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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Taco Mac and Cheese

People often think that because I went to culinary school and run a food blog for a living, that my family eats fancy meals like goat cheese risotto or salmon stuffed with crab every night.

The truth is, we’re just like every other American family: busy all day long trying to balance work and childcare. When we sit down for dinner, we pretty much just want frozen lasagna recipe cottage cheese, or tacos and mac and cheese like everybody else.

Sure, once in awhile (mostly on the weekends when we’re feeling ambitious), it’s short rib tacos or pimento mac and cheese. But for the most part, it’s ground beef tacos with taco seasoning or classic elbow noodles with lots of gooey cheese.

This Mexican macaroni recipe is inspired by a mac and cheese with ground beef dish that Jeff used to make quite often in college, to cheaply feed a crowded house full of students.

I’ve written this taco mac and cheese recipe to be something you can easily get on the table in less than 30 minutes to deliciously satisfy your family on a weeknight.

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“Baseball cookies BEEP BEEP BEEP!” That phrase is one of my earliest memories of old Tiger Stadium, and the first baseball game I went to with my parents and Grandpa Fox.

There was a vendor who walked up and down the aisles, selling cookies, of all things. I don’t think we ever did buy any cookies, but I’ll never forget that oddball, creative sales pitch.

How about “Hot Dog Nachos BEEP BEEP BEEP”? While the Detroit Tigers have been pretty lackluster in recent seasons, baseball will still always have a place in my heart. Sitting in the sun, drinking a cold beer and eating a salty snack (or cookies, I guess) really can’t be beat.

The hardest decision I have to make on game day is hot dog vs. nachos. I’ll be honest: at some games, it’s both! But at home, I’ve started to combine the two, and it’s really the best of both worlds. These hot dog nachos are also one of my favorite Memorial Day appetizers.

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Sometimes, when my husband and I are out to dinner, I look around, and can easily spot the couples in the restaurant that are on a first date. You know, the awkward small talk, cautious flirting, and most especially, eschewing of any super messy menu items.

At one of our favorite places in town, one of the best menu items is elote – roasted corn salad that is slathered in butter/mayo/sour cream and then covered in crumbly cheese.

You know, the kind of dish that is absolutely delicious, but gets all over your face, hands and even arms as you eat it. Not first date fare, but hey – I’ve been married eight years next month. I have no qualms about ordering the elote and digging in!

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Salad jars and I go way, way back. One of my recipe development clients requested a salad-in-a-jar a few years back, and then a Greek layer dip in a jar.

And somewhere along the way, jars like my Asian noodle salad became some of my most popular recipes, so people browsing Pinterest and search engines for recipe ideas must be liking them, too!

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I’m fairly certain that our neighbors think we are crazy. I used to have a recipe testing job that involved testing recipes in the most UN-seasonal way possible. Because I worked for a publishing company, and summer issues of magazines had to be worked on in the winter (and vice versa), I was regularly seen stomping my snow boots out to the grill with a plate of hamburgers at 8am in January. Conversely, my neighbors could also see me sitting on my front porch for fresh air in July, when the house was too darn hot from the Thanksgiving turkey that was roasting in the oven.

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It’s National Ceviche Day! I think this may only be a food holiday in Peru, but let’s just pretend I’m in South America for the day, not Detroit. Cool?

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