I changed one ingredient and ended up making the gooiest Cheesy Summer Zucchini Pasta that might be better than Mac N Cheese!

By the middle of summer, our garden is producing more zucchini than we know what to do with. Our cheesy zucchini pasta recipe is full of caramelized zucchini, toasted pine nuts and the creamiest mozzarella cheese sauce ever!! What’s my secret ingredient?

Secret to A Gooey Cheese Sauce

While I love zucchini bread as much as anyone, sometimes I just want savory ways to use my zucchini, and this is my new favorite!

Tender zucchini and yellow squash are slowly cooked until they’re golden and sweet, then tossed with cavatappi pasta in a creamy whipped cottage cheese sauce! It’s fresh enough for summer but delicious enough to make all year long.

This recipe was inspired by the flavors in our summer zucchini chowder. With garlic, herbs, fresh basil, parmesan, mozzarella, and toasted pine nuts this is an easy pasta dinner that’s perfect for busy weeknights.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Fresh summer vegetables and a handful of simple pantry staples come together to create a pasta that’s rich, creamy, and packed with flavor. Here’s what you’ll need:

Zucchini

• Zucchini and Yellow Squash: Using both green zucchini and yellow squash adds beautiful color and slightly different flavors, but you can use all zucchini if that’s what you have.
• Trader Joe’s Aglio Olio Seasoning: Adds savory flavor with almost no effort. Trader Joe’s Aglio Olio seasoning is our favorite, but any garlic herb blend works well.

Pasta

• Cavatappi Pasta: Those corkscrew shapes catch all the creamy sauce in every bite. Rotini, fusilli, penne, or shells are great substitutes.

Sauce

• Better Than Bouillon Chicken: Adds extra savory flavor to the pasta water,

Learning how to grill steak doesn’t have to be intimidating. With the right cut of meat, proper seasoning, and a few simple grilling techniques, you can make juicy, tender steaks that rival your favorite steakhouse.

Today I’m sharing exactly how we grill ribeye steaks, along with all the tips and tricks we’ve learned over the years for getting that perfect crust, juicy center, and incredible flavor every single time. Finish everything with a slice of homemade garlic butter and you’ll never want steak any other way.

Ingredients You’ll Need

Great steak starts with great ingredients. The good news is that you only need a few simple ingredients to make an incredible grilled ribeye.

• Rib-Eye Steaks: Richly marbled and incredibly flavorful, ribeye is one of the best cuts of steak for grilling.
• Olive Oil: Helps the seasonings stick and encourages beautiful browning.
• Kosher Salt: Enhances the natural flavor of the beef.
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper: Adds a subtle peppery bite.

Garlic Butter

• Unsalted Butter: Creates a rich, flavorful finishing butter.
• Steak Seasoning: Boosts the savory flavor of the butter.
• Garlic: Adds bold flavor that pairs perfectly with steak.
• Kosher Salt and Black Pepper: Enhances the flavors and gives a little heat.

How to Grill Steaks

Follow these simple steps for perfectly grilled ribeye steaks every time.

1. Make the Garlic Butter: Mix the butter, garlic, seasoning, salt, and pepper. Form into a log using parchment paper and refrigerate until firm.
2. Prepare the Steaks: Pat the steaks completely dry. Drizzle with olive oil and season generously with salt and pepper. For the best flavor, leave the steaks uncovered in the refrigerator for several hours or overnight.
3. Preheat the Grill: Heat the grill to medium-high heat, approximately 450-500°F.
4. Grill the Steaks: Place steaks directly over the heat and grill until

These stuffed zucchini boats are filled with savory Italian sausage, marinara sauce, tender vegetables, and plenty of melty cheese for an easy dinner that is hearty, naturally lower carb, and one of the very best ways to use up summer zucchini.

Every spring growing up my dad was in charge of tilling the garden and mom would plant. Then we’d spend all summer weeding that thing clear through harvest. I hated it. I didn’t like tomatoes or zucchini. In fact the only vegetable I’d eat was corn, and can we really call that nutrition?

The only good thing about zucchini was mom would let us make zucchini boats and float them in the big utility sink in the mud room. I wonder if kids are struggling these days because they are missing out on both the confidence from hard work and the peace from the simplest things in life.

This year we are planting a garden and since I’ve learned to not merely tolerate but absolutely love vegetables I thought it was high time to show off just how delicious they can be! These zucchini boats are not only good, they are an entire meal in one!

Ingredients You’ll Need

These stuffed zucchini boats use simple ingredients that come together for a hearty Italian-inspired dinner that feels comforting while still being packed with vegetables.

