Honey Garlic Butter Roasted Carrots

Elevate your vegetable game with these delicious honey roasted carrots with garlic butter. Easy to make and packed with flavor, they make the perfect side dish for any meal.

They are the new favorite in our house and even the kids can’t get enough of them!

Other than salad, mashed potatoes, or sweet potatoes I never know what in the heck to do for delicious side dishes. Those three all have great recipes and variations out there, but don’t you ever want something else for a veggie?

My mom used to make creamed carrots for Sunday dinners and while I’m totally wondering why I haven’t posted that recipe yet I do have one for honey roasted carrots today. They are simple enough to make for a quick weeknight meal but fancy enough to be a side dish for a holiday feast.

The biggest reasons I love this recipe is, A. it’s crazy easy, and B. you can actually prep everything including partially roasting the carrots in the morning and then finish them off before everyone arrives. Just make sure you don’t overcook them because no one wants bitter carrots.

What Do I Need to Make Oven Roasted Carrots?

Carrots are a great vegetable! They are budget-friendly, kid-friendly, and they will last in the refrigerator for weeks. You only need a few ingredients for this honey roasted carrots recipe. Here is your shopping list…

• Baby Carrots: whole carrots can also be used if desired
• Olive Oil: neutral flavor is perfect for roasting
• Kosher Salt: adds flavor
• Black Pepper: adds flavor
• Butter: adds richness and helps the carrots get golden roasted
• Garlic: adds flavor
• Honey: adds natural sweetness, maple syrup could also be used
• Lemon Flaked Salt: regular flaked sea salt will work great as well

The measurements for each ingredient can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post.

How to Make Honey Glazed Carrots in the Oven

This recipe is super easy and comes together in less than 30 minutes. And most of the time time is just roasting the carrots in the oven. Roasting carrots brings out their natural sweetness and is one of my favorite ways to enjoy this classic vegetable. Here are the steps:

1. Boil: Place the carrots in a large pot of boiling water and boil them until almost tender. Drain the carrots.
2. Preheat: While the carrots are boiling, set the oven to 450 degrees F.
3. Toss: Add the olive oil, salt and pepper to the carrots and toss to coat.
4. Roast: Place the carrots on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or foil and put them in the preheated

Cold Buster Green Smoothie (How to Fight a Cold)

This cold buster green smoothie recipe is packed with fresh fruits and vegetables to boost your immune system, hydrate your body and send those winter colds packing!

Green smoothies were all the rage a while ago and still are, but I never really thought they were that big of a deal. And then I realized that with all of those vitamins packed into a smoothie we would actually be giving ourselves the proper nutrition that we are recommended in getting. So, we started keeping a full supply of spinach and fruits and sure enough, not only did we start feeling better but we weren’t getting sick.

I hate winter. I know, lots of people love it and cannot wait to get outside and enjoy all that the snow has to offer, but I hate it. Strong word? I seriously dislike it I guess. I am learning to really enjoy skiing, but I still freeze to death and cannot last very long out there. But the major reason I don’t like winter is because we all get sick and pass it around over and over again all winter long. I freeze all winter which I’m sure keeps me sick.

You don’t have to pass a cold around all winter. Last year we cracked down and learned how to fight a cold and this cold buster green smoothie was a huge help! Keep scrolling to the end to see other products we love to help us survive winter colds.

What Makes a Green Smoothie?

The definition of a “green smoothie” can be quite ambiguous but the basics of a green smoothie are:

Leafy Greens + Liquid + Fruit

Then, of course, you can add other ingredient to add protein and more nutrients. Keep scrolling below to see suggestions for the best types of leafy greens, liquids and fruits. We also want to highlight what makes this recipe specifically a cold buster green smoothie.

Ingredients in a Cold Buster Green Smoothie

This smoothie is unique in that we chose specific items to kick the cold right where it hurts:

• Spinach: adds great fiber, vitamins and nutrients like vitamin A, vitamin C and vitamin K as well as iron, folate and potassium
• Orange Juice: isn’t just about the vitamin C it’s also about staying hydrated
• Orange with Peel: really slam dunk the vitamin C and the peel contains 4 times more fiber than the fruit itself, it has anti-inflammatory properties and may even help reduce harmful LDL’s
• Baby Carrots: great for killing germs in the mouth and helping with digestion
• Banana: gives the body natural energy which is something you are lacking when sick, and it helps the smoothie be extra creamy
• Frozen Pineapple: adds flavor and helps thicken the smoothie when it’s frozen
• Apple: adds flavor and natural sweetness
• Ice: helps thicken the smoothie without adding sugar or extra calories
• Optional: add a scoop of protein so our b

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole [+Video]

Picky eaters are going to love this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole. Mom called it busy day casserole because it’s a quick and easy dinner.

Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole

Alright, this Cheesy Ground Beef and Rice Casserole recipe is definitely not my norm, but it is who I am and it happens to be a recipe that I get a crazy amount of emails about. I get loads of emails about our fabulous buttermilk pancakes too…have you tried those?! Total comfort food just like this casserole.

