It’s summer, and people are out fishing on the lake like crazy. This means the ever popular Friday Night Fish Fry is more popular than ever. I love a good fish fry, but occasionally I aim towards the healthier side of life. This means the fish should be baked instead. However, the problem with baking fish is that the fillets sometimes lose their crunchiness. This lack of crunch was a problem that I definitely wanted to solve, and as those of you who have been keeping up with my blog know, this means that I naturally reached for the panko. I realized that if I could crust chicken in panko before baking it, there was no reason that I couldn’t dredge fish in a similar manner.

I changed my dredging process a little though and decided to stick with an abundance of butter since fish tastes delicious with butter. Realistically, this baking technique could be done with any seasoning of choice, but I have found that it is AMAZING with a Cajun seasoning. The mixture of the butter flavoring with the zing of the Cajun seasoning packs a power punch of flavors that makes the fish good enough to eat without dipping it in sauce or adding anything else to it. This recipe makes up six bluegill fillets, but can easily be doubled or cut for larger and smaller serving sizes. I love that this recipe is so easy, and it’s quickly becoming one of my favorite options for a quick lunch during the weekend. 

6 fillets Bluegill

¾ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

1 tsp Cajun Seasoning (or other seasoning of choice)

½ stick Butter (melted)

1. The first step to take when baking bluegill is to set up the dredging station. To do this you need a plate for your bread crumbs and a bowl large enough to fit the fillets into. Start by mixing the panko bread crumbs and the seasoning of choice together. Pour the panko onto the plate and the seasoning into the crumbs. Then, using a fork, combine the two ingredients together and set it aside. 

2. Next, melt the butter in the microwave. Let the butter cool a little before you start the dredging process. This works better if the butter isn’t extremely hot. Once the butter has come down to room temperature, it is time to give the fillets a bath. The goal is to get a nice buttery taste with every bite, so I mean it, soak the bluegill entirely in butter and let it set in the bath for at least a minute, if not two or three. 

3. Quickly remove the fillet when taking it out of the butter bath, being careful not to let too much butter drip off of it while you are moving it to the next step in the dredging station, the panko. 

4. When applying the panko to the fillet, I’ve found this works easiest if you set the fish fillet down on the top of the panko pile, and then use your fingers to scoop generous portions of the panko crumbs over the top of the fish until it is buried.

After the fillet has been buried, take it out gently, again being careful not to let too much excess fall off. You need to make sure that your fish is staying coated for ultimate flavor and crunchiness. 

5. Once the fish has been dredged in both the butter bath and the panko station, transfer it to a greased cookie sheet. The cookie sheet should only have a slight sheen of grease on it. If you over grease it, the excess butter/oil will cause the fish to brown too much.

Kitchen Tip: Set the fillets scale side down on the pan when it is cooking. The bottom of the fillet will brown more, and for presentation purposes, it is ideal to have the nicer side of the fillet facing upwards to get the perfect golden brown crust. 

6. After all of the fillets are on the cookie sheet it is time to bake them. Bake them for 15-16 minutes at 350 degrees, or until the insides are white and flaky.  Then, broil them for another 2 minutes to make the skin extra crispy.

While this dish does have a lot of butter in it, I am still so happy to have found a baked fish recipe that retains the same delicious crunch that a fish fry would normally give. I hope you enjoy this healthier substitute! 

Looking for a great side with this dish? Try out my Guacamole recipe!

“Soup’s On!” was the phrase my mom used to yell out whenever dinner was on the table and ready to eat. It didn’t matter if we were actually having soup or not, it was just what you said when dinner was done. My own cooking journey started from a very young age when my mom started both my sister and I off with the ABC Cookbook, which contained a different recipe for each letter of the alphabet. This book allowed the three of us to have a fun time in the kitchen together. It wasn’t actually this cookbook that made me fall in love with cooking though, that came later. 

As we grew older my parents continued our culinary education by requiring us to do small tasks in the kitchen. It was never anything super challenging at first, but I can still remember standing on my turtle-shaped step stool after school in order to be able to reach the stove top. It was usually my job to stir whatever was in the pot and make sure it wasn’t burning or sticking to the bottom. Gradually these tasks increased, and by the time I had reached fifth grade I was so glad that I lived in a cooking household. 

I had always battled with my stomach, particularly in the mornings. When I was very little the doctors all decided I was lactose intolerant and told me to avoid dairy, so I did. However, that didn’t fix the problem. I continued to get terrible stomach aches after meals, and when I was in fourth grade I had such continual morning sickness that one morning I got sick on the school bus, the bus driver dropped me off on the side of the road and I had to find a different way of getting to school from that day forward. After that day I started to get tested to see if there was something else wrong, and the doctors finally figured it out. I had never been lactose intolerant, I was fructose intolerant. The reason I was sick most mornings was because like most children, my favorite breakfast foods were pop tarts and sugary cereals, both of which were usually loaded with high fructose corn syrup. 

