A great place to come, share your blog posts and make new friends.
We are so glad you are here with us each week.
I am so excited to be a part of the Home Matters Linky Party Team! I have been participating for quite some time and am eager to make some more contributions to this party. A little about me – I’m a Wife and Mom. My husband, four kids, 5 dogs and 75+ chickens (and counting) all currently live in the rural Montana. We are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime as we live out our dreams of being Homesteaders! Like the name implies – I love to make homemade meals every night of the week for my family. I care about what types of things we are eating and I like to try new things. This blog is all about sharing those journeys and adventures with you.
Now on to this week’s party! I can’t wait to see you there.
Please take some time to poke around and visit some of the other links.
Please take some time to check out your hosts and co-hosts on social media.
We appreciate the variety of blogs on the www; however, the Home Matters Party is for links on matters of the HOME. Please link accordingly.
We ask that you do not add other Linky Parties, Blog Hops, or Giveaways–unless you begin the party with a new project, recipe or post.
On the same note, please do not add links of an extremist, political or strong controversial nature. (The hosts and co-hosts read each and every blog post linked and will contact you directly if you have linked something that does not fit into the realm of the party.)
With your help, we can continue to grow the Home Matters Party! Thank you!
We are looking for Co-Hosts. Help us Rock this party! If you are interested, please contact Donna at radforddesignstudio@gmail.com.
Link Up!
By joining the Home Matters Linky Party you are giving permission for all hosts and co-hosts to use and share any part of your post, including pictures, for party promotion, as featured posts, in party photo collages, on blogs, across social media, etc. All credits will be given to the original source.
Thank you for joining in the fun and excitement at the Home Matters Linky Party. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. We look forward to chatting with you in the comments.
This is one of those “I’m so tired and done with the day but we still gotta eat” recipes. I keep a few packages of cheese tortellini in my freezer all the time for just this sort of recipe. A super simple meatball baked in the over and a really easy Garlic cream sauce brings things together. Creamy Garlic Tortellini & Sausage is weeknight cooking at its finest.
Creamy Garlic Tortellini & Sausage
This recipe is essentially just using the sauce from my Creamy Garlic Shells Recipe to bring together super easy meatballs (just 3 ingredients) and pre-made cheese tortellini. Sometimes that is all it takes to make a meal feel that little bit special on a busy weeknight. I’ve said for a long time that your meals will feel so much more homemade by simply making a quick sauce.
Creamy Garlic Tortellini & Sausage
Substitutes and Variations:
I use plain cheese tortellini for this. You can use whatever varieties you like. It would also work with Raviolis, thoughi find that harder to eat with the meatballs. As for the meatballs, you could use another ground meat in place of the italian sausage. You would just need to add more seasoning (since the italian sausage is basically already seasoned.)
Creamy Garlic Tortellini & Sausage
Suggestions for Sides:
This is a pretty hearty all-inclusive meal. You could serve some garlic bread on the side or a nice simple salad. I would go with a Caesar or easy green salad.
Creamy Garlic Tortellini & Sausage
Tools that may make this recipe easier:
You just need basic kitchen tools for this recipe. You will want a baking sheet with a baking rack for the meatballs (it helps them cook evenly on all sides without drying out). A pot for boiling the tortellini and a sauce pan for the cream sauce. A good whisk for the sauce makes it easier too!
In a mixing bowl combine the meatball ingredients thoroughly. Using a 1inch food scoop, portion the mixture into meatballs. Roll between the palms of your hands (use gloves if desired) to make even round balls. Line the balls out on a baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes.
Start water boiling for the tortellini.
In a large measuring cup add dry ingredients for the sauce and whisk together. Add the chicken broth and whisk until dry ingredients are mostly dissolved.
In a sauce pan over medium heat, add broth mixture. Let come to just a bubble (whisking occasionally) then, while whisking add milk. Let return to a bubble and then reduce heat to medium low. Sauce will thicken as it simmers, whisk occasionally to prevent scorching.
Add tortellini to boiling water and cook as directed on the package (usually they are done when they are all floating). Drain in colander. Return to pot away from heat.
