Sourdough Banana Muffins

These Banana Muffins are loaded with dark chocolate chips. They are full of flavor and absolutely delicious. My kids loved them as much as I did!

I typically like a little added crunch so next time I make these muffins, I may add in some chopped walnuts to some of the muffins for a little variety.

Curry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

These Curry Stuffed Sweet Potatoes were a filling and nutritious meal. The curry sauce offers just the right amount of spice to balance with the sweet potato and cauliflower. I liked it best when each bite contained a little bit of each ingredient 🙂

It took close you an hour for me to make this meal but that’s because I chose to bake the potatoes in the air fryer and roast the cauliflower. You could easily cut the time down by microwaving your potatoes and steaming cauliflower instead (you could even buy a steamable frozen pouch of cauliflower to cut the prep time even more).

Asian Tilapia with Green Beans

This Asian Tilapia with Green Beans might be the tastiest fish dish I’ve ever made. It was such a fresh, light dish that was super healthy.

Lexie looked at her plate, said “I don’t like fish” then after taking a bite said “I do like this fish though.” That’s a serious Mom win! I do like fish but she was right, this was definitely delicious!

Pesto Shrimp Salad

My kids were seriously licking their plates to devour the last bits of their dinner. This Pesto Shrimp Salad was ridiculously delicious. Needless to say, we didn’t have any leftovers tonight.

Lexie was in love with this sauce immediately. My kids are usually not huge fans of quinoa but it worked so well with this dish. The original recipe is meant to be a quinoa bowl but since I love extra veggies and salads, I used quite a bit more lettuce and served this as a salad instead. Good choice because it was amazing!

Sausage and Mushroom Pasta

The kids were asking for pasta so I found this Sausage and Mushroom Pasta and thought we’d give it a try. It was pretty easy to throw together on a busy weeknight when time is of the essence.

This Sausage and Mushroom Pasta looked delicious but when I really read through the recipe, I realized I was going to need to make quite a few substitutions. I tried to lighten it up a bit with turkey sausage instead of pork. If I make it again, I may eliminate the heavy cream and use pasta water instead. I liked it with the cream but not sure I needed to cream in order to like it.

Crock Pot Mexican Lasagna

Some days are so busy that the only way for me to get a homemade meal on the table for dinner is to use the crock pot. Today was one of those days! I found this Crock Pot Mexican Lasagna and thought we’d give it a try.

Some crock pot meals require a final step once you get home (make and add in pasta, stir in cheese then allow the sauce to thicken, etc). With this recipe, there are no additional steps. Once it’s done, it’s done. Ready to eat as soon as you walk in the door. The only thing I did was put a little plain greek yogurt on top 🙂

Easter Lamb Cake

One of our Easter traditions is to make an Easter Lamb Cake each year. This year, having a different, less time consuming dessert was mentioned but my kids were having no part of it. Having an Easter Lamb Cake is a non-negotiable for them.

The mold we use is old so when the recipe stays to make sure the mold locks, for us, that means securing it together with a piece of yarn or string. Our pan doesn’t have any steam vents which would allow me to check for doneness. Instead, I cook my cake for one full hour every year. So far so good🤞 If you’re looking to purchase a lamb cake pan, here is a great option with the steam vent.

Whole Wheat Crackers

These Sourdough Whole Wheat Crackers do take a bit of time to make but in my opinion, they are worth the effort. These crackers taste like freshly made Wheat Thins.

The recipe does make a decent amount of crackers…although I did eat A LOT before they even made it into the container. All of the smaller edge pieces were calling my name and just had to be eaten 🙂

One Pan Chicken Bake

I have to say that I LOVED the flavor of this sauce in this One Pan Chicken Bake. I could see myself making this sauce again to use over some leftover veggies or potatoes that I plan to roast. I addition of coriander made it oh so yummy!

When I make this again, I will need to make some adjustments. The chicken was DONE and the asparagus was not as crisp as I like. I know it boasts one pan but I will likely separate it in the future so get easy access to the chicken and asparagus to remove them when done. I also like to roast my potatoes and carrots a bit longer than called for so I’d put them it a bit earlier so everything would finish cooking at roughly the same time.

Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry

It’s safe to say that I am a fan of stir fry…quick, healthy, easy to throw together with whatever leftover veggies you may happen to have on hand. This Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry offers a little variation with the some added ginger. Quite tasty…we like it 🙂

"Leftovers" Biscuit Cups

These “Leftovers” Biscuit Cups can be made with a variety of…leftovers! I made them using sloppy joe meat today.

You could also fill these biscuit cups with leftover taco meat, chili, baked beans, casseroles (bacon cheeseburger casserole, broccoli and chicken alfredo casserole, etc), even beef stew. You could really fill a biscuit cup with just about anything. Turn your leftovers into a new dish!

