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Sweet bits of pineapple and a spicy jalapeño combine to make this salsa one of my newest favorite condiments. If you've been reading this blog for very long you already know that there are not a lot of things I label "the best". This salsa is well qualified for that title.

There is a Mexican restaurant in my city that serves a pineapple salsa that I have enjoyed for a while now. I have no idea why it took me so long to try making my own, but a sale on pineapples finally pushed me to try. What was I waiting for? This salsa absolutely smokes my former favorite.

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This hearty spaghetti sauce is loaded with mushrooms, peppers, asparagus, and tomatoes, creating a rich and flavorful sauce for any kind of pasta. My kids were a little suspicious when they saw the piles of vegetables waiting on the counter near the stove. However, after they tasted their dinner, they all agreed that it was very tasty!

Vegetable Pasta is the kind of meal that happens in our house when I'm staring down a refrigerator full of of produce and I'm running out of time to use it all. There aren't many things in the kitchen that annoy me more than wasting food, so I try to do everything I can to avoid letting produce go to waste. Pastas and Stir Fries are two of the best ways to use up odds and ends from the refrigerator.


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This fruit filled dairy-free Pineapple Orange Banana Smoothie is perfect for breakfast or an after dinner treat. The sweetness of the fruit is balanced nicely with the slightly tart pineapple. Without adding more than a hint of coconut flavor, coconut water creates a much lighter smoothie than the alternative dairy based smoothies.

My family is laughably passionate in their love of smoothies. One almost any given day, you're likely to find our blender on the counter making smoothies in almost every color of the rainbow. From Green Smoothies that don't taste the tiniest bit green, to dozens of fruit and vegetable filled smoothie recipes, all the way to my boys' beloved Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie and my personal favorite, the Pina Colada Smoothie, there is sure to be a smoothie for everyone's tastes!
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Sweet corn, crisp bell peppers, salty bacon, a splash of hot sauce and lime are all tossed together in a simple sauce to make this Creamed Corn with Peppers and Bacon.

When I was challenged to use Philadelphia Cream Cheese in a twist on a recipe, I immediately knew which recipe I wanted to play with this time. One of my very favorite snacks is Elote (Hot Mexican Corn Dip), a recipe I've made countless times and adapted from Elote restaurant in Sedona, AZ.

Creamed Corn with Peppers and Bacon takes it's inspiration from that dish, but it kicks up the vegetables and works beautifully as a side dish. However, I won't say anything if you go ahead and serve it as a dip, just dive in with a plate of tortilla chips. I might have done that myself the second time I made this.

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Colcannon is an Irish and Scottish dish comprised of mashed potatoes with either cabbage or kale. We tried Colcannon for the first time a few years ago, alongside our Baked Honey Mustard Corned Beef. These potatoes were the biggest surprise hit that I made that year. Most of my family enjoys bacon, cabbage and mashed potatoes on their own, but I had no clue that each member of the family would declare this dish awesome and eat every single spoonful.

Even my boys, who were extremely leery of the "green stuff" in their potatoes requested seconds and kept talking about how delicious the "ko-cannon" and corned beef dinner was. All three of them requested this again the next day for lunch and they were very disappointed that there was not anything leftover.

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Caramel Swirl Cheesecake Cupcakes start with smooth and creamy cheesecake over a simple graham cracker crust, then they are topped with a swirl of caramel sauce just before baking. Do you remember when I promised you a dessert worthy of that Vanilla Bean Salted Caramel Sauce? This is it.

For an extra special dessert, I topped the last two "leftover" cupcakes with a generous drizzle of warm caramel just before serving. (I wish I'd thought of that earlier! I highly recommend doing that with ALL of them.) Side note: Is there ever really a "leftover" dessert? I typically look forward to that last serving and stash it away for an afternoon snack later in the week. So, does it truly count as a leftover? These are the food things that I ponder late at night.

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Slow Cooker Oatmeal has been one of my family's favorite breakfasts for over three years now and my kids request this Cranberry Almond version more than any other. We truly do love oatmeal, as evidenced by over 40 oatmeal recipes here on the blog! Cooked on the stove, in the oven, or in a crock-pot; oatmeal is likely to be on our menu multiple times a month.

At first glance, crock-pot oatmeal might seem like a very long wait for breakfast, but I promise that it isn't long at all. One hour is all it takes and you'll have a  delicious hot cereal ready to eat.

The benefit of not having to watch the stove or do anything in the kitchen right before eating makes this perfect for busy mornings! I typically add the oatmeal ingredients to the Crock-Pot as I start our coffee in the morning. By the time the kids are up and ready for school, the oatmeal is ready to serve.

Slow Cooker Oatmeal is not simply oatmeal made in a crock-pot. The texture is different, closer to a warm muesli cereal than a traditional stovetop oatmeal. As the oatmeal slowly cooks, the nuts soften and the dried fruit gives a natural sweetness to the oatmeal. I like to add a spoonful of brown sugar to the crock-pot, but it isn't required at all.

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