Recipe

Today is National Chocolate Chip Cookie Day, so I got to thinking about my all-time favorite chocolate chip cookies. My favorite happens to be from La Grande Orange in Phoenix, Arizona. They make the tastiest, giant, chocolate chip cookies with sea salt. I emailed them to ask if they would share their recipe with me. They politely said no, stating it is a signature recipe that they will not publish. I get it, but I was a bit disappointed.

I’ve been on a soup kick lately. Maybe it’s because it’s winter (but it’s like 80 in Phoenix today, so cold weather isn’t the motivator). Really, I think it’s because soup is so comforting.

I’m on the hunt for the perfect summer cocktail recipes. Why? Because my new friends at the 5 O’Clock Fashionistas asked me to create an Arizona cocktail. I still haven’t put my finger on what I should make to represent the state of AZ. I decided to look for interesting summer cocktail recipes for inspiration.

When Barilla asked me to create a simple, one-pan recipe for this time-strapped millennial, I was up for the challenge. It can be such a struggle to prepare a healthy and nutritious dinner on demand most nights because, like many of you, I’m juggling a full-time job, two little kids and trying to keep up with my blog. Dinner often takes a back seat to all my other priorities.

Coca-Cola™ asked me to participate in their “Share a Coke and a Song Campaign.” I was excited to participate because they asked me to think about songs that remind me of important memories while also creating a fun tutorial to highlight a summer moment. For me, my major summer highlight is graduating. I decided to create candy graduation caps to top my favorite cupcakes as a way to celebrate this major life event.

It’s pretty cool how and why we decided to share this Southern Banana Pudding recipe with you. Keebler ask me to create a recipe that brought back childhood memories. My husband and I reminisced about our favorite cookies. It was so much fun!

We had a surplus of peaches after taking our kids to pick fresh peaches at a local farm. We also had a bunch of green tea in the pantry, so I decided to try making a healthy peach green tea recipe.

I’ve never eaten grilled apricots before. The idea for this grilled apricot salad recipe came about after a failed attempt to grill peaches (we couldn’t get the pits out!). Since apricots were also in season, we decided to give them a try and developed this salad using grilled apricots, watercress, feta, balsamic syrup, and pepitas.

We’re a football family. I’m from Green Bay, WI – otherwise known as Titletown, USA – and my husband played big time college football. With training camp only a week away, I’m starting to think about tailgating. I love tailgating. Tailgating with my friends before a big game are some of my favorite memories. In Wisconsin, we always have brats and lots of cheese on-hand, but the standard tailgating fare gets old.

I love lemonade. It was the drink I craved continuously during my pregnancies. I especially love it in the summer when it’s 110 (Phoenix gets mighty hot!). Simply Lemonade® invited me to create a drink recipe, so I decided to highlight the yummy lemonade by creating fruit and herb flavored ice cubes to create raspberry ginger lemonade.

I love shrimp on the grill for two reasons. First, it is a great source of protein. Second, it cooks up really quickly. When I was invited to create a recipe using the new Smucker’s Fruit & Honey Strawberry Jalapeno Fruit Spread, I thought of shrimp right away. Why? Because shrimp pairs well with a sweet and spicy sauce, and I knew I could create a simple strawberry jalapeno glaze that would compliment the shrimp perfectly.

Every fall, I get really excited when I can break out my pumpkin pie spices and recipes. I love to bake and there is nothing better than the smell of pumpkin pie spices coming from the oven! It gets me excited for the upcoming holiday season.

I’ve seen lasagna rolls on Pinterest before, and I always thought they were so cute. Although I’ve shared a few vegetarian lasagna recipes on here before (brussels sprouts and mushrooms and vegetarian), I never tried making lasagna rolls before. I thought it would be a perfect kid-friendly meal to make for my family and I was right.

The two flavors that stuck with me from my trip to Argentina (besides the meat) was dulce de leche and espresso. My Argentinian friend gave me a jar of dulce de leche before I left, so I wanted to create a recipe that incorporated both espresso and dulce de leche. This espresso-spiked dulce de leche brownie recipe is the delicious outcome.

I love pumpkin spice baked goods. Every fall, it’s become a tradition for me to make at least a few versions of pumpkin spice goodies. My husband always requests pumpkin pancakes and these pumpkin cookies. I’ve also branched out and made these pumpkin Nutella bars, and pumpkin scones, both of which were a big hit at work.

I’ve made a lot of cookie recipes for the blog over the years, so it would a bit tough to think about a cookie I’ve never made to prep for the holidays. These almond thumbprint cookies fill two categories. I’ve never made any type of thumbprint cookie before, and I’ve never used almond flour in a recipe for the blog before.

