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Make a meal with fresh tomatoes from garden with this Spicy Tomato & Sausage Pie recipe! Summer tomato season means tomato pie time! I spiced this up a notch with hot sausage and pepperjack cheese. It isn't overly spicy, but has just a little kick. Pairs great as the main dish with a salad and fresh sweet corn.

A perfect side for summer suppers! Feta tomatoes pack the fresh, juicy flavor of vine ripe tomatoes with the tangy kick of feta cheese. You will make these on repeat!

This is Lemon Butter Salmon is my go-to salmon recipe. It is quick and easy and so is the cleanup. It works well on other types of fish too, especially grouper! For a variation, use Smokehouse Maple seasoning instead of lemon juice! Simple Lemon Butter Salmon Recipe Yield: 4 Ingredients for the Simple Lemon Butter Salmon 4 4-6 oz salmon filets 2 lemons 2 tbsp butter Salt to taste Instructions for the Simple Lemon Butter Salmon Preheat oven to 350 degrees Cut 4 aluminum foil squares about 12-15 inches square Spray foil with non-stick spray Place a salmon filet in the center of each piece of foil, skin side down. (I leave the skin on because the meat flakes away easily after cooking but you can remove the skin before cooking if preferred.) Squeeze the juice of half a lemon on each salmon filet. Add 1/2 tbsp butter on top of each salmon filet. Sprinkle with a dusting of salt. Roll up the foil around the salmon filet to create a tent. Put the foil-wrapped salmon filets into a 13x9 casserole dish Bake for about 20 minutes. Open up the tents for the last 5 minutes of cooking. My go-to casserole dish is always this Caribbean Blue Le Creuset one!

This Crab & Asparagus in a Lemon Cream Sauce recipe is perfect for summer. A faint hint of lemon in this cream sauce pasta dish merges perfectly with the crab and asparagus and creates a fresh and bright pasta dish. Pairs well with a crisp white wine. Tip: Start the pasta and the sauce at about the same time.

This Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake is a perfect summer dessert! It's light and refreshing with the perfect amount of sweet. If you like this one, you will also like my Key Lime Cheesecake! You definitely want to use fresh lemon juice and fresh blueberries. Wash and dry the blueberries and remove any excess little stems! Ingredients: Crust: 2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs 1/3 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup butter Cake: 3 8 ounce bars cream cheese, softened at room temperature 1 cup sugar 2 tbsp brown sugar 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice 2 tsp vanilla 2 tbsp lemon extract 3 eggs 1/2 cup sour cream 1/2 tbsp cornstarch (optional) 1 pint blueberries INSTRUCTIONS Preheat oven to 325. First, prepare the crust by combining the vanilla wafer crumbs, 1/3 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 cup melted butter. Mix thoroughly Press the crumb mixture into the bottom of a spring form and about halfway up the sides. Refrigerate the crust for at least 20 minutes. In a large mixing bowl with hand mixer or in a stand mixer, combine the cream cheese, sugar, 2 tbsp brown sugar, lemon juice, vanilla, lemon extract, eggs, and sour cream. Stir on cornstarch if desired (this helps thicken the cake). Mix very well so it is smooth and without air bubbles. Fold in the blueberries gently so you don't burst them. Pour batter into the pan until almost full. Bake at 325 for 1 hour and 15 minutes or until set. Let cool and then refrigerate at least 2 hours before serving to allow it to set.

This Lemon Risotto recipe is simple but tastes like you are in a restaurant. This Lemon Risotto dish can also be served as a side and pairs well with fresh seafood. It can be made into a full dish topped with roasted chicken and broccoli. I baked 3 chicken breasts drizzled in olive oil with 3-4 cups broccoli florets tossed lightly in olive oil for 30-35 minutes at 350 degrees on a sheet pan. This makes 4-6 servings. For the Risotto: Ingredients: 2 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tbsp prepared garlic 2 cups Arborio rice 1 cup dry white wine 1 large lemon sliced and seeds removed 2-3 cups chicken stock (broth) 1/2 tbsp thyme 4 ounce goat cheese (I used garlic and hard flavor) 3-4 pieces crumbled cooked bacon (Optional) In a deep saute pan, add the olive oil and garlic over medium heat and cook for about two minutes, stirring consistently. Add the cups Arborio rice and stir to cover well in the olive oil. Add the wine and lemon slices. Simmer (not boiling), stirring regularly, until the wine is absorbed into the rice. Stir in thyme. (About 5-8 minutes) Add the chicken stock, one cup at a time. Simmer and stir until absorbed before adding more. (About 5-8 minutes per cup) Stir on goat cheese until melted through. Add bacon if desired. Note: Don't rush this dish! Let it simmer so the rice absorbs the liquid and softens thoroughly. It's a great dish while sharing a glass of wine and chatting at the kitchen island.

