There used to be a restaurant chain here in the Midwest called Max & Erma’s that had delicious chicken tortilla soup. It was creamy, lightly spicy and so comforting on a cold day.

Sadly, I think the chain mostly went out of business a few years ago, and the only one still around is at the airport, I think.

This Crockpot Taco Soup is inspired by, but quite a bit different than that restaurant soup. My version is a little lighter (less creamy) and uses ground beef instead of chicken.

Unlike many other crock pot soup recipes out there, this one doesn’t just have a dull, one-note flavor. Deeply browned ground beef, tomatoes, two types of beans, green chiles and lots of seasoning give this soup layers of comforting flavor.

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This Baked Chicken Caprese is bursting with flavor!

If the word “caprese” makes your mouth water, this is the perfect chicken recipe for you.

While caprese salad is best at the height of summer when tomatoes are at their peak, this Baked Chicken Caprese uses grocery store grape tomatoes any time of the year.

This skillet baked recipe uses simple ingredients to make succulent chicken breasts topped with a sweet burst tomato sauce and gooey cheese.

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This Salad with Hearts of Palm is simple and flavorful!

What are your thoughts on hearts of palm? If you love this ingredient and you want that flavor to shine through, you’ve come to the right place.

Or maybe you’ve never heard of hearts of palm, or never cooked with it. In that case, you’re also in the right place!

This Hearts of Palm salad recipe allows this unique but tasty ingredient to the be the star, no lettuce needed.

A simple citrusy dressing and additions like avocado and tomatoes will have you coming back for another scoop.

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Avocado Burgers are where it’s at!

Hamburgers made at home don’t have to be just sad patties topped with a Kraft cheese single (but honestly, that’s the way I grew up eating them).

If you like restaurant-style burgers with creative toppings and flavorful sauces (think Red Robin), this Avocado Burger recipe will delight your taste buds.

The cilantro mayo especially is what sets this recipe apart from others. It combines with the avocado to make a flavorful bite that guacamole lovers will appreciate.

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This Shawarma Chicken is a Detroit classic!

I’ve introduced you to many classic Detroit foods, including Detroit style pizza and corned beef egg rolls. And thanks to a large Middle Eastern population, Detroit is also famous for our chicken shawarma!

It’s sold everywhere from ballparks to gas stations, with my favorite being from a restaurant called Bucharest Grill. Today, I am sharing my homemade version of this irresistible wrap sandwich.

While it may look like a long list of ingredients, it’s very fast to put together. In fact, you can make the chicken shawarma marinade and the sauce for the wraps at the same time. I’ll also offer shortcut ideas to make it even easier for a busy weeknight.

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This Spooky Pasta Salad makes a great Halloween Side Dish!

As you know, I am having the MOST fun with Halloween food this spooky season. Sure, Halloween dirt cups and Halloween cake pops are certainly not what I went to culinary school for, but who cares?

My husband and I have always loved Halloween, but having a little kid running around has made it even more fun. Truly, seeing Halloween joy through her eyes is even more magical than Christmas for us!

One thing I don’t see much of on the internet is Halloween side dishes! But everybody needs to eat dinner on Halloween to get their energy up for trick-or-treating.

Usually, I will serve something easy like crock pot beef stroganoff or a slow cooker soup for an early supper right before trick-or-treating. But I never knew what to do about a side dish until this year.

Enter this fun and colorful Halloween salad recipe. With pepperoni bats, spooky tortellini and mozzarella cheese skulls, it’s just as delicious as it is perfect for All Hallows Eve.

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I only got serious about vegetable gardening a few summers ago, but it’s quickly become one of my favorite hobbies.

I don’t have a huge garden, but it’s amazing what it can yield each year, just from a few packs of seeds.

So far this year, I’ve enjoyed snap peas (usually served with my bourbon salmon recipe) and a ton of salad greens, which I generally just toss with citrus salad dressing for a simple side dish.

Later in July and into August, we can start incorporating grill zucchini and lots of homegrown tomatoes into our meals. And I’ll also be pulling up some carrots for honey roasted carrots and balsamic roasted carrots.

I mostly grow smaller grape and cherry tomato varieties (perfect for beet and tomato salad), and we usually end up with a HUGE harvest, because I grow more tomatoes than we probably need.

Blistered tomatoes are an easy and delicious way to prepare grape and cherry tomatoes. Just like roasted grapes, they can be eaten on their own or incorporated into a variety of dishes.

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Weird story about my childhood: there was a 2 to 3 year period growing up where I just hated bacon. I don’t even know WHY, I just turned on it one day.

So, while my parents enjoyed BLT’s with juicy Midwestern tomatoes and a side of my mom’s potato salad during the summer, I literally ate lettuce and tomato sandwiches.

The good news is, I got over this phase (I even have a popular tutorial on how to cook bacon in the oven). I’m still not bacon crazed, by any means, but it certainly has a time and a place.

I love a bacon wrapped hot dog, and a salmon recipe, and truly, nothing beats a BLT. While it’s hard to improve on such a classic sandwich, I do make tweaks to it now and then.

One day I had some extra smoked salmon in the fridge, and this smoked salmon BLT was born. It’s made with a lemon herb mayonnaise that take this sandwich to the next level.

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Have you ever tried the American-Mexican delight that is the Sonoran hot dog? It’s like a mash-up of a really great hot dog and a really great taco, plus add bacon to the mix.

It sounds crazy, but it just totally works (kind of like how my taco mac and cheese combines two favorites into one).

I first discovered this bacon wrapped hot dog delicacy at a local restaurant and quickly realized how easy and affordable it was to make at home.

You can serve the Sonoran hot dogs with any number of Mexican-inspired condiments and toppings, including refried beans, queso fresco, tomato, avocado, cilantro and sour cream.

So, spice up your summer with this Sonoran hot dog recipe! Serve them with Dr. Pepper baked beans, blistered shishitos, and a beer or a pitcher of cold lemon margaritas.

You could even serve them bar-style, so everybody can assemble their own. The toppings will be really similar to my fajita bar, but you’ll just be using hot dogs and buns instead of tortillas and fajita meats.

These are also great on game day, alongside a football themed charcuterie board and healthy buffalo chicken dip.

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After a long winter in the Midwest, nothing tastes quite as good in the summer as a big, fresh salad made with the best produce. You know I love a big platter of fresh strawberries and avocado with fried goat cheese.

And when you have great vegetables from your garden or a farmer’s market, a “salad” really needs to be very little else beyond slicing, piling things onto a platter and drizzling with citrus salad dressing.

Many of us normally think of beets as more of a winter vegetable. But since they’re my favorite vegetable, I’ve found that they can transition right into warmer weather too, especially when they are paired with tomatoes.

This summer beet salad recipe makes a star out of fresh produce and herbs, with just a little bit of barley for added texture and fiber.

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