This chicken and apple skillet recipe is an ideal dinner to welcome the season.

In this delicious fall dish tender chicken thighs are seasoned and browned in a hot cast iron skillet, then thin apple slices are sautéed in rich butter, and for more apple flavor they are drenched in a reduced pan sauce of fruity apple juice, bright spices and fresh herbs.

To finish it's all layered together for the ultimate cozy chicken dinner. The apple + chicken combination was a duo meant to be. Apples aren't just for snacking and desserts anymore.

These are easily just as good as what you'd find in any Mexican restaurant but you get to enjoy them at a fraction of the price in the comfort of your own home.

What are Carnitas Anyway?

If you haven't had Carnitas you are probably trying to figure out exactly what "Carnitas" means. It's a spanish word meaning "little meats."  It's a Mexican dish and generally it's made by braising or roasting pork then shredding it and simmering in lard or vegetable oil until crispy.

But here we switch that up and use the slow cooker and cook for 8 hours or use a pressure cooker and cook for 1 hour. And the pork carnitas are broiled it instead of sautéing it in oil to get that same crispy effect. Broiling it takes less time, creates less mess, and requires less oil.

And I go for semi-crispy. I like the ends of the meat to be nice and crispy but I recommend that you don't overdue it. You don't want to dry the meat.

With this simple recipe you end with tempting, crispy little pieces of pork that you won't be able to stop "taste testing."

Throw the finished carnitas into warmed corn or flour tortillas, add some cilantro and diced onion and voila. Such a simple, satisfying dinner that everyone will love!

Burger bowls may seem all wrong at first glance because many of us grew up eating a classic burger not long after we could chew. So to take that special something that's American tradition that we've eaten for decades and modifying it to something that looks like a salad can just seem so strange. But to that I'd say, wait to give it your final opinion until you've tried them yourself and tasted of their exceptional flavor!

Burger bowls are simply a deconstructed burger made with the best things you get in a diner style burger and then some. The typical bun is traded for golden brown oven fries and it's polished off with a generous drizzle of savory burger sauce. A sauce that's similar to the spread at In-n-Out or Smash Burger sauce - being lightly sweet, slightly tangy, and extra creamy.

It's an exciting new way to switch up the typical piled high burger on a bun, into a piled high bowl spread out into an appetizing blend of colors and a satisfying variety of textures. It's a must try recipe for all burger lovers!

Slow Cooker Chicken Tortilla Soup

This healthy crockpot chicken tortilla soup is a perfectly hearty, feel good soup. After a tiring, busy day it's just what you'll look forward to coming home to!

The recipe has been revisited and improved recently for increased flavor. I also personally prefer it with chicken thighs now for the better texture (and also more flavor).

The prep for this crockpot soup couldn't be easier, you simply layer and pour everything into a slow cooker without pre-cooking required. No chopping or searing meat first, or sautéing vegetables beforehand. It's one of those lazy, throw it together and turn on the power dinner meals.

I love to load it up with toppings but even without them you'd still have a completely satisfying soup. Tasty toppings additions include all those classics - tortilla chips, cheese, sour cream, avocado or guacamole, cilantro, and some hot sauce if you want it spicy.

It's also a highly adaptable soup. For recipe variations you can trade out vegetables for others, increase spices, try other chilies, and even use other types of protein (such as cooked ground beef or seared pieces of stew meat).

Start with this base recipe the first time around then after that change it up to your hearts content or using up what you have on hand.

What is Spatchcock Chicken?

Rustic spatchcock chicken is a whole chicken that has had the backbone removed and it's butterflied, then it is turned to the opposite side and breastbone is cracked to flatten the chicken. Then benefit of spatchcock chicken is that since it's splayed flat it cooks quicker and more evenly than a chicken left whole in its more natural rounded form.

Another great thing about this method is that no special ingredients are needed and no roasting pan is required. Just a simple ingredients and a standard baking sheet are used. You could even swap out the fresh herbs for dried if that's what you have on hand (just use 1/3 the amounts).

