Dinner

Let Me Tell You Why I Keep Coming Back to This Taco Night So, real talk: I first made these Crockpot Mexican Shredded Beef Tacos while trying to impress my in-laws. Naturally, the power flickered halfway through cooking and I genuinely thought dinner was doomed. But funny enough, the beef still turned out so tender …

If I Could Hug My Crockpot, I Would (And Here’s Why) Okay, confession time: Crockpot Mexican Lasagna is the hero meal that’s saved my sanity when everyone rolls in hungry and I've got about three brain cells left after work. You know how sometimes you plan to make something simple—and then it, somehow, ends up …

Let's Talk About These Salisbury Steak Meatballs You know that delicious, cozy meal you make when it's grey outside, or you're feeling just a bit too lazy (but still want something that looks like you tried)? That's this recipe. Actually, the first time I made these meatballs was because I'd promised my son Salisbury steak—but …

Catching Up (Over Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches) Heya—so, you ever have one of those crazy weeks where everything’s upside down and by Thursday you just want dinner to cook itself? That’s basically how these Slow Cooker Hot Honey Chicken Sandwiches became my rescue squad. The first time I made them, I thought “How wrong can …

Let Me Tell You About These Pork Chops (And That One Time I Forgot to Plug in the Crockpot) Alright, friend, picture this: It's a Tuesday, my phone's blowing up, my kid has misplaced a shoe and my husband is convinced dinner will be early for once (ha!). Pioneer Woman's Crockpot Pork Chops save me …

Let’s Talk About Birria Tacos (and Why My Kitchen Smells Amazing) I still remember the first time I made Birria tacos at home—my neighbor poked her head in the door asking what on earth I was cooking because, honest to goodness, my whole hallway smelled like a fiesta. It was raining buckets that day, I …

Let Me Tell You About This Cheesy Casserole Adventure Alright, so listen—I definitely didn’t grow up in one of those tidy, everything-from-scratch kitchens. Most nights, we ate what we had (and maybe too much of it), and some of my best food memories come form the kind of slapdash, throw-it-all-in-a-pot meals. This Slow Cooker Steak …

Let Me Tell You About My Sunday Beef Ragu (and That One Time It Nearly Overflowed) You know that one dish you always think about when the weather turns crisp and it basically smells like leaves and football outside? Yeah, this is mine. The first time I tried making beef ragu in the slow cooker, …

Let Me Tell You About Creamy Chorizo Potato Soup (And That One Cold Night) Alright, so friend to friend—have you ever made a soup that basically hugs you back? This creamy chorizo potato soup is that soup for me. First time I made it? Picture me, shivering in my kitchen, looking for any excuse not …

So Here's the Thing About My Favorite Rice Dish I can’t tell you how many gloomy evenings have been saved by this One-Pot Mushroom Rice. Picture this: you come home after a long, soggy Tuesday (because, of course, it started raining just as you left work), your brain is basically mush—ironically—and the last thing you …

So, About This Bloody Mary Chili… If you’d told me years ago I’d be pouring tomato juice (yes, like the stuff for cocktails) into my chili pot, I probably would’ve snorted iced tea out my nose. But hear me out: this chili is basically a hug in a bowl for anyone who loves that Bloody …

Let’s Chat About Pizza Style Cottage Cheese Bake So, you know those evenings when you want something a bit like pizza but you’re not in the mood to roll dough or deal with a pizza stone (let’s be honest, those things are heavy)? That’s exactly how this Pizza Style Cottage Cheese Bake ended up in …

So Here’s the Real Deal About Smash Burger Tacos You know those nights when you’re hungry and tired (honestly, isn’t that just Thursday)? That’s when I started tinkering with these Easy Smash Burger Tacos—I just wanted that crispy beef edge you get at a good diner, and I wanted tacos ’cause, well, tacos. The first …

