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Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

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Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

Brussel sprouts roasted in the oven to perfection. Coated in balsamic vinegar and olive oil then seasoned with salt and pepper.

Crisp outside, juicy inside with a tangy crunch topped with salt & freshly ground black pepper.

These are roasted balsamic brussel sprouts and they are amazing + super EASY!

Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

Before I got pregnant with my son I seriously HATED the taste of brussel sprouts. My mom and sister love to make them for dinner and I could never understand why. They were so bitter and tasted so weird to me!

Once I got pregnant and wanted to incorporate some more healthy food into my diet, I decided to give brussel sprouts another shot. I wanted to try and “mask” the odd taste they had so I figured balsamic vinegar would do an amazing job plus I just LOVE balsamic vinegar!

Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

I drowned the brussel sprouts in balsamic and then added salt and a BUNCH of freshly ground black pepper. The result, YUM!!!

Check out my Classic Pasta Salad recipe!

I figured out how to season these healthy babies and now I am seriously addicted! I literally want them every day lol.

Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

Roasting the brussel sprouts gives them such an amazing crispy, salty, spicy crunch to the outside layer and since I tossed them in olive oil and balsamic vinegar the insides are super moist and FLAVORFUL. You’re going to love them!

I usually make a large batch and eat them for dinner then snack on them the next day for lunch.

Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

Health Benefits of Brussel Sprouts:

  • Vitamin K
  • Vitamin C
  • Vitamin A
  • Folate
  • Manganese
  • Antioxidants
  • Fiber
  • Ala Omega-3 Fatty Acids
  • Helps maintain healthy blood sugar
  • Protects against cancer
  • Reduces inflammation
  • (Source)

Check below for a free printable with 30 Healthy Snack Ideas!

Here’s how to make them!

Brussel sprouts roasted in balsamic vinegar

Roasted Balsamic Brussel Sprouts

Ingredients:

  • 3/4 of 1lb. Brussel Sprouts
  • 3 Tbsp Olive oil
  • 4 Tbsp Balsamic vinegar
  • Salt to taste
  • Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees
  2. Slice brussel sprouts in half
  3. Spread olive oil onto a large baking sheet
  4. Add brussel sprouts to baking sheet and toss to coat
  5. Pour balsamic vinegar on the brussel sprouts and mix until everything is coated
  6. Place brussel sprouts cut side down
  7. Generously sprinkle salt & pepper all over the top
  8. Bake for 20-30 minutes
  9. Done when fork tender and lightly crisped on the top.

That’s it! I hope you love this great side dish. It would pair great with steak or chicken. Enjoy!

Check out my Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup recipe!

Easy Blueberry Lemon Turnovers

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Pastry turnovers with blueberry lemon filling

*This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more info.*

Delicious puff pastry turnovers filled with sweet blueberry pie filling and drizzled with a powdered sugar lemon on top.

Flakey pastry, rich blueberry filling, tart lemon drizzle, these are Easy Blueberry Lemon Turnovers! These things are TO DIE FOR!! Seriously… They are so addictive they should be illegal… But they’re not so might as well give in!

Pastry turnovers with blueberry lemon filling

These easy blueberry lemon turnovers are just how they sound, EASY!

I know that many people steer clear from baking because baking can be hard to someone who doesn’t know what they are doing. This is the perfect recipe to try if you’re a newbie baker.

 Pastry turnovers with blueberry lemon filling

I’m not going to lie and say I am this super experienced baker because I’m not!

I want to become a better baker so I am trying new things and having fun with it. I hope that you can too!

I used puff pastry for this recipe instead of making my own pastry dough. Homemade is always great but I have a crawling baby roaming the house getting into things so most of the time I don’t have the time to bake from scratch. Puff pastry is easy and PERFECT for this recipe. I actually tried using another store bought dough for this recipe and it had no match to the puff pastry. Definitely glad with the choice I made!

Pastry turnovers with blueberry lemon filling

The filling is even easier, blueberry pie filling! I picked up a can from the store, it was that easy. It blends so well with the puff pastry and the lemon drizzle just ties it all together.

