Chilled and Refreshing Cold Pea Salad

Who doesn't love that bacon, cheddar, ranch combo? Even here in this pea salad it works wonders and really builds a basic salad into a memorable side dish.

It's an excellent option for an Easter dinner to serve with a honey baked ham, mashed potatoes, and the best homemade dinner rolls. Then for dessert carrot cake of course!

This pea salad is a much tastier option than serving those frozen peas plain, it's worth the bit of extra effort especially for a holiday celebration or weekend dinner.

It has a tempting blend of textures and well rounded flavor with it's sweet pea freshness, salty bacon, toasty almonds, the depth from the cheese, and a rich creamy dressing to polish it off. It's a salad fit for a feast!

Love these ideas? Also try my Overnight Oats 5 Ways and porridge like Oatmeal 8 Ways.

Viral TikTok Inspired Baked Oats Improved

Baked oats have been around for a years and became very popular from a TikTok recipe.

The difference between these and baked oatmeal is that the ingredients for baked oats are all pulverized in a blender leaving the oats ground up fine, and with baked oatmeal the oatmeal is left whole and everything is just stirred together in a mixing bowl.

Though the ingredients between the two are very similar their textures are quite different. These are more muffin-like while baked oatmeal is more like a chewy oat breakfast casserole. Both are so delicious just unique in their own way.

I tried the viral version of baked oats but felt it was a bit spongy so modified it based off what I thought would offer a better texture (less egg and banana, adding liquid, etc). And I couldn't resist adding a dab of butter, feel free to add two if you'd like for richer oats.

Try all the tasty flavor variations to discover your personal favorite! I'm still trying to pick a favorite myself because I love all of them.

The Best Harvest Bowls

This recipe is a copycat recipe with inspiration from Sweetgreen's harvest bowl but with what I consider a few even more delicious additions.

In place of balsamic dressing I found honey lemon dressing tasted better and was more fitting, feta was overall more preferred among tasters versus goat cheese, and Brussels sprouts add one more veggie and will help get more servings out of it. Pan seared chicken was also used in place of roasted for a quicker option.

Simply put we are obsessed with these meal in one bowls, they are one of the tastiest healthy fall recipes and we just can't get enough of them! Once you try them you may just start making them weekly like we are lately, and you can switch them up with different toppings (see ideas below).

They are loaded to the max with flavor and wholesome goodness. They make an excellent dinner and leftovers are perfect for meal prep for lunch the following day.

Tossed together and ready in only 10 minutes, it’s a crowd-pleasing summer recipe! 

Easy Spinach and Strawberry Salad

Strawberries are one of my favorite summer fruits, and while I love sweet treats like strawberry shortcake trifles and a freshly baked strawberry rhubarb crumb bars, one of the best ways to put them to use is in this strawberry and spinach salad.

It’s made with a base of fresh spinach and strawberries tossed in a homemade poppyseed dressing, and you may love to include almonds and feta cheese, too. 

You’ll find it comes together in minutes and makes a large batch perfect for feeding a crowd. Whether you need a quick side dish or a nutritious meal (with added rotisserie chicken), this salad always has your back. Plus, the dressing can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge so you can make this salad on repeat. 

This may quickly become a go-to summer recipe for you! It's a breeze to throw together, has such a refreshing satisfying flavor, and you can easily modify the recipe using ingredients you have on hand (think spring salad blend, or blueberries or raspberries work well too).

So much to love about this super fresh salad!

What Is Honey Cake? 

The origins of honey cake recipes can be traced all the way back to ancient Egyptian and Roman cultures. In its first stages, the dessert is believed to have been made out of honey and mashed yeast or barley.

During the 12th century, it was developed into a dessert similar to what we make today thanks to bakers in Italy. Soon, it was adopted by the Jewish culture and quickly became a custom surrounding the study of the Torah. 

Over time, the cake has been incorporated into a wide variety of cultures across the globe and can be found in many different variations. In fact, it is the dessert that spurred the creation of gingerbread. However, no matter how it is made, honey cake always comes together with a simple, spiced batter that is naturally sweetened. 

Soft, sweet, and incredibly tender, it’s one dessert that truly stands the test of time and remains a favorite in many homes, including our own! 

An upgraded coleslaw that's crunchy, fresh and delicious. Made with cabbage, apples, cranberries and almonds and it's all coated in sweet and tangy dressing. It's the perfect side for BBQ's, parties or picnics!

Apple Slaw Recipe

Who doesn't love coleslaw? It's crunchy, it's creamy, it has just enough sweetness, and it goes with just about anything. It's always quick to be polished off.