When roasting a whole chicken I've found I prefer to include vegetables alongside it for two reasons. An obvious reason is that you get a side dish cooked at the same time, and the other benefit is there's far less smoking in the oven. Win win.

This recipe yields tender juicy chicken with highlighting complementary flavors of lemon and herbs. And paired alongside are those golden brown, garlicky roasted vegetables to round it out. It's such a cozy meal in one, and if you want an extra upgrade pair it with simple 1-Hour Dinner Rolls.

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Love these types of easy dinners? Also try my one pan Ground Beef Stroganoff and American style Goulash.

This hearty, cheesy taco pasta is two homestyle dishes combined into one and people of all ages love it! It's a simple one pan dinner that you can have ready in just over 30 minutes.

If you aren't familiar with this dish it may sound strange but trust me it's actually such a super satisfying, completely enjoyable dinner. It's like those pasta dishes from the 90's that maybe started with a box, but this is 100 times better!

It's a very adaptable recipe too. You can add different mix-ins to use up ingredients you may already have, or try swapping out the protein or pasta. Just stick with the base and seasonings used, and always add cheese because it's truly a main highlight of the dish.

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Fast and Easy Blackened Chicken

Smoky, spicy, highly flavorful seasoned chicken kissed with a blackened exterior that envelops a juicy tender interior. It's a tastebud tantalizing recipe to make any day of the year!

It's so simple to make and cooks quickly. It's just a brisk mixing of spices, then generously seasoning the chicken and from there cooking in a super hot skillet for that beautiful finish.

There's a plethora of delicious sides to pair with it (lots of ideas below), and there's also so much you can do with this chicken. My personal favorites for serving are pairing with coconut rice, corn, and mango avocado salsa (for a bit of that sweet + heat) but there's endless options.

And it doesn't just need to be served solo. Try it in tacos, add it to pasta (like creamy alfredo), or toss into a salad.

What You'll Love About Blackened Shrimp

• This shrimp dish is incredibly easy to make.
• It cooks super fast, in about 2 minutes!
• It's bursting with well seasoned, crave-worthy flavor.
• The shrimp are delicious on their own or you can chop them up and use as a taco filling.
• They pair well with fast and simple side dishes like baked potatoes, rice, grits, pasta, fresh bread, a simple side salad, coleslaw and so much more.

An Easy Tofu Scramble Recipe

I never used to be a fan of tofu but that was likely because it was under-seasoned or just not cooked right. Tofu tastes incredibly plain and mild on it's own as is but when seasoned right and sautéed it can transform into something that's actually super tasty.

Tofu is very absorbent to flavors so it makes it highly adaptable which is great for these "scrambled eggs" using tofu. They're flavorfully seasoned with southwestern spices that soak right in, and it's cooked in a hot skillet until golden brown to take on more flavor. And I think you'll enjoy that the texture is very similar to scrambled eggs.

It's a quick to make vegan breakfast and it pairs beautifully with whole grain toast and sliced avocado. This has been a go-to breakfast for me lately and it actually re-heats really well so I can get a few breakfast meals out of it.

Feel free to add in other vegetables (things like mushrooms, zucchini, or tomatoes) and you could even splurge a little and add some cheese (vegan or regular) at the end.

Healthy Carrot Soup

Though this gingery carrot soup recipe may seem ideal for spring it's actually an excellent soup to serve any time of year because you can almost always get good quality carrots at the store year round. And they are a staple food most of us keep stocked in the fridge.

This soup has such a delicious inviting flavor between it's sweet carrot goodness, the bright ginger and garlic, a light background spice boost, and the richness of the coconut milk.

It's a vegan soup but can also be adapted to use what you have on hand if you don't intend to make it vegan. Ingredients such as chicken broth, and half and half or heavy cream can be used.

Guests will love it as an appetizer for dinner, or serve it as a main course at lunch with whole grain bread or no knead homemade bread (great for dipping of course), or a grilled cheese sandwich.