Add cooked meatballs to the pot with the tortellini and then pour sauce over. Gently stir to evenly coat. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, if desired.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Welcome to this week’s Weekly Wrap-up and Blog Link-up.
It’s a new year at the Senior Salon Pit Stop and it’s time to vroom-vroom to all the great posts that everyone is creating all around the the blogosphere! Scroll down to check out my Weekly Wrap-up along with my Featured posts from the previous Pit Stop!
What’s been going on at Homemade on a Weeknight?
Things are just not going my way with my gardening this year. Our constant fluctuation made it almost impossible to maintain my seedlings – I ended up with 13 usable plants out of the over 200 seeds I started. Then I finally put some of them into soil and within 3 days they are wilting and dying off. It breaks my heart that we just won’t have much of a garden this year. Anyone else having trouble?
What have you been up to this past week?
Just #ICYMI – one of the most popular recipes from the blog this last week was this Summer Steak Salad
Summer Steak Salad
In case you missed it, here are the recipes that I shared to the blog this week:
Share and support by linking unlimited family-friendly posts and engaging with others through thoughtful comments. We welcome a wide variety of content, including recipes, crafts, tips, and more; all family-friendly niches are encouraged.
Please note that any content not aligned with our family-friendly guidelines will be removed. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a positive and respectful community.
To help grow your reach, we encourage you to add the Senior Salon Pit Stop image to your posts (HTML code available on EsmeSalon) and share your entry numbers along with your Facebook and Instagram handles for added visibility.
Ready to join in? Sign up at EsmeSalon for reminders, link-ups, and the opportunity to showcase your blog. We’re glad to have you participate!
By joining the Senior Salon Pit Stop, you signify permission (EsmeSalon privacy policy) to share your posts and images here and receive an email reminder when our next Senior Salon Pit Stop is LIVE.
**PS: Feel free to sign up at EsmeSalon Personal Invite
To ensure that you are properly recognized in case when featured, please provide your entry numbers in the blog comments along with your Facebook Page and Instagram handles. This will make it easier for me to tag you.
Show off your feature by adding the “I was featured at the Senior Salon Pit Stop” image to your post. Use this code:
A few simple rules for the Senior Salon Pit Stop Link Party:
For every post that you share – make one comment on someone else’s post. Help make their day a bit brighter.
Unlimited sharing BUT we ask that you visit one other blog post for each link you share.
Posts can be on any subject that is family-friendly.
Posts with direct sales, shops, or affiliates must contain relevant post content.
That’s it! Come and join the fun and let’s make it worthwhile!
If you are looking for more fun places to link up your posts – check out our Ultimate Handy Linky Party List – check back often as it’s always growing. And if we have missed your Linky Party – please send me a message and we will get it added in!
Warmer days are on the horizon which means cooler meals that don’t require heating up the kitchen to prepare. I love a marinated steak, grilled and sliced up on a fresh salad. Its got all the protein you need to fill you up without all the carbs to weigh you down. This easy Summer Steak Salad is going to be a great additon to your summer dinner menu plans.
Summer Steak Salad
Its really important that you make the steak far enough in advance to let it rest well. This is for two reasons- one you always let a steak rest before slicing into it so that the juices can go back into it instead of all over the cutting board (and your lettuce). And two, you do not want to put a hot steak on your lettuce directly as it will cause it to wilt and be unpleasant.
Summer Steak Salad
Substitutes and Variations:
I’ve added my favorite vegetables to this salad. I think they have a nice profile to go with a hearty steak. You can swap things out and add your favorites. Grape or cherry tomatoes (cut in half), chopped broccoli and/or cauliflower are also wonderful. I’ve included a simple vinaigrette recipe but you can also use any of your favorite Italian dressings.
Summer Steak Salad
Suggestions for Sides:
This salad really has it all in the bowl. That said, a simple garlic knot or breadstick is a nice side item. It would also be great with some fresh cut fruit options too.
Summer Steak Salad
Tools that may make this recipe easier:
You will need a way to grill up the steak. I use my Traeger on the highest setting. If you prefer a propane or charcoal grill then you can do it that way. If you do not have an outdoor cooking option, a grill pan is a great choice too.
