I love traditional French recipes so much, like French Onion Soup and Croque Madame. Or Disneyland’s inspired Monte Cristo Sandwich. How to make Garlic Chicken (Poulet aux Quarante Gousses d’Ail): Boil Garlic: Bring 2 cups of water to a boil then separate the garlic cloves and add them to the water. Boil for 1 minute, drain water, and peel garlic. Brown Chicken and Cook: Sprinkle salt and pepper on both sides of chicken then add to a very hot pan with butter and oil....

comment icon 280 more comments BANANA BREAD MUFFINS. 5 Ingredients. It’s not officially 2017 yet, but as soon as Christmas was done, my brain immediately went into the healthy, energized, refresh and reset zone that always comes with a new year. We’ve got a new baby coming, we’ve got some blog changes in the works, and we’ve got a healthy body (or two) (or three!) to get back in business with lots of new, really good, nutritious, I-will-actually-make-it practical food....

I’m just not ready to give it up yet. I think I’m actually becoming more obsessed with that white crumbly goodness instead of getting sick of it. The more I eat of it, the more I want it. My latest impulse creation? Spoonfuls of goat cheese with drizzles of honey as a “I’m-starving-and-I-need-to-eat-NOW” appetizer. I’m in deep. So here it comes again: goat cheese pizza to the rescue! Although this pizza does not need any rescuing of any kind....

comment icon 94 more comments I’m eating cold leftover rice and beans and there’s a fan blowing directly on my face. And I just felt a driplet of sweat run down my back. Holy hotness. Sometimes when I come out of our one air conditioned room, I look around for the heater because there absolutely has to be a heater on in here somewhere. A broken heater that is about to explode with red hot lava....

I mean who “needs” to go? It’s like Target. You really don’t need to and sometimes you really need to avoid it unless you want to find yourself a lot lighter in the wallet, but that’s another story. I had a store credit at BB &B and a stash of 20% off coupons just burning a hole in my pocket. They never expire. So I decided to venture into retail chaos but thankfully it wasn’t too crazy crowded since I went on a weekday....

I tried to read these when they were off walking around… Moving On… I was reading Spabettie’s recent post and she asked and answered some questions that I thought would be fun to chime in on. I’m on vacation after all and the name of the game is keeping things light and easy. If you could be any animal, what would it be and why? A cat because they sleep lots and can be as aloof as they want and no one bats an eye....

There were a few bests… The best thing I looked at was the blue sky and sunshine. 75F and sunny in San Diego. And the pink hibiscus was another best. The best thing I did was go for a run. I ran fast, I sweated, I loved it. Then I came in and did yoga at home. Not from a dvd though. My day was stressful, fast-paced, and busy and I needed to slow things down and yoga definitely helped....

Easy Recipe for BLT Salad My family adores anything with bacon. Bacon makes everything better, right? The salad is chock full of colors, textures, and a plethora of veggies. As many textures, flavors, and veggies that I can pack into a salad, that happier I am. My favorite are the big tomato slices. Almost daily for the past 10 years, I eat one tomato. You know what they say, a tomato a day keeps the doctor away....

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge If you need an easy, no-cook, no-mixer, no-fuss, foolproof fudge that’s ready in about an hour, this is your recipe. It’s loaded with tons of peanut butter so if you’re a peanut butter fan, you’re going to love it. The fudge itself is made with peanut butter chips and peanut butter. More peanut butter chips are sprinkled on top of the rich, fudgy layer of chocolate ganache....

Looking for more desserts? Try this Sweet Chex Mix, Better Than Sex Cake, or Blintzes! Why I love this recipe: The Frosting: Fluffy peanut butter frosting with crushed butterfinger candy bars in it; don’t think you can get better than that! Quick – Skip the scooping, rolling, chilling, and baking multiple batches that cookies require. This butterfinger dessert is quick and easy!Make Ahead Crowd Pleaser – They’re always a hit, and you can make them in advance of a gathering and store them in the fridge or freezer....

