Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s been a drizzly wet week here in Ohio until yesterday, but I loved the overcast days and enjoyed the sound of rain while I worked. As a result, I’m extra happy about a few days of sunshine now too.

My youngest son finished school this week and we’re kicking off the summer with a whole lot of nothing on the calendar next week. (I’m thrilled about that!) But first, the weekend will be filled with a baby shower, a grad party, church, family dinner, and a game night.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Parmesan cheese, black pepper, butter, and olive oil combine to make this parmesan pepper pasta. Its ease of preparation is matched only by its perfection. The recipe is a gentle riff on the classic Italian dish cacio e pepe which translates simply as cheese and pepper. 

Calling all broccoli and shrimp lovers! This flavorful honey garlic shrimp stir fry is exploding with vibrant crisp-tender broccoli and shrimp.

Summery cucumber tomato pasta salad combines garden fresh cherry tomatoes and cucumbers with bite-sized pasta and onions in a vinegar dressing. This is a dish that screams summer cookout!

We are a family of meatloaf lovers. So, naturally, when a friend told me that she makes her meatloaf with a package of Lipton onion soup mix, I knew I needed to try it. I’ll admit I’ve tweaked the recipe a good bit from the original one I found on the Lipton website. I like what I like, what can I say? However, it turns out that those onion soup seasonings work very well for meatloaf.

This tuna pasta salad with bell peppers, celery, cucumbers, red onions, and olives is lightly tossed in a light, tangy, pickle-inspired creamy dressing. All the flavors and textures in this salad combine to make it a hit with everyone who tries it.

Toasting coconut gives it a nutty sweetness and complexity that dried coconut lacks – and it’s so easy to do, too!

Toasted coconut ice cream is fool-proof sweet, creamy coconut vanilla ice cream with the nutty goodness of freshly toasted coconut. It’s perfection in simplicity in ice cream form, friends.

What I’m CRAVING: All the berries in the world! I can not get enough fresh berries lately and I’m thrilled that they’ve been so sweet and tart and perfect lately when I buy them. I just shook together a jar of creamy poppyseed dressing to make this Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I hope that wherever you are the weather has been as glorious as our weather here in Ohio this week. We’ve had warm rain and plenty of sunshine and the world around us is brilliantly green and flowering. I’m soaking up every possible moment outdoors right now.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Garlicky and mildly spicy, mushroom spinach pasta is a study in flavorful simplicity. Perfect al dente pasta is tossed in a light pan sauce of white wine or chicken stock, onion, garlic, mushrooms, spinach, and Parmesan cheese.

Tender, succulent Dutch oven roast pork is a comforting, homey, simple method to prepare an economical cut of pork. Whether you serve this with cheesy mashed potatoes, roasted carrots, or on buttery, fluffy dinner rolls, you’re going to love this meaty main dish.

Fresh lemon, garlic, and black pepper combine to make lemon pepper asparagus simple and simply irresistible. Make this just once and you’ll build meals around it throughout asparagus season.

Inspired by the Korean beef with rice that my family loves so much, these Korean beef noodles were a huge win from the very first bite. Loaded with umami, this one-pot dish is a guaranteed, family-friendly hit!

Bright and colorful, this flavorful Asian cabbage salad is full of freshness and crunch. You’re going to turn to this again and again during grilling season.

Chewy kitchen sink cookies are a fun surprise every time we make them. My cookies are typically made with whichever sweet or salty bits and pieces are left in the pantry from other baking adventures. They might be studded with chocolate and butterscotch chips, chopped candy bars, pretzels, nuts, potato chips, and more.

Inspired by the above cookies, this week’s ice cream is jam packed with toffee bits, cookie pieces, coconut, peanut butter cups, pecans, and more, creamy vanilla kitchen sink ice cream is bursting at the seams with deliciousness.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Jenn’s Apple Cider Donut Cake is making my mouth water! Doesn’t it sound amazing?