Let Me Tell You About These Beans If you've ever looked at a can of butter beans and thought, "What am I going to do with you?"—well, you’re not alone. The first time I tried to make something Tuscan-inspired with them, I thought I’d mess it up. But then again, how badly can you do …

The Time I (Sorta) Invented Shrimp Egg Roll in a Bowl Okay listen, so I'm no fancy chef. I'm usually juggling a kid, a work call, and maybe a dog or two begging for scraps—but even then, this Shrimp Egg Roll in a Bowl is a game changer. First off, I stumbled onto this idea …

Pulled This Recipe Out After a Long Week (or, Why My Family Doesn't Mind Leftovers) Ever taken a look at your fridge at 7:13 PM after a long workday and thought, 'Well, that's not going to cook itself'? Yeah, same here. That's when Easy Creamy Tortellini with Chicken and Broccoli swoops in. The first time …

Let Me Tell You About This Chili (and That Time I Almost Burned Down the Kitchen) If you ever walk into my house on a rainy Sunday, you’ll probably catch me in sweats, hair in absolute chaos, wrangling a bubbling pot of this short rib and chorizo chili. I started making it after a particularly …

So, Let Me Tell You About These Burgers... First time I tried making these Gochujang Chicken Burgers with Kimchi Jam, I was 80% sure I’d made a mistake and about 100% sure my counter would never recover from the sticky mess. But wow, was it worth it. My friend Mina actually called them "wildly addictive"—she …

How Chicken Shawarma Took Over My Tuesday Nights Pulled this recipe together the first time because I was craving takeout and my wallet was giving me dirty looks. Plus, my kids declared a personal vendetta against plain roast chicken (can't say I blame them). So chicken shawarma with garlic sauce—messy, garlicky, and honestly? It turned …

Hey there, soup-season seekers! You know those blustery autumn days when the only thing that’ll do is something hot, comforting, and way easier than it looks? Well, this Comfort Fall Potsticker Soup is my family's personal hug in a bowl. The first time I made it, I burnt the garlic (classic me) and accidentally dropped …

So Here’s the Thing About This Pepper Steak… If you’ve ever come home after a long day and practically stared at those sad steaks in the fridge thinking, What can I do to make this interesting for dinner? — that’s exactly how I stumbled into this Sizzling Chinese Pepper Steak with Onions situation. Really. The …

Let's Talk About Cheesy Baked Tennessee Onions (And Why I Can't Get Enough) Okay, friend—so the first time I made these Cheesy Baked Tennessee Onions, I was trying to impress my neighbor at a potluck. (You know that urge to bring something besides another potato salad...) I’d heard these onions were a Southern classic and, …

Alright, here's why this pesto chicken flatbread is oddly special to me... I have to start with the first time I threw together this Pesto Chicken Flatbread on a Tuesday night when I was practically running on caffeine fumes and whatever Spotify recommended as background noise. I’d grabbed a couple things from the fridge (some …

Okay, so here's how these cheeseburger flatbreads came to be I swear, the first time I made these was during one of those midweek "what-on-earth-is-for-dinner" scrambles. (You know the ones...) My oldest was hangry, my youngest was staging a protest against broccoli, and my husband, bless him, just looked confused by the contents of the …

Catching Up Over Pizza (Roll-Ups, That Is!) So last Friday night (felt like a Tuesday, honestly), I came home craving something pizza-ish but, you know, without the whole debate about whose turn it is to clean the pizza stone — plus I was absolutely done with dough sticking to the countertop. My youngest piped up, …

Let Me Tell You About Beef Enchilada Tortellini Hey there, OK—I’ve got to tell you about the time I first made this Beef Enchilada Tortellini recipe. My cousin Jim calls it “the casserole of the future” (not sure what that means, but I’ll take it). I kind of stumbled into it one rainy Thursday, digging …

Let's Talk Marry Me Chicken Soup Listen. If you show up cold and hungry at my front door, there’s a 60% chance I’ll offer you this Marry Me Chicken Soup before you even sit down. The first time I made it, I sort of threw it together on a whim—honestly because I ran out of …

