Easy & Delicious Meatball Sliders

I recently saw an episode of The Pioneer Woman on Food Network where she made Mini Meatball Sandwiches. I decided to give the recipe a try, and I am so glad I did! I've never made meatballs before, but now I am thinking it will become a regular meal at our house. They were so easy to make and so delicious! Our whole family loved them.

The recipe says to use shredded mozzarella, which I did, but on her blog and the show, she used sliced provolone, which I might give a try next time. I bought mini hamburger buns from Trader Joe's, which worked great for the sandwiches.

The recipe made enough for the three of us to have for dinner (one for Jack and three each for Josh and me), then the following day we put the leftover meatballs and sauce over angel hair pasta, which was wonderful as well.

Best Blueberry-Banana Bread!

I recently watched an episode of one of my favorite cooking shows, Giada at Home, and she made Blueberry-Banana Bread. It looked so good and the recipe seemed very simple, so I decided to give it a try. You can find the recipe here.

I brought one loaf to a Bible study I'm in and everyone else loved it too and wanted the recipe. 

I have since made this three more times...and it's only been a week! I'm thinking one weekend this summer while blueberries are still in season and inexpensive I might make about 10 loaves to put in the freezer.

I live at about 6,000 feet in elevation, so baking can be difficult! Thanks to some great tips from a friend on high altitude baking, I knew of some adjustments to make the recipe work. I added a tablespoon of flour for each loaf, used extra large eggs, lessened the baking soda and baking powder just a touch (by about 1/4), and decreased the baking time by 5 minutes.

Easy Summer Blackberry Cobbler

A few years ago, I found this recipe for Easy Blackberry Cobbler in Southern Living. Since then, it's one I make regularly during the summer when blackberries are in season. It's one of the easiest and most delicious desserts I have ever made. And it tastes great with some vanilla ice cream!

This is a great dessert for when you are having friends over for dinner. Just prepare it all ahead of time, then place it in the oven to bake while you eat dinner.

Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

So I have been a big slacker when it comes to this blog lately. I am 19 weeks pregnant, and for the first trimester I was usually too tired to cook, or nothing sounded good to my uneasy belly. So we ate a lot of take out and frozen pizzas...not the healthiest time for my family. However, I am feeling much better now and have been spending much more time in the kitchen. I am determined to get back to cooking blogging more!


I recently found this recipe for Barbecue Shredded Chicken from the Oven or Slow Cooker and was inspired to adapt the recipe to make it my own. To make my version of Slow Cooker BBQ Chicken Sandwiches, you'll need:

• About 1.5 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken thighs (this ended up being 6 thighs for me)
• Salt & Pepper
• Cayenne
• Paprika
• 1 cup of your favorite barbeque sauce
• Hamburger buns

Place chicken in your slow cooker. Sprinkle chicken with a little salt and pepper, cayenne, and paprika. Pour one cup of barbeque sauce over chicken. Cook on low for 5 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

Once chicken is finished cooking, shred meat using two forks. Place meat on a toasted hamburger bun and drizzle with more barbeque sauce. This will make about 4-6 sandwiches, depending on how much meat you like on your sandwich.

This was one of the easiest and most delicious slow cooker chicken recipes I have ever made. One piece of advice: use good barbeque sauce! I grew up in Texas, so I am very picky when it comes to barbeque sauce. My favorite brand that is available at most grocery stores is Stubb's Original Sauce.