After my diagnosis, life became a lot better. Being in a family that already enjoyed cooking, now we really amped it up. We started figuring out how to make more things homemade, such as bread, and salsa, and many types of soups. For items that we didn’t make homemade, we started label-checking instead. We checked labels of pasta sauces and canned goods, and we figured out how to cook on an even deeper level. This was the point where my interest in cooking increased, because now cooking wasn’t only about making a quality meal, but it was about making a quality lifestyle.

The summer after being proclaimed fructose intolerant, I started cooking one dinner per week. I would pick a new recipe each week, add my ingredients to the grocery list, and make the entire meal under my mom’s supervision instead of just helping with the simple small tasks. The Christmas after, the main item on my list was my own set of pots and pans, a set that I still own and use today. My mom continued to guide me and help me out, and I grew from following a recipe to instead looking at recipes as a base and then changing them into my own creation following my own taste preferences, typically figuring out how I could add a layer of spice and zip to it. 

My growing skillset became really important to me during my freshman year of high school. That year, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer. During the chemotherapy treatments my mom would be so sick that she would be confined to her bed. My dad was both working and taking care of my mom when he got home, so the kitchen became my domain. During this time, I was able to make quality meals for both my dad and I to enjoy, and even though people sometimes offered to bring meals over for us, we didn’t have to rely on anyone to get by. I was able to take on the household responsibility and still keep my fructose intolerance under control. 

It wasn’t until college though that I became truly grateful for the skills that life had forced me to acquire. I was one month into my college education and I became sick. Not just a little sick, but going to the emergency room sickness that was not under control. It turns out that eating the college cafeteria food for one month straight was having a terrible effect on me. I don’t think it comes as any surprise that this food would have fructose in it, but when I was living in a dorm and adjusting to college life I didn’t think about using the one tiny kitchen that was in the basement of the entire building. After a $500 emergency room visit, I had had enough. I started cooking at least two meals per week and made sure that there were leftovers from those meals that I could use as lunches. I still had to rely on the cafeteria a little, but I could cut down on my visits in order to make sure that I was staying healthy. 

After college I have continued experimenting and creating new recipes of my own. When I have a stressful day at work I start thinking about what I can cook at home to decompress. Nothing takes the stress away quite like chopping veggies, and eating a delicious meal as a product of my own time in the kitchen. This blog will focus on all of my favorite recipes. While the recipes may not always be the food of “health nuts,” I will always do my best to keep them low on fructose. I can’t use the words “fructose free” because many foods contain natural fructose in them. To cook without any fructose would mean no tomatoes, no onions, no strawberries, and many other delicious foods. Everyone is different. To me, I can live a happy and healthy lifestyle if I am sure that I am avoiding the worst of the processed sugars, but other people need to stray away from all fructose. If you are looking for a blog with feel good comfort food that strays away from processed food, then look no farther. 

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It’s time to talk about one of my favorite ingredients in the entire world – cheese. Living in Wisconsin, cheese is a staple that is always kept in the house, and is present in some form or fashion in almost every single dinner we eat. Most often, this is cheddar cheese, but pepper jack, monterey jack, and mozzarella are frequently used as well. 

Because of the standard that cheese is held to in my state, I have had plenty of experience working with it. However, my new once per week homemade pizza tradition has led me to approaching the ingredient in a new way.

Before this summer, I would always stock up on pre-shredded cheeses. Since I use it so frequently, I would even keep a few bags frozen to make sure that I was prepared for all meals. My pizza experiments were giving me inspiration though. Everything about them was avoiding processed foods. The dough was homemade, the sauce was homemade, the meats were bought at the butcher store and made up by me, but my cheese was coming straight out of a bag that I bought at the grocery store. 

Luckily, my parents were coming up to visit me, and as always, they were going to be stopping at their local cheese factory on the way up. They called to ask me if I wanted anything from the factory, and I decided it was time to start using block cheese instead of pre-shredded. 

The night they arrived, I made up a buffalo chicken pizza, using the cheese they had brought for me, and I was blown away by the difference! Shredding my own cheese from a block created a way better pizza topping. The cheese had a perfectly gooey, melty texture. 

I started to do some research on what would create this difference. It turns out that pre-shredded cheese packages have additives in them that prevent the cheese from clumping together and becoming sticky. These same additives make the melting point of the cheese change, creating a less desirable outcome. Check out the difference between the two pizzas pictured below.

