recipes

Ginger Carrot Soup

This healthy carrot ginger soup has a velvety smooth texture thanks to the addition of some creamy Greek yogurt. Delicious warm or cold!

I’m more of a chunky fan.

I like my peanut butter with chunks of nut. I prefer my ice cream with bites of chocolate, crunch, toffee or whatever finds its way into its frozen chocolate goodness. I even like my orange juice with extra pulp.

I guess you could say I like the bite. Or, TO bite.

So when it comes to soup, I generally lean toward soups with pasta, chunks of vegetables, balls of matzo and of course, chili beans.

But with spring fever sneaking its way into every crevasse of my being, my cravings steer to cleaner eats, foods that are lighter, in the pursuit that I will be lighter, too. And look at that, SMOOTH! Maybe it’s time to lose the chunk?! In more ways than one.

Knowing that this carrot soup recipe is made with Greek yogurt as the thickener, that it features carrots that are chock full of beta carotene, and is spiked with ginger that has been shown to help with nausea and inflammation, this soup is just one more step to take to achieve your health goals no matter what they are.continue to the recipe… about Ginger Carrot Soup

Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip

All of the flavors of buffalo chicken wings are packed into this easy, super creamy, ultra cheesy Crockpot buffalo chicken dip that’s always a buffet or game day hit!

I asked. You replied. And now here I am, delivering.

When I asked you on Facebook if you’re craving a new recipe with chicken or one with cheese, some said one, the rest said the other. But most of you said, “BOTH!”

Yesterday I fulfilled your request for chicken when I delivered these chicken wings. Today I’m passing out the chips (or veggies, if you please) to dig yourself deep into some serious dipping of chicken AND two kinds of cheese. In buffalo sauce. And even more cheese of the blue veined variety.

Because that’s just the kind of gal in the kitchen that I am.

As an appetizer, is there anything more popular than buffalo wings? I’d dare say, most likely not. Unless we break out the chips, salsa and guacamole.

But I owe you a recipe that’s a bit more enticing than that, but something that is just as easy to pull together.

This Crockpot dip recipe…could it get any easier? I’d dare say, not.

continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Buffalo Chicken Cheese Dip

Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese

This easy pasta dish comes together in less than 15 minutes with a fresh tomato sauce made even healthier with whole wheat pasta and spinach that’s topped with ricotta cheese. This is where healthy meets happy!

I’ve grown tomatoes in my garden for years. But the past few seasons have seen a steady downward spiral of yield thanks to my neighbor’s growing trees and some dastardly devilish varmints who snatch up the lessening fruit they finally yield. My tomato crop at the end of summer has turned into a total bummer crop instead of my oh-so-wishful bumper crop.

But I’m not going to let my less-than-stellar farmer skills get in the way of eating fresh tomatoes however I can. Between farmers markets and the farmer down the street, I’m keeping flush with my tomato loving ways.

This warm pasta dish is one of my favorite simple lunch or dinner recipes, and one reason I’m bound to this end-of-summer crop. It’s a bit like a caprese pasta but uses ricotta cheese instead of mozzarella.

The “sauce” is made with fresh tomatoes steeped in olive oil and garlic then added to the warm pasta so there’s hardly any cooking to do at all. It’s the perfect recipe for when you’re short on time but still want real good, real food on the table.

continue to the recipe… about Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce and Ricotta Cheese

Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

Your slow cooker does all the hard work for you in this pork green chili recipe. Hatch green chiles are the star of this soup, but jalapeños can be used if needed!

Searching for Hatch Green Chile Recipes

Here is the thing about eating seasonal: You eat it while it’s fresh and you eat it ’til it’s gone.

I’ve pretty much been living this mantra all week long thanks to a batch of Hatch chiles I was gifted that resulted in an unofficial Hatch chile week in my kitchen, on my dinner table, and here on the bloggity blog.

I was gifted these pretty little peppers by my friend Amanda, who brought them to me from New Mexico where Hatch chiles are authentically grown. Because it’s hard to get them fresh and locally here in Utah, I was thrilled! What a great hostess gift for a heat seeking foodie, don’t you think?

With so many options of how to put these chiles to work, I took to my Facebook page and asked you what recipes you wanted to see. Along with the favorites chile-topped cheeseburgers, chile rellenos, and enchiladas, here’s what you had to say:continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Hatch Green Chile Verde

Gnocchi With Pomodoro Sauce

This simple tomato sauce gets tons of flavor from herbs steeped in olive oil that lusciously coats potato pillows of gnocchi, topped with fresh balls of mozzarella.

It’s a lunch I remember with fondness, and regret.

