I mean that literally this a real recipe, from my very real and wonderful Grandma, adapted a weensy bit and now being formally presented to you, blog friends. We got together with my grandparents not too long ago and my grandma just “happened to have a bag” of these little frozen pizzas in a cooler in her car (obvi), so when lunchtime hit she just turned on the oven and popped these bad boys in for a quick and easy lunch, showing me the beautiful art of providing a family meal that keeps everyone happy without batting an eyelash....

Alyson and I had a great time chatting it up! Alyson is a Fitness Competitor and so we had plenty to talk about. Shoes, hair, turning yourself orange competition spray-tanning, posing, you name it! In the past Alyson and I met up Here. And This Other Meetup Here, Alyson took one of my fave pics, ever, of Skylar and I. I still owe her big time for this one. Today was great and I can’t wait til the next time Alyson and I can chat it up!...

Yesterday I had my first San Diego Blogger Meetup with Jackie of Peaces of Earth! Jackie is such a sweetheart! She’s only been blogging 6 weeks but we connected over our mutual, non-dogmatic approach to raw vegan food and passion for physical fitness. Jackie just ran her 1st Marathon- The San Diego Rock and Roll and so did my girl Danielle, whom sadly I missed meeting by 2 days because we were still in Phoenix....

comment icon 3 more comments The taunting continues when I’m about to cut in to enjoy my first bite (see large dent in top), I realize it – the calzone – is smiling at me. Smirking is more like it. Naturally, I retaliate with a swift chop down the middle. Let’s see who’s smiling now. That’s what I thought. But then, when I thought this little game was over, I notice that this perfectly cheesy meal is sticking out his cheesy tongue at me....

I can inhale many handfuls in very short order. Hello hundreds of empty calories in about 3 minutes flat. What’s not to love about puppy chow. It’s no-bake, fast, easy, and made with cereal. I have a huge thing for cereal-based treats, especially chocolate and peanut butter ones. There’s peanut butter melted with white or milk chocolate, and then it’s coated in cups of confectioners’ sugar. As a child growing up, that was standard issue, yet supremely addictive, puppy chow....

Slow Cooker Stuffed Pepper Soup Stuffed peppers, but in soup form. A total winner. This stuffed pepper soup is easy, hearty, and packed with flavor. After browning ground beef, onions, red and green peppers, and garlic on the stove, transfer everything to your slow cooker where it simmers away in a tomatoey broth. The CrockPot stuffed pepper soup recipe comes from Gina Homolka, who blogs at skinnytaste.com. It’s in her new cookbook, Skinnytaste Fast and Slow....

comment icon 161 more comments Smoky chipotle black beans, sautéed with kale and garlic and spices, tucked into charred corn tortillas, topped with fresh, crisp sweet corn cut right off the cob, and smothered with too much (and yet never enough) aji verde. As of lately I have been affectionately calling these guys “beans and greens tacos”, and OH MY GOODNESS, they are just so delightful. They appear humble with the black bean / kale vibes and a cutesy little name, but seriously, don’t sleep on these....

I love these flavors so much and am so excited to be baking with them. Actually, I bake with them all year, but it’s safe to blog about them now. Last week I started a Gingerbread & Molasses pinterest board in preparation for all the ginger and molasses recipes I know I’ll see online and want to remember. Food blogs are so predictable this time of year. First pumpkin, then ginger and molasses, then mint....

comment icon 271 more comments A pile of creamy cauliflower mash sets the stage and then gets tucked in by those smoky greens before finally getting piled high with a mound of aggressively seasoned, salty, juicy shrimp. Do you even hear me? Leave work immediately. Pack the kids in the car. Go to the grocery store. Make this your life’s mission. It is peak cozy, nutritious, and cool-weather wonderful....

comment icon 120 more comments How much do I love Mac and Cheese? It’s like, well, just, I don’t even really know how to talk about it, which, if you’ve been reading this blog for a while, is saying something. LOUD AND CLEAR. But that’s the level I’ve reached with my love for the pot-o-golden-cheesy-deliciousness. Related to the Mac and Cheese question: how much do I love Barefoot Wine? A lot....