Buffalo Chicken Pizza using cheddar and mozzarella cheese shredded from blocks. Classic Pizza using pre-shredded cheddar and mozzarella cheese

After this comparison, I was mostly convinced and planned on buying block cheese instead of pre-shredded in the future. However, before I completely made up my mind and went on a stock up shopping trip, I did what I usually do when making a decision – I made a pro and con list. 

-It melts easier, and creates a better consistency when it is melted. (This was the big winner for me)

-It is easier to store in bulk since blocks can stack and take up less space per ounce.

-While it is sealed, it lasts longer without needing to be frozen.

-In most cases it is a couple of cents cheaper per ounce. Not much, but hey, everything adds up over time.

-Even when it isn’t melted, the texture of the cheese is unaltered versus the semi hard texture that pre-shredded cheese ends up getting. 

-Overall, there are less additives put into a block than a pre-shredded bag. 

-You can only shred what you need at the time. If you shred extra, it ends up clumping together since it doesn’t have the anti-clumping additives. 

-It takes time and work to shred it yourself and clean the mess up.

-Some cheeses, like cheddar, become slightly greasy without the additives stopping the grease.

After making a pro and con list, it was easy to see what the pizzas alone told me. There were definitely more pros to using block cheese than there were cons. While I may still occasionally have to buy pre-shredded cheese in a pinch, block cheese has won the war of the cheeses and will be my stock up item from this point forward.

Meatloaf is a dish that has a notoriously bad reputation, especially from picky eaters. I know every cook makes the comment, “But my meatloaf is different,” and usually it’s not… With that being said, I promise my meatloaf recipe is different! The keys to delicious, non-boring meatloaf are three things: using a mixture of pork and beef, using bread slices instead of dried breadcrumbs, and not being afraid to use some seasoning. Let’s be honest, meatloaf mostly gets a bad reputation because of accusations of being dry and bland. In my recipe, the addition of pork adds some grease and moisture, the bread slices take away less moisture than breadcrumbs, and the seasonings give the dish some actual flavor. 

1 lb Ground Beef

½ lb Ground Pork

4 medium Slices of Bread (White or wheat bread is fine, but avoid bread with excess seeds or grains.)

1 cup Milk

1 Egg

1 tsp Onion Powder

1 ¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Celery Salt

¼ tsp Garlic Powder

¼ tsp Ground Mustard

¼ tsp Sage

1 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce

1 tbsp Lemon juice

¼ tsp Hot Sauce

1. Use a large fork, mixing tool, or your hands to combine the two meats together.

Kitchen Tip: My preferred tool to make this dish is the Pampered Chef Mix ‘N Chop. Nothing seems to work better than it. 

2. Mix all the liquids, the beaten egg, and the seasoning together with a whisk. 

3. Pour the liquid mix into the combined meats. 

Kitchen Tip: It will seem like there is a lot of excess liquid as it is first being combined, but the bread is going to end up soaking it up in the next step. Don’t panic if it doesn’t seem like the meats and liquids aren’t combining.

4. Rip the four slices of bread into small pieces. The pieces should be slightly smaller than an inch. 

Kitchen Tip: Unfortunately, for the next step, you will need to get your hands dirty. No tool will do this next part as well as your own hands. If this concept bothers you, I recommend always having some cooking gloves stored in your cabinets.

5. Use your hands to combine the bread with the liquid and meat. The ingredients should be able to be shaped into one solid ball by the time you are done. 

6. Put the ball into a loaf pan (do not grease the pan) and spread it out evenly. 

7. Bake at 350 degrees for 90 minutes

Very Important Kitchen Tip: If you have an oven that has the option for convection baking, DO NOT USE IT. In order to have a nice and juicy meatloaf that isn’t dried out, you will want to put your oven on regular bake instead. If your oven is only a convection oven, I recommend checking it after only 60 minutes. The internal temperature should be 160 degrees. Pictured below are two different meatloafs I have made. The picture on the left is done with standard baking for 90 minutes. The picture on the right is an example when I accidentally started using convection bake. I remembered after the first 25 minutes and switched it to regular baking mode, but I still had to pull the meatloaf out of the oven 75 minutes because of the accident I made at the beginning of the baking process. Personally, I don’t prefer the crispy edges on a meatloaf that a convection oven creates. 

8. Let the meatloaf sit in the pan for 10 minutes before taking it out and cutting. Otherwise it will fall apart when you try to move it to a platter.