Perfect for a hot summer dinner – marinated steak over a plate of veggies with a simple Italian vinaigrette
Course Dinner, Entree Salad, Main Course, Salad
Cuisine American
Keyword carrots, cucumber, entree salad, feta cheese, grilled steak, italian dressing, marinated steak, red onion, spring mix, steak, steak recipes
Prep Time 20 minutesminutes
Cook Time 15 minutesminutes
Marinating Time 1 hourhour
Ingredients
8cupsSpring Mix Greens
2Carrotsthin sliced
1English Cucumberthin sliced
½Red Onionthin sliced
1cupFeta Cheese
1cupCroutons
4-6Top Round Steaks
4Garlic Clovesminced or pressed
For the Marinade & Dressing
1cupOilOlive or Avocado
1cupApple Cider Vinegaror white
¼cupLemon Juice
1tspBlack Pepper
1tspSalt
1tspDried Basil
1tspDried Oregano
1tspGarlic Powder
1tspOnion Powder
½tspRed Pepper Flakes
1tbspDijon Mustard
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Combine ingredients for the dressing/marinade in a quart sized mason jar. Shake vigorously.
Add steaks and garlic to a gallon sized zipper bag. Pour half of the dressing/marinade over the steaks. Zip bag and smoosh around to evenly coat. Let marinate for at least 1 hour (up to over night). Store remaining dressing in sealed mason jar in refrigerator until ready to use (up to 2 weeks).
Preheat grill to 400degF/High Heat.
Remove steaks from marinade and place on hot grill. Cook for 5-7 minutes then flip and cook another 5 minutes more. (Cook to desired doneness, but it will eat better cold if you cook it to medium or less). Let steak rest for at least 15 minutes before slicing.
Assemble your salad starting with a bed of spring mix. Layer on your veggies and drizzle with dressing. Add your cooled, cut steak pieces, croutons and feta cheese. Add another drizzle of dressing.
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
A great place to come, share your blog posts and make new friends.
We are so glad you are here with us each week.
I am so excited to be a part of the Home Matters Linky Party Team! I have been participating for quite some time and am eager to make some more contributions to this party. A little about me – I’m a Wife and Mom. My husband, four kids, 5 dogs and 75+ chickens (and counting) all currently live in the rural Montana. We are embarking on the adventure of a lifetime as we live out our dreams of being Homesteaders! Like the name implies – I love to make homemade meals every night of the week for my family. I care about what types of things we are eating and I like to try new things. This blog is all about sharing those journeys and adventures with you.
Now on to this week’s party! I can’t wait to see you there.
Please take some time to poke around and visit some of the other links.
Please take some time to check out your hosts and co-hosts on social media.
We appreciate the variety of blogs on the www; however, the Home Matters Party is for links on matters of the HOME. Please link accordingly.
We ask that you do not add other Linky Parties, Blog Hops, or Giveaways–unless you begin the party with a new project, recipe or post.
On the same note, please do not add links of an extremist, political or strong controversial nature. (The hosts and co-hosts read each and every blog post linked and will contact you directly if you have linked something that does not fit into the realm of the party.)
With your help, we can continue to grow the Home Matters Party! Thank you!
We are looking for Co-Hosts. Help us Rock this party! If you are interested, please contact Donna at radforddesignstudio@gmail.com.
Link Up!
By joining the Home Matters Linky Party you are giving permission for all hosts and co-hosts to use and share any part of your post, including pictures, for party promotion, as featured posts, in party photo collages, on blogs, across social media, etc. All credits will be given to the original source.
Thank you for joining in the fun and excitement at the Home Matters Linky Party. We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. We look forward to chatting with you in the comments.
It is becoming Farmer’s Market seasoning and schedules are popping up all over! If you are a regular at the markets, you know how wonderful it can be to find fresh straight from the farm produce and products, along with some great Artisan locally made wares. If you are new to the Farmers Market scene, you might be a little timid about how to enter this world unto itself. Here are a few tips – rather 7 Tips to Farmer’s Market Success.
