Filled with Italian sausage and shredded vegetables before being fried crisp and golden brown, these Italian Egg Rolls are a fun and unexpected twist on pasta night.

This recipe was a spur-of-the-moment dinner years ago that turned out deliciously. While looking through the refrigerator for inspiration one night, I paused at a package of egg roll wrappers.

That was when I discovered that egg roll wrappers are technically a form of pasta. Did you already know that? Well, one thought led to another and I decided to try an Italian Eggroll combination.

I serve these Italian Eggrolls with 5 Minute Marinara Sauce on the side for dipping and they disappear FAST every time we make them.

The kids, my husband, and I absolutely devoured these eggrolls the first time I made them. My youngest son ate three of them! (The photo at the bottom of this post still makes me grin. I can hardly believe it’s been 11 years since my baby was that small!)

Kitchen Tip: I use this pan, these tongs, and this tray to make this recipe.

Italian Eggrolls

• sweet or hot Italian sausage
• shredded carrots
• shredded cabbage 
• garlic powder, salt, and pepper
• egg roll wrappers
• beaten egg
• oil for frying
• marinara sauce for serving

Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a seriously delicious week spent in the kitchen over here. There are a whole lot of great new recipes headed your way this summer.

Oh! If you’re a rhubarb lover, you should definitely subscribe for emails over here, so that you don’t miss any of those new recipes.

ON THE BLOGS this week:  This fried rice with chicken and bacon has been firmly established in our home as the best “unplanned and amazingly delicious” meal ever.

Sweet and slightly tart fresh blueberries are lightly covered in dark chocolate to create an irresistible sweet snack that doubles as a quick and easy dessert too.

Creamy, spicy, pasta with bell peppers and sausage is a 20-minute meal that everyone loves. My family will happily eat this pasta any night of the week.

Anyone who has ever grown their own zucchini knows that before summer is over, you’re going to be looking for new ways to use it. This guide details all the steps to follow on how to make zucchini noodles.

If you know how to cook zucchini noodles you can have these garlic parmesan zucchini noodles ready to eat in just minutes – perfectly seasoned with just butter and herbs or topped with your favorite pasta sauce.

The satisfying sizzle of colorful veggies on a hot grill yields all the fabulous flavor and charring you want in no time at all. Learning how to grill all kinds of vegetables makes summer dinners a breeze.

Fresh strawberries are tossed with sugar and cinnamon before being layered under a sweet biscuit crust to make this strawberry cobbler. If you’re a fan of classic strawberry shortcake, this berry-filled dessert is going to thrill you.

Smooth vanilla ice cream meets the vibrant flavor of sweet, ripe cherries in every bite of this black cherry ice cream. And, the second spoonful? Irresistible.

Sweet, tart cherry filling and a crisp almond topping combine to make an easy and delicious summertime dessert. Whether topped with a scoop of ice cream or served alone, Read more

Smooth vanilla ice cream meets the vibrant flavor of sweet, ripe cherries in every bite of this Black Cherry Ice Cream. And, the second spoonful? Irresistible.

Black Cherry Ice Cream

This homemade black cherry ice cream recipe became an instant new family favorite as soon as I scooped it into bowls after dinner one night last week.

With an abundance of saucy cherries swirled into rich vanilla almond ice cream, what’s not to love here? I’m not at all surprised my family went nuts over it.

Do you love black forest cake? Each cold and creamy scoop of this almond cherry ice cream delivers that same deep cherry flavor. And, the hint of almond in it is an unbelievably tasty match for the tart-sweet cherries.

I am absolutely over the moon with how this one turned out. It’s rare that I’m still grinning when I write about it. But, this one is truly spectacular.

Almond Cherry Ice Cream

With over 70 ice cream recipes here to choose from, there’s sure to be an ice cream for everyone! If you’re new to making ice cream, the best and easiest vanilla ice cream is a great place to start.

These are my favorite inexpensive containers for

Sharing some tips on how you can use FAM (fertility awareness method) for period prediction for yourself, or for your tween/teen daughter! 

Hi friends! I hope you’re having a wonderful day so far! We’re living the summer life: swimming all day, meeting up with friends, hitting up the arcade, and packing for a fun trip. What have you been up to?

For today’s post, I wanted to talk a little bit about Fertility Awareness Method and how you can use this amazing tool for period prediction. Once you have the hang of it, it makes life SO much easier.

As you guys know, I’m a huge fan of Fertility Awareness Method. It’s my primary method of birth control and I’ve been practicing since I went off birth control back in 2008. Over time, it’s evolved so much! I used to have to track my temp and cycle signs on a paper chart and now they have amazing apps and technology.

****I only recommend FAM as birth control if you’re in a monogamous relationship and with the understanding that there is a learning curve. Also, remember that it doesn’t protect you from any sexually transmitted diseases or infections. It may take you a while to *get* your cycle, so just a heads up that you may want to use a backup method if you’d like to use FAM as a birth control method.***

While Fertility Awareness Method can be an amazing birth control tool, it can also be used for something incredibly valuable: accurate period prediction. If you practice Fertility Awareness Method, you’re able to know the exact day that you’ll get your period.

I was thinking about FAM and how much I love it… and then a little light bulb clicked in my head. It could also be used to know when a tween or teen girl is going to have their first period ever. How freaking amazing is that?! I’m going to share all of the details + how you can use this for accurate cycle prediction in this post. I wanted to share this info for my mama friends out there, or for those who are curious about tracking their cycle.

Using Fertility Awareness Method for period prediction

When I first discovered Fertility Awareness Method, I WISHED I would learned all about this when I was growing up. It turned my body from a complete mystery into something that I was empowered and informed about. What was happening inside my body wasn’t completely random each month; it was entirely predictable. I just had to track it and understand my cycle.

If I would have known about this information, it would have saved me from a particular instance in middle school when I was wearing white shorts. Ughhh.

Each month, we have distinct phases of our cycle:

1) Menstruation: day 1 of full bleeding (may be preceded by spotting but that’s not technically the first day of your cycle)

2) Follicular phase: follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) prompts the ovaries to prepare and release an egg

3) Ovulatory phase: this is when the egg is released and can potentially be fertilized

Read more

Creamy, spicy, pasta with bell peppers and sausage is a 20-minute meal that everyone loves. My family will happily eat this Cajun sausage pasta any night of the week.

Cajun Pasta with Sausage

I love the ease of using seasoning mixes for simple recipes like this one. Technically, there are only five ingredients in this recipe, but with a great seasoning mix there is an abundance of different flavors in the dish.

I shared this Cajun Seasoning Mix in The Weeknight Dinner Cookbook. The seasoning blend has been a staple in my pantry for quite a few years now. I figured it was long past time to share it here so that I can more easily link to it for easy access.

After you whip up that Cajun spice blend (it only takes a minute), you’ll be ready to make this delicious pasta.

Pasta with Bell Peppers

My family loves creamy pasta dishes, but I sometimes find them to be a little too bland. The bell peppers and the sausage help keep things interesting. This recipe satisfies both my family’s love of cream sauces and our need for a little more heat.

This meal starts by browning the sausage in a pan. Because spicy sausage already has so much flavor, it’s the perfect foundation for so many of our favorite meals.

Add in a few bell peppers for color and flavor, plus heavy cream and Cajun spices and you get an extra creamy sauce to toss with your pasta.

With regards to the cream in this recipe