If you have never made a meatloaf, and are still feeling skeptical of this dish, I totally understand. It’s hard to overcome the reputation certain foods have earned over the years, but if you want to try it and see, I don’t think you will be disappointed! I recommend two different types of toppings if you are serving it, either ketchup or gravy. Usually I use ketchup because the meatloaf doesn’t always produce enough drippings to make a gravy, but sometimes I will make a Slow Cooker Roast early in the week, make gravy with that, and then make meatloaf a couple of days later to use up the gravy. Either way, it is delicious with a side of mashed potatoes! 

2024 is the year that Cole and I discovered the joy and wonder of Crumbl Cookies. Every Monday, I look at the weekly menu, and if there is a cookie both Cole and I want, we stop on Thursday before going to our D&D session. This means we go to Crumbl about once a week. It is rare for a weekly menu to disappoint us. Crumbl is always delicious, but last week, I had the most exceptional cookie of all time: a hazelnut sea salt cookie. It was perfection. Since their menu is only a weekly thing, this left me with no idea when I would next get this amazing cookie, so I decided to try and replicate it myself. The additional benefit of making these cookies at home is that each one comes in at 300 calories per cookie instead of the 700+ per cookie that Crumbl provides. Now, don’t get me wrong, these homemade cookies are still huge, and not healthy, but there is a little less guilt involved, and they are way cheaper to make at home too. 

*This recipe makes 15 extra large cookies

*Special Tools Required: 3 inch biscuit cutter or circular cookie cutter and a rolling pin

¾ cup Granulated Sugar

¾ cup Brown Sugar

1 cup Softened Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

1 Egg

2 ¼ cup Flour

1 tsp Baking Soda

½ tsp Salt

½ tsp Cinnamon

½ tsp Nutmeg

7 ½ tbsp Nutella

Sea Salt for sprinkling

1. Cream the sugars, softened butter, vanilla, and egg together. 

2. Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg until the cookie dough is combined. 

3. Sprinkle flour on the counter, use floured hands to form the dough into a large ball, then use a rolling pin to roll the dough into an ⅛ to a ¼ inch thick layer. 

4. Use a 3 inch biscuit cutter to cut circles into the dough. Repeat steps 3 and 4 until all of the dough is used up. This should be enough for 30 circles. 

5. Lay out 15 of the circles on either parchment lined cookie sheets or on baking stones. They will get even larger while cooking, so make sure to leave at least an inch between each one for plenty of baking space. 

6. Use a ½ tbsp measuring spoon to scoop a dollop of Nutella in the middle of each circle. This will not look like much, but do not add extra. If too much Nutella is placed, the cookie won’t seal.

7. Place the other 15 circles on top of the Nutella layer. DO NOT SQUISH DOWN! Lightly seal the edges together to avoid Nutella seeping out during the baking process. 

8. Sprinkle each cookie with a dash of sea salt. 

9. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and cook for 14 minutes. 

Kitchen Tip: Let the cookies rest for at least 20 minutes before trying to move them. They will be very soft, so if you try to move them too early, they will crack and the Nutella will spill out. 

If you are looking for a unique cookie to serve, this should be your go to recipe! The Nutella in the middle is a delicious surprise to what looks like a normal cookie! The only con of this recipe is it only makes 15 cookies since they are large, but you can always double the recipe if you want more!

I love eating pasta, and I know many families use pasta as a protein-free-night to cut down on the grocery bill; however, I’ve found that protein-free-pasta-night always leaves me hungry and snacking a couple hours later. I am a very frugal person though, so I get the appeal of cutting down on the grocery bill. For this reason, I created my Large Batch Homemade Meatball recipe as a way to have a meal with lots of leftovers, even leaving enough meatballs to freeze for another week in the future. This recipe makes about 45 meatballs. Cole and I have typically found that five meatballs is enough to add some substance to spaghetti night, meaning this meal can serve up to nine people! A bonus perk of a large batch meatball recipe is the meatballs could be served without pasta as a party hors d’oeuvre. This recipe is pretty simple to whip up and could make for a delicious appetizer! 

1 lb Extra Lean Ground Beef

½ lb Ground Pork

⅔ cup Panko Bread Crumbs

15 oz Tomato Sauce (Divided – see directions for details)

2 Eggs

1 tsp Dried Basil 

½ tsp Dried Onion Flakes

½ tsp Garlic Salt

¼ tsp Oregano

Optional Parmesan Cheese for Sprinkling

1. Combine 5 tbsp of tomato sauce, eggs, and seasonings in a small mixing bowl and whisk together to make a liquid mix.

2. Put the ground beef, ground pork, panko, and liquid mixture into a larger bowl and mix thoroughly together. 

3. Roll the meatballs into 1 inch balls and place into baking pans so the meatballs are not touching each other. 

Kitchen Tip: I like to use a 1 inch cookie scoop to form the meatballs to make sure they are all the same size. This recipe should make about 45 meatballs. 