Fondness because it lit my fire for choosing gnocchi as my favorite thing to order on each and every Italian menu for the rest of my eating out days (ask my husband, I am not kidding) and regret because I didn’t go to that restaurant for more gnocchi more often than I did.

That gnocchi dish was truly made of little pillows of heaven. In fact, that was the name of the dish, Pillows From Heaven, roughly translated into English. I’ve since moved away and honestly, the way restaurants go, it’s probably gone too. But I’ll never forget my first time.

But it doesn’t matter much now, because while I still love going out, I’m just as happy making gnocchi at home.continue to the recipe… about Gnocchi With Pomodoro Sauce

Butternut Squash Beef Stew (Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker)

Tender chuck roast pairs with classic stew veggies and butternut squash in this easy beef stew made easy in the Instant Pot, pressure cooker or slow cooker.

Slow Cooker or Instant Pot Beef Stew Recipe

If there’s one addition to my kitchen that I can’t quit raving about, it’s my Instant Pot, the slow cooker/pressure cooker/steamer and more 7-in-one cooker I’ve become a die hard fan of. I think it’s probably been my favorite topic of conversation since the first snowflake fell this winer and it was tops on my list for holiday gift giving.

So what is it that I love about the Instant Pot? It saves me valuable time in the kitchen, helped minimize my collection of duplicate appliances, and has made meal planning a habit I’m actually becoming a fan of.

If you haven’t become an Instant Pot loyalist yet, join the bunch of us who are. Isn’t it time to save yourself some time in the kitchen, too?

continue to the recipe… about Butternut Squash Beef Stew (Instant Pot, Pressure Cooker or Slow Cooker)

How to Make The Best Grilled Asparagus

Tender, smoky, and sweet, the best grilled asparagus is the perfect, healthy 15-minute side dish for any meal.

Side dishes are the connectors of the dinner table, the unifiers that bring the meal together. And because there’s usually more than one side dish to your dinner menu, it’s a good idea to keep the recipes easy.

So when I have a main dish that calls for a few ingredients and techniques to employ, I turn to my tried and true simple recipes.

This 15-minute, 2-ingredient grilled asparagus (plus salt and pepper) is definitely at the top of that list.

The best grilled asparagus becomes smoky and sweetly caramelized when the grill does it’s job it does so well, when the outside of these bright green spears become lightly charred and crisped, and the interior soft and tender.

Behold, these are the simple steps for making this vegetable side dish creation the easy way.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make The Best Grilled Asparagus

How to Cook Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (from Fresh or Frozen)

Healthy boneless chicken breasts can be shredded, sliced, or diced, and used as the base for countless healthy recipes, and when you cook them in the Instant Pot pressure cooker they can go from frozen OR fresh chicken breasts to fully cooked with just 10 minutes cooking time.

Instant Pot Chicken Breast Recipe

How many times have you come home and realized you’ve forgotten to pull the chicken from the freezer for tonight’s dinner? If you’re like me, it’s way too many.

But since I discovered how to cook both frozen chicken breasts and/or fresh chicken breasts in the Instant Pot, those days are over.

It seems like all too often us recipe creators, aka food bloggers, get caught up in creating that totally unique recipe.

The recipe that intrigues.

The recipe that nobody’s ever thought of before.

But the reality is, while those recipes are fun to bookmark and make every so often, it’s the basics for daily cooking that we really need. Like how to cook the basic boneless chicken breast, and how to cook it fast.

I’ve shared my recipes for the Best Grilled Chicken Breast and the Best Baked Chicken Breasts and you guys love them. So when I received requests for an Instant Pot version, how could I not oblige?

And once I started cooking chicken breasts STRAIGHT FROM THE FREEZER in my Instant Pot, I realized I needed to share with you how you can do the same.

So let’s talk basics.continue to the recipe… about How to Cook Instant Pot Chicken Breasts (from Fresh or Frozen)

Mashed Cauliflower With Parmesan and Chives

Cauliflower is having its day in the trending sun as a healthy ingredient substitute in many of our favorite recipes—like this one, where we swap mashed cauliflower for mashed potatoes in this silky side dish.

Creamy Mashed Cauliflower Recipe

At first glance, this dish does indeed appear to be one of lush, creamy mashed potatoes just waiting to be draped with a decadent gravy. Or wiped straight from the serving dish with the swipe of your finger. But you, my friend, have just had the vegetable wool pulled over your eyes. Because potatoes it isn’t, and healthier it is.

Say hello to your new favorite mash, mashed cauliflower with Parmesan and chives. And guess who’s never going to miss the extra calories that typically come along for the ride with mashed potatoes? That’s right. YOU!

