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This recipe is sponsored by Land O’Lakes. In contrast, it took five days to agree on a new washer. All of our kitchen towels were in the flooded, broken old one, so we dried dishes with beach towels instead. (Good thing this mac and cheese is minimal on the dishes, too!) With a few easy tips, you can elevate even the most simple mac and cheese recipe into something that tastes special enough to please the most discerning adult palates....

I first clued into the magic of using the air fryer to cook potatoes via this Air Fryer Baked Potato recipe. The skin is nicely crisp, the inside is tender and fluffy, the potatoes cook comparatively quickly, and best of all, using the air fryer means you can skip running your oven for an hour+ to make them. Sweet potatoes take 40 to 50 minutes to cook in the air fryer at 370 degrees F, which is 10 to 20 minutes faster than they bake in the oven....

These wholesome muffins are simple, cozy, and homey in the best possible way. The warm touch of cinnamon and the toasty bits of oatmeal make me think of spontaneous hugs and baking something fun just because. And while I have a few different oatmeal muffin options—Healthy Pumpkin Muffins, Healthy Oatmeal Muffins (and even more non-oatmeal muffin options like Healthy Banana Muffins, Healthy Zucchini Muffins, and all of these healthy muffin recipes)—I did not have a recipe to suit what I was most craving: a batch of good, old-fashioned applesauce muffins....

Before you brush these off as the same ol’ same ol’ baked chicken meatball recipe you’ve tried before, I implore you to reconsider. These easy and healthy chicken meatballs with spinach offer old-school Italian flavor, done new-school fast: They require less than 15 minutes to prep.They are made entirely in the oven.Will please grownups and kids alike (including your pickiest toddlers). And are LOADED with good-for-you, great-tasting ingredients. This is one chicken meatball recipe that’s worth a second look....

Somewhere between a buttermilk pound cake recipe, a tender sponge cake, and a bright lemony brunch cake, this easy vanilla buttermilk cake is a chameleon. You can serve it for dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or sneak a slice for breakfast. This bundt cake is a dream to slice and transport, so you can easily share (that is, if you want to). This buttermilk cake isn’t overly sweet, and its texture is something special....

Last week, I was debating which dessert to make for dinner at a friend’s, and though I’m smitten with this recipe for Fresh Apple Cake, it just didn’t feel right. I craved something more decadent (like Flourless Chocolate Torte) but not so rich that guests couldn’t finish their entire piece. My dream dinner party dessert would: Feel special and different, yet comforting and homey. Could be served warm with vanilla ice cream (because aren’t all of the best desserts served warm with vanilla ice cream?...

While I am all for a fresh twist on an old favorite (the curry spices in this Instant Pot Chicken and Rice and the southwest spin on this Mexican Chicken and Rice make these recipes special), sometimes what we need is a dish at its most old-fashioned self. This old fashioned chicken and rice casserole isn’t wild. It won’t blow your mind with never before thought of flavors or tectonic levels of spice....

This rich, thick, and creamy soup with plump rounds of gnocchi, tender chunks of chicken, and a sneaky number of vegetables, is a healthy take on the Olive Garden chicken gnocchi soup that was the pinnacle of my high school dining experience (along with this Broccoli Cheddar Soup that’s reminiscent of Panera’s). When you are 15, does it get much better than soup made with primarily heavy cream and a side of all-you-can-eat breadsticks to go with it?...

Of all the healthy snack recipes I make, energy balls are the ones I come back to most. Between my go-to Oatmeal Energy Balls and specialty flavors (like Pumpkin Energy Balls, Fig Almond Energy Balls, and Ginger Cookie Healthy Energy Balls), I’ve made a small hipster cafe’s worth of energy bites and protein ball recipes over the years. They’re simple to make. Simply pulse in a food processor and roll—it doesn’t get much easier than that!...

This recipe for crockpot mashed potatoes is based on the mashed potatoes my mom makes every Thanksgiving. The ingredients of the original recipe (based off of the Pioneer Woman) are, in my mom’s words, you don’t want to know. Today’s crockpot version is based on my mom’s, in combination with my top-rated, lightened-up Instant Pot Mashed Potatoes. They aren’t healthy per se (because let’s be honest—no one wants healthy mashed potatoes on Thanksgiving), but they are more balanced....

