Grapes were on sale for 88 cents/pound. And rather than buying bagged lettuce which is usually $1.99 at TJ’s or as much as $3.49 per bag at the grocery store, I bought a head of romaine for $1.99 and cleaned it myself. Ready… Set… Clean! Slice off the bottom one inch and top inch. Rinse the leaves in the sink. I always wear rubber gloves when I am chopping and cleaning produce....

If you need a few more fun dinner ideas, be sure to try my Meatball Subs, Harvest Bowls, or Pot Roast! How to make Manicotti: Marinara (or use store-bought): This easy homemade marinara only takes 15-minutes, but if you’re in a pinch, you can use 3 cups jarred sauce. And if you have a few extra minutes and want over-the-top, restaurant quality manicotti, make our homemade Marinara Sauce that only takes 15 minutes....

comment icon 138 more comments Everything I said about not liking make-ahead egg recipes… I was wrong. I just hadn’t found THE ONE yet. You guys, these sandwiches are the best food thing in my life right now. The eggs are baked to barely-set perfection in a sheet pan with crisped bacon and spinach, and they get tucked in under a blanket of melted white cheddar cheese and sandwiched between two crispy English muffin slices....

comment icon 395 more comments Milk and Honey Iced Coffee: oh, you sweet, roasty, light, milky perfection. No, wait, just reread that one more time. The fact that I can use all those describing words together to try to transfer this heavenly drink through the computer and into your mouth is proof that there is a magic trick involved here. That magic trick has a name called Nespresso VertuoLine System....

Easy Mini Ferrero Rocher Cheesecakes Recipe Simple and elegant and with a strong chocolate hazelnut flavor profile, these Oreo and Ferrero Rocher mini cheesecakes are everything you love about Nutella but in cheesecake form. They have an Oreo crust similar to my Mini Cherry Cheesecakes but are rich with a chocolaty taste like my Death By Chocolate No Bake Cheesecake Bars. They are the best of both worlds which makes me love them even more!...

My kitchen is small. Note the width of the sink and dishwasher. My entire kitchen is just slightly wider than those items. The beauty is at least I am not wasting steps or wasting time walking from one end of my massive food prep area to the next. Hardly. I can stretch my arms out and practically touch both sides of it, at once. I store all my pots and pans, Vita-Mix, and mixing bowls in this low cupboard which is just to the left of the dishwasher....

The feeling that I had to go outside and take pictures. But if you saw this sky from your window, you’d want to take them too, right? So I told Skylar, “Get your shoes on. We’re going!” And she said, “Where?” I said, “Surprise!” And when we get there, you can do some of this, honey While Mommy captures this (with my iPhone) And yes, it is possible to take marginally decent pictures with iPhones but I strongly urge editing them....

Sometimes I think there’s no new way to combine peanut butter and chocolate. But then I put my thinking cap on and something always comes to me. I was craving something dense, thick, peanut buttery and chocolaty, and very easy. I wasn’t in the mood for stand mixers and dough chilling. I wanted something fast and not fussy in the least. Sometimes I can handle tedious baking projects and other times, I have the patience of a flea....

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies I love finding recipe gems buried in my own archives. Recipes I’ve made years ago, forgotten about, and with just small changes, it’s new again. After almost six years of blogging and two cookbooks, some cookies along the way are truly memorable and stand out. This cookie base is one of them. What I love about the recipe is that it combines three cookie jar favorites into one so you don’t have to choose: peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chip....

comment icon 17 more comments These bites are toasty, chewy, and saturated with big flavor from the fresh garlic, olive oil, and an aggressive amount of salt and black pepper. They are just the right balance of crispy meets olive oil-soaked and chewy, and they are just begging to be dunked, dipped, and popped into your mouth on repeat. Or if you’re just in need of a movie night snack but you really want to up your game from popcorn, listen, a pan of these WILL DO....