What’s funny is that my mom doesn’t like puff pastry and once I made these and asked her to try one, she loved it! I’ve converted her lol

Enough talking, let’s get into this recipe!

Check out my recipe for Chocolate Dessert Skewers!

Pastry turnovers with blueberry lemon filling

Check out these easy clean up silicone baking mats!

Easy Blueberry Lemon Turnovers

Prep: 10 mins Total time: 35 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 box of frozen puff pastry
  • 1 can of blueberry pie filling
  • 1 egg  white
  • 2 Tbsp water
  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

Instructions:

  1. Thaw puff pastry as instructed on box
  2. Heat oven to 375
  3. Spray cooking spray on baking sheet
  4. Once thawed, roll out puff pastry and cut each sheet into 4 square pieces
  5. Beat egg white and water until combined
  6. Scoop about a tablespoon full of blueberry pie filling into the middle of each square
  7. Make sure not to put too much because you won’t be able to seal the turnovers
  8. Once all have pie filling, brush egg white mixture along the edges of square and fold the diagonal corner together to seal
  9. Press the seal down lightly
  10. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the crust is lightly browned on the top
  11. Take them out to cool

Lemon Drizzle:

  1. Mix powdered sugar and lemon juice together until smooth
  2. Once the turnovers have cooled take a spoon and drizzle the mixture back and forth over the turnovers

Serve immediately or place in a airtight bag for breakfast the next morning! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Check out my recipe for Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup!

Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup

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Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup

Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup

*This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more info.*

Savory and rich bone broth soup made from a leftover ham cooked with beans, carrots, and love! Prepared in my Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting.

soup with ham and beans

Warm broth, tender ham, yummy beans. That can only mean one thing…Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup. Talk about comfort food! And the best thing about this recipe is how EASY it is to make!

I threw this fantastic soup together in less than 10 minutes!

Throw it in the Instant Pot on the slow cooker setting and watch it do it’s magic. Usually I make this soup on the stovetop but today I was rushing out the door so I threw it all together in my Instant Pot and was gone for most of the day. I think it tastes even better this way. The bone broth gets richer the longer it cooks so it turned out AMAZING!

soup with ham and beans

Get your Instant Pot here!

My mom makes this for us every Spring after our Easter honey baked ham and it is seriously my FAVORITE soup!

Don’t worry about buying a ham just for this recipe, you only use the bone and leftover meat for the soup so enjoy ham for dinner and lunch days before. I bought a bone-in brown sugar glazed ham and made it for dinner one night then our family ate leftovers and ham sandwiches for a couple days then I used what was left over (instead of wasting that precious bone) for my Instant Pot ham and white bean soup.

soup with ham and beans

Check out my recipes for Classic Pasta Salad!

Usually I make this soup on the stovetop but today I was rushing out the door so I threw it all together in my Instant Pot on slow cooker setting and was gone most of the day. I think it tastes even better this way. The bone broth gets richer the longer it cooks so it turned out AMAZING!

*You can also use a regular slow cooker for this recipe.

Here’s the recipe for Easy Instant Pot Ham and White Bean Soup

soup with ham and beans

Ingredients:

  • 1 large ham with some of the meat still on it
  • 1 small yellow onion cut in half
  • 1 cup of sliced carrots
  • 2 stalks of celery cut in half
  • 1 lb. of soaked white beans (or canned beans) – I soaked my beans in water over night
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 tsp of garlic salt (add more to preference)
  • 1/2 tsp of black pepper (add more to preference)
  • (1) 6 oz.can of tomato paste
  • Water to fill to the line in the Instant Pot

Instruction:

  1. Cut onion and celery, slice carrots
  2. Rinse beans with water
  3. Add ham to slow cooker
  4. Add add veggies, beans, bay leaf, garlic salt, pepper, tomato paste to Instant Pot
  5. Fill the Instant Pot with water just covering the ham about 3/4 of the way full
  6. Select slow cooker setting and set it to regular for about 8 hours
  7. After 8 hours remove onion and bay leaf
  8. Remove the ham bone and cut off any remaining pieces of meat
  9. Dice up the meat and throw it back into the Instant Pot

Serve while it’s hot! 

