Valentine’s is one of my favorite days with the kids. It’s a fun, low-key holiday (is it an actual holiday? I don’t think so.) that we can work together on some fun projects for school without the pressure of a big holiday, like Christmas. This year, the kids picked out their valentine cards early, and we got to enjoy putting them together + adding our friends names to them. Usually, it’s last minute and we are rushed, so this was a nice change. Watching their faces light up as they perfectly selected which card was going to be for what friend was really fun. We also made a new recipe…
1st Communion Nut Free Menu
Our little lady has her 1st Communion coming up, and it’s the same weekend as Cinco de Mayo! she already loves mexican food since most of it is safe! This will be fun filled family weekend as she connects to church a little more 🙂 Here is what we are thinking: Our Menu Tostitos chips and bean + cotija cheese dip Tamales from El Rey in Milwaukee, WI – confirmed nut-free (also our favorite at Christmas time) Mexican Rice Street Corn Corn Bread – we use the Betty Crocker brand since it’s safe, the Jiff brand is NOT. 1st Communion Cake – I’ll be baking it, and it might look…
FAT TUESDAY UNICORN SHAKES
AH, yes, the season of Lent is upon us and tomorrow marks the beginning with FAT TUESDAY! One of my favorite days of the year, complete over inulgence. This year we are making unicorn shakes inspired by Everything Erica and her fabulous IG Stories. The supplies are all avaialble at Vanilla Bean Madison, or your local nut-free retailer. And we’ll have some IG Live stories for you to watch us assemble. Have a great week everyone, and don’t forget to set your clock ahead this coming Sunday!
Dove Valentine’s Chocolate
Chocoholics REJOICE! If you have peanut / treenut allergies, I have such good news to share. Today we called Mars Candy Company, the manufacturer of Dove Chocolates. We asked spcifically about the Pink Champagne and Milk Chocolate Swirl hearts. The customer service rep assured us that they are made in a dedicated peanut and treenut free facility. Whats even more exciting is that on EVERY DOVE CHOCOLATE PACKAGE, it will say “Allergies” and a “may contain” statement. The may contain statement may not always be present. If it’s NOT present, then your specific allergen is not present in the manufacturing facility. If the allergen is in the manufacturing facility, it…
Cocoa White Chocolate Chip Cookies
For Valentine’s Day, we wanted to flip the traditional chocolate chip cookie around and make it a cocoa cookie with white chocolate chips. The flavor is amazing! Artisan Kettle White Chocolate does NOT disappoint. White chocolate is not always our favorite, but Artisan Kettle’s recipe for their white chocolate chips is incredible. It makes these cookies 100%. We made a batch to test, then another to deliver in some sweet Valentine treat bags for teachers at our school. We LOVE our teachers 🙂 Ingredients 2 1/4 cups all-purpose King Arthur Flour 2/3 cup Vermont Nut Free Cocoa Powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened 3/4…
The Week of Love
Happy Valentine’s Week! Many people think you should show love all the time, not just on a Hallmark Holiday, so they decide NOT to celebrate 2/14. I have to agree 100% about showing love all the time; but expressing love & gratitiude on Valentine’s Day is equally as important. This goes for friends, co-workers, family, teachers; really anyone that makes your life lovelier! And this does NOT have to be a grand gesture. It could be as simple as an extra hug to say “happy valentine’s day,” a note on a car door/lunch box, free lunch, a free latte, anything to let that person know you have love/gratitude for them.…
Happy New Year!