• Zucchinis: The perfect tender veggie base that holds all the delicious Italian filling while baking up soft and flavorful.
• Salt and Pepper: Essential for seasoning both the zucchini and sausage filling.
• Olive Oil: Adds richness and helps sauté the sausage and vegetables.
• Mild Italian Sausage: Adds hearty savory flavor with classic Italian seasoning already built in.
• Dried Italian Seasoning: Brings warm herby flavor that makes the filling taste extra comforting.
• Sweet Onion: Adds sweetness and depth as it softens and cooks down.
• Garlic: Adds bold savory flavor that pairs perfectly with the marinara sauce.
• Red Bell Pepper: Adds sweetness, color, and texture to the filling.
• Marinara Sauce: Brings everything together with rich tomato flavor and keeps the filling moist and hearty.
• Mozzarella Cheese: Melts into gooey cheesy perfection over the zucchini boat

When it comes to summer grilling, this balsamic chicken marinade is the one I come back to every single time. Made with just a handful of pantry staples, it delivers bold, tangy, savory flavor that works on any cut of chicken and comes together in about two minutes flat.

This balsamic marinade has been years in the making, tweaked and tested until it hit exactly the right balance. Balsamic vinegar brings the tang, olive oil adds richness, garlic gives it depth, and a pinch of sugar ties it all together. That is truly it.

No complicated ingredients, no special equipment, just a ziplock bag and a little time in the fridge. It works beautifully on chicken breasts, thighs, drumsticks, and kabobs, making it the most versatile marinade in my rotation. This is one of my favorite chicken recipes!

Balsamic Chicken Marinade Ingredients

Seven simple ingredients that you almost certainly already have on hand. Here is what each one brings to the marinade:

• Olive Oil: The fat base of the marinade that helps it cling to the chicken and keeps everything juicy and tender on the grill.
• Balsamic Vinegar: The acid component that tenderizes the chicken while adding that rich, tangy, slightly sweet depth of flavor the whole marinade is built around.
• Dijon Mustard: Acts as an emulsifier that helps bind the oil and vinegar together while adding a subtle tangy depth to the overall flavor.
• Honey: Balances the acidity of the vinegar and mustard with natural sweetness and helps create a beautiful caramelized finish when grilled.
• Garlic: Freshly minced garlic adds a bold, savory punch that infuses into the chicken as it marinates.
• Dried Basil: Brings a subtle, herby, Italian-inspired flavor that complements the balsamic beautifully.
• Salt: Seasons the chicken all the way through and enhances every other ingredient in the marinade.
• Black Pepper: Adds a gentle heat and a little bite that keeps the marinade from being one-note.

This recipe uses pantry staples, making it perfect for meal prep or feeding a group. Measurements can be found in the recipe card below. 

How to Make Balsamic Chicken Marinade

This could not be simpler. Here is all it takes:

1. Combine: Add all the ingredients to a ziplock bag or airtight container and mix well.
2. Add: Place the chicken into the bag with the marinade and seal tightly, pressing out as much air as possible.
3. Marinate: Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes, or up to 24 hours for the deepest flavor.
4. Cook: Grill, bake, or pan sear the chicken using your preferred method until cooked through. Using a meat thermometer ensure the chicken reaches an Internal Temperature of 165 F 

The longer the chicken marinates, the d

Every August my mom would start looking around the kitchen wondering what she was going to do with all the zucchini coming out of the garden. There were only so many loaves of zucchini bread we could eat, so she’d pull out this creamy zucchini corn chowder recipe instead.

Our Summer Zucchini Corn Chowder is loaded with sweet fresh corn, tender zucchini, potatoes, smoky bacon, and herbs, and it’s become one of those end-of-summer dinners I look forward to every year. If you’re swimming in zucchini and fresh corn, this is the recipe you need.

Ingredients You’ll Need

One of the best things about this soup is that it uses so many fresh summer ingredients. Sweet corn, zucchini, yellow squash, fresh herbs, and smoky bacon all come together to create a fresh corn chowder with zucchini that’s hearty enough for dinner but still tastes bright and fresh.

• Bacon: Adds smoky, savory flavor throughout the chowder, plus a crispy topping for serving.
• Yellow Onion: Builds the aromatic base of the chowder as it softens in the bacon grease.
• Celery: Adds a subtle, savory depth and a bit of texture to the base.
• Garlic: Brings warm, aromatic flavor that rounds out the onion and celery.
• Zucchini: The star of the show and the whole reason for this recipe. It softens beautifully into the chowder while adding fresh, garden flavor.
• Yellow Squash: Adds even more of that fresh summer squash flavor and a pop of color alongside the zucchini.
• Smoked Paprika: Reinforces the smoky flavor from the bacon.
• Ground Nutmeg: Just a touch adds warmth and depth to the creamy broth.
• Cayenne Pepper: Adds a subtle background heat that balances the sweetness of the corn.
• Fresh Thyme: Brings an earthy, herby note that pairs perfectly with the vegetables.
• Fresh Parsley: Adds fresh, bright flavor to round everything out.
• Russet Potatoes: Add heartiness and help thicken the chowder as they cook.
• Corn on the Cob: Fresh corn kernels (and the cobs themselves!) bring natural sweetness and the best flavor. Using the c