Watermelon Slushies

This refreshing drink is made with fresh watermelon - so perfect for summer!

Another first for me...posting a recipe with watermelon. My blog is almost 11 years old and I have never posted a recipe with watermelon in it. For very good reason, I don't like it. I like watermelon flavored things, but not actual watermelon. I did, however, try this because I'm absolutely willing to try something even if I know I don't like it. I didn't like Philly Cheesesteaks or Chicken Parmesan and I love them now. So who knows, maybe I would appreciate this slushy even though I don't like watermelon. Still don't like watermelon....however, my older two kids and husband loved it and have made it multiple times since.

Slow Cooker Corn and Jalapeno Dip

This appetizer is quick to throw into the slow cooker and ready in a few hours and it is soooo good!

I don't think I have ever had corn dip before but growing up surrounded by cornfields, I adore sweet corn and love pretty much anything with corn. I thought this recipe would be great because it's kind of a mix of jalapeno popper with corn. Honestly, what's not to love about that? I've actually made this recipe a couple times now but can never get a good picture. So this is as good as it's going to get. Excuse the pictures and just take my word for it, you won't be able to stop eating this dip!

Caramel Macchiato Milkshakes

The easiest, tastiest milkshake you'll ever make with just 3 ingredients!

I first made this recipe years ago and had the world's worst picture for it. I meant to remake it time and time again and then I finally did when we moved into our new home last year. And, of course, I'm just now getting around to posting it. This is a super simple way to make a milkshake. And with the amount of different creamers out there, it could easily be switched up to make any milkshake you could think of.

Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers

This easy recipe has all the best parts of a cheesesteak inside a bell pepper!

I feel like I've posted a lot of stuffed pepper recipes or have been trying a lot of new stuffed pepper recipes lately and it's because I love them so much. I feel like I have been so lucky and haven't come across any recipes I feel kind of meh towards. They are all delicious. I really love this one in particular because the cheesesteak filling has a few more ingredients than I normally add and really amps up the flavor. I love the slice of provolone that goes on top and gets all gooey and melty! Now that I'm working full time, I've even begun to think of ways to meal prep and this is absolutely one where the filling could be made a head of time and just placed in the peppers and baked then.

Chicken Tetrazzini

Chicken spaghetti with a delicious cheese sauce and extra cheese that is broiled on top!

Chicken tetrazzini is one of my favorite pasta dishes of all time. I wanted to try a slightly different recipe and this one was the first one I had saved in my Pinterest boards. It's extra cheesy and super quick to throw together. Although it is in a baking dish, it's just broiled, so there isn't a long wait time for it to bake and be ready.

Funfetti Cupcakes for 3

When you just need a few cupcakes, this recipe comes in handy!

I made these for Mason's 5th birthday in 2020. He loves funfetti cake and since I was also making a cake for my sister-in-law whose birthday is the day after Mason's, I figured I'd make a small batch just for him. I was supposed to post the birthday cake that I made for my sister-in-law last Friday, but haven't gotten it up yet. I hope to do that soon, so if you're interested in a Take 5 cheesecake, keep your eyes peeled for that :)

Baked Spicy Chicken Sandwiches

These chicken sandwiches are as healthy as you'll get with yogurt dipped chicken and baked instead of fried.

I've been struggling with getting things posted on here for the last few months. I hit job hunting really hard and found a full time position that I started last Friday. This is my first full week of work and I'm really excited. However, I now have even less time to do blogging, so I decided to give myself a little grace and not worry about all the extra stuff bloggers **should** be doing to make their blog better for search engines and all that. I'm just going to go back to sharing the recipes I'm making, like I did in the beginning almost 11 years ago. I still want to make them easy to print, but that part doesn't take too long.

That was a long little bit, longer than normal for me - ha! But now let me say something about the recipe today. I think this is the first time I've tried a baked recipe where you mix the dry breading with oil and usually it's buttermilk or milk and eggs for the wet part of the breading, this recipe uses yogurt. So it's overall a healthier way to make fried chicken sandwiches. The breading was so crunchy and crisp and I really loved the honey yogurt slaw!

Take 5 Cheesecake

This rich cheesecake has a pretzel crust, a caramel sauce topping (and drizzle), and a chocolate peanut butter ganache topping!

I am so excited to finally get around to sharing this recipe (although I'm a few days late actually getting it up like I was supposed to. Sunday Sarah here backdating to Friday - whoops! This is the cake that I made for my sister-in-law's birthday in February 2020. She asked for a cheesecake and said her favorite candy bars were Take 5s. I had never heard of them or had one before, but I was able to find out that they are chocolate with pretzel, caramel, and peanut butter. I mean what's not to love?! So I adapted a Twix cheesecake recipe and replaced the graham crust for pretzel crust and added peanut butter to the ganache. This is definitely really high up there on favorite cheesecakes of all time list. It was SO good.

Hoisin Stir Fry Bowls

This stir fry bowl has loads of flavor and a spicy peanut sauce to finish it off!

Stir frys are the perfect quick meal. They have so much flavor and you can put so many veggies in them. My oldest in particular probably likes stir frys more than other Asian style cuisine simply because the veggies maintain their crunch and he doesn't like when veggies get soft and mushy. I adore this particular stir fry for it's peanut butter sauce and chopped peanuts topping. I don't know why but I love all of these style recipes with peanut sauces and crunchy peanuts or cashews on them. There is so much savory goodness with those additions!

Loaded Turkey Taco Salad

Load up your taco salad with all the fixings and a homemade cilantro lime dressing!

I've been making a lot of Taco Tuesday meals with turkey lately. Part of that is due to my hereditary high cholesterol kicking in and the other part is that ground turkey doesn't taste too different from ground beef with taco seasoning mixed in, so it isn't this huge "culture shock" of a different protein. I really enjoy this particular salad recipe because there are no tortillas to fuss with and I love salads. I also love that there is corn and beans plus a homemade cilantro lime dressing that is super quick to make.

Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta Bake

This fantastic meal is fully cooked in the oven - pasta and all!

I know that the instructions say to do this recipe in a 9x13-icnh pan. I definitely would have been for whatever reason - I'm guessing my pan was probably dirty - and my cookware is safe to use in the oven. I did use foil instead of the glass lid. I cannot wait to make this again in the proper pan because it was so yummy. Kind of reminded me of what Hamburger Helper was meant to be, except it tastes way better and makes way more. I just love the idea of throwing everything into a pan and baking it. No fussing over the meal for an hour. It also tastes just like a cheeseburger.

German Chocolate Cheesecake

Luscious chocolate cheesecake with layers of coconut pecan on an Oreo crust

This cheesecake was my daughter's choice for her birthday cake in 2020. In true 2020 fashion, my oven broke when this was in the oven baking. I did not know until we went to eat it and mostly the center had some not fully cooked parts. The cooked parts were fantastic but that is why there are no pictures of this cheesecake sliced. So we think the heating elements went out towards the end of the initial baking time. I loved the coconut pecan topping/filling. That's easily the best part!

Creamy Parmesan Garlic Brussels Sprouts

Delicious sauteed brussels sprouts in a creamy cheesy garlicky sauce - a perfect side dish!

Here I am again with another brussels recipe just hoping my family will finally ALL get on board so we can eat them more often. I think at this point everyone just tolerates my desire to eat them on occasion. These are a fantastically easy way to make brussels and the creamy garlic Parmesan sauce is super simple but packs a lot of flavor. I sauteed the everliving out of my brussels because I love when they get browned and crispy.