Buttered rolls would be great with this dish!

Check out my recipe for Pink Lemonade Bars!

I hope you enjoy this easy slow cooker meal as much as I do! Let me know how it turns out!

Chocolate Dessert Skewers

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chocolate covered fruit dessert

chocolate dessert with strawberries and bananas

Chocolate Dessert Skewers

Sweet strawberries, fresh bananas, moist angel food cake laced with a melted chocolate drizzle. These are Chocolate Dessert Skewers!

This Easter my mom served up some sliced strawberries on angel food cake and whipped cream. Yummy!! Who doesn’t LOVE that? Now, I’m not hating on it but… I wanted to spice things up a bit and add some chocolate to the mix!

chocolate dessert with strawberries and bananas

My goal was to try and combine what my mom made and chocolate fondue…

Somehow… And this is what I came up with! Chocolate Dessert Skewers. A SUPER EASY dessert that your family will LOVE.

Check out my recipe for Pink Lemonade Bars!

chocolate dessert with strawberries and bananas

NO MESS, just eat off the skewers! This recipe is perfect for an outdoor BBQ or picnic with the family.

You can make these ahead of time and put them in the fridge until you want to enjoy them. Don’t keep them refrigerated for too long because the cake will start to harden.

Let’s get into the recipe!

chocolate dessert with strawberries and bananas

Chocolate Dessert Skewers

Ingredients:

  • 1 small loaf of angel food cake
  • 1 small bunch of bananas
  • 1 package of strawberries
  • 1 12 oz. bag of chocolate chips
  • 1 package of bamboo skewers
  • 2 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 Tbsp lemon juice

I usually cut the recipe in half for 3 people

Instructions:

  1. Cut tops off of strawberries
  2. Cut angel food cake into 1 inch cubes
  3. Peel and slice bananas into 1 inch pieces
  4. Brush bananas with lemon juice (to prevent browning)
  5. Place angel food cake, strawberry, and banana on skewers – repeat until it fills the skewer
  6. Once you have all of your skewers done, combine 1 cup (half the bag) of chocolate chips and 1 tsp. of coconut oil in a microwave safe bowl
    (I melt chocolate 1 cup at a time to prevent it from cooling/hardening too quickly)
  7. Microwave for 30 second intervals until melted – stirring in between intervals
  8. Drizzle chocolate with a fork over each skewer with a back and forth motion

They don’t need to look perfect! I don’t have time for perfect #momlife lol

And you’re done! You can enjoy right away or wait a few minutes for the chocolate to harden. I did NOT wait. They looked way too good!! I hope you enjoy them as much as I did!

Check out my recipe for Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels!

Classic Pasta Salad

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Classic pasta salad

classic pasta salad

*This post contains affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy for more info.*

Classic Pasta Salad

Tangy noodles and crisp veggies can only mean one thing… Classic Pasta Salad! A warm weather staple dish. Perfect for Spring or Summer parties. The weather is getting warmer here in Las Vegas so I thought it was a great time to whip up some of my favorite Classic Pasta Salad!

classic pasta salad

It’s a SUPER easy recipe to make for your kiddos and keep on hand in the fridge!

My family has been making this recipe since before I was born! My mom ate this as a kid and it remains a TRADITION in our family.

classic pasta salad

What’s great about this recipe is that you can add tons of different ingredients to the noodles and make it your own. I typically always add bell peppers, green onions, and cherry tomatoes. My mom adds radish, cheese cubes, and carrots as well as the above ingredients. Use whatever you have in the fridge! It’s that SIMPLE. You can also double the recipe if you need to.

My favorite thing about Classic Pasta Salad is this glorious homemade salad dressing! It is my FAVORITE salad dressing on the planet! My mom has been making this dressing since the 70’s. We use it for all of our salads. You can find it here!

classic pasta salad

Let’s dive into this recipe!

