Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Our weekend is a wee bit less exciting than the last, as we’re tackling all of the errands and household tasks that we ignored for the past week as we were enjoying time with visiting family. 

I’ll also be indoors more than out, as the humidity here has reached the ugly zone. All the rain sure does turn everything pretty and green, but it also leaves a whole lot of moisture in the air, doesn’t it?

ON THE BLOGS this week: Zesty and smoky flavors come together in this chili lime shrimp recipe. With little more than a simple marinade of fresh lime juice, chili powder, and plenty of garlic, every bite will leave you craving just one more.

Warm tortillas are filled with fluffy scrambled eggs, roasted potatoes, crispy bacon, and melting cheese to create these mouthwatering bacon and egg tacos. They are great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner any day of the week.

Crisp, earthy spinach leaves blend with ripe, frozen bananas and orange juice to create a Banana Spinach Smoothie that is out of this world.

Sweet corn, crisp peppers and onions, rich cream cheese, and spicy jalapenos are combined in this creamy Fiesta Corn Dip for a snack worthy of any occasion.

This tender and moist zucchini meatloaf with an irresistible balsamic glaze has been on our dinner table three times in the past couple of months. I’ve served it with vegetable rice pilaf and with mashed potatoes. It also makes a terrific meatloaf sandwich if you’re lucky enough to have leftovers.

Sweet corn, creamy potatoes, and crispy bacon are tossed with a smoky, tangy, street corn-inspired dressing to create the bacon potato salad of your dreams.

Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies filled with the perfect amount of raisins are a classic that will never stop being made in my house. These have been Sean’s favorite cookies for as long as I can remember.

Rich and buttery homemade salted caramel is transformed to frosty perfection in this irresistible Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Slightly chewy and sweetly tart, these Rhubarb Oatmeal Bars combine a crunchy oat topping with flavorful rhuba

Rich and buttery homemade salted caramel is transformed to frosty perfection in this irresistible Salted Caramel Ice Cream.

Caramel Ice Cream

Inspired by our love of warm caramel sauce and homemade ice cream, this is a wonderfully decadent ice cream. It’s been in our dessert rotation now for years.

The first time I made caramel ice cream was on a weekend my husband was out of town. I tasted it and then forced myself to hand the whole batch to a friend, because I knew I couldn’t be trusted with it on my own. (Yes, I have ice cream issues.)

I made this ice cream again a week later for my family, and it was a huge hit. Salted caramel is a beautiful thing. Just a tiny bit of salt enhances the flavors in the caramel beautifully.

If you haven’t yet tried it, get to the stove and stir some together just as soon as possible. With a sprinkling of salt stirred into some warm caramel, one taste and you’ll understand its popularity.

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Zesty and smoky flavors come together in this chili lime shrimp recipe. With little more than a simple marinade of fresh lime juice, chili powder, and plenty of garlic, every bite will leave you craving just one more.

And because shrimp requires only a few minutes time to marinate, this recipe adds up to a terrific last-minute dinner option.

Chili Garlic Shrimp

My family tends to crowd the stove while this is cooking and we’ve been known to burn our fingers with impatience to eat the shrimp out of the hot pan.

My youngest two boys will eat an entire pound of this shrimp between them, given the opportunity, and they’ve both chosen this as one of their favorite recipes.

Served in tacos, over rice, or tossed into this creamy chipotle pasta, this shrimp is a hit however you make or serve it.

Chili Lime Shrimp

The shrimp can be cooked in a skillet or on the grill, with just enough sugar sprinkled over it to caramelize the outside of each shrimp as it finishes cooking. It is finger-licking good straight out of the pan.

This recipe is very lightly adapted from the chili garlic shrimp recipe in my first cookbook and we’ve been making it for years now. However, I really enjoy the additional flavor that a bit of lime juice contributes to this recipe.

Chili Shrimp

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• shrimp
• olive oil
• garlic
• sugar

Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies filled with the perfect amount of raisins are a classic that will never stop being made in my house. These have been Sean’s favorite cookies for as long as I can remember.

Soft and Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I’ve been making this recipe since we were newlyweds (has it really been over 25 years?!) and the recipe is timeless for a good reason. These really are the best oatmeal raisin cookies.

(And I take no credit for that. The recipe below is very lightly adapted from the ancient recipe on the side of the Quaker oatmeal packaging.)

With simple pantry ingredients, a bit of butter, a couple of eggs, and a generous handful of raisins, these cookies come together in very little time at all.

The dough freezes well, as do the cookies, so I frequently double or triple the recipe to have it on hand all the time.

What’s not to love about having cookie dough stashed in the freezer?

Frozen Cookie Dough

I was sick over the holidays a few years ago and I was craving oatmeal cookies, but I didn’t have any in the freezer. Side note: This cookie dough freezes beautifully, so I highly recommend stashing some away for future baking.

Sean made a batch of these cookies for me that Christmas and they turned out perfectly. Baking is not his thing at all, so having an easy and reliable recipe helps!

In addition to keeping cookie dough in the freezer, I recommend tucking a few of the cookies in the freezer too. I love having them for snacking on with my morning coffee.

Kitchen Tip: I use this bowl, this Read more

Crisp, earthy spinach leaves blend with ripe, frozen bananas and orange juice to create a Banana Spinach Smoothie that is out of this world.

Banana Spinach Smoothie

Long ago, my boys wanted a smoothie or breakfast, but we were due for a trip to the produce store. I decided to try making our Favorite Green Smoothie and just skip the grapes.

Necessity is the mother of invention, so I tweaked the recipe a bit and I’m happy with the spinach banana smoothie that resulted. All three of the boys enjoyed this and I barely managed to get a sip for myself.

Simple Spinach Smoothie

You’ll need the following ingredients to make this recipe:

• frozen bananas
• baby spinach
• orange juice

Add the bananas, spinach, and orange juice to a blender. Then, puree until smooth. Pour into g