Peach & Burrata Salad

Let Me Tell You About My Summer Panzanella Salad (and a Little Mishap!) Okay, so this Summer Panzanella Salad is basically my kitchen love letter to August. I first made it one sweltering July when my friend dropped off a sack of borderline-feral tomatoes from her garden — you know the kind, they're half-sunburned but …

Let Me Tell You About Grilled Whole Chicken Okay, if you haven’t tried grilling a whole chicken yet, you’ve been missing out—and hey, no judgments. I was totally that person who thought it sounded like a job for someone with a chef’s hat and too much patience. But then, years ago, my cousin roped me …

Let’s Talk About This “Greek Orzo Pasta Salad” Thing You know those recipes that just refuse to leave your weekly meal rotation, even when you try to move on? Yeah, Greek Orzo Pasta Salad is mine. First made it on a whim (it was one of those what’s-left-in-the-fridge situations), and now my friends won’t shut …

Hey, Pull Up a Chair—Let’s Talk Chile Colorado So, Chile Colorado in the crockpot. If you’re picturing me frantically running around my kitchen, pawing through the pantry for dried chilies while the dog tries to eat a fallen onion slice—yep, that’s about right. The first time I made this, I had half a mind to …

A Little Story (Or, Why My House Always Smells Like Comfort Food) Alright, picture this: It's Wednesday, I've forgotten (again) to grab anything fancy from the shop, and my family is eyeing me like I'm about to announce we're having plain toast for dinner. Enter: Easy Ground Beef & Potatoes. If hugs had a smell, …

Let Me Tell You About Slow, Sweet Summers (and Jam) So here's the thing: I grew up in a house where if there were berries, someone was going to make jam. Not always a dignified process—sometimes a loud one, sometimes sticky. But always worth it, especially right at the end of berry season when the …

Okay, so listen—Crockpot Chicken Enchilada Soup is basically my go-to move when life gets busy and my brain feels like scrambled eggs. I started making this a few years back after a wild cold snap; I was “snowed in” (or as snowed in as you can get in my neck of Kansas), and my pantry …

The Backstory of This Effortlessly Delicious Chicken Alright, let’s get honest. If you’ve ever stood in front of your fridge at 5 PM thinking, what in the world am I going to make for dinner tonight?, you’re not alone—this has been my Tuesday (and, fine, sometimes Wednesday) more times than I’d like to admit. Enter …

Hey, Pull Up a Chair: Let’s Talk Sloppy Joes So picture it: a Saturday night, kids are going a bit wild, you’ve lost track of time and dinner was supposed to be, well, thirty minutes ago. That is the exact moment this BBQ Cowboy Sloppy Joes recipe rescued me. I make it when I want …

Alright, friend, if you’ve ever been hit by one of those Why is dinner always my job? moods, I hear you. About a year ago, I found myself staring into my pantry at 4:47 pm clutching a bunch of cherry tomatoes and wondering if one more pasta night would send my teens into open revolt. …

Let's Talk Baked Ziti (And Why I'm a Fan for Life) Alright, let’s get cozy for a sec. Baked ziti isn't fancy, but oh boy, it’s the pasta dish I reach for when I want something hearty, cheesy, and 99% of the time, guaranteed to win over whoever’s sitting at my table (family, roommates, once …

Pull Up a Chair — My Go-To for Gatherings! Alright, so let’s get this much out of the way: I almost never survive a potluck or family shindig without someone asking for this crockpot sweet & spicy kielbasa bites recipe (which, honestly, is kind of funny because it takes like... five minutes of actual effort). …

If Comfort Food Had a Middle Name, It'd Be These Potatoes Let’s be honest – some days you just want something cheesy, bacon-y, and, frankly, super easy. Enter: Crockpot Cheesy Bacon Ranch Potatoes. I make this any time I've promised to bring a side but have absolutely zero brain space left for complicated recipes. Actually, …