Let Me Tell You About This Pasta (And My Not-So-Secret Obsession) Okay, full disclosure: I didn't grow up eating fancy pasta. Mostly, it was jarred sauce and, if we were feeling wild, mushrooms politely picked out by certain siblings. Fast forward a bunch of years and, somehow, I'm the person whose friends request "that leek …

So, Here's My Story with Chicken Shawarma and That Creamy Sauce I remember the first time I tried making chicken shawarma at home—it was a mess, honestly. I marinated the chicken, but forgot to actually turn on the oven. Oops. My kitchen smelled amazing for hours with raw chicken sitting on the counter (my cat, …

Let’s just say, this Creamy Bacon and Mushroom Pasta has rescued many chaotic weeknights at my place. I first cobbled it together after a grocery run that, frankly, went sideways (why do I always forget the parmesan?). I’d been ravenous and my kids were lobbying for pizza, but I promised something better. Long story short: …

A Little Story First (Because Why Not?) If I'm being honest, this Easy Garlic Chickpea Soup is my trusty old friend when the weather gets grumpy—or honestly when I just can't be fussed, but still want something heartwarming. I started making this one chilly night after realising I'd eaten toast for dinner four days straight …

So, Here’s the Story With This Chicken Stew If you've ever walked through the door after an endless Monday and wished dinner would just appear (like magic, honestly), this slow cooker chicken stew has become my trick. I’ll never forget the time I threw it all together before dashing out for soccer pick-up, totally forgot …

Alright, Let Me Tell You About This Soup I remember the first time I tried making this Slow Cooker Keto Chicken Cream Cheese Soup, I’d just come home from one of those long days where even my hair felt tired (do people say that everywhere or is that just me?). Honestly, I wanted something cozy …

Hey friend—why spring soup? Okay, picture this: it's early spring, the windows have finally cracked open after months of stuffiness, and the market is overflowing with greens. That’s when I make this Cream of Spring Vegetable Soup. It started as a way to clear out what I’d grabbed (slightly overzealously, I'll admit) at the farmer’s …

Let Me Tell You About This Lasagna… Hey there, friend. So—you know how some days you just need to eat something that feels like a warm hug wrapped in cheese? Well, this creamy spinach mushroom lasagna is it. Actually, the first time I made it, I was trying to use up a sad bag of …

So Let’s Talk Air Fryer Chicken Parm… You ever notice how every time someone comes over (even if it’s just my sister dropping by to “borrow” laundry soap—hi Becky) there’s this expectation for real food? I mean, sure, I love cooking for folks, but there are days when I just—honestly—do not want to crank up …

So, About My Classic Meatloaf (It Never Fails to Fix a Craving) Let me set the scene: It’s raining, someone forgot to take out the recycling (again), and I’m out of patience but also weirdly hungry. On nights like this, meatloaf just calls my name. You know, that smell that kind of hugs the whole …

Let Me Tell You About These Smash Burgers (and Baconnaise... Oh Wow) You know, I've made plenty of burgers in my day, but smash burgers? They’re basically my cheat code for winning dinner. It's got drama (that sizzle when it hits the pan!), it's got speed (because who wants to wait?), and, honestly, the first …

Let Me Tell You Why I Keep Coming Back to This Cod You know those nights when you're staring at a packet of cod in the fridge, wondering why you thought you were the kind of person who meal plans on Sundays? Yeah, that’s me—all the time. Honestly, this oven-baked cod with garlic herb crumbs …

Pull Up a Chair—Let Me Tell You About My Go-To Crock Pot Chicken Alright, friend, let me start with a confession: the first time I tried this chicken in the slow cooker, I sorta didn't believe it would turn out juicy *and* seasoned. My old slow cookers (Mom's hand-me-downs) just made everything taste like, well, …