Tangy, sweet pineapple rice with cilantro and lime is a guaranteed win for any pineapple lovers. My family gives it two thumbs up around the table every time I make it. This is a fun side dish that was originally inspired by this recipe for Hawaiian Huli Huli Chicken. I wanted something sweet and just a bit tangy, and the rice worked out beautifully. Rice with Pineapple To say that we’re a family of pineapple lovers just doesn’t even do justice to how much we all enjoy fresh, frozen, or canned pineapple. (And speaking of those options, any of them will work nicely in this recipe.) The much-lov ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! This was a week filled with sunshine (YAY for spring weather!), plenty of great food, a whole lot of work, and an abundance of coffee. I’m ready to relax as much as possible this weekend! ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: You can make this creamy, rich, and extra saucy Broccoli Mac and Cheese – completely from scratch – in the same amount of time it takes to cook a box of mac and cheese. These Zucchini Taco Boats are full of flavor and cheesy goodness. Let’s face it – tacos make everything better, especially zucchini. Pasta and sausage in a rich tomato pasta sauce is ..read more

Today I’m sharing 20+ easy, inexpensive, naturally gluten free desserts that require no special ingredients at all! These are my go-to desserts anytime I need an allergy-friendly option at the last moment. They are also the recipes I share with anyone who asks for a simple and uncomplicated gluten free dessert recipe. Naturally Gluten Free Desserts All of the desserts I’m sharing today are naturally gluten free, meaning that they require no special flour or starches and can be made with ingredients typically found in the average kitchen. Years before I started blogging, when I first started ba ..read more

With crisp edges, soft and chewy centers, plenty of white chocolate chips, and macadamia nuts too, these cookies make me grin with every bite. These are rich, sweet, nutty cookies packed with white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts. If you aren’t a fan of white chocolate, feel free to use your favorite chocolate instead. However, if you like white chocolate, the combination of macadamia nuts and sweet vanilla chips can’t be beat. Macadamia Nut Cookies What exactly is it about macadamia nuts that makes them such a fantastic and classic addition to so many cookie recipes? Macadamia nuts have a ..read more

Pistachio Ice Cream? Oh, yeah. Picture a creamy scoop of freshly churned ice cream with a nutty pistachio kick and then picture me trying to resist going back for “just one more taste” all day long. That pretty much sums up this batch of ice cream. Pistachio Ice Cream This ice cream combines the cold and creamy sweetness of ice cream with the subtle, earthy flavor of pistachio nuts. There’s a hint of vanilla in the background and it compliments that distinct nutty flavor. Pistachio ice cream has a unique nuttiness (is that even a word??) to it with the pistachio flavor in the creamy ice cream ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! As I sit here sipping coffee and writing today’s newsletter, my youngest son is making a pot of blueberries and cream oatmeal for our breakfast – and I’m thinking how awesome it is to have older kids now. Younger years are their own kind of fun, but middle school, high school, and college age kids? I just love it so much. Today’s plan is a whole lot of home organization and cleaning out closets, a trip to drop off donations at the thrift store (thrills a minute here for sure), maybe a car wash, and hopefully a bike ride too. There’s something especially pea ..read more

Freshly churned chocolate ice cream is layered with bite-size chunks of Cosmic Brownies and scattered with miniature M&M candies to create this super fun Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream. Cosmic Brownie Ice Cream I’ve been on a kick lately making Little Debbie copycat ice cream recipes. When I first spied Little Debbie’s line of ice creams in the grocery store, I did a double take. And then I immediately put them all on my must-try-soon list. Little Debbie’s brownies were always a fun treat growing up and I couldn’t resist turning that nostalgic treat into a bowl of ice cream. I started this ice c ..read more

Perfectly chewy, ultra fudgy brownies, topped with a layer of fudge frosting and a sprinkling of candies, these brownies are a better-than-store-bought copycat of Little Debbie’s Cosmic Brownies! The rave reviews of these brownies have been nonstop, my friends. I’ve made them a few times now to make sure the recipe is perfect and it truly is. Side note: it turns out that these brownies are my kryptonite. I force myself to give away half the pan every time I make them because I can not stay away from them if they’re in the house. I tested a few different fudgy brownie recipes (heaven knows tha ..read more

Welcome to the weekend, my friends! We’ve had a great week with family visiting, driving out to watch the eclipse in totality (so many thoughts here, but WOW sums it up), celebrating my niece’s birthday, playing games, and cooking so much food. You know it’s been a relaxing time when I’m now happily looking forward to several straight days of work. (But first, we’ll enjoy the rest of the weekend!) ON THE BLOGS THIS WEEK: Loaded with our favorite Mexican flavors; this southwest chicken soup is slightly spicy with chunks of tomatoes, corn, black beans, and tender chicken. I like to top the stea ..read more

As much as we all love a good old-fashioned banana split ice cream sundae, I’m here to tell you that banana split ice cream – it’s a whole new world of homemade ice cream. Creamy, freshly churned banana ice cream is swirled with crushed pineapple, maraschino cherries, peanuts, and chocolate chips to create this ice cream. Banana Split Ice Cream Sundae Each scoop of banana split ice cream is a whole explosion of flavor and when you take scoops of this ice cream and top them with whipped cream, it’s an ice cream sundae everyone wants to dive into. There’s just something fun and nostalgic about t ..read more