7 Tips for Farmer’s Market Success
GET THERE EARLY – BUT NOT BEFORE IT OPENS
BRING A LIST!
UNLESS YOU ARE BUYING AN EXTRA LARGE QUANTITY- DO NOT HAGGLE
BRING YOUR OWN BAGS
ONLY TOUCH IF INVITED TO DO SO!
BRING CASH
PAY ATTENTION TO SIGNAGE (both in general and at each booth)
GET THERE EARLY – BUT NOT BEFORE IT OPENS
While it is important to get there early in the day to snag the best products, it is important to let the vendors fully set up. When you start shopping and asking questions while they are still getting situated you may not get the best customer service. They need to be set and ready to have the best day they can.
BRING A LIST!
It is always super fun to wander and “window shop” as you walk the stalls. But if you went with the intent of stocking up for the week ahead, come prepared with a list. While you may not find everything (remember it is not a grocery store!), some bit of organizing will make it a much more success trip. And if you aren’t finding what you wanted, don’t be afraid to ask the vendors. They may have not had enough room to put it all out or they may be able to point you in the right direction.
7 Tips for Farmer’s Market Success
UNLESS YOU ARE BUYING AN EXTRA LARGE QUANTITY- DO NOT HAGGLE
There are lots of things that go into determining the price of an item at a market. Things like the fee to be at the market, traveling to the market, packaging, transporting, signage, wages and more. It is truly not just the single tomato you are eyeing. So haggling a hard working farmer to save a dime, really isnt worthwhile. All that said, if you are buying cases and boxes of something – I am talking many pounds of something- thats when you can look for some quantity discounts.
BRING YOUR OWN BAGS
Again, remember that you are not in a grocery store – so many vendors will not have bags for you. It is a cost savings, as well as cutting down on single use bags. You will always be better off to bring your own reusable bags to carry your finds back home.
ONLY TOUCH IF INVITED TO DO SO
It is definitely tempting to want to pick and look over everything in each stall. But please be courteous and respectful of the vendors’ request to not touch and/or handle with care. This can be a health & safety thing or simple a fragile item thing.
7 Tips for Farmer’s Market Success
BRING CASH
As we move forward in the dawn of technology- more and more vendors have point of sale options that are simple as having a phone and wifi connection. So often many vendors can take your card easily. That said – some markets are more rural and do not have good service to work wirelessly. Another consideration is that some will charge a fee to run a card, as the vendor is charged a fee by their bank. So having at least some cash is usually a good idea.
PAY ATTENTION TO SIGNAGE (both in general and at each booth)
Depending on the size and formality of the market – you want to make sure you are abiding by the rules of the space. Some markets do not allow animals to walk among the stalls – others do. Some have a central cashier and others are booth by booth. Another important thing to keep an eye on is the separation of booths. While they do try sometimes you may wander to another booth not realizing its not the same vendor. Just be mindful of this.
7 Tips for Farmer’s Market Success
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Want to host an appetizer night that people actually remember?
There’s something about a cheese board piled high with spreads, freshly baked bread and friends to share it with. It’s easy. Stress-free. And (when executed correctly) downright impressive. Here’s the best part
You don’t need to be a chef to pull it off.
Friday night with friends, holidays or just a reason to open that special bottle of wine, never fails with an appetizer night. Find recipes here for appetizers centered around artisan cheese – that elevate your evening to an occasion.
Let’s jump in…
Inside This Guide:
Why Hand-Crafted Cheese Belongs On Your Table
5x Appetizer Night Ideas To Try
Tips For Pairing Cheese Spreads
Why Hand-Crafted Cheese Belongs On Your Table
Hand-crafted cheese is the foundation of a great appetizer night.
Why? Because industrial cheese is bland. Factory cheese lacks the intense flavors and textures that cause someone to pause, take a bite and say “wow”. Artisan cheese is produced in small batches by people who care.
That care shows up in the flavor.
Supermarket bread versus bakery bread from your local baker. Same concept….. totally different experience.
The same goes for cheese.
