Baked beans are a quintessential summer BBQ side dish that are irresistibly good. Growing up I definitely ate my fair share of canned baked beans that my mom would “doctor” up to make them taste homemade. Still to this day, that method is delicious, BUT after you make baked beans from scratch, you will truly never turn back. Sure it takes a little extra time, but the reward at the end of the cooking process is 100% worth it. Smoky, slightly sweet and spicy, sticky beans await you and your tastebuds and they are just out of this world delicious. Homemade baked beans will change the way you look at baked beans for the better and you will love making them for every summer BBQ from now on.
Breakfast is my family’s favorite meal of the day. They like to eat it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner, so any time of the day breakfast is a go around here. Matter of fact, we just had waffles last night for dinner and they were delicious. Every week I make a batch of my favorite waffles, usually on the weekend, because they freeze wonderfully and make for easy breakfasts all week long. I don’t know why I have never shared this recipe with y’all, because it is seriously the easiest and tastiest waffle recipe out there and the one I have been making for years. The only special equipment needed is obviously a waffle maker, which I highly recommend adding into your kitchen appliances if you don’t have one already. My easy waffles from scratch will have you wondering why you ever bought frozen waffles because they are just that simple and tasty!
Raise your hand if you are in need of all the easy side dishes right now? I feel like I have been making the same recipes over and over lately and last week I decided I wanted to try a few new recipes to switch things up! I ended up creating a dish with some asparagus that needed using up from the fridge and threw in some peas from the freezer along with some fresh herbs that I had, and the result was so good y’all! It was such a nice change from the usual roasted asparagus that I usually make, not to mention it takes about ten minutes total from start to finish so its kind of amazing. I figured that you probably needed this dish in your life too, you’re welcome. My easy asparagus and peas with herbs pairs perfectly with any protein you might be making and will quickly become one of your favorite dinnertime sides!
I tend to purposefully buy too many bananas so that a few of them don’t get eaten and get a little too ripe, leaving me with no choice but to make something delicious with them. I always freeze a few of the over ripe bananas for smoothies and then, I of course always have to bake something with a few of them too. Banana bread is always a favorite around my house and it probably is at your house too. I like to swap a few ingredients from my traditional banana bread recipe to make this whole wheat banana bread just slightly healthier and at the same time make it more nutrient dense. There is just something so comforting about the smell of freshly baked banana bread in the oven that just makes me smile. I love cutting that first piece right out of the oven and slathering a bit of butter right on top. My whole wheat flax banana bread will definitely make you want to over buy bananas every single week, it’s just that delicious!
Life has been interesting to say the least the past two months right? Quarantine life has definitely taught me things about myself that I didn’t know and challenged me in new ways. Mostly because of the amount I have been cooking, there are some nights where I am just not sure I have it in me to make one more meal. I have never felt like that before, but when you are cooking three meals a day, every day, for everyone in the family, it can burn out even those of us who love to cook! I am sure you can relate, which is why simple and easy dinners are lifesavers right now. Sheet pan meals have always been a go-to dinner for me on nights where I just do not want a bunch of dishes to clean up. I can place everything on the same pan, it goes into the oven, and dinner is done and done. Minimal effort and maximum flavor is what I am all about. My sheet pan apricot chicken and broccoli is one of my new favorite sheet pan dinners and I know that your whole family will love it too.
I grew up in Tennessee and homemade biscuits were something that were weekend regulars at breakfast time. If you grew up in the south too, a good biscuit was probably a part of your childhood memories as well and maybe even if you didn’t grow up in the south! There really isn’t anything quite like a warm biscuit spread with a butter and a little jam or honey fresh out of the oven to start the day. I can’t really think of anything better to add to a brunch menu than homemade biscuits and if you are planning a nice stay at home Mother’s Day brunch, then these biscuits would be just perfect! While it took me years of being adult to actually start making my own biscuits, now that I do I see just how easy it really is and I can’t wait to show you how to do it too. Easy homemade biscuits will have you channeling your inner Ina (or in my case my Great Aunt Blanche) and they will come out perfect every single time.
