s copycat recipe for Olive Garden’s iconic salad is the perfect combination of crispy lettuce, tomatoes, tangy pepperoncini, black olives, crunchy croutons, tossed in a homemade zesty creamy dressing – it’s a favorite with everyone.

Gina’s Jalapeño Chicken is right up our alley. Bite-sized pieces of chicken are pan-fried until crispy and cooked with spicy slices of jalapeño peppers and finished in a sweet, salty and sticky sauce.

Jennifer’s Slow Cooker Country Style Ribs with Gravy are as easy can be to make and I am willing to bet my boys would love them. 

Donna’s Lemon Butter Chicken Bites is a great 20-minute meal. With a side of pasta or potatoes and some steamed vegetables, you can have dinner on the table fast. 

Shawn’s quick and easy Spicy Air Fryer Salmon is coated in a creamy and spicy mayo sauce then cooked to perfection in about 10 minutes.

Susan’s Read more

Asian Sticky Slow Cooker Ribs [+ Video]

Looking for a delicious and easy rib recipe? Look no further than these Asian sticky slow cooker ribs, complete with a helpful video tutorial. Perfect for a family dinner or entertaining guests.

These Asian-style slow cooker ribs fall off the bone as you eat them. They’re seasoned with a homemade dry rub and a sticky glaze that’s impossible to beat! Make a batch of simple white rice and fresh Asian cucumber salad, and you have a flavor-packed dinner.

The Best Slow Cooker Ribs

We’ve had a slow cooker for a few years now, and yet I really don’t ever use it for slow cooker baby back ribs. I use it for everything else though, like breakfast, meats, soups, vegetables, casseroles, dips, and even dessert, but I haven’t really played around with ribs too much. They always seem a little intimidating as I’ve eaten many a dry rib in my day, and no one wants to be chewing on meat for an hour. 

Cade does his fall off the bone ribs, but that recipe is made in the oven and it’s a little more of a process. Not too much, they are still awesome, but I wanted some good and sticky pork ribs that I didn’t have to think about. I feel like this sticky Asian ribs recipe is one of those recipes I want to shout from the rooftops, it’s honestly that good. The sauce is just killer. I’m so excited to be working with McCormick to share this recipe!

Ribs Recipe in Our First Cookbook

This recipe appears in our first cookbook, Our Sweet Basil Cookbook, and has been a reader favorite for years. If you’d like to have this recipe in cookbook form, you can grab it on Amazon. That cookbook is loaded with so many of our family favorites! You’ll love it!

High Quality Spices

One of the things that I get asked a lot is what ingredients do you buy, which brand is your favorite, and what ingredients do you stick with the most?

Well butter, cheese, and eggs for sure as those basics can totally change a recipe, but spices are another big one. Stop buying the cheapest ingredients at the store. If you want cheap long grain rice, go for it. I’m sure you’ll survive,

Weekly Menu Plan – Aug. 12 to Aug. 18

Anyone else back to school this week? It’s exciting but also hard to get back to a routine. I hope this weekly menu plan will help ease you back into the school grind. So much yummy food!

Monday: Slow Cooker Chicken Carnitas

---

Tuesday: Mexican Chicken Burrito Bowl

---

Wednesday: Best Sloppy Joes [+ Video]

---

Thursday: The Secrets to the BEST Quesadilla

---

Friday: Instant Pot Beef and Broccoli [+Video]

---

Saturday: Grilled Peach Avocado Caprese Salad

---

Sunday: Grilled BBQ Baby Back Ribs Recipe

READ: Weekly Menu Plan – Aug. 12 to Aug. 18

Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas Recipe [+Video]

This pork carnitas recipe is so flavorful and moist and the best part? They are crazy easy to make with only a few ingredients and a slow cooker!

We had a little Mexican Pot luck in my neighborhood the other night. It was tons of fun and so nice to have everyone out together and just enjoy each others’ company. Everyone brought a dish to share and it turned out perfect. I decided to go with carnitas. I looooooove this pork. It is one of the most simple ways to make carnitas, but it is so juicy and flavorful. I love that you just throw it in the crockpot and don’t think about it all day. You may wonder if with so few ingredients it’s really that delicious, but it is.

