Let Me Tell You About These Maple Brown Sugar Cookies… Oh hey, friend! So, let me just start by saying these maple brown sugar cookies are basically the reason my kitchen smells like fall for half the year. I remember the first time I made them — it was one of those dreary November afternoons; …

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 …

So here's the story… You know that one recipe you always come back to, the flop-proof one that's made it through birthday parties, rainy day kitchen disasters, and those I've-got-nothing-in spots? For me, that's this Garlic Parmesan Focaccia Bread. The first time I made it, I misread the salt quantity and basically created a Mediterranean …

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 …

Pumpkin Cornbread with Cinnamon Honey Butter: Why It’s My Rainy Day Go-To The first time I baked this pumpkin cornbread, I think it rained for three days straight (you know, the kind of persistent drizzle that soaks through to your socks no matter what shoes you wear). My nephew and I got stuck inside and, …

So, You Want Blueberry Cheesecake Swirl Cookies? I’ve been making these blueberry cheesecake swirl cookies ever since I had a particularly rough week (don’t ask, but it involved three lost socks and, weirdly, a traffic cone). I remember having some leftover cream cheese and a punnet of slightly-sad looking blueberries—maybe fate, maybe just me cleaning …

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 …

Let's Chat Banana Bread (and Why My Socks Love This Recipe) Alright, so do you ever have those bananas sitting there, turning, let's say, aggressively brown—and you just can’t bring yourself to toss them out? That's usually when I grab my battered old loaf pan and go on a baking spree. My cinnamon swirl banana …

Here's Why I Keep Making This (And Maybe You Should Too) Okay, let me tell you about this Breakfast Eggs Benedict Casserole—it's basically my culinary ace-in-the-hole for lazy Sundays or whenever someone's crashed at my place (usually my brother, who, by the way, always brings donut holes but never coffee; go figure). There was a …

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, …

Let Me Tell You About This Creamy Mushroom Soup So, imagine this—one rainy Tuesday, I came home, shoes slightly muddy, craving that warm, hug-in-a-bowl kind of meal. Penne pasta? Nah, not tonight. I opened the fridge, mushrooms staring at me mournfully. (Does anyone else anthropomorphize their produce?) That’s when I whipped up what’s now become …

Pull Up a Chair: Let Me Tell You About Goulash I don't know if you grew up with a pot of goulash bubbling away on the stove, but for me, it always meant something big was happening—usually feeding a crowd, or at least my perpetually hungry teenage brother. Did it solve sibling squabbles? No, but …

Let Me Tell You About This Corn Salad (I Swear It’s Worth It!) First of all—if you’re new to the whole elote thing, let me tell you, the hype is real. There was this one summer barbecue at my cousin’s (the one where the neighbor’s inflatable pool nearly became airborne, but that’s another story), and …

Old School Oven Crispy Bread and Crumbs Pork Chops—And Why I’m Still Making Them Let me paint you a quick picture: It’s Tuesday, I’m tired, and all I want is to avoid half an hour of dishes. I grew up eating crumbed pork chops on, well, actually it was usually on Sundays but does that …

Let's Bake: A (Slightly Distracted) Sugar Cookie Chat I should warn you, making these cookies might be as much about nostalgia as it is about sugar. My first attempt at baking them was, well, a glorious disaster—the dough stuck to everything except itself, my cat tried to swipe a piece, and somehow I got flour …

The Cozy Pasta Bake That Became a Weeknight Classic I have this vivid memory of trying to impress my cousin with a pasta bake, and—and you'll laugh—halfway through the sauce, I realized I'd used sweetened pumpkin puree (don't worry, this recipe doesn't make that mistake). Still, it actually turned out edible, and she said it …

So, Let Me Tell You How I First Made This If you could have seen the mess I made the first time I tried Irish Chicken in Whiskey Cream Sauce... It was for St Patrick's one particularly soggy weekend, and I'd somehow convinced myself I could cook like an Irish granny. Spoiler: I'm not. But …

Let's Talk Blondies—And a Memory or Two So, funny enough, this recipe for chewy cinnamon apple blondies actually started out as a mistake. Years ago, I was trying to impress my neighbor Barb (she's got this wild collection of apple-themed sweaters; stay with me here) by baking regular blondies, but I grabbed the cinnamon and …

A Little Chat Before We Bake Okay my friend, so let me just spill the beans: this Savory Caprese Bread isn’t what I’d call fancy, but it sort of feels like it is, especially if you bring it out at a potluck (just don’t tell them how stupid-easy it was, right?). The first time I …

Let Me Tell You About These Baklava Cheesecake Phyllo Cookies I have to be honest, the first time I threw together these Baklava Cheesecake Phyllo Cookies with Honey Drizzle, it was kind of an accident. I was going for classic baklava—but the phyllo sheets tore just as I realized I’d also forgotten the walnuts and, …

How These Brownies Became My Go-To, Honestly Alright, gather 'round, chocolate lovers. I have a confession: I'm a serial over-baker. Every time I said I'd make a "healthy treat," it used to end with something that tasted, well – suspiciously like cardboard. Then, one cold rainy Thursday (why is it always Thursdays?), I finally struck …

So Here's the Deal With This Street Corn Dip… Okay, so you know how some days you stumble into the kitchen and want something silly good, but you also don't want to wind up scrubbing counters all night? Enter this street corn dip. I first tried making it for a backyard game night, and—no joke—my …

Let's Talk About Mardi Gras Pasta (and Why My Cousin is Still Mad at Me For It) Okay, let me paint you a picture: it's a steamy Saturday in Louisiana, and I'm standing over a bubbling pot, debating if adding more cream will actually make this Pappadeaux Mardi Gras Pasta better or just land me …

Weird Little Weekend Rituals (and Pancake Disasters) Honestly, nothing says Saturday morning to me like whipping up these vanilla cinnamon buttermilk pancakes—sometimes still in my pajamas, and usually with at least one spatula accident. The first time I tried this recipe, I didn't have any buttermilk, so I sort of improvised (let's just say it …

So, Shepherd’s Pie Baked Potato… this one kind of happened by accident because I’d made a whole bunch of mashed potatoes (like, an embarrassing amount), then realized I was completely out of casserole dishes. But there I was, staring at these lovely baked spuds in the fridge, and suddenly thought—what if the best of both …

Okay, So Let Me Tell You About This Crockpot Chicken Pasta… I still remember the first time I threw together this garlic parmesan chicken pasta in my crockpot. Honestly? It was one of those “what’s in the fridge?” evenings – my brain was fried from work, the kids were eyeing the cereal box like they …

So, Here's the Scoop on This Garlic Parmesan Crockpot Chicken and Potatoes Picture this: it's Wednesday night, you're already zapped after work (honestly, who isn't?), and all you want is something warm, a little cheesy, and okay, that makes it smell like you've been cooking all day (even if you, you know, definitely have not). …