Around the holidays, I struggle to make meals for my family. We’re all so busy running to a holiday party or our kid’s school performances, so I just can’t seem to find time to make a hearty meal. I always seem to forget that I can fit in the time if I break out my slow cooker. I created this crockpot enchilada soup recipe because I wanted something warm and comforting, but still healthy this holiday season.

I decided to make these honey-oat no-bake homemade cereal bars because my kids are obsessed with ‘Papa’s cereal’. Somewhere along the way, Honey Bunches of Oats became known as Papa’s cereal in our house. It’s pretty darn cute when they ask for it, but I hate when they eat it because the tiny little flakes and oats end up all over the floor and them. I often find little flakes in my daughter’s hair.

One of my absolute favorite foods is my husband’s homemade pizza. After much trial and error, he has perfected it. We’ve never tried a BBQ chicken pizza before, so we thought it would be a fun way to use our stand-by skillet pizza dough recipe.

I’ve seen a lot of great baked oatmeal recipes online but I never made it myself. I love the idea of baked oatmeal because it’s a perfect hot breakfast you can make it in advance and then eat it all week long. Plus, I love baked goods. This blueberry baked oatmeal is a healthy way to get the taste of a baked good, like a blueberry muffin, without all the sugar and calories.

When we lived in Kansas, we hosted a small dinner party for my husband’s law school friends. One of our guests brought this giant apple-shaped cheese ball appetizer and I thought it was the cutest thing ever. At first, I had no idea what it was.

I’m always searching for ways to sneak healthy ingredients into my kids’ diet. They generally won’t eat much protein and they don’t like avocados on their own. I wanted to try this avocado pasta sauce because it seemed like a really simple recipe and I was hoping I could trick my kids into eating it since they do like spaghetti.

How are you celebrating Memorial day? We’re getting together with some friends. I have a feeling there will be some grilling and imbibing. I’m not a huge drinker, but when I do have a drink, I like it to be fruity. To highlight some of the best produce of the summer, I created this blueberry watermelon smash cocktail.

Summers in Phoenix can be brutal. The only way to get through them is to find ways to keep cool. I tend to spend a lot more time inside (with the AC blasting), but that gets boring. My other favorite way to keep cool is to spend time in the pool, with a cool drink in my hand. I created this porch crawler beer cocktail drink recipe because it is the perfect summer drink to enjoy while you’re lounging on your porch or chilling in the pool.

What are you cooking for Thanksgiving this year? Chances are high that you (or your family or friends) will make some green bean casserole recipes. As a kid, I distinctly remember my grandma made it and I didn’t eat much of it.

Are you a meal prep person? Lately, I’ve been trying really hard to pre-plan meals that I can take with me to work or eat while I’m on the go. This mini breakfast casserole recipe are a great on-the-go breakfast or dinner (if you like breakfast for dinner like I do ).

What are you doing for the big football game this weekend? We will definitely be chilling at home with the kids and I plan to make the best appetizers to prepare. For the first time, I made this homemade pretzel bites, and they are definitely on the list for Sunday.

How do you celebrate Easter with your family? Brunch is a major Easter tradition in many households and since my family loves breakfast foods, I’m planning to create a whole spread for them. I’ve never made sticky cinnamon buns before, so when I teamed up with Pillsbury™, I was excited to create these sticky cinnamon buns.

My kids are such picky eaters, especially my son. I’m constantly looking for new ideas for meals to change it up. These breakfast bruschetta with Nutella® Hazelnut Spread are super easy to make, taste fantastic, and are a fun way to shake up our breakfast routine. Plus, it is so versatile to use with toast, fruit, and yogurt.

Are you looking for some recipe inspiration for your next gathering or BBQ? You need to try some of these healthy and fresh summer vegetarian recipes I’ve created over the years. All of them use fresh produce that’s at its peak during the summer.

We are all so busy during the holidays, we need quick and easy solutions. That’s why I want to show you how to set up a cheese board in 5 minutes or less.

Last week, I mentioned how excited I am to have a lemon tree in our yard. I shared 5 of my favorite lemon recipes, and I’ve been contemplating what to make next. When I saw this glazed lemon cookies recipe, I knew it was something I wanted to try. I’m such a fan of a vibrant lemon flavor. I love that this recipe calls for so much fresh lemon juice and zest.

