Every year I have an age-inappropriate amount of fun planning my birthday cake. While Ben is content with a simple batch of cookies (even Cookie Cake is a little fancy for him), I like to use my birthday as an excuse to be a bit more… excessive. One layer of cake? No, let’s make it three! Chocolate frosting? Okay, but let’s add in some cream cheese for added richness and body (like in the frosting of my favorite Strawberry Cake)....
I first wrote about the start of my love affair with Asian lettuce wraps back when I shared this recipe for copycat P.F. Chang’s vegetarian Lettuce Wraps. My love for them hasn’t dwindled in the slightest since then. P.F. Chang’s lettuce wraps are made of less accessible ingredients that I’m not as likely to have around, like mirin and shiitake mushrooms and are packed with sugar (a reason why lettuce wraps are high in carbs)....
You. I know you. You’re that sneaky scoundrel who stole more than your share of the wondrous topping off of my cherry crisp. I’m only upset because you beat me to it. Here to deliver justice to all: an EXTRA oat topping homemade cherry crisp! No more disappointment, no more topping fights, no more inappropriately naked fruit fillings. Thanks to an overload of oat topping, there can now be peace, harmony, and total silence as we bury our faces in servings of homemade cherry crisp with fair and equal topping distribution....
It’s super summery, creamy and crunchy, and, unlike just about every salad I’ve ever ordered in a restaurant, blessedly low maintenance to munch. This BLT chopped salad was made for ease. The colorful array of beautiful tomatoes, kale, and bacon (!!) are cut to a manageable size, and the even distribution of ingredients ensures that you get a little bit of everything with each bite. Like a BLT but without the bread....
In the first year of my marriage, I had two dinner-oriented goals. Convince my husband to like vegetables (without necessarily adding bacon like in this Cauliflower Casserole).Find a staple holiday side dish to bring to family gatherings that would be i) enjoyed by all, and ii) a little different than the standard spread. Thanks to this broccoli bake recipe, I was able to accomplish both goals simultaneously. About This Cheesy Broccoli Bake To anyone who struggles to convince family members to eat their veggies, this cheesy broccoli casserole recipe (or this Broccoli Quinoa Casserole) will be your hero....
In Wisconsin, there’s always the possibility that Halloween will coincide with the first (or second) snowstorm of the season. While some kiddos will bravely don their winter parkas over their costumes and trudge through the snow (all in the name of FREE candy), a Halloween blizzard usually means excess candy (and Halloween Chex Mix with Candy Corn and Salty Maple Peanuts) left in the bowl at the end of the night....
Chunks of juicy chicken, crisp romaine, plenty of creamy Caesar Dressing, and sun-dried tomatoes all wrapped up in a fluffy large flour tortilla, it will breathe new life into your mid-day meal. While I do a decent job planning our dinners, lunch goes something like this: open fridge. Dig around in fridge. Sigh and eat the same meal I’ve had for the last month straight. That’s not so bad if it’s something yummy and interesting (Roasted Vegetable Salad; Asian Chicken Wraps), but more often than not, I’m in a rut....
Ever on the lookout for acceptable means to eat chocolate at breakfast, I am no stranger to the various types of chocolate muffins. These Healthy Chocolate Muffins are moist and marvelous in a way that will surprise you, given their wholesome ingredient lineup.These Chocolate Banana Muffins are a little fruity and tender.Chocolate Zucchini Muffins have a sneak ingredient (avocado!) that fools even the pickiest of eaters. Just today, however, I am in the mood for a little indulgence with my cup of morning coffee....
Not only is stuffing made in a slow cooker more low maintenance than traditional stuffing cooked in the oven (the same can be said for Crockpot Mashed Potatoes), there’s a strong argument that it actually tastes better. Crock pot stuffing stays more moist in the center and has more surface area for the delightfully crispy, golden edges. Plus, outsourcing the stuffing to the slow cooker means your coveted oven space will be free for other endeavors on Thanksgiving and beyond....
Growing up, I had a master Easter egg hunt strategy: hoard the plastic, candy-filled eggs (a.k.a. the “good” eggs) and avoid the real, hard-boiled (“bad”) eggs. An egg without snickers inside simply had no place in my Easter basket’s limited real estate. Had these curried deviled eggs been a part of my childhood egg hunt, however, they would have been worth every inch of basket space. Gone are my childhood days when I dreamed of Triple Chocolate Easter Cake....