Easy Frosting Sandwich Cookies These vanilla sandwich cookies are what I remember from childhood. Soft, buttery, light, delicate, and airy. They’re not cakey and not dry, which are problems that can plague many sugar cookies. The wafer cookies themselves are more buttery than sweet, and the overall sweetness comes from the buttercream. The melt-in-your-mouth quality is wonderful. The vanilla wafer cookies practically dissolve when you bite in, and then you hit the creamy, rich, and dense buttercream and it’s such a great contrast....

I’ve seen many people around the sphere lately with rice cookers and making amazing looking rice dishes. Evan, Gena, Heather, and Diana all come to mind. However, I don’t have a rice cooker and may not even buy one any time soon, because today’s recipe proved I didn’t need one. It would have been nice, I’m sure, but it wasn’t essential. I recently saw Diana make something in her rice cooker that I wanted to put my spin on....

Cheesy Taco Dip Recipe Who’s ready for the biggest football game of the year? It’s hard to believe that this very fateful Sunday is just four days away! Wow that snuck up on me. If you’re like me and love the snacks, dips, and appetizers more than the game itself, this easy and very cheesy beef taco dip will be just up your alley. A big bonus is that this dip is so easy, ready in 15 minutes, it’s warm and hearty, and will please a crowd of hungry fans....

comment icon 69 more comments And breaking news: as of our arrival yesterday, the beaches of North Carolina have re-invented my ideal vacation. Right now I’m gazing out the wrap-around bank of picture windows in this big ol’ beach house, taking in the long grass + old wood stairs + white sand + the white caps rolling in with that awesomely hypnotic ocean sound that puts you in a relaxation-trance....

This stew is hearty comfort food at its finest. Perfect to warm you up when it’s chilly outside. It’s easy, made in one pot, ready in about 30 minutes, and loaded with layers of flavors and textures. Start by sweating down sweet Vidalia onions and red peppers before adding chicken, garlic, ginger, coriander, chicken broth, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, and for the finishing touches – cilantro, peanut butter, and peanuts....

I went to the grocery store last night at midnight for some produce. Priorities that just couldnt’t wait til the morning! Even though I ate tons of watermelon in Aruba, I hadn’t gotten my fill and “personal watermelons (love that term) were on sale for $2.99 and were so cute that I bought one. And of course an assortment of other fruits and veggies. And I dug into a salad....

comment icon 73 more comments That’s a delicious stack of seventeen pancakes topped with salted butter and sweet maple syrup. For DINNER. Well, maybe it’s second dinner, because in my life there’s a personal rule that during the week of parent-teacher conferences you get to have two dinners. Other Miscellaneous Personal Rules That I Have That You Should Know About: And one more rule. If you try to learn a new photo editing software such as Lightroom, and it takes forever and you hate yourself and you fall in a dramatic heap on the floor and your husband says that this must be the dark side of blogging… Then eat a third dinner and buy plane tickets to South Korea and the Philippines for the whole month of June....

Best Ever Cream Cheese Carrot Cake Bars These carrot cake bars are super moist and robustly spiced — just how I think proper carrot cake should be. The cream cheese layer is baked into the bars so you don’t need to worry about frosting later. Score! They’re a very dense bar and if you like light and airy desserts, this is not the one for you. If you like something you can really sink your teeth into with tons of texture, then you’ve come to the right place....

Easy Skinny Carrot Potato Soup Recipe If you like smooth, thick, rich soups that taste like they’re made with a ton of butter and cream but actually aren’t, it’s your lucky day. The potato carrot soup is packed with flavor, and you’ll never miss the fat and calories. The soup with the best creamy texture is fast and easy to make and it’s ultra comforting. Simply sauté an onion, garlic, and ginger, add two pounds of carrots, a potato, and vegetable stock, and boil....

comment icon 281 more comments Well HELLO there, little black bean crispies! I will keep it quick so you can get to frying these up but mostly, FYI, bottom line, these are so-super-yummy. Also, pro-tip, you can call them crispy black bean tacos if you want – it’s technically what they are – but it’s a little more fun to call them black bean crispies which is what we’ve lovingly come to refer to them in our house....