This recipe is from The Dude Diet cookbook by Serena Wolf of the blog Domesticate Me. She wrote this cookbook to supply healthy-ish/healthier recipes for even the most robust male eater —initially her beloved boyfriend who decided it was time to start watching his food intake a little more closely.

The title may mislead you that this cookbook is for “dudes” only. But no way. With over 125 recipes that run the recipe gamut with a whole lot of healthy attitude (and some wonderfully witty writing, too) there’s plenty of deliciousness for every man, woman and child alike.

continue to the recipe… about Mashed Cauliflower With Parmesan and Chives

Thai Quinoa Salad

This easy Thai quinoa salad combines protein-rich grains with healthy nutrients from fresh veggies, for a lime-infused flavor bomb with crunch in each bite.

This easy Thai quinoa salad combines protein-rich grains with healthy nutrients from fresh veggies, for a lime-infused flavor bomb with crunch in each bite. It’s great as a side for potlucks and as a main when you add chopped chicken. It’s also an easy and complete weekday lunch too.

I remember being at a Weight Watchers meeting where a woman emphatically stated that she did. NOT. like. quinoa. There was no changing her mind. But in my head I couldn’t figure out why she was putting up the quinoa roadblock.

Quinoa is one of my favorite protein sources, probably because it’s so unassuming. Like a seventh grade girl, it takes on the flavors it’s paired with.

For this quinoa salad, that means the salty flavors of a limey Thai dressing with plenty of veggie crunch. It’s the perfect side dish or main meal if you’re feeling the hug of your waistline just a little too much.

Quinoa is a bona fide super food. It’s gluten-free, packed with protein, fiber and flavonoids with studies showing it as an anti-inflammatory. It’s also loaded with antioxidants to keep those free radicals at bay.

continue to the recipe… about Thai Quinoa Salad

Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Thanks to the Instant Pot pressure cooker, this easy chicken with wild rice soup is rich, creamy (without any added cream), and fast to make, and it tastes even better the next day, making it a great addition to your meal prep plans. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, not to worry, I’m sharing my stove top directions as well.

It’s soup week!

This week I’m sharing a few of my favorite soups, old and new. And a good thing too, because when my daughter came home from school and looked at me with a red-ringed nose and her eyes at half-staff and announced her “throat was sooooooo sore”, as she breezed past me and coughed, wheezed, and hacked her way down the hall and into her room to flop onto her bed like a left-behind Raggedy Ann doll, I knew we were in for the night.

Good thing I had this soup prepped and ready for cookin’.

Creamy chicken and rice soup. Pure comfort and totally right for all that feels wrong.continue to the recipe… about Instant Pot Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup

Easy Yogurt Fruit Dip

This easy Greek yogurt fruit dip recipe is made with just 3 ingredients and makes eating fruit dip with apples, strawberries and more seem like a party.

Healthy Fruit Dip Recipe

After school or on weekend playdates, my daughter and her friends were always on the lookout for any opportunity to partake of a snack. As a mom, you know I wished said snack would be healthy. So instead of pulling out a box of this or a bag of that, a platter of bites to snack on became their go-to fave.

The girls called them pupu platters. I called them peace of mind. Knowing these kids were eating good for them snacks made it that much easier to whip them up on a whim. Easy is the name of this game.

This pupu platter has fruit of every color and with a centerpiece of sweet and healthy yogurt fruit dip. It’s great to serve on a platter for breakfast or brunch, or take to a potluck with fruit skewers.

With just three ingredients to whisk together, you won’t waste any time making it yourself.continue to the recipe… about Easy Yogurt Fruit Dip

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

This classic Thanksgiving side is now even easier to make thanks to a little help from your slow cooker! CrockPot creamed corn uses just 5 ingredients and requires very little prep work.

You know that thing about Thanksgiving? That thing that everyone’s talking about? No, not that the 5th Avenue slick thinkers have yet to figure out how to turn T-day into a money making marketing machine like Halloween and Christmas.

No, I’m talking about how everybody is talking about how Thanksgiving conjures up cravings for family favorite recipes. It’s like clockwork. As soon as the jack-o-lantern’s candles are blown out, memories start flooding the salivary glands.

My husband has certainly fallen victim to this pilgrim-inspired condition. But wait, he’s part American-Indian. Either way, whichever side of the table he’s sitting on, as along as this 5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn is on it, he’s going to be one happy harvest feaster.

But only if his favorite Creamed Corn doesn’t turn into Creamed Corn Flambé.

Yes, it happens. And it did, one Thanksgiving a “few” years back when we lived in California and cooked Thanksgiving for our visiting family.