In my case, the “wherever” is Wisconsin, a few thousand miles north of the Florida escape Ben and I originally were slated to take this weekend. Unfortunately, he had to have an unplanned foot surgery, and since neither of us could picture him crutching down the beach, we decided to save our trip for a later date. I originally booked our tickets at 11:45 p.m. from the comfort of my bed....

Our wedding cake was strawberry, so every year on our anniversary, I like to make a strawberry dessert to celebrate (cheers to Strawberry Pie!). This classic fresh Strawberry Cake is my move when I want something extra special (it’s truly divine and 1,000% worth the effort). When I want a fab dessert fast (ahem, anytime I am hosting or craving cake in general), I make this easy strawberry cake recipe....

OK, maybe not dire. We do have these classic Healthy Banana Muffins, Banana Bran Muffins, these blender Banana Oatmeal Muffins, plus a colorful collection of banana breads ranging from simple Healthy Banana Bread to Paleo Banana Bread to Zucchini Banana Bread to keep us fueled. Plus, these fudgy, chocolaty Heathy Chocolate Muffins. And yet, despite all the current options, these healthy banana chocolate chip muffins are special and deserve a recipe of their very own....

In grade school, whenever my mom let my sisters and me pick where we stopped for lunch, McDonald’s was the default choice. I always ordered the chicken McNuggets with honey for dipping, a habit that, in retrospect, I’m surprised my mother endorsed. She would have had no issue with the chicken nuggets—it’s the prospect of an open container of honey on the loose in the back seat that baffles me....

Velvety rich, creamy, and cheesy just like the Panera soup I loved (and OK, I still do), this Instant Pot potato soup is made without without heavy cream, yet it tastes absolutely indulgent. It combines fresh ingredients like potatoes and onion with pantry staples, so it’s both wholesome and convenient. Like my go-to classic Crockpot Potato Soup and this surprisingly zippy Potato Leek Soup, this delish Instant Pot cheesy potato soup recipe derives its creaminess from the potatoes themselves, along with cauliflower and Greek yogurt....

Game watch, Super Bowl party, tailgate, barbecue—it’s time to call in the potato skins, the Loaded Baked Potato Dip, and Air Fryer Chicken Wings some of my favorite snacks and appetizer recipes! Brie Bites, I do adore you, but when it comes to sports or grilling, you just aren’t the vibe. For today’s homemade potato skins recipe, I skipped the deep fryer and used the oven to make baked potato skins instead....

It’s been harder for me to pull myself out of bed the last few days. Now that the sun is rising later and the mornings are growing chilly, I find myself craving warm and cozy meals to start off my day. This pumpkin oatmeal perfectly suits that mood. While I love to meal prep with a big batch pumpkin oatmeal recipes like these hot slow cooker Pumpkin Overnight Oats and this Pumpkin Baked Oatmeal, sometimes these larger-scale recipes feel like too much of a quantity commitment....

As you will see, stuffed-butternut-squash nourished is very nourished indeed. When Maria and Heidi invited me to join them for a weekend blogging retreat in Park City, I couldn’t say yes quickly enough. I’ve looked up to these two women since I began blogging. Yes, their websites and recipes are absolutely beautiful, but what I admire most is their beauty of character and the generosity with which they share their time and talents with the blogging community....

I’ve never been so pleased to be a creature of habit, even if I am in a bit of denial about it. Sheet Pan Chicken with Sweet Potatoes Apples and Brussels Sprouts—Favorite Fall Flavors I first fell in love with this particular array of ingredients and flavors in January 2013, when I posted this recipe for Harvest Chicken Skillet with (wait for it) sweet potatoes, apples, and Brussels sprouts. It was one of my earliest recipes....

This summer shrimp pasta salad is a lighter spin on the Southern shrimp pasta salad that I remember making frequent appearances at our church potlucks and family reunions growing up. Like the original recipe, it has a creamy dressing, baby salad shrimp, and is super duper easy to make. The flavors aren’t too strong, so it pleases a variety of palates. Shrimp pasta salad is also easy to make ahead and highly portable....