Had to share these Kid approved roasted Pumpkin Seeds for easy, on the go snacking. Available at Hy-Vee, Target, and Amazon pantry. Peanut free, nut-free, gluten free, vegan, non-GMO. Pretty awesome if I do say so! The resealable bag (that actually works) is a bonus for keeping them in the car for longgggggg days of car pooling. Enjoy.
Roasted Root Vegetables + Sweet Italian Turkey Sausage
Are you in your back to school routines yet? Going crazy? Drinking too much coffee? I’ve got a time saver recipe for your weeknight eats that will have everyone clearing their plates….if they are OK with roasted vegetables. Which, if you haven’t roasted your veggies before, you SHOULD. They taste SO MUCH BETTER. This recipe is Kid approved! If you have random almost expired vegetables in your fridge, this is a good way to use them all up and make a fairly healthy meal at the same time. I love roasted root vegetable night. Usually I choose 3-4 different vegetables, one whole onion, and a sausage of some sort. The…
Chicken Tortilla Soup
Two kids in bed by 7:30, Bad Mom’s on HBO, and getting a chance to blog about tonight’s easy dinner that the fam loved…I’d say I’m having a pretty good little Tuesday here in suburbia! Chicken Tortilla Soup is a great pantry meal to have on hand this fall + winter. It’s a soup, so there’s no real measuring and you can usually throw in whatever you have in your crisper drawer (half rotting) and it works. I’m sharing the recipe from Food.com that I used as a template, then I’ll also add what I did and substitutions to make your weeknight cooking that much faster + easier. I’m all…
Gazpacho
Now that tomato season is here, it’s time to share some of our favorite recipes to use up all of these lovely red + yellow friends. Yesterday we canned 7 quarts of tomato chunks (technically they are called stewed tomatoes) and today we’re working on tomato juice. There is no better smell than opening up a fresh jar of tomatoes from the garden on February 26th – right in the middle of “is winter almost over, I may actually need Xanax to get me though the next 3 months of darkness in the mid-west” season. The kids love canning tomatoes and it teaches them some good lessons about food, and…
Football and Hot Wings
Mmmmmm. Smell that? Do you know what season it is?! Football season. I love how this sport brings people together. It’s the camaraderie and team spirit that really get me excited for football season. Yes, I love our Packers and Badgers (OK, all ‘sconnie teams, and there’s a special spot in my heart for the Denver Broncos, and Seattle Seahawks), but I really love a kitchen full of screaming fans decked out in their team apparel scarfing down chili and taco dip. Yesterday, as Green Bay took on the Los Angeles Rams at Lambeau (coolest stadium ever, you should tour it!) we decided to research BW3’s hot wings for dinner.…
Build Your Own Tostada
Tostada night is a common one around here. We enjoy it because: It’s Mexican food, and Mexican tends to be easy for nut-allergies You get to make your own Beer pairs well Easy + fast Tostadas are just like tacos, except they are giant, round, crunchy, corn tortillas that you eat like New York style pizza. Messy yet delicious. I like to have plenty of options, so for last night, we went with: McCormick taco seasoned chicken Spiced black beans Shredded cabbage from the garden Lime wedges Lettuce Tomatoes from garden Shredded cheddar cheese LaBanderita Tostadas If you’re purchasing these tostadas, they can be found just about anywhere, even Target.…
Weeknight Meatballs & Marinara
Tarek and Christina are common names in our household. I am addicted to everything HGTV, mostly because all other news is too stressful and/or ridiculous to watch / listen to. So if you’re a T&C fan as much as I am, the thought of the title “Flip or Flop” may be worth a ponder. Think about it…..they never show a “Flop” – at least I’ve never seen one. Have you? Leave me a comment if you’ve seen one. Where am I going with this? I decided to show you a “flop” of mine. If you follow me on Instagram (check lower-right on the homepage) you saw my genius idea of…
Quick Green Chicken Chili
