Made without a drop of cream or dairy milk, this Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream is a non-dairy and vegan ice cream that my boys devour.

Creamy, sweet Homemade Ice Cream is a cool treat on a warm day and a fun snack for pretty much any night of the year. I’ve had several requests for more non-dairy and vegan ice cream recipes lately and because of that, I’m happy to finally be sharing this recipe with you.

My family is now and likely always will be full of dairy lovers. My boys easily drink over a gallon of milk a day and I often take for granted our love for dairy. It’s a great fit for our lifestyle.

However, I have friends and family, and many readers who can’t tolerate dairy due to allergies. Because of that, I’m always on the lookout for truly tasty alternative milks.

There are a lot of new plant protein milk choices in markets that intrigue me. I couldn’t wait to try them in homemade ice cream.

Vegan Chocolate Ice Cream

Chocolate Ice Cream loaded with chunks of sweet peanut butter proved to be irresistible for my youngest two boys. The kids went a bit nuts over the peanut butter chunks filling this chocolate ice cream.

The whole batch was almost gone within a few minutes of my shooting these photos. (And then turning them loose on the ice cream in the freezer.)

When using plant protein milks, not all of them are created equal for the purposes of making ice cream. You want to choose a plant based milk that is higher in protein with a decent fat content.

Fat is crucial to the overall texture of the finished ice cream, so please don’t try to use a fat-free plant based milk. Likewise, the protein contributes body to the finished ice cream.

Bolthouse Farms® Plant Protein Milk contains 10 grams of pea protein per serving, making this a solid choice over some of the other alternative milks on the market.

If Bolthouse Farms alternative milks are not available in your market, try to choose a pea protein based milk that is similar in nutritional composition to it; somewhere around 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fat per serving.

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Cheesy Meatballs and Zucchini Skillet

Want a quick and easy healthy dinner recipe? This cheesy meatballs and zucchini skillet is a one pot wonder and the whole family, yes even your picky eaters will be happy.

We actually love sticking zucchini into savory dinner meals to get extra veggies into our meal. Have you tried our Mexican zucchini boats or our creamy zucchini sausage casserole? Zucchini is so versatile and can be paired with so many different flavor profiles. I just love it!

Anyway, THIS SKILLET. It’s so good you guys! Gather up all your zucchini cause you’re gonna put this one on repeat ’til there ain’t no zucchini left! I’m sure everyone’s made zoodles by now, but I’ve got a tip to making them turn out just right–not mushy, but not too crunchy either. Keep reading for all the tips for the best zoodles!

What are Zoodles?

Zoodles are “noodles” made out of zucchini. Using a spiralizer, you create thin, spaghetti-like strips of zucchini and then they are cooked like noodles in a dish. They are healthier and low carb than regular pasta.

Ingredients for Meatballs and Zucchini Skillet

You only need a few ingredients to get this tasty zucchini spaghetti on the table! Here is your grocery list:

• Zucchinis: Fresh from the garden if you have them!
• Meatballs: We love the pre-cooked frozen turkey meatballs from Trader Joe’s, but you can use any meatballs you love.
• Marinara Sauce: The absolute best store-bought sauce is Rao’s! It’s so good!
• Mozzarella + Mild Cheddar Cheese: shredded and mixed together
• Garlic Salt: adds flavor
• Salt and Pepper: adds flavor
• Basil: Fresh is preferred!

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Tips for Making the Best Zoodles

Once you spiralize the zucchini you have to place them in a strainer or colander and sprinkle them with salt! This helps release the liquids. Let them sit for 10-15 minutes and then use a clean cloth to wrap the zoodles up and squeeze the water out. Squeeze, squeeze, squeeze until the water stops dripping.

How to Make This Skillet Recipe

You’ll love this dish because you cook everything in one skillet! It’s ridiculously easy. I even use pre-cooked frozen turkey meatballs from Trader Joe’s and use my favorite jar of marinara sauce (hello, Rao’s!). If you’ve got time to make the meatballs and Read more

Oatmeal is anything but boring when it’s made into Baked Oatmeal Cups – like warm, soft and chewy oatmeal cookies designed to be eaten for breakfast!

Baked Oatmeal Cups

A few years ago, while staying in New Mexico, my kids were spending the night with their grandma, so I found myself with a little more time than usual to get our breakfast together. I took advantage of the lazy morning to play with my baked oatmeal recipe.

I take baked oatmeal seriously. Around here, we enjoy it in just about all its forms from Pumpkin Spice Baked Oatmeal to Heart Shaped Craisin Baked Oatmeal.

For this version, I decided to focus on raisins as the primary mix-in. Sometimes the simplest flavors are the best ones.

I knew my husband and I already loved sweet bites of raisin baked into chewy oatmeal. We’re lifelong members of the meal RAISIN Cookie Club, not Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie. Since I’m usually making baked oatmeal in large batches for the whole family, this weekend I decided to try something different.

