Loaded Vegetable Quesadillas start with warm crisp tortillas layered with melting cheese and then filled with an abundance of vegetables. They’re absolutely irresistible for snacking or for a meal on their own.

Vegetable Quesadillas

A number of years ago, I was running late with starting dinner; so I decided to throw together some quick quesadillas with what I had on hand.

It took less than 5 minutes to prep everything and get the quesadillas started cooking. If you’re lucky enough to have a bunch of leftover roasted vegetables in the fridge or some fresh or frozen vegetables you can toss in the skillet to quickly saute, you’re all set.

The first time we made these, I had marinated tomatoes on the counter, so naturally, I included them. The tomatoes did a terrific job flavoring sauteed onions and zucchini, all wrapped in melting mozzarella cheese.

In the years since I’ve made these quesadillas with just about every combination of vegetables that you can imagine. The photos were in need of an update, so these were shot with some leftover grilled asparagus, red peppers, and zucchini.

These Shishito Peppers would be an excellent quesadilla option to try one of these days too. I have them on my list to try soon.

Loaded Quesadillas

My family loved the quesadillas so much the first time I made them, loaded vegetable quesadillas have become a regular thing on our dinner menu.

Loaded Quesadillas have become my favorite way to use dinner leftovers for lunche

My New Favorite Granola Recipe

I tried olive oil in my granola for the first time and I’m sold for life! This simple homemade granola is going to be your new favorite too! And you can totally add your favorite mix-ins!

I am OBSESSED with granola, but as I only buy coconut oil for granola and otherwise it sits stagnant in my pantry, I started testing out other options. With time I fell in love with olive oil and upon a quick google search discovered I wasn’t the only one. I eventually adapted my original strawberry almond granola with fOOD 52’s recipe and it has been the best granola I’ve not only made, but eaten!

Ingredients for the Best Granola

A good granola only needs a few ingredients and it’s so customizable! Here is the list of ingredients:

• Oats – old fashioned oats work best, they give the granola structure and are also heart-healthy
  • If you want gluten free granola, be sure the oats are gluten free.
• Pumpkin Seeds – add a great texture to the granola and are a rich source of protein, vitamins and minerals
• Almonds – adds protein and healthy fat
• Maple Syrup – natural sweetener, honey works great too
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil – the fat that holds the granola together and gives it that awesome crunch
• Brown Sugar – adds the perfect about of sweetness and flavor
• Kosher Salt – don’t skip this, it enhances all the flavors

The measurements for each ingredients are listed in the recipe card below. See the section below on options for other mix-ins.

How to Make Homemade Granola

Another spectacular thing about granola, aside from it being delicious, is that it’s super easy to make:

1. Preheat the oven and prep a baking sheet.
2. Stir all the ingredients together in a large bowl and spread on baking sheet.
3. Bake, stir and bake some more.
4. Let it cool completely before breaking it up and storing.

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! The kids are back in school, mornings are growing cooler, leaves are starting to fall and I am so very excited about all of it.

ON THE BLOG this week: Spicy strips of chicken, bell peppers, and onion are cooked together in this oh-so-easy crock-pot recipe for Chicken Fajitas. Crockpot Chicken Fajitas are a meal that you can start in the afternoon and they’ll be ready by the time everyone is hungry in the evening.

Rosemary Potatoes are everything I want in a side dish – easy, delicious, and loved by my whole family. We eat these as a side dish for breakfast or for dinner.

To say this Blueberry Coconut Bread is a huge hit every time I make it, doesn’t even begin to express how much we enjoy it. The contrast of the berries and the coconut made this my newest favorite banana bread from the very first bite.

You only need a handful of ingredients to make these chewy, Reese’s filled Peanut Butter Cookie Cups. Inspired by everyone’s favorite old-fashioned peanut butter cookies, these very simple to make four-ingredient peanut butter cookies have been a huge hit already. 

It may still be warm outside, but fall is definitely approaching. Luckily, we can still celebrate pumpkin season when we combine pumpkin with heavy cream and sugar to create this luscious, rich pumpkin ice cream.

This recipe for Roasted Asparagus Pasta has made me fall in love with asparagus all over again. The rich flavors of butter, garlic, and lemon come together with the earthiness of fresh asparagus to create a dish you will immediately crave again. I have never had leftovers when making this recipe.

