Looking for more 30-Minute Meals? Try our Salmon Bowls, Thai Chicken Lettuce Wraps, Spaghetti Pie, or Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos! What we LOVE about this recipe: 30-minute meal – This baked ziti with sausage is one of many quick and easy 30 minute recipes that the whole family will enjoy. One-Pot Dinner – Only one pan from start to finish, which makes prep and clean-up a breeze. Adaptable – This recipe can be varied a lot depending on the ingredients you have on hand, like using different kinds of pasta or ground meat, or add in additional veggies....

comment icon 45 more comments Truth: Bjork gets bugged out by green smoothies. I pretend that he’s immature and usually give a mini-lecture about the health benefits of green smoothies, which usually ends with him eating a whole box of Marshmallow Mateys in one sitting. 1) Why can’t healthy green smoothies be rainbow colored, or sparkly, or covered with candy? 2) Pass me the Mateys. BEST Truth: Green smoothies don’t have to be sewage-green!...

The Best Glazed Apple Cinnamon Scones Recipe Talk about fall comfort food on a platter! Apples, cinnamon, and warm scones. And the drippy glaze doesn’t hurt either. It wasn’t that long ago that I was one of those people who firmly believed that all scones were dry, boring, and tasteless. Cardboard with calories. These Glazed Mixed Berry Scones changed my mind about scones in general, and I adapted this recipe from that one....

I’m so happy I did. I was going to do peanut butter and chocolate, but thought that a black and white cookie would be fun. These cookies combine two of my most popular recent recipes. The white halves are Softbatch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookies. Until making them, I had never baked cream cheese into cookies. It replaces some of the butter, yet the dough paradoxically tastes more buttery. It’s ironic since there’s actually less butter used, not more, when compared to my gold standard Chocolate Chip Cookies....

Last week I left the store without buying it, but I had been thinking about this cheese ever since. Yesterday I went back and purchased the cheese and doesn’t that say something about the power of sampling. Samples do apparently work for their intended usage of driving sales, rather than for the (unintended) usage of feeding children and tiding them over so mom can buy herself another 4.37 minutes of concentration and shopping time....

I’m glad you liked my Pumpkin Recipes Post from yesterday: Thanks for your tips on what to do with leftover pumpkin puree. Most of you said just freeze it. Noted. But Katie made vegan GF brownies that use pumpkin puree in them. She just posted the recipe today. Deadly lil buggers, I’m thinking. And as suspected, most everyone in bloggieland loves their pumpkin and pumpkin puree. There were a couple pumpkin haters and my European readers can’t get pumpkin puree....

Want more kid-friendly recipes? Try these Pizza Quesadillas, Crispy Bean and Cheese Burritos, Mini Meatloaf, or Chicken Pot Pie! What I love about this recipe: A winner with everyone: it’s not often that everyone in our family of six loves what I made for dinner, but this Chicken Noodle Casserole is a big exception. It has those cozy and delicious flavors we all love from chicken noodle soup, but made even more “comfort food” worthy in casserole form....

Is. So. Good. Oh-this-is-so-good. HEY! {ahem} Starting with a chant today is totally necessary because this is a recipe so yummy that it is going to change the course of my 2013/2014 school year dinners, whiiiich is a pretty big deal. Within a half of a bite, it had earned a place in The Weeknight Regulars thanks to the phenom flavors, broad family friendly appeal, and ease of preparation. I am such a sucker for ease of prep....

comment icon 208 more comments Secondly, you know that sometimes the most humble looking recipes are the most delicious. And when I say humble, I do mean scary. Remember the palak paneer I made way back when? And the beef biryani? Okay yeaaaah. But ain’t nobody got time for vanity here. This heavenly combination of chicken, paneer, cashews, golden raisins, and a creamy spicy sauce is gosh darn tasty, and I’ve known it for as long as I’ve been frequenting the in-cre-di-ble Indian restaurant in our neck of the woods, and better yet, now I know it FROM MY OWN KITCHEN....

comment icon 38 more comments you + 1airfare to Miamitwo nights at Canyon Ranch Oceanfront Resort$500 dining and spa credit One more thing. FOR FREEEEE. And I’m telling you – this place looks STUNNING. This giveaway/contest is now closed. So what’s the deal? Well, if Chicken Tamale Pie wins a Smart Balance recipe contest, I’ll be able to give this amazing little getaway package to one of my readers! You can help make it happen in 30 seconds: (The voting app doesn’t work from your phones, so you’ll have to do on the computer....

