Cucumber Salad with Mint, Basil and Trader Joe’s EBTB Seasoning

Guys, I am so into mint and basil chopped up on and in everything (see: herbed turkey meatballs). One of my 2019 Bucket List items was finishing dishes with fresh herbs or lemon/lime, and I’ve been all over it all year, but especially so now that the weather has finally broken.

This time of year begs for fresh flavors, crisp veggies, and overall light and quick meals. Really, who wants to turn on the stove anyway?! And less time in the kitchen means more time outside, or at the beach, lake or pool. Sign me up!

7-Minute Grilled Pesto Pizzas

Oh how I love some grilled pizza, year-round, but especially in the summer. On Friday nights, we host a Fire Pit Friday with grilled pizza for all our friends and family. For that, we use the Trader Joe’s crusts, but when it’s just myself and hubby at the pool, we love to use a loaf of French bread, topped with pesto, mozz and cherry tomatoes. And it’s literally ready in 7 minutes!

Food poolside always feels like such a challenge to my creativity – kind of like when you’re trying to have a picnic and have to come up with something easy to eat, clean up and something that can hold up to the hotter weather.

Burrata & Sugar Snap Pea Salad

Anytime I share a salad “recipe” I really question whether or not this can even be called a “recipe.” I mean, yes, there’s a list of ingredients and a “method,” and therefore it is, but really this is just some straight up #saladporn right now. I love burrata, and in fact I’ve tried on several occasions to make it and failed miserably. But guys. Let’s just put this shit on everything. On salads, sandwiches, on it’s own, on pasta, on pizza. It’s just so freaking good.

I think I love the creaminess of the burrata – doesn’t it just feel so decadent? Not to mention, it’s an excellent vehicle for salt, pepper and balsamic glaze. And for the people in your life that might not be huge fans of salad (looking at you, hubby), it seems that popping a nice ball of burrata on top will convert them – at least for that meal.

Israeli Couscous Tabbouleh Recipe

I’ve never really liked tabbouleh. To be honest, it’s a texture thing and it always made me feel like I was just gnawing on a literal bunch of parsley. Furthermore, I was never a big fan of the flavor, because, again, parsley. I like parsley, but like a little bit. And there’s nothing in a tabbouleh that says “a little bit of parsley.” Except this one. Well, kind of. Okay, I use the mint to balance the amount of parsley. Stick with me.

In a more traditional tabbouleh, you’ll find bulgar, parsley, mint, lemon, onion, olive oil, tomatoes and cucumber. I’m also not a fan of bulgar, and the owner of quite a large bag of Israeli couscous. So, this Israeli couscos tabbouleh is born!

Let’s start with the greens.

Green Goddess Hummus Recipe

You know how much we love grazing boards around here (even these mini ones we had for the Oscars), and they’ve 100% been my go-to when entertaining as of late. My previous go-to, though, was a crudites platter with hummus. I mean, few things in life are as easy as chopping up some veg and whipping up a quickie hummus.

When we hosted a few friends the other day, I wanted to have something everyone could nosh on while I made shakshuka. Plus, Saturday truly felt like a spring day and made me ready to really dig in on some fresh, crunchy veggies!

I was thinking about mixing up some Green Goddess dressing with a bit of ranch or sour cream or yogurt, but was really in the mood for hummus – then I thought, why not just try out some green goddess hummus! So, so happy I did! It had so much flavor, brightness from the lemon juice, and some nice heat from fresh jalapenos. Tonight, I’m making my hummus chicken with this stuff – it’s SO good!

Go-To for any Meal: Shakshuka with Feta & Olives

I think it’s important to have a few reliable go-to recipes you can make for any meal of the day, from breakfast to brunch to dinner or a snack. You all already know how much I love a you-do-you-boo recipe, and this is definitely one of those. A Shahshuka is easy, simple, quick and totally customizable to your preferences. Don’t like feta or olives? Leave them out. Not feeling cumin? Skip it. Don’t like it spicy? Totally fine!

