Recipes
-
Perfect Spring Recipes from our weekend in Cashmere, WA.
We spent the weekend in Eastern Washington with our dear friends who moved to Cashmere a few years ago. I have a soft spot for the tiny town of Cashmere because my grandfather was raised there and there is so much family history; I love that we have friends there that give us a great reason to be able to visit! We had the best time with amazing meals and tasty new beverages – so much so that they needed to be documented here. Our friends, Ryan and Tanna, made and served us two different salads – a taco salad (that I’m officially re-naming “Nacho Average Taco Salad”) for dinner…
-
Happy St. Patrick’s Day Week
We kicked off St. Patrick’s Day Week in our households with a rainbow scavenger hunt! Special thanks to @kelseynixon for the idea. It was a hit with Sam, Emma and Joe! Jack, on the other hand wasn’t all that interested until the chocolate “gold” coins were discovered. Just pick some rainbow colored objects in your house, get creative with coordinating construction paper and clues (e.g., “A delicious berry named after its color and picked by Sal in one of your favorite books”) and send your children on a ROY G. BIV-themed hunt. Extra points for a pot of gold (e.g. leftover Hanukkah gelt) at the end of the rainbow, i.e.…
-
Corned Beef and Cabbage Soup: My tasty alternative for a festive St. Patrick’s Day Meal
Growing up I always complained when my mom made corned beef and cabbage and to this day it’s just not my thing. Then, 5 or so years ago, Megan had us over for St Patrick’s Day and made this Skinnytaste Corned Beef and Cabbage soup and admittedly I wasn’t thrilled about it; how could it be that different than regular old corned beef and cabbage? Well, to my surprise, I loved it and I have made it every year since for St Patrick’s day. So not only do I really enjoy the soup, especially when paired with cheddar beer bread, but I think it’s always more fun to make meals…
-
Kiss Me, I’m Irish…
Or at least your cocktail can be! Its the first Friday in March and I think everyone should celebrate with an Irish-themed cocktail to start setting the mood for upcoming St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe its because Mallory is in Hawaii and I’m not 🙁 but I really felt like this weekend needs a special celebratory cocktail. Heck, I even pulled out (and ironed!) my green striped shirt that I save in my closet just so I have something to wear to the office every St. Patrick’s Day. Maybe its the Irish cocktails speaking, but yes, I am indeed admitting that I keep a shirt just so I can wear once…
-
Waffle-Iron Cookies
I’m sure you’ve seen this done before but we had to try it for ourselves. Sure enough – it works! The best part about these crispy on the outside and soft and delicious on the inside cookies is that they are ready in just a minute or two – no oven preheating required. Not to mention, it’s just a little more fun than your average cookie – for everyone one in the house – kids, adults and everyone in between. We also used my favorite guilt-free cookie recipe from Simply Real Health which made them that much better. Gluten Free Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies 1 cup gf oats…
-
Sheet Pan Dinners
I am really feeling Sheet pan dinners right now. I think I forgot about them for a little a while but now that I am back in the groove with them they just make my life so much easier. You throw a bunch of tasty things on a sheet pan and stick it in the oven and deliciousness pops out in about 30 minutes. What’s not to love? I swear they never disappoint; a game-changing way to make weeknight dinners even better (not to mention a super easy clean-up). You’ll want to add all of these to your weeknight rotation. Here are some of Megan, Michael and my favorite sheet…
-
Kid-Friendly Valentine Mocktails
Last week, Sam attended a Valentine’s Mocktail Class. Yes, you read that correctly, a kid-friendly Mocktail Class via Zoom. As a reminder, about three weeks ago, I posted here about attending a virtual cocktail class. During that class, some children were very excited about assisting their parents and some other moms, far more creative and on-the-ball than I, reached out to Virtual Cocktail Class to see if they would pull together a virtual mocktail class for kids. And, thus became the Valentine Mocktail Class that Sam absolutely adored. The bartender did a fantastic job with the kids! Highly recommend for children who love helping out in the kitchen. Here is…
-
Kid-Friendly Valentine Breakfast Inspiration
Who can say no to pink hot chocolate and goldfish cracker crusted quiche?! Not even our kids. We kicked off the first weekend in February with a fun little Valentine brunch and it would make a delicious start to anyone’s Valentines Day. Not to mention, I am loving having a little Valentine hot chocolate bar in my kitchen; such a festive and fun treat that’s pretty to look at! Check out the tasty recipes below that would be a perfect way to kick off your Valentines day with the family. Pink Hot Chocolate 2 cups whole milk Kosher salt ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract 1/2 cup white chocolate chips 3…
-
Attend a Virtual Cocktail Class
Its Friday and you deserve a cocktail. So why not learn to make one virtually? We have a fun, COVID-friendly activity recommendation for you: attend a virtual cocktail class! Last week Ryan and I attended a virtual cocktail class that we purchased from Sam and Emma’s school auction. As part of purchasing the tickets, cocktail supplies were dropped off on our doorstep (AMAZING!) and a Zoom link was provided. At the designated time, we simply signed on with a handful of other school parents and spent about 45 minutes learning how to make two cocktails – a Vodka Smash (my favorite!) and Planter’s Punch, the recipes for which are provided…
-
Meatball Monday
Are you looking for some dinner inspiration this MLK Monday morning? Why not make it a Meatball Monday? Because, admittedly today is one of my least favorite type of Mondays – when our kids are out of school but neither Ryan or I have the day off work – but I think meatballs (and noodles) will make it all better! For this Meatball Monday, I am recommending the meatball recipe from Jubilee: Recipes From Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin. These meatballs are 1/2 ground beef and 1/2 ground pork with minced onion (that I highly recommend you sauté before adding to your meatball mixture a la…
