Over the last few years, I’ve put a big focus on reducing food waste at our house. Being a food writer and stylist, there are weeks when we have a veryrandom assortment of leftovers and ingredients from various client projects taking up space in our fridge. I’ve developed lots of little tricks to make the most of what’s on hand to reduce the amount of food waste we create. It’s a great way to save money, but more than that, it’s better for the environment. The EPA estimates that in the United States, more food reaches landfills than any other single material in our everyday trash. And when food decomposes in landfills the nutrients in the food never return to the soil — the wasted food rots and produces methane gas.
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A quick batch of hand-cut sweet potato fries are a go-to side dish for weeknight dinners, and I love to serve them with a chili-lime dip made with tasty sour cream. The sour cream is a perfect balance for the heat in the dip and I’ve even been known to add a little bit to the top of my burger bun for extra flavor too! A few secrets for getting the fries super crispy: dust them with corn starch before baking, space them out on the pan to so they have room to crisp, and wait to season them with salt until after they’re fully cooked! Get the recipe below:
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If there is one dessert that is essential in our house, it’s a classic Rice Krispy treat! We make them all year round and I’m always thinking of creative ways to dress them up with seasonal flair for the holidays. With Easter coming up, I thought I’d make a batch with my classic recipe and top them some wow-factor — crushed Cadbury mini eggs and cute little carrot sprinkles. They look so colorful and festive, and the chocolate addition on top is a winner for the taste buds. Get the full recipe below!
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Let me tell you about the refreshing spring cocktail I’ve been enjoying on repeat lately! I set out to make a Negroni a few weeks ago, only to realize I was out of Campari. After some research on Negroni variations, I came across a recipe for The Contessa, which swaps Campari for and orangey Aperol and dry vermouth for sweet in the classic Negroni. I have been making a riff on this, garnished with orange slices and topped with soda water (orange seltzer works too!) as my weekend treat. The bright colors and fragrant citrus make it such a nice drink for spring and summer months — get the full recipe below: 
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This post was sponsored by King’s Hawaiian as part of an Influencer Activation for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.
One of my first jobs as a teenager was working at a gourmet butcher shop in our little town. It had an old school vibe, and I spent most of my time refilling the bakery cookie displays and ringing up customers. One of the butchers that worked behind the counter used to go out back at lunch time and grill steaks. They’d get sliced thin and layered on toasty bread with melted provolone and the same garlic-herb butter that they used to make garlic bread. I think about those sandwiches all the time, and have recreated it at home ever since. This version is made with the same simple ingredients and gets layered between irresistible slices of KING’S HAWAIIAN® Original Sweet Sliced Bread.
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I’ve got a tasty new recipe for homemade Honey Oat Granola Bars to share today in partnership with my friends at EatingWell Magazine and The National Honey Board! These are an easy snack made with pantry staples and simply sweetened with honey. Everyone in my family loves them; you just may want to make a double-batch because they go fast! Get the full recipe below:
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I’m all about taking classic comfort foods and giving them a fresh twist. Rethinking the classics helps me keep things interesting and break out of dinner ruts! With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I wanted to give a traditional shepherd’s pie a makeover. This dish is festive to serve for the holiday, but also makes for a cozy and hearty weeknight dinner too (you can prep them in advance and bake them off when you’re ready to serve). I used turkey to lighten the base of the recipe up a bit, and baked the filling inside potato skins for a twice-baked-potato style shepherd’s pie — scroll down for the full recipe!
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Before I share recipes on the blog I like to do lots of testing and experimenting, and since I got a new air fryer I have been doing just that.After lots of trials with a variety of dishes, I’m excited to share my first air fryer recipe today: air fryer corned beef and cabbage spring rolls for St. Patrick’s Day! Corned beef and cabbage always reminds me of my as-Irish-as-they-come grandpa, a dish my as-Italian-as-they-come grandma would make for him on St. Patrick’s Day (it was a lot of meatballs and lasagna the other 364 days a year and he didn’t complain!). This version has a modern twist, and I think would be quite fun to make as an appetizer to enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day while sipping your favorite Irish beer. The ingredients get rolled up in a spring roll wrapper (wonton wrappers would work well too!) and crisped up quickly in the air fryer. Serve it was a good grainy mustard for dipping! Get the recipe below:
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A few months ago I got a real craving for chocolate mousse. I dug around for a recipe, made it for no occasion at all, and whipped up a decadent dark chocolate batch. In the process I realized two things: 1) it’s actually quite simple to make, and 2) it’s SO DARN DELICIOUS. I am in a season of mousse right now and have made it a few more times since, each time better than the next. I thought I’d try my hand at a St. Patrick’s Day inspired version and incorporated Guinness beer into the recipe! I served them in wide champagne coupes for easiest spoon-ability, but consider putting them in beer glasses with extra whipped cream to mimic the look of a that classic Guinness beer with a white foamy top! Get the festive recipe below: 
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Our family is continuing our efforts to eat more vegetarian meals each week and this Taco Lentil Soup recipe has been a perfect weeknight dish to help us with that goal. A few things I love about this recipe: 1) it’s easy to make and is a one-pot meal for quick clean up, 2) it’s full of pantry staples like dry lentils, canned beans, salsa and taco spices so I can make it when there’s not much in the fridge, and 3) the recipe is great for making ahead of time and reheats well for leftovers.
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