Tonight, you get my chicken scratch. I made the soup in 15 minutes and cheated on the meatballs. They are in the Fresh Market at Hy-Vee , organic , all natural chicken meaballs by Chef Bruce Aidells. I’ve had these before and they are delish. Adding to the soup gives it a little protein. I hate heavy meals on hot summer days. A light soup sounds good. Can you tell my lack of blogging guilt has set in?
Allergy-Free Birthday Cake
My little man is turning 4 and we are celebrating at a museum. To be inclusive for ALL friends coming (and my dear daughter) we decided to stick with the Enjoy Life brand chocolate bars (which are VERY good.) And is free of top 8 allergens! Yay! What do you think? I will be adding a spiderman since the theme is Spiderman, of course
Summer with a 6 + 3 year old
Somehow, my dreamy way of thinking, I thought I’d have MORE time, not less, to dedicate to my food blog this summer. Clearly, I was mistaken. Summer for our family officially started on June 7, and the past month has flown by in record time. Trust me, I have plenty of pictures, food pictures, recipes and words of advice to offer, but it will have to wait. Nope. I’m not quitting my blog. I’m just taking the summer at a slower pace than expected. Quality time with my 6 and 3 year old has been amazing and I am enjoying being “in” the moment. Instead, I’ll share some fun stuff…
Hy-Vee Nut-Free Cookie
We did our shopping at Hy-Vee today after tennis lessons and we found these cookies in the Dairy section. I think the thing I struggle with at grocery stores is the random placement of items sometimes. I don’t always think to check the organic section or the gluten free section or dairy section for nut-free items. But I’m getting better at it. I’ve seen nut-free cookies in dairy at Hy-Vee before and I’m not sure why they are located next to the milk and eggs in the very back corner of the store, but that’s where they are if you’re looking for something fun to share this 4th of July…
Gluten Free, Nut Free, Milk Free, Egg Free Snack and Go Cookie Packs
Found this at Pick N Save / Kroger Grocery Store this morning. I’ve been looking for a grab and go cookie for a while. Perfect for Birthday Parties!!!!!!!
NYT Rhubarb Crisp
My sweet sweet neighbor Maryellen gave me a TON of fresh rhubarb last week. We love rhubarb season. Today’s cookout was the perfect opportunity to debut this New York Times Rhubarb Crisp recipe. (I LOVE the New York Times recipes, they ALWAYS are fabulous. And I love reading the paper. A dead medium, I know. But it’s relaxing to me). Usually during this time of year we make rhubarb cake, but I wanted something a little lighter, faster and less cakey. Needless to say, this crisp was a crowd pleaser. My only regret is that I didn’t make a double batch to share with more friends! This dish is a…
Blueberry Breakfast Muffins
One of my kids is staring at the back of my head from the top of our stairs as I type this, and I refuse to turn around to see what they need….it’s been a looooong weekend, a preview of what summer will be like, perhaps, and I’m just a wee bit annoyed. I need some down time. A mommy break here. I’m blogging, something I enjoy, for me. And I need it. I need to take time for me to be a better person to help you. You being kids. It’s a cycle. Anyway, typing. Typing. Typing. Blueberry Oat Flax Seed Breakfast Muffins…MMMMMMMMMMMM. We had a huge container of…
Nut-free Ice Cream + 1 Year Anniversary of Anaphylactic Episode
Well duh, most ice creams without nuts are nut-free, right? Wrong. If you have looked at the ingredient label of your ice cream lately, you’ve probably noticed a change in the label. All labels have to clearly state if an allergen is present. The top 8 allergens are: Milk Eggs Peanuts Tree nuts (such as almonds, cashews, walnuts) Fish (such as bass, cod, flounder) Shellfish (such as crab, lobster, shrimp) Soy Wheat There are MANY other allergies besides these, but these are the most common. What manufacturers do NOT HAVE TO STATE is whether or not the facility in which the ice cream is made contains nuts. This is a…
Chipotle Chicken Bowls
The end of the school year is quickly approaching and I feel like my organizational skills are in a downward spiral. Food menu planning is sporadic at best, our calendars are jammed full of activities, get-togethers, parties, volunteer activities, the list goes on. All fun stuff, just a lot all at once. This week my body has been mad at me for having so much going on – and I could tell. I’ve had a dull headache for two days that turned into a full blown migraine late last night that kept me awake until 3am. I haven’t been eating right, I’ve been working out too hard, too fast, and…
Two Nutty Moms
What do two nut-free Mom’s do on their night out together? We eat whatever the hell we want. Seriously. A good friend of mine shares the same food restrictions that I do when it comes to feeding kiddos. No nuts allowed! Her son has nut allergies too, so we lean on each other for support and ideas all things food and holiday related; and life in general, too. We have a lot in common, conversation and humor come easy. That being said, we had a ball last night on our “girls night out” together. We enjoyed pedicures, dumplings (not a “safe place to eat”), specialty chocolates (also, never safe), and…
Comfort Food for a Full Moon
When you work in healthcare, you know that a full moon is like Friday the 13th. The crazy come out of the woodwork. So what better to have for dinner, after a super long day, than a comforting meal of homemade meatloaf, sauteed parmesan zucchini and creamy mashed potatoes?! Nothing. There is nothing better. This is the kind of heavy meal that fills in all the cracks and does not need dessert to follow. Everyone cleared their plates, Carter had 3rds, and there are zero left overs. I have meat and potatoes kinds of kids. Meatloaf Ingredients: 1 pound grass fed organic beef 1 palm full of Penzeys powdered garlic…
May the 4th Be With You!
Star Wars day was awesome. My kids are really into Star Wars right now, as is the hubs, so when we we were menu planning on Sunday, the kids REALLY wanted to do something fun for May 4th. (Side bar: I’m drinking Valentine Coffee right now with 1 tsp of Nestle Quick Bunny Chocolate powder, and it’s amaze. You should try it. Seriously. 20 calories, but it has vitamins and tastes like a skinny mocha from Starbucks. No lie.) Star Wars Day is also my mother-in-laws birthday! So we celebrated big time! Here is the menu: May the 4th Menu Obe-Wan Kebabies: skewered watermelon balls, strawberries, blackberries and grapes Darth…
Red Pepper Couscous
Have you ever had your credit card number compromised? I’m too familiar with this process. By now, I’m mostly annoyed. Last year our credit card number was stolen 4 times. This year, our bank has changed our number once already (last month) out of “an abundance of caution.” I’m super annoyed. Naturally, I make lists. However, I haven’t made a list, YET, for all of the vendors linked to automatic bill pay with this specific card. Now I am. The time it takes to re-enter all of my billing information for all of these companies blows my mind. Some websites are easier than others. But some are difficult to navigate…
Going Green Wraps
I live in wild college town, super hippy and very liberal, Madison, WI, and now I’m a tree hugger. It’s true. City girl turned into granola-hipster + Birkenstock lover. Most of the time, when I’m cooking especially, I pretend I’m in SoCal feeling the warm sun beaming down, smelling fresh, ocean breezes, and eating uber healthy like it’s affordable and around every corner. Truth. Most of our produce here in the mid-west is very expensive and it’s hard to keep up with which grocery store’s produce is the best each week and cost friendly. In addition, our local restaurants are mostly pubs that serve big burgers (nothing wrong with a…
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