Can a cake be both decadent and refreshing? It sure can! Coconut Cake with a hint of key lime will make you feel like you are on a tropical vacation. I absolutely love anything coconut. After craving coconut cake for days on end (no I'm not pregnant LOL), I decided to make one. Before I got started though, I asked myself "How can I turn this up a notch?" That's when I decided a hint of lime was exactly what it needed. Husband and son approved, I bring you Key Lime Coconut Cake! A few notes about this recipe: This recipe makes either 24 cupcakes or a 3 layer cake (using 9 inch pans). I recommend using parchment paper liners for both. If you choose to make the cupcakes, use a large amount of icing on each one or you will have leftover icing which works great on sugar cookies. Be sure the ingredients noted at room temperature are at room temperature. And if you can't find coconut flakes, you can put coconut shreds in the food processor to get them more fine. Oh, and definitely use fresh lime juice, not jarred. A few drops of food coloring in the icing will give the perfect pale green color! The Ingredients For the Cake: 2 1/2 cups cake flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp baking soda 1 cup butter, soft (not hot melted) 1 3/4 cup sugar 5 large egg whites at room temperature 4 ounce cream cheese, soft 2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp coconut extract 8 ounces canned coconut milk at room temperature 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut flakes For the Icing: 1 cups unsalted butter, soft 12 ounces cream cheese, soft 1/2 tsp vanilla 1 tsp coconut extract 4 cups confectioners sugar 4 tbsp fresh lime juice 2 cups sweetened shredded coconut flakes How to Make: Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan or cake pans with parchment liners. In a bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and baking soda. In a large bowl with a hand mixer or in a stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugar. Add in the egg whites, cream cheese, vanilla, and coconut extract. Add in the cake flour mixture and canned milk. Stir in the coconut flakes. For cupcakes, fill the liners about 3/4 full (will make 2 dozen). For cake pans, fill about 1/3 full. For cupcakes, bake about 20 minutes. For cake, bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely before icing. For the icing, use a large bowl with a hand mixer or a stand mixer. Cream together the unsalted butter, cream cheese, vanilla, coconut extract, and lime juice. Add in the confectioners sugar one cup at a time. Add the coconut one cup at a time. For a Printable Version:

My Cream Cheese Pound Cake has been a go to for me since I started baking in college. It is simple but is always a hit! Be sure to try my variations like Lemon Pound Cake and Coconut Pound Cake. Blueberry Pound Cake Muffin Variation: Mix pound cake batter in the recipe below. Stir in 1 pint of fresh blueberries. Line a muffin pan with parchment paper liners, fill about 3.4 full with batter. Makes 20-24 muffins. Bake at 325 for about 40 minutes.

This simple Coconut Pound Cake has the slight, sweet flavor of coconut without being overpowering. It is my basic Cream Cheese Pound Cake recipe with coconut added.

This Lemon Pound Cake is a variation of my original Cream Cheese Pound Cake. The lemon flavor gives it the perfect warm weather kick! This recipe will make a regular round bundt pan, two loaf pans, or 24 muffins. INGREDIENTS 1 1/2 cups butter, softened at room temperature 1 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature 3 cups sugar 6 eggs 3 cups all purpose flour 1 tbsp vanilla 1 tbsp lemon extract 5 tbsp fresh lemon juice Optional: 1 pint fresh blueberries INSTRUCTIONS Preheat over to 325 degrees and grease a 10 inch tube/ bundt pan or two loaf pans or line 24 muffins. Cream together butter and cream cheese in an electric or handheld mixer. Add sugar, mixing until well blended. Add eggs and flour alternately, ending with flour. Blend in vanilla, lemon extract, and lemon juice. Optional: fold in blueberries Pour into greased pan and bake at 325 for 1 hour 25 minutes. For muffins, bake about 40 minutes.

