Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We spent most of last week driving to Arizona and back for our annual family camping trip in the White Mountains. It’s a heck of a drive now that we live in Ohio, but we love the family time. After 56+ hours sitting in the car for the drive, I’ve been on my feet and moving as much as I can this week. 

And speaking of being on my feet, there are some great new recipes on the way to all the sites. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love this job?!)

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Juicy fresh peaches are matched up with spicy jalapenos, fragrant red onions, fresh cilantro, and zesty lime in this utterly irresistible peach salsa. I guarantee you can’t stop at one bite of this beautiful dip!

California spaghetti salad is a guaranteed hit for the summer vegetable lover in your life! This amped up pasta salad is exploding with peak-freshness produce and an irresistible Parmesan dressing.

Coleslaw gets an exciting upgrade in this pineapple coleslaw. Crunchy cabbage and sliced almonds are paired with sweet and fragrant pineapple tidbits, super fresh green onions and cilantro in a tangy but light and creamy dressing.

This peach cobbler is made as easy as can be with canned peaches and it is exactly what I remember my grandmother making when I was little. The topping is a little bit cakey, and buttery sweet, and the peaches fall through as it bakes and create juicy pockets of fruit in each bite.

Almond glazed, buttery, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are the perfect afternoon treat with a hot cup of coffee or tea. Keep a stash of these on hand for a sweet accompaniment to a cuppa whatever you love best.

Full of tender apples, beautifully citrusy rhubarb, and crowned with a classic brown sugar oat crisp topping, this apple rhubarb crisp blends seasons together in sweet tart harmony. It’s different and it’s delightful.

Deep, dark, and indulgent, chocolate chocolate chip ice cream is unapologetically extra chocolatey. Not one, not two, but three kinds of chocolate make their way into this rich and creamy chocolate lover’s dream of an ice cream.

What I’m CRAVING: The biggest, greenest, crunchiest salads possible! After a lot of travel, with more on the horizon, I’ve happily made and eaten as many salads as possible. I have this one on my radar to ma

Marinated Smoked Chicken Thighs on the Traeger

We have smoked chicken breasts, a whole chicken and chicken wings so it was high time we share our smoked chicken thighs recipe. Chicken thighs have the best flavor and we are ramping that flavor up in the Traeger!

We start with a sweet smoky marinade and allow the chicken thighs to soak in all that tasty flavor. Then we smoke them on the Traeger. Serve them with an elote corn and some mac & cheese, and you have the perfect summer meal!

Remember how we used our Traeger as our oven a few summers ago while our kitchen was being remodeled? We love our Traeger so much! Not only does it make delicious food (practically on its own), but it also saved us last summer and is a great way to avoid turning on the oven when it’s scorching hot outside!

What Ingredients are Needed for Smoked Chicken Thighs?

Grab your chicken thighs and all the rest of these ingredients for the best smoked chicken thighs:

• Boneless Skinless Chicken Thighs
• Honey
• Soy Sauce
• All Spice
• Cayenne Pepper
• Cinnamon
• Ginger
• Yellow Onion
• Garlic
• Dark Brown Sugar
• Corn Syrup
• Water
• BBQ Spice Rub

If you are a sauce lover, like I am, you can dip this chicken in some homemade bbq sauce…store-bought or whatever your favorite barbecue sauce is! The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

How to Make Smoked Chicken Thighs

The first step in making these smoked thighs is to decide if you are going to smoke the meat in a pan in the smoker (this is the way I prefer to do it) or directly on the grill. If you want to cook them directly on the grill, save about a third of the marinade to use later.

The next step is to make the marinade. We like to pour everything directly into the ziploc bag that we are going to marinate the chicken in…less clean up! Put all the ingredients into the bag and then squish everything together to combine.

NOTE: If you’re grilling directly on the grill, reserve a third of the marinade for later now before adding the chicken.

Add the chicken to the bag and let it marinate in the refrigerator for 1-12 hours.

When you’re ready to start smoking, place all the chicken thighs and marinade into your pan.

Hi friends! Happy Friday! What are you up to this weekend?

Aloha from one of our favorite places ever! We’re here for a couple of weeks to enjoy some beach time, shopping, luaus, and all of the poke bowls. 🙂

I’ll share all the details in an upcoming post, but here are some pics from the adventures.

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Deep, dark, and indulgent, chocolate chocolate chip ice cream is unapologetically extra chocolatey. Not one, not two, but three kinds of chocolate make their way into this rich and creamy chocolate lover’s dream of an ice cream.

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

Whether you love an ice cream cone piled high or a bowl with one single, solitary, perfect scoop of ice cream in it, I’m betting that ice cream puts a smile on your face. It sure does on mine.

And this particular ice cream is a definite smile maker. It is, of course, divine on cones and in bowls, but do also consider it as a filling for The BEST Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches.

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If you love gummy bears, you can make homemade gelatin gummies for gut health. They are healthier than store-bought ones because you can: make them yourself, include organic ingredients, and avoid artificial dyes and flavors. Learn how to make homemade gelatin gummies here.

Hi hi! What are you up to this week? I feel like this week is bananas, but I’m looking forward to a much-needed haircut tomorrow. My hair is getting outta control. This is so random, but the Whole Foods cashier asked for my hair routine. It made my whole night, especially when I was running around like a stressed-out greaseball trying to assemble some items for dinner. I admitted that I don’t wash it a ton, use cheap shampoo and conditioner, swear by Moroccan oil, and that I think including collagen and gelatin in my routine has made a difference.

Collagen is super easy to implement in my morning coffee, but lately, I’ve been finding more creative uses for gelatin. I’m sharing one of my faves in this post!! I asked Mia if she’d help me out with a gelatin gummies recipe for the blog, and she shared her go-to recipe with me.

Grassfed gelatin gummies

Grassfed gelatin gummies make a great healthy snack for you and your kids! Grass fed gelatin has a ton of health benefits. It can help to repair gut lining and support healthy hair, skin and nails. It’s good for your joints and is an easily digestible protein for those suffering with tummy troubles. It isn’t a substitute for meat, but it’s a great way to sneak in extra amino acids, especially if you don’t eat nose to tail.

Read on for a healthy homemade gummy recipe your kids will LOVE (you too!) and what makes these even better than store-bought versions.

Homemade gelatin gummies for gut health

Collagen vs. gelatin

Gelatin and collagen are similar, but just a tiny bit different. Collagen is the most abundant form of protein in our body, and is made up of amino acids that affect our connective tissues, hair, skin, and nails. Gelatin is hydrolyzed collagen, meaning that it’s been cooked to break down to smaller particles. Gelatin makes the gel-like substance when mixed with water, while collagen does not. They can both be used to promote healthy skin, hair, nails, connective tissues, joint function, gut health (from forming the tissues that line the gut), and immune function. <— our gut health dramatically impacts our immune system!

Benefits of homemade gummies

Our kids LOVE store-bought gummies, but so many of them are filled with less-than-ideal ingredients, like food dyes, artificial flavors, corn syrup, and wax. It’s not to say that they never have these things – I’m an “all things in moderation” type person- but if I can find a better option that they like, I’m going for it. They’re big fans of the Annie’s fruit snacks, but they