An upgraded coleslaw that's crunchy, fresh and delicious. Made with cabbage, apples, cranberries and almonds and it's all coated in sweet and tangy dressing. It's the perfect side for BBQ's, parties or picnics!

Apple Slaw Recipe

Who doesn't love coleslaw? It's crunchy, it's creamy, it has just enough sweetness, and it goes with just about anything. It's always quick to be polished off.

Here you get the perfect blend of textures and flavors with the mix-in additions of apples, cranberries, almonds and optional cheese. And it's covered in a more wholesome, lighter Greek yogurt dressing (versus a classic coleslaw dressing that has as much as a cup of mayonnaise in it).

This apple slaw recipe has a pleasant mild flavor to it, but if you'd like a more pronounced flavor you can add in a tablespoon of dijon mustard to the dressing.

And if you want to skip a step and go with a shortcut, you can use a coleslaw mix in place of the shredded cabbage and carrots. Also just chop the apples instead of getting paticular and cutting into matchsticks to save time.

I think it's time for pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches this week for dinner, don't you? And then of course this homemade coleslaw to go with it!

Perfect Beef Tenderloin

Yes beef tenderloin is expensive because it only makes for a small percentage of the meat yield from a steer (or heifer), so that rarity along with it's highly sought after demand makes it a pricey cut of meat.

But of course during the holidays it's worth the splurge. It's buttery tender and doesn't get better than this! The tenderloin (or filet mignon when cut into individual portions) has the best texture (it's ruined many cheap cuts of roast for me because it's so superior).

Here we follow a straight forward method to prepare and cook it, it's seriously easy and hard to mess up. It is however almost imperative you have a key piece of kitchen equipment. You'll need a trusty probe oven thermometer (I highly recommend the Chef Alarm I own a few and they work well. Other cheaper options are available online as well).

If you are going to spend that much on a cut of meat you don't want to ruin it. The cook time will vary based on thickness of the roast and desired doneness, so it's best to take out all the guess work and risk and use a thermometer that will monitor the temp the entire time and alert you when it's ready to your desired target temperature.

It's understandable though if you don't already own one and you just have an instant read food thermometer. If going this route you'll just want to start to check the temperature at about 1 hour then continue to closely monitor it, while taking the temp quickly and don't let heat escape the oven for long.

Note that you can purchase beef tenderloin peeled of silver skin and other tough connective tissue that's ready to cook (you'll pay a bit more per pound), or you can peel it yourself and save some money (just keep in mind you'll need a 6 lb roast here rather than 5).

What to Serve with It

If you are wondering what to serve with this, I know this may be repetitive, but everyone seems perfectly pleased by the classic meat and potatoes combo especially over the holidays. Whether it's scalloped potatoes, garlic mashed potatoes, a roasted potato veggie blend, parmesan mashed potatoes, or just baked potatoes you can't go wrong with comfort food classics.

Salads and the typical bright greens go well too. Steamed or roasted broccoli, green beans, asparagus, or Brussels sprouts.

And make it a completely homestyle meal with homemade rosemary dinner rolls, then fancy it up with my favorite vanilla bean cheesecake to finish for dessert. I'd call it the perfect meal!

Honey Baked Ham Recipe

A go-to method for spiral sliced ham. In the past I've hated how I'd always ended up with some dry slices, but not here.

I like Cook's Illustrated's method for spiral sliced ham so I used the same method here and just added different glaze rather than the orange maple one they used.

So many ham recipes (at the same weight) are cooked at 375 degrees for up to 3 hours but why? The ham is already fully cooked, it just needs to be warmed through for serving.

Here the ham is first brought up to room temperature in warm water so it heats more evenly in the oven. From there it's wrapped in an oven bag for faster cooking, and moister end result.

And then finally at the end it's unwrapped and coated with the glaze and heated at a higher temperature to help brown and caramelize it a bit.

It's the perfect protein for a holiday feast!

Love white chocolate vanilla bean treats? Also try my triple layer Vanilla Bean Cheesecake (with Mousse!). It's easily one of my all time favorite desserts!

The BEST White Hot Chocolate

I'd dare say this velvety drink is the BEST white hot chocolate! Far better than any mix you'll by, better than what you'll get at a local shop, and yes even better than Starbucks white hot chocolate.

It's company-worthy and loved by people of all ages. And you wouldn't believe how easy it is to make.

Plus it only requires 4 ingredients (along with a pinch of salt), and it's perfectly customizable (see some fun ideas below).

It's also an unexpected and welcome change from the classic chocolate flavored hot chocolate.

You can also double or triple the recipe for a bigger crowd, just use a pot instead of a saucepan.