A long time ago (and seriously, check out the picture and you’ll laugh your heart out at how little I knew about food photography), I posted a recipe called Busy Day Casserole and it has been one of my top recipes for years now. It never disappears from the most viewed recipes. In fact, a lot of our hamburger recipe ideas are our top recipes. You can find them all here.

People love this cheesy ground beef and rice casserole, and while it’s totally simple I know why. This quick and easy dinner idea with ground beef and melted cheese is in fact the cure for all picky eaters. It’s very dependent on you for the seasoning so for picky eaters it’s perfect, but if you want more flavor season it well or add in more vegetables. If you wanted to try something similar, but with chicken, try this cheesy ranch chicken casserole!

read more: Looking for easy casserole recipes? Try our Pork Chop Casserole with Rice next!

What’s in This Ground Beef Casserole Recipe?

The ingredients you’ll need for this ground beef and rice recipe will vary depending on whether you want to make this casserole completely from scratch, semi-homemade, or if you’d rather throw together something really quickly (i.e. use a few shortcuts). 

If you have the time and energy, I highly recommend making this casserole recipe with ground beef from scratch. Don’t let the longer ingredients list fool you, I bet you already have most of them on hand already!

To make this cheesy beef and rice casserole completely from scratch, you’ll need some butter, onion, garlic, flour, cream, chicken broth, veggies, cheese, white rice, ground beef, and water. Oh, and salt and pepper, of course! 

If you’re look

Crock Pot or Instant Pot Cheesy Meatball Soup [+Video]

A creamy soup is turned into a crock pot or instant pot cheesy meatball soup with just a few pantry staple ingredients like carrots, potatoes, garlic, and corn, then add the cheese!

This year we are making sure we are on top of slow cooker and instant pot meals in case you’re freezing and not feeling like slaving over a stove like we are.

I’m going to include instructions for cooking this meatball soup recipe on the stove top as well.

Ingredients for Creamy Meatball Soup

I love a good hearty soup full of veggies, meatballs and cheese! This easy soup recipe checks all the boxes. Here is what you will need…

• Meatballs: We just buy a package at the store to keep it easy, but you can make meatballs at home if you want.
• Butter: used to sauté the veggies
• Vegetables: garlic, carrots, celery, potatoes and corn
• Soup Base: beef broth, whole milk, Worcestershire sauce, and Tabasco
• Salt: adds flavor
• Cornstarch: thickens the soup
• Cheeses: sharp cheddar and Monterey Jack

The measurements for all the ingredients can be found in the recipe card at the end of this post. You can also save and print the recipe there.

How to Make Cheesy Meatball Soup – Slow Cooker

While you can totally just dump this all in a crock pot and wait 8 hours to build the right texture and flavor it’s not the way I do it.

I know, you don’t want to dirty another pan, but it’s quick and easy and the flavor will be worth it.

1. Heat a dutch oven or large skillet over medium high heat and add the butter. Once it’s melted add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes.
2. Add the carrots, celery and garlic and cook for another 3 minutes.
3. Throw in your frozen meatballs (unless you really want to go through the work of cooking homemade) just to get all of that flavor browning on them.
4. Dump everything but the cornstarch and cheese into a slow cooker and put it on low for 6 hours or high for 3.
5. Right before serving, combine the cheese and cornstarch in a separate bowl and then mix to combine.
6. Add the cheese mixture to the soup and stir until the cheese is melted and the soup has thickened.
7. Serve with a sprinkle of fresh parsley for garnish and a good hearty bread!

Watch How This Cheesy Meatball Soup is Made…

Moist, sweet, and lightly spiced, this carrot cake with cream cheese frosting is the food of which sweet tooth dreams are made. 

Pioneer Woman Carrot Cake

For the longest time, years actually, I was on a hunt for the best carrot cake recipe. Carrot cake is one of Sean’s favorite cakes and I tried several cakes that were good, but they just didn’t measure up to our expectations. We both have a hard time resisting carrot cake anytime it is served, so the idea of making the perfect carrot cake at home was irresistible.

Then I found Ree Drummond’s carrot cake recipe and let me tell you, this baby measures up. I haven’t tried another recipe since I made this one for the first time over ten years ago. I make it at least once a year, sometimes more often than that.

This carrot cake is moist and sweet and incredibly flavorful. Classic carrot cake often includes pecans in the frosting, so I’ve listed them below as optional. (I rarely include nuts in my cakes and frostings, so I often skip them when making a cake just for my family to enjoy.)

Simple Carrot Cake

It shouldn’t come as news to any of you that I am not a cake decorator. Not even a little bit. My sister and I baked this cake one time when I was visiting her and while the word “rustic” covers a multitude of mistakes, it might be pushing it here.

When you’re spending time with your sister, laughing at your mistakes is way more fun than attempting to fix them.

As long as a cake is covered in frosting, I’m happy.

I’ve tried to force myself to care what a final cake looks like, but even for a pretty blog post, I’m just not that girl. (You can thank my sister Jenny for the fact that she added flowers to the cake the first time I photographed this cake and managed to make it presentable.)

My favorite cakes are almost always baked in sheet pans or flipped out of a bundt pan. Jenny and I doubled the recipe and made two generously sized cakes–a layered round cake and a bundt cake–to serve a ton of people.

The recipe as written below makes a cake that’s larg