4. Use a ladle to spoon the remaining tomato sauce over the top of each meatball. 

5. Bake the meatballs at 400 degrees for 26 minutes. 

Once the meatballs are out of the oven, you have the option of sprinkling them with parmesan cheese and sticking them back in the oven for another 2 minutes to melt the cheese. Personally, I would only do the parmesan sprinkle as a garnish if I were serving these meatballs as hors d’oeuvres at a party. If I’m serving the meatballs as a topping for a pasta dish, realistically I’m going to be sprinkling my whole plate with parmesan, so topping the meatballs alone with cheese seems like an unnecessary step. 

When I was in college, Olive Garden was Cole’s and my favorite date night restaurant. At that time, they served a mushroom ravioli with a sun dried tomato sauce. Unfortunately, the restaurant decided to replace the sauce with a creamy mushroom sauce shortly after we graduated. While the dish was still good, I missed the sun dried tomato sauce because I thought the sauce was the star of the meal. Lately, I have been craving sun dried tomato sauce, and I decided to try and replicate it. I’m super happy with the result, and it is a relatively simple recipe to make while still feeling fancy when it is done. I chose to make this recipe with chicken so Cole would like it too, but you could also serve it with salmon if you prefer fish.

*This recipe makes either two very large servings or four smaller portions which could be served with bread for a full meal.

5-6 oz Spaghetti Noodle 

¼ cup Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil

2 tbsp Minced Garlic

¼ tsp Paprika

⅛ tsp Red Pepper Flakes

½ tsp Salt

1 ½ cups Heavy Whipping Cream

6 oz Shredded Chicken Breast or Salmon

4 cups Spinach

1. Fill a large kettle ¾ full, then start the water boiling before working on the sauce. 

2. Most sun-dried tomatoes come in 7 oz jars. Drain the oil out of the jar, put the tomatoes in a blender, and blend them into smaller pieces. Measure out ¼ cup and put the rest in the freezer packaged in Ziploc bags.

3. Start to boil the noodles according to the box directions, break the noodles in half before placing them in the boiling water. It is important to start the noodles before the sauce because it is essential that the sauce does not cook too long. If it overcooks, the cream and oil will separate from each other. 10 minutes of simmering is sufficient.

Kitchen Tip: If you prefer your pasta to have extra sauce, make 5 oz of spaghetti, but if you are fine with a normal amount of sauce and want to serve four people more easily, you could make 6 oz instead. 

4. Put the tomatoes, garlic, and seasonings in a small saucepan and saute them over medium heat.

Kitchen Tip: Because the tomatoes were packaged with oil, no extra butter or oil should be needed to keep these ingredients from burning. Even with draining the oil before blending them, there will still be plenty of oil left in the tomatoes to keep them from burning.

5. Add in the whipping cream and whisk the ingredients together. Allow it to very lightly simmer until it thickens. Do not let it simmer for more than 10 minutes, and stir it occasionally so it does not come to a full boil. If it starts to boil, turn down the heat and whisk it vigorously until it reaches a simmer instead.

Pictured above is what the sauce should look like after 10 minutes of boiling.

6. After the noodles are done boiling, strain the spaghetti then put the noodles back into the kettle on low heat, mix in the shredded chicken, and pour in the sauce. Finally, pour in the spinach and stir it until it wilts into the dish. 

Kitchen Tip: If you prefer salmon instead of chicken, cook the salmon according to my Salmon Alfredo recipe, then shred the cooked filet in place of the chicken. 

Serving Size Notes: Since this recipe makes only 4 smaller portions, you may want to double it if you have a large family. Recipes that have a whipping cream base can be doubled, but the sauce may need a slightly longer simmer time to thicken if there is more liquid in the sauce pan. 

Reheating instructions: If you have leftovers, be cautious with how you reheat this dish. Since whipping cream separates easily, it is best to reheat this on the stove over low heat instead of in the microwave. This will help to preserve the texture and integrity of the sauce.

After creating this recipe, I think I like sun dried tomato sauce better than both Alfredo and marinara sauce. Also, if you are a garlic lover, this is the recipe for you! With two whole tablespoons of minced garlic, the garlic flavor really comes through and mixes wonderfully with the tomato. 

Looking for a great bread recipe to make as a side? Try my French Bread recipe!