Alright, first things first: I started making this Cottage Cheese & Chickpea Salad Bowl recipe on a random Tuesday when I realized my fridge had, among other slightly-sad items, cottage cheese, a can of chickpeas, and, for some reason, three half-used cucumbers (don't ask). It was one of those days you want real food, but …

Alright, here's the thing about bratwurst in a slow cooker... Let me just say: if you’ve never made bratwurst with Dr. Pepper, you’re in for a treat that’s both delightfully weird and, somehow, seriously comforting. The first time I ever made this, it was because I’d run out of regular beer (shocker, right?) and that …

The Backstory: Chocolate, Strawberries, and Occasional Chaos Alright, so let’s be real—this Chocolate Covered Strawberry Cheesecake is honestly the only cake my little brother ever bothers to request (other than those boxed brownies he eats straight from the pan, but we don’t talk about that). I first tried making it for Valentine’s Day, thinking it’d …

Let Me Tell You About This Peach Upside Down Cake Alright, picture this: It’s the middle of summer, your kitchen is a little too warm, and you’ve got peaches practically tumbling off the counter because you got a bit too carried away at the farmer’s market again. That’s me, every single August. So, what do …

Alright, pull up a chair and grab a mug—let’s talk peach cobbler cookies. Seriously, these were born on a lazy Sunday when I’d promised cookies, but the fruit bowl was giving me major side-eye with all those soft peaches hanging around. My grandma used to say, "Waste not, want not," and, well, I took her …

Okay, so let me tell you about this Key Lime Pie Trifle—honestly, if there's one no-fail, drag-out-the-mixing-bowl dessert I can pull off even after a long Tuesday, it's this. I first slapped it together years ago for a family barbecue after running outta time to bake a real pie. It looked a bit like a …

The Peach Cobbler That Gets Me Through Chaos You know those days when you just need something warm and sweet without fussing over ten thousand steps? My cousin called it survival baking. This easy Peach Cobbler with canned peaches has been my go-to ever since I accidentally made it one snowy Sunday (ran out of …

Let Me Tell You About My All-Time Favorite Cheesecake Alright, so it was my cousin Jamie’s birthday and — as usual — he requested that one ridiculous dessert I make: my Chocolate Strawberry Swirl Cheesecake with Ganache Topping. I nearly sprained my wrist swirling those layers the first time! But honestly, every time I pull …

Catching Up Over Pie: My Love Affair with Peach Custard So here’s the deal—I’ve loved peaches probably since I was knee-high to a grasshopper (okay, that's a bit dramatic, but true). The first time I made this Peach Custard Pie, it was a sticky August day, and I was trying to impress an aunt who …

Hey y’all, pull up a chair! So, let me tell you, Southern Lemon Pie has a bit of a reputation in my family—mostly because I ate half of one straight form the pie dish at a family reunion when I was eight. (Sorry Aunt Thelma, but you left me unattended near dessert, so, honestly, what …

Let Me Tell You About This Cake... Okay, so picture this: it’s midsummer, a little too hot, and I’m staring into the fridge eyeing those supermarket strawberries that were probably not meant to last another day. You know the ones? Yep. Enter this cake. I first made this Chocolate Strawberry Whipped Cream Cake for my …

So, one afternoon last spring, my niece (she's five and has an aggressively sweet tooth) wandered into my kitchen and asked for something “pink and crunchy.” I tried to explain that isn't really a flavor, but honestly—kids have a point. Half an hour later, there we were, hands sticky with powdered sugar, gobbling up this …

Let Me Tell You About My Lazy Beef Enchilada Casserole Alright, so here’s the story: I first stumbled into making a slow cooker beef enchilada casserole because, quite frankly, rolling up individual enchiladas when I’ve got laundry mountain and only three clean spoons left? Not happening. Plus, my cousin once showed up three hours late …

Have You Ever Thrown Blueberries in a Salad? So, I first made this Blueberry Pistachio Spring Salad after finding a half-empty bag of pistachios I'd forgotten at the back of my baking cupboard (the fancy salted ones my aunt thinks are only for holidays). Anyway, I got inspired, tossed in blueberries—because what else can you …

