Fried Dill Pickles

Crunchy and sour makes for one of the best snacks ever!

My friend Cassie is the person who should get all the credit towards me finding this recipe - she started talking about fried pickles and I was like WHAT? I HAVE TO HAVE THOSE. Only took me forever to actually make the recipe, but I digress...

Crispy Chicken Fingers

These simple chicken fingers are super crunchy, crispy, and addictive!

I know I have been trying a lot of different chicken finger/tender recipes, but I've been trying to find the one that my kids and I like the most. So far this has been our favorite.

Macaroni Salad

This classic side dish is the perfect addition to a holiday spread, cookout, or potluck meal

**PIC TO COME** 

Ahh :) I was so excited to have my mom and grandma visit me from Minnesota last week. We did an early Thanksgiving and my mom made me something I hadn't had in years. I'm sure you can safely assume what I'm talking about from the title. Macaroni Salad was made at EVERY holiday in my family.

Sweet Potato Casserole

No marshmallows here, this casserole dessert is covered in a streusel topping!

Let's begin with this: I hate sweet potatoes. I had only ever eaten them one time willingly when my Aunt Lisa had made her casserole. Then last Thanksgiving, I watched my friend Jaime make hers and she told me that I had to try it. I did and I fell in love. This will be made for years and years to come :) I omitted the nuts from the struesel topping because we are unsure if Matthew has a nut allergy or not.

Perfect Roast Turkey

A classic recipe to make for Thanksgiving dinner with fresh herbs and lemon

This recipe comes straight from Ina Garten aka Barefoot Contessa. I would have to say that the lemon is a really really nice touch. You only get a hint of it when you actually eat it, but it's that hint that really makes the turkey great :) Next year I am getting an actual roasting pan plus rack. I mean, I'm going to do Thanksgiving every year, right?

Completely From Scratch Pumpkin Pie

This homemade pumpkin pin is velvety smooth and no store bought pie can even come close to how amazing it is.

I decided for my second Thanksgiving to make pumpkin pie from scratch because I had seen sugar pumpkins at Walmart and researched what the heck that meant. I then discovered sugar pumpkins were for pumpkin pie and that was that. It wasn't too hard and the end result was the most incredible pumpkin pie I have ever eaten. The texture of fresh pie filling was so velvety smooth and melt-in-your-mouth that I don't think anything will ever top it.

Chicken & Pepper Pasta Bake

Baked ziti has nothing on this rigatoni bake with chicken and bell peppers!

This probably my most favorite of the recipes I've made so far. It's just absolutely delicious :)
Mad props to Kraft.com for this one because the cheeses and sweet peppers are so good with a red sauced-pasta bake.

Meatloaf Cupcakes

This fun version of meatloaf is sure to make your kids excited for dinner!

I have never had an issue getting Matthew and Cami to eat meatloaf, so this recipe wasn't necessarily made to "trick" them into into meatloaf, but rather because I thought they would be tickled pink about a cupcake made from meatloaf and mashed potatoes!

Kinda Like Chik-fil-A Sandwiches

If you love Chick-fil-A, you will now love me for sharing this awesome copycat recipe with you!

Finally got new pictures of this one too. This time I made it with chicken breasts that I sliced in half to "thin" and then trimmed down to a burger bun size. It's one of our family favorites and we eat it regularly. Of course, we always eat it with waffle fries!

Grands! Taco Melts

Make these mini taco calzones with refrigerated biscuits - easy peasy!

**NEW PIC TO COME**

I initially made these and folded the rolls over the top and crimped them to seal. It turns out that the biscuits don't like to cook evenly that way. I went to the Pillsbury site and discovered they were more like calzones. The recipe definitely goes over a lot better if you do it the right way ;)

Crockpot Chicken Tacos (with Pico de Gallo)

This slow cooker chicken is seasoned perfectly for tacos and cooked with fresh pico de gallo!

I don't make a whole lot of chicken recipes for Taco Tuesdays and I especially don't make many chicken taco recipes because I had never really liked chicken tacos until I tried this recipe. It was also my first time making and eating pico de gallo which is now my new favorite thing. The pico makes the chicken super juicy and slow cooking the chicken locks in all the flavors!

Chicken Fried Steak

This Southern classic is wonderfully complex despite the simple ingredients

While watching Good Eats late one night, I became immediately infatuated with the idea of making Alton Brown's Chicken (Country) Fried Steak. I've never had it before and it looked incredibly delicious even though I hate gravy. I was not disappointed. My only regret is that my husband wasn't here to enjoy it with me since he is currently deployed.

White Chicken Chili

This four ingredient one pot chili is ready in under 30 minutes - it's the perfect dinner when you're in a pinch.

This is my own twist on White Chicken Chili after much experimentation. I've combined three different recipes to get to this one. This is one of our very favorite recipes and one I make often. It's a great chili for a cold night with just the right amount of bite.

Grandma Jane's Honey M&M Cookies

These cookies were such a huge part of childhood and the touch of honey is my grandma's special ingredient!

As a child, I was always at my grandma's house. I loved being there. I used to run around my grandma's house with two or three cookies at a time. She makes the BEST cookies in the whole wide world and it finally donned on me that I could get the recipe if I just asked. It was definitely a trip down memory lane to be able to make and eat these suckers and it made me really happy because the aroma is just what my grandma smells like. They made me so homesick.

Broccoli Chicken Braid

The filling of this braid is mouthwateringly good loaded with chicken, broccoli, cheese, and dill.

I love recipes made with crescent rolls and this one has a good mixture of ingredients in it. I especially love the addition of dill to the mixture. That tang is just a really needed flavor. I love that it's cheesy and has broccoli in it too. Cheesy broccoli is always a win.

Loaded Potato Soup

Soup night just got so much better with all the fixings of a loaded potato put into the crockpot in soup form!

This potato soup was the first potato soup I had ever made and it kind of ruined all other potato soups for me because it's simple yet so addictive. Minus sour cream, it has all the elements of a loaded potato that I love plus it has all the elements of a good soup base that I love (carrot, onion, and celery!). I have made it so many times. Sometimes I serve it in a bread bowl, other times I just serve it in a regular bowl. Regardless, it never ceases to amaze me just how tasty it is!

Bread Bowls

These easy edible bowls will make your soup night memorable to everyone!

These were so incredibly delicious! I was eating the bowls while I waited for my soup to finish because I could not keep my hands off of them. I am so glad that I was brave enough to try them out because they really aren't super hard or take a lot of expertise to make.

Andes Grasshopper Cake

Amp up your chocolate cake mix with fluffy frosting and Andes mint garnishes!

This was a huge hit at Thanksgiving last year. We did a big shindig at one of our friends' houses since most of the military families around don't get to visit their actual families for the holiday. I personally really really loved this. I'm a huge fan of Andes mints..a huge fan of chocolate. I could/would eat this every day for the rest of my life for every meal if I could :)

Three Envelope Pot Roast

 A flavorful slow cooker pot roast that just takes 3 envelopes to make!

I finally got around to getting a new picture and it was about time. I have made this pot roast too many times to count and it was the first successful pot roast I had ever made, so it was a big deal back in the day. When I was first married (back in 2006) and attempted my first pot roast, I ended up with a dry, overcooked roast on the outside and a completely raw roast on the inside. How I did this...I'm still not sure. My grandparents gifted me a crockpot for my birthday and I braved trying to make a pot roast once again. This recipe seemed simple enough and I knew it was going to be okay. You take three envelopes of seasoning mixes. I always vary whether I use onion soup mix and Italian dressing mix, but it always turns out so well. I don't always put vegetables in the slow cooker with the roast but you absolutely can, if you want to.