What more could you want on a chilly winter day than this warm, inviting, vanilla bean flecked white hot chocolate?

The Best Ricotta Cookies Recipe!

Our favorite ricotta cookies! They're easy to make and they're always consistently delicious.

They're so good that you can never stop at just one.

The ricotta cookie dough can be made two days in advance so it's a great make ahead recipe. Plus it makes a huge batch of cookies so they're great for celebrations and gifting.

You'll love their lightly lemony flavor, the melt-in-your-mouth texture and that sweet and simple icing finish. And if you want a little contrast finish them with crunchy sugar sprinkles which also adds a pretty and festive pop of color.

Favorite M&M Cookie Recipe

These are a favorite cookie from childhood that always satisfies those cookie cravings!

They can be made with regular sized M&M's or mini M&M's, milk chocolate or dark chocolate flavor, and the great part is that you can use any color. It's fun to switch the M&M's out with different colors to complement the latest holiday.

You'll love that they're perfectly sweet, deliciously buttery, they're a generous size, and have the perfect texture. Truly a highlight to any celebration or weekend.

A cookie that checks all the boxes. Temptingly tasty, fun and festive, a pretty individual hand held treat, and they're easy to make.

What's not to love?

Simple Sugar Cookie Cut Outs

Who says you need to wait 2 hours to chill sugar cookie dough before cutting? This recipe and simple method proves that old method wrong.

The simple technique to speed up the process, which also happens to be less of a mess as well, is to roll the dough between two sheets of parchment paper and freeze for just 15 minutes it to firm it up.

From there the dough is easy to work with and ready to go to cut into various shapes.

It's a process I use in my gingerbread men recipe and it works amazingly well here also.

You end with cookies that hold there shape nicely, that have crisp edges, chewy centers and a deliciously buttery flavor.

Decorating Suggestion

Then to keep the simplified method going I would suggest trying the cheater icing option like I've done here.

• Make one recipe of icing found here.
• Pipe an outline of the cookie with the icing.
• Then drizzle back and forth within the shape leaving some space uncoated, it's a quick rough fill.
• Immediately cover with sprinkles and shake off the excess.

Cut out sugar cookies really don't get any easier than this, and that's without sacrificing flavor or texture either.

Easy Sugar Cookie Icing

When I've made sugar cookie icing in the past I've gone with royal icing, which uses dried egg white powder. But who wants to buy a specialty ingredient that's hard to find that you've only got one use for, right?

So a few weeks ago I tested a different icing that uses corn syrup instead and from here on out it will definitely my go-to.

There's so many reasons to love it: It's unbelievably easy to make, you just need a bowl and a fork. You'll find it tints nicely holding vibrant colors (and a little food color goes a long way). It pipes beautifully (once you get the right consistency), and it sets to a nice hard layer making it suitable for stacking.

No unique ingredients and you really don't even need special equipment (like a piping bag and tip) if you don't need detailed shapes. I've even used a quart size freezer bag with success, just seal the bag and cut a tiny tip from one corner for that option.

It's the perfect icing for all your holiday and celebratory sugar cookies!

Free up the Oven, Make Stuffing in a Crockpot!

This is a go-to stuffing recipe for us, once you try it you'll see why! It's just as good as what you can make in the oven and it's less tending to.

If you always hated stuffing growing up because you ate the boxed stuff I highly recommend trying this slow cooker stuffing recipe!

Once I tried this made from scratch version I was hooked. You'll love all the fresh, real flavor it has when it's homemade, plus it's easier to make than you'd think.

This stuffing is packed with fresh herbs, it's made from freshly dried bread cubes (I listed store-bought bread cubes as an option just in case you don't have time to make your own), and has the perfect amount of butter and veggies.

On Thanksgiving we all know how little oven space is available so it always helps to either be able to make some of it ahead of time or in the slow cooker. This recipe is a game changer.

And believe it or not I think you'll love the way the slow cooker cooks the stuffing. You get a soft buttery center and deliciously crisp edges. What's not to love?

I hope this recipe becomes a staple for your Thanksgiving dinner! It's just one of those timeless classics that always pleases. It's just good for the soul comfort food.

Chewy Sugar Cookies

So we've got frosted sugar cookies, cut out iced sugar cookies, sugar cookie bars, crisp sugar cookies and then there's these super simple chewy sugar cookies. They're similar to the cookies from the ready to bake dough you can get from the grocery store but way better!

And you'll love how quick they are. You can have these cookies ready in 30 minutes.

It's an old fashioned deliciously buttery cookie just like grandma made, and it will continue to be a cookie that will withstand the test of time. Everyone loves these!

They're simple tasty cookies that take minimal effort but finish with completely delicious end results.