Lemon Pepper Wings

Crispy chicken wings that have a lemon pepper dry rub and a buttery lemon pepper sauce brushed after they are baked.

I love cheese pizza but we don't eat it a lot because Nick doesn't like it because there are no toppings. So to compromise, I'll make wings so we have a meat with the dinner. When our family (my husband's three siblings and their spouses and kids and his mom and dad) gets together, we tend to get Wingstop. A family favorite is the lemon pepper wings. We get them every single time. I had to find a recipe and see if we could get some of the magic with homemade wings!

Slow Cooker Honey Teriyaki Chicken

This meal is made with homemade teriyaki sauce that comes together so quickly and then really shines after some time in the slow cooker.

I don't think I have many Asian-style recipes that I make in the crockpot because most are ones that are stir fry or ramen in nature and come together very quickly. What I love about this one is that it does have that element of quickness with making a homemade teriyaki sauce and then the prep time altogether for the crockpot part of the meal is about done. Just a little bit in the slow cooker and you have this wonderful meal!

Baked Spicy Chicken Sandwiches

These chicken sandwiches are as healthy as you'll get with yogurt dipped chicken and baked instead of fried.

I've been struggling with getting things posted on here for the last few months. I hit job hunting really hard and found a full time position that I started last Friday. This is my first full week of work and I'm really excited. However, I now have even less time to do blogging, so I decided to give myself a little grace and not worry about all the extra stuff bloggers **should** be doing to make their blog better for search engines and all that. I'm just going to go back to sharing the recipes I'm making, like I did in the beginning almost 11 years ago. I still want to make them easy to print, but that part doesn't take too long.

That was a long little bit, longer than normal for me - ha! But now let me say something about the recipe today. I think this is the first time I've tried a baked recipe where you mix the dry breading with oil and usually it's buttermilk or milk and eggs for the wet part of the breading, this recipe uses yogurt. So it's overall a healthier way to make fried chicken sandwiches. The breading was so crunchy and crisp and I really loved the honey yogurt slaw!

Grilled Chicken Caprese Orzo Salad

This refreshing pasta salad is way better for dinner than as a side with its grilled chicken!

Caprese is one of my all-time favorite food combinations. I don't think I've yet to try a recipe that has tomato, mozzarella, and basil (and sometimes balsamic vinegar) that I haven't liked. This one is great because it's not super heavy with a vinaigrette style dressing with lemon instead of vinegar for that acidity. I replaced agave syrup with honey because it's what I had on hand and is my go-to substitution. I loved that this was grilled chicken. I also absolutely loved that this had mozzarella pearls instead of shredded mozzarella. Mozzarella pearls are just so much better!

Caramelized Cashew Ginger Chicken Stir Fry

Marinated chicken and caramelized cashews add so much flavor to this stir fry!

I feel like I've made a lot of stir frys over the years and continue to save stir fry recipes even if they aren't something crazy different. What was a little different about this particular stir fry is that the chicken gets marinated before lightly breaded. In addition to the marinade, you make really lovely, totally addictive caramelized cashews to go on top. I mean, these cashews are good on their own. They'd be a great snack. But they are even better on top of this stir fry.

Triple Layer Pumpkin Spice Pie

This no-bake dessert is so easy to make and is topped with delicious candied pecans. Perfect fall dessert!

I absolutely adore no-bake pies because they usually are pudding-based and I really love it. It's such an easy, no hassle type of recipe. This one in particular is slightly elevated with candied pecans on top. They are only two ingredients, so they are really simple to make too.

Cuban Chicken & Black Bean Quinoa Bowls

Quinoa and black beans topped with spicy, tangy chicken, mango, and fried chili bananas!

I cannot speak to the authenticity of this dish that is dubbed Cuban, but I can speak to how delicious it is. I know that not everyone thinks fruit goes with savory dishes, but I feel like those people haven't tried the right dish. I personally love fruit in savory dishes, but I have to admit that I wasn't sure about bananas in a savory dish because I don't really like bananas a ton. However, my skepticism was met with surprise and I enjoyed every component of this dish: the seasoning on the chicken, the quinoa and black beans, and the bananas and mango. It was amazing! I did make a slight adaptation with subbing lemon juice in for the orange juice because my oldest is allergic to oranges.

Blueberry Cheesecake Oatmeal

This oatmeal is sweetened with honey and who doesn't want a little hint of cheesecake in the morning?!

