Our Current Favorite Recipes

Let’s talk food today!

It’s no secret that I like to cook and bake. My husband likes to spend time in the kitchen, too! Bjorn is really talented when it comes to evaluating what’s in the cupboard and making a meal out of it. But he’s also good at jumping in and helping with my more complex meal ideas, haha! When I want to try new meals, I tend to select more ambitious recipes (for better or for worse) and have spent many an afternoon industriously chopping veggies, grating things, simmering, sifting, and stirring! 🙂 It’s funny how I tend to gravitate toward more tricky or multi-step recipes when I’m eager to try something new. I’ve always been this way. I distinctly recall a particular triple-layer lemon blueberry cake I made as a teenager that involved a whole slew of tasks: straining all the seeds out of pureed fresh blueberries to make a berry layer, making a homemade lemon curd, and more! Ha! Even though it was delicious, it was exhausting. Luckily, these days, if I reach the point where I need a couple more hands to make it all happen, Bjorn lovingly steps in and capably helps me out. 😉

Since I’m home with Sophie now, I’m the primary cook and I want to have delicious meals on the table for Bjorn when he comes home from his long days! I’m always looking for fun (and hopefully healthy) meals to add to our tried-and-true list.

Life doesn’t always let us choose the most ambitious recipes all the time. Boy, would that be fun – but some days (and weeks and months), you just need easy meal options to turn to. 🙂 We’re in a stage of life right now where I can’t be picking complicated recipes all the time. I probably do try at least one new recipe of some sort every week; however, lately I’ve begun to gravitate towards less time-consuming meals.

I’ve been wanting to share this post for a while. The recipes I’m sharing today are actually ones we’ve tried – it’s not just an inspiration post. They’re meals we’ve made and enjoyed! Here’s our end-of-summer-2018 compilation of favorite recipes!

Breakfast/Snacks:

No Bake Energy Bites // These are so delicious! Great to grab for breakfast or as a more healthy-feeling snack.

Breakfast Hash // Sautéed bell pepper strips, chicken sausage, and cooked sweet potatoes mixed with scrambled eggs.

Sides:

BBQ Ranch Chopped Salad // At first I thought this was an entree salad, but it really functions more as a big, hearty side salad. I recommend pairing it with a rotisserie chicken or some kind of protein. It has the best flavors and the best crunch!! Bjorn and I have had it at least a couple times and we love it! Before this salad, we hadn’t found a salad with kale that we truly felt made the kale taste good, haha! The kale in this salad is chopped up small, and it’s delicious mixed in with everything else!

Entrees:

Chicken Ranch Paleo Whole 30 Stuffed Peppers // Full disclosure, I did not make their special from-scratch Whole 30 ranch dressing. I used ours from the fridge because I was in a hurry. 🙂 But they were still super delicious!

Moroccan Chickpea Quinoa Power Salad // I love this one so much! It’s great for supper, great for lunch leftovers… The flavors and the crunch from different textures are so good! And I like that it’s filled with healthy ingredients that give you extra nutrients and keep you full.

Summer Stir-Fry // This Pioneer Woman recipe is a great one even not during the summer. We like to serve it alongside crusty French bread with butter!

Egg Roll in a Bowl // We’ve made this a few times already. It’s a delicious way to get those egg roll flavors, but with a much healthier approach. It heats up super well for leftovers.

Italian-Sausage Stuffed Zucchini Boats // These were so good! Both Bjorn and I thought they were amazing when we had them for supper! I made them with spicy ground Italian sausage, so they had a bit of heat. You can always make them with a more mild Italian sausage.

Desserts:

Lunchlady Brownies // I can’t remember which site I saw these on (my recipe is just a printed-out Word document), but I’ve linked a basically identical recipe! I find these brownies are actually best served cold, so I keep the pan of them in the fridge.

Easy Peach Cobbler // This is a great one to make if you find some beautiful, ripe peaches on sale or if peaches are in season! It’s so good, and easy to make! It’s a fun recipe to make with kids, too.

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles // You can tell just by the name, but these delicious cookies are the best treat to whip up in the fall! 🙂 They are so good. I’d be making them today if I had a can of pumpkin in the cupboard!

Beverages:

Iced Vanilla Chai Tea Latte // That’s right, I’ve been making my own at home! 🙂 I buy the Tazo Decaf Chai Tea Concentrate (in a carton), and mix it in a glass with ice and milk. I also have begun to buy vanilla syrup (like what they have at Starbucks) and I add a few pumps of that. Tastes almost exactly like what I get at Starbucks! 🙂

What recipes are you and your family loving right now?? You know I’m always on the lookout for fun new meal ideas! Please share! 🙂