Easy Herb Roasted Potatoes Growing up my mom used to roast potatoes at least three times a week. Now that I’m a mom I know why. They’re easy, inexpensive, hearty, they complement almost any dish, and warm potatoes are the ultimate in comfort food. For these herb roasted potatoes, I tossed baby Dutch yellow potatoes with olive oil, Italian seasoning, garlic powder, a little salt and pepper, and Parmesan. Everything is better with cheese....

I fell in love with Huevos Rancheros when my husband and I lived in Mexico. Don’t miss all my other favorite Mexican recipes. Please tell me you have heard of this incredible dish before? Huevos Rancheros (Spanish for “rancher’s eggs”) is a popular Mexican recipe that’s made up of three signature ingredients; tortillas, fried eggs, and salsa. This is a dish we had often in Mexico and it’s also very common on Mexican American menus here in the states....

Except Skylar’s cuter and I had these photos in my iphoto stash to use and simplicity is the name of my game right now. Why am I so extremely excited? Because I made the move to a self-hosted Wordpress blog. And I am thrilled! This day, however, and many, many days leading up to today has been filled with glitches. I think I need one of these This move has been something I should have done ages ago and plan to post about what was holding me back from doing it sooner, but for now, I am just wanting to click Publish....

We have what’s called May Gray and June Gloom. Lots of cloudy, dreary overcast skies with rain and chilly winds. Not what most people probably think of when they think Southern California. I ran with two shirts, a fleece, and gloves on yesterday as mist and wind were pelting me. Definitely not beach weather or the summertime kickoff weather I was hoping for, but we’ll get our summer. In September....

Ready for a fun and fabulous twist on regular lasagna? I thought so, which is where this Italian-inspired pinwheel lasagna recipe come into your meal plan! This pinwheel lasagna is similar in concept to my Chicken Alfredo Lasagna Roll Ups but instead of using chicken, there’s a juicy homemade bolognese sauce made with sweet Italian sausage and a rich and cheesy from scratch bechemel sauce which is what’s in the center of each pinwheel along with mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses....

Is it Friday yet? Let’s pretend it is and that we’re enjoying this. I’m sure it’s at least 5 o’clock somewhere. This light, refreshing, and tasty little number is made with Mango Passion Fruit Smirnoff Sorbet Light, a new line of infused vodka. There are two other flavors, Raspberry Pomegranate and Lemon. I’m a mango fan and that was my favorite. The vodkas are 25% lower in calories than other dessert-inspired flavored vodkas, each containing only 78 calories per 1....

Easy Mexican Chocolate Shortbread Cookies These easy, moist, and slightly crunchy chocolate Mexican shortbread cookies will be the perfect addition to any dessert table. They’re just sweet enough, but not too sweet, and full of layers of warming flavors. Whether you want to include them in the lineup for Christmas parties (posadas), as a unique cookie exchange offering, or make them for Cinco de Mayo, they’ll be just perfect. These cookies are a delightful twist on the classic shortbread, bringing a touch of Mexico’s culinary flair to your holiday cookie platter or your next fiesta....

The BEST Yellow Cake Recipe This easy yellow cake recipe is a whisk-together batter that’s adapted my favorite buttermilk cake base that I’ve used for so many cakes including my Blueberry Muffin and Buttermilk Pancakes Cake, Caramelized Banana Upside-Down Cake, and many more. I love this homemade yellow cake recipe because the base is a cinch to make, and the cake always turn out supremely moist, springy, soft and fluffy thanks to the buttermilk, sour cream, and oil....

comment icon 98 more comments The mushrooms are baaa-aaack! With walnut pesto. If you haven’t noticed 😁 I’m stuck in the most delicious possible mushroom-carb-rut these days. Remember the pasta with mushrooms and walnut pesto? That was just, like, a week ago. And then I go and make this? Hello, broken record. To defend myself, things are a tiny bit different this time, because the mushrooms are being served with GNOCCHI (just pretend like you know how to say it – confidence is key), and there’s arugula up in the mix, and the walnut pesto is basil-less....

I am flying from San Diego to Phoenix for a day trip. I have a lot of anxiety about the trip, not because of flying or airports or driving around in a rental car in a different city. I have anxiety because I have never been away from Skylar for more than 3 hours! She is 2.5 years old and we have been pretty much inseparable since her birth, with the exception of 3 hours here and there when I get my hair done....

