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Baked Lemon Chicken Thighs and Potatoes

May 20, 2016 • 7 Comments

These Baked Lemon Chicken Thighs are topped with lemon, olive oil, garlic and Italian seasoning. When paired with potatoes and leeks, it makes the ultimate sheet-pan meal.

Friends, we made it. It’s Friday! Raise your imaginary wine glass with me and let’s toast to making today and this weekend fantastic. Next week at this time, Mr. MLS and I will be hanging out with family in Indiana for Memorial Day festivities. It’s the first time we’ve seen many of our family members since Christmas, and we are so so so so very excited to hug and share life with each and every one of them.

What are you planning to do for Memorial Day? Do you have any traditions you’re working on? Any fun events happening? I want all the deets.

If you’re like me, over the next several days you’re going to be too busy planning things for next weekend to want to cook anything too crazy for dinner. Enter today’s post: the solution for having a delicious dinner without having to do hardly any work!

Guys. Once you chop up the potatoes, leeks and lemons, all you have to do is place things on the sheet, drizzle them with oil and seasoning, and walk away. The oven will do the rest for you. Isn’t that amazing?! Nothing to clean up, nothing to fuss over. I know … I’m speechless too.

FJ 08: Suzie Eller: Finding Joy in Being the 13th Disciple

May 18, 2016 • 6 Comments

Finding Joy is a podcast dedicated to bringing you encouragement and inspiration in all of life’s moments — the good, bad and everything in-between.

Suzie Eller is our guest for the eighth episode of the Finding Joy podcast! I can honestly say I’ve never met a woman more honest and comfortable in her own skin, and I’m so excited to introduce you to Suzie today. When she’s not writing or speaking for Proverbs 31 Ministries, Suzie is a wife, mother and “gaga” to six beautiful grand babies under the age of five!

She is also an author of articles, columns, and eight books including her most recent, Come With Me: Discovering the Beauty of Following Where He Leads. In this book, Suzie shows how, when you say yes to Jesus, you take a step away from the uncertainty, the to-do list, the worries and excuses. And you take a step toward the One who promises to delight and surprise, who will transform who you are, how you live, and how you impact the world.

In this episode, Suzie and I talk about:

What it’s been like to live out what “Come With Me” is all about.
What it means to be the 13th disciple.
The joy that is found when God interrupts our plans.
The freedom that is found in following after Jesus.

Suzie encourages us to ask ourselves the question: “What would happen if we whispered yes where no wants to take root?” What would happen if we embraced lives of freedom and claimed our true calling: to live life fully as a disciple of Jesus Christ?

Want to win a copy of Suzie’s new book??? Enter below and also leave a review of the this podcast on the iTunes page. You have until Friday, May 20, to enter!
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Chopped Asian Salad with Edamame + Sweet Chili Glazed Shrimp

May 16, 2016 • 28 Comments

Forget the traditional mandarin orange salad — this Chopped Asian Salad is bursting with flavor in every bite and protein-packed with edamame and sweet chili glazed shrimp.

Before we get to today’s recipe, can we talk about how crazy the weather was this weekend? I don’t know about you, but when I woke up Saturday morning to 38-degree weather I thought I had taken a time machine back to March. Dear Mother Nature, you can stop being a pain in the butt at any time now. Sincerely, Lauren.

Luckily the weather didn’t keep Mr. MLS and I from having fun with our old neighbor from Minnesota and her little boy. The two of them were kind enough to drive down and see us this weekend, and we had a blast cooking, baking, playing and going to the farmers market together. Warmer weather would have been nice, but I’ll take friends over warmer temperatures every day if I have to.

What did you do this weekend? Any exploring? Any kitchen adventures? I love knowing what you guys have been up to! Aside from hanging out with our friends, I was also busy making this amazingly delicious Chopped Asian Salad with Sweet Chili Glazed Shrimp. Read More

Vegan Mac and Cheese

May 9, 2016 • 23 Comments

This Vegan Mac and Cheese is not only healthy and allergy friendly, it’s also going to be your new best friend. Get ready to experience a deeper love for macaroni and cheese.

This recipe started with a dare. I have a friend who LOVES mac and cheese (who doesn’t?!) and one day, she was telling me how sorry she was that I couldn’t have it. “I would just die if I couldn’t eat mac and cheese anymore,” she said. I just laughed and told her it really wasn’t that big of a deal. But then I got to thinking … Since my health caused me to go gluten and dairy free last year, I haven’t tried to make mac and cheese. I don’t know about you, but that’s just crazy to me! One year without mac and cheese? I couldn’t reconcile that fact in my mind. I had to do something about it.

That same day my friend dared me to make a vegan version of mac and cheese that was just as addicting as the classic kind. You’re staring at my answer to the dare — the meal I now eat for several days straight, several times a month. It’s. That. Good.

Is it creamy? Yes. Is it comforting? Yes. Is it satisfying? Yes. Is it delicious? You betcha. This vegan mac and cheese has the same creamy, thick texture you’d expect, but without even a hint of dairy! I know all of the mac and cheese purists who are reading this right now are shaking there heads or rolling there eyes. There’s no way. If that’s what you’re thinking right now, I dare you to make this. I dare you to eat it without wishing you had more once the bowl is gone.
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Roasted Peach and Tomato Gazpacho

May 5, 2016 • 16 Comments

This Spanish-style Roasted Peach and Tomato Gazpacho is made from tomatoes and other vegetables and traditionally served cold. Ole!

Happy Cinco de Mayo, friends! May the fourth be with you has come and gone, and it’s time to celebrate tacos, guacamole, chips, salsa, this gazpacho and all of the other wonderful things that the Spanish culture brings this world.

I hope you don’t mind me for keeping today’s post short. I am currently prepping for our work’s Cinco de Mayo party (I volunteered to put it on … don’t know what I was thinking!) and between stuffing the piñata and making the sangria I have so much to do!

Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies

May 2, 2016 • 32 Comments

These Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies are naturally sweetened with honey and packed with tons of feel-good ingredients like almond butter, rolled oats, bananas, raisins and more!

Happy Monday, friends! You’re going to love me today because I’m bringing you COOKIES for breakfast. Yes. And they are healthy, too! But first, let’s talk about some life stuff.

It’s not unusual for me to get to Sunday night and wish for another day in the weekend. I think we all can relate to that. But this weekend, I especially did not want to end. Mr. MLS’ birthday is today (happy birthday, love!) and we celebrated on Saturday. First on the day’s agenda was a homemade bowl of strawberry banana coconut oatmeal … Sorry, I don’t have the recipe for this on my blog yet, but I will soon … Next, I surprised him with a trip to the local go kart track. The two of us have a literal need for speed — he likes to watch Nascar and I like to pretend I’m a Nascar driver in real life — and so it seemed like the perfect way to celebrate his big day. Finally, I took him to the best steakhouse in town.

If you combined our love for racing, hockey and swimming, you would get our love for steak. We. love. cows. I don’t say this to offend any of the vegans or vegetarians out there, and I hope I’m not hurting anyone’s feelings, but the fact is although we love plants, we are a family that craves and cherishes steak. I was particularly excited about this trip to the steakhouse not just because it was Alex’s birthday celebration, but because we hadn’t been on a “fancy” date since Valentine’s Day. I know … totally overdue on that.

Our dinner reminded me of two things. One, I need to start having more filet in my life. And two, date night is so, so, so important and should be a mandatory, once-a-week thing for married couples. I truly think it has the power to transform a relationship from ordinary to extraordinary.Read More