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Tender white beans, roasted green chile, and chunks of chicken come together in this soup to create a flavorful meal absolutely perfect for a quick weeknight dinner. It's that time of year again and there's going to be soup simmering on my stove several times a week for the foreseeable future.

Green Chile Chicken Chowder is a simple soup that you can pull together with leftover or pre-cooked chicken and a few pantry or freezer items. I made this for dinner one night last week when we were all hungry and not wanting to wait for anything fancier. 15 minutes from start to finish is just about perfect in my book!

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This pumpkin bread is filled with melting chocolate chips and bursting with autumn spices. Is there anything more quintessentially fall than the smell of pumpkin spices drifting through the house?

I tasted pumpkin bread for the first time about 15 years ago, when one of my students shared her mom's pumpkin muffins with me. (Hi, Debbie!) I have no idea how I survived up until then without this awesomeness in our life, because pumpkin muffins have been a year-round (yes, pumpkin haters - year round) favorite in our home ever since.

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Light and savory broth filled with beef tender enough to cut with a spoon, sweet onions, and crisp bites of broccoli; this was the result when my craving for Chinese Beef and Broccoli met Sean's request for soup a few nights ago.

The broth reminded us of beef pho and even my non-broccoli-loving kids ate every bite and then finished off their broth too. Chinese Beef and Broccoli Soup is a two thumbs up hit with my whole crew and it is sure to be on our table many more times this winter!


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Tangy, barely sweetened, and just a little bit smoky; perfect for dipping your favorite steak or topping a burger. This steak sauce is all the best parts of A-1 and Heinz 57 sauce flavors, made at home with just a couple minutes effort to stir it all together. I served this sauce with our Steak Bites and there was hardly a bite leftover.

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The juiciest steak you'll ever eat can be ready in just five minutes! Crisp and browned on the outside, hot and juicy inside, these steak bites were declared to be some of the best steak we have ever eaten. In less time than it takes to heat the grill, you can have this steak dinner on the table. I served the steak bites with Rosemary Roasted Potatoes, Crispy Brussels Sprouts and an awesome homemade steak sauce that I'll be sharing tomorrow.

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This Date Nut Roll brings me directly back to my childhood. I remember watching my grandpa roll this on the kitchen counter every holiday when we visited. Crushed graham crackers, marshmallows, dates, pecans and a splash of cream: none of these ingredients are remarkable on their own, but when combined they become something special.

I can't recall another occasion for which my grandpa ever worked in the kitchen. However, making the Date Nut Roll was his domain every Christmas. Grandpa passed away when I was just ten years old. When I found this recipe last year and made it for the first time as an adult, it was like I was standing in my grandparents' kitchen once again. Some food memories stick with us more than others, and I am glad I have this one to pass on to my boys.

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Flourless Chocolate Turtle Cookies are crisp and chocolatey with plenty of chewy caramel throughout each bite. The original Flourless Chocolate Brownie Cookies are awesome cookies that can be stirred together in just a few minutes. When I saw the caramel bits at the store, I couldn't resist picking them up to see if I could create a turtle cookie. The additional caramel and pecans in this recipe turned out to be a fun variation that my whole crew voted two thumbs up.

I chopped up some of the remaining Chocolate Turtle Cookies and added them to a batch of vanilla ice cream. Turtle Cookie Ice Cream might have been my best idea this week. (Although, I won't be recreating that dangerous combination again any time soon!)
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Elote {Hot Mexican Corn Dip} is made with roasted corn in a creamy sauce of spicy mayonnaise, lime and cotija cheese. This dish is the creation of Chef Jeff Smedstad, the chef-owner at Elote Cafe in Sedona, AZ. On a weekend getaway in Sedona this past spring, my first taste of this corn had me purchasing a copy of Jeff's cookbook.

We wound up going back to Elote Cafe the very next night, because we couldn't stop talking about this dish. We spent our weekend in Sedona hiking, wandering, and eating (of course!) and this simple dish was the food highlight of our trip.
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Rich, dark, ultra-smooth, and creamy chocolate meets a hint of orange in a sweet ice cream like no other you've ever tasted. If you're skeptical of the chocolate and citrus combination, one taste will be all it takes to convince you.

What is it about being on vacation that allows us to indulge a little more? We forget about the calories, and dive into each meal, not caring about how many extra minutes it might cost on the treadmill or whether or not we really should be eating ice cream after both lunch and dinner. There's something ultra-relaxing and peaceful in the vacation mindset.

While we were vacationing this summer, we ate a lot of ice cream, a heck of a lot of ice cream. There is so much evidence of that in my Instagram photos, it's kind of laughable. I wanted to remember each flavor and each wonderful place we visited; and as a result many pictures were taken.

We tried a Chocolate Orange flavored ice cream while we were in Montreal and Sean declared it the best one he tried throughout our vacation. It really was fantastic. So, naturally, I couldn't resist trying my hand at recreating it. Four (maybe it was five ?) batches later, this ice cream has been declared one of Sean's all time favorites.
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Crisp hot fries are piled high with bacon, peppers, mushrooms, onions, and cheese curds before being smothered in a hot brown gravy to recreate our favorite poutine from Montreal. Prior to our trip, I'd never even heard of poutine. (pronounced pooh-tin) As I was researching foods to try while we were in the city, I kept hearing about poutine and especially about a little restaurant called laBanquise.