Mmmm…cauliflower! So I know there is a whole big movement to replace carbs with cauliflower. But it’s not just hype! It actually totally works. Now, if you’re expecting that cauliflower pizza crust is going to taste EXACTLY like pizza you’ll get at your favorite restaurant, well, then you’re going to be disappointed. But, I still think cauliflower is a great substitute.

It’s almost Cinco de Mayo! Ever since I first moved to Phoenix in 2004, I’ve been a fan of that day. I mean, it’s another excused to enjoy great Mexican food and yummy drinks with my friends. After living in Boston for awhile, I can honestly say I missed Mexican food the most.

I’m on a healthy snack kick and I also want to find ways to get my kids to try new foods. That’s why I decided to try making these honey roasted chickpeas.

What do you do with leftover mashed potatoes? Most of the time, we just eat them as-is. Until I saw a recipe for leftover mashed potatoes soup, I never even considered another use for leftover mashed potatoes.

It’s strawberry season and my family is so happy. Strawberries are my son’s favorite fruit, so I always stock up on them when it’s the prime season. This year, I went a little overboard and had way too many. That’s why I decided to try baking with fresh strawberries this time around.

I’ve made a lot of apple recipes over the years. You can check out my apple recipes here. But I haven’t tried baking with pears. It is pear season, so I thought I’d try to find a really easy recipe that still looks elevated. That’s why this simple pear cake recipe is perfect. It is honestly the easiest recipe ever. It’s totally fool-proof and you can substitute apples if you don’t have pears.

I’ve been on a major soup kick lately. It’s been cooler and rainy in LA a few times this month, so I stayed home and tried some new recipes. I recently made this Italian sausage and tortellini soup recipe and my whole family loved it. So I thought I’d try a vegan recipe this time. I’ve never tried 15 bean soup before, so I thought I’d give it a try. Instead of making mine with pork, like a lot of the recipes called for, I decided to make mine a vegan 15 bean soup recipe.

It’s the end of January – which is also oatmeal month, so I had to share the best oatmeal chocolate chip cookies recipe. I used this oatmeal cookie recipe as the base for a lot of other recipes, including these oatmeal scotchies. If you don’t like chocolate, you can replace the chocolate chips with nuts, raisins, cranberries, white chocolate, peanut butter, or butterscotch chips.

My dear friend is going to Paris in March and it got me thinking about all of my trips to Paris. I’ve been there 4 times and each trip has been unique and special. There are certain places in the world I think I could travel to every year. London, Paris, and New York come to mind.

Chocolate covered pretzels, especially chocolate covered pretzel rods are one of my favorite treats. The sweet and salty combo is always a winner and there is something so appealing about the crunch of chocolate dipped pretzel rods. I like them dipped in milk or dark chocolate and I like white chocolate covered pretzels even more.

Are you looking for a refreshing and citrusy drink to enjoy on a warm summer day? Look no further than the grapefruit spritz! This simple and delicious cocktail is perfect for sipping on the patio or serving at your next brunch.

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner, so I made these adorable Pot of Gold Oreo Dipped Cookies. My kids love a festive treat, and they were so excited to see these adorable dipped Oreos. If you’re looking for a fun and festive treat this St. Patrick’s day, these pot of gold cookies are easy to make and so darn cute.

How are you celebrating this 4th of July? We’re planning a pretty low-key long weekend at home with trips to the local splash pads and a few dips in our pool. We will definitely throw some burgers or brats on the grill and make some yummy side dishes, but I want to make some fun and festive.

When October rolls around, I’m so ready for fall and all the flavors fall brings — especially all the pumpkin spice recipes I can find. I like me some pumpkin. I’ve shared my favorite pumpkin spice cookies, pumpkin nutella bars, pumpkin scones and pumpkin pancakes before, but I’m always on the hunt for different pumpkin spice recipes.

I love the holidays for many reasons — spending time with family, decorating our tree, finding the perfect gifts for my loved-ones — but one of my absolutely favorite parts is finding and trying new Christmas cookie recipes.

Yay! Easter is almost here! How are you celebrating this weekend? I’m planning to take our kids to a couple different Easter egg hunts and I’m planning a small one in our backyard too. I also hope to find some time to try out some Easter crafts and maybe even a recipe or two. If you’re still looking for fun DIY Easter crafts and recipes to try out, check out some of my favorites below. Happy Easter everyone!

Have you heard of La Befana and the feast of the Epiphany? I hadn’t until a few days ago. I’m always looking for more ways to connect to my Italian heritage. My birthday is on Three Kings Day – aka Epiphany, so I researched ideas of traditional Italian desserts and that’s how I learned about befanini cookies.