Nine Favorite Things.

Thanks for joining me for another Nine Favorite Things post.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the wonderful, hard-working moms out there! I know this year’s Mother’s Day is looking a little different, but hopefully, everyone is finding a special way to show your mom just how much they’re loved. I’m lucky enough to be able to be close to my mom today, as we live only about five hundred feet away from each other. It’s just myself, my mom and dad, Asher, and my oldest brother, Creighton, here in Colorado right now. The rest of my brothers, sister-in-law, and cousins are mostly in southern California (two in Ohio). My mom is greatly wishing we could all be together today, but everyone is planning to do a family Facetime later to celebrate together.

How about you guys? Are you able to be with your mom this year? Or are you getting creative and having Mother’s Day brunch over zoom? I’d love to hear what fun things you guys are doing to celebrate.

Speaking of brunch, yesterday I helped host a Mother’s Day brunch with KitchenAid and Tan France on Instagram LIVE. I made my everything cheddar swirl buns and had fun talking about Mother’s Day with Tan, who by the way is one of the sweetest people I’ve met. If you missed the Instagram Live, you can re-watch it here.

Since we’re talking Instagram LIVE, I cooked up my corn, tomato, and avocado pasta salad on Lauren Conrad’s Instagram. You can watch that video here. So many IG LIVES!

In other news… This past week brought lots of recipe testing, zoom meetings (some of which I’m very excited about…more to come). And most importantly a lot of sunshine and warmer temperatures. It’s safe to say that my excitement for summer, and for our surroundings to turn green, is pretty high. We still have a few weeks before our trees will start blooming, but these warmer days are so welcomed. They’ve left me inspired to start creating more spring forward and even summery recipes. As we head into these warmer months of the year, what are you guys looking for in terms of recipes? It’s crazy to me that Memorial Day is only a couple weeks away. I need to start planning for summertime BBQs and picnics.

Personally I am really excited to see the grocery store filling up with colorful produce! I’ve been making sure to really stock up on our once a week trips.

I’m thrilled to have contributed a recipe to Family Meal: Recipes from Our Community. This new digital-only cookbook is complete with recipes from Samin Nosrat, Ina Garten, Bobby Flay, and so many more. All proceeds benefit the COVID-19 Emergency Relief Fund. And the best part? No waiting for it to be shipped. You can download it right now!

Coming up this week on HBH… I’m not positive on the order, but I’m thinking I’ll kick the week off with a quick and easy 15-minute spicy cajun style shrimp. Then on to a vibrant Mediterranean-inspired salad. And of course something sweet for Friday. No idea what Saturday’s cocktail will be. I’m sure it will be springy, delicious…and probably garnished with edible flowers…because that’s just what I do. Never enough edible flowers.

If you’re catching up on blog posts from the week, be sure to sign up for our daily newsletters. They’ll help you to stay up to date with everything that’s happening here, as well as fun content you’ll only get via email. And of course, if you’re meal planning today, don’t forget to check out my menu below (it’s # 9 on the favorite’s list).

Hope you all have a wonderful Mother’s Day and are able to find some special ways to celebrate mom! I’m excited to see what HBH recipes you end up cooking, so don’t forget to share them on Instagram!

1. things i’m loving, wanting, and excited to try…

loving…Saie beauty. The brow butter and mascara 101 are especially incredible. And I love the rosey gold highlighter too.

obsessed…with everything from Zara home. Ordering this, this, and this too.inspiring me right now…this Instagram account, which is full of the prettiest flowers.

wanting…to bake last year’s no fuss lemon tart.

loving…this candle. so much so that I burned through it in just one week. I have now ordered three new scents.

wanting…this vintage Candy Land bookshelf edition. It’s just cute. And let’s be honest, Candy Land is the best board game.

obsessed…ordering edible flowers, herbs, and microgreens. It has become a problem.

loving…Pinterest. I’ve been pinning home, fashion, and food content to our Pinterest boards so much lately. Finding it very inspiring right now.

the podcast I loved most this week…Armchair Expert with Zoe Kravitz, who I knew nothing about her, but really enjoyed her story.

loving…mom. She’s always inspiring me and constantly making me feel loved and special. She’s the person I turn to most and know will always be there for me. With each and every year she teaches me many new life lessons, both little and big. She’s taught me how to be kind, give back to others, work hard, never take no for answer, ask so many questions (so many questions), and to remember that you need to stop and smell the roses (or cookies?). I’m still working on that last one, but she’s always here to remind what’s most important. And with that, leaving you with a few of my favorite photos of mom and I…

2. My favorite quick 30 minutes or less recipes…

Just for when you really don’t feel like cooking.

