This Dutch Oven No Knead Bread is the perfect way to make a delicious, crusty artisan loaf in the comfort of your own home! Best of all? It takes only FIVE MINUTES of prep, and you don’t have to ever touch the sticky dough with your hands! With a short, two-hour total rise time, you can make this for dinner tonight.

I’m a good cook. I mean, I’m allowed to brag about that… I’ve built a career out of it with this website. But until now, I’ve had the HARDEST time making a good homemade bread.

Am I alone in this? Homemade bread has always eluded me and been a real challenge. My homemade breads have always been too flat, too dry, too hard, too annoying and sticky to work with, etc.

UNTIL NOW.

YOU GUYS. I finally cracked the code for homemade bread that isn’t a hassle and is so amazingly delicious, moist, with fluffy holes, and with the perfect crusty crust!

You can use all-purpose flour – no need for fancy bread flour!

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This easy Slow Cooker Turkey Breast recipe is so juicy and flavorful, and since it’s boneless, you don’t need to worry about carving anything! You only need 10 minutes of prep– just make a rub, slather it on the turkey, and let your crockpot do the work for you. It’s perfect for a small Thanksgiving dinner and easy enough for a weeknight main course.

See that gorgeous color? It’s all in the rub – a mixture of all kinds of spices, including bright red paprika and golden yellow turmeric.

A quick few minutes under the broiler crisps up the skin for a beautiful golden brown color that’s perfect for your Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving table!

To be honest, I don’t know if I’m ever going to cook a whole turkey again now that I’ve discovered this slow cooker version. I really hate the hassle of a whole turkey, and having to wrangle a giant piece of raw poultry. This slow cooker turkey breast recipe is almost too good to be true – it’s so ridiculously easy and flavorful!

And you can even whip up a quick gravy from the drippings.

...GET THE RECIPE for Juicy Slow Cooker Boneless Turkey Breast!

These Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks (also known as yellowfin or bigeye tuna) take only SIX MINUTES to cook to medium-rare perfection and are bursting with delicious umami flavor from the soy sauce and toasted sesame honey marinade recipe! And since marinating is optional, you can whip this tuna steak recipe up at a moment’s notice. I like serving these seared tuna steaks with rice and green beans, or simply over a bed of greens with an Asian-style salad dressing.

If I can get dinner on the table in less than 30 minutes, I’m a happy camper. Under 20? Even better. But under TEN? It’s almost too good to be true! But this one is DEFINITELY true.

So true that we’ve made these Six-Minute Seared Ahi Tuna Steaks twice in the past two weeks and fully plan on doing it again this coming week.

As you may have guessed from the title, this recipe only takes about six minutes, and it’s absolutely mouthwateringly delicious. And healthy. And EASY! What more could you want?

Fish in any form usually cooks up extremely quickly. Maybe that’s why I have so many salmon recipes on the blog.

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The trick to making ultra-moist, healthy banana bread is to use extra-virgin olive oil and FOUR WHOLE BANANAS, with both white and whole wheat flour in the recipe!

I loveeee a good banana bread. But it’s easy to try to bake one and have it come out dry and bland. Not with this recipe! This recipe for super moist banana bread is not only DELICIOUS, but it’s healthy too!

There are a few tricks to making the ultimate moist banana bread. Using olive oil helps keep it moist, as does using LOTS of bananas– I used four, which also helps sweeten the bread naturally. This means that there isn’t a lot of sugar in the recipe, but it’s still decadently sweet.

This banana bread recipe also uses both white AND whole wheat flour, which helps take the nutrition up a notch but still maintain a light and fluffy texture.

How to make moist banana bread

1. Grease a loaf pan generously with olive oil- it’s OK if some pools up in the bottom!
2. Mix together your wet ingredients in a large bowl- olive oil, a little bit of brown sugar, eggs, and mashed bananas.

...GET THE RECIPE for Ultra-Moist Healthy Banana Bread (made with Olive Oil)!

This easy Whole Roast Chicken Recipe is cooked to crispy-skin perfection in a Dutch Oven with Lemon, Garlic, and Rosemary Butter slathered on every bite! Add potatoes to the bottom of the pan and you’ve got yourself a complete, one-pot meal.

This is my favorite recipe for roast chicken. Cooking it in a dutch oven ensures the chicken is moist and flavorful, but still gets that awesome golden-brown, crispy skin. 

Here’s what I LOVE about this roast chicken recipe:

• It uses only five ingredients (assuming you already have butter, salt, and pepper);
• The flavor combination of lemon, garlic, and rosemary creates amazing flavor;
• There is no waste– the lemon zest, juice, and rinds are used, as well as the onion, garlic, and rosemary scraps;
• While it takes a while to roast in the oven, the prep time is only 10-15 minutes!
• You can add potatoes to the bottom of the pan to cook and soak up all those delicious juices while the chicken roasts for an easy one-pot meal.

...GET THE RECIPE for Dutch Oven Whole Roast Chicken!

This New England Baked Haddock Recipe is so comforting, delicious, and easy to make! This easy, family-friendly dinner uses only THREE ingredients and requires only FIVE MINUTES of hands on time.

