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All Recipes

Whether you’re looking for recipes for your next date night, brunch, party, or dinner tonight, you’ll be able to find something right here. This category features all of our recipes, rolled up in one, easy location. We cover everything from breakfast to brunch, dinner to dessert, vegetarians to carnivores, and red meat to poultry. Our recipes are budget, family, living-on-your-own friendly and easy to make! We’ve made every recipe featured here and our posts will let you know how we liked the dish. Let’s be honest, we’ve loved pretty much everything. Leave a comment if you have one. If you’re looking for something more specific use our search bar or check out one of our niche categories. Thanks for stopping by, hope to have you back soon!

All Recipes/ Lunch and Dinner

Meatball Pizza

May 3, 2023
Meatball Pizza

A previous version of this post for Meatball Pizza was published in July 2012. We added some word content as this was just a picture post — not sure what we were doing in 2012, ha! In the first few years of living together after college, Fatima and I lived on meatballs and pasta, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and cereal. Not only were we busy with work, we were just…

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All Recipes/ Comfort Food/ Side Dishes

Food to Eat After Oral Surgery

April 26, 2023
Authentic French Toast

I just had my wisdom teeth removed. On the oral surgery scale, it’s like the least troublesome. But any small disruption in my daily routine is like the end of the world haha. I knew that I’d be limited to certain foods in recovery, so I planned my surgery in an off time of the year; between holidays and right before summer. Once I got through the first few days,…

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All Recipes/ Comfort Food/ Lunch and Dinner

Cheesy Gordita Tacos

April 19, 2023

We love a taco night. Who doesn’t? Fatima and I had one of those weeks where we wanted the best, dirty-delicious takeout food. We were stressed, our kids were sick, and all we wanted was Smashburger, Taco Bell, nachos, and every fried blooming onion I could find. Instead, Fatima whipped up these cheesy gordita tacos to keep our cravings at bay. If you don’t know, you buy cheesy gordita tacos…

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All Recipes/ Birthday

Blair’s First Birthday

March 1, 2023
blair's first birthday

We cannot believe Blair is now a toddler! It truly feels like yesterday we were just bringing him home from the hospital. Alas, here we are; newborn-less and two kids chasing each other around the house. Here’s a look at Blair’s First Birthday! It is so unlike me to not take photos. I was so busy setting up and then having fun, I forgot to capture our decorations in the…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert

Christmas Cookies

December 21, 2022
Christmas Cookies

Around Christmas every year, we’d have my Nana bring her box of handwritten recipes to our house and we’d bake all sorts of things for everyone in my family. Christmas cookies, fudgy bars, pies; if sugar was the first ingredient, we baked it. I had my parents over a few weekends ago to do the same. It brought back so many fun memories. I am happy to continue this tradition…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert/ DIY/ Gift Guides/ Side Dishes/ Valentine's Day

DIY Gift: Cookie Jar

December 21, 2022
Cookie Jar

A previous version of this post for DIY Cookie Jar was published in February 2013. We took new photos and adjusted the recipe. Valentine’s Day (and the week leading up to it) gives us a sweet excuse to make delicious treats.  This DIY cookie jar is a perfect gift to hand out to your friends and loved ones. Although Fatima and I would love to hand out jars of MarquisRitas, we…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Christmas/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert

Easy and Delicious Homemade Peanut Butter Blossoms Recipe

December 12, 2022
peanut butter blossoms

A previous version of this post for Peanut Butter Blossoms was published in December 2012. We took new photos and adjusted the recipe. Peanut Butter Blossoms are a timeless cookie that has been enjoyed by generations. They’re easy to make and require no fancy ingredients, making them a perfect recipe for beginner bakers. One of my favorite flavors, as you are well aware, is peanut butter.  What better way to…

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#LoveSummer/ All Recipes/ Breakfast and Brunch/ Celebrations/ Christmas

Authentic French Toast

December 7, 2022
Authentic French Toast

A previous version of this post for Authentic French Toast was published in May 2013. We updated the recipe with new photos. For Mother’s Day Fatima and I made a delicious breakfast for my mom.  She only had a few requests for the menu, one of them being french toast.  I love french toast.  Rather than making the same egg mixture for her, I wanted to try something new.  Enter Martha…

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All Recipes/ Dad Bakes Cookies/ Dessert

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

November 23, 2022
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

A previous version of this post for Chocolate Chip Cookies was published in June 2014. We took new photos and updated the recipe. Have you ever had some Pot Belly chocolate chip oatmeal cookies? Wow. Just wow. Soft, warm, and delicious. Not that our recipe would replace the real thing, I think I got this recipe close to Pot Belly’s. When we made our large chewy chocolate chip cookies, I thought they tasted…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Lunch and Dinner/ Thanksgiving/ Vegetarian

Thanksgiving Baked Ziti

November 20, 2022
Thanksgiving Baked Ziti

What makes this a Thanksgiving baked ziti? I make ziti for Thanksgiving. With a handful of vegetarians in my family, I need to find other mains for the plate that aren’t just vegetables. So we get Thanksgiving baked ziti. What I love most about mid-to-late November is bringing my family together and cooking for them. I enjoy putting together a family dinner. I show you that I love you when…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Lunch and Dinner/ Thanksgiving

Parmesan Mashed Potatoes: Cooking Through Cravings

November 16, 2022
parmesan mashed potatoes

I don’t make mashed potatoes often. I usually make them with a few select meals like parmesan chicken, Thanksgiving dinner, and as the star in these mashed potato bowls. When we bought Chrissy Teigen’s latest cookbook, these parmesan mashed potatoes were one of the first things we tried. We made these for the first time on Thanksgiving last year! Did we take these photos almost a year ago? Yes. This…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Comfort Food/ Thanksgiving

Sheet Pan Cornbread

November 10, 2022
cornbread

Brian bakes his cookies, and I bake cornbread. It is a staple side at our Thanksgiving. However, I don’t limit it to November. I bake cornbread all year. I make muffins and sheet pan cornbread. While I love making muffins, and those are easier for Liam to help make, I prefer a sheet. When I start my Thanksgiving shopping, four or six boxes of Jiffy mix are some of the…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Thanksgiving/ Vegetarian

Spicy Honey Butter Glazed Carrots: Cooking Through Cravings

November 8, 2022
glazed carrots

I had to introduce more vegetables to my Thanksgiving spread. We make brussel sprouts way too often, and I needed a vegetable that wasn’t spinach or kale. Carrots were my first thought, but they’re also our least favorite vegetable. So a flip through Cravings, led me to these spicy honey-butter glazed carrots. I did not make nearly as many carrots as the recipe. Like I said, cooked carrots are our least…

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All Recipes/ Celebrations/ Lunch and Dinner/ Thanksgiving/ Vegetarian

Collard Greens

November 4, 2022
collard greens

A few years ago I decided to make collard greens for Thanksgiving. It had been a while since we had greens at our family dinner, and I had never made them before. For my first experience, it was quite the process. Now, I prep and cook those collard greens in no time. There was one year I looked at the Thanksgiving spread and thought, “There is nothing green here. Just…

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