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

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! It’s a drizzly warm weekend here in Ohio, and I am happily here for it. My weekend plan is to be on the couch with a stack of books or out for a walk, as long as the weather cooperates.

If you are on TikTok, (full disclosure, I am just not that cool) my brother (Hi, Miles!) has an account that I love. (And yes, I can see it using my computer – again, I’m just not TikTok cool.) 

Anyways, if you’re into homesteading, DIY projects, schoolie life, or just enjoy watching someone else getting things done (yes, that’s me!), it’s a lot of fun to watch. You can check it out here: https://www.tiktok.com/@miles_3m 

IN THE KITCHEN THIS WEEK: Calling all shrimp lovers! These flavorful and satisfying Shrimp Quesadillas with bright bell peppers are fast enough for busy schedules and special enough for company. As a matter of fact, I liked them so much, I made them two days in a row for my lunches last week.

I just put this Noodle Stir Fry with Chicken and Cabbage back on my meal plan. I would be thrilled to eat this weekly. I seriously love it.

Need a super easy brunch that will impress a crowd? Elegant and easy to make, Puff Pastry Danishes are flaky, crispy-edged breakfast pastries that you can customize for everyone at your table. This easy danish recipe comes together almost too quickly to be believed.

This Steak and Mushroom Skillet delivers all the flavors I crave in a great restaurant steak. Lucky for all of us, that steak has been transformed into a quick stir fry that can be made even on the busiest of nights.

Quick and easy Chicken Fajitas are simple to make with just five ingredients! These fajitas are filled with great flavors from peppers, onions, chicken strips, and spices.

Lemon Posset is creamy, velvety 3-ingredient lemon pudding that is impossibly simple and satisfying. It’s impressive as can be and proof that old-school techniques can yield very happy modern results!

Almond-flavored ice cream swirled with buttery toasted almonds? Yes, please! Each bite of Almond Ice Cream is an irresistible combination of creamy smooth ice cream and those crunchy buttered almonds. 

My FAVORITE THING this week is this ice cream scoop. Several years ago, I ordered and tested every unique ice cream scoop I could find online or in stores. With over 150 ice cream recipes, I