This quick and easy recipe will have you putting Pesto Chicken & Orzo on your weeknight rotation. 5 minutes of prep then just let it bake! Ingredients: 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 1 pound) 2 cups (16 ounces) dry orzo 7 ounces prepared pesto 1 cup cherry tomatoes, cut in half 2 cups chicken broth 1 cup feta cheese To Prepare: Preheat oven to 375 Grease a 9x13 casserole dish Cut up chicken breasts into bite sized pieces Pour the orzo in the bottom of the casserole dish evenly. Top with chicken pieces and tomatoes. In a bowl, whisk together the pesto and broth. Pour evenly over the orzo. Sprinkle feta cheese on top. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover and bake another 10-15 minutes.

Easter is right around the corner so it's time to make your meal plans now! Our family attends church services in the morning so I like to plan a meal that I can mostly make ahead and enjoy Easter Sunday. Ordering a prepared ham or similar main dish that you simply pick up the day before is a great way to relieve some stress for the day and allow more time to be spent with your family. Here are a few of my planning tips for a beautiful and low stress Easter. About two weeks ahead: Finalize menu for the day Order prepared foods (i.e. ham, desserts, etc) Purchase non-perishable foods, wine, and beverages Purchase items for kid's Easter baskets Press linens and clean silver About one week ahead: Set the table (if you don't use the table daily) Set up buffet or make a list of dishes to use Order perishable groceries to pick up in a few days (if you do online grocery orders) About 2 days ahead: Pick up or purchase perishable groceries Purchase flowers for centerpiece Pick up prepared food The day before: Make desserts Prep appetizers, casseroles, etc Prep main dish if not ordering a prepared one On Easter: Put casseroles/ side dishes in the oven to cook Cook or warm up main dish Make coffee, open wine, and prep other beverages Enjoy a wonderful meal with your family! Need some ideas for your menu? Easter Dinner Sample Menu Charcuterie board with Deviled Eggs Baked Ham (or order a prepared one) Mac-n-Cheese Potatoes au Gratin Glazed Carrots Roasted Asparagus Yeast Rolls Chocolate Chess Pie Key Lime Coconut Cake Mimosas, Red & White Wine Easter Brunch Sample Menu Deviled Eggs Sausage Balls Blueberry Muffins Brown Sugar Ham Biscuits Fresh Fruit (Strawberries, Kiwi, Pineapple, etc) Mashed Potatoes Bacon-Wrapped Asparagus Pound Cake Lemon Blueberry Cheesecake Mimosas, Champagne, and Wine Ready to get planning on your Easter menu? Download my FREE Easter menu planner! HERE What about leftover ham? These are my go-to recipes for using up leftover ham (and getting some veggies in too). Ham Casserole Cheesy Ham Chowder I hope everyone has a beautiful Easter!

