You are going to love these simple and healthy baked apple chips! This recipe is perfect for this time of year. Fall is arriving and apple season is beginning. This is one of my favorite times of year, partially because I love to take the kids apple picking and make all kinds of applesauce and other apple recipes!

A few weeks ago I bought a bag of apples from the store and they were a complete disappointment. They weren’t crunchy or crisp, more like soft and kind of mealy. The kids will usually eat any kind of apple I put on their plate, but even they didn’t like these apples! So what did I do with them? Made apple chips of course!

I’ve now made this recipe quite a few times and the apple chips get eaten almost as quickly as I can make them! They are crunchy and just slightly sweet and topped with plenty of cinnamon. The kids love them as an afternoon snack and I love that they think they’re getting a treat, but really they’re just eating apples. 🙂

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You are going to love these baked apples! This recipe is so simple to prepare and even better, the end result is both healthy and delicious!

I am always trying to find new recipes to help my kids eat more fruits and vegetables. The bigger two are usually pretty happy to munch on crunchy apple slices, but the little two do a little better with softer fruits.  We went apple picking last weekend and came home with lots and lots of apples, so I knew I needed to find a way for the whole family to enjoy our apple abundance.

The kids LOVE homemade applesauce (<– link to our favorite recipe!!), but I was ready to try something a little easier for our babies to feed to themselves. That’s where these cinnamon baked apples come in! The apples are cut into bite-sized pieces and baked with a little butter and cinnamon until soft. Perfect for little hands to pick up and eat!

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Nothing says “summer picnic” quite like a classic, old-fashioned, creamy macaroni salad. You know the kind I’m talking about – elbow macaroni, crunchy celery, lots of hard boiled eggs, and of course a light creamy mayonnaise dressing.

This classic macaraoni salad was a childhood summer staple in my house. My mom would make it for almost every cook-out or family picnic that I can remember. I especially loved when she would put in extra hard-boiled eggs – they’re clearly the best part. 🙂

The base recipe comes from an old Betty Crocker cookbook, and has been slightly adapted over the years to suit our tastes.  The end result is creamy and tangy and crunchy and absolutely delicious! Perfect for summer picnics and cook-outs. I hope you try it and enjoy it as much as we do. 🙂

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How good does this shopska salad look? If you are anything like me, you may not have heard of a shopska salad before! This salad is a Macedonian version of a chopped salad, and is perfect for summer. It is light and fresh and healthy – the perfect combination! Oh, and it’s also delicious. 🙂 This salad is incredibly easy to make and is perfect for potlucks, or as a light side dish for dinner. I’ve made this salad multiple times already this summer and love it more each time I make it. It’s refreshingly simple and absolutely bursting with flavor. Enjoy!

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If you’ve been reading my blog for any length of time, you may know that I love macaroni and cheese. I have quite a few different recipes on my blog (like two cheese mac and cheese, creamy crock pot mac and cheese, or this creamy stovetop mac and cheese!), and I’m always looking to try new ones. I love the cheesy creaminess of it, and I also love that everyone in my family, kids included, eats it without complaint. 🙂 I especially love this roasted vegetable version because it is a great way to get an extra dose of vegetables in! And you really can’t go wrong with yummy roasted vegetables covered in a deliciously creamy cheese sauce. 🙂 This is definitely comfort food with a healthy twist, and a recipe I’ll be making again and again.

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These crock pot grape jelly meatballs are so good, and they are the easiest appetizer you could ever ask for! If you scroll down to look at the ingredient list, you’ll see that there are actually only 3 ingredients in the whole recipe – it doesn’t get much easier than that. 🙂

I love to make these meatballs for potlucks, but they would also be perfect as an appetizer or game day snack to share with friends. Everyone loves them!

You might think that grape jelly and meatballs together sound a little strange, but somehow when you cook them, all the ingredients combine to make the best sweet barbecue sauce.

