These freshly baked protein cinnamon rolls are perfect on a chilly morning, where they shine as the ultimate comforting holiday treat, although there’s nothing stopping you from making them all year round! Best of all, you can prepare the homemade dough – packed with vanilla protein powder – the night before, so they are ready to be baked and frosted for an effortless, protein-rich breakfast that far surpasses ordinary pastries!

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If you’ve been reading my blog for years, you’ll know how much we love citrus and lemon recipes! Especially in desserts, we have a zillion lemon dessert recipes that we make over and over. I really love the combination of lemon and raspberry, so this simple “crumb bar” recipe just might be your new favorite, too. Let’s start off with the oat-base crust (so buttery good), and then a layer of the creamiest lemon filling. On top of that–a heavy crumb topping, baked to perfection.

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Friends, we have a new appliance sitting on our counter that I’m so excited about. Welcome, the new Smart Skillet. Maybe you’ve already tried our Chicken & Sweet Potato Soup with Turmeric recipe!

This kitchen workhorse will transform your life! It does absolutely everything with 10 modes: Stir-Fry, Sauce, Soup, Steam, Simmer, Warm, Sear/Sauté, White Rice, Brown Rice, Grains. And best of all? It’s so lovely, you won’t even mind leaving it out on the counter or serving table!

What’s A Smart Skillet and Why You Should Have One?

The Smart Skillet is the most versatile tool in in my kitchen these days. Whether you’re making stew, soup, or searing a steak, this family-sized six-quart pan gives you room for a good-sized meal. This new “smart” skillet delivers quick and even heating to get dinner on the table!

Why I love my smart skillet

• It’s a combo of our mom’s generation, the electric skillet, plus a slow cooker combined.
• It does a lot for you – in one pan.
• We love GreenPan products (such a great quality).
• Cook the food and walk away.

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Friends, this is one of our favorite desserts to serve any time of year. Especially for all of our coffee-loving friends! Today is International Coffee Day, so we are especially loving coffee today! Affogato is a classic, simple dessert that is absolutely fabulous.

Coffee Affogato With Vanilla Ice Cream

The word “affogato” literally translates to “drowned” in Italian. Traditionally, gelato is the frozen dairy of choice to be drowned by a freshly pulled shot of espresso, but you can also use vanilla ice cream. It’s a lovely dessert for any occassion. (more…)

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Buttermilk is our great tenderizer, whisked together with melted butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. It’s pretty simple, and makes very tasty cakes!

Pear Buttermilk Cake Breakfast Board

This time we made a Pear Buttermilk Cake Breakfast Board for weekend company, with a delicious Pear Buttermilk Breakfast Cake as the center star! The beauty of breakfast boards are you can serve whatever fruit is in season, too! So this means you can add peaches, and peaches to the cake! Or, make this Perfect Peach Buttermilk Cake.

New 23-inch Lazy Susan BIG BOARD

Friends, I’m also very excited to share with you my new size Big Board on RE! It’s 23-inches and it has a Lazy Susan! It’s beautiful, functional, and the Lazy Susan mechanism on the back of the board is very low profile and lightweight.

I’ve been very excited to announce this new addition to the RE board family! (more…)

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Just in time for the holidays, serve a new and festive appetizer, Grilled Apple Pistachio Pomegranate Brie Bites. Or maybe you’ve tried my Cranberry Orange Relish Brie Cheese Appetizer or Roasted Pumpkin Mini Sweet Peppers Appetizer – YUM!

Brie Cheese appetizer

These little bites are delicious flavors of grilled apples with melted brie, pistachios and pomegranate seeds!

Friends, I know I’ve written a lot about the seasons of life. We’ve all lived a real – life of love, loss, regret, and celebration.

And I would say most of us have gone through seasons of transitions, sadness, and very hard times. (more…)

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Good morning, Friends! Happy Halloween!

Are you looking for a neighbor or hostess gift, or a goodie to bring to your kid’s teacher? You’ll love this Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola — the perfect gift to give! Or, enjoy for breakfast :)

Simplifying our life here in central Oregon–a smaller house and fewer possessions, more outdoor experiences, with quality weekends spent with friends–has been rejuvenating. Truly, it’s caused me to slow down and appreciate all that is happening around me.

When I look back, my husband and I started dreaming of moving 2 years ago. It became an important goal, we kept talking about it, making changes to make it happen, and forging forward. We were never stuck, we were active in checking things off the list, to reach our goal. (more…)

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Friends, on our recent Mexican Riviera Princess Cruise on their Ruby Ship, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in Puerto Vallarta, with some of the most enjoyable culinary experiences! If you’re wanting to go on a cruise, read more here, 10 Tips to Planning your Mexican Riviera Cruise!

Some of the highlights of cruising are the land excursions when the ship ports. (more…)

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We live in funny times right now, where people are building giant homes with kitchens that look like a restaurant’s. Yet so many of these homes are never used for entertaining, or if so, maybe just a couple times a year.

I say, even if you’re not a good cook, use your house! Use your kitchen! Enjoy it with family and friends, even if that means the simplest meal, like ordering pizza and making a giant salad!

Chicken Caesar Salad

One of my go-to salads that I think is divine, is a giant Caesar Salad. Everyone loves a Caesar, right? (more…)

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A party is not a party without good food, right? The reason I say a party is not a party … is because, well, we all know how important it is to have good food. Good food and great people. :)

I get a lot of questions about what to serve at parties, so I thought I’d tell you a bit about my weekend at the Indulge Conference, in Portland, Oregon (hosted by these amazing ladies), with Harry & David as a sponsor, and a fabulous Mango Chutney Ginger Cucumber Cups appetizer that you may want to serve at your next party!

Conversation Starter Appetizer.

Chef Timothy Keller was on the scene the minute guests arrived at the Monaco (Kimpton) Hotel, serving up his delicious Oregonianlicious appetizers (here’s my visit at the same hotel a few years ago for my 50th birthday). He was creating mini Mango Chutney Ginger Cucumber Cups and Royal Riviera Pears with Lemon Curd and Blue Cheese (served on a cracker), and serving the conference attendees!

Sometimes you have to “adjust” at a party, because you want to keep the focus on your food and on the guests, to encourage good conversation! Especially at a conference, when so many people do not know each other. As the guests arrived, the Harry & David team was by the registration table, greeting and serving an assortment of fabulous appetizers. (more…)

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