Classic Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

  • (1) 12 oz. package of tri-colored spiral noodles
  • 3 bell peppers diced – any color
  • 3 or 4 green onions diced
  • 1 small package of cherry tomatoes halved
  • 1 packet of Good Seasons Italian Dressing Mix
  • 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
  • 3 Tbsp. water
  • 1/2 cup oil (I use canola oil)
  • salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

  1. Boil noodles as directed on package
  2. Dice all veggies and set aside
  3. Prepare any additional ingredients you want to add such as cubed cheese
  4. Add red wine vinegar, water, and seasoning mix to small bowl and stir until combined
  5. Add oil and stir
  6. Once noodles are cooked, add to strainer and run cool water over noodles until no longer hot
  7. Once the noodles are cooled, add all the ingredients to a large bowl and stir to combine
  8. Add salt and pepper to taste
  9. Enjoy as is or chill in the fridge over night so the dressing absorbs into the noodles

Simple as that! I hope you enjoy this yummy Classic Pasta Salad recipe!

Check out my other recipe for Pink Lemonade Bars!

Pink Lemonade Bars

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pink lemonade bars

pink lemonade bars

Pink Lemonade Bars

Gooey lemon filling, dustings of powdered sugar, buttery flakey crust, fresh strawberries, is your mouth watering yet? Mine sure is!! This my friends is a Pink Lemonade Bar.

pink lemonade bars

My mom has a lemon tree that produces TONS of lemons every year. The tree has grown so large that it almost reaches the roof of their two story house! Lucky for me I get to take home a bunch of these luscious lemons.

My mom sent me home with a large bag full of lemons so I needed to get creative and find a recipe for these babies. Lemonade is good but I always end up making it and I wanted to try making something new and yummy. The result..Pink Lemonade Bars! This is actually my first time making any sort of lemon bars and they turned out amazing!

pink lemonade bars

These are super lemony and sweet.

They would be a perfect treat for Mother’s Day which is coming up. You could “accidentally” email this recipe to your spouse lol!

This recipe is a twist on classic lemon squares. I wanted to JAZZ them up a bit and have some fun with them. There are other recipes that replace the red food coloring with raspberries but I was feeling lazy so food coloring it is! And as you can see from the photos I really CAKED the powdered sugar on but you can always just do a light dusting. I just really LOVE powdered sugar! Here is the recipe.

pink lemonade bars

Pink Lemonade Bars

Total Time – 60 Mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 cup flour
  • 1 cup granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup powdered sugar + more for sprinkling
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1 pinch of cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup room temperature butter
  • 2 eggs
  • Juice from 2 lemons – Zest from 1 of the lemons
  • 4 drops red food coloring
  • Strawberries for garnish
  • 8x8x2 pan

Instructions:

  1. Set oven to 350f
  2. Mix the flour, powdered sugar, butter, and cinnamon until crumbly.
  3. Press the mixture into ungreased pan and bake for 20 mins
  4. Whisk with electric mixer granulated sugar, baking powder, salt, eggs, lemon juice, lemon zest, and food coloring for a few minutes until frothy
  5. Immediately pour over the baked crust
  6. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes
  7. (I baked mine for about 30 and the edges got a little too done so check it at 25 minutes)
  8. Let it cool then sprinkle powdered sugar all over that baby
  9. Add some sliced strawberries to top off that beautiful Pink Lemonade Bar

 

I hope you enjoy this recipe. How did you like it? I’d love to hear how they turned out for you!

Check out my other recipe on Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels.

Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels

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wacky dipped easter pretzels

wacky dipped easter pretzels

Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels

There’s just something about chocolate and pretzels together that makes my mouth water. Add some sprinkles and crushed M&M’s to the mix and you’ve got something amazing!

Easter is a week away and I needed an awesome dessert to bring to Easter dinner with our family. I wanted to make something yummy, cute, and honestly, just something easy! I don’t have much time for extravagant desserts these day with my crawling, teething 9 month old baby boy. I barely have enough time to get my freaking laundry done! #momlife Lol

wacky dipped easter pretzels

These Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels are the perfect thing! Super easy to make, adorable, and your kids can help you make them! The great thing about these dipped pretzels is that they look like you spent a lot of time decorating them and that’s really not the case. They took me around 30 minutes to make. You have to move quickly to keep the chocolate from cooling. You also can go crazy with the colors and type of sprinkles that you use. There is no wrong way to decorate these babies. They are meant to be wacky!

