Italian Beef Casarecce Soup

You will not regret making this! It's easy to make, filling, easily adapted to what you have on hand, and the best part is it tastes like you're eating a bowl of lasagna. It comes together in about 30 minutes, and requires very little prep. An easy weeknight meal that's sure to impress.

Gluten Free Chocolate Lava Cakes

I really wasn't sure about sharing the recipe for these because they are so decadent and indulgent, but I had a request for the recipe on Instagram so I decided to go ahead and share it with everyone. I try to keep my recipes around 400 calories or less per serving because I really find it easier to fit delicious food into your daily diet when it isn't taking up half of the calories you should be eating. These lava cakes are extremely high calorie, but I will say I shared one with my daughter and my husband ate the other one. It was incredibly chocolaty and satisfying, and if we had ordered it in a restaurant my husband and I would have shared one with coffee for dessert. I apologize for the poor lighting, the sun is setting early here so unless I make dessert at lunchtime I lose the natural light. 

I love these lava cakes because they only require a handful of basic ingredients, you don't need to whip egg whites, make a water bath while baking them, or fuss with sifting flour and cocoa powder. I topped mine with extra powdered sugar for presentation. These would be absolutely lovely with fresh raspberries, whipped cream, or vanilla ice cream. Hope you enjoy!

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate, in the microwave!

With the salted caramel sauce I had in the fridge and a craving for chocolate, I decided to make a little mug of hot chocolate for me and my baby girl to share. I gave her some in a bottle mixed with milk, and she chugged that sucker down. Probably a bad idea but she's a great taste tester! This is easy to put together if you're in the mood for something better than the powdered packets, but you don't want to make a whole pot on the stove.

Salted Caramel Apple Tartlets

These are easy peasy to make but pretty impressive to look at. Definitely an indulgent treat, but perfect for this time of year. If you aren't making your own caramel sauce you're missing out! Especially since it's so easy to make. In case you missed it, here's my recipe for homemade salted caramel sauce.

Homemade Salted Caramel Sauce

This is the easiest recipe to follow and it doesn't require heavy cream or corn syrup. This caramel sauce is great for dipping, stirred into coffee, in pies, on top of ice cream, eaten with a spoon right out of the bowl, or you can even bathe in it. I'm not here to judge. It's delicious and versatile. You can cut the salt in half and it will just be regular old caramel sauce. This is seriously good; buttery and rich, sweet and slightly salty. It's easy and can be doubled, tripled, etc. I love how many ways you can use this. Enjoy!

Sweet Potato Pumpkin Soup

It's decorative gourd season, and you know what that means . . . soup! At the store the other day I picked up sweet potatoes, a couple cans of pumpkin puree, carrots, onion, and some other staples. All of those earthy veggies make the best soup, and the whole meal comes together fast. Hope you enjoy!

Salisbury Steak

I don't know about you, but I love Salisbury steak! When I was in college and working I didn't have a lot of money, so I would buy those frozen dinners that would always go on sale, 10 for $10. I loved getting the Salisbury steak with mashed potatoes or with macaroni and cheese. It was great for lunch breaks. This is just as hearty and delicious, but it's healthier to make it at home. Especially since it's so easy! From start to finish, with photographing it, it took 40 minutes. Hope you enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cheerio Squares

Nothing beats a no bake treat that uses up extra ingredients. We buy Cheerios from Costco, which means two giant family size boxes. After a while Isla loses interest in eating them as a snack, and the majority of the Cheerios get stomped on and then vacuumed up. I wanted to use up some Cheerios and I had marshmallows in the pantry, and figured a Rice Krispie Treat inspired snack would be a hit!

Vegan Artichoke Veggie Dip

I made this years ago, six years ago actually, when I was eating a vegan diet. It's easy to make, fast, delicious, and full of nutrients! What's not to love? Now that it's football season it's good to have a few dip recipes on hand. This is great alternative for those of us who love spinach and artichoke dip, but have no self control. 

DIY Crate Centerpiece

I wanted a centerpiece for my table where I could display some greenery. Vases with flowers are so beautiful when you have fresh flowers, but that doesn't happen all the time. And I didn't want a big bouquet of faux flowers because I really like the natural look of plants. I also didn't want to mess with real plants indoors because I can barely take care of my garden in the front and back yard! I had a crate from six years ago that I got when I ordered organic tomatoes online. I kept it and it was usually used to store cleaning products or whatever we had extra of at the time. It was just a plain crate, all I did was stain it with the same dark espresso stain I used on the dining room table, then went over it with the same gray stain. It absorbed the stain really well and I like the weathered look I achieved. I'll break it down here in steps.

Quick and Easy Mashed Potato Pancakes

Last year Isla was a newborn for St. Patrick's Day, so I didn't cook and we didn't celebrate. Now that she's a toddler I wanted to have some fun and cook the traditional Irish-American corned beef and cabbage with a couple sides. This resulted in too many mashed potatoes for a family of three. I like to make leftovers a little different the next day, and these potato pancakes were a fun way of changing up the meal from the previous night. Best part is you can fry a bunch up, then reheat the leftovers the next morning with scrambled eggs. Yum!