Fish Tacos with Avocado Crema

These Fish Tacos are one of our favorites! They are so easy to make and this healthy meal is ready to serve in less than 20 minutes. The crema sauce will last for several days in the fridge so you can enjoy it with any leftovers you may have. We typically eat these tacos in corn tortillas but you could also serve them in a lettuce wrap. So yummy!

Sourdough Cinnamon Muffins

These Sourdough Cinnamon Muffins are going to be a great addition to our sourdough rotation. They are quick and easy to make for a grab and go breakfast or a snack. They aren’t overly sweet which makes them a keeper for our family.

In the future, I may play around with this recipe a bit. I think these muffins would taste wonderful with some added apples, possibly some nuts as well to give it them little crunch. After we make them a few times, I’m sure we’ll come up with some new ways to mix them up a bit. It’s great as it but a little variety is always fun too!

Spaghetti Squash Taco Boats

Oh my goodness was this delicious! What a healthy dish that offers a TON of flavor! You have got to try this Spaghetti Squash Taco Boat recipe!

It does take a bit of time since you have to bake the squash first. After cut in half, I sprayed each side of the spaghetti squash with olive oil then sprinkled it with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. When it came out of the oven and was cool enough to shred, I couldn’t help but sample a bit. It was SO GOOD! The flavor was amazing. I could have stopped making dinner right then and been happy just eating the squash.

Sourdough English Muffins

The Sourdough English Muffins are sooo yummy served warm, right off the griddle. We like them with a little bit on honey on them…sometimes Xander eats them with jam instead. If you don’t eat them all in one sitting, warm them slightly before eating the leftovers.

After making these English Muffins, plan to eat them within a few days. I’ll make them for a big breakfast and then we’ll have the leftovers for snacks the next few days. They don’t keep much longer than that but they are so good, they are definitely worth making.

30 Minute Taco Soup

I’ve been on a taco kick lately. We eat tacos A LOT at our house so when I saw this Taco Soup recipe, it seemed like something I just HAD to try. I’m sure glad I did…it was delicious!

I really liked the soup with a little plain greek yogurt mixed in…gave it a nice creamy flavor. The kids liked it loaded with cheddar cheese 🙂 I didn’t add any cheese on my soup and didn’t feel like it was missing anything.

Avocado Salmon Salad

This Avocado Salmon Salad is light and fresh and full of flavor. It would be a lovely salad to serve in the summer when fresh dill can be added to the top. I am typically not a huge lemon fan but this salad was a definite keeper for our family.

To slice the veggies, I used my mandoline for a quick and uniform slice in no time at all. I have the older model of this de Buyer mandoline which I love. The blades are SUPER sharp so beware. It comes with interchangeable blades to slice, crinkle, julienne 4mm and 10mm, and waffle cut. It also has an integrated cube system. One side of the blade is serrated for waffle cuts; the other side has a micro-serrated edge for cutting fruits and vegetables. The newer model pusher is a nice upgrade to protect your fingers.

Just be careful when washing it! I’ve had other mandolines in the past that I always had to replace because they didn’t work well. This mandoline does everything you need and more!

Substitutions/Additions made by Cooking After Class for Avocado Salmon Salad:

• used dried dill instead of fresh
• used a regular cucumber instead of an English cucumber

Tips from Cooking After Class for making Avocado Salmon Salad:

• bake salmon in an air fryer instead of pan frying to avoid the extra oil
• be sure to slice the radishes as thin as possible so they do not overpower the salad

RECIPE: Avocado Salmon Salad Recipe

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5

Effort: Quick & Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Kids Comments: Surprisingly good 🙂

Make it Again: Yes…nice fresh, salad…salmon is a great addition

all ingredients ready to go

salmon is seasoned

baked in air fryer

veggies are all chopped

Kenxie was excited for the avocado

Pistachio Muffins

These Pistachio Muffins were delicious! They were savory with a touch of sweet. An absolute treat to enjoy for breakfast or brunch.

I was a little worried about how they would turn out since the batter was so thick but they turned out wonderfully…once they finally finished cooking. That was partially my fault since I chose to bake them as jumbo muffins (trying to complete with the Costco muffins my kids LOVE) but even if they were in a regular muffin pan, I believe they would have likely taken a bit longer to bake. Well worth it though…so yummy.

Spicy Shrimp Tacos

These Spicy Shrimp Tacos have a little kick to them with a bit of lime to balance the flavor nicely. They are easy to throw together with just a few ingredients. They were tasty in a corn tortilla but just as yummy in a lettuce wrap.

Mexican Meatball Soup

This Mexican Meatball Soup recipe is better known as “Grandma’s Special Soup” by Rafael, one of my third grade students. He asked if I liked soup and when I told him YES, he brought in Grandma’s Special Soup recipe so that I could try to make it myself.

This soup was AMAZING! I loved how all the flavors came together. Rafael’s family sent in some dried spearmint leaves for me to use when making the meatball. So glad they had some extra to share as it really added to the mix of flavors in the meatballs (and also gave me ideas for drying some of my herbs this summer/fall…definitely something I need to explore further).