First off, why am I always making this chili? You know when you hit that point in fall (or honestly, mid-February, because time is a circle) where you just want something warm, kinda healthy-ish, and above all: easy? That was me last year, staring down a bag of sweet potatoes that I'd forgotten in the …

Let Me Tell You About My Crockpot Carnitas Addiction Alright, gather 'round—because I've got a story and a recipe that's saved my bacon (haha, well, technically pork shoulder) more times than I can count. Years ago, I tried making carnitas on the stovetop, nearly set off the smoke alarm twice, and somehow turned the pork …

Let Me Tell You About Crockpot Chicken Fajitas Alright, so, here’s the thing—I started making these crockpot chicken fajitas back in my old flat when I barely knew how a slow cooker worked. My friend Kelly came over (she was probably just being polite, let’s be honest) and after I’d chucked everything in the pot …

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 My Wildly Addictive Brookies You know those days when you just cannot for the life of you decide between brownies and cookies? (Honestly, if that's not relatable, I salute your restraint!) That's precisely how Peanut Butter Cup Stuffed Brookies waltzed into my kitchen. I blame a rainy Saturday and leftover …

So, You Want to Make Rice Krispie Cheddar Crackers? Okay, straight up—if you had asked me five years back if Rice Krispies belonged anywhere near cheddar, I'd probably have looked at you sideways. Then I stumbled onto a version of these crackers at a church potluck (shoutout to Carol, wherever you are), and now they're …

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 …

Oh Look, I Made Too Much Bread Again (Garlic Parmesan Focaccia Style) So, the first time I tried a "fancy" focaccia, I was at this very loud family reunion where my cousin swore it was "just bread." Wrong. Anyway, turns out, homemade Garlic Parmesan Focaccia is so much more than just bread—it’s like edible therapy …

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 …

The Story Behind These Dreamy Pancakes Okay, so hear me out—this is not your everyday pancake recipe. I still remember the first morning I threw together these coconut cream pancakes: it was pouring rain, my coffee was lukewarm (why does coffee always cool down so fast?!), and I thought, let's do something special even if …

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 …

Alright, Pull Up a Chair—Let’s Talk Cheesecake Bars First off, if you’re anything like me, you get a craving for something fruity and creamy at least once a week, especially when someone brings over a giant punnet of blueberries and you’ve got a few sad lemons rolling around the crisper (my crisper is almost always …

The Scoop on This Sweet, Sneaky Protein Dip Okay, let me tell you—if there was an Olympics for nostalgia snacks, Dunkaroos would take gold every time (yeah, I’m that 90s kid). One afternoon I tried a million ways to curb my sweet tooth, and boom, this High Protein Dunkaroo Dip happened. I wanted all the …

Let’s Talk Cottage Cheese Chips (And That Weird Time I Burned the First Batch) Okay, so you know those days when all you want is SOMETHING crunchy—anything really—that won’t sabotage your carb count for the day? That was me a couple months ago, rummaging in the fridge with way too much cottage cheese on hand. …

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 Story Behind My Obsession With These Cups Okay, so I started making these Dark Chocolate Oatmeal Cups a couple of years ago after what I’d call...an accidental win. I had some old oats, a leftover chocolate bar from that time I tried (and failed) a soufflé, and a craving for something sweet but not …

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 …

If you’d asked me ten years ago what a Baked French Egg was, I’d probably have grinned, shrugged, and said something nonsensical (eggs Benedict, but in a beret?). But then my pal Luc from Lyon taught me how his mum made these lovely, tucked-into-cream eggs—somewhere between lazy brunch and "look at me, I’m a proper …

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 …

Okay, here’s the thing: Crispy Parmesan Artichoke Hearts aren’t exactly something I grew up eating (my mum was more into shepherd’s pie or, let’s be honest, whatever the freezer held on a Thursday), but the first time I made these, the crunch was so satisfying it pretty much stopped conversation at the table. Picture this—rainy …

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 …

Let Me Tell You About These Pancakes Alright, friend, so about these chocolate chip pancakes—I’ve been making them for years, probably since the era when flip phones were cutting edge and I thought powdered sugar was just for fancy restaurants. The first time I made these for my nieces, I’ll never forget it: the chips …

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 …

If You're Craving a Breakfast Hug, Start Here Sometimes you just wake up on a Sunday (or, actually, a Tuesday, who are we kidding?) and nothing but a warm, fluffy, slightly decadent biscuit will do. The first time I made these Breakfast Butter Swim Biscuits, I'd just moved to this tiny city flat with the …

How I Stumbled on the Best Hawaiian Roll Grilled Cheese Okay, so let me just confess right out of the gate — this recipe came about because I was out of bread (the usual sandwich kind, you know?) but still craving something gooey and warm and cheesy on a rainy Sunday. Hawaiian rolls were all …

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 …

Let’s Talk About My Not-So-Secret Snack Obsession I’ll cut right to the chase: these Crispy Cauliflower Fritters are one of those things I kinda wish I’d discovered sooner in life. It all started because someone (naming no names, but he’s the one with the dog-eared Simpsons apron) bought a gigantic head of cauliflower—what was he …

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 …