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

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! I came home to a glorious sunset the other day and couldn’t resist pausing in the driveway to take a photo. What an amazing world we live in, friends. Even when life throws us curveballs, the sun still rises and sets in moments of beauty.

As I write this, the birds are singing at full volume outside my window and the sun hasn’t even risen. I love it. We’ve had a fun week over here. My mom is visiting and my youngest son is in his first school play. Who knew high school theater could be this much fun??

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Filled with creamy oats, sweet bananas, berries, a hint of brown sugar, and spices, this Crockpot Oatmeal is a breakfast that my whole family enjoys. Best of all, this crave-worthy oatmeal can be made in just one hour without any stirring at all!

Spicy, sweet, and slightly tangy Glazed Salmon with Broccoli is one of my favorite ways to cook and serve fish. One delightfully simple sauce does double duty as marinade for the fish and flavor booster for the fresh broccoli.

Crab Stuffed Mushrooms filled with soft cream cheese, fresh green onions, and sweet crab meat keep you coming back for more. These two-bite appetizers are hard to stop eating.

If you’re lucky enough to have some extra mushrooms left in the fridge, garlicky Marinated Mushrooms are great to have on hand to add some pizzazz to salads, sandwiches, pizzas, snacks, and more! This simple recipe makes it easy to keep a jar of them in the refrigerator at all times.

Slightly sweet and tangy, Apple Grape Salad is a fast and fresh-as-can-be fruit salad with a creamy dressing that you’ll want all summer long. You can’t go wrong pairing this with any and all grilled and roasted meats or with a sandwich for a quick meal that satisfies.

Italian Chocolate Salami is made of crumbled cookies, chopped, and toasted nuts, suspended in creamy chocolate that resembles salami. This delightfully different dessert is served in many parts of the world.

Creamy, real banana ice cream studded with pieces of vanilla cookie and pockets of sweet whipped cream combine to make Banana Pudding Ice Cream. If you like banana pudding, you’ll go wild for this!

What I’m CRAVING: All the salads! From the Italian grinder salad to cheeseburger salad, California spaghetti salad to Read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! If you live in Ohio, I hope you spent every possible moment outdoors yesterday. What a GLORIOUS preview of summer we had! After a week of crazy wind, sleet, rain, and altogether too-chilly-for-April weather, it was an amazing 84 degrees with sunshine. I soaked up as much sunshine as possible knowing that we still have a couple of months to go before this is a daily thing again. 

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: With flavorful salmon nestled on a bed of baby greens, fresh herbs, glass noodles, avocado, crunchy cabbage and carrots, pickled broccoli and a to-die-for chili lime dressing, this Asian Salmon Salad is a showstopper.

This is a salad to get very excited for – just ask my friends and family. I’ve been shouting about it for months, and I’m thrilled to be sharing it with you at last.

Citrusy, savory, and fabulously gingery, garlicky Marinated Asian Salmon makes the most flavorful salmon you’ll ever have. While you do have to plan a few hours ahead, it’s easy to make and well worth the small amount of prep you need to do in advance. (You’ll want to prep it now to make that awesome salad!)

Full of toasted sesame flavor, tangy, and crisp-tender, sweet and savory pickled broccoli is unexpectedly wonderful. Much like bread and butter pickles in taste, these brined, thinly sliced broccoli stems are great on salads (see above!), sandwiches, and cheese boards.

Brimming with juicy pineapple and colorful bell peppers, this pineapple chicken stir fry is a little bit tangy, a little bit sweet, pretty to look at, and full of flavor!

Air fryer shrimp makes even faster work of already quick cooking shrimp to get a crowd-pleasing dish on the table in record time. This has become a quick lunch favorite for me of late too. Whether you’re using your cooked shrimp as the main event, serving it with cocktail sauce, in a salad, or using it as a component in another dish, you’ll love this easy cooking method.

Shaved Brussels sprouts salad with warm bacon dressing is the ideal side dish to serve with roast pork, beef, or chicken. Tangy, warm bacon dressing is poured over shaved Brussels sprouts, green onions, pecans, and dried cherries in this easy but sophisticated tasting recipe.

