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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We are in a stage of toddler-hood where everything and anything must be tied to a seasonal theme. We need decorations on all of our windows that feature the nearest holiday, our Sunday morning pancakes must be in the shape of a holiday icon (bunnies! shamrocks! hearts!), and even our after dinner treats require some seasonal touches. Jane requested St. Patrick’s Day cookies and we made this green M&M cookie recipe together on a recent snowy day.
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I am always on a mission to reduce food waste, and one of my favorite ways to use up the scraps leftover in our fridge is to make a big pot of chicken stock. It’s a ritual in our house, every few weeks I’ll roast a chicken for dinner and use the leftovers for lunches and the bones for replenishing my stash of chicken stock (it freezes well for later use!). The stock is a kitchen staple –I use it in so meals from soups and sauces, and it even tastes great on it’s own. My secret to make fast work of stocking up on stock is to use my Instant Pot. 
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When I was brainstorming recipes and content for the new year, I was admittedly in a bit of a rut — struggling with fresh ideas. I’ve been blogging for over a decade and sometimes I have to go back to my own site to ask “did I already do that?” One thing I realized: a lot of my everyday meals, the staple dishes I make every week, are so second nature to me that I never take the time to write them down. I’m trying to be better at capturing the “classics” from my weekly meal plan, and this skillet roasted chicken is an all-time fave that I make often. We typically eat the legs and thighs for dinner and save the leftover chicken breast meat for chicken salad, soups, taco filling, etc. The bones get added to my instant pot with all the leftover veggies in my fridge drawer and I make stock to tuck away in the freezer. Don’t be afraid of the spatchcocking process, you just need some sharp kitchen shears and a brave face (this tutorial is helpful). Get the rest of the recipe below!
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