As it turns out, one of my favorite foods we tried in Montreal was the poutine. You can buy poutine all over Canada, it's available in almost every restaurant, and even the fast food chains serve versions of it. However, poutine loyalists and Montreal locals could not be more vocal over the fact the restaurant laBanquise is home to the best poutine in Montreal. I lost count of the number of people that told us not to bother trying any other restaurants, to go directly to laBanquise. To say that the city is proud of their poutine doesn't begin to describe it.
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This brown gravy sauce is delicious on chicken, beef, potatoes, poutine, and more. Are you familiar with poutine? We tried it for the first time while we were in Montreal and absolutely loved it. Crisp fries, cheese curds, gravy, and any number of other foods are tossed together in cheesy, melting deliciousness. I've finally recreated our favorite poutine from our trip and I can hardly wait to share it with you tomorrow!

Yes, this is THE gravy that makes everything more delicious! I tried a couple different sauce and gravy combinations before I found this one and it was perfect on our poutine last night. I can hardly wait to serve the leftover gravy with our roast and potatoes tomorrow.

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Vanilla ice cream sandwiched in between a crunchy peanut butter and dark chocolate oat crust makes this the easiest and most fun dessert I've made in a while. Give the summer one last hurrah with this easy dessert before you break out the pumpkin and cranberries for the holiday baking season!

Like many other people, I have a well documented love of ice cream. If you hang out with me on Instagram, you've seen evidence of this countless times. This ice cream cake comes together in just a few minutes and it's almost ridiculously easy to make! We snacked on it late one night and then I made another one the next day just to share with you.

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Crispy Brussels sprouts topped with Asiago cheese are my newest favorite way to eat my vegetables. You read that right. I'm snacking on Brussels sprouts these days, people, and I am loving it. If you had told me a few years ago, that I would not only be happily eating Brussels Sprouts, but I would be craving them; I would have laughed until I cried. And yet, these little green cabbages are now one of my favorite vegetables! If you've spent your life hating Brussels Spouts, it's entirely possible that you just haven't tasted the right ones yet. (It was definitely true for me!)

It thrills me to see Brussels sprouts gaining in popularity and showing up on restaurant menus everywhere. I've had a similar version of this dish in multiple restaurants this summer, although typically the Brussels Sprouts are flash fried. While they are delicious that way, I wanted something a little lighter and simpler for a weeknight dinner.

I am very happy to tell you that these Brussels sprouts are every single bit as good as the fried ones I've been enjoying. As it turns out, I actually prefer these, because there isn't a bit of a greasiness to the dish. I like my vegetables almost every way I can get them, but in the end, it almost always comes back to roasting for me.

I made these three times last week because I was so thrilled to be making one of my favorite dishes at home. Served with an egg on top, this is a light meal on it's own for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

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Pumpkin cake topped with fluffy vanilla icing is a delicious way to welcome the cooler fall weather. There is nothing quite like the fragrance of warm pumpkin spices. If you haven't yet made your own Pumpkin Spice Mix, now is a great time to stir a batch together. This is an awesome alternative to those tiny jars of pre-mixed spices at the grocery store. Avoid paying the ridiculous prices and make yours for a fraction of the cost!

This simple bundt cake can be stirred together in minutes and it is absolutely delicious on it's own. Heck, I ate it for breakfast all weekend long the first time I made it. While it was perfectly delicious on it's own, this time I wanted something to make it extra special.

The cake was transformed from downright tasty to close-your-eyes-heavenly with fluffy, not-to-sweet, creamy, vanilla bean icing. This icing is phenomenal. It's not a traditional glaze, it is fluffy like whipped cream and absolutely perfect when paired with this cake. (I have to admit, it is pretty amazing eaten right off the spoon too!)

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I've been making peaches and cream oatmeal all summer long; filled with soft pecans and sweet peaches, this is a memorable breakfast. (I save a couple peaches to make this oatmeal almost every time I buy fresh peaches.) If you dare to top your oatmeal with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, this really might be the best oatmeal you'll ever eat.

We aren't new to the ice cream and oatmeal combination. If you haven't tried ice cream with your oatmeal yet, you are missing out on some serious awesomeness for your breakfast! While it sounds crazy at first, I figure that a small scoop of ice cream has to be comparable to a spoonful of sugar and a splash of milk, right? If I'm wrong, don't tell me, okay?
The first time I made this oatmeal was over a year ago. My kids had spied the peaches on the counter and they begged me to put the fruit in their oatmeal. Even knowing that I had planned to make more jam wasn't enough to change their minds. I'll give them credit though; the oatmeal was a great choice. We have a well-known history with oatmeal in this house. Made in the oven, on the stove or even in the crock-pot, we definitely love our oatmeal!

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Tart blueberries and sweet coconut fill this classic banana bread. I've made this recipe three times now and I'm just now getting around to sharing it with you. Why the wait? It kept disappearing before I could get a picture of it. (That tends to happen when I bake at night, we can never resist the warm fragrant bread!) This time, I baked during the day, planning to freeze a loaf for another time.

However, in one sitting, my crew devoured the first loaf and half of the next! To say this bread is a huge hit every time I make it, doesn't even begin to express how much we enjoy it. The contrast of the berries and the coconut made this my newest favorite banana bread from the very first bite.
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