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!

Homemade Banana Pudding

This banana pudding recipe has it all. The pudding is made with half and half for richness, egg yolks and cornstarch for a sure thickening, just the right amount of sweetness, and to fancy it up we add a vanilla bean and fresh grated nutmeg for flavor.

Then it includes a generous amount of just ripened bananas, and of course those simple but ever so nostalgic store-bought vanilla wafers. And no baking required.

It's as good as it gets!

This is a year round dessert that's perfect for a holiday celebration, a welcome addition to a weekend dinner, or just because you want a treat yourself kind of indulgence today.

Serve it up laid back casserole style in a baking dish or make it more elegant and serve in individual tumblers or dessert cups.

Have family or friends help with this fun layered cooking project that once complete is amazingly refreshing and satisfying with each and every bite!

Fresh Green Beans Almondine

Traditional Green Bean Almondine is good but we like to go beyond simply good and upgrade that to exceptional around here.

In this vegetable side dish you get a delicious fusion of flavors and textures with tender crisp green beans, lively garlic, salty bacon, crunchy almonds, sharp parmesan, and tart lemon.

It turns an ordinary vegetable into something with crowd-pleasing flavor that will be the talk of the meal.

People may very well be saying "I never knew green beans could be so delicious!"

And you'll be happy with the fact that it really is quite easy to make. Try this at your next holiday get together or for a fancy Sunday supper.

Who doesn't love a recipe that makes the mark to be tasty enough for the holidays with a hint of gourmet elegance, yet it's easy enough for a weekday? This chicken Florentine is just that!

It comes together quickly since it's pan fried on the stovetop but it's impressive enough to serve to guests.

You'll find that the sauce has layers of flavor thanks to the white wine, shallot, parmesan cheese, garlic and abundance of spinach. Plus there's plenty of sauce so you can have extra for dipping with fresh bread or pairing with pasta alongside the chicken.

A helpful tip and reminder whenever cooking chicken breasts, just cook them right to 165 degrees in the center so you end up with juicy, tender chicken breasts (if overcooked they become dry and chewy, I highly recommend using an instant read thermometer to test for doneness).

Sweet Brown Sugar or Honey Glazed Carrots

You may find these are reminiscent of sweet potatoes but with a fraction of the time effort! And you only need 5 ingredients (plus salt and pepper).

Carrots are sliced on a biased, steamed in a skillet until nearly tender, then sautéed with butter and brown sugar or honey.

It's a simple method that has plenty of leeway for adaptations (variations I'd recommend are adding spices, tossing in dried nuts or dried cranberries, and finishing with other herbs such as chives or dill).

You'll find it to be a quick go-to side dish that will compliment so many of your favorite entrees, they may even take center stage for favorite item on the dinner plate. Even kids will love these!

It's often the simplest things that are the best.

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?