Cauliflower Chicken Fried Rice

Chicken fried rice has always been an indulgence for my husband and me, we probably get it 3-4 times a year whenever we're in the mood for Chinese or Thai food. We have Benihana restaurants here in CA and they make really delicious chicken fried rice. I did a search and found a few recipes that were inspired by Benihana's rice, but instead of white rice I used cauliflower rice. If you're unfamiliar with cauliflower rice, it's just cauliflower you run through the food processor to chop it up into "rice." It's yummy, quick, and saves on the carbohydrates. The best thing about this recipe is you can use whatever you have on hand; in my case, whatever I had in the freezer.

Easy Baked Penne

I have been trying to post this recipe for weeks. Every time I make this dish, it disappears before I can get a decent picture. It's great to make for company, and serves quite a few. It will leave us with a little leftovers that we gobble up quickly. I managed to snap this picture with my phone recently, so it's not very pretty but at least gives you an idea of what it will look like!

I've made this recipe four times in the past month. This can be made so many different ways but I'll just share a simple version with you. I like to add a bit of veggies to mine. I also use garlic powder, but if I'm using a garlic marinara or alfredo I leave out the garlic powder. I've used different kinds of penne and they all work great. We really enjoyed the kind that has hidden vegetables. Tasted great and the texture was normal. I really recommend making this when you have company. It will serve a lot and all you have to do is steam some veggies and heat up garlic bread to go along with and you have a very hearty meal. Enjoy!

Chicken Pot Pie Soup, Two Ways

I've made this soup a few times now and a couple of different ways. I definitely preferred the presentation of the soup when it was made on the stove top with frozen vegetables and cubed chicken over the crock pot with canned veggies and shredded chicken. Both taste the same, but the veggies have more crunch when you use frozen. Canned are definitely cheaper so use them if you're on a tighter budget. It's definitely easier to make this in the crock pot. I tossed in the chicken breasts, and dumped everything else on top. Then 30 minutes before serving I shredded the chicken in the crock pot and let it hang out on low heat. You'll see in the pictures below the stove top version is just prettier, but man I love my crock pot. Either way the recipe is super easy. Give it a try if you're in the mood for chicken pot pie without the fuss! I should also say my 11 month old daughter loves this soup, it's kid friendly and has lots of veggies for your little ones.

Easy Mini Breakfast Pies

In my experience, a great cup of coffee is made even better by a delicious sweet treat. It's probably from breastfeeding, but I crave sweets like crazy these days. I wanted to make something quick and easy that was basically a glorified Pop Tart. My grocery store was out of puff pastry, so I picked up a box of refrigerated pie crusts. This is a super simple sweet treat you can make in about 20 minutes.

Sweet Potato and Meatball Pasta

It's all about the crock pot lately, but if it's chilly where you live this can easily be made on the stove top. I wanted a way to cut down on net carbohydrates in a meal that is traditionally very heavy on the pasta. This dish would also work well with butternut squash or spaghetti squash. I used a jar of Arrabbiata sauce which added a nice touch of heat to balance the sweetness from the sweet potatoes.

If you are trying to cut down on sodium the easiest way is to use homemade meatballs instead of store bought. I happened to have a bag of frozen meatballs so I used what I had, but if you have time I recommend this recipe for spicy meatballs or this recipe for traditional meatballs. Both are delicious tried and true recipes.

Easy and Delicious Pollo Asado Tacos

This was another quick and easy meal that we really enjoyed. You can speed the process up more by using pre-made ingredients, but why buy salsa if you already have the ingredients in your fridge. The best time saver here is starting the pre-marinated chicken, and while it cooks throw together the toppings and your side.

Chili Salmon Tacos with Mango Salsa

This was the most mouthwatering lunch I've had in a long time. The hint of spice from the salmon topped with the sweet mango salsa all wrapped up in a warm tortilla was such a treat. What I enjoy most about meals like this is the easy cleanup. I cooked the fish in a non-stick skillet on the stove, wiped out the skillet and then heated the tortillas. Super simple, and comes together very quickly.

5 Ingredient Mango Salsa

This is the hands down my favorite salsa. It's sweet, spicy, and tangy and goes great with fish. This compliments the recipe I'll be posting on Monday, so come back for that if you want an idea of what to make with this salsa! Please excuse the presentation, the only clear container I could find was Tupperware. Everything else is packed away since we will hopefully be moving soon!

Easy Weeknight Meal: Baked Hot Dogs

This is not a glamorous elaborate meal that photographs beautifully, this is real life. Mommy life.

This is the my baby is getting her bottom teeth and woke up four times last night and my husband has been gone for three days meal. It's easy, quick, tasty, and filling. And generally kid approved, this was a favorite as mine as a child. I'll be honest though, I ate just about anything. I still do. 

Something else that's great about this meal is that you can store the hot dogs and the buns in the freezer. If you know you're going to have a busy day and are low on fresh food, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight! If you don't like onion, skip them. Use a different cheese if you'd like, caramelize the onions or use shallots, add relish or tomatoes. The possibilities are nearly endless! I like to keep it simple for the sake of my sanity. Hope you enjoy!