Farmhouse Winter Veggie Beef Instant Pot Soup

 Boost nutrition while warming up from the inside out with my Farmhouse Winter Veggie Beef Instant Pot Soup – all in about 40 minutes! In the winter months, I absolutely love coming home from a long run or day’s work to a comforting, soul-soothing pot of soup, stew or chili. However, so many of my old family recipes take hours upon hours to complete — ain’t nobody got time for a slow-simmer these days!

 Farmhouse Winter Veggie Beef Instant Pot Soup

Farmhouse Winter Veggie Beef Instant Pot Soup uses the Instant Pot to cook quickly under pressure and replicate the deep, rich flavor of those traditional all-day dishes our grandmothers, mothers and other matriarchs so lovingly made. Read on to get all the details and full recipe:

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Nuts for Chocolate Mountain Trail Mix

Time to hit the trail .  . . trail mix, that is! August 31st is National Trail Mix Day and I’d bet my last nut that you’re as hungry to celebrate this salty-sweet day as me!

Nuts About Chocolate Mountain Trail Mix

I’m sharing some past trail mix inspired recipes (think cups and bars) along with a more traditional, but oh-so-insanely good jumble of nuts, dried fruit and chocolate things that I call the Nuts About Chocolate Mountain Trail Mix. Continue reading

Shredded Chicken & Roasted Veggie Meal Prep – 4 recipes, 16 meals

Set aside part of Sunday, or any day really, to meal prep my Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken that can be used in the four recipes that I share in this post — its an economical and convenient way to set yourself up for success on your health, fitness or weight-loss journey.

Shredded Chicken & Roasted Veggie Meal Prep - 1 protein, 4 recipes, 16 meals

The slow-cooker chicken is spread divided up to make 4 different recipes covering breakfast, lunch and dinner — that means you can stock your fridge with 16 individually-portioned meals than can be enjoyed throughout the week or frozen for use later.  Read on to get the shopping list, recipes and execution strategy.  Continue reading

Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken – Meal Prep Winner!

Sure, you can slow cook chicken breasts with just two ingredients, chicken and water. It’s fine, it’s no-frills and it does yield a protein that is, ahem, serviceable to the body (but less so to the taste buds). However, my recipe for Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken is soooo much more flavorful, with really not any significant additional effort.

Honey Garlic Slow Cooker Shredded Chicken

While ever-so-slightly sweet and gar-lip-licking good, the seasonings are still mild enough to make this easy Crock Pot chicken recipe versatile enough for a myriad of meal prep plans. Read on to get all the easy-peasy details. Continue reading

How to Roast, Grill, Microwave & Slow Cook a Sweet Potato + Recipes

When I found out that today (February 22nd) was National Cook a Sweet Potato Day, I got really excited. It’s about time this delicious, nutrient-packed tuber got some attention other than in November. Packed with healthy carbs, fiber, vitamins, minerals and other important nutrients, sweet potatoes are perfect for your plate year ‘round. With at least 16 varieties grown in the U.S., including one of my favorites, the Stokes Purple Sweet Potato, I can’t imagine ever get tired of this vibrant veggie.How to Cook a Sweet Potato

Bake, microwave, roast, saute, grill, fry and boil are just some of the ways to cook a sweet potato. Eat them “as-is” with simple seasons or mash flesh to use as an ingredient in soups, side dishes, smoothies, baked goods and more.  So, are you wondering just exactly how to COOK a SWEET POTATO? Read on the find out the basic methods and get some of my favorite recipes:  Continue reading