comment icon 566 more comments Does one ever say no to a perfectly soft but still chewy, very BUTTER-FORWARD cookie? What about one with chewy bright little bits of strawberry and silky-sweet white chocolate chips? Now that we have your attention… OMG WHAAAAAT THESE ARE SO GOOOOOOOD. Just, so good. They’re (maybe overly) large, they’re melty, and they’re all your favorite cookie textures. The freeze-dried strawberries used for these get so pleasingly chewy as they soak up the butter while baking, putting raisins-in-cookies to absolute shame (depending on your deeply held beliefs about raisins in baked goods, might be too late for that)....

comment icon 90 more comments Magic broccoli cheese soup is the perfect thing that allows me to avoid the kitchen and yet find myself on the couch with a bowl of cheesy goodness watching cat videos. And I say cat videos is because we’ve already watched every pug video that exists on the internet. That’s actually not a joke. This deliciously easy scenario typically starts with me emailing Bjork at noon, begging him to put these five ingredients in the slow cooker, and responding to his 14 questions via Google chat about what medium-sized florets look like....

When apple season rolls around, my biggest problem is deciding which of my ever growing list of apple recipes I should make. Should I opt for the Crisp, the Cobbler, the Cake, the Pie, or the Apple Bundt Cake? It’s these tough decisions that remind me that life is sweet! I love everything about this Apple Bundt Cake, including how moist and soft it is from the diced apples, and the cinnamon apple flavor combined with a hint of cream cheese filling and the sweet caramel sauce....

The BEST Grilled Vegetables There’s no better time of year to enjoy vegetables than in the summer, in my opinion. When veggies are fresh, seasonal, and abundant they taste so good and so much better than in the dead of winter. But if you’re like me and go a little too crazy at the grocery stores or farmer’s markets, you may wind up with a surplus on your hands. Or maybe you’re lucky enough to have an overflowing garden....

comment icon 158 more comments What a trendy + delicious + healthy little bliss bowls situation we’ve got going on, and just in time for these icy-cold winter days when you need that plant power more than ever but all you want to eat ever is turkey with gravy and mashed potatoes and every morsel of stuffing ever made. Topped with more gravy. Or no – just me? This bliss bowl combo is the answer to the question WHAT DO I EAT IN WINTER TO STAY HEALTHY while NOT eating a cold and crunchy leafy salad....

I worked. And I tackled household cleaning projects, did lots of laundry, ran some errands, went grocery shopping, did blog and computer work, cooked, did my fair share of dishes, and other similarly thrilling domestic chores. I also bought our airfare to Aruba We’re leaving in early December with open-ended return tickets. Who knows if or when we’ll return to California. (gotcha for a second) We do have return tickets....

Today’s yoga practice involved holding all poses for 1 minute. So Warrior A & B, right and left sides, were one minute each (4 minutes of Warrior’ing!) The splits: left, right, center, for one minute each (Splitting my pants for 3 minutes!). Handstand was 1 minute. Headstand was 3 minutes. You know a real light workout. Kidding!!! Any stories to fill me in on from Monday on your end? I’d love to hear what you’ve been up to!...

comment icon 124 more comments Remember when I showed you this picture? These are those, and those are these. One in the same. Except that time I was feeling a little extra generous with myself and added 1,000 chocolate chips to the batter. Chocolate chips or no chocolate chips, I just adore pancakes. They’re my go-to breakfast choice on Saturday mornings. Eggs and French toast and bacon and all that is good, because, I mean, let’s be real: I love all food....

Just be honest with me here – do you love it or do you love it? I knowwwww right? I love it, too. It’s the sun, it’s tank tops and sandals, it’s green grass and glittery blue lakes (I live in the land of 10k yo). It’s star-gazing and boat rides and tan lines, and even the occasional earthy smell of steady rain which I am currently enjoying from my perch on the wicker chair in the screened-in porch....

Here are 15 of my favorite un-Laboring recipes to munch on or sip on over the holiday weekend. Appetizers & Snacks: Cheddar Cheese & Olive Oil Savory Muffins – One bowl and just 5 minutes to toss these cheesy and moist little muffins together Roasted Grapes and Balsamic Reduction with Cheese and Crackers – I could take a bath in balsamic reduction and this one only takes about 8 minutes to make....