If you are from New England, you have had New England Baked Haddock. If you aren’t or haven’t had it… you need to get it in your mouth ASAP. And I mean like, now.

You only need THREE ingredients for this baked haddock recipe: fish, butter, and bread crumbs, plus some salt and pepper. And lemon and parsley, if you want to get a little crazy. This is such a simple and inexpensive meal to make.

This is a very traditional dish in New England, and is often served as the fish option at weddings and other shindigs. It can be ordered at almost any seafood restaurant (sometimes, it’s made with cod), and is so melt-in-your-mouth yummy, it will be hard to go back to eating fish any other way!

New England baked haddock is perfect for when you want something pescatarian, but a little more soul-satisfying than your average light and healthy fish recipe.

It’s almost like fish meets casserole.

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This easy Chicken and Dumplings recipe is SO FAST AND EASY to make from scratch in only 30 minutes if you use rotisserie chicken and store-bought (or other pre-made) broth! It’s a fast, easy comfort food to make on busy nights. The fresh thyme in the perfectly fluffy dumplings sets it over the edge! The chicken and dumplings broth can be made thick and luscious like a gravy, or more thin like a soup depending on preference.

This, my friends, is comfort food at its finest. It has all the taste of chicken pot pie without the effort (because who has time to deal with a pie crust on a busy weeknight?).

Between the fluffy dumplings with a biscuit-like texture, the juicy, tender shredded chicken, and the creamy, thick broth, this easy chicken and dumplings recipe will have you and your whole family literally RUNNING to the dinner table!

In this post I’ll explain how to make this easy chicken and dumplings from scratch in only 30 minutes with a few simple shortcuts, and give my best tips and tricks for getting the fluffiest dumplings that still hold their shape!

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This Classic Shrimp and Grits recipe is SO easy, SO simple, and the ULTIMATE Southern comfort food. This traditional low country recipe uses bacon and is served with a simple sauce and uses stone-ground grits with cheese (but it’s easy to adapt to have no bacon, or other flavors and ingredients). And the whole thing only takes 30 minutes to make!

Shrimp and grits is a Southern staple. It originated in the Lowcountry of the South Carolina coast, during the season when shrimp were plentiful. It’s traditionally a breakfast dish, but I love it for a quick dinner.

Other Southern regions have developed their versions of shrimp and grits- for example, you can find blackened shrimp and grits in New Orleans with a creole/cajun spin.

In this version, the grits are cooked with milk, butter, and chicken broth, with cheese melted in at the end.

The shrimp is cooked in bacon fat and then mixed with a simple buttery sauce, then served on top of the grits with crumbled bacon and green onions. It’s so insanely delicious!

I love the simplicity of this recipe.

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This Instant Pot Split Pea Soup, made with a leftover ham bone (or any other ham), is a game-changer. The pressure cooker cuts the cooking time in half and imparts the flavor of the ham into every scrumptious bite. It’s so simple, but SO delicious. And it’s ridiculously easy to make!

What are split peas?

Dried split peas are part of a food group known as pulses, which include beans, chickpeas, peas, and lentils. I love cooking pulses in my pressure cooker because it takes such a short amount of time, meaning you can start it on a weeknight and have it ready in less than an hour for dinner. My last pressure cooker pulse creation was this Instant Pot Chili, made with dried kidney beans and ground beef.

I love cooking with split peas because they have many of the same health benefits as other pulses, but take a shorter time to cook and don’t require pre-soaking. And they are just so tasty!

And my favorite part about pulses: you get a lot of nutritional bang for your buck. They are one of the cheapest and healthiest foods out there- a whole 1lb.

...GET THE RECIPE for Instant Pot Split Pea Soup with Ham!

This Pan Fried Sea Bass with Lemon Garlic Herb Sauce is a 20 minute, one-pan, budget-friendly Mediterranean recipe that’s perfect on busy weeknights.

This Pan Fried Sea Bass recipe is a wonderful way to eat a mild, affordable* fish, and it’s packed with flavor from fresh oregano, thyme, and parsley. It’s especially great if you have an abundance of fresh herbs in your garden you need to use up! (raises hand)

* Sea bass can vary greatly in price depending on variety, location, and if it’s in season. Barramundi is a reliably affordable option and is what I used.

Originally, I was planning on doing a lemon caper sauce, similar to chicken piccata. But lo and behold, when I arrived at my refrigerator, I realized I was out of capers.

After some quick thinking and wandering around outside, I decided on a lemony, garlicky, fresh herb sauce instead.

SO happy I was out of capers. This turned out wonderfully!

How to Pan-Fry Sea Bass

If you’ve ever made chicken piccata before, the process for this is very similar. First, pat the fish dry.

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It’s a good thing I live in Texas, because I loveeee Mexican food. Is there anything better than enchiladas smothered in awesome sauce and lots of melty cheese? Answer: no.

But then, there are the sides. Ever since doing the Whole30 in the beginning of this year, I’ve been trying to stick to a Paleo(ish) diet. And unfortunately, the traditional rice and beans that so frequently are served with Mexican food do not fit the bill.