My FAVORITE THING this week is my air fryer. I’ve been using it more than ever

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I had a wonderful time visiting friends and family in Arizona this past week. It’s a little strange sometimes to realize we’ve been away from the Southwest for over six years now, after living all of my life until then in the desert.

I’m looking forward to relaxing with my family as much as possible this weekend. I’m hoping to spend some time soaking up some Ohio sunshine and maybe squeezing in a nap or two as well. It was a glorious 62°F outside yesterday, while Arizona popped back up over 100°F. There really is no place better than home – especially when you live in Ohio.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK:  Tender shrimp, crisp hot vegetables, and a whole lot of flavor come together to make this Shrimp Fried Rice in just 20 minutes.

Spicy ground beef, tender potatoes, bell pepper, and onion come together in a simple Ground Beef and Potatoes skillet meal that will leave everyone grinning around the table.

This chicken salad with grapes and apples is rapidly becoming my family’s go-to chicken salad. (And that says a lot considering how many different versions of chicken salad we make!) Served with crackers or chips, layered in a sandwich or a lettuce wrap, or simply eaten with a fork, this salad is a winner.

With just 3 ingredients and 15 minutes in the oven, Brown Sugar Bacon is a guaranteed way to ensure breakfast happiness. There’s something almost magical in the way a bit of melted butter and brown sugar caramelizes around each salty strip of bacon.

Tender crab meat and a flavorful cream cheese sauce combine to make this Hot Crab Dip taste similar to crab rangoon, but in dippable form! Serve with crostini, toasted baguette, crackers, wonton chips, or whichever dippers you like best.

Thin, chewy, buttery oatmeal lace cookies with crispy edges have proven completely and totally irresistible to every single person who has tried them.

Creamy and sweet with a bit of tang, sour cream ice cream is bright and refreshing when served in a cone, over a slice of apple crisp, or scooped into a bowl and topped with a warm berry sauce.

What I’m CRAVING: These almond butter stuffed chocolate covered dates caught my eye last week and now I can’t stop thinking about them! I must try

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I’m in Arizona for a few days and as I write this, I’m enjoying a cool morning on the porch at a friend’s cabin a few hours north of the already very warm Valley of the Sun. Every time I visit Phoenix, it makes me appreciate the beauty of cooler weather and changing seasons all the more.

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Ohio? I hope I never take for granted what a gift it is to wake up to my favorite place in the world every morning.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: It’s pasta salad season over here and I’m pretty happy about it. Al dente tiny pasta tossed with generous amounts of cooked shrimp, crunchy fresh vegetables, and a citrus-spiked creamy dressing all combine to make this Shrimp Pasta Salad irresistible. It’s about to become your new summer favorite!

Mozzarella cheese, salami, tomatoes, bell peppers, red onion, and black olives are combined with bite-size pasta and tossed in a tangy, garlicky, vinaigrette to make this Salami Pasta Salad. My boys went a little bit crazy over it the first time I made it.

Oh how I’m loving fresh asparagus right now! Asparagus wrapped in bacon is an impressive-looking side dish that is every bit as awesome to eat as it is to admire on the plate. I could happily make a full meal out of this asparagus.

Tender pasta, shrimp, bacon, and asparagus are tossed with garlic in a creamy sauce to make this irresistible Shrimp Asparagus Pasta. This is a deceptively easy recipe, friends. While the directions look lengthy at first glance, I promise you that this is a quick and straightforward recipe.

With layers of sweet vanilla pudding, sliced bananas, and vanilla wafers tucked under a fluffy layer of whipped meringue, this Old-Fashioned Banana Pudding is a hit every time it is served.

Rich, sweet, and infused with whiskey that has been mellowed by heavy cream, Homemade Irish Cream is dreamy. It’s much more subtle and sophisticated than its commercial counterpart.

And if you’re a fan of Bailey’s Irish Cream: this Irish cream infused Bailey’s Ice Cream is going to make you weak at the knees!

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Christi’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies. If you love chocolate and peanut butter, this recipe is about as good as it gets. I could very happily eat this entire batch myself. These cookies really are THAT good.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these Read more