Skinnytaste Black Bean, Tomato, Cucumber and Avocado Salad

I am desperate for summer side dish ideas.  Skinnytaste.com has a lot of them and I tried one last night to serve with sloppy joe leftovers.  This salad is pretty much 100% healthy, DELICIOUS and so fresh tasting.  It's going to be my new go-to side salad all summer.  YAY for fresh veggies!

Pioneer Woman Sloppy Joes

These sloppy joes are delicious!  They are easy and fast and have a lot of flavor.  The best part about them is the bun being toasted with butter because it holds the meat in better and the sandwiches don't get soggy like normal sloppy joes do.  I will never again eat a sloppy joe without my bun toasted with butter.  Thanks for another genius idea, PW!  I didn't put the option Tabasco sauce in mine, but I did use Worcester sauce for the first time EVER.  And let me tell you... I loved it.  It really added a great flavor to the meat.  I topped ours with a huge slice of cheddar.  I can't wait for leftovers tonight!

spicy burgers with chipotle cream.

I made THESE delicious burgers last night.  They are super easy to make and FULL of flavor.  Everyone said they were "amazing".  I will definitely make these again.  I served them with tomatoes and avocado on top.  I couldn't find poblano chiles at the store, so I used another kind.  I think any medium heat pepper will work.  Make these at your next BBQ!

a favorite.

I made this mozzarella, tomato, basil pasta al forno again.  I love it.  Use only 2 Ts of Italian seasoning, though. YUMMY!

Pioneer Woman's Eggs Florentine Casserole

This Eggs Florentine Casserole was the perfect menu item for Mother's Day brunch.  My mom doesn't like bacon or sausage, so I used cut up ham slices and I think it was delightful that way!  I may have used more cheese than was called for - because extra cheese makes everything better.  I've made this recipe twice now -- and ham is better than sausage on it.  It's really easy and fast to make, too.  Crowd pleaser!

Pioneer Woman's Tomato Cream Pasta

I made this delicious pasta from Pioneer Woman over the weekend.  It is extremely easy to throw together & is quite yummy.

HERE is the recipe link.  I served it with French bread.  It would be really good with steak.

Happy spring & summer cooking!

Pioneer Woman's Lasagna

I made this lasagna again!  I don't usually make recipes twice but this one is too good not to.  I made it the day before when I had nothing to do and then baked it the next day.  Delicious and amazing.

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Parmesan

This recipe from Pioneer Woman is very easy to make and the sauce is from scratch, which always tastes better.  This was the closest to restaurant-style chicken parm as I've ever made.  I loved it, and so did my husband.  I highly recommend it for the chicken parm lover.  YUM!

Pioneer Woman's Citrus Butter Cookies.

In addition to a carrot cake, I wanted to make something else springlike and delicious.  These cookies weren't as good as I had hoped they'd be but everyone else really complimented them and they were all eaten up.  I think they're really pretty with all the citrus zest in them.  I'd make them again but they weren't as delightful on my taste buds as I'd expected.

Here is the recipe!

pioneer woman's carrot cake.

I made this cake for Easter.  It was very easy to make and turned out really well.  Next time I wouldn't use as many pecans in the frosting.  I put a few chocolate chips around the top to make it look better, but I don't think they added much to the looks.  Here is the recipe!