Instead of baking the oatmeal in a 9 x 13 pan, I used individual ramekins this time. The oatmeal turned out even chewier this way with a delicious crisp crust.

We absolutely loved this version with the slightly toasted oats on top. They have all the comforting chewy hominess of a classic Oatmeal Raisin Cookie but you can eat them with a spoon.

The individual ramekins also transform a humble bowl of oatmeal into a breakfast that feels extra special. Everyone loves individual servings!

Oatmeal with Raisins

Making baked oatmeal is so easy and comes out so tasty that I’m sure you’ll become as hooked on it as we have. All it takes is mixing oats, a bit of brown sugar, spices, and raisins together with milk and eggs, then letting it bake in the oven.

While baking the oatmeal in ramekins gives you so many more delicious crunchy crust bites, a tripled recipe will also bake nicely in a 9×13 pan to feed a crowd.

Rai

The Secrets to the BEST Quesadilla

The secrets to the best quesadilla recipe are quite simple and possibly crazy to post about but totally necessary as they are so good!

How silly is this post? The secrets to the BEST quesadilla? Does anyone really have to make a post on a food blog about a tortilla and cheese? Why yes, this girl does and I’ll tell you why — because you’ve been doing it ALL wrong.

Making restaurant-style quesadillas is a fine art, and although this is a super easy quesadilla recipe there are a few things you must always do when making homemade cheese quesadillas. Follow the recipe below exactly as written, and you’ll be making the world’s best cheese quesadillas in no time! 

I’m going to also include a couple of our favorite variations on the classic cheese quesadilla that are to die for! Keep scrolling for how to make an Oteo’s copycat quesadilla (uses a corn tortilla!) and a fabulous ground beef quesadilla.

Cheese Quesadillas Ingredients

First up, to make the best homemade cheese quesadillas EVER, you’ll need three simple ingredients:

• fresh homemade tortillas or Vista brand flour tortillas (they are BEST!!)
• shredded cheese: must be chihuahua cheese or quesadilla cheese
• butter (if you’re dairy free, use olive oil!)

No really, that’s all you need! 

What makes this quesadilla recipe so good are the tortillas. I highly recommend homemade flour tortillas (link above) or Vista flour tortillas. If you don’t have time to make homemade tortillas or can’t find Vista brand, you need to look for fresh, uncooked quesadillas at your grocery store. Tortilla Land makes fantastic uncooked tortillas as well! 

What’s the Best Cheese for Quesadillas? 

When making homemade cheese quesadillas, you need to buy flavorful cheeses that melt well. You may want to consider blending different cheeses to amp up the flavor. Chihuahua cheese or quesadilla cheese is our go-to! A Mexican cheese blend (a combination of monterey jack cheese, cheddar, queso quesadilla cheese and asadero cheese) would also work great in these quesadillas, as would a sharp cheddar, or oaxaca cheese. Avoid using mozzarella cheese, as it’s too mild in flavor to be the star of your quesadilla. 

How to Make Quesadillas 

Homemade quesadillas couldn’t be any easier to make! The basic steps for making this cheese quesadilla recipe are as follows: 

1. Heat a nonstick skillet over medium heat and cook the fresh to

Build your own hot dog bar this summer with four awesome combinations – Chicago-Style, Hawaiian, Green Chile Queso, and BBQ Sundaes!

I first shared these recipes in the summer of 2020 and these combinations remain our favorite hot dog toppings.

Are you as excited for summer as we are right now? Spring felt like it lasted 6 months this year. We may have had to cancel our summer-long road trip, but I’ve been brainstorming ways to make staying local more fun.

One of the things we’ve done this year is to fully embrace the awesomeness that is summer in Ohio. We’ve spent so much time outdoors already and let me tell you, compared to life in Phoenix in June-July-August? It feels like an entirely different world.

All five of us are big fans of the hot dog. Most of the time, I’m pretty happy with a classic dog topped with just ketchup, mustard, and relish. But other times? It can be a whole lot of fun to mix things up.

Hot Dog Bar Ideas

Step One: Grill the hot dogs and toast the buns.

Step Two: Set the toppings out while the hot dogs are on the grill.

Step Three: Let each person assemble their hot dogs with as much or as little of each topping as they like best.

I hope that you love these hot dog toppings as much as we do!

However you are assembling your hot dogs, you’ll want to check out these summer side dishes to finish off a terrific meal or barbecue with friends.

If you’re grilling and enjoying the weather outside, these salads without mayonnaise are always a hit. From Creamy Pasta Salad to Cucumber Tomato Salad, Tangy Italian Pasta Salad to this Balsamic and Basil Berry Salad, the odds are good that you’re going to find at least one of these salads in my fridge for the next few months.

Spicy Hot Dogs

As much as my family loves green chile, this hot dog topping was a guaranteed w