These dipped pretzels would be a perfect addition to your Easter or Spring celebration. Here’s how to make them!

 

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Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels

Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels

Ingredients

  • 2 12 oz. package of white chocolate chips
  • 1 tsp coconut oil
  • 1 bag of pretzel rods
  • 1 bag of pastel Easter M&M’s
  • Food coloring (any color you like)
  • Sprinkles ( I used pink, green, lavender, and pastel multicolored ones)
  • Parchment paper

Instructions

  1. Lay out a piece of parchment paper and set aside
  2. Put M&M’s in a plastic bag and smash into smaller pieces
  3. Lay out all of your sprinkles so they are ready to use
  4. Add 1 package of white chocolate chips and coconut oil to a tall cup or tall mug for melting
  5. Microwave mixture for 15 second intervals until melted. Stirring in between intervals
  6. Dip a pretzel rod into the mixture. You can shake or scrape some of the excess chocolate off with a spoon or butter knife.
  7. Quickly (so chocolate doesn’t cool) add your sprinkles and M&M’s to the pretzel
  8. Lay on parchment paper to cool
  9. Do this to each one until you are out of the chocolate mixture
    10. Drizzle
  10. Add 1/2 cup of white chocolate chips to small bowl
  11. Microwave for 15 second intervals until melted.
  12. Add food coloring and stir in quickly.
  13. Use a fork and drizzle mixture over the dipped pretzels back and forth
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I got so caught up in taking pictures of these cute dipped pretzels that I didn’t even taste one until way later. Let’s just say, I handled those things like a boss! Lol They are way too good!! Go ahead and try out this recipe and let me know how they turned out, I’d love to hear it!

Check out my recipe for Super Easy St. Patrick’s Day Dessert!!

Super Easy St. Patrick’s Day Dessert

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Super easy st. patrick's day dessert

Are you looking for a super easy St. Patrick’s Day dessert? You came to the right place!!

St. Patrick’s Day is right around the corner and you want to make a super cute dessert. You look up some dessert recipes and everything looks great but takes so long to make. In a busy mommy world, who has the time? In my opinion, a dessert is a dessert!

You don’t have to make a perfect green layered cake with a fondant leprechaun design.

That’s not realistic in a busy mom world. Making a simple, cute, and tasty St. Patrick’s Day dessert is all you need to do. Your kids or your guests to will absolutely love these! They are crazy and fun and pretty hard to mess up.

Here’s a super easy St. Patrick’s day dessert that won’t take long at all and your kids can help with the frosting, dipping, and sprinkling!

I got these cookies done in less than 15 minutes while holding my extra needy (teething) 9 month old son in one hand! Aren’t moms great at multitasking?  Let’s dive into the recipe!

super easy st. patrick's day dessert

Supplies:

  • 1  14 oz. package of Golden Oreo cookies
  • 1  12 oz. package of white chocolate chips
  • Green food coloring
  • Sprinkles ( I used 2 different types of green and orange colored sprinkles)
  • Parchment paper

Instructions:

  • Lay out a piece of parchment paper and set aside.
  • Pour package of white chocolate chips into a microwaveable bowl and microwave in 15 second intervals until melted. Stirring in between intervals.
  • Add green food coloring to the melted chocolate until you’ve reached your desired color of green. Add a few drops for a pretty light color green, add more drops for a rich darker color green.
  • Dip half of the Oreo cookie into the green chocolate mixture.
  • Add sprinkles to the chocolate dipped part of the cookie
  • Place on parchment paper to cool

It’s as easy as that! Didn’t your cookies come out adorable? And yummy! I hope you enjoy making these with your kids as much as you will enjoy eating them.!

Check out my other post Wacky Dipped Easter Pretzels + Free Recipe Card!