I adore stevia. But, I never used to like it. In fact, I thought it tasted kinda awful. I was, however, using other brands and that was one issue. Bad stevia is really bad! But, stevia is one of those foods or items that has really grown on me and now I can’t imagine my life without it! I have an entire post dedicated to my Stevia Recipes I use these drops in everything....

Easy Strawberry Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars A few years ago I made these Almond Cream Cheese Shortbread Bars and realized the bars are perfect with strawberries as well. My eyes were bigger than my stomach when I bought 5 pounds of strawberries, and using some in this dessert was a necessary move. The easy bars consist of a buttery shortbread crust that’s topped with a cream cheese and almond-flavored filling before frosting the bars and topping with strawberries....

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Barilla®. The recipe, images, text, and opinions expressed are my own. Super Easy Spaghetti Recipe Fast, easy, ready in 15 minutes, and my family loves it — that’s my idea of the perfect weeknight dinner. This easy spaghetti recipe checks off all those boxes and it’s comforting, hearty, and great for chilly winter nights. It’s as easy as browning ground beef, adding your favorite pasta sauce, and tossing with spaghetti....

Homemade Candied Nuts Recipe The smell of candied nuts wafting through the shopping malls before Christmas is positively intoxicating. Something so good shouldn’t be confined to just a month or two of the year. These shopping mall-style candied nuts are fast and easy to make and ready in a half hour. The aroma that wafts through your house while they bake is so intoxicating that you’ll wish you could bottle it....

Want more dessert recipes? Try my Peach Cobbler, Classic Pumpkin Rolls, or Blondies! Why this is the BEST apple crisp: Sauce – Unlike most apple crisp recipes, the apples are tossed in a cinnamon glaze sauce that give more flavor and really takes it to the next level. Easier than pie – We all love apple pie, but homemade apple crisp is much easier and quicker to prepare, and tastes just as good....

It’s not known why chocolate sheet cake is often referred to as “Texas sheet cake.” I like to think it’s because it’s a cake the size of Texas. 🙂 This chocolate cake recipe is made in a sheet cake pan, which is where it gets the name, “sheet cake.” A sheet cake is any cake that is made in a large rectangular pan known as a sheet pan or jelly roll pan....

This post could get raw, weepy, and contemplative reeeeal quick. Consider yourselves warned. I’m losing a mind battle with the dogs. I tried to focus myself to write about something else, like the delicious cookies that I’ve been living on for the last two weeks, or how we had a typhoon day at school, or how I got my first haircut here, but all I can think about is how I never ever want to see, touch, and especially HEAR a dog ever again....

It’s so embarrassingly true. It doesn’t matter if it’s last year’s leftover Halloween candy rejects or stale crackers from yesterday’s meeting. It’s like a science – people walk into the lunchroom, cafeteria, or whatever else you call an eating place at work and start scanning to see if there are any freebies on the counter. And if you want some, you’d better get moving. They will be gone in twenty seconds....

The last time I saw my trainer, which was 15 days ago, he measured my body fat percentage and lean muscle mass, among other things. And my numbers had changed, for the better! Today’s report if you care… My weight on the scale was unchanged My waist went down 1/4 inch My body fat percentage went down 1/2 percent My lean mass increased by a half pound My arms increased by 1/4 inch My legs increased by 1/4 inch All that’s a fancy way to say that I am building lean muscle!...

Triple Chocolate Bundt Cake with Ganache For anyone who can’t get enough chocolate as well as for those for whom nothing is too rich or too decadent, this triple chocolate Bundt cake is the end-all-be-all to make your chocolate dessert dreams come true! What you’re looking at is a homemade chocolate Bundt cake, filled with a more subtly chocolate-flavored cheesecake layer, and then topped with a deeply comforting chocolate ganache....