Easy Chilaquiles Verdes Recipe Chilaquiles verdes are a favorite comfort food Mexican breakfast. Crispy tortilla chips are smothered in a spicy tangy green salsa causing them to soften a bit. I make my own salsa verde by boiling together tomatillos, serrano chile peppers, onion, and blending them together with a bit of water and salt. It only takes 10 minutes to make! (Although you can cheat and use store-bought salsa verde if you like....

My daughter loves lemon anything and since I can never go wrong with a chicken dinner, I made this easy honey and lemon chicken. It’s easy, healthy, ready in 20 minutes, and exploding with bold lemon flavor. If you like very lemony dishes, this one is for you because lemon is incorporated a few ways. There’s lemon pepper seasoning and I caramelized lemon slices. As they caramelize, the lemon slices release lemon juice into a sauce that’s poured over the chicken....

Chicken Vegetable Soup Recipe The next time you’re craving a hearty chicken soup recipe, this one will give you all those cozy feels. It’s based on my Easy 30-Minute Kale and White Bean Chicken Soup which has been a reader favorite for years. This vegetable soup recipe with chicken is easy to make, ready in 30 minutes, and the ingredients are very flexible. Healthy yet hearty is the way to describe this chicken soup thanks to the onions, mushrooms, juicy shredded chicken, tender garbanzo beans, and zucchini and kale for a green pop....

Sure, you can buy great produce, milk and yogurt, pantry essentials, and normal practical things at Trader Joe’s. But for this post I wanted to convince you to try some of these unique “fun run” items – the things that, if you’re making a special trip from out of town or stocking up on your quarterly trip, you should absolutely be buying here. I split this post into three sections:...

Easiest Cream Cheese Buffalo Chicken Dip The smell of buffalo wing sauce reminds me of a fun college waitressing job I had. When it’s combined with two kinds of cheese, cream cheese, and chicken, we’re talking serious comfort food. I can — and do! — make a meal out of dips, and the cheesier the better. This easy chicken wing dip is plenty cheesy, creamy, and there’s just enough kick from the wing sauce....

She’s smooth, refreshing, and feisty all at once. She’s a close relative of guacamole. She works well with anybody. She’s good looking and low maintenance. I think she might even be healthy. And these days, she’s the light of my life. No reviews

I bought a new bag yesterday and found one lone banana-flavored Tootsie Pop Banana-flavored anything tastes nothing like real bananas I don’t know how they think this tastes like this a banana. It doesn’t. But that’s ok. Most foods with banana flavoring have a really unique taste and you either love it or hate it Banana Laffy Taffy anyone? I’ve mentioned that I actually don’t really like bananas by themselves but that in things, they are magical....

The BEST Beer Cheese Soup Recipe No other beer and cheese soup compares to how cheesy, rich, and scrumptious this one is! Loaded with two kinds of cheeses, including sharp cheddar cheese and pub cheese, this beer cheese soup is the epitome of creamy and indulgent. The base is made of heavy cream and chicken broth with underlying flavor notes of paprika, mustard, garlic powder, Worcestershire sauce, salt, and pepper....

The BEST Strawberry Rhubarb Pie I have fond childhood spring and summer memories of rhubarb practically growing wild in the gardens of my parents and out neighbors. When the onslaught started, sort of like zucchini, you better be ready to use it — although rhubarb does freeze well for up to one year. This pie is what easy-breezy spring and summer desserts are all about and is as easy as mixing together all the ingredients, putting them in a pie crust, and then topping it....

comment icon 35 more comments Noodles. ♡ And if you should find yourself, sometime in the next week or so, making a rustic garlicky burst-tomato cream sauce speckled with fresh summer sweet corn and CSA zucchini, tossing it with some hot pappardelle, and making a perfect little bed where you can place a piece of juicy pan-fried chicken only to top it all with Parmesan and basil… well, then, this summer is looking good for you....