His recipe, a family favorite his mom always made, was topped with crumbled Saltine crackers and may have been forgotten somewhere between the champagne being corked and the martini olives poked. He was crushed, his cravings were dashed. Look at that face. We grabbed a camera to snap a pic. I don’t think it made him feel better.

That Thanksgiving will forever be known as the dinner with Creamed Corn Flambé. See? Thanksgiving DOES create memories.

Potentially starting the house on fire is just one reason we’ve migrated to the slow cooker. No flambé crackers to forget about and set the smoke alarm ablaze. Just a low, slow cook to create a creamy family fave.

Another bonus: When Tom Turkey is showing his true colors and taking up residence as the traditional oven hog, and the rolls are patiently waiting in need to be baked and Yam Souffle is waiting on deck, this CrockPot creamed corn won’t be yet another demanding side dish standing in line.

Did I mention there are only 5 ingredients? And minimal clean-up thanks to my new blender and double sided lid slow cooker that KitchenAid sent to me to give a spin.

Okay, let’s do this T-day thing.

What’s in Creamed Corn?

In case you didn’t get the memo, this CrockPot creamed corn uses just five ingredients. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

Frozen corn
Half and half
Cream cheese
Butter
Sugar
Kosher salt and pepper

How to Make CrockPot Creamed Corn

This creamed corn with cream cheese couldn’t be easier to make. You first add the half and half and some thawed corn into a blender and puree. Then, add everything into the slow cooker and walk away.

This slow cooker creamed corn needs to cook on high for 90 minutes, or on low for 3 to 4 hours.

Before serving, stir the creamed corn to incorporate the melted cream cheese. I like to garnish my CrockPot creamed corn with chives, but that’s optional.

Can I Make This with Canned Corn?

I’ve only made this with frozen corn, so I’m not sure how using canned corn would affect the flavor. If you do use canned corn, I imagine you’d need to thoroughly rinse and drain it before adding it to the slow cooker.

Is There a Half-and-Half Substitute I Can Use?

No, half-and-half is a key ingredient in this slow cooker creamed corn. You may be able to get away with using whole milk instead, but I can’t say for sure.

Tips for Making CrockPot Creamed Corn

You want to use brick-style cream cheese for this Thanksgiving corn recipe and not the whipped kind that comes in a tub. Brick-style cream cheese makes for creamier, thicker CrockPot creamed corn.

Don’t skip the sugar in this recipe. Creamed corn is traditionally a little sweet, but the sugar isn’t overpowering.

Set your CrockPot to the “warm” setting so the creamed corn stays warm throughout the meal. Leftovers reheat well on the stove or in the microwave.

More Easy Thanksgiving Side Dishes to Master

If you make this recipe, please let me know! Leave a comment below or take a photo and tag me on Instagram or Twitter with #foodiecrusheats.

5 from 1 vote

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

This classic Thanksgiving side is now even easier to make thanks to a little help from your slow cooker! CrockPot creamed corn uses just 5 ingredients and requires very little prep work.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American

Keyword corn

Prep Time 5 minutes

Cook Time 3 hours

Total Time 3 hours 5 minutes

Servings 10 cups

Calories 295 kcal

Ingredients

48 ounces frozen corn about 8 cups, thawed
1/2 cup half and half
10 ounces cream cheese torn into chunks
4 tablespoons butter ½ stick, sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
chives for garnish if desired

Instructions

Pour half and half in a blender with 1 cup of corn and puree until smooth. In a 3 ½ to 4 quart slow cooker add the remaining ingredients. Cover and cook over high heat for 1 ½ hours or low heat setting for 3-4 hours.
Stir the corn to incorporate the melted cream cheese. Season with more kosher salt or pepper to taste and garnish with chopped chives if desired.

Nutrition Facts

5-Ingredient Slow Cooker Creamed Corn

Amount Per Serving

Calories 295 Calories from Fat 153

% Daily Value*

Fat 17g26%

Saturated Fat 9g56%

Cholesterol 48mg16%

Sodium 143mg6%

Potassium 455mg13%

Carbohydrates 36g12%

Fiber 4g17%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 7g14%

Vitamin A 569IU11%

Vitamin C 10mg12%

Calcium 47mg5%

Iron 1mg6%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

More Side Dishes That Feature Corn

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Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups with Table For Two

These easy, cheesy vegetarian lasagna roll-ups put traditional lasagna on its side with a smaller portion that won’t leave you with a whole pan of leftovers.

There are some food blogs you come to rely on — your go-to blogs when you’re having chef’s block trying to figure out what to cook. Julie Wampler’s blog Table For Two is one of those blogs for us. Time and time again, we know we can visit Julie’s site for some sound and easy inspiration in the kitchen.