A Shakshuka is traditionally an African dish with eggs baked into a seasoned tomato sauce. You’ll see so many different varieties of shakshuka, even green shakshukas. You’ll see it with different spices, with or without red peppers, with or without feta and olives. This is just my favorite way to make it. Once you master the basics, you’ll be able to whip this up in no time with a few ingredients you likely always have on hand.

You don’t need anything fancy to make shakshuka, either! Just a nice big skillet. And hey, you could even make this smaller! Use a few ramekins or a smaller baking dish and a smaller can of tomatoes – shakshuka for one? Yes, please!

Homemade Bagel Chips & Everything Bagel Dip Recipe

What’s brunch without carbs, eh? For my latest Ladies Who Brunch, I made the Australian Folded Eggs and Smoked Salmon Nicoise, but I wanted one more dish to tie it all together. Serving actual bagels felt like it would be too heavy, but I wanted something carb-y. Enter bagel chips & dip: because seriously, who doesn’t love bagels and who doesn’t love dip?

I do have to admit, I’ve never been a fan of store bough bagel chips, so when I was testing these out I wasn’t 100% sure I would like them. I’ve always found store bough to be too crunchy. I wanted these to be like a bagel you accidentally toasted a bit too much, but you could still enjoy.

I tried making these a few different ways, and they all came out pretty much the same, so in the recipe I’ve given you all three options: brush with olive oil, melted butter or spray with cooking spray; then you sprinkle salt on them and bake them up until they’re nice and toasted!

How to Make Australian Folded Eggs

Did you know you needed a post to teach you how to make – basically – scrambled eggs? Me either. But then, we went to New Zealand on our honeymoon and had the greatest eggs and I’ve been trying to recreate them for nearly 4 years. And then I saw a few posts about Australian folded eggs and here we are – a recipe you never knew you needed for eggs.

I’m sure you’re thinking something like, Haileyyyyy why do I even need to make these? Well. Have you ever had eggs so creamy, so custardy, so perfect you could literally cry? That’s why you need to make these.

Until we had gone to New Zealand, I don’t think I ever realized how something like a scrambled egg could be so decadent. But they truly are! There are a few key secrets to making these utterly perfect eggs.

Bourbon Bread Pudding with Candied Nuts

Alternate title: Holy-Shit-That’s-Good Bread Pudding. Bread pudding is one of those desserts that feels like it takes so much effort, but it really doesn’t. In fact, you likely have all the ingredients you need already and could most likely make it without a recipe. It’s so simple. So straightforward. And 100% customizable.

Now, bread pudding is really just bread, eggs, milk, sugar. I like a bunch of mix-ins in my bread pudding for extra texture and flavor. Plus bourbon, because we’re a House of Bourbon family. And either whipped cream or melted ice cream on top. But it truly is a simple recipe. And if you’re on a budget, it’s also a great dessert!

You can use just about any bread for your bread pudding, but I went with Trader Joe’s Croissant Bread. Their CB is a revelation. So much flavor, so much flake, so much good. You could cut up croissants, you could use brioche. I would even use a white bread loaf that’s yet to be sliced and staled just a bit. Any bread will do!

Couldn’t-Get-Lobster Shrimp Mac ‘n Cheese

Sometimes, things just don’t go as planned. Sometimes, you just gotta roll with it and adjust and make it work. So this mac ‘n cheese was supposed to have lobster and I couldn’t get my hands on tails, so, here we are with shrimp mac ‘n cheese. But not just any shrimp. The Argentinian shrimp from Trader Joe’s. It’s sweet and meaty and very lobster-y.

The key to a baller mac ‘n cheese is 100% the cheese. Using good quality white cheddar and gouda gives the flavor a little tang and a lot of creaminess. And if you’re on a diet, just avert your eyes. There’s nothing light about this recipe and I mean, if you’re going to go for mac ‘n cheese, let’s just really go for it, right?