With the threat of COVID-19 and our subsequent quarantine, for the first time in my life I have found myself with time in the kitchen. Skill? Not so much. Patience? Ha. Below are a few favorite recipes I have discovered over the past five months of lockdown. Life Changing Peas Peas? Bear with me. Yesterday I was scouring the garage chest freezer for a green side dish to add to our chicken poppyseed casserole dinner. Usually I'll throw some frozen green beans in the instant pot, but all I could find was a ginormous bag of frozen peas. I'm still unsure as to when I made that purchase... A quick Google search led me to Favorite Family Recipes and their amazingly simple yet refreshing spin on frozen peas. Although I don't despise peas, I generally prefer to eat them in something ... [Read More]
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My Favorite Things Pt. 1
Anyone who knows me understands that without good food, there is no joy in my life. My day is planned almost entirely around my kids' extracurriculars my next meal - when I will get it, where it will come from, and what it will consist of. So naturally, the first of my "favorites" comes from the food category. Smart Sweets I was introduced to Smart Sweets about a year ago after seeing...wait for it...an Instagram ad. Intrigued by the idea that candy could be low calorie and high in fiber, I took a chance and ordered a box of their Seriously Sour Gummy Bears from Amazon. After one pouch I was fully addicted and promptly ordered the Sour Blast Buddies, my current favorite, and Sweet Fish. I can not wait to try their new Peach Rings! I'm not going to say that this is nutritionally ... [Read More]
Pumpkin Bread. In June.
A couple days ago I heard a tiny voice make a passionate request. "Mom - can you make pumpkin bread?" My initial thought was "...in June?" I associate pumpkin bread with all things fall...hot apple cider, pumpkin patch visits, unlimited fun sized 3 Musketeers bars, weather in the low 80s. You know. Fall. A quick pantry check revealed that indeed, we did have all the necessary ingredients. Plus no therapy appointments for another 3 hours. "Sure. Let's do it." A few months ago I had the most amazing pumpkin tea bread at my parents' house. My mom's good friend had made the bread and graciously shared the recipe with us. I made a couple small changes, but this simple yet delicious recipe comes to you straight from the kitchen of Ms. Mary Thompson. This pumpkin bread ... [Read More]
Semi-Homemade Cheesy Empanadas
Do I *love* cooking? Meh. I don't really know how to answer that one. I most assuredly love eating. And having a large (read: LOUD) family necessitates that most of our meals be at home. So here we are. Two weeks ago I was browsing our local Publix grocery store in the frozen food section and I found these amazing Goya Empanada Discs. I bought a couple packages with the intention of whipping up some amazing Mexican dish during all of my free time. (Eye roll). Fast forward to last week when I suddenly remembered the dough in my freezer, sitting next to a frozen block of ground beef. Clearly this was dinner. I used some shortcuts (a la Frontera Taco Skillet Sauce), but you could easily change this up in just about any way to create your own handheld entree. My eating children ... [Read More]
Cozi Meal Planning – Next Week’s Dinners
Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the Cozi Family Planner? It is EXCELLENT...and I never even had to change from using google calendar - it just integrates into the entire thing. Ahhh. I love it when technology works. Anyway, their meal planning section is pretty much the ONLY way I can keep myself on track with making dinners instead of just blowing our whole budget on fast food and takeout (not that I don't blow the budget on everything else each month...but hey...small victories). Here are a few things I plan on making for next week...(all Pinterest inspired, of course)...MondayFrozen Pizza(Had to be realistic here as we will be traveling)TuesdayCrock Pot Lettuce WrapsGiant, Gooey Cinnamon BiscuitsWednesdayCrock Pot Chicken FajitasThursdayRaviola ... [Read More]