Her recipes are healthy, fast and pretty darn delicious, and while her blog offers several savory recipes, Julie’s penchant for sweets means that her dessert section is really something to behold. Hellooooo, Peanut Butter Cheesecake and Cookie Dough Brownies! The D.C.-based blogger is also a seasoned traveler, and we love living vicariously through her adventures around the globe.

continue to the recipe… about Spinach Lasagna Roll-Ups with Table For Two

Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)

This easy spicy Thai Basil Chicken recipe infuses authentic Thai flavors into a coconut sauce that’s dynamite over rice or noodles for a fast dinner you will literally find yourself craving.

When my stock of summer’s sweet basil is ready for harvest, I make a mad dash for caprese salads and homemade pesto. But my love of basil roots don’t stop there.

Each spring I go beyond the bounds of planting traditional sweet basil. In my garden, I always make room for at least 3-4 Thai basil plants, just so I can have them to make this Thai basil chicken recipe. It’s creamy, spicy, and when using rice noodles, it’s gluten-free.

In high school, my sister Holly spent a year in Thailand as a foreign exchange student, and our family’s taste buds haven’t been the same since. Holly originally introduced me to the traditional recipe of Pad Krapow Ga. Then my mom found a variation to this Thai Basil Chicken recipe in an old issue of Sunset magazine.

Over the years I’ve added this and that to make the recipe my own, and come late summer, it shows up nearly every week on our dinner table, taking full advantage of that sweet but savory, homegrown Thai basil.

continue to the recipe… about Thai Basil Chicken (Pad Krapow Gai)

Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

When the garden overfloweth, it’s time to heat up the grill for a turn-eth on the coals-eth for an easy side dish of grilled zucchini topped with creamy goat cheese and pine nuts.

Zucchini are the David Copperfield of the vegetable kingdom.

One minute you’re gazing upon 3-inch still-room-to-grow zucchini when BOOM! with the slight of mother nature’s hand that cute little mini squash has suddenly turned into a 4-pound gargantuan with enough flesh for 324 loaves of zucchini bread or 41 pepperoni stuffed zucchini boats.

That’s veggie magic folks.

And this zucchini side dish is magic too. It’s healthy. It’s easy. And like the Italians do, it can be plated and set on a table to be ,served warm or at room temperature so it’s perfect for serving at a potluck or party.continue to the recipe… about Grilled Zucchini With Goat Cheese and Pine Nuts

20 Caprese Recipes You’ll Go Crazy For

From the best caprese salads to caprese skewers and the classic caprese sandwich, this list of 20 favorite tomato, mozzarella and basil themed recipes will have you going crazy for caprese.

You know those quizzes you see all over the internet touting, “Choose your favorite XX and we’ll tell you your personality type”? Well, if I had to choose, my favorite-salad-personality-clone would be the caprese salad.

There’s not much you can’t do with the basic ingredients of the classic caprese salad, from the classic caprese salad to caprese skewers to caprese-topped chicken dinners, all you need to get started is:

fresh and creamy mozzarella (any shape or size, and ultra-creamy burrata makes things even that much better)
the season’s best tomatoes (hopefully still warm from the garden)
spicy basil that smells of summer
the best fruity olive oil your wallet can afford
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper for that hit of spice we all need in our day

Alone as a preamble salad or served as a potluck side dish that will be the first to disappear, a classic caprese is pure love on a plate, in a bowl, or on a platter. But take those classically fresh Italian ingredients and add a dose of inspiration and you have so much more: a topper for chicken, or spritzing up toasts, or making breakfast eggs even more of the best way to start your day. The caprese personality is one everybody will love.

The season is now to capture the rapt ripeness of the best tomatoes. Get them before the getting’s gone. It’s time to get your caprese on.

Start with this list of 20 caprese recipes to crush on now.continue to the recipe… about 20 Caprese Recipes You’ll Go Crazy For

The Best BBQ Chicken

The best BBQ chicken breast recipe doesn’t call for complicated marinades or rubs. It’s all about this easy on-the-grill or in-the-oven cooking method sweetened with BBQ sauce for moist and juicy barbecue chicken breasts every time.

BBQ chicken, whether cooked on the grill or baked in the oven, is one of those dinners nobody at the table will complain about. Unless it’s dry and overcooked. But that is NOT this recipe. It’s a basic anyone can easily master, so that they too can claim their BBQ chicken is the best on the block.

This recipe is simple and it’s ready quick. There’s no extra time needed for marinades or fancy rubs. All you need is good quality chicken breasts, a hot grill or oven, and your favorite BBQ sauce to slather.