Tacos are always a great option for dinner, but I always feel like the simple taco made with ground meat and one package of taco seasoning needs a little more elevation to make it a delicious meal. With Cole’s newfound love of putting jalapenos in food, I was able to make the perfect combo of ingredients for a spicy turkey taco meat. Personally, I’m not a huge fan of soft shell tacos, so when we have taco night at our house, I prefer to make them into rice bowls instead. This dish is so easy to cook, and it makes enough for three very large rice bowls or four smaller sized meals. It might be a good idea to supplement the meal with Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffins if you are trying to spread this dinner between four people. I’ve split this meal into three distinct recipe components for ease of putting the dinner elements together: Cheater’s Guacamole, Spicy Turkey Taco Meat, and Cilantro Rice. 

I love guacamole, but sometimes I don’t feel like doing all the prep work and chopping onions and peppers. This is my quick-fix/cheater’s version that gives a similar taste of guacamole without all the prep work. If you are looking for a more traditional guacamole approach, check out my recipe for Guacamole with a Zip.

2 Avocados

3 tsp Taco Seasoning

2 tsp Lime Juice

1. Cut the avocados in half and scoop the insides out, throwing out the pit. 

2. Pour the taco seasoning and lime juice over the top of the avocado.

3. Mash the avocado until it has a creamy texture.

Kitchen Tip: Before storing the guacamole in the fridge, push cling wrap down over the bowl until the wrap is physically touching and creating a layer directly over the guacamole. This helps to keep the oxygen from touching as much of the avocado and will keep the food green longer. 

While it’s very easy to make turkey tacos by simply subbing in ground turkey for ground round, the extra ingredients in this recipe help move these tacos from good to great!

1 lb Ground Turkey

1 ½ tbsp Taco Seasoning

¼ cup Diced Jalapeno Peppers

½ tsp Hot Sauce (I always use Crystal’s Hot, but Tabasco also works)

1 tbsp Lime Juice

2 tsp Garlic

¾ cup Water

1. Heat a large frying pan on medium to high temperatures. Put the turkey in the pan and brown it. 

2. Strain the grease from the meat, then pour it back into the pan with all of the other ingredients.

Kitchen Tip: Whenever I strain meat, I like to put a layer of tinfoil in the bottom of my sink, almost forming a cup in the sink with it, then I leave the grease to cool and harden. This makes it much easier to throw out at the end of the night, and it keeps the pipes clean, since grease isn’t good for them. 

3. Stir until the jalapenos look like they are starting to saute, then move the temperature down to low and let it simmer for 20 minutes. 

Cilantro Rice is one of my favorite ways to change up a rice bowl, it provides the ease of Minute Rice while adding in extra flavor to step it up a notch. 

2 cups Minute Rice

2 cups Water

2 tsp Chicken Bouillon

1 tsp Dried Cilantro

1. Follow the directions for making Minute Rice according to the box, but add chicken bouillon to the water and rice before cooking. This can be done on the stove or in a rice steamer in the microwave. 

Kitchen Tip: I always keep chicken, turkey, and beef bouillon on hand so that I have an easy way to make broth. Since this is a dish made with turkey, I actually used the turkey bouillon in my rice, but if you prefer to keep only chicken bouillon on hand since it is a more common ingredient, chicken also works since both turkey and chicken are forms of poultry. If you do not keep bouillon in your kitchen, you can simply use store bought broth instead of water mixed with bouillon.

2. After the rice is cooked, mix in the dried cilantro and let it rest covered until the meal is ready to be served. 

Once all three of the portions of this meal are cooked it’s time to throw it all together to make a beautiful, filling bowl. I’ve listed all the ingredients below that I like to use to make a perfect meal, but there are many other taco toppings that you could also include to make your idea of the best bowl, or you could be like Cole and keep things simple. He likes to stick to just rice, meat, and cheese. 

Note: The more ingredients you add, the less spicy your bowl will be because the other ingredients will provide some cover to  the spicy addition the jalapenos bring to the dish.

½ cup Rice

¼ cup Turkey Meat

⅓ Black Beans – I use my recipe for Slow Cooker Jalapeno Black Beans 

¼ cup Pepper Jack Cheese

1 tbsp Sour Cream

2 tbsp Salsa

2 tbsp Cheater’s Guacamole

Some families have tacos every Tuesday, and others have them occasionally, but no matter what your schedule is, Spicy Turkey Jalapeno Taco Bowls are a great way to change up a meal that is typically made with beef and served in a shell!

