Soft and chewy oatmeal cookies are infused with tart cranberries, sweet oranges, and fragrant cardamom in these Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies.

Cranberry Orange Oatmeal Cookies

These cranberry orange cookies made me grin with each bite. I love the unexpected flavors and the way that orange zest transforms this classic oatmeal cookie into something fresh.

Fruit in cookies is a whole thing. A lot of people stick to chocolate and nuts, but if you’ve never tried something like these orange cranberry oatmeal cookies, you’re missing out. Cranberries are an amazing match for citrus and warm spices.

Cardamom is intensely aromatic (if you are familiar with the fragrance of chai tea, it is likely the cardamom that you are remembering) and it adds a distinct flavor to these cookies.

The spice works beautifully in baked goods, but don’t worry if you don’t have it. Cinnamon with orange zest is a fantastic combination on it’s own.

Orange Oatmeal Cookies

You’ll need the following ingr

Chicken Chile Verde

Tender, juicy chunks of chicken simmered in a bold chile verde sauce. Serve it over rice or load it up in a burrito! It’s so flavorful and melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious!

I love this even more than our pork chile verde which means I must be going crazy! Usually I’m all about a bunch of tender, shredded pork but there’s just something so good about this chicken dinner recipe that calls my name! I especially love it with rice and beans but my family is starting to prefer it in a freshly made tortilla from our most recent cookbook, Raised in the Kitchen.

Whichever way you eat it, you’re going to devour this yummy Mexican chicken dinner.

What is Chile Verde?

The term “chile verde” translate to “green chile” or “green chili” and is a Mexican stew that is traditionally made with chunks of pork that is simmered until tender in a roasted tomatillo and green chile sauce. For this recipe we are swapping out the pork for chicken.

We have a salsa verde recipe on the blog that is inspired by this same flavor profile. It is so yummmmmmmm!

The Ingredients You Need for Chicken Chili Verde Recipe

I’m going to break up the recipe ingredients into two parts – ingredients for the verde sauce and ingredients for the chicken. Here is your shopping list:

For the Verde

• Vegetable Oil – used to roast the veggies
• Tomatillos – those green tomato looking things in the produce section that have a papery layer on the outside. They are used a lot in Mexican recipes and are so tasty!
• Poblano Chiles – large, mild peppers popular in Mexican cuisine
• Red Onion – these get blended into the sauce and add so much flavor
• Garlic Cloves – flavor of course
• Jalapeño – roasted jalapeño adds heat and tons of flavor to the sauce
• Pepper – flavor
• Cilantro – freshness and flavor

For the Chicken

• Chicken Thighs – boneless, skinless and cut into bite size chunks
• Kosher Salt – helps dry brine the chicken
• Bacon – flavor
• Chicken Broth – helps deglaze the pan after cooking the bacon and adds moisture to the chicken
• Dried Oregano – flavor
• Cinnamon – may seem strange in a savory dish, but trust me!
• Cumin  – it has to be in pretty much all Mexican dishes
• Ground Cloves – again, trust me here!
• Sugar – enhances the flavor
• Bay Leaves – flavor
• Orange Juice – acidity and tenderizing the chicken
Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! Can I just start by saying “YAY for January”? I love the fresh start that the new year brings us. I’m not one for setting specific goals or resolutions in January, but I do love the fresh clean beginning after the holidays.

The first few months of 2024 are jam-packed for us and I’m looking forward to all of it – while also soaking in every calm moment at home in between times. I’m headed to NM next week for my annual sister trip and counting down the days until I can hug my sisters again.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Some foods are so basic, so incredibly simple, that it can be difficult to describe their awesomeness. That’s how I feel about cottage cheese with fruit. Two ingredients. (Sure, you can dress it up a bit, if you like, but at its heart, just 2 ingredients.) Whether this is my breakfast, an afternoon snack, or a sweet bite after dinner, I eat this combination at some point nearly every single day.

Savory chunks of chicken mingle with sweet grapes, crunchy walnuts, and crisp apples in this easy Chicken Waldorf Salad. This is a lunch you will put on repeat!

Tender chunks of ham meld with earthy green beans and hearty potatoes in this super simple meal of Crockpot Ham, Green Beans, and Potatoes. When I tell you that this was an unexpected success, I can’t emphasize that enough. This is hearty comfort food that isn’t heavy with cheese or oils. It’s as simple as can be and my whole family gave it two thumbs up.