I needed a low-carb, veggie based side to serve with Mexican food.

This Roasted Mexican Inspired Zucchini blows away any Spanish rice I’ve ever had. It’s bursting with flavor- spicy, savory, and slightly smoky.

And it’s healthy, low carb, Paleo (if you don’t include the cheese), and a great alternative as a side to traditional rice and beans.

I want to talk about this cotija cheese for a minute, and cheese in general.

The Paleo diet does not allow for grains, legumes, dairy, or refined sugars. This, sadly, means no cheese. That is- if you are strict about it.

But doing the Whole30 taught me to recognize exactly which foods caused me distress- whether it was through indigestion/bloating, weight gain, mood swings, or decreased energy.

...GET THE RECIPE for Mexican Inspired Roasted Zucchini!

These Chocolate Coconut Energy Balls are naturally sweetened only with DATES, yet they taste sweet and decadent, similar to an almond joy.

They are the perfect paleo/whole30 friendly afternoon snack, and since they pack a huge nutritional punch, they’ll give you a great burst of energy!

Plus, they’re super easy to make.

If you follow my blog, you know that I’ve done a Whole30 challenge. These were the perfect little morsels to get me through the tough times.

For those of you unfamiliar with the program, the Whole30 is not just a diet. It’s supposed to help you form new habits, train your body to not crave the “bad-for-you” stuff, and hopefully pinpoint exactly what kinds of foods don’t work well with your body.

The Whole30 definitely helped me develop more healthy habits that I’ve continued to follow well past the program!

And these AMAZING energy balls as a midday snack are definitely one habit I can get on board with- I love keeping them in my fridge for a sweet treat without the guilt.

These delicious chocolate coconut energy balls are the perfect edible pick-me-up in the middle of the day, and are 100% Whole30 and Paleo approved.

...GET THE RECIPE for Chocolate Coconut Energy Balls (with Pecans and Dates)!

This crispy oven bbq chicken recipe uses only TWO INGREDIENTS –  barbecue sauce and chicken (plus a little olive oil, salt, and pepper) – to make the crispiest, most perfectly glazed, sweet, sticky, and juicy baked barbecue chicken you will ever have.

That’s right- only TWO INGREDIENTS! Your favorite BBQ sauce, and some chicken, along with a little oil, salt, and pepper.

And the other great thing- this recipe doesn’t require any marinating! You can just dive right in and cook it quickly.

There are a few tricks to getting the BEST, crispiest, juiciest oven bbq chicken with a thick, sticky, sweet glaze of bbq sauce on top. In this post, I’ll go over exactly how to make the best oven bbq chicken ever. There’s a reason why this recipe has been rated 5 stars by over 70 people and has been pinned almost 400K times!

What cut of chicken is best to use for oven bbq chicken?

For the juiciest, most tender oven bbq chicken, you’re definitely going to want to use bone-in, skin on chicken pieces for this.

...GET THE RECIPE for Two Ingredient Crispy Oven BBQ Chicken!

For a healthy pre- or post- workout snack, try these homemade energy bars with peanut butter, banana, and oats! Similar to granola bars, they’re easy to make with only 5 ingredients, and they’re high in protein, fiber, and healthy carbs to give you that boost of energy you need.

The other day, I had a cooking catastrophe in an attempt to make healthy “cookies.”

Well, catastrophe may be kind of a strong word. Because out of it was born these super tasty, super healthy peanut butter and banana energy bars with only 5 ingredients! Here’s the story.

I got it in my head that I wanted to be “healthy” even though I was craving a cookie something fierce.

So, I tried making those two-ingredient “cookies” you always see on Pinterest… you know, the ones made only from mashed bananas and oats?

I am telling you right now: bananas and oats do not a cookie make.

If you want a cookie, do NOT attempt this, whatever you do. To future Elizabeth: when you want cookies, just make them! With BUTTER. And FLOUR.

Like these spicy ginger date cookies.

...GET THE RECIPE for Peanut Butter and Banana Energy Bars!

Chicken Salad with Grapes is a classic! This version has walnuts (or pecans) for an added crunch. It has a great sweet and salty flavor, a crunchy texture, and the pop of those sweet grapes with everything? SO good. I like making this in bulk for lunches all week, served on a sandwich or scooped on a bed of greens, or even with crackers as a snack. It might just be the most perfect chicken salad in the world. And it’s easy to make it mayo-free by using sour cream or Greek yogurt instead!

If you’ve never tried chicken salad with grapes before, now’s the time my friend. You’ll never go back!

On the weekend, I like cooking up a whole chicken in my slow cooker. Then I use half of the the meat for a dinner, like chicken and dumplings, and I ALWAYS make this chicken salad with the rest of the meat.

For this chicken salad recipe, you can use mayonnaise, sour cream, or a mixture of both for the base. Or even Greek yogurt!

And there’s a secret here to making the best chicken salad – shred, don’t chop the chicken.

...GET THE RECIPE for Chicken Salad with Grapes and Walnuts!