comment icon 113 more comments Plantains and more plantains! Three cheers for this starchy vegetable that can go savory OR sweet on you, or in the case of today’s recipe, a little spicy, too. This recipe is incredibly vibrant and full of nutritious good stuff! But that is secondary to the fact that it just tastes very, very delicious. This plantain and pinto bean situation is more of a thick stew than a soup, and it’s like a melting pot of spices, aromatics, and fresh, tender-cooked vegetables like plantains and bell peppers and kale....

4 Steps to perfect Pan Seared Pork Chops: The pork chops should have an internal temperature of 145°F when fully cooked. Storing and freezing pork chops: To Store: Store cooked pork chops in a sealed container in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To Freeze: Allow pork chops to cool completely. Dice or shred the pork and place it in a freezer safe bag or container. Freeze them for up to 3 months....

comment icon 26 more comments Well, we’re here to make sure all seasonal promises are kept with this simple mellow star of a pumpkin soup. It’s super easy, like, even with roasting a whole (tiny) pumpkin, easy. The soup is nothing short of luxurious and the little walnut crispies in there, all sweet with a hint of spicy, deliver big time on texture and yum. Do you also want to sprinkle a little shredded gruyere on top so you get occasional salty little cheese pulls throughout?...

I hope you have time to check out my re-post of the guest yoga post that I did on the beautiful Jenny’s blog. It was a joy for me to talk about yoga and my journey with it. I had so much FUN doing that post and it was so carefree-n-easy for me, the way bloggin’ should be! Which brings me to a little housekeepin’ biznass. I decided a couple days ago in an effort to get back to keepin’ the blog easier for me to manage cuz some of my posts are just sooo recipe and pic intense, that I’m gonna play around with shorter posts that have less recipes and pics per post but that I plan to post more frequently (hopefully!...

Easy Sweet Potato Apple Bake I love the taste and texture of roasted sweet potatoes. And if you’re looking for a sweet potato casserole with some texture as opposed to perfectly smooth or mashed, put this side dish on your menu. The apples also retain a bit of texture and their flavor along with the sweet potatoes is such a classic pairing of fall flavors. I love crumble toppings, and this one was no exception....

I’ve been on a rampage with poke-style cakes lately. It’s because I’d rather eat no cake than eat a dry one. This one reminds me of a cheater’s version of Tres Leches Cake because it’s sweet and creamy. After baking the cake, poke holes in it, and pour a mixture of caramel ice cream topping and heavy cream over the top. Sundae sauce is thinner than the caramel sauce drizzled over the top of the cake and the cake soaks up the sauce beautifully....

comment icon 98 more comments Just please take note of what you’re seeing in the picture above. Golden brown skillet chicken ✔️ with a red wine pan sauce ✔️ on a layer of golden caramelized onions ✔️ with fistfuls of happy red California GRAPES ✔️. What to even say right now? It’s so regular + easy and so fancy + pretty all at the same time. The perfect dinner for company!...

Easiest Thai Peanut Chicken Recipe I love peanut sauce. It makes everything it touches automatically amazing. And it makes this chicken tender, moist, juicy and there’s layers of rich flavors. This is the easiest Thai peanut chicken recipe, and there’s no breading, browning, baking, or frying involved. Topped with crunchy peanuts, cilantro, and green onions alongside a bed of rice (or use noodles), it’s an easy, weeknight recipe that everyone will love....

Easy Molasses Christmas Cookies These chewy molasses cookies are my idea of heaven. They’re the best ‘traditional’ molasses crinkle cookies I’ve ever made. But I made them with coconut oil. How’s that for traditional? And no, you can’t taste it. I have a recipe for Soft Batch Dark Brown Sugar Cookies and a recipe for Molasses Chocolate Chip Cookies and I love them both. The former continues to be one of my most popular recipes on Pinterest, and it’s one of my favorite cookie recipes on my entire site....

Ultra Tender Pineapple Bars This easy pineapple dessert is made in one bowl, without a mixer, and even though they’re layered bars, they’re not fussy. The crust and crumble topping are made from the same mixture to save time. It’s not always possible to make both the crust and topping from the same mixture, but if it is, I use the double-duty approach. I love being able to sink my teeth into the pineapple pieces and I relish the texture....

