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Four days of BFF-couples woodsy cabin time, three miles of walking trails for the girls, nine games of Madden for the boys, 4 people x 10 days drive-through chai tea lattes, four+ hours of daily explore-around-and-be-amazed time, at leeeeast twenty thousand iPhone pictures. Four pairs of hiking shoes, one mild hiking trail in Glacier National Park, an overwhelming number of breathtaking views, five false-alarm bear sightings, zero real bear sightings, not even close to enough cans of bear spray, seven hundred different times that my friends almost killed me for my paralyzing fear of bear attacks....

Mexican Black Bean Chicken Skillet If you’re looking for an incredibly easy and fast way to jazz up your usual weeknight chicken dinner, this salsa chicken and black beans skillet is the recipe for you. Since there are already onions, garlic, tomatoes, salt, pepper, and jalapeno peppers in salsa, it’s the perfect one-stop-shopping flavor bomb of an ingredient to add pizzazz to chicken. Although I can eat salsa with a spoon, no chips required, it’s lovely with chicken and helps keep the chicken super flavorful and juicy....

Southwest Chicken and Black Bean Skillet If you’re looking for a fast and easy way to spruce up your usual weeknight chicken dinner, this Southwest chicken and black beans skillet recipe has you covered. There is a great Southwestern-inspired flavor profile in this chicken skillet recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes. Juicy cumin and chili powder-scented chicken is sautéed with red onion and red bell peppers before being tossed with black beans, corn, green chiles, and finished with lime juice and cilantro....

Quick Fish Tacos with Corn and Cabbage Salsa This is an easy, family-friendly tilapia fish taco recipe that’s ready in 15 minutes. You may even change the mind’s of those who say they, ‘don’t like fish’ with these tacos. The fish is lightly floured and pan-seared for a barely-there crispy crust while retaining a moist, flaky, and tender interior. Add the fish to the fajita or taco shells, top with cheese right away so it melts a bit, and then add the salsa....

Easy Turkey and Noodle Soup Using Leftovers This homemade turkey soup is perfect for using up your leftover Thanksgiving turkey, be it roast turkey or slow cooker turkey breast. You know you have some. (Or maybe you have a ton like I did.) Most years I plan for enough turkey for second helpings on the big day and plenty of leftovers on the days following, but this year I way overbought and had tons of leftover turkey....

Cheesy Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole Recipe When it comes to quick and easy weeknight recipes, nothing beats a skillet chicken dinner. I can’t tell you how many dozens of fast chicken dinners I have on Averie Cooks after almost 15 years of blogging — hundreds, that much I know! From this Parmesan Dijon chicken skillet to this Mexican chicken skillet to this garlic butter chicken skillet (which has more than 1,000 star reviews and counting!...

I think of them more like a bagel or technically they’d be classified as a quick bread. Yes, they are quick. And yes, they are filled with cream cheese that’s been baked into them. If you look closely into that hole you can see the cream cheese. There’s also shredded cheese that’s been baked in. And just to be sure you have the cheesy bases covered, don’t forget a side of whipped cream cheese and butter mixture that’s been spiked with herbs....

Yesterday while I was out at a local San Diego area Marshall’s store picking up some socks, I was recognized by a woman who reads my blog while I was standing in the checkout line. She asked me if I wrote the blog Love Veggies and Yoga, and I said yes. She said she loved it! I said, “You recognize me?!” because I was truly shocked to be recognized. Not to mention totally caught off guard and looking pretty bummy and ratty with a slightly under-the-weather Skylar in tow....

Chicken Mole Enchiladas Recipe These easy chicken mole enchiladas are filled with tender chicken, smothered in richly flavored mole sauce, then topped with lettuce, tomato, queso fresco, sour cream, cilantro, and onion. If you like really saucy enchiladas, or if you’re like me and like food that’s generally super saucy and smothered, then these chicken enchiladas with mole, or enmoladas de mole as they’re called in Spanish, will become a fast new favorite easy recipe....

Chinese Beef Fried Rice Recipe Two of my most popular recipes on my site are my easy, better-than-takeout fried rice recipes for Chicken Fried Rice and Shrimp Fried Rice. They have been made and loved by thousands of readers over the years! Little did I know when I made them how popular they would become. Since then, I’ve made everything from Sheet Pan Fried Rice to Cauliflower Fried Rice. However, I’ve never made fried rice with beef until now!...