Americans eat a lot of cheese… but they want it to be better cheese. Data released this week reveals that the typical American consumed around 42 pounds of cheese last year. Demand for higher quality cheese continues to grow.
Enter the proper cheese spreads. Think: September Farm artisan cheese that is made using traditional methods — which translates to richer flavor, superior texture and just the type of taste your cheese spreads deserve to be the stars of the show.
And here’s the kicker…
An incredible cheese allows you to do most of the heavy lifting for you. No long list of ingredients or complicated recipes. A high quality cheese spread and some simple accompaniments is all you need. When the cheese is good, anything will go.
5x Appetizer Night Ideas Built Around Cheese Spreads
Time for the fun part.
These 5x appetizer recipes will get you in and out of the kitchen FAST, but don’t compromise on taste. Choose one, combine two or try 5x appetizers over the next few weeks. Each recipe features artisan cheese as the main attraction.
The Classic Cheese Board
You can’t go wrong with a classic cheese board.
For a reason, charcuterie boards are America’s favorite appetizer format. It’s versatile, simple, and delicious. According to a recent industry report, charcuterie and cheese platters grew 7.7% last year as consumers created boards to accompany everything from breakfast to sweet treats.
Here’s what you need:
2-3 hand-crafted cheese spreads
Crackers (variety of textures)
Fresh and dried fruit
Honey or fig jam
A handful of nuts
Sort everything into piles on top of a wood cutting board. Leave some space between items, you don’t want the board to look cluttered.
Pretty simple, right?
Loaded Crostini Bar
Crostini bars are a guest favourite because everyone gets to build their own.
Cut a baguette into slices. Toast the slices in the oven. Arrange a few artisanal cheese spreads on a platter with toppings on the side. Let your guests do the rest.
Toppings to try:
Honey + crushed pistachios
Fig jam + cracked pepper
Roasted tomato + basil
Hot pepper jelly
This appetizer is a crowd favourite because it’s LOW EFFORT + HIGH IMPACT. It’s also one of the least expensive because you likely already have most of the toppings.
Stuffed Mini Peppers
Want something a bit different? Try stuffed mini peppers.
Cut mini sweet peppers in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and stuff with creamy homemade cheese spread. Garnish with fresh herbs or a drizzle of olive oil.
These are bite-sized, colourful and disappear in about 10 minutes flat.
Baked Cheese Dip
Nothing beats warm, melty cheese on a cold night.
Add your homemade cheese spread to an oven safe ramekin. Sprinkle with herbs, bread crumbs or top with a drizzle of hot honey. Place in a 375°F oven until hot and bubbly. Enjoy with crusty bread, crackers or vegetable crudité.
It looks fancy, but it’s surprisingly easy to make.
Cheese-Stuffed Dates
Sweet, salty and creamy all in one bite.
Cut medjool dates in half and fill each half with a homemade cheese spread. Wrap each date in a slice of prosciutto. Serve chilled or broil for 1 minute to crisp the prosciutto.
Either way, they’re a guaranteed hit.
Tips For Pairing Cheese Spreads
Pairing makes or breaks an appetizer night.
Choose the correct pairings and your cheese plates will taste even better than they already do. Here are some simple guidelines to remember.
Match Strong With Strong
Bold cheeses need bold pairings.
A firm aged cheddar can stand up to spicy mustards, pickled vegetables or salami. A mild creamy cheese? Pair it with honey, soft fruit or buttery crackers.
Hit all three and the board feels balanced. Skip one and something feels off.
Serve At Room Temperature
This one tip changes everything.
Cold cheese tastes bland and has a rubbery texture. Take your cheese spreads out of the fridge 30-45 minutes before guests arrive so they can fully develop their flavour. It’s an easy step that makes a world of difference.
Don’t Forget The Bread
Bread is your secret weapon.
Baguette slices (crusty edges torn off), soft pretzels and water crackers are great carriers for cheese spreads. Remember to always provide at least two kinds of bread, so everyone can have a favorite.
Bringing It All Together
Appetizer nights built around hand-crafted cheese are one of the easiest ways to entertain.