I made one big fat error this time around. You may not think it’s that big of a deal, but for me it is. At about 12:30 in the afternoon I realized that I had not placed the pork in the crock. DANGIT!!!! I am a huge, huge believer in letting roasts, and all kinds of pork cook for 8 hours in the crock on low. It is soooooooooo much more juicy, tender and flavorful. I promise. This pork still turned out well, but it would have been 1 million times better if I had been more on top of things. SO, when you try this, don’t forget to slooooooow cook it.

Ingredients for Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas

The ingredients for crockpot pork carnitas are simple and pack so much flavor. You will need a few ingredients for a dry rub and then a few items for cooking the pork in the slow cooker. The orange juice and lime juice add the punch of citrus you want in carnitas! This is what you will need:

• Corn Tortillas
  • NOTE: If you want to make carnitas burritos, use our homemade flour tortillas!
• Queso Fresco
• Cilantro

For the Rub

• Seasonings: Dried Oregano, Ground Cumin, Smoked Paprika, Kosher Salt and Pepper
• Garlic
• Oil

For the Pork

• Pork Shoulder/Butt
• Onion
• Garlic
• Jalapeno
• Fresh Black Pepper
• White Vinegar
• Kosher Salt
• Oranges
• Limes

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post so keep scrolling for all the details!

How to Make Pork Carnitas

Now we come to my favorite part of this slow cooker carnitas recipe…the simplicity! Here are the basic steps:

1. Combine: Add all the ingredients for the dry rub together in a small bowl and then rub it all over the outside of the pork. Place it in the slow cooker.
2. Add: Juice the oranges over the pork and leave one of the oranges in the slow cooker. Add the rest of the ingredients to the slow cooker.
3. Cook: Set the slow cooker to low heat and cook for 10-12 hours or until the meat falls apart.
4. Shred: Using two forks, shred the pork and leave it in the juice in the crockpot. Pull out the orange peels.
   • OPTIONAL: If you crave those crispy edges on y

Easy Traeger Smoked Chicken Breast

Looking for a simple and delicious way to cook chicken breast on your Traeger? Look no further! This easy Traeger smoked chicken breast recipe will have your taste buds singing and your dinner guests asking for seconds.

Smoked chicken breast doesn’t get any better or easier than this! We are obsessed with smoking on our Traeger smoker, and with a few tricks these smoked chicken breasts turn out perfectly tender and moist every time.

Looking for more? Try our recipe for how to smoke a whole chicken in the Traeger, smoked chicken thighs, or our smoked chicken wings.

Unlike other chicken breast recipes, these are totally flavorful chicken breasts that never come out dry! We are letting you in on all our smoking tips as well as our smoked chicken dry rub recipe. Don’t miss it!

Traeger Smoker

Ok, have you used a Traeger grill yet? Or seen it be used? They always have Traeger demos going on here at our Costco, so go check it out at your local Costco or wherever you can find Traegers. And the next time you find a deal on a Traeger, get on board the Traeger train with us! These beauties are life-changing!

We’ve already shared our Brazilian Smoked Tri Tip, Smoked Pulled Pork, and Apple Pecan Smoked Turkey, so we were definitely due for a smoked chicken recipe!

Let’s skip all the small talk and get right to the details of smoking the best chicken breasts of your life!

Smoked Chicken Rub

This dish starts with our smoked chicken rub recipe that adds loads of smoky flavor to these boneless skinless chicken breasts. There is a little sweet, a little salt, a little heat, and every flavor you are looking for in the perfect Traeger smoked chicken breast. Here are the rub ingredients you’ll need:

• Brown Sugar
• Turbinado Sugar (if you can’t find turbinado sugar, just use more brown sugar)
• Celery Seed
• Paprika
• Kosher Salt
• Black Pepper
• Cayenne Pepper
• Garlic Powder
• Onion Powder

Pat dry the chicken breasts with paper towels and then smother the top of them w