At the end of December, we put our planner away and the to-do lists aside and just focused on enjoying time with family and friends. The past 2 weeks have been wonderful; we had a chance to reconnect and recharge. However, we are ready to get back into a routine! Thank you for hanging in there while we took a short break. This next year will be full of new experiences and new recipes that we are so excited to share with you here! Before we dive back into recipes – and food allergy friendly finds – we want to talk about some kitchen basics. Food safety is a priority…
The Best No-Bake Fudge
Cooks Country is a new magazine we decided to pick up at the grocery store last week. We liked it because it’s an oversized magazine. The images for the recipes are huge and lets be honest, the photos are the best part! We found an amazing fudge recipe and made it not once, but twice! WE plan to make it one more time since it’s so easy and extremely tasty. [wpvideo J8kKE2EY] Ingredients 3 cups packed brown sugar 12 tbsp unsalte butter, cut into 12 pieces 2/3 cup evaporated milk 1/2 tsp salt 12oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped (we used Artisan Kettle bars, and you dont even need to chop, they…
Berry Good Chocolate Cake
The LAST issue of Cooking Light Magazine has this lovely cake recipe as it’s cover + feature for December. I’m so sad to see this magazine come to a close. This has been a staple in our home for many years. However, like with many things that have happened this year, when one door closes, another one opens. I’m excited to see Cooking Light Magazine’s sister, Eating Well Magazine. Eating Well will continue to have some of the features of Cooking Light Magazine. Cooking Light will continue as an online pub, much like the rest of the industry. Bitter Sweet. As a jornalism major in college, print was my all-time…
Pumpkin Mousse
A few years ago I made a pumpkin mousse instead of a pie for Thanksgiving, and it was wonderful. Since many of us don’t really care for pie crust, I decided to bring out this old recipe once again. It’s been a while, and if you follow my Instagram, you saw that I royally messed up this super simple recipe! Ended up fixing it and it turned out fine. Here is how to make it. Ingredients 1 (15oz) pumpkin 3 cups heavy cream 3/4 cup super fine sugar 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice 1 tbsp vanilla extract Ginger snap cookies for garnish, or graham crackers Whipped cream or vanilla ice…
Haricots Verts Casserole
Just a little twist on the classic green bean casserole – a staple at Thanksgiving tables tomorrow. Ingredients 11 x 7 baking dish + non stick spray 12oz haricots verts 2 tbsp canola oil 3 cups sliced mushrooms 1/2 cup chopped onion / shallot 1 tbsp flour 1 cup unsalted chicken stock / vegetable stock 2 tbsp heavy cream salt and pepper 3 tbsp parmesian reggiano, grated 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs Directions Trim and blanch the haricots verts and place in the baking pan. Heat 2 tbsp oil in a large skillet over medium hi heat Add the 3 cups of mushrooms and the onion or shallots. Cook until…
Halloween Party Menu
Halloween is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate – it can also be one of the trickiest when you have to think about food allergies. This is one of the reasons why we always host a party, we are in control of the menu. This year I have the pleasure of hosting with a good friend of mine, and let me tell you, it’s so much easier having a buddy to plan and prep with! Here is what we have decided on for food: Appetizers Taco Dip Veggie Tray Fruit Tray Cheese + Triscuits Mains Macaroni & Cheese Bar Bacon Sausage Chives Salsa Avocado Parmesan Curls Crock pot meats…
Sheet Pan Apple Pancake
Last week we visited a local apple orchard, Eplegaarden. It’s an old Norwegian farm where the owners have done a wonderful job of preserving it. There is a small picnic area so you can bring in your own treats (and take the garbage when you leave), a real pick your own pumpkin patch, raspberry picking, apple picking, sweet bakery area (don’t forget your epi-pens! Be safe and eat your own treats. Farms and Orchards are NEVER safe.) and some animals. We went mid-week and there were the only ones picking apples when we got there. I much prefer this, compared to the long lines and huge crowds at some pumpkin…
Chicken Enchilada Melt Subs
Happy Fall! It’s October 1st and we couldn’t be more excited about this month’s upcoming festivities; orchards, pumpkins, lattes, leaf piles, leaf peeping, camp fires, parties and trick-or-treat! Halloween is one of our favorite holidays to celebrate. As the kids get older, and our time to make meals becomes less and less due to their involvement at school + activities, my blog posts containing elaborate meals is diminishing by the day! I’m peeking back at prior posts thinking, “how the heck did I have TIME to make all that food?!” And the reality is, I didn’t. Opportunity Cost {A benefit, profit, or value of something that must be given up…
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