I have always loved oatmeal but I go through spurts where it's all I want for breakfast and snack...every single day. When I was in the hospital after having my third child, I was given plain oatmeal for breakfast one morning with no sugar packets or anything. I was also given strawberry yogurt, so I decided to mix the two together and see what happened and it was SO good. Maybe it was because I was starving, but it quickly became my go-to meal. I got oatmeal-ed out eventually and took some time off eating it. When I started back up, I tried to find some new recipes to try and out and this is one of my top favorites. There is honey for a little sweetness and cinnamon too. The cream cheese is sweetened and is the perfect combination and definitely gives it that cheesecake flavor. It's just a few more steps than making regular oatmeal via the package instructions and really really makes all the difference.

Toasted Oatmeal with Strawberry Chia Jam

This breakfast is fruity, nutty, and 100% wonderful.

I am so excited to share this recipe today because it's one that kinda blew my mind. I love oatmeal and I love mixing in fruit ingredients into oatmeal whether it's fresh fruit, yogurt, etc. This was my first time mixing in jam and it was homemade (really easy to do). The toasted oatmeal was amazing and coconut everything was a nice touch.

Chili Lime Chicken

This chicken is great on its own but even better in other dishes - like salad or pasta!

I have been using this Chili Lime Chicken recipe for a while for different recipes, especially for salad nights if they fall on Taco Tuesday. If you are wondering what the heck is going on with that red watery food with chunks of tomato in it is...I attempted cauliflower Spanish "rice" and it didn't work at all. Anyway..this chicken is a perfect base recipe to use for a Southwest style salad, but also great on their own. Lots of flavor packed in during the marinating time!!

Korean BBQ Steak Bowls

Find the recipe on The Recipe Jackpot

Pork Schnitzel Sandwiches

Crispy schnitzel served up on a challah roll with spicy honey mustard, arugula, and pickled shallots

I can't believe it has taken me this long to post this schnitzel recipe! I usually make a recipe a few times - like 2 times - before I get around to posting it. I'm not one to test out a recipe a million times if it works the first time. However, it's rare that I'll put a newer recipe on my meal plan more than twice before getting around to sharing it on the blog. This recipe is most definitely the exception to that rule/routine. I think this schnitzel has been made at least half a dozen times if not more from the first time until now. It's hard for me to not pick it each month because I love it so much.

What makes this recipe so good? First of all, it's schnitzel. I have yet to try bad schnitzel. I'm not sure it exists. Then you have it in sandwich form with arugula which just makes me a happy gal. The honey mustard has a bit of a kick to it and even though honey is not a favorite food of mine and I don't particularly like honey mustard, I LOVE this honey mustard with sriracha. But my absolute favorite part of this recipe is hands-down the pickled shallots. They are such a simple component of the sandwich to throw together but the sandwich isn't the same without them. I never in a million years would have guessed that I would want vinegar soaked shallots on a sandwich, but here we are.

PB&J Overnight Oats #FantasticalFoodFight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, check out this page.

This month's Fantastical Food Fight theme is OVERNIGHT OATS. January is National Oatmeal Month and I thought that overnight oats would be a wonderful theme for the first Food Fight of 2019. Many folks are trying to eat a little healthier or start healthy habits in the new year, so I thought sharing these great breakfast recipes that are make ahead would be perfect for January!

The recipe I decided to go with is one that was on my to-make list for such a long time. I knew that I wanted to do the peanut butter and jelly flavor combination (it was one out of seven or eight recipes, I believe). I've been eating pb&js for snack a lot lately and I wasn't really feeling a bunch of fresh fruit or anything super sweet, like the chocolate chip cookie dough overnight oats I had made years ago. I did substitute out maple syrup for honey because I don't care for maple flavor. These are so incredibly easy to make and the payoff is unbelievable the next day. It tastes like the perfect pb&j sandwich but in oats form. You can choose any fruit jam or preserves you would like. I went with blackberry jam which is my absolute favorite.

Honey Garlic Chicken Stir Fry

Quick stir frys are the best kind of dinners to use up some fresh veggies!

I was so excited to try this stir fry because I am used to stir frys being broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers. I rarely see squash in them and that made me such a happy camper. I love squash. I will happily eat all the squash and all the recipes with squash. This recipe is especially wonderful because the honey garlic sauce is mouthwateringly good! It's the perfect balance of salty and sweet and savory to compliment the veggies and chicken. The best thing, of course, about stir frys is that they are quick. This one can be made in under 30 minutes!

Berrylicious Smoothie Bowls

Start your day with this berrylicious recipe - loads of berries plus whatever toppings you want!