These apple cheesecake bars taste like apple pie, apple crumble, and cheesecake all in one! Between the rich flavors of salted caramel, apples, and cinnamon to a tempting layer of cream cheese and chunky oat crumbles, this will be your new favorite apple dessert this fall. The recipe begins with a brown sugar shortbread-style crust that’s tender and light. The crust is topped with a rich and creamy cheesecake layer, which is topped with cinnamon-and-sugar spiced apples....

Lightly Spiced Maple Syrup Bread I don’t know if beer is exactly healthy, but let’s say it is. It would mean that this bread is pure health food. Sure, I’ll go with that. When I made Honey Beer Bread, I was so pleased with the taste, texture, and ease of the one-bowl, no-kneading recipe, I knew I had to experiment more. This maple bread is vegan and refined sugar-free. That’s right, there are no eggs in this fluffy-rising loaf with a soft, moist, open crumb....

comment icon 116 more comments Today’s nacho platter brought to you by homemade enchilada sauce simmered up with a lentil and grain mixture + easy, real food, homemade three cheese sauce that will give our long-standing frenemy Velveeta a run for its money. 🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 <– how much I like these nachos. My life was one big nacho party last week – no complaints whatsoever. Maybe it’s too obvious, but I SO love all kinds of nachos....

comment icon 279 more comments I think you know that I do love my vegetables, which is convenient since there are actually two good sources of veggies in this recipe (FOR REAL), but all the good veggie things aside, there are some times when you just need to find a way to get some spicy Italian sausage in your life. Watch How To Make This Recipe And if that spicy Italian sausage can come in tandem with finely minced golden brown sautéed onions and carrots, red pepper flakes, oregano, and a splash of red wine all swimming in the magic that is San Marzano tomatoes and served on rigatoni with FRESH BASIL RIBBONS and Parmesan to infinity and beyond?...

comment icon 36 more comments The bright inexplicable pink of the tender flaky salmon, with golden olive oil-crisped edges. The deep green of the roasted asparagus calling us towards springtime. The pale yellow of the creamy leek drenched potatoes, speckled with bright pops of chives, an almost neon slice of lemon. It’s like technicolor. It’s delicious. It’s bold and light and it’s serving up sunshine for dinner. Bright, Fresh, and Happy Ingredients For This Spring Salmon This one is such a stunner because ingredients like lemon and asparagus and bright fresh salmon sing like spring birds, but the star here is the roasted potatoes with those creamed leeks....

Ultra Soft Iced Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies Soft and pillowy, these iced pumpkin oatmeal cookies have an almost cake-like texture. They also have a bit of chewiness to them thanks to the whole rolled oats. I used plenty of pumpkin spice in these cookies, as well as additional cinnamon and warming spices, to really play up the fall-themed flavor profile. I iced the cookies with a simple white icing, which sets up nicely atop the cookies and the icing really takes these oatmeal pumpkin cookies to the next level....

I don’t have my own garden to care for (it’s still on my bucket list), but every summer I like to go to Farmer’s markets and buy a big box of fresh tomatoes. I’ll make a big batch of our favorite homemade salsa and I usually end up canning tomatoes and making this amazing tomato pie! If you’ve never tried tomato pie, you absolutely have to! It’s a southern dish that is one of my favorites–especially when it’s made with fresh garden tomatoes....

Oatmeal raisin cookies tend to be under-rated and get the brush-off. But I especially love thick, chunky, chewy, oatmeal cookies loaded with raisins. When they’re done right, a great oatmeal raisin cookie may even trump Chocolate Chip Cookies but then again, it’s hard to compare the two because they’re so different. Unfortunately, oatmeal raisin cookies fall tend to prey to a myriad of cookie pitfalls. Too thin or they spread while baking, too crispy, not soft enough, not chewy enough, too cakey, too dry, not enough oats, not enough raisins, and not enough spice....

comment icon 107 more comments I might have just crossed the line: Bread, Parmesan, and Salad all typed together in the same recipe title. So, uhmmm, yes – this IS the best day of 2015 so far, thanks for asking. It’s almost hard for me to describe how much I love this salad AND I KNOW I say that almost every time, but this time (just, come on, stick with me) it’s really the truth....