Ribs are a food that I have long dreamed of making at home, but have hesitated to work with because I was afraid that they wouldn’t taste as good if they weren’t done in a smoker. However, after craving them for quite some time, I decided to see if I could make fall-off-the-bone ribs in the oven instead. Luckily, this was one of the recipes that I was instantly happy with, and it needed no trial and error! By roasting this rack of ribs low and slow, I was able to achieve a fall-off-the-bone perfection, topped with a caramelized BBQ sauce. 

1 Rack Baby Back Ribs

1 ½ tbsp Sugar

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Minced Onion Flakes

¼ tsp Celery Salt

2 tsp Paprika

2 tsp Ground Mustard

1 tsp Lemon Pepper

Olive Oil

1 Batch Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Possible Step: Depending on where your ribs were purchased, there might be a membrane layer over the bone side of the ribs that needs to be removed. I purchased my ribs from a meat market where the butcher had already taken care of this step for me. If you are unsure if your meat has a membrane that needs to be removed, or if you know it needs to be removed, I highly recommend using YouTube as a helpful guide for this step of the process. Personally, I was super glad my butcher took care of this step for me, because I know this prep work is supposed to be slightly challenging. If you have a butcher shop near you, I would suggest buying your ribs from them so you could discuss this with a professional.

Kitchen Tip: If you own a convection oven, make sure you are using the regular bake mode instead of the convection bake mode. Convection mode usually makes the oven slightly hotter, and it is essential for ribs to be done low and slow.

2. Mix all of the spices to create a dry rub, then rub both sides of the ribs generously with the spices until all of the rub is used up. 

3. Cut the rack of ribs in half to ensure that it fits on your largest baking sheet pan. 

Kitchen Tip: Make sure the baking sheet pan you are using has some lipped sides to catch any grease or BBQ sauce. 

4. Line the entirety of the sheet pan with tin foil. It is smart to double layer the tin foil to avoid any difficult to clean up messes. 

5. Drizzle both sides of the ribs with a thin layer of olive oil and rub it into the meat. 

6. Place the ribs meat side down on the tin foil, and bake for two hours. 

7. While the ribs are baking, use this time to make a batch of Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce, and let it simmer for at least 25 minutes before taking it off of low heat. 

8. Once the two hours of baking has been completed, switch the oven to a low broil. If the oven has a low and high option, use the low option. If the oven can be programmed for a specific temperature of broiling, set it to 450 degrees. 

9. Baste the bone side of the ribs first with enough sauce to do a thin layer on all of them, about two large spoonfuls,  and broil them for 5 minutes.

10. Flip the ribs and put a generous layer of sauce on the meat side, about two, large, heaping spoonfuls, then broil them for 7 minutes. Repeat this process two more times, with the last time using up the rest of the BBQ sauce with its most generous layer. Between the three times basting, the meat side of the ribs should be broiled for a total of 21 minutes, and the entire batch of BBQ Sauce should be used up. 

Kitchen Tip: Keep an eye on the BBQ sauce during each 7 minute interval of basting. You should be able to notice the BBQ bubbling and caramelizing as each layer of the basting process cooks. The last layer will caramelize a little less since you will be using up the remainder of the sauce and it will be slightly thicker than each of the other basting processes. However, even though it will not be quick as caramelized as the first two layers, it should still achieve a sticky texture. 

11. This is a food that needs to rest 15 minutes before serving. Do not cover the ribs with tin foil during the resting process, or the tin foil might trap too much of the heat, causing them to continue to cook longer. 

Kitchen Tip: The resting time can be used as a perfect time to prepare a side of cob on the corn! Ribs and corn go great together! 

After the ribs are done resting, they are ready to be served! I’ve found that a rack of ribs can serve 3-4 people depending on how big of portions people want. Four people could each get about 4 ribs off a rack. This is a decent number if serving this dish with both a side of corn on the cob and a Jalapeno Cheddar Corn Muffin!

About a year ago Cole and I started playing D&D weekly, which meant we were eating out for one meal each week. I had never had Chipotle before, but quickly became addicted to their steak burrito bowls. I decided to see if this was a dish that I could replicate at home, and I’m pretty happy with the result. This is also a grilling recipe and serves 4-5 people, so it could be a great option for a family dinner on a night when the weather is perfect to pull out the grill. Another part of this dish that I love is the Mexican Rice component, and this is a side that I make on many other nights such as a taco night or burrito night. 

*This dish requires the steak to be marinated. Make sure to give yourself an hour before starting the grill to give the flavors time to set in. 