Let Me Tell You About Blackberry Avocado Salad (Friend to Friend) So picture this: It’s one of those hot afternoons where the kitchen is already too warm, and my brain is half-melted (I've had those days more often than I care to admit). Years ago, after lugging home a carton of fat, glossy blackberries and …

The First Time I Made Seven Layer Taco Salad You know, the first time I whipped up this taco salad, I was trying to impress my in-laws at their annual summer cookout. It was hotter than a billy goat in a pepper patch. I’d seen all those perfectly layered salads online, but—heh—mine ended up a …

How I Came to Love This Ridiculously Good Salad Let me set the scene—you know those days when you open the fridge, stare at a cucumber, and wonder what to do with it? Well, one muggy Saturday, I'd just come back from the farmers' market with a bag full of cucumbers (as you do when …

Let Me Tell You About This Chickpea Feta Avocado Salad Okay so you know how sometimes you open the fridge and try to manifest a meal out of leftovers and here's a wobbly cucumber and there are half a dozen cans of chickpeas judging you from the cupboard? That's honestly how this Chickpea Feta Avocado …

If you’ve ever found yourself dragging home after a muggy summer afternoon and craving something crisp (but not just another soggy lettuce salad), this Cucumber Ranch Crack Salad is basically a life saver. Actually, it’s more like a “weeknight sanity saver.” I started tinkering with this salad when I needed to use up a mountain …

Let Me Tell You About My Cucumber Caprese Salad Obsession Okay, so you know those days when it’s suddenly 90 degrees and the idea of turning on the oven feels about as appealing as walking barefoot through legos? Yeah, that’s when I reach for this Cucumber Caprese Salad. Actually, scratch that – sometimes I make …

Alright, Let's Talk Coleslaw (The Not-Boring Kind) You know, when folks say 'coleslaw,' some people picture that soggy, sad stuff in plastic tubs under the grocery store lights. Not in my kitchen. This here Bold Flavor-Packed Coleslaw Recipe is the one my kids call 'the zingy slaw' and my friends sneak extra servings of before …

Pull Up a Chair for This Crunchy Strawberry Romaine Feta Salad Alright, I have to start by admitting that I once made this salad for a Sunday picnic, thinking there'd be leftovers for lunch on Monday. Rookie mistake. Between my kids, my neighbor Ruth (she showed up magically right when I started chopping strawberries; does …

Let Me Tell You About This BLT Chicken Salad Okay, so picture this: it’s late Sunday morning, sun is shining through the window, and I’ve got bacon popping on the stovetop. The cat is circling my ankles like she’d actually get a piece (sorry, not a chance), and my phone keeps buzzing with a group …

This Crockpot Tortellini Is Pure Comfort (and My Favorite Secret) You know those dinners where you start with big plans—like, tonight's the night I tackle that homemade lasagna—and then, somewhere between a lost sock and a kid meltdown, you just want something that tastes amazing but takes, oh, almost no effort? Yeah, that was me …

If You’ve Never Had Chile Colorado, Friend, You’re In For a Cozy Night Okay, confession time: I actually used to think "Chile Colorado" meant it had something to do with Colorado the state. Nope! (My mom still teases me about that, by the way.) It’s all about those red chiles and that deep, amazing gravy. …

Let Me Tell You About This Crockpot Barbacoa—It’s My Kind of Lazy Cooking Look, I’ve tried my hand at fancier beef dishes, but honestly, nothing beats the joy of tossing a big hunk of meat in the slow cooker and then just… wandering off (usually to do laundry, let’s be real). Crockpot Barbacoa Shredded Beef …

If you told me years ago I’d be combining my two favorite party foods—jalapeño poppers and potato salad—well, I’d have said you’re off your rocker! But, here we are, and honestly? This Jalapeño Popper Potato Salad has become such a wild crowd-pleaser at my family’s cookouts that my uncle asks for it even in the …