Southern Macaroni and Cheese [+ Video]

When we think of macaroni and cheese we always think of Grandma Carol’s ultimate comfort food, her cheesy Southern Macaroni and Cheese!

It’s so nice when we get to go back to the Carolinas to visit family; we wish we could go more often. There’s so much history there, and we love to see it all. As much as we love to visit all the places, we can’t wait to get together with family for some good old family food favorites and great chats. When we get together with Grandma Carol and Grandpa Lou, it is a sure bet that one of the dishes will be macaroni and cheese and that not one morsel will be left in the dish at the end of the meal.

We

Halloween Peanut Butter Blondies

Peanut butter blondies that are loaded with Reese’s pieces, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and Oreos. Yes, you read that correctly! These are fully loaded!

I have refused to post Halloween desserts for years. I am not creative, and I don’t do cute. And I mostly am not at all artistic. Halloween kinda needs all of that. But lately I’ve been all about the mixups of ingredients and I couldn’t help but wonder, could a cute Halloween treat be made just by throwing a lot of goodies into blonde brownies?

Ahhh but there’s the issue, blonde brownies are kind of the worst lately. I think there are far too many recipes out there and the majority are dry. I hate that! Sink-your-teeth-into-them blonde brownies is how they should be. So, until I’m ready to post our favorite blonde brownies I thought I’d start with a peanut butter version. It took many attempts, but these are the best blonde brownies I’ve had and bonus that they not only are peanut butter blonde brownies but they are loaded with Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter chips (my personal favorite part), chocolate chips and Oreos!

On top look for Halloween sprinkles that will pop. I went for a version with purple and green in them so that it was extra colorful and fun. 

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Brown Butter Spaghetti Squash Recipe

Tonight was “see-what-you-can-make-for-dinner-with-whatever-is-in-the-fridge” and this brown butter spaghetti squash recipe was the result. It is seriously one of my absolute must-haves for fall! Buttery squash with a hint of nuttiness from the pine nuts and savory goodness from the squash, gosh it’s good!

You could easily substitute any veggies or meat that you like-or leave the meat out for a vegetarian meal.

When I was younger one of my friends decided to be a vegetarian. I was shocked! I grew up in a meat and potatoes home. My mother was from Idaho and my father from Oregon so we ate meat with every single dinner. That was the farm way. It was not however her way. I didn’t understand what a vegetarian was really other then you didn’t eat meat. That was enough to stop my inquiries as who could possibly eat dinner without meat? I don’t think it was a nutritious decision at all either.

As soon as she went vegetarian she also went overboard on the candy. No joke. She wouldn’t eat meat so she ate quite the plethora of candy instead. Whaaaaa? I think she missed the boat there a bit, but I’m quite certain she is back to meat eating. And even if she wasn’t, I’ve personally discovered that eating vegetarian for a few meals a week is actually quite awesome. Our bodies actually love the whole “meat sparingly” concept. Fancy that. 😉 We have several plant based and vegetarian recipes on the blog now, and they are some of my favorites!

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How to Make the BEST BLT

I know you’re probably thinking that you don’t need a recipe for a BLT…the ingredients are in the name of the sandwich, right? I have a few tricks to take your average BLT and make it the BEST BLT ever!

Ok, so growing up my parents were garden people, and on top of the horror of having to weed the garden all the time as a kid, they also would eat raw tomatoes with a little salt like it was an apple. The horror!

And now here we are, once again the enemy called “time” has taught me that “yeah behold I know that I am nothing” (Alma 26:12) because sure enough, there’s nothing more incredible than a garden tomato. The grocery store might as well rename their tomatoes because they are not the same thing. My mom would practically salivate at the mention of a BLT and now I’m totally wiping my keyboard clean as I do the same.

Tips for the BEST BLT

We know there aren’t a ton of ingredients in a BLT sandwich so the ingredients need to be done right! Here are our tips for BLT success:

Bread

We prefer a good high quality sourdough bread sliced fairly thin — about 1/2 inch thick. If you aren’t a sour dough fan, then do a good sturdy white bread or french bread.

PRO TIP: Give up the toaster and grill each slice of bread in butter (not bacon fat!) on a cast iron skillet only on one side. This way, the inside remains tender. Don’t over toast the bread! You are looking for a nice light golden brown.

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Red White and Blue Jello Poke Cake [+Video]

The most popular 4th of July recipe is this Red White and Blue Jello Poke Cake! It’s a moist, white cake, red and blue jello and whipped topping! 

Happy 4th of July!!! Well, not yet but hopefully you’ll be reading this on the day you’re making our poke cake recipe for a Fourth of July BBQ. There’s nothing better than a jello poke cake when it’s hot outside and you’re trying to enjoy your guests instead of being trapped in a kitchen. 

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