I take out my mixer, turn on the oven, dirty every dish in the kitchen, and really make a federal case out of dessert-making. This dessert is not that occasion. These little no-bake parfaits can be made quickly, which is the name of the tune come summer. I’d rather be outside enjoying the weather, playing with my Skylar at the park, wasting time on Pinterest, catching up on the mountain of laundry I need to tackle, or doing just about anything other than preparing something labor-intensive and standing in a hot kitchen when it’s sunny and warm....

I love adding oats to baked goods, like our Banana Oat Muffins, Applesauce Muffins, and Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies. How to make Oatmeal Bread: Soak Oats: Place oats and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Warm milk to a simmer then pour on top and give it a stir. Set aside for 1.5 hours, or until it cools to room temperature and oats are softened....

Yesterday I was organizing my photos and found some pictures I’ve taken in the past week when I’ve been out and about: This Starbucks Blonde Veranda Blend coffee. Do Blondes have more fun? We should ask Marla, a brunette. We actually spotted this coffee together on our last meetup. I like the sound of “delicate nuances of cocoa” but something tells me this coffee would be lighter and like drinking brown tinted water more mellow than I prefer....

comment icon 71 more comments Big question today: Do you guys like drinking green things? Much like the chicken skin, green smoothies are a love-hate kinda food for me where mostly I love it and I only really hate it because of the name. I mean, who really craves something called a GREEN smoothie? Blehbeddebleh. Okay, I mock, but I do crave green smoothies. I especially craved green smoothies this week after an extended weekend of pizza-scotcheroo-Chex Mix-pizza-burger-pizza eating while on vacation in the Wisconsin Dells....

One of my favorite peanut butter cookie recipes is in my cookbook and it’s a peanut butter-butterscotch cookie. I was craving something with butterscotch so I made these easy, no-mixer, soft, chewy bars. They begin like blondies with melted butter, sugar, egg, and vanilla. Add peanut butter, flour, and quick-cook oats, which lend incredible texture and chewiness to the otherwise soft, buttery bars. If you don’t typically buy quick-cook oats and only have old-fashioned whole rolled oats, simply pulse or blend the old-fashioned oats for about 10 seconds in your food processor or blender....

And the posts involve peanut butter pies. Jennie posted this on her blog, ” For those asking what they can do to help my healing process, make a peanut butter pie this Friday and share it with someone you love. Then hug them like there’s no tomorrow because today is the only guarantee we can count on.” I’m sorry that I did not get around to making a peanut butter pie on Friday but I offer anything from my Peanut Butter Recipes collection in honor of Mikey....

comment icon 57 more comments But also, yes, here we are. And it’s clear we’re still very much looking for an ease into things. This month we’re all about preparedness (#newyear) and ready-grab snacks and not thinking too hard about it all, and bingo! These lil’ energy bites are our new very best friend. Wholesome, slightly sweet, super satisfying, and very keep-in-the-fridge/ready-whenever-you-need-them best friends. And we are calling on them....

Let’s have a cupcake together. Today I wanted to show you some interesting places in my little corner of the Philippines, and I still want to do that, but I’m going to throw a little psycho-babble in there because my head is messy right now. Are you ok with that? If so, welcome to my places. I’m going to be making a few changes. Because between the classroom, the shelter activities, my blog, my freelance work (currently working on a big project that is probably the root of all this chaos), and my relationships… my mind is a tangled web of ideas, thoughts, and to-dos....

Easy Chocolate Kiss Cookies Growing up, it was an annual holiday baking tradition that my mom and grandma would bake Russian tea cakes. They loved them, but of all the holiday treats they’d bake, tea cakes were the last thing I’d reach for. In a sea of sprinkles, fudge, barks, and homemade caramels, they just couldn’t compete. Too boring. So I decided to re-vamp tea cakes and made powder puffs, which turned out to be the easiest cookies ever....

And I’m glad you enjoyed my Ten Things that Make me Happy List and Award Everything from Traveling and Spending Time at the Beach To Watching Mindless TV Shows. Did you watch the premier of The Bachelor? I didn’t, but would have liked to! I heard there’s drama. Surprise, surprise. Lots of you wrote in with your guilty pleasure TV Shows so I thought I mention a few more of mine....