Grab the napkins my friends. Let’s cook us some barbecue chicken.continue to the recipe… about The Best BBQ Chicken

Pigs In a Puff Pastry Blanket

Everyone loves the simple bite of pigs in a blanket enveloped in a bread dough. But when you wrap these little hot dogs in flaky puff pastry, this appetizer heads to whole new heights of deliciousness.

I for one am a bona fide hot dog aficionado. I’ve always loved ’em, and I always will. Slather those puppies with a truck load of pickle relish, a drizzle of ketchup and mustard, and then pop them into a soft, buttery bun and this girl is in heaven.

That’s the downtown way to eat a hot dog.

The uptown way to eat a hot dog is a bit more refined when they’re wrapped in buttery, flaky pastry dough to create a delicately puffed built-in bun. They’re just as appreciated at an elegant dinner party as a brawling Super Bowl party.

And one of the best parts about them is they’re a puff pastry appetizer that’s easy to make on the run for a haute and hot diggity dog.

continue to the recipe… about Pigs In a Puff Pastry Blanket

Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

Call it what you want — cheeseburger macaroni, hamburger mac and cheese, or homemade Hamburger Helper. Whatever this recipe is, it’s delicious.

Homemade Hamburger Helper Recipe

I’m not embarrassed to admit it. In our first days of being married—yep, that was just a feeeewww years ago—Cheeseburger Hamburger Helper was totally a favorite of my husband and I.

Maybe it’s because my mom rarely made dinner from the box that gave that dang Hamburger Helper version a secret appeal. Or maybe it was just because it had the basic ingredients that make a comfort food dinner completely craveable: pasta, hamburger and cheese sauce.

We always doctored up the boxed version with sliced onion and mushrooms, it’s not like we could just eat it the cardboard cutout way. But when I started reading labels and trying to pronounce words in the ingredient list that I needed to pull out the dictionary for, the boxed version went by the wayside.

But that didn’t mean my craving went away.

The day I created this recipe for my partners at Go Bold With Butter, I had a house full of 9-year-olds who had just come home from school and who, as 9-year-olds will be, were STARVING!

Super cheese mom to the rescue.

4 girls. 4 bowls served. 8 thumbs up.

That’s why I’m loving this homemade Hamburger Helper so much, because it’s the base of my favorite comfort food flavor but is made with real ingredients.continue to the recipe… about Homemade Cheeseburger Macaroni

31 Quick Dinner Ideas for Easy Summer Nights

This list of 31 quick dinner ideas will have you in and out of the kitchen (or manning the grill) with plenty of time left to chill out on any hot summer night of the week.

Hello August = Hello end of summer. Please! Say it isn’t so!

There’s no time in what’s left of the quickly dissipating summer schedule for cooking all day in the kitchen. Suntans still need to be worked on. Outdoor activities must be conquered. So with summer readying to sing it’s swan song, laid back summer eats are what’s called for now.

But what should you make for dinner on a hot summer night? Make it real, make it good, and make it happen fast.

This list of 31 favorite summer dinner recipe ideas will put the savor in your last days of summer. So sit back, relax, and chill out with these easy seasonal summer eats.

continue to the recipe… about 31 Quick Dinner Ideas for Easy Summer Nights

Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

This hybrid of roasted and mashed potatoes is literally a mash up of cooking techniques to create a creamy potato on the inside with the crispy edges everyone craves on the outside, and it’s all made extra good thanks to garlic, butter and rosemary flavored smashed potatoes.

Easy side dishes should be a dime a dozen but I keep hearing from you guys that this is one of the most challenging parts of putting the finishing touch on your dinner time meal.

The beauty of a simple side dish like potatoes is they go with pretty much any main dish. Personally, I could eat them as the main dish all on their own.

So why mash when you can smash?

Because smashed red potatoes that are crisped with garlicky butter and rosemary like these smashed rosemary garlic potato babies here are the sure cure for your dinner-finishing cravings.

continue to the recipe… about Rosemary Garlic Butter Smashed Potatoes

Market Street Clam Chowder Recipe

A favorite of locals and tourists alike, this creamy clam chowder recipe comes from one of Salt Lake City’s longest running restaurants, Market Street Grill, and is easy to make at home.

This recipe is a favorite I published in the early days of FoodieCrush. This past weekend I ran into a friend at the grocery store who said she’d been searching for the famous clam chowder recipe from Salt Lake City’s Market Street Grill, which reminded me to re-share this easy clam chowder recipe with some updated photos for you. So, without further adieu, here is a re-post of the best clam chowder recipe, in my opinion, EVER.

“Hey, Chowda-head!”

