As soon as that first drop in temperatures happens in September, I get SO excited about switching up my weekly dinner menu to bring in some autumn-inspired dishes. It’s so nice to get to bring some comfort foods back in the mix, and not to fear turning my oven up and overheating in my kitchen. When the cool air blew in last week, I got experimenting with this easy weeknight dinner full of fall-harvest flavors: Apple Dijon Skillet Chicken. Just seeing my skillet back on the counter is a sign of the seasons changing!
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I had a giant craving for a taco salad this week, and got to work on creating the very best version I could dream up. I remember my mom making taco salad when were kids, and she would give us a scoop of tortilla chips that we could crunch up on our plates before adding toppings (which was mostly just cheese and meat as a kid, right?). My version has a little bit of everything, and a whole lot of color — ground beef with black beans and corn, yellow rice and crispy lettuce, tomatoes, olives and scallions, big slices of ripe avocado, and of course some cheese and tortilla crisps. I finished the salad off with a homemade honey lime vinaigrette; it’s easy to make in a small mason jar! Add in all of the ingredients and give it a vigorous shake before dressing your salad — and save the extra in the mason jar for taco salad leftovers for lunch the next day. Get the full recipe below:
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The most frequent question I get asked by readers is what do I feed Jane at mealtime? All us moms are in the same boat –toddlers are complex, finicky little creatures and feeding them things they’ll actually eat can take a whole lot of energy and creativity! For the most part, Jane is a great eater; she tries lots of things and enjoys a good variety of foods. We’re very consistent with breakfast – she eats eggs and a smoothie everyday. For dinner, she will generally eat a broken-down version of what the adults are having.
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Grilled pizza is a weekend staple at our house, the perfect Friday night treat! We mix up the toppings each week with leftovers from the fridge — it’s a great way to use up extra veggies and other ingredients. My most recent grilled pizza experiment used up the end of a batch of my hidden-veggie bolognese sauce. It’s a heart meaty sauce that I pack with carrots and spinach — a perfect way to sneak veggies into toddler meals! It made for a super tasty pizza, and the best part is that a big batch of this sauce will get you a few meals. I use it on pizza, on pasta, in casseroles and even freeze the leftovers to save for future dishes! Get the recipe below. PS: there is a whole chapter dedicated to grilled pizzas in my new book with recipes for homemade pizza dough, a simple tomato sauce, my favorite pizza seasoning, and lots of grilled pizza combinations — pre-order it here! 
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Last week I wrote a big blog post about my favorite cookbooks that I use for dinner inspiration — especially when I’m in a dinner-planning rut. I heard from so many readers that they were often in a similar spot, uninspired and stumped about what to make for dinner. More than that, everyone seems to be looking for ideas that quick and easy because dinner time can be downright hectic (we have our fair share of toddler meltdowns right before dinnertime too!). I decided to dig into my recipe archives this week and pull out over 20 of my tried-and-true dinner ideas that I lean on when I need to get something tasty on the table after work. I hope this list helps make planning dinner a little bit easier this week! 
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I was going to save this post for later in the week, assuming people were more likely to get excited about making cocktails over the weekend. It’s Monday though, and man, Mondays can be rough — a good cocktail just might be the perfect solution to send this darn Monday off into the sunset. (Side note: I think summer Mondays are the hardest because summer weekends are SO fun and awesome that they just magnify how Mondayish Mondays can be). Okay, onto cocktails! I have made this simple summer sangria on several occasions this summer and it has been a hit. It’s really tasty, like, the pitcher is magically empty in 15 minutes kind of tasty. The best part is it’s super easy to make — just chop up some fruit, add tiny bit of sugar and lemon juice, and top with white wine before chilling and serving. You can mix it up and add in whatever fruit strikes your fancy — I made one batch with some juicy pieces of watermelon, and another where I muddled in a few raspberries. Get the full recipe below, and cheers!
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I think we can all agree on one thing: sometimes you just need a pasta night. I felt in a bit of a funk earlier this week (a little bit of stress can be amplified by gross sticky humidity, right?) and if there’s one thing that can bounce me back it’s usually a big bowl of pasta. I wish I was one of those people who combats a bad mood with exercise but that’s just not me, pasta is my healer. I did go to spin class to earn this bowl of pasta, because my metabolism just isn’t quite pulling it’s weight these days (weight jokes! ha!) and it was so worth it.
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It’s Taco Tuesday! I actually just had to check the calendar to confirm it is in fact Tuesday, since this week seems to be dragging. Confirmed: we haven’t quite yet made it to Wednesday, so we will reward ourselves with the one redeeming quality of Tuesday: taco night. Tacos are the most-requested meal in my household, and I’m always on board with that suggestion. This week I decided to mix up our standard taco fillings with a few new ingredients! These tasty tacos are loaded with flavorful bites of chorizo sausage crumbles, black beans and corn with lots of spices, and crispy little potatoes underneath queso fresco and taco toppings. I’ve been dreaming of this recipe since I last tested them, and think I’ll double the batch next time so we have lots of leftovers for lunch too! Get the full recipe below:
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Our local library has been hosting a summer concert series, and for the past few weeks we’ve gone and had a little picnic dinner and listened to the music. It’s been so cute to see Jane get into the music, she sat with her little box of snacks and clapped at the end of each song. Last week I wanted to make a few simple snacks that we could transport for our picnic, and I got a craving for a savory crostini. This recipe was made with a rather loose plan of blending a few pantry ingredients together in my food processor and crossing my fingers it came out delicious. I’m happy to report, the experiment was a success! The sun-dried tomato chickpea spread has a lot of the Mediterranean flavors of a white bean dip, but a bit more of the texture of a rustic hummus. It tasted really fresh and delicious for a summer snack, but I’m going to keep this recipe in my back pocket for some easy holiday entertaining appetizers too! Get the full recipe below: 
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I’m constantly brainstorming new recipes that can be prepped in big batches and reheated throughout the week. It’s the best way to keep us on track with healthy eating choices, especially during lunch time. One of our all time favorite meal-prep recipes that we have for both lunch and dinner is a spicy chicken thigh recipe that we grill over high heat for a tasty charred flavor. We have made it so often though, that I needed to think of a way to refresh it and prevent lunch boredom. I decided to take the same flavors from the marinade and turn it into a spicy lime peanut sauce that would glaze baked turkey meatballs, and serve them over white rice with some diced carrots, onions and scallions. One of the things I love about this recipe is you can be prepping all of the elements simultaneously; the sauce can cook on the stove while the meatballs are in the oven, and I use my Instant Pot to cook rice while I chop up the veggie toppings. It makes enough for a few dinner portions or a whole work week of lunches broken down into some microwaveable glass containers! Get the full recipe below:
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