25 Minute Thai Black Pepper Chicken and Garlic Noodles

20 Minute Orzo Carbonara with Crispy Prosciutto and Burrata

Weeknight 20 Minute Spicy Udon Noodles

30 Minute Korean Beef and Peppers with Sesame Rice

Weeknight 30 Minute Coconut Curry Chicken Meatballs

Saucy Tahini Noodles with Honey’d Sweet Potatoes

20 Minute Caribbean Shrimp Tacos with Roasted Jalapeño Pineapple Salsa

30 Minute Butter Chicken Meatballs

Indian Coconut Butter Cauliflower

Weeknight style Instant Pot BBQ Beer Pulled Chicken Tacos

5 Minute Molten Chocolate Mug Cake

3. The Spring Kitchen…

4. Favorite questions of the week.

q: What alcohol would you always keep in your bar cart?
a: I keep it pretty basic, but here’s what I’ve always got. Tequila, vodka, bourbon, rum, coconut rum, gin, Kahlúa, St. Germain (elderflower liquor), Frangelico (hazelnut liquor), bitters, Cointreau, so many wines, and always ginger beer + sparkling water.

q: Do you do any gluten-free recipes? Sorry if I should know this, but I just found you :).
a: Yes! Gluten-free baking is super hard, but we have some fun and delicious recipes. You can find them all right here.

q: New follower! I would love to hear how you started HBH.
a: I was 18, and thought I wanted to go to fashion design school. I moved to LA, got a job for 3 months, completely changed my mind, and came back to CO. It was my mom who encouraged me to start HBH. I had been cooking for my family for a while and even thinking of starting a food blog. So she said to me, just start the food blog (we had taken the domain name out the year before), who cares if only 5 people read it, we’ll both learn something. Probably more than what you’d learn at school. I did and I never looked back and never stopped working on HBH. Best choice I ever made!

q: Do you keep bees?
a: Haha! No! What a random question…but I’d actually love to have bees! We’ve actually discussed having them. Apparently it’s not that hard, just takes a bit of time!

5. latest recipe videos.

Herbed Garlic Butter Naan…because everyone is baking bread.

Garlic and Herb Roasted Cherry Tomato Carbonara…that one bowl of pasta you need most.

And on Instagram stories…

Watermelon Rosè Paloma…the cocktail of Cinco de Mayo.

Coconut Popcorn Chicken with Sweet Thai Chili Sauce…plus a creamy honey mustard sauce for an extra dip.

Pan Fried Brie with Peppered Honey and Olives…yess, pan fried Brie. It’s so delicious.

Cauliflower Gnocchi with Zucchini and Whipped Goat Cheese…the actual creamiest bowl of gnocchi.

30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs and Sesame Noodles…easiest takeout style weeknight dinner.

Double Strawberry Pretzel Pie…not your average strawberry pie.

6. Inspiring me On Pinterest…

A few of my favorite quotes.

Sources unknown, but all found via Pinterest.

7. favorite links i’m loving…

17 Theme Nights That Will Make Isolation Fun…love these ideas.

I Highly Recommend Adding “Joy Triggers” to Your Vocabulary…if you read one thing today, let it be this.

12 Audiobooks to Listen to on Your Walks…love listening to books.

Everything You Need for a Simplified Bar Cart…Plus 5 essential cocktails to start with.

The Meals Gwyneth Is Cooking Right Now

Our List Of REALLY Good, Binge-able TV Shows You Might Have Missed Or Forgotten About

Everything New on Netflix This Week…what is everyone watching?

You Can’t Go Out to Dinner…but you can re-create your favorite restaurant meals.

How to Make an At-Home Happy Hour Feel Like an Event…for some added excitement.

Part of a Small Team…These 5 Things Can Make or Break Morale.

12 Ways to Unplug…for When You’re Sick of Screen Time but Can’t Quit It.

The Complete EHD Outdoor Furniture Roundup (For Every Budget, For Any Size Space)

What Does the Good Life Look Like Now…an interesting Sunday read.

Drowning in Emails…here’s How 5 Bosses Handle Their Inboxes

Your Happy Hour Could Use a Trash Cocktail…love this idea.

A Feast of Flowers…an inspiring story.

Jeffrey Appears to Share Ina Garten’s Giant Cocktail…the story behind the viral video.

23 Exciting Pasta Recipes That Are A Step Above Your Basic Spaghetti…if you need ideas.

TikTok Parents Are Sharing Videos Of Their Toddlers Trying To Pronounce Everyday Words…if you need a good smile.

8. Easy spring styles…

9. This week’s dinners…

Monday: Coconut Popcorn Chicken

Tuesday: Sun-Dried Tomato, White Bean, and Goat Cheese Pasta Salad

Wednesday: 30 Minute Sticky Thai Meatballs with Sesame Noodles

Thursday: Honey Mustard Grilled Salmon with Avocado Basil Sauce

Friday: Cauliflower Gnocchi with Crispy Zucchini and creamy Whipped Goat Cheese

Saturday Drink + Appetizer: Pan Fried Brie with Peppered Honey and Olives

Sunday Baking: Double Strawberry Pretzel Pie

Finally, check out all the past Nine Favorite Things posts here.