Sweet and creamy with a gentle tang, buttermilk ice cream tastes like

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We’ve had a fun week at home with family visiting. Our weather has been chilly, but the sun is making regular appearances now too. The big question these days is how much longer until true spring arrives?? I’m definitely ready for it. 

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Crispy baked potatoes are filled with hearty meat and vegetables and topped with creamy mashed potatoes in these Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potatoes.

Go on and name a salad that is more universally loved than a classic Caesar salad. Crisply fresh Romaine lettuce, the best ever creamy Caesar dressing, a hint of sunshiney lemon, salty Parmesan cheese, and garlicky croutons all help make one of the best-known salads legendary.

I can’t get enough of all the salads lately. Sweet, roasted golden beets and peppery arugula are tossed with creamy goat cheese and crunchy walnuts to make the golden beet salad that I can’t stop eating. Drizzled with a vinaigrette or a balsamic glaze, it’s a vibrantly colorful and flavorful salad that I absolutely love.

This chocolate pudding bundt cake is pure chocolate lover’s heaven! Rich, deeply chocolatey, and super moist, this cake gets rave reviews and recipe requests every time I serve it.

Shiny, rich, and versatile, this chocolate glaze is so simple to make, you’ll be tempted to cover everything in it. From cookies to cakes to brownies, the world is yours to glaze with chocolatey goodness.

If you’ve ever wondered how to make creme brulee at home, today is your lucky day! This luscious and rich custard topped with a layer of hard caramel is made from just four common ingredients; heavy cream, egg yolks, sugar, and vanilla.

What I’m CRAVING:  These crisy baked goat cheese bites caught my eye yesterday and this needs to happen here soon. I love topping a salad with baked cheese bites.

My FAVORITE THINGS this week are these silk hair ties. I’ve been using them for several years now and they’re my favorites. I sleep in them every night and wear them often during the day. Unlike every other hair tie I h

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! The spring flowers are blooming and it’s looking so pretty around the village. As I was out walking this week, I found myself stopping several times just to admire the beautiful flowering trees.

Today is filled with new recipes for me to cook and photograph and I’m looking forward to it. Plus, it’s raining outside and I’m cozy inside, so no complaints here.

ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: This easy and impressive poblano corn chowder has serious comfort food power. Gather your ingredients and be ready to gather the praises that will be heaped on you when folks dunk a spoon into a big bowl of this flavorful chicken, corn, and potato chowder with a hint of heat from roasted poblano chiles.

Tender chunks of savory chicken dance with crisp green beans in a sauce that’s the perfect blend of savory and spice in this chicken and green beans stir fry.

A taco quesadilla is the happy marriage of perfectly flavorful taco meat and the crunchy, cheesy goodness of a quesadilla. Use leftover taco meat and you’re just moments away from a meal everyone will love!

A hot skillet full of sizzling, cheesy, flavorful lasagna dip on the table is guaranteed to put smiles on everyone’s faces! True to its name, this hot cheese-laden dip is redolent with the garlic and tomato goodness of comforting, hearty lasagna.

Hash brown waffles are hot, crispy potato perfection. They’re perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner and they make a terrific base for all kinds of toppings. They’re fantastic with gravy or a fried egg on top – or both. Hashbrown waffles are immensely snackable with the dipping sauce of your choice too.

These easy, five-ingredient peanut butter s’mores have a layer of marshmallow and milk chocolate sandwiched between two layers of peanut butter cookies. Can you think of anything more calculated to bring happiness in a single bite?

Rich and creamy vanilla ice cream exploding with pieces of homemade chocolate chip cookies is what chocolate chip cookie ice cream is and what makes it so irresistible. This chocolate chip cookie ice cream will keep you coming back for more.

What I’m CRAVING: My friend Lynne’s Chocolate Mint Dream Bars. This is just the most outrageously awesome dessert, words fail me. My boys go nuts over it every time we make it.

My FAVORITE THING this week is this little Read more