Add them to any of my favorite bowl recipes, like Buddha Bowl, Egg Roll in a Bowl, Fajita Bowls or Mojo Pork Bowl. Why I love this recipe: Easy – Only 5 minutes to prep they last in the fridge for weeks, ready to liven up any dish. Versatile – Enjoy them on tacos, sandwiches, salads, wraps, lox bagels, or a yummy bowl recipe. Pantry Ingredients – All you need is a red onion and simple pantry ingredients you already have on hand....

Copycat Big Mac Sliders on Hawaiian Rolls If you’ve ever wanted to recreate the classic Big Mac sandwich at home, my Big Mac sliders recipe is exactly what you need! The beef is tender and juicy, along with melted American cheese, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and toasted sesame seed buns to give you the perfect homemade big mac. And I didn’t forget the special Big Mac sauce, either. It’s so easy to whisk together and really makes these big mac sandwiches taste so authentic, yet better because they’re homemade....

Looking for more Christmas cookie recipes? Try my Ginger Molasses Cookies, Gingerbread Cookies, or Soft Sugar Cookies! Why I love these cookies: Festive – These peanut butter cookies for Christmas are fun to eat and are so fun for the kids to help with too. Make Ahead – The cookie dough can be made ahead up to 3 days in advance. The cookies also freeze great, ready to place on Santa’s plate on Christmas Eve!...

But I have to admit, things didn’t start out so well. In fact, there were a few tears and a lot of vacuuming after attempt number one: Good bye, new Pyrex baking dish. My self confidence plummeted after these horrendous results. But luckily I have strong determination when it comes to making food with peanut butter, chocolate, and candy. And so I tried again. This time, I used more safe kitchen practices, such as turning off the burner before setting pans on top of it....

Specifically, if you have Thin Mints or Samoas cookies, those are my top picks. I love them so much that it was time to make an at-home version of Samoas. Here’s my take on Samoas Cookies in bar form. The Girl Scouts also call Samoas “Caramel deLites” now, too. I’m not sure why the word “Lite” is anywhere near these cookies. They sure aren’t “lite” but they sure are amazing....

Soft Baked Chocolate Chip Cookies (with Cream Cheese!) I’ve been wanting to bake cream cheese into cookies for ages. I finally did. And I’m in love with the results. I adapted my favorite Chocolate Chip and Chunk Cookies recipe and replaced some of the butter with cream cheese and am in love with the results. My favorite recipe calls for 3/4 cup of butter, and for these soft batch chocolate chip cookies I used a combination of 1/2 cup butter and 1/4 cup cream cheese....

I find Sweet Potato Fries the perfect side for Classic Juicy Hamburgers or Slow-Cooker French Dip Sandwiches. There are so many things to love about sweet potato fries, but I particularly love how they’re quick and easy to make and healthier than regular fries. Sweet potatoes are high in fiber and contain iron, calcium, selenium, as well as B vitamins, vitamin C, and beta-carotene. Plus, this recipe is baked rather than deep fried!...

I love this mango. It’s a new scent for Suave that I’ve only been buying for a month or so, but I really dig it. As I mentioned in my 10 Facts post, I am a dental hygiene freak And as I mentioned in my last Target stocking up trip, I am a Carmex addict. I have the stuff in every room in my house, purse, car, bag. You name it....

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, and most importantly, THANK YOU FOR YOU LOYAL SUPPORT AND READERSHIP over the years! My blog wouldn’t be where it is without you: my readers, my internet friends, and everyone who checks out my website. Thank you for clicking over and if you’ve ever made one of my recipes (or a hundred recipes for some of you), another round of big thanks and gratitude!...

Far from yesteryear’s blandness, today’s meat-free dishes are full of wonderful new textures and flavors! You’ll quickly have new converts not only with this delicious burger but with our Southwest Vegetarian Stuffed Peppers, Black Bean Quesadillas, and Veggie Wraps! I first ran into the idea of a Quinoa Burger at a dine-in theatre with my sister. We were looking to order something that wasn’t a million calories, and settled on the quinoa burger....