They’re flexible, affordable and almost impossible to mess up. To quickly recap:
Start with quality hand-crafted cheese spreads
Pick a format (board, crostini, stuffed peppers, baked dip, or stuffed dates)
Balance sweet, salty and crunchy
Serve at room temperature
Add bread and let your guests build their own bites
When you entertain next, don’t mess around with fancy recipes. Just leave out some tasty cheese spreads, add some bread and fruit and let the cheese entertain for you.
Part of what makes apps successful is that they’re inherently communal. Guests unwind, they converse, they replenish their plates. A great cheese board is what will keep them seated once the wine has kicked in.
This is a perfect summer time dinner option. With just a handful of ingredients, you can easily get them set up in the oven and on the table in less than 30 minutes. With the classic flavors of buffalo chicken with ranch, the whole family is going to adore these Simple Buffalo Chicken Sliders. They are great for a game night or backyard bbq as well – if you want to have a handheld easy item to serve.
Simple Buffalo Chicken Sliders
If you can find different heat level buffalo sauces, you can adjust the heat level of the meat entirely. It is very important that you add the butter to the pan when you add the sauce, as the high vinegar content of the sauce won’t thicken on its own. You also definitely need to add the ranch seasoning to the meat. You can use your favorite packet or you can use the homemade version I have added to the bottom of the recipe card.
Simple Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Substitutes and Variations:
If you wanted to you could swap out the ground chicken for ground turkey. You could also swap it out for some shredded chicken (either homemade or from a rotisserie chicken). I used Monterey Jack cheese but you can go cheddar, mozzarella or even some blue cheese sprinkles. You could also just use some regular dinner rolls if you arent a fan of the Hawaiian rolls.
Simple Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Suggestions for Sides:
I served these with my homemade ranch, and some veggies sticks (carrot, celery and cucumber) also with some curly fries. It was a well rounded meal that the kids really enjoyed.
Simple Buffalo Chicken Sliders
Tools that may make this recipe easier:
It is important to you use the baking rack to bake these sliders. It prevents the bottom of the buns from getting soggy and making the sliders hard to eat.
2tbspRanch Seasoningsee recipe below or use a packet
4tbspButter
1cupBuffalo Sauce
1flatHawaiian Rollsshould have 16 rolls
½lbMonterey Jack Cheesesliced thinly
1tbspDried Parsely
1tspSalt
Cooking Oil Spray
Get Recipe Ingredients
Instructions
Preheat oven to 400defF.
In a large saute pan over medium high heat, add ground chicken and ranch seasoning. Cook and crumble until no longer pink.
Slice the entire flat of Hawaiian rolls into a top and bottom. Lay both face up on a baking rack over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Spray evenly with cooking oil spray. Place in the oven to lightly toast (about 6 minutes).
Once chicken is cooked through, add butter and buffalo sauce to pan and stir to evenly coat. Reduce heat to simmer for about 5 minutes (sauce should thicken slightly).
Spread the buffalo chicken mixture evenly over the bottom layer of rolls. Then place slices of Monterey jack cheese evenly over the top of the chicken. Top it with the toasted tops of the rolls. Spray with cooking oil spray and the sprinkle with salt and parsley.
Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes (cheese should be fully melted). Let them rest for at least 5 minutes before removing to a cutting board and cutting into 16 sliders.
Notes
Ranch Seasoning
I love to link up my posts to lots of blogs around the internet – check out this Ultimate Handy Linky Party List to find some of the places I share to!
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
Welcome to this week’s Weekly Wrap-up and Blog Link-up.
It’s a new year at the Senior Salon Pit Stop and it’s time to vroom-vroom to all the great posts that everyone is creating all around the the blogosphere! Scroll down to check out my Weekly Wrap-up along with my Featured posts from the previous Pit Stop!
What’s been going on at Homemade on a Weeknight?
Its a big week for us – our Graduated High school this weekend and then will leave for Marines Boot Camp in just two short weeks. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming and cannot wait to see the great things he will accomplish.
Share and support by linking unlimited family-friendly posts and engaging with others through thoughtful comments. We welcome a wide variety of content, including recipes, crafts, tips, and more; all family-friendly niches are encouraged.