I guarantee you will want to make these again and again – not only are they delicious, but they are ridiculously easy to make. Enjoy!

*Note: I actually made my own meatballs when I made this recipe. I used a recipe from an old Betty Crocker cookbook that calls for 1.5 pounds of ground meat, rolled the meatballs a little smaller than usual, and baked them ahead of time. If you go with the storebought variety, I’ve heard good things about Costco’s frozen meatballs.

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This healthy loaded veggie dip is one of my new favorite recipes! I initially made it for our family New Year’s Eve party, and I’ve made a few times since then. I love it! It’s so fresh and healthy and full of flavor. The base of the dip is a layer of hummus topped with a layer of herbed greek yogurt. Each layer by itself is good, but when you add them together and top them with a ton of freshly chopped vegetables, you’re left with a truly delicious appetizer. (Although this is not just a side dish, I’ve also eaten it as a quick lunch!) The veggies add a nice crunch, and plenty of flavor, and the dip ends up being perfectly creamy, crunchy, and just the slightest bit salty. It is so good when served with tortilla chips. I seriously couldn’t stop eating it. This is a great appetizer or snack to make to take somewhere if you want to be sure there is something healthy to munch on. This is definitely a new favorite in our house!

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I’m taking a break from all things pumpkin and apples to bring you this creamy Greek yogurt macaroni and cheese. I love making homemade mac and cheese. It’s one thing that Zeke will eat without fail, and I feel better serving him my homemade versions instead of the stuff in the blue box (although we love that too).

This version is extra creamy, and a little bit healthier, thanks to the addition of Greek yogurt. The yogurt adds plenty of creaminess without adding too many calories. Plus it adds just a little bit of tanginess, which I really liked. There is still plenty of cheese flavor, thanks to the freshly grated sharp cheddar, but the mac and cheese definitely tasted a little less “heavy” than more traditional versions. This was a hit with everyone, even my husband who won’t touch Greek yogurt with a ten foot pole. And the toddler was just excited to see mac and cheese on his plate – he certainly wasn’t questioning how creamy or healthy it was. 😉 I’ll definitely be making this one again and again, and I hope you will too.

p.s. – like using Greek yogurt in recipes? Find more at Milk Means More. 🙂

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This couscous salad with corn and red pepper is a wonderful late summer salad. I’ve made this to take to two potlucks so far and barely brought any home with me both times. The salad is quick to make and I love how nice and fresh it tastes.  I love the texture of couscous, and the corn and red bell pepper give the salad a nice sweetness and a little bit of crunch. This is an easy make-ahead dish and can be served warm, cold, or at room temperature – and yes, I’ve eaten it all three ways. 🙂 It works great as a side dish, but I also think you could add in some leftover rotisserie chicken and make it a light main dish. The salad keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and actually might taste better the second day after giving the flavors a chance to mix together. This recipe only takes about 15 minutes start to finish, which also makes it a good option for a last minute get together you’ve forgotten about. 😉 All in all, I think you’ll love this salad – enjoy!

p.s. If you’re making this for a crowd, you’ll definitely want to double the recipe!

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How good does this fruit salsa look?? I’ve seen various versions of this delicious summer treat all over the place, and I have no idea why it took me this long to put my own spin on it.

I made this salsa for a family get together a week ago and served it with cinnamon sugar pita chips – and everyone LOVED it! I got repeated requests for the recipe, and my salsa bowl came home completely empty. Thankfully I had set a little aside back at home for Mike and I to enjoy. 🙂

I’m guessing you can use whatever fruits you want for this dish, but I used lots of strawberries, kiwi, mango, and apples. The strawberries were nice and fresh and were the perfect level of sweetness, and the chopped apples added a nice crunch. I stirred in lots of homemade strawberry jam at the end to bind it all together, and the end result was so good. Also, be sure to not leave out the lemon zest at the end – it gives the salsa a nice fresh taste.

I hope you like this one; it’s going to be a summer staple at our house. 🙂

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