Best Ever Chocolate Chip Turtle Cookies I’ve always loved TURTLES® candies. They’re the perfect combination of nuts, caramel, and chocolate, and they just make people happy. Especially me. I’ve previously baked TURTLES® candies into chocolate peanut butter cookies before. But I’ve never baked them into chocolate chip cookies, and I’m so glad I did! These turtle chocolate chip cookies are in my top 5 cookie recipes of all time. Yep, they’re that good....

This version is a play on salty and sweet, with full-on chocolate flavor and the coconut oil helps everything stick to the kernels. [print_this] Chocolate Coconut Oil Protein Popcorn 2 Tbsp Popcorn Kernels 1 Brown Paper Bag 1 to 2 tablespoons coconut oil (or coconut oil cooking spray, or butter, margarine) 1 to 2 tablespoons chocolate protein powder or cocoa powder (if using cocoa powder, you may want to add a pinch of stevia or sugar to reduce the bitterness) stevia or sweetener, optional to taste 1 to 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast for “cheezy” popcorn, optional to taste Place kernels in the brown paper bag and cook for 90 Seconds in the Microwave, or until popping sounds become less frequent....

I’m excited for these to join the ranks of my other delicious cookie recipes like Double Chocolate Chip Cookies, Biscoff Cookies, Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies, or Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies. How to make Chocolate Crinkle Cookies: Make Cookie Dough: Add butter and chocolate to a microwave safe bowl and microwave on low power, in 20-second intervals, stirring, until melted and smooth. Set aside. Whisk dry ingredients in a bowl: flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, salt....

Fudgy Brownie Recipe … with Canned Pumpkin! I have lots of brownie recipes, but there’s always room for one more. Especially when the brownies are topped with pumpkin and chocolate chips. I used my favorite brownie base for these easy pumpkin brownies. It’s an easy, one-bowl, no-mixer recipe that’s as fast as using a boxed mix. Simply melt chocolate and butter together, add sugar, eggs, flour, and just stir everything together....

Chopped Greek Salad with Pita Chips If you’re looking for a traditional Greek salad, this isn’t the one. But I like this one better. Because along with juicy tomatoes, cucumbers, crunchy red peppers, olives, red onions, feta cheese, parsley and mint for herby flavor, there are pita chips for extra crunch and texture. And who can say no to pita chips? But if you’re a traditionalist and must omit them, I guess we can still be friends....

Best Ever Homemade Spice Cake This homemade spice cake tastes like fall in every moist and decadent bite. It’s an easy and straightforward recipe that even novice bakers will have no problem executing. And let’s face it, homemade always trumps store bought or any boxed spice cake mix! There’s an abundance of warming spices, including cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, and nutmeg — they truly put the spice in spice cake. The cake is paradoxical in that it is fluffy and soft yet just dense enough so you can really sink your teeth into it....

Best Baked BLT Dip I put a spin on traditional BLT flavors and created this dip that’s perfect for tailgating, holiday parties or events, or anytime you’re in need of some cheesy, bacon-laden comfort food. It’s an easy, no-mixer, no-fuss recipe. There’s mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, and shredded cheese. The dip isn’t low-cal or low-fat, but it certainly tastes wonderful. Cheesy, creamy, and perfectly savory. There are green and dried onions for flavor, while tomatoes add juiciness and a nice pop of freshness....

comment icon 219 more comments You can expect to see many-a-more bowl o’ Creamy Potato Kale Soup around our house in the next 10 or so years. Bjork (moderate liker of vegetables) and I (major liker of vegetables) both declared this a new favorite. For him, it’s the taste and texture. The taste is reminiscent of a very mellow broccoli cheese soup, and the texture? It’s seriously the creamiest, most velvety veggie-based soup you’ve ever spooned into your mouth or dipped your panini into....

While I was here, I did a fair amount of cooking and baking. And I loved every hot and sweaty chocolate-melting-in-the-photos second of it. For me, cooking and baking is fun and brings out my creative side. It’s even more fun when the pressures of real life aren’t upon me and on vacation, I had nothing but time on my hands. And sweat down the back of my neck. If you’re interested in reliving the treat-filled month, here it is working my way from the beginning of the month until the present....

And a new desk. This is where the blogging action happens. I had previously purchased the chair from West Elm from about a year ago, but the pillow is new and pulls together the color scheme with with new duvet cover I got. Keeps the cool wintery motif going and I love it! Sadly my nightstand is on backorder so it will be a few weeks til that makes an appearance but I am grooving with my new room decor!...