It may not be strawberry season for another month or so here in Maryland, but I’ve been seeing some gorgeous California strawberries in my grocery store. While I can’t wait for our local pick-you-own place down the road to open up, I just couldn’t resist picking up a carton. They smelled and looked too good to pass up!

Thanks to Shawnda, Annie, and Josie – I’ve totally become addicted to various fruit margaritas. What’s a girl to do when she’s got some gorgeous strawberries lying around? Mix them up with booze of course! They were out of this world good. I loved the sugar and salt combo on the rim, and the strawberry flavor is just overwhelming. It actually tastes like fresh strawberries. Imagine that!

I’ve made several batches in the past couple weeks, I just can’t get enough of them. Top of my list of favorite margarita so far! The strawberry syrup puree has been very handy to have hanging out in the fridge as well. I’ve used it to make strawberry milk for the boys, as well as make pink lemonade. If you do one thing this weekend, make these margaritas! Cheers.

Isn’t this one of the most gorgeous examples of pie that you’ve ever seen? I can’t claim it as my own, as I’m usually horrible with pies. I always screw some integral part up – like the filling is too runny, or I botch the crimping of the crust. Luckily, my good friend Colleen is great with pies. I’ve had 2 of hers now (a delightful apple crumble pie, and the beauty pictured here), and I can never get over how lovely they look, and how wonderful they tasted!

You can use whatever berries you like. This one was filled with plump blackberries, juicy blueberries, and tart raspberries. The tri-fecta of berries, in my humble opinion. I asked Colleen how difficult the gorgeous decorative crust was to make, and she said that surprisingly, it wasn’t too bad at all. The hardest part was “rolling” out the vine ropes and placing them on top, as they wanted to crack at the bends. Slightly wetting your hands when rolling will probably help that.

So, in short, a big shoutout and thanks to Colleen. I love a dessert that I can enjoy, but don’t have to bake myself. You’re a true friend! Hope everyone is able to enjoy this at some point this berry season. Enjoy!

These fish tacos are a new favorite dinner in our home. While I love the beer battered version, I think I’ve grown to love this lightened version better. Light, fresh, and bursting with flavor – it’s a meal that comes together in a half an hour or less. Plus, they’re relatively figure friendly (well, compared to their battered and fried cousin at least). This is the kind of meal that I’ll be looking forward to making after a long day at the beach with my guys!

The fish filets are quickly pan seared and piled into warm corn tortillas. Then topped with a spicy chipotle cilantro aioli, a refreshing mango salsa, and some finely shredded cabbage. The sweetness of the salsa, alongside the spicy smokiness of the aioli is sheer perfection. If you’re looking for a new time-friendly dinner to add to your menu, add these tacos. I’m fairly certain you’ll love them too!

What’s more comforting than a loaf of banana bread baking in the oven? Few things my friends, few things. So, in honor of National Banana Bread Day, I wanted to share my favorite recipe with you guys. It’s from the Better Homes And Gardens Cookbook, you know, the one that EVERYONE has on their bookshelf. Great cookbook, by the way. So many tried and true recipes to be found inside!

I’ve tried several other recipes for banana bread, but I always end up coming back to this one. It comes together in minutes, and stays fresh for days. It also uses more mashed banana than most recipe I’ve seen call for, which I like. I’ll usually have 3 bananas left at the end of the week,  and that’s just about what this recipe calls for. It’s great to whip up on a Friday night to munch on all weekend long. Toasted, with a smear of butter or honey, along side a cup of tea. Heaven!