We Love Easy, Filling Meals! Pasta dishes are among the easiest recipes to make and are a favorite main dish in our house! Better yet, my kids are more apt to try and love a new recipe when it has pasta in it. Because who doesn’t love pasta?! This list features our easiest and most delicious recipes! For pasta tips & tricks, scroll to the bottom of this post! Family-Favorite Easy Pasta Recipes These are our ride or die pasta recipes....

More Collections: Pasta Salad Recipes, Spring Salad Recipes, Spring Desserts We Love Spring! Spring brings fresh peak-season fruits and veggies to brighten up our dinners and add color. Some of my favorite spring produce to include in recipes that aren’t as common are peas, radishes, artichoke hearts, and leeks. Between all the delicious ingredients that spring yields, you’ll be able to create some delicious spring dinner ideas. Why we love spring dinners:...

In a world where there are vegan substitutes for everything from ham to eggs and sour cream, it’s surprising to me that it’s so hard to find a good vegan heavy cream substitute. There’s one widely-available brand in stores that I can think of, and if it’s not sold at your local grocery store, you’re out of luck. Well, the good news is that it’s easy to make vegan heavy cream at home—and it only requires a few basic ingredients!...

Don’t Waste Effort and Ingredients! I’ve Made the Mistakes! As a cookbook author, home baker, and food blogger, I’ve made THOUSANDS of mistakes in the kitchen; the good thing is that I have learned along the way. Underbaking or overcooking cakes has been one of those mistakes. Let’s be honest: underbaked and overcooked cakes are definitely not fun because they can turn a delightful baking experience into a culinary misadventure. Underbaked cakes are like unfinished homework – they’re not ready!...

Food is Love In our family, we show love with food! It’s the Lil’ Luna way. Comfort food can make anyone’s day better and is especially nice to share with those going through a hard time. Dinner is a great way to ease burdens and let others know you care. It’s nice to have a list of easy dinner ideas, perfect for sharing to take the thinking out of serving! Look no further than our list of the best meals to take to a family....

Spare a Trip to The Store! Keep your grocery list short, or skip the trip altogether. These delicious 5 ingredient recipes are perfect for a weekday meal. As a bonus, many of these recipes use items and supplies you probably already have in your pantry. From breakfast to dinner to a late-night dessert, I know you’ll be able to find something delicious you can easily whip up. For 5 ingredient meal tips & tricks, scroll to the bottom of this post!...

If you’ve ever tried our Ramen Noodle Salad, this is a variation of it with more Asian flare. This yummy dish is a great side, but perfectly filling as a main dish as well. Asian Ramen Noodle Salad Not sure about you, but I’m a SALAD LOVER!! I pretty much order salad every time we go out. Craziness, perhaps, but it’s just something I LOVE! Well, this next recipe is a new salad concoction that my mom tried out for us the week of Chinese New Year....

We’ve always loved Beef Stroganoff, but chicken and mushrooms gives this dish a different (and still delicious!) flavor profile. It’s perfect for a quick and easy dinner. Easy Chicken Stroganoff Hi there! Natalie from Life Made Simple here today! I always struggle with what to make for dinner during the week, how about you? That’s where this chicken stroganoff comes in. It only takes 40 minutes start-to-finish and it’s so filling and delicious, you’ll want to lick your plate clean – our 2 year old did!...

Imagine the crumb topping on our Banana Crumb Muffins, but the glaze and citrusy flavor of our Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins, and that’s what these are like! They just might become your new favorite muffin. Crumb + Glaze Topping!! As strange as it may sound, I used to not enjoy lemon-flavored recipes. It sounds crazy, but now I’m addicted and posting ALLLL the lemon recipes. You may have noticed this new-found love because I’ve posted numerous lemon treats over the years (like Lemon Bars and Lemon Buttermilk Cake), and a new one is today’s recipe for Lemon Crumb Muffins....

Is there anything better than a warm piece of sweet bread on a cold winter day? I think that would be a warm piece of sweet bread + a cup of hot tea or coffee! In case you weren’t well aware of it already, I love making sweet recipes. But since the New Year started I have been kind of avoiding them. You know, for this whole thing of resolutions and promises to eat healthier and make better choices....

