Let’s get one thing straight right away: this dish is not cute. It doesn’t photograph well, it’s not pretty, it almost looks unappetizing. But it is 100% delicious, so I had to post it anyway. (Also sometimes you only get one shot while the baby is napping and this is what I got.)

This is one of those recipes that you throw together with whatever you have in the fridge (or even freezer—if you aren’t keeping emergency cream cheese frozen for whatever reason you might want to consider it), hoping it might end up being a mediocre dinner but then it ends up blowing your mind and you quickly write down the ingredients so you can add it to your weekly recipe rotation.

If you’re cutting carbs, this is perfect with a salad or a side of veggies; but if you aren’t, I think rice or even some nice toasty sourdough would be great. This recipe produces a whole lot of tasty saucy juices that would be delicious sopped up with a bit of fresh bread.

Ingredients:

• About a pound of chicken thighs

• 2 tablespoons butter

• 1/2 of an onion, diced

• 3-4 cloves of garlic, crushed and chopped

• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper

• 8 ounces of cream cheese

• 1/4 cup of milk (or chicken broth or even water)

• 2 heaping cups of fresh spinach

• About 1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar but you could use whatever you like best)

• Lemon wedges, for serving

• Salt and pepper, to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350. In a large pan, melt half of the butter over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté for 5-7 minutes or until golden-brown. Add the garlic and crushed red pepper and continue to cook for another 2-3 minutes. Remove garlic and onion from pan and set aside.

2. In the same pan, add the rest of the butter and brown chicken thighs for 2-3 minutes per side. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to a large baking dish.

3. Return the onion and garlic to the pan and add the cream cheese. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow cream cheese to melt. Pour milk in little by little to loosen. Add the spinach and stir gently until combined and spinach begins to wilt/reduce. Transfer to baking dish and use a spatula to spread the spinach and cream cheese mixture evenly over chicken thighs.

4. Transfer to oven and bake at 350 for about 40 minutes, adding shredded cheese on top with about 10-15 minutes of cook time left.

5. To serve, top with more shredded cheese if desired and serve with a lemon wedge.

I originally published this recipe in 2015 when I was way more strict about eating a Paleo diet, but I wanted to reshoot it and tweak the ingredients a little bit—I omitted the honey (1/4 cup), and instead of crushed nuts (1/2 cup) I used peanut butter. You can use unsweetened peanut butter if you want, but I used some with sugar in it because I figure you need some sweetness in fudge (otherwise what’s the point, right?), and honestly I’d rather have sweetened peanut butter than honey in my dessert—I also like the smooth texture more than my original recipe which included chopped almonds.

It used to be called “Six-Ingredient Paleo Fudge” but now it’s “Three-Ingredient Fudge” because who the heck wants to use six ingredients when you can do it with three?

Ingredients:

• 3 heaping tablespoons of coconut oil (about 1/3 cup)

• 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

• 1/2 cup peanut butter (or almond butter—really whatever nut butter you prefer!)

• A pinch of salt for serving (optional)

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan or microwaveable bowl, melt the coconut oil.

2. Once it's liquid, add the peanut butter and stir until combined. Sift the cocoa powder in and mix well with a whisk. Pour the mixture into a square or rectangular container lined with parchment paper.

3. Place the fudge into the refrigerator or freezer for several hours to set. When it's firm, remove and cut into squares. Enjoy with a cold glass of milk (or some hot tea or coffee)!

A few people have reached out to me and asked me to share this cranberry-orange margarita I created a few years ago because the site I posted it on originally is no longer live, so here it is! This is the same post from 2013 (WHAT?!) but I figured while I was at it I should take some new photos, and I couldn’t resist using a blood orange this time—they are so pretty.

I love cranberry and orange for Christmas, and if you add a little cinnamon and tequila, you’ve got something really festive. Cheers!

Ingredients: (Makes two)

• One cup of fresh cranberries

• Three cups of water

• Two teaspoons agave nectar or honey (You can use more or less, and I prefer honey)

• One teaspoon cinnamon

• Zest of one orange

• 1/3 cup fresh-squeezed orange juice

• 1/3 cup tequila

Instructions:

To make the cranberry syrup:

1. In a saucepan, bring cranberries and water to a boil. Add agave or honey, orange zest, and cinnamon.

2. Reduce to a medium-low heat and simmer for forty minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat and strain.

3. Let cool and store in a jar/container.

To assemble the cocktail:

1. Sprinkle some salt on a plate and combine with a dash or two of cinnamon and a pinch of orange zest. (You could also add a little sugar—I had a margarita the other day with both sugar and salt on the rim and it was so good!)

2. Cut orange in half and reserve one slice for a garnish. Moisten each glass with orange and place rim in salt plate.

3. In a small pitcher or cocktail shaker, combine equal parts orange juice, cranberry syrup, and tequila (1/3 cup each). Stir or shake.

4. Fill each glass with ice and pour cocktail. Garnish with an orange slice.