If you missed Part 1, you can catch it HERE! In Part 2, we are looking at taking action! Getting started is oftentimes the hardest part of taking action to discover our purpose and ultimate success. I recently posted a survey on Instagram asking my followers what was their biggest hurdle in getting started to take action. While I wasn't surprised that Fear of Failure was number one, I was curious to see where the others would land. These 4 choices are actually very intertwined. First, comparison. Social media has made comparison a much larger problem than it what was. We get to see the edited and perfect highlights of where someone is presently and we compare where our real selves are now. This becomes the root of low self esteem and thus a lack of confidence. Second, fear of failure. A lot of the problem here lies in how you are defining failure. A lack of success? Whose defining the success. When we allow external definitions of success be our benchmark we will lose alignment with our purpose and the true meaning of success. Where there be hiccups along the road? Of course! But look at them as learning opportunities. Third, lack of confidence. This one stems from comparison and fear of failure. We are still concerned with what it looks like on the outside so where we are scared to take action. We tell ourselves we don't feel ready. The truth is, you will most likely never feel ready; you just have to start! Last, lack of self discipline. It's not lack of self discipline, it's the choice of inaction. Maybe from one of the above. Choosing not to take action is a decision. Action is what produces results. Baby steps are fine. Just start! But how? What are steps that get the ball rolling on taking action? We have all heard the saying "it takes a village." Let others help you take action and grow. Expand your network! Get out and meet people! Attend seminars and conferences. Get out of the comfort zone. Growth and success do not happen in the comfort zone. Your circle matters! There is a rule of thought that says "you are the summation of the 5 people you choose to spend the most time with." Think about your 5 right now. Do they bring you down or do they left you up? We can outgrow relationships. Surround yourself with a circle that encourages you to grow and be your best self. Expose yourself to new things. Opportunities are everywhere and sometimes they are found in the most unlikely go places. Do things like volunteer for boards and committees and get involved in your community. Put yourself out there and let people know what it is you are after! That is how you find the Law of Attraction! What you put out there is what comes back. Make your voice heard! If you have a hard time holding yourself accountable to your action list then get an accountability partner. Much like the person that makes sure you come to the 5 am working class, an accountability partner in your career can do the same for you! One of my all time favorite quotes is Benjamin Franklin's, "if you fail to plan, you plan to fail." I am definitely a planner geek but planning works! Digital versus paper planner: how about both? I use the digital (Google calendar) as my what. It is easy to mark out appointments etc while on the go and it links to my Calendly for people to book appointments. I use my paper planner as my how. I sit down at least once a week, usually Saturday mornings, and I put everything from my digital onto paper. It helps me get a visual and then from there I fill in all of my regular to dos like record a podcast, write a blog, etc to ensure that everything has a place. I time block out everything with a color code system (yellow for work, pink for personal, blue for family, etc). I have a freebie HERE that you can download and work on your time blocking. Create a morning routine that sets your day up for success. I am not a morning person by nature but getting up in time to get the morning tasks complete without being rushed or stressed is key. Our brains are fresh in the morning so reserve some time for good, core work in the morning. Make goals that are specific, measurable, and deadlined. You have to be able to track your progress. Little action steps each day. Think about the tortoise and the hare! A great idea is to set your goal and then back into the plan to get there. Map it out! Meal planning. This may seem odd on this list but it is a game changer to free up time on your calendar and relieve stress. Taking it one step farther to meal prepping is even better. I have templates HERE and blog posts The Value of Meal Planning and Tips to Meal Plan and Prep. Create a vision board for yourself and what you want your life and your days to look like. Define your ideal day and the begin putting items on the agenda that are aligned with that vision. Eye on the prize! Action and discipline always win over motivation. Even if you wake up not feeling motivated, make the choice of action. Each little action will create motivation to keep taking more action. The domino effect is alive and well. In Part 3, we will look at balance and living the season of life you are currently in!

I recently hosted our book club and created a charcuterie board for us to snack on while we chatted and sipped champagne. I had so much fun making it! There will definitely be more to come! Here is the link to the recipe for the Candied Pecans! I used a 24x15 inch board. Ingredients: 1 cup Candied Pecans 6 ou proscuitto ham, cut into pieces 9 ou salami, sliced 5 ou rosemary crackers 4 ou wheat crackers 3/4 cup strawberries, halved and pitted 2 small honey crisp apples, sliced 2 small bunches of grapes 5 ou gouda cheese, sliced 6 ou havarti cheese, sliced 6 ou sharp cheddar cheese, sliced 4 ou goat cheese, plain 4 ou goat cheese, cranberry and orange 4 ou goat cheese, herbed 1 jar fig preserves fresh rosemary sprigs for garnish I chose to put the strawberries and candied pecans in small boys to help anchor the corners of the board while using grapes in the two other corners. I piled the prosciutto against the grapes, then did a curving line of salami and cheese. I anchored the center with the jar of fig preserves and nestled the goat cheese beside the jar so the knife could be used for both. I assorted the apples around the strawberries then filled in the blank space with the crackers. Then wedged the rosemary sprigs around the board for color!

School is back in session which means the slow cooker is busy again! This Veggie, Bean, and Hamburger Soup recipe is super simple and packs lots of veggies and fiber! Pair it with a grilled cheese or a salad! Add cheese or hot sauce to make it your flavor! Veggie, Bean & Hamburger Soup Recipe Prep time: 15 Cook time: 8 hours Veggie, Bean & Hamburger Soup Ingredients 1 pound hamburger, cooked 12-ounce bag of frozen green beans 12-ounce bag of frozen peas 12-ounce bag of frozen mixed veggies 16-ounce can of northern beans, drained 16-ounce can of kidney beans, drained 32-ounce broth 1/2 tbsp salt 1/2 tbsp Italian seasoning Veggie, Bean & Hamburger Soup Instructions Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker and stir well. Cook on low setting for 8 hours. Stir occasionally. Serve. Check out more of my slow cooker recipes for easy healthy meals for you and your family!