Prep Time : 10 mins Rice – 1 cup (basmati or regular rice) Bottle gourd – 3 cups chopped Green peas – 1/3 cup fresh or frozen Onion – 1 cup or 2 big onions Green chillies – 2 slit Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp Coriander powder – 1 tsp Salt to taste For the seasoning Oil – 2 tbsp Ghee – 2 tsp Cumin seeds – 1 tsp Whole black peppercorns – 3-4 Cinnamon – 1/2 inch stick Cloves – 3 Curry leaves – a sprig For Garnishing Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp finely chopped Method Read More

A Favorite Layered Breakfast Bread, eggs, and cheese – this strata recipe has everything you need for breakfast all in one savory dish! This particular layered casserole comes from a family friend and we have been making it for YEARS! Our version includes ham for an even more delicious flavor. Because it chills overnight, it’s our go-to make-ahead breakfast casserole. We love to prep it and pop it in the oven for weekends, brunches, and of course holidays (a great way to use leftover holiday ham)....

Prep Time : 60 mins Brown Rice -2 cups Idly Par boiled rice -1 cup Whole Urad dal -1 cup Fenugreek seeds -1 tsp Salt as needed Grind both rice together until smooth. Method If you found this post useful, I would really love it, if you pin it or share it with your Facebook fans or Twitter followers or Google+ circles today. All it takes is a simple click on the “pin it” “like,” “share,” “tweet,” or Google+ buttons below the post....

We love all things CAPRESE, and our new favorite are these stuffed avocados! It’s like a Quick Caprese Salad stuffed inside an avocado! Whip these up in minutes for the perfect appetizer, side, or snack. Calling all Caprese Lovers! I’ve been a long-time fan of anything Caprese (hello Bruschetta Caprese)! The flavor combo of tomato, basil, mozzarella, and balsamic is just too good. I tried a caprese stuffed avocado appetizer at a restaurant once, and it looked so simple, I wanted to replicate it at home....

Prep Time : 5 mins Green Cardamom – 10 grams (with skin) Whole black pepper – 10 grams Cloves – 10 grams Cinnamon – 2 sticks or 10 grams Dry ginger powder – 2 tsp Nutmeg powder – 2 tsp Method How to make Masala Tea/masala chai Read More

Chai sugar cookies are the bee’s knees! They’ve got all the warmth of a hot mug of chai, but in the form of a snackable cookie. And this version is vegan thanks to a few simple ingredient swaps! Using plant-based butter and milk makes this chai sugar cookie recipe completely dairy-free, and there’s no need for eggs either. The vegan butter gives the cookies that rich sugar cookie flavour and texture—you’ll never guess these cookies are vegan....

Ingredients needed Bengal gram/channa dal /Kadalai paruppu – 1/4 cupJaggery – 1/3 cup heapedMilk -2 1/4 cupsCashew nuts -10Cardamom powder – 1/4 tspCoconut bits – 1 tbspGraded coconut – 1 tbsp Preparation Soak cashew nuts in boiling water for 20 minutes. Pressure cook channa dal for 3 whistles with very less water. Dal should not be mushy. Heat 1/2 cup of water, add jaggery, after it dissolves, filter it to remove any impurities....

Casseroles don’t get enough credit for being one of the easiest and most satisfying dinner items! This Chicken Broccoli Casserole is one we make frequently, but we also love Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole and Chicken Noodle Casserole. Chicken, broccoli, and cheese! I love making my kids a dinner recipe I ate as a child. My mom has been making this Cheesy Chicken and Broccoli Casserole for as long as I can remember....

Be sure to check out our Christmas Tree Charcuterie Board and Christmas Tree Veggie Platter as well. We Love Quick, Easy + Beautiful! There’s nothing better than gathering with friends and family to celebrate Christmas day (or Christmas Eve). We love to have some simple but delicious recipes for the occasion, especially appetizers. That’s why we love a fun charcuterie board, more specifically a Christmas Charcuterie board. Why we love it:...

Oh my, vegan spaghetti and meatballs! What’s the thing that comes to your mind when you hear spaghetti and meatballs? To me, it’s like a warm blanket of comfort. I not only grew up eating spaghetti and meatballs, but also got to give it an authentic taste on one of my two trips to Italy! Today we are making a veganized version of the classic. It’s just like mom used to make, but with my reader-favourite cauliflower and quinoa meatballs....