**Special tools needed – meat thermometer

2 – 2 ½  lbs Flank Steak

Marinade

½ Lime – juiced

1 tbsp Olive OIl

1 tsp Paprika

¼ tsp Ground Chipotle Pepper

1 tsp Minced Garlic

½ tsp Dried Onion FLakes

1 tsp Hot Sauce (I use Crystals) 

Mexican Rice

3 cups Minute Rice

3 cups Water

1 ½ tsp Chicken Bouillon

1 ½ tsp Minced Garlic

1 tsp Dried Onion Flakes

1 tsp Chili Powder

⅛ tsp Cayenne Pepper

½ tsp Dried Cilantro

½ Lime – Juiced

Optional Toppings

Jalapeno Black Beans (Canned black beans also work)

Salsa

Avocado

Shredded Pepper Jack or Goat Cheese

Sour Cream

1. This recipe has a couple different components, but must be started by marinating the steak. Make sure to give the steak at least 45 minutes to an hour to marinate before grilling. 

2. Cut the lime in half and squeeze the juice from half of it into a small bowl. Put the other half in the fridge to save for the rice.

3. Mix the olive oil and all of the other marinade ingredients into the bowl with the lime juice. 

4. Flank steaks typically come with large chunks of fat on both sides of them. Use a sharp knife to trim as much fat as possible. There will most likely still be some spots that aren’t able to be trimmed, but as long as the thick chunks are chopped off it will be okay. 

Flank steak before and after trimming fat.

5. Rub the marinade into both sides of the steak and let it rest at room temperature for 45 minutes to an hour. Make sure to cover with foil or cling wrap to avoid exposure to germs. 

6. Toward the end of the marinating process, start cooking the rice. Plan on preparing the Minute Rice however you normally would. Personally, I like to use a rice steamer, but I know other people like to use the stove. Either method works. Mix the rice, water, chicken bouillon, minced garlic, and dried onion into the rice before it cooks, then make it according to the box instructions. 

7. Once the rice is cooked, squeeze the other half of the lime into the rice, and mix in the chili powder, cayenne pepper, and cilantro. Cover the rice to keep it warm while the steak cooks. 

8. Heat the grill to 400-450 degrees, then clean the grill and use a heat resistant basting brush to oil the grill with olive oil. 

9. Set the steak on direct heat and cook on both sides for 4 minutes. Check the temperature after the time is up. The goal temperature is 135-140 degrees. This will cause the majority of the steak to be rare to medium rare. 

Kitchen Tip: While some people like steak well done, it is essential not to overcook a flank steak. Flank steak becomes extremely tough and chewy if it is cooked beyond medium rare. While the flavor will still be good, the texture will be difficult to enjoy. 

10. If the steak is not done after the initial 8 minutes of cooking time, turn all of the burners down to low and leave it on the grill for another 3-4 minutes. This should be plenty of time to get the steak to 140 degrees unless the steak is thicker than the average cut of flank steak. Most importantly, the temperature of the meat is essential to making this dish correctly. Do NOT overcook the steak. 

11. Once the steak is cooked, let it rest for about 4-5 minutes then use a very sharp knife to cut into thin pieces. 

Kitchen Tip: Just like the cooking temperature of the steak, the thinner a flank steak is cut, the better the texture will be. I’m going to admit I made a mistake in the picture above. I cut some of the pieces in the picture waaaay too thick, but my knife could have been sharper, and I was impatient/hungry, so I didn’t spend as much time carving the steak as perfectly as I should have. Ideally, the steak pieces should be cut against the grain to be only about ¼ inch thick or thinner if your knife is sharp enough to do super thin slices. However, if you get impatient, like I did, the recipe will still taste delicious, the steak pieces will simply be chewier the thicker they are cut.

12. Mix the rice, steak pieces, and any other desired toppings together in a bowl. 

My definition of a perfect fajita bowl has the following combo: ½ cup rice, ⅓ cup black beans, ⅓ cup steak pieces, ¼ cup shredded pepper jack cheese OR 1 tbsp crumbled goat cheese, 2 tbsp salsa, and 1 tbsp sour cream. 

Kitchen Tip: I know a lot of Wisconsinites would cringe over the use of goat cheese, but I promise, any time you are making Mexican cuisine, goat cheese adds an extra creamy touch that is equally delicious to regular cheeses. Cole and I have been eating a lot more goat cheese recently in an attempt to have a healthier diet, and we both agree that in Mexican cuisine, the dishes are just as good this way. If you haven’t had goat cheese yet definitely give it a try! But, if you can’t bring yourself to try something new, then pepper jack is the best option for this dish. 

Overall, Fajita Bowls are a great family friendly food  because they make up a lot of servings and the toppings can be traded out so that everyone is happy with the ingredients in their bowl. However, I cannot stress this enough, DO NOT overcook the steak, and DO NOT cut the steak too thickly. Those are the two easiest ways to ruin the success of this recipe!