One of the best parts of traveling is trying new food. And then taking that idea home with you and recreating it in your kitchen. I haven’t always been adventurous with creating delicious food. And I’m probably even more cautious now with a nut-allergic child. However, I still try to sample things I normally would not. Like Green Chicken Chili. I had a spicy version of this when we were in Chicago a few weeks ago. Technically, I consider myself a chili connoisseur. If a restaurant has chili, I try it. It’s a quest to find the BEST CHILI EVER! After we got back from vacation, I was flipping through…
Snack Dinner in 10
Back to school week hustle is real. I spent 7:30am – 1:30pm in my car driving two kids around to their school functions and activities. By 2pm, I’m the one that felt like nap time. Errr. Wrong. Afternoon activities and clean up from the morning to do! Not to mention my expanding email inbox and the 2,000 photos my phone is yelling at me about. Still, I’m trying to be in the moment. It’s so hard when there are a million things pulling us in different directions. Be. In. The. Moment. Tonight we have a parent welcome night at school, no kids. So we have a babysitter. Our garden exploded…
White Cheddar & Bacon Risotto
It’s the night before the first day of school and our house is all a buzz. The kids have been busy getting their outfits ready, shoes out, backpacks packed (although pretty empty since we did the ship-directly-to-my-school-awesomeness this year). Exciting day in our household. Last minute haircuts, too! (Did you notice the Ninja Turtle jammies in the photo above? That was a last minute Amazon Prime purchase since poor buddy didn’t have any that fit :)) For dinner tonight, I wanted something cozy since the nights have been getting cooler. Something I gladly welcome. I love this time of year. Football, chai tea lattes, light jackets, snuggly sweatshirts, mums, pops…
School Safe Treat Box
It’s back-to-school time! If your child has food allergies, now is the time to be pro-active and get your plans and snacks in place. Here’s how we prepare: Contact the school nurse/office and keep an EPI-PEN on file at the front desk. Make sure all medical forms are filled out and complete with the front office. Know your school’s allergy policy. Make sure there is an allergy policy. Make contact with the child’s teacher (s) and make sure they all know about your child’s allergy, and what the steps are to keep him/her safe. Keep it simple here. Talk to your child about saying “no” to all classroom treats. This…
Target Dino Nuggets
You always need a plan B. Especially for dinner. We ALWAYS have dino nuggets stashed in the freezer. These nuggets are from Target and are safe. The Mickey Mouse nuggets from Costco are also nut-free. We have tried the Market Pantry version of chicken tenders by Target and have been 100% safe. Most Tyson brands are OK, too, but I honestly prefer these Dino nuggets. Not only are they DINO’S, the first ingredient is chicken breast white meat. I also love making dino adventure land because deep down we are all 6. Happy plan B dinner day! #tgit
The Rest of Vacation
I was so wrapped up in having fun, I didn’t blog the rest of our vacation. Here are the highlights: Two days in Chicago. Six days in Milwaukee. Three days in Green Bay. You heard about Chicago already. So Milwaukee. We love Milwaukee. It has so much to offer. It’s grown so much in the past 10 years. And every time we visit, we say we’re going to do XYZ, then never do it because we are busy doing something else. This was kind of a “stay-cation” for us. It was great. State Fair Paddle Boats on the Lagoon Visited with all our family Hosted Packer Party Dined out at…
Veggie Burrito Bowls
I can’t believe school starts next week?! It has been an AMAZING summer, but I’m still holding on tight to these looooong summer days. Today, we picked a bunch of great tomatoes from the garden, and we made veggie burrito bowls. They were amazing, fresh and very flavorful. Veggie Burrito Bowls 1 cup of your favorite rice 2 tbsp evoo 1 tsp ground cumin 3 garlic cloves minced (or powder is fine) 3/4 tsp salt divided 1 can black beans 1 tbsp chopped chipotles (I left these out – too spicy for kids) 1 cup cherry tomatoes chopped – or more 1/3 cup finely chopped onion 1/4 cup fresh chopped…
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