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Slow-Cooked Korean Short Ribs
Every fall and winter I have an affair. It’s okay. Ryan knows. The affair happens to be with my slow cooker. And, its completely forgivable because Ryan actually gave me the slow cooker as a gift for my first Mother’s Day after the twins were born . . . not jewelry, a slow cooker. Before everyone persecutes Ryan – it is actually what I asked for. He questioned it and worried the purchase would come back to haunt him. Now it has, on this blog… But at the time, the All-Clad slow cooker I wanted was an expensive appliance. However, if you break down cost per use, this appliance has…
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Easter Basket Ideas
Every year our mom hosts a big Easter brunch for our extended family complete with Easter baskets for everyone, a giant Easter egg hunt for the kids and a Beer and Champagne hunt for the adults. Sadly, I think Easter is going to look a little different this year, but we will still surprise the kids with fun baskets and small Easter Egg hunt made pretty easy given that we live right across the street from each other. Naturally, Megan set a Soccer/Sports theme for Sam and Emma’s Easter baskets and every item in them coordinates with said theme. Me, on the other hand, did not start my shopping with…
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Beer. It’s Overwhelming.
Megan and I both enjoy a good beer but the variety and crazy names can be overwhelming. My go-to is having Chris order/buy for me because he knows what I like. I usually have to text him pictures of beer cans when I’m at the grocery store to see if it is a good one or not. So, I decided it was about time I figure it out for myself – with Chris’s beer help of course. I sent him on probably his favorite errand ever, to buy beer, and now our fridge looks like this… It’s also a little tricky because everyone has different tastes. For instance, I love…
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Taco Tuesday
Here is a recipe just in time for Taco Tuesday: Instant Pot Chipotle-Honey Chicken Tacos. The tacos were amazing; highly encourage the pickled onion to go on top; and are great accompanied by the White Claw Margaritas I developed as a twist on Liz Adams’ Skinny Margarita Recipe. The recipe can be ready in just under 45 minutes. Great for a Tuesday evening or any other weeknight for that matter. Ingredients (makes 4 servings) 1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1 canned chipotle in adobo, finely chopped, plus 1 tablespoons adobo sauce (Note: the original recipe called for 1-4 chipotles and 2 tablespoons sauce. I used 2 chipotles and 2…
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Online Storytime
My in-laws proposed an amazing idea this weekend for social distancing that was too good not to share! Mimi and Pop Pop got on FaceTime and read Sam and Emma the story of Pinocchio for over an hour. My kids were entertained and enthralled, got to connect with their grandparents during social distancing, and Mom and Dad got to relax and enjoy this new cocktail in peace and quiet. Highly recommend both the FaceTime Storytime and the cocktail! No grandparents for FaceTime? During this period of school closure, I have been impressed and encourage you to check out this YouTube link that features celebrated actors reading stories out loud for…
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New Recipe Reviews – Hit and Miss
I made two new recipes last week: (1) One Pan Broccoli Cashew Chicken and (2) Creamy Vegan Gnocchi with Garlic and Kale. With all this extra time at home I figure I might as well try a few of the 900 meals on my Pinterest page that I haven’t gotten around to yet. HIT One Pan Broccoli Cashew Chicken To be honest, I had made this one a few times before last week so I already knew how good it was but with a few minor adjustments I confirmed it needs to be a regular in the recipe rotation. Chris and Joey LOVED it, it’s super quick, healthy and a…
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Hummus Chicken
We had some leftover green goddess hummus that I made over the weekend , so I decided to make my hummus-crusted chicken that I adapted from Gimme Some Oven’s blog. This is a great recipe to make on a weeknight when you have some chicken breasts and left-over vegetables that need to be used. With little prep, you can have dinner on the table in less than 45 minutes and most of that is just time in the oven. NGREDIENTS 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts salt and pepper 1 zucchini, chopped in coins 1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets 2 cups brussels sprouts, cut in half lengthwise 1 medium onion, chopped 1…
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What Are You Drinking During Social Distancing?
When my sister posed this question to me, my glib first response was EVERYTHING. This first week of social distancing has been really stressful in our household trying to meet the new homeschool requirements for our two kids while both Ryan and I continue to juggle the demands of our full-time jobs. Much less the anxiety around the largely unanswered questions of how to keep your family healthy and safe, how long is social distancing really going to last (have you seen this article?!?), and should I be stockpiling more food and household provisions. But, aside from my off-the-cuff response and the black and tan cocktail I had to celebrate…
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How We Are Entertaining The Kids During Social Distancing
Activity ideas are popping up everywhere as parents try to figure out how to entertain their kids for the unforeseeable future. Here is what is working for us at the moment: Baths Lego bath, Popsicle bath, car wash bath, shaving cream bath – you know name it. Baths kill so much time. They love all the fun kids soaps, bath crayons, and bath bombs too; Joey is getting these in his Easter Basket. 40+ Best Indoor Activities from Busy Toddler Busy Toddler is always a great place to look for relatively easy ideas. I stocked up on all the supplies she recommends from Amazon like blue tape, dot stickers, post-it…
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Rice Cake Lunch
We grew up loving peanut butter and rice cakes for lunch but everyone knows they are a pain to eat. Megan found these Lundberg Thin Stackers rice cakes that are so much easier to work with and the kids love them. We like to dress them up with different combinations with the kids help and it is always a hit; especially right now when every activity needs to kill as much time as possible! An easy item to have in your pantry that both you and your kids will love. We always buy the 5 grain variety but they have a ton of options to choose from. Here are some…