Here you get the perfect blend of textures and flavors with the mix-in additions of apples, cranberries, almonds and optional cheese. And it's covered in a more wholesome, lighter Greek yogurt dressing (versus a classic coleslaw dressing that has as much as a cup of mayonnaise in it).

This apple slaw recipe has a pleasant mild flavor to it, but if you'd like a more pronounced flavor you can add in a tablespoon of dijon mustard to the dressing.

And if you want to skip a step and go with a shortcut, you can use a coleslaw mix in place of the shredded cabbage and carrots. Also just chop the apples instead of getting paticular and cutting into matchsticks to save time.

I think it's time for pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches this week for dinner, don't you? And then of course this homemade coleslaw to go with it!

Fresh Made Almond Milk

Making this DIY almond milk is easily the superior version of almond milks. It actually tastes quite different from store-bought versions because it's just so good! I was completely surprised myself the first time I made it.

This homemade variations doesn't included additives such as thickeners like added guar or gellan gums (which to some can cause stomach upset), and the almond flavor here just comes from the almonds not added flavor. I would suspect there's a greater ratio of almonds used in this almond milk vs. factory processed as well (though I have no way of proving this, I'm giving that judgment based on taste alone).

Isn't making things from scratch and that bit of self sufficiency involved with it just such a gratifying process (and we tend to appreciate it more too right)? Even when it's this easy, totaling about 5 minutes hands on prep time.

It's also a handy know-how for when you may run out of store-bought milk of any kind but you're wanting that bowl of muesli or cereal with it.

You'll just need a few special tools including a nut bag or a clean tea towel for straining, and a high speed blender to finely pulverize the soaked almonds.

Uses and Variations

Once you've completed the simple process there are countless uses for it. You can drink as is, serve with cereal or oatmeal, add to soups, makes sauces such as curries, or create desserts along the lines of pudding and so forth.

You can even change up the flavor of the almond milk. Making it taste horchata-like by blending with a cinnamon stick, turning it into chocolate almond milk or hot chocolate, or giving it a spiced flavor and sunny glow by making it golden milk (turmeric milk). And don't forget the fruity options like strawberry milk by adding a strained homemade strawberry sauce.

I'd say start with the basic recipe below to taste it's pure goodness, then explore all the other flavor options and uses from there.

Healthy Lemon Kale Salad

To say kale salad took us by surprise is an understatement. You may think kale salad, how boring, but with the right dressing and a few complementary mix-ins you can make bold earthy flavored kale turn into something truly delicious!

We've been eating this apple kale salad almost every week since I shared it (my kids even request it for school lunch believe it or not). So I thought it would be nice to throw another one into the rotation. One with the tantalizing flavor trio of parmesan, lemon and garlic.

I think you'll love this one paired with a pasta main dish or just add some chicken and turn it into the main course. Just hold the crouton crumbles until you're almost ready to serve it so they don't get soggy.

A Favorite Holiday Cookie!

If you haven't made Linzer cookies before I'd say it's due time! They are reminiscent of the Knots Berry Farm cookies / jammy Pepperidge Farm cookies but easily a thousand times better because they are homemade and fresh. Plus they have much more flavor.

They are similar to thumbprint cookies, butter cookies and shortbread. But they have the addition of preserves sandwiched between the center and finely ground nuts in the dough (here we go the easier route with pre-ground almond flour).

These are such a fun cookie to make and they are great for parties and gifting (just be mindful and careful to not give to those with nut allergies).

You can use various shapes of cookie cutters here. I recommend rounds, squares, stars or hearts, and you'll just need to have a smaller cookie cutter to cut the mini shape from their centers.

Once you make these decadent sandwich cookies quickly hide them away. They'll disappear in no time if you don't!

No one can resist the layers of flavor, that nutty goodness, the perfect blend of textures and that tempting jammy goodness? It's one dangerously delicious cookie!

Shredded Kale Apple Salad

This is my favorite easy kale salad! It's brimming with freshness and has a vibrant, sweet and tangy vinaigrette dressing that perfectly highlights it.

And can we appreciate the fact that it doesn't wilt within minutes of adding the dressing like other salads may start to? Which makes it a great option for a dinner party or cookout.

It compliments so many meals and uses ingredients that you can easily get year round.

For a quick and simple dinner or lunch you can serve it as a side paired with a basic protein such as grilled chicken or salmon.

It's a healthy salad recipe you'll want to make on repeat. A delicious kale crunch salad with the best blend of flavors!