Fluffy potatoes with crisp, roasted edges are seasoned to perfection with just rosemary, salt, and pepper in these Rosemary Roasted Potatoes. My whole family starts to grab these right off the pan when they come out of the oven.

Brown sugar is the star of the show in this homemade Brown Sugar Icing with notes of caramel and molasses mingling in this pourable, dreamy frosting.

The unforgettable tang of rich, buttermilk cake is topped with a layer of sweet caramel frosting in this Buttermilk Cake topped with that irresistible icing.

Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream is cold, creamy chocolate with a hint of spicy heat from chili and cinnamon. This ice cream warms your mouth even as you are chilled from the ice cream. The combination of heat with the cold is fantastic.

What I’m CRAVING: I’ve gone from craving all the salads last week to craving all the pancakes today! (Did you know we have

Rosemary Orange Glazed Roasted Pork Tenderloin

Orange glazed pork tenderloin is marinated in a delicious rub and then glazed in a sweet and tangy sauce making it juicy on the inside and crusty on the outside.

I have not had many pork tenderloins and it hasn’t helped that Cade hasn’t been interested in them either. Every now and again I’d step into the ol’ Pinterest app and sure enough another pork loin was front and center. Now I know all about algorithms and that Pinterest had caught on that I slowed my scrolling seeing the pics but even so, it worked.

I’ve been testing and testing to turn an often flavorless meat into dish for a Sunday dinner that wasn’t a hassle but looked and tasted like the best home cooked meal ever. The key? Letting the rub sit on the meat for a whole day. And what rub is that? Based off of an old orange and cranberry relish my sister used to stuff breaded chicken with. Oh it’s so good!

What Ingredients Do You Need for Orange Glazed Pork Tenderloin?

Aside from the pork tenderloins, you will need a few ingredients for the rub and few ingredients for the sauce. A phenomenal homemade meal is just this easy. Here is your shopping list:

• Pork Tenderloin
• Orange
• Orange Juice
• Garlic
• Smoked Paprika
• Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt
• Yukon Gold Potatoes
• Brussels Sprouts

Sauce

• Orange Zest
• Orange Juice
• Brown Sugar
• Orange Marmalade
• Rosemary
• Cinnamon

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

How to Make Orange Glazed Pork Loin

I love when a Sunday dinner is quick and easy but tastes like you’ve been in the kitchen for hours and hours. That is this pork tenderloin recipe in a nutshell! Here are the basic steps:

• Combine all the ingredients for the paste in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth.
• Rub all over the pork and cover with plastic wrap. Keep in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.
• Remove from fridge and wipe off the excess rub. Let rest.
• Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a saucepan and let simmer until it thickens.
• Preheat oven and bake, adding some sauce for the last 20 minutes.
• Prep the veggies and add them the last 20-30 minutes.
• Pour the remaining sauce over the top with fresh herbs for garnish.
• Let rest then slice and serve.

The complete instructions can be found in the recipe card at the end of the post.

Is Pork Loin The Same As Pork Roast?

Pork loin is a cut of meat.  The proper term is po

Spicy Chocolate Ice Cream is cold, creamy chocolate with a hint of spicy heat from chili and cinnamon. This spicy ice cream warms your mouth even as you are chilled from the ice cream.

Spicy Ice Cream

When some friends requested a chocolate and chili ice cream combination last year, I was excited to finally try a spicy ice cream recipe for myself.

At the very first taste, I was immediately glad that we were planning to share this ice cream with them and I could avoid the temptation of eating the entire batch myself! This spicy chocolate ice cream has received rave reviews from everyone who tastes it.

I’ve made this ice cream over a dozen times now. It is my husband’s favorite ice cream flavor and after I first started making it, it was over a year later before I managed to get a photo of it.

He loves to give it away to friends and it continues to disappear lightning fast every time it is in the house. If you love the chocolate and chili combination as much as Sean does, you’ll want to try adding a bit of chili powder to the batter the next time you’re making a batch of brownies too.

Or if you’re feeling adventurous, try this Flourless “Hot” Chocolate Cake. With a dash of Tabasco sauce, it’s a sweet, cold, creamy, chocolate cake with a hint of unexpected heat as you finish each bite; this dessert is unforgettable.

Spicy