Please note that any content not aligned with our family-friendly guidelines will be removed. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation in helping us maintain a positive and respectful community.
To help grow your reach, we encourage you to add the Senior Salon Pit Stop image to your posts (HTML code available on EsmeSalon) and share your entry numbers along with your Facebook and Instagram handles for added visibility.
Ready to join in? Sign up at EsmeSalon for reminders, link-ups, and the opportunity to showcase your blog. We’re glad to have you participate!
By joining the Senior Salon Pit Stop, you signify permission (EsmeSalon privacy policy) to share your posts and images here and receive an email reminder when our next Senior Salon Pit Stop is LIVE.
**PS: Feel free to sign up at EsmeSalon Personal Invite
To ensure that you are properly recognized in case when featured, please provide your entry numbers in the blog comments along with your Facebook Page and Instagram handles. This will make it easier for me to tag you.
Show off your feature by adding the “I was featured at the Senior Salon Pit Stop” image to your post. Use this code:
A few simple rules for the Senior Salon Pit Stop Link Party:
For every post that you share – make one comment on someone else’s post. Help make their day a bit brighter.
Unlimited sharing BUT we ask that you visit one other blog post for each link you share.
Posts can be on any subject that is family-friendly.
Posts with direct sales, shops, or affiliates must contain relevant post content.
That’s it! Come and join the fun and let’s make it worthwhile!
If you are looking for more fun places to link up your posts – check out our Ultimate Handy Linky Party List – check back often as it’s always growing. And if we have missed your Linky Party – please send me a message and we will get it added in!
It looks like that winter that forgot to happen in the “winter months” decided that April was a great time to make up for it. We had several days of 80+ temperatures followed by days of snow fall and temps in the 30s. It has been strange for sure and definitely interesting! I have looked at the page views and stats to check out the popular recipes posts from last month. There are no surprises here – at least for me, maybe you missed one of these posts? Either way I hope you enjoy checking out the Five #MostPopularRecipes of Last Month – APR-2026. It is a countdown, so be sure to scroll to end of this post to see #1!
This is not your basic boring cornbread. This recipe brings the heat and cheesy goodness – giving some oomph to your cornbread. I’ve included my recipe for homemade cornbread mix at the bottom of this page but you can also use your favorite box or bag mix. Most of all you are going to love the crunchy crust of this Pepperjack Cornbread.
Sometimes you need your weeknight family dinner to be just a little bit fancy. Maybe you had a hard day or need to celebrate a smaller victory with your family. Maybe you just have a hankering for some delicious steak and a creamy garlic pasta. Whatever the reason to add this recipe to your weeks dinner menu, I am here for it – and you! This super simple recipe for Creamy Garlic Pasta & Steak is sure to satisfy your stomach and your soul!
Some times dinner just needs to be a wrap. It’s easy to make, easy to eat and easy to clean up from. You can turn lots of different things into a wrap or burrito or roll-up – whatever you prefer to call them. This particular wrap puts lots of veggies into a tortilla with some crunchy crispy chicken and kicks up the heat with the addition of spicy buffalo sauce. These easy to make Crispy Buffalo Chicken Wraps are a great idea for a a weeknight dinner.
In our house we have basically 3 meats on constant rotation – Chicken, Beef and Pork. And I love to utilize the ground versions of each. We definitely use other types of meat like turkey and seafood, but not as often. So for this Recipe Collection, I want to share with you my favorite Ground Pork recipes. Ground pork is such a great canvas for so many different cuisines. I hope you find a few on this list to add to your rotation.
I don’t usually make recipes that require a super specialized piece of cooking equipment (except maybe slow cookers), but I am so in love with my Blackstone griddle, I can’t help it. For the most part the other things I have made thus far can be made on the stove top, however this Blackstone Cowboy Stir-Fry really does the need the wide open flat space of the griddle. It is a total game changer for making meals like this for the whole family at once. By the by – this is not an ad for Blackstone products at all – my hubs got me one for my birthday this year and I just love it so very much.
I hope you have enjoyed looking back on the Five Most Popular Recipes from March 2026. Was there one that you missed?
Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
