Homemade Cinnamon Ice Cream

+ Cinnamon Ice Cream Whisky Shooters!

My goodness, friends. That weekend? A blur. Is it over already? Where did it go? I feel like I've been going non-stop since Friday.

I know I say that every weekend, but this weekend was something else! What happened this weekend? Here goes!

Friday- The hubby and I had to drive to Columbus to meet with a neurosurgeon about my back. We got a speeding ticket on the way up. We cursed the holiday weekend and powered on to meet with the doctor. I really liked the doctor I met with, he was very professional and a lot of his patients are athletes. After studying my MRI, he's not sure if the problem is with my joint or with the actual disc. He agreed injections into the joint were the best place to start, or at least the least invasive choice. Twas' a good appointment and the hubby and I headed for home. We grabbed some sushi from Kroger, scarfed it down, and headed out to visit with the hubby's family. A little too much red wine was enjoyed, and we returned home around midnight.

25 Side Dishes

Hey hey! We've got a holiday weekend coming up y'all!

The Memorial Day Holiday weekend is upon us. I don't know about you, but ever since we moved to Kentucky, Memorial Day has been spent with the hubby's family. The hubby's cousin and his wife drive in from out of town, and we all gather together for a family barbecue. This time, the hubby's cousin and his wife are bringing their new baby girl for everyone to meet! We are excited. The weekend is promising to be very sunny, right now they are forecasting a high of 90º. Whew! Good thing the hubby's-cousin's-wife's-mother (whose house we party at) has a pool. The pool is the best part of the get-together, at least as far as all the nieces and nephews are concerned :-)

Slow Cooker Salsa Verde Chicken Tacos

Fire up those slow cookers y'all!

There's so many things to love about this recipe. For one, you make it in the slow cooker. One of my absolute favorite cooking methods. Especially for things like taco meat. Two chicken breasts in the slow cooker kept me and the hubby fed for 4 days. If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have invented another recipe with the taco meat. As life would have it though, I devoured tacos for 4 straight days. 

It. Was. Glorious!

There's nothing better than savory shredded chicken, piled high with creamy avocado and cheddar cheese, all topped with a cool, crisp salsa verde and tucked neatly in a fresh corn tortilla. This is taco heaven! :-)

Lemony Lemon Cupcakes

Pen... and paper.

Cookies... and milk.

Socks... and shoes.

Peanut butter... and jelly.

Lighting... and thunder.

Spring... and LEMON!

I'm not sure why but when I think of spring foods, I think of lemons. I don't know what it is, March hits and all the sudden I want lemon bars stuffed with sweet homemade lemon curd. Ice-cold lemonades flavored with fragrant berries and aromatic mint. Moist, delicious lemon cakes slathered with a delectably tart and creamy frosting... 

Yes, yes, and YES!

Recipe Redux: Tomato Cucumber & Mozzarella Salad

Time for this month's Recipe Redux! Truth be told, I've been dying to "redux" this recipe for awhile. It's one of my most popular "old" recipes and one that I make a ton of during the summer. This truly is a summer salad, as there are only 5 ingredients consisting of tomatoes, cucumbers, mozzarella chunks, lime juice, and olive oil. Well, I guess there's also salt and pepper but do people really count those as ingredients? I'm not sure... Anyways, when you are making a simple recipe, the ingredients you use really need to shine. And shine they do in this awesome, yet uncomplicated side dish. 

Cherry Berry Power Smoothies

Let's talk smoothies.

I don't post a lot of smoothies. In my mind, they could be considered one of those things that doesn't even need a recipe. I always tend to hesitantly publish smoothie recipes, bracing myself for anyone that might comment that smoothies are hardly recipes. People do make those comments! Just the other day, (no names, y'all) a blogger posted a strawberry parfait that really was just strawberries layered with piped whipped cream, and someone left a comment on her post saying "Um, when did strawberries and whipped cream become a recipe?". I hate seeing comments like that. I mean, for one, even if I was thinking that myself, I would never say it. We all work way too hard on posts to be harassed by mean-spirited comments. And two, I started wondering if people thought that about my recipes.

It's a slippery slope. 

Garlic & Herb Roasted Salmon

Salmon!

Oh my gosh you guys. I finally found some acceptable salmon. FINALLY! Oh, it feels like it's been way too long. I used to eat salmon once a week, and now, for the last 5 years, I feel like I have salmon once a blue moon. Until now!

Last time I was at Sam's (you must be thinking, 'Does this girl live at Sam's?') I was perusing the frozen seafood section. I always do, just wishing and hoping they'll have something new. My persistence paid off when I spotted some frozen wild-caught Alaskan salmon fillets. Alarm bells went off in my head. My heart exploded with happiness as I eagerly loaded a big bag into my cart. Just what I'd been waiting for.

Fresh Salsa Verde

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Those that have been following the blog for awhile know that Mexican food is my favorite! I can't help it, I love those fresh flavors. Tomatoes and peppers and cilantro, oh my! And Mexican chip-dippers are one of my specialties. Salsa has been one of my favorite snacks since I was a kid. There were years where I snacked on chips and salsa every day. I'm not even kidding you. This lasted through college (there were classes all I could think about was salsa, but that's another issue entirely), and years after. Sometimes I take short breaks from salsa, but they never stick. Last summer, I ate guacamole almost every day from June until October. This summer however, I have a feeling it's going to be all about the Salsa Verde.

Soft & Chewy Salted Chocolate Chip Cookies

aka The BEST Chocolate Chip Cookies ever!

I told you they were coming. Let's kick off May recipes with a bang! A little chew. Lots of chocolate. And just the tiniest, tastiest smattering of salt. These cookies will rock your world!

I'm not kidding. These are famous at the hubby's work. In fact, when their Spring project started at his office, people who'd been there before and had these cookies requested them. People had heard about them. This tickles me to no end!

April, Abbreviated: 2016

It's May, you guys. How is it May? Almost half the year is gone already! On the plus side... it will be summer soon. Outside, the trees all have leaves or are actively growing new ones, the weeds have bloomed, the wasps are out *grumbles*, and we are on the cusp of humidity here in NE Kentucky. Yes, it is currently that short, maybe 2-week period we have here where the weather is warm and sunny, but the humidity is low. Because when the humidity kicks in, whew, it's tough to be outside in the afternoon. The garden is growing by leaps and bounds, to my delight. It also appears our bees have decided to stay. What I can I say? April kicked ass. Let's summarize the whirlwind that was last month-