It was a greeting that one of my fellow waiters at my post-college/pre-real-life-seafood-restaurant-job has been teased about for lo’ these many years. And he has NEVER been happy about hearing it again, and again, and again.

See, that job at Salt Lake City’s Market Street Grill was all about presentation and customer service. That meant every dish, every cup and even every spoon was served by the waiter from a tray.

So when you had a 6-top—that’s waiter-speak for a table of six—who all ordered the house specialty, famous clam chowder, we would load up a HUGE tray, hoist it high over our heads with the straightest arm we could possible muster, and charge forth through the sea of waiting to be seated customers to serve our eagerly awaiting diners bowls of creamy, white chowder in heavy china bowls with plated liners.

One especially busy night—it must have been a big rush before a Utah Jazz basketball game—my friend had a big table and of course they all ordered chowder. He loaded up the tray, even stacking the bowls two high! It was a feat to behold for mere waiter mortals.

Breathless from running between tables and the kitchen, we watched him navigate his way through the crowded waiting area, arm hoisted high with nary a wobbly arm in sight. And then, he hit the double french door frame. Literally. Hit it, clipped the china bowls still hovering overhead. And then like a dominoe-ing Humpty Dumpty, all the bowls came tumbling down.

Clam Chowder, all over his head, his shirt, everywhere. And ever since then, he has fondly been called Chowda-head.

Here is the very recipe, delicious in every respect, the best clam chowder recipe outside of New England. Yep, I’m staking my claim.

continue to the recipe… about Market Street Clam Chowder Recipe

The Best Caprese Salad (Plus a DIY Caprese Salad Bar)

The best caprese salad shows off summer’s finest with creamy mozzarella and heirloom tomatoes topped with fresh leafy basil and fruity olive oil. Serve the salads individually or turn this simple Italian staple into a party by creating a DIY caprese salad bar where everyone can help themselves.

I’ve been a fan of caprese salads for as long as I can remember. But it was only recently I was introduced to the brilliant idea of creating a self-serve caprese salad bar no matter how big your party.

My husband and I were at Park City’s Stein Eriksen Lodge’s Hops on the Hill sampling brews, bites, and bands. One of the food stations featured a huge cutting board loaded with a variety of fresh heirloom tomatoes sliced to order by a chef who I likened to a bartender, but who serves up tomatoes instead of cocktails. Now that’s my kind of bar.

Alongside these gorgeous hued tomato orbs were different vinegars, oils, salts, and saucey spreads to choose from, top the tomatoes, and make your own creation.

Trolling the topping options and dressing my salad I literally had one of those, “Why didn’t I think of this” moments. A caprese salad bar is easy entertaining at it’s finest, and it’s a wow-factor presentation for guests to interact with too.

I mean, why should the host be the only one to have all the fun?continue to the recipe… about The Best Caprese Salad (Plus a DIY Caprese Salad Bar)

Loaded Twice Baked Red Potatoes

These mini twice-baked red potatoes are super creamy and loaded with all the fixins’, for a crowd-pleasing appetizer or side to any meal.

Easy Red Potato Recipe

Why is it that mini-me versions of favorite standards seem like so much more fun?

Baby versions of standard stuff are what get me every time.

Puppies and tiny dogs edge out the big guys in the oohs and awww how cute department every time. Mini bottles of condiments get opened whether needed or not. Baby carrots are so much easier to grab and snack. And sliders! Who can have just one?

Don’t even get me started on baby elephants. Cutest. Things. Ever.

So when I thought about making little red potatoes locked and loaded to the rim like their full size cousins, that was my, “well of course you should” moment.continue to the recipe… about Loaded Twice Baked Red Potatoes

How to Make the Best Grilled Corn On the Cob

At our house, sweet corn is a summer staple and after years of experimenting, I’ve found cooking corn right in their husks on a hot grill is the only way to cook the best corn on the cob.

three ears of grilled corn slathered with compound butter

One of the reasons I crave summer is ’tis the season for fresh, sweet corn and surprisingly, my husband’s obsession with the husked and cobbed sphere is even greater than my own.

We grill just about anything and everything we can get our hands on during the summertime, and fresh corn is one of our favorites. While I’ll eat it just about any way — stripped right off the cob and raw, tossed in potluck quinoa salads, or turned into slow cooker creamed corn perfect for every eating occasion, grilled sweet corn on the cob with creamy butter takes the cake.

Grilled corn a delicious way to spruce up fresh salads, tacos and salsas, macaroni and cheese, and it makes an irresistible and easy side to your backyard BBQ. I love the subtle smokiness and the beautiful char marks grilling imparts on the corn and it is SO MUCH EASIER than boiling corn on the cob, especially when you’re cooking for a crowd.