I've been wanting to jump on the smoothie bowl bandwagon for forever, but I'll be honest..I hate pulling out my blender so much. I don't have it out on the counter (although I would love to) and I also hate cleaning my blender. But I finally decided it was time to try one and it was super wonderful. Probably still not something I'll make all the time, but definitely a nice treat when you're craving berries in particular. I topped ours with blueberries, blackberries, banana, honey, coconut, almonds, and granola (cashew butter and cocoa nibs).

Chinese Crispy Lemon Chicken

This crispy chicken has an Asian lemon sauce that is just the best!

I knew this recipe would be a winner when I first spied it because panko-coated chicken is one of my favorite ways to make chicken. I love how it gets crispy but still remains light - instead of getting soggy and heavy. The lemon sauce really added such depth to the chicken. It can be drizzled over the top or served on the side for dunking, which is what I did because we usually have leftovers and I didn't want the leftover chicken to be soggy. I served the lemon chicken with fried rice and asparagus and it was just a GREAT meal!

Slow Cooker Parmesan Honey Roast

Slow cooked savory herb and Parmesan pork roast that gets topped in a sweet honey glaze.

After I delivered Mason, Nick took over whatever was planned for meals and made them while I stayed in the hospital. He agreed to wait on making Zuppa Toscana Soup (which was the first time we ever had it) until I got home from the hospital, but he did make this roast while I was there. I actually ended up having leftover roast my first day home with newborn Mason. Even leftover, it was amazing! And that's not because I had hospital food for 2 1/2 days - our hospital food rocks down here and I was spoiled on double portions because I was breastfeeding.

Since having Mason, we have made this two or three more times when we get the craving for pork roast and each time, I had failed to get a good picture of it. I finally got one last time we made it and was so happy to finally be able to share the recipe (pretty much 3 years after the first time I had it since my baby is now 3 as of the 24th - what?!). I have never been a fan of honey, but with recipes like this one, it's really growing on me.

Cocadas

These crunchy coconut cookies are a Latin America delicacy that are so addictive!

Each year, my kids' elementary school does a world museum day for all the families to attend. Each grade does a different type of project to celebrate the world and history. Third and fourth graders usually prepare a quick presentation on a country. My daughter had Chile last year and she wanted to prepare a food to go with her presentation. She chose a coconut cookie and we hunted the internet to find a recipe for it.

I could have sworn they were called coconadas but it seems I was wrong. They are called Cocadas. They are super easy to make and they are ridiculously difficult to stop eating. I made a test batch and they disappeared. Then we made a triple batch and quartered them for perfect sampling size. Everyone who came through for her presentation loved it. Her class wanted her to bring another batch to school the next day! I was honestly really surprised because coconut can be a hit or miss most of the time.

Peppermint Hot Cocoa Crunch Donuts

Why not enjoy a little sweet breakfast with candy canes, chocolate, and marshmallows?!

Each year, I try to make a really good breakfast for Christmas morning. I typically make cinnamon rolls and wake up way too early to do it, so last year I wanted something simpler. My kids love donuts and I knew that peppermint chocolate ones with marshmallows would be really special for them. I thought they were pretty fantastic too. I loved the chocolate donut with slight peppermint flavor added to it and the chocolate glaze too! The glaze was wonderful.

Grandma Jane's Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies #FantasticalFoodFight

Welcome to another Food Fight! Fantastical Food Fight is a group of food bloggers who will get a theme or ingredient each month and make some sort of variation for it. It could be traditional or nontraditional and can be found in a cookbook, on a blog, or be a blogger's own creation! For more details, check out this page.

It's time again for another Food Fight and this month's theme is HONEY because September is National Honey Month! The Food Fighters were not given any particular type of dish so long as it contains honey.

I knew immediately what I wanted to make because I have meant to since my grandma gave me the recipe years ago: my Grandma Jane's Honey Chocolate Chip Cookies! I have made her honey M&M cookies, but to be honest, I think I always liked the regular chocolate chip cookies a little more. My grandma told me she put honey in her cookies to help them keep longer. She always had her cookie jar stocked when I came over and I remember her pulling out big gallon zipper bags of cookies from her deep freezer in the basement if they got low.

You get a little bit of texture difference if you use shortening versus butter. I like them both ways, but I feel they are softer with butter. My grandma made them with shortening and they were firmer - not crunchy, but not soft either. They don't last long in my house...just as they never lasted long in my grandma's house either!