A splash of cream combines with Parmesan cheese to make a rich, delicious sauce for this creamy cheesy sauteed corn. The nuttiness of the fresh parmesan along with the sweetness of fresh sweet corn will have you going back for seconds.

What I’m CRAVING: I adore a sweet chili sauce, so when this recipe for Korean Fried Chicken crossed my path this week, I immediately saved it to share with you. I can’t wait to try it!

My FAVORITE THING this week is my new splatter guard for cooking on the stovetop. It may not sound all that amazing, but after about 15 years, my old one was in need of a replacement and this one has a couple of tiny little improvements that absolutely thrill me. 

This is a surprisingly st

Pumpkin has a smooth creamy texture when combined with heavy cream to create a luscious, rich, frozen pumpkin ice cream treat.

Pumpkin Ice Cream

Fall is right around the corner but no need to put that ice cream maker away! Let’s just change flavors from summer fruits to pumpkin, an ingredient I love creating with.

The nice thing about pumpkin in ice cream is the texture comes out amazingly creamy. Sometimes when adding fruits or other things to ice cream you have to be sure the moisture content doesn’t make it “icy” so to speak.

I am sure you have had ice cream that has little ice crunchy bits in it. That is what I mean by icy, fruits can do that sometimes. That is not at all a problem with pumpkin. Pure creamy deliciousness is what you get!

The most popular question I get is whether it’s possible to make ice cream without a machine. The answer is YES. You can make ice cream without a machine. Find the full directions here!

Unless I’m making pumpkin pie or another baked dessert my preference is almost always to use canned pumpkin puree. This is pure pumpkin with no spices added. By doing this you can control the flavor and sweetness of the dish by whatever else you add to the ice cream.

Canned pumpkin, pumpkin puree, and solid pack pumpkin are the same thing. Makes me crazy when there are so many names for the same thing! Pumpkin Pie Mix will have additional seasonings, typically cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar.

Served with some ginger snaps or molasses cookies, this pumpkin ice cream is definitely in our ice cream-making rotation. Most people have a meal plan rotation, but at our house, we take our ice cream-making rotation very seriously.

Pumpkin Ice Cream Ingredients

• whole milk
• heavy cream
• light brown sugar
• canned pumpkin puree
• pumpkin pie spice mix
• kosher salt

Spicy strips of chicken, bell peppers, and onion are cooked together in this oh-so-easy crock-pot recipe for Chicken Fajitas. Crockpot Chicken Fajitas are a meal that you can start in the afternoon and they’ll be ready by the time everyone is hungry in the evening.

Most of you have gathered by now that my family is a big fan of Mexican-inspired meals. We use Mexican spices constantly and eat some version of southwest Tex-Mex or Mexican food a few times a week.

Very much like the Slow Cooked Chili Steak Fajitas I posted last year, these fajitas are full of heat and packed with that southwestern flavor I crave. The liquids in the base of the crock-pot form a fantastic sauce by the end of the cooking time.

I also love how pleasing the orange, green and red bell-peppers look when cooked and served in the chicken. This is one of those easy recipes that takes very little effort but looks as good as it tastes.

I’ve made these Chicken Fajitas many times and served them wrapped in tortillas. They’re also delicious as Chicken Fajita Bowls served over rice. 

Crockpot Chicken Fajitas

The best part about Crockpot Chicken Fajitas is that they cook in just a couple of hours. I love a recipe that you can prep in the morning and enjoy the smell of all day long but sometimes my schedule just doesn’t allow me to prep that far in advance.

With this recipe, I just slice everything up, toss the meat with spices, onions, and jalapenos in the slow cooker, let it cook for a couple of hours, and add the peppers toward the end of the cooking process. It’s THAT easy to have perfect homemade fajitas for dinner.

Fajitas are traditionally made by grilling meat but I find I enjoy slow cooker chicken fajitas just as much. They also have the (huge) added benefit of not needing any of my attention at all when they cook!

I almost hesitate to call this a true “slow cooked” recipe because the chicken doesn’t take long at all to cook. The whole meal is ready to serve in just about two hours!

This is fabulous when hunger levels are high and patience levels are low or on those days when you had every intention of getting a slow cooker meal together in the morning but it just didn’t happen.

With Crockpot Chicken Fajitas, I can look like I planned everything in advance when in reality all I did was throw a bunch of ingredients in a crock-pot at 3 o’clock.

I like to serve these chicken fajitas on their own, wrapped in tortillas, or over rice. These fajitas have a lovely spicy kick to them.