It was either that or not get there for a day after we were supposed to which would have thrown off car rental reservations and a host of other issues including arriving on a Sunday and grocery stores aren’t open on Sundays there and after 24 hours of travel and airports, a shower and a grocery store are key. I am actually blogging from the Salt Lake City Airport and the wifi connection sucks....

Cafe au lait is French for “coffee with milk”. The same drink is called caffe latte in Italy and cafe con leche in Spain. It is made with a 1:1 or 1:2 ratio of dark roast brewed coffee to heated milk or half-n-half. Add sugar to taste! Based on how I fix and like my coffee (a little coffee with lots of half and half and sweetener), I drink a cafe au lait-style coffee daily, which I pronounce as oh-lay, not ahh-late....

comment icon 614 more comments Prefer To Watch Instead Of Read? Can you look past outward appearances to the soul of the caramelized onion dip which is, above all else, extremely luscious, totally delicious, and wonderful to share with friends? Can you envision a future for this caramelized onion dip that includes appetizers, burgers, sandwich spreads, and maybe even a little something to help you get extra with your eggs?...

comment icon 84 more comments Did you know that I’m obsessed with cauliflower? And so is the rest of the food blog world, I think. It’s kind of like the new trendy food that’s actually been around forever. Maybe it’s always been trendy and I’m just really out of touch. Very highly possible. I’ve been hot on the cauliflower trail for a while now (it all started with that weird cauliflower crust pizza), but in recent months my affection has grown to include things like Fettuccine Alfredo and Creamy Cauliflower Rice....

Chocolate Butterscotch and look what Trader Joe’s has in stock… White Chocolate Chips! They are only seasonally available in my area and based on both price and taste, they are hands down my favorite white chocolate chip. Other brands are either more expensive or a bit larger than I like to use. I don’t usually enjoy baking with “chunks”. I prefer chips and these are the perfect size for most recipes....

Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter anyone? [print_this] Chocolate Coconut Cashew Butter Makes about 2/3 to 3/4 cup 1/2 cup cashews, soaked (I used raw, unsalted, whole cashews from TJs. Use raw/unsalted if possible) 1/3 cup agave/honey/maple syrup (combo of one or any), to taste 1/3 cup cocoa powder 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon Optional and omit if you don’t like coconut flavored food; at which point you’d have Chocolate Cashew Butter: 1/4 cup coconut flakes (unsweetened or sweetened) 2 tablespoonscoconut oil Soak cashews in water for at least an hour (4-6 hours or more is ideal)....

comment icon 49 more comments Like, leaking gas into our house whenever it turns on and I’m not allowed to bake anything at the risk of exploding the building. And as I might have mentioned 100 times this year, we also don’t have a microwave, so I’m at this point in my life where I’m being forced to eat something cold, and considering that we also don’t have a freezer for ice cream (this is turning into a perfect sob story of life abroad) I am being forced to eat a cold salad....

comment icon 96 more comments But first, I’ll tell you about this brussels sprout salad. House lovers, scroll down. This salad = yumyumyum. I have always loved thinly sliced Brussels sprouts in salads (I slice mine on a mandoline – works like a veggie cutting charm) and I am a sucker for chopped salads with lots of texture, like that Chopped Thai Chicken Salad. We have juicy chicken, toasted walnuts, and shredded Parmesan going on in this bowl with the crunchy greens, plus the most creamy dreamy wonderful dressing ev-er made from fresh orange juice, honey, and sauteed onions....

The book contains recipes for 50 popular cookies. Although it’s always possible to Google for recipes, read blogs and find recipes, use the online recipe websites, or use your Grandmother’s top secret recipe for the perfect chocolate chip cookie, it’s nice to have 50 popular yet diverse recipes all in one book. The other thing I like about the book is that it has space on the pages to write notes and jot things down....

Cut-Out Coffee Cup Cookies Recipe There’s nothing like decorated sugar cookies to put me in the holiday spirit. These cut-out coffee cup sugar cookies are fun and so festive! If you’re looking for very traditional Christmas Cut-Out Sugar Cookies, I’ve got you covered with the recipe I just linked that’s a reader favorite. But these cut-out sugar cookies in the shape of coffee mugs — and decorated with red and white royal icing!...