While I like to assume that my husband married me for my irresistible charm, girlish good looks, and sparkling personality, I know better: he married me for my easy baked beans (and this Jalapeno Cornbread). Broadly speaking, he actually married me for Kansas City barbecue, of which baked beans are a critical component. Whenever we head back to my hometown, at least two barbecue runs are a mandatory part of our travel agenda....
Eggnog, in theory, is the ideal holiday drink (as is Mulled Wine). It’s pleasantly spiced and so thick and creamy, it practically demands to be thinned out with bourbon or rum. However, it’s also so incredibly indulgent that every holiday season I crave exactly one tiny glass of eggnog. No more. No less. Eggnog bread, however, I can happily devour loaf after loaf without ever growing tired of its warm spices and buttery softness (ditto goes for this Pumpkin Coffee Cake)....
A sucker for a good deal, I never fail to overbuy on zucchini in the summer when the farmers at our local market are all but giving it away, and my green thumb friends are desperately looking to share their wealth. Since one cannot live on Healthy Zucchini Muffins and Zucchini Cookies alone (SIGH), I’ve taken to using zucchini to make all manner of side dishes. When we’re staying inside for dinner, oven and stovetop recipes like Roasted Zucchini, Sauteed Zucchini, or Zucchini Fries fit the bill....
Maybe I’ve been sitting too close to a lit pumpkin spice candle, but I felt the air change this week. Instead of flip-flops and short-sleeved tees, I found myself subconsciously reaching for slippers and scarves. I’m also dumping cinnamon on everything (plus baking Cinnamon Blondies), and debating how to use my first purchased can of precious pumpkin. While Pumpkin Coffee Cake or Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies would be tasty choices, I think these healthy pumpkin bars may just edge them out of contention....
Eating cold watermelon right out of the refrigerator is one of summer’s greatest joys. Yet, despite my love of this naturally hydrating, ultra-refreshing fruit, I very rarely buy and cut up a watermelon. Why? Because it’s a pain. Or so I thought. Thanks to this easy method for cutting watermelon, however, that all changed. As it turns out, I’ve been cutting watermelon wrong all along. Now that I can cut a watermelon properly, we have it in our fridge almost every day, and I am a happy summer gal....
In exactly six weeks, my cookbook will finally be out in the world! In case you missed it, if you preorder a copy, I’ll send you a collection of EXCLUSIVE BONUS RECIPES that aren’t in the cookbook, or on my blog (more details here). You can preorder from anywhere books are sold. Below are a few links for easy reference: This book has been nearly four years in the making, though I’ve had ideas for it rolling around in the back of my brain for much longer....
This recipe and post are brought to you by Pick ‘N Save. I’m not sure which aunt broke into “My Favorite Things” first, but it sparked a solid hour of uninterrupted show tunes, sung in a shameless, operatic manner while washing my Grammy’s impressively large collection of non-dishwasher safe tableware. Not one of us can carry a tune, and we all know every verse. Ben was introduced to our “tradition” during the first Christmas he spent with my family....
This mango spinach banana smoothie is not only incredibly healthy, but it’s also refreshing, creamy, and flat-out DELISH. Now, before you question whether or not a green smoothie can truly taste that good, what if I said you can add mango and banana to your smoothie for a flavor that tastes like a tropical vacay? Now we’re talking. <—Unless I caught you mid-slurp. Go ahead and finish. We can high five over a healthy breakfast smoothie that’s reminiscent of an island getaway as soon as you come up for air....
The first few days of January are always bittersweet for me. I anticipate the holidays so much, then whoosh. One second I’m eating my family’s favorite Chestnut Stuffing and playing with my niece on Christmas morning, then the next I’m home and facing a loooooong winter. As much as I’d like to rewind and relive the long Christmas weekend over and over (another helping of Healthy Sweet Potato Casserole, please), I know part of what makes the holidays special is that they come but once a year....
It’s also the latest installment to the “I’m in my sweatpants and going to the store sounds like a lot of effort, so let’s see if I can avoid it” saga (this popular Chipotle Bowl was the first episode if you’d like to catch up). Better use of on-hand ingredients. No need to put on real clothes. This is clearly a win-win recipe (like Taco Salad and Cowboy Chicken) that we all can (and should) support....