Some people may be a tad intimidated by grilling corn, but I’m here to tell you that it’s a breeze. We’ve found there’s no need to soak the corn before grilling and you can grill them right in their husks, creating built-in steam oven jackets.

Follow the easy steps below and you’ll soon discover grilled corn bliss.

continue to the recipe… about How to Make the Best Grilled Corn On the Cob

Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale

A clean, herb-infused broth makes this slow cooker tortellini soup with Italian sausage a favorite to keep in your weekly meal plans.

This post is in partnership with McCormick.

“Oh babe, this is so good. Hey! Don’t eat all the broth! That’s mine.” My husband. He’s usually really good about sharing. “Oh. This is really good.” Until it comes to soup. He LOVES a good soup. And he wants it all for himself.

I’ve said it here before. My man is a soup aficionado. And if you can spell aficionado without having to hit dictionary.com, you are one swell spelling bee winner, because I can’t. But back to the crockpot tortellini soup…

Not only does the slow cooker create a broth for this tortellini soup that tastes flavorful and ultimately craveable, but the perfumed scent of sausage, onion, celery and garlic that wafts from the kitchen as it cooks will also have you wishing you could give that lid on the slow cooker just a crack to dip a spoon in for juuuuuust a bite for taste testing.

Or better yet, dip in a big old slice of sourdough. Fancy that. We’re a family of dippers.continue to the recipe… about Slow Cooker Tortellini Soup with Sausage and Kale

BLT Pasta Salad with Avocado

This creamy, easy pasta salad recipe is loaded with tomatoes, arugula, and avocado, plus crispy bacon that’s all topped with a super simple Ranch-style dressing made healthier with a combo of Greek yogurt and mayo.

You could say my collection of pasta salad recipes here on the blog are my children, and just like any mother of kids, it’s nearly impossible to choose just one as my most favorite. But, if you’re a fan of a creamy pasta salad, or an ultra easy-to-make pasta salad that’s loaded with healthier goodness (plus bacon!), this avocado and bacon pasta salad is for you.

Once the garden tomatoes come into harvest, BLT sandwiches are a staple at our house. And the only thing that makes them even better is adding avocado for them to become BLATs. Bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato sandwiches that are now a BBQ pasta salad staple.

So when my daughter requested I make a pasta salad that included her beloved bacon in the BLT mix, avocado was an obvious addition to make.

continue to the recipe… about BLT Pasta Salad with Avocado

Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers

These tangy and oh-so-simple-to-make sweet and sour Asian pickled cucumbers take only about 5 minutes to make, and are one of our favorite snacks. They’re also so good served as a cooling side or a crunchy, puckery salad all on their own.

I’ve never met a pickle I didn’t like. And when a quick pickle recipe does double duty as a tangy salad or a puckery snack, I look like that little emoji girl with my hand held high 🙋. Actually, my hand is more likely IN the pickle jar instead of being raised even though my mom ALWAYS told me, “USE A FORK!”

When will I ever learn to listen? Asking for my mom, because, you know, she’s still wondering.

This quick pickled cucumber recipe is exactly one of those recipes I will disregard all of my mom’s Emily Post etiquette teachings for. It’s the perfect topping on a sandwich or burger (like my Korean BBQ Burgers), or served alongside my Grilled Chicken Satay, or for simply snagging from the fridge for a little afternoon cure-all snack. Fork, or no fork, it’s totally your choice, but I bet you know how I’ll be digging for them.continue to the recipe… about Sweet and Sour Asian Pickled Cucumbers

Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

When your main dish recipe needs a decadent side dish sidekick, there’s nothing like a creamy, thyme-infused cheesy potatoes au gratin recipe to do the job, and to do it easily too.

Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe

There are few side dishes that are more comforting than those made with potatoes. Creamy mashed potatoes. Buttery parsley potatoes. The best potato salad ever. Smashed, twice baked, and roasted potatoes, and so many more.

But au gratin potatoes hold a special place in my food loving heart. They’re creamy, cheesy, and no matter how you slice, spoon, or stack them, they fit in just right alongside both special occasion main dishes or simple weekend burgers.

Creamy on the inside with crisped bites along the edges, these potatoes au gratin don’t call for a floured roux or canned soup, instead letting the potatoes, cream and broth combine to do their creamy thing they do so well.

And here’s the final fact of this potato act…whether you make homemade au gratin potatoes for a crowd of one or a crowd of many, they’re going to be a crowd pleaser every which way.continue to the recipe… about Easy Creamy Au Gratin Potatoes

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Can I Make This with Canned Corn?

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Ingredients

Instructions

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Au Gratin Potatoes Recipe

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