Welcome to the weekend, my friends! After a week of gorgeous sunshine-filled weather in the 40s, 50s, and 60s, we woke up this morning in a fresh winter wonderland. Ohio never fails to surprise me. As I write this, I’m watching the snow as it continues to fall outside. I’ll be headed to the gym in a couple of hours, but right now, I’m grateful for a slow start to the day and the time to enjoy my hot coffee.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: The sizzle of perfectly seasoned vegetables is snugly under wraps with oodles of gooey cheese in this golden, crispy Fajita Quesadilla.

Tart lime juice and peppery cilantro infuse the long, fluffy grains of rice with fabulous flavor in this simple Oven Baked Rice.

Fragrant and filling, when Hamburger Cabbage Soup is simmering on the stove, anyone wandering through the kitchen is going to grin.

The crisp crunch of cabbage is elevated with a tangy dressing in this Spicy Pickled Cabbage. With just the right amount of heat, each bite will have you coming back for more.

Smoothie Ice Cream is what happens when strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are blended into a frozen concoction so thick you can eat it with a spoon.

Skip the traditional fried donuts and make these Apple Cider Muffins at home. With a sugary coating reminiscent of their namesake, these muffins offer a delightful twist on a beloved classic.

Tender apples topped with buttery brown sugar streusel work together perfectly when making an Apple Crisp without Oats. Topped with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, the entire family was scraping their bowls clean and asking if there was any more of the crisp.

What I’m CRAVING: I’m going to make a big pot of this Baked Potato Soup today and serve it with a loaf of my friend Lynne’s Italian bread. (If you haven’t yet tried this bread, put it on your list to make soon, my friends. It’s perfection!)

My FAVORITE THING this week is this sea salt body cream. I’ve been using it for over a year and I still love it. It’s thick, creamy, and doesn’t leave your skin greasy at all. I love the mild scent and how incredibly moisturizing it is. I first tried this lotion as a sample and love

Smoothie Ice Cream is what happens when strawberries, blueberries, and bananas are blended into a frozen concoction so thick you can eat it with a spoon. 

Ice Cream Smoothie

This ice cream smoothie was an accidental result of my not paying a lot of attention as I threw some of our favorite smoothie ingredients into the blender. Banana berry smoothies are always a win with my kids, so I expected thumbs up when they tasted this.

Their response was off the charts though. The kids LOVED this and declared it the following: “awesome,” “favorite breakfast food ever,” “better than regular ice cream,” and “just make this for our next dessert.” I was laughing so hard by the time the kids polished off their “ice cream breakfast.”

While I did not share their extreme level of enthusiasm or the inclination to call this mixed berry smoothie, “more delicious than ice cream,” it really is a delicious frozen treat. And I was especially happy to see the kids so excited over a healthy treat.

I made these smoothies twice more that month before sharing the recipe with you, just to make sure that the “ice cream” wasn’t a fluke and could be recreated easily. Side note here: I have a very powerful blender. If you do not have a very powerful blender, I recommend using a food processor to make this ice cream.

I have

The sizzle of perfectly seasoned fajita vegetables is snugly under wraps with oodles of gooey cheese in this golden, crispy Fajita Quesadilla.

Fajita Quesadilla

Each bite of these quesadillas is a burst of bold flavors. The smoky char of sautéed peppers and onions is balanced with the creamy flavor of melted, freshly shredded cheese.

And for toppings, you can finish your fajita quesadilla with a fiery tomato salsa, a dollop of sour cream, or guacamole. Or, if you’re like my niece… more cheese.

I typically have bell peppers of every color on hand, so using a mixture of colors makes this vegetable quesadilla a little bit more fun for me. But, feel free to use whichever color pepper you have on hand.

If you’d like to make these a little bit spicier, throw in some fresh chopped jalapeno. At my table, you can’t go wrong adding in a bit of that lingering heat.

My boys would never let me live it down if I didn’t note that you can easily add the meat of your choice to this recipe. Grilled chicken, pulled pork, and tender steak bites keep my meat lovers quite happy.

Fajita Quesadilla Recipe

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The Flakiest Savory Beef Pot Pie

Savory indulgent beef pot pie that is loaded with vegetables and topped with flaky, golden puff pastry! It’s pure comfort food!

I mean, it was bound to happen. Our readers are in love with our chicken pot pie, and in fact it’s one of the most popular recipes on our site. But with all of you requesting a few more beef recipes I couldn’t resist a savory beef pot pie recipe. Is it possible to have too many pot pies?

I think not!

What started out one way ended up an entirely different way and I’m ridiculously pleased with the results. And no one is happier than Cade, he says it’s one of his new favorite dinners. 🙂

Ingredients for Beef Pot Pie

You’ll start by pulling your puff pastry sheet out of the freezer and letting it thaw slightly. The rest of the ingredients you will need are here:

• Puff Pastry – found in the freezer section of the grocery store by the pie crusts
• Beef Roast – chuck roast is my preferred cut, but a top sirloin or round roast would also work, you could even use ground beef for a budget friendly option
• Salt – flavor
• Pepper – flavor
• Yellow Onion – adds so much to the depth of flavor, see section below for using onions if you are not a fan of onions
• Garlic – flavor
• Carrots – go with real carrots that you peel and slice, no baby carrots
• Celery – flavor and texture
• Peas – I love these bright pops of flavor and color. They get added right before adding the filling to the baking dish so they don’t get too mushy.
• Flour – thickens the filling
• Rosemary – fresh is best, but you can use dried if you need to, 1 sprig fresh = 1 teaspoon dried
• Bay Leaf – adds so much flavor, remove it before adding the filling to the baking dish
• Thyme – fresh is preferred, but if you need to use dried, 1 teaspoon fresh = 1/3 teaspoon dried
• Beef Broth – the base of the gravy that the meat and veggies will simmer in and become the delicious filling
• Balsamic Vinegar – add sweetness and tanginess to the gravy
• Worcestershire Sauce – our preferred brand is Lea & Perrins and it is essential! It adds great umami flavor!
• Dijon Mustard – adds to the depth of flavor in the gravy
• Whole Milk – used for the egg wash
• Egg – used for the egg wash that will make crust beautifully golden

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card down below.

What If You Hate Onions?

I heard you all loud and clear on instagram, you either love or absolutely hate onions and there’s not really any who are in between. So can you substitute onions in a recipe? Well, in my personal opinion, no.

Tart lime juice and peppery cilantro infuse the long, fluffy grains of rice with fabulous flavor in this simple Oven Baked Rice.

Oven Baked Rice

Oven. Baked. Rice. This is a game changer, my friends, and there’s no better way to try it for the first time than in this cilantro lime rice. I tried baking rice in the oven once years ago when I first heard about it. But, I was unimpressed.

But, THIS rice? Spectacular. I could have eaten a whole pan full by myself, and my kids really enjoyed it, too. It became an instant staple over here.

I found this cilantro lime rice recipe in from my friend Jessica‘s cookbook, Good Cheap Eats, Dinner in 30 Minutes (or less!). It is filled with 300 easy recipes to help simplify dinner prep for healthy, unprocessed meals.

If you’re wondering how to bake rice in oven, you’ll be glad you learned. It so easy! It takes just moments to mix the ingredients. Pop it into the oven, and less than 30 minutes later, the rice is perfectly cooked.

Cilantro Lime Rice

I served each bowl with a lime w