Chocolate and toasted coconut stuffed inside chewy blondies, could any dessert possibly make me happier? For the moment, not a chance. These coconut cookie bars just plain make me happy.

Coconut Blondies

Oh, how I love blondie cookie bars. From classic chocolate chip blondies to fully loaded cookie bars with coconut and pecans, or a dark chocolate and cashew combination, there are endless ways to make a pan of blondies extra special.

Unless you are a coconut hater (completely inconceivable to me!), you are likely to adore these coconut blondies.

I typically cut these bars small, basically just so that I can keep going back into the kitchen for repeated tastings. Plus, they are pretty rich, so smaller servings work well with this recipe.

Blondies with Chocolate Chips

If you love bakery-style chocolate chip cookies with crisp edges and perfectly chewy centers (and you’re anything like me with less time on your hands with every passing day), these blondies with chocolate chips are likely to be made more often than those cookies we all love so much.

Blondies give you the crisp edges (especially the awesome edges pieces!) and the chewy centers of chocolate chip cookies, and they do it in less time with far less effort. No rolling or scooping is required, just stir the dough

Moist, sweet, and lightly spiced, this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the food of which sweet tooth dreams are made. 

Pioneer Woman Carrot Cake

For the longest time, years actually, I was on a hunt for the best carrot cake recipe. Carrot cake is one of Sean’s favorite cakes and I tried several cakes that were good, but they just didn’t measure up to our expectations. We both have a hard time resisting carrot cake anytime it is served, so the idea of making the perfect carrot cake at home was irresistible.

Then I found Ree Drummond’s carrot cake recipe and let me tell you, this baby measures up. I haven’t tried another recipe since I made this one for the first time over ten years ago. I make it at least once a year, sometimes more often than that.

This carrot cake is moist and sweet and incredibly flavorful. Classic carrot cake often includes pecans in the frosting, so I’ve listed them below as optional. (I rarely include nuts in my cakes and frostings, so I often skip them when making a cake just for my family to enjoy.)

Simple Carrot Cake

It shouldn’t come as news to any of you that I am not a cake decorator. Not even a little bit. My sister and I baked this cake one time when I was visiting her and while the word “rustic” covers a multitude of mistakes, it might be pushing it here.

When you’re spending time with your sister, laughing at your mistakes is way more fun than attempting to fix them.

As long as a cake is covered in frosting, I’m happy.

I’ve tried to force myself to care what a final cake looks like, but even for a pretty blog post, I’m just not that girl. (You can thank my sister Jenny for the fact that she added flowers to the cake the first time I photographed this cake and managed to make it presentable.)

My favorite cakes are almost always baked in sheet pans or flipped out of a bundt pan. Jenny and I doubled the recipe and made two generously sized cakes–a layered round cake and a bundt cake–to serve a ton of people.

The recipe as written below makes a cake that’s larg

Crisp warm tortillas filled with chicken, bell peppers, and plenty of melting cheese are a terrific dinner or an excellent way to use up just a bit of leftovers. Who would turn down a piping hot chicken fajita quesadilla for lunch? (Not me!)

Fajita Quesadilla

My sister taught me how to make absolutely irresistible quesadillas many years ago and ever since then, they’ve been a regular breakfast, lunch, and dinner option in our home.

Quesadilla fillings are endlessly fun to play with and we’re really loving these fajita quesadillas lately. Grilled bell peppers or roasted peppers and onions are excellent in quesadillas.

But, if you don’t happen to have these on hand already, it will only take a few minutes to toss the peppers and onions in a hot skillet and saute them.

Add some beef, chicken, pork, or shrimp and you’ll quickly be holding a fajita quesadilla that will put anything you can order in a restaurant to shame.

What are fajitas?

Fajitas are a Tex-Mex dish, typically centered around thinly sliced grilled meats served with bell peppers and onions on a tortilla. While traditionally, everything is grilled, there are endless ways to combine meats and vegetables for quick and easy fajita dinners at home.

We are long-time fans of fajitas and we’ve been making these chicken fajitas for over 12 years now. (And yes, it’s desperately in need of new photos.)

Beef strips, peppers, and onions are slowly cooked with Mexican seasonings and a generous squeeze of lime to make these slow cooker steak fajitas. This is one of the easiest crock-pot meals we make.

I call these slow cooker chicken fajitas a “fast crockpot meal,” meaning you can start them when you have a spare moment in the

Red potatoes seasoned with Mexican spices are roasted and then tossed with sauteed onions, peppers, and beans, finished with a handful of barely wilted, warm spinach in this Black Bean Breakfast Skillet.

Topped with a soft egg or scrambled eggs, this is a hearty and filling, slightly spicy weekend breakfast that can easily be doubled to feed a crowd.

Black and White Beans

Hash has been a staple at my house for breakfasts and other quick meals for years, now. This skillet with black and white beans falls perfectly in line with so many of our other favorites.

Plus, cleanup is a breeze with just one sheet pan and a skillet. I love cooking, but I am not a fan of dishes. So, this is a recipe that lets me enjoy a fabulous breakfast and then get on with my day.

Beans for Breakfast

Super easy to make, this skillet is perfect for a relaxing morning when you’re craving black beans and eggs for breakfast. The best part? You can mix and match your favorite veggies and proteins to really make it your own.

Give this simple breakfast skillet a try, and it might just become one of your go-to morning meals. Just be sure to let me know what you add to the mix, if you change the recipe up. I’m always looking for a fresh take!

Beans and Potatoes

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

• olive oil
• onion and bell peppers
• black and white beans and potatoes
• Read more

Berries and Cream Cheesecake Bars

These Berries and Cream Cheesecake Bars are my favorite dessert! The easy oil pie crust pairs with the most delicately sweet cheesecake filling and is topped with a simple berry topping.

We’ve teamed up with my dream brand, Oregon Berries to bring you the BEST berry dessert that you will find online this year. I’M SERIOUS. I cannot stop eating it!!

I debated on whether to call these no-bake or not. You bake the crust, but the cheesecake layer is no-bake. And I’m telling you, this is a totally unique crust and it’s life-changing!

My friend Megan always tells me about this yummy chocolate pie business, but then she mentioned that there’s a berry version and I couldn’t help it, I needed the recipe immediately. Like, yesterday. And you all should be forever grateful that I got it because this is going to be one of the dreamiest berry desserts you’ll ever devour. In fact, I’m writing this post before I’ve even photographed the recipe because I’m just so excited!

Oregon Berries

Growing up in the Pacific Northwest I had berries written into my very soul! There is no berry quite like the Oregon Marionberry. Oregon was made for growing blackberries- HELLO, Optimal soil, air, water, climate and love!

It’s all about the local families who are total stewards of the land, supporting environmentally sustainable practices and always picking at the height of ripeness. And blackberries are actually good for you so you can feel good eating them in multiple ways.

If you’re the wanderlust or bucket list type of person I absolutely insist you make visiting the Oregon coast during the summer appear on your calendar. There is absolutely nothing like the breathtaking drives with music blasting, wonderful friends and conversation in the car and then pulling over to the roadside stands to buy freshly picked berries. It’s my favorite thing ever.

Ingredients for Berries and Cream Cheesecake Bars

I’m going to divide up the ingredients list into what you will need for each layer. Here is what you will need:

Pie Crust Layer

• Flour: just regular all purpose flour is all you need
• Sugar: adds sweetness to the crust
• Salt: enhances all the flavors
• Vegetable Oil: the fat needed to create a flaky strong base for the bars
• Milk: helps bind everything together

Berry Layer

• Berries: for this recipe we are using blackberries and raspberries, but you can use any combinations of berries you want (see section below for suggestions)
• Sugar: adds sweetness and balances the tartness of the berries
• Cornaby’s Ultra Gel: my favorite way of thickening the berry layer, cornstarch can be used as a substitute (